11) To Take Away Our Condemnation

Christ Suffered and Died . . .

To Take Away Our Condemnation

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—

more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand

of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:34

The great conclusion to the suffering and death of Christ is this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

To be “in Christ” means to be in relationship with Jesus by faith. Faith in Christ unites us to Christ so that His death becomes our death and His perfection becomes our perfection. Christ becomes our punishment (which we don’t have to bear) and our perfection (which we cannot perform).

 “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). 

The death of Christ secures our freedom from condemnation.There is no double jeopardy in God’s court. We will not be condemned twice for the same offenses. Christ has died once for our sins. We will not be condemned for them. Condemnation is gone, not because there isn't any, but because it has already happened (Christ has already taken it on Himself at the cross). 

 “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33).

It’s the same as when the Bible asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). The answer is that “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us .” (Romans 8:37).

We know that the highest court has already ruled in our favor. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).  

If people in the world reject us, He accepts us. If they hate us, He loves us. If they imprison us, He sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, He refines us by the fire. If they kill us, He makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ is risen. We are alive in Him. And in Him, there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous.

 “And the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).

Lets pray: 

"Dear Father, thank you that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank You for Jesus who has borne my punishment. I am now free from condemnation. I live in the 'right-standing' with You both now and forever. Thank You for this amazing grace to me. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Lets worship: with the song 'Trading my sorrows' by Women of Faith   

The so-far mentioned reasons for why Christ suffered and died can be followed at http://knowing-christ.blogspot.com/:-

10) To provide the basis for our justification

9) For the forgiveness of our sin

8) To become a ransom for many

7) To cancel the legal demands of the law against us

6) To show His own love for us

5) To show Grace for sinners

4) To achieve His own resurrection from the dead

3) To learn obedience and be perfected

2) To please His own Heavenly Father

1) To absorb the wrath of God

Be blessed,

Meghna and Ashish

(inspired by 'Fifty reasons why He came to die' by author John Piper)

10) To Provide The Basis For Our Justification

Christ Suffered and Died . . .

To Provide The Basis For Our Justification

We have now been justified by His blood.

Romans  5:9

[We] are justified by His grace as a gift,

through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:24

We hold that one is justified by faith

apart from works of the law.

Romans 3:28

Being forgiven by God and being justified before God are not the same.  Being forgiven implies that I was found guilty of sin and then my crime was pardoned. Being justified implies that I have been tried and found to be innocent. In other words, the judge would call me, “Not guilty.”

Justifying is a legal act. Justified means 'Just as if you have not sinned'.The ordinary way to be justified in a human court would be to have kept the law. But in the courtroom of God, not one of us can ever claim to have kept His law in entirety. Hence none of us can be justified on the basis of law-keeping.

Then, how could we be justified before God? 

Christ accomplished it for us in two steps:

1) Christ shed His blood to cancel the guilt of our crime. Hence, God offered Himself in our place, as a substitute, to satisfy the punishment for our sins.

2) Christ brought us in right standing with God - gave us His righteousness - based on His work.

So, there was a double exchange that happened at the Cross. Firstly, Jesus paid the price for all sinners by shedding His blood; an act which satisfies God's justice. Secondly, Jesus has brought you in right standing before God; He has justified you based on His work not yours. Thus we can conclude that we are justified freely by God's grace.

Being in such a sinful state, the only way we can be justified is to be justified freely. We can’t purchase it with our good works at all. If it isn’t made free to us, we can’t have it all. So we are justified freely by His grace - His unmerited favor, given to us without regard to what we deserve. It is a giving motivated purely by the giver, and motivated by nothing in the one who receives.

 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:1).

Lets pray: 

"Dear Father, thank You for Christ Jesus who has given me a right standing before You. He has justified me. I stand 'not guilty' before You because I am now in Christ. I thank You for loving me so much for the double exchange that Christ has done for me on the Cross. I am indeed ashamed of my sin, Father and am thankful for the mercy You have shown me. I thank You for calling me 'righteous' and 'holy' in Your sight. What I could not obtain by my own efforts, You gave it to me by Grace.  All I want to do is love You with all my heart, soul and mind. Please help me to walk with You all the days of my life. In Jesus Name. Amen."

Lets worship: with the song ' No condemnation ' by Don Moen 

The so-far mentioned reasons for why Christ suffered and died can be followed at http://knowing-christ.blogspot.com/:-

9) For the Forgiveness of Our Sin

8) To become a ransom for many

7) To cancel the legal demands of the law against us

6) To show His own love for us

5) To show Grace for sinners

4) To achieve His own resurrection from the dead

3) To learn obedience and be perfected

2) To please His own Heavenly Father

1) To absorb the wrath of God

Be blessed,

Meghna and Ashish

(inspired by 'Fifty reasons why He came to die' by author John Piper)

9) For The Forgiveness of Our Sins

Christ Suffered and Died . . .

For The Forgiveness of Our Sins

In Him we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses.

Ephesians 1:7

This is My blood of the covenant,

which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 26:28

When we forgive a debt or an offense or an injury, we don’t require a payment for settlement.   Forgiveness assumes grace. If I am injured by you, grace lets it go. I don’t sue you. I forgive you. Grace gives what someone doesn’t deserve. That’s why forgiveness has the word 'give' in it. Forgiveness is not “getting” even. It is giving away the right to get even.

That's how God treats us when we trust Christ: “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name” (Acts 10:43). If we believe in Christ, God no longer holds our sins against us. This is God’s own testimony in the Bible: “I, I am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake” (Isaiah 43:25). “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

But this raises a problem. We all know that forgiveness is not enough. We may only see it clearly when the injury is great—like murder or rape. Neither society nor the universe can hold together if judges (or God) simply say to every murderer and rapist, “Are you sorry? Okay. The state forgives you. You may go.” In cases like these we see that while a victim may have a forgiving spirit, the state cannot forsake justice. So it is with God’s justice. All sin is serious, because it is against God. His glory is injured when we ignore or disobey or blaspheme Him. God's justice will no more allow Him simply to set us free than a human judge can cancel all the debts that criminals owe to society. The injury done to God’s glory by our sin needs to be repaired so that in justice His glory shines more brightly. And if we criminals are to go free and be forgiven, then there must be some dramatic demonstration that satisfies the punishment due for the criminals.

That is why Christ suffered and died. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7). Forgiveness cost God everything.    Jesus Himself has borne the penalty of our sins - absorbing the wrath of God in order to satisfy His justice. The result of Christ obedience has ensured that our sins have been forgiven! 

Oh, how precious is the news that God does not hold our sins against us! And how beautiful is Christ, whose blood made it right for God to do this.

Lets pray: 

"Dear Father, thank You for forgiving my every sin. You made Jesus take my punishment and satisfy the just demands of punishing my sin. I thank You Jesus for bearing that punishment. Without Your sacrifice, I would have had no hope for salvation. Thank You for Your love for me.  All I want to do is love You with all my heart, soul and mind. Please help me to walk with You all the days of my life. In Jesus Name. Amen."

Lets worship: with the song ' I'm forgiven because You were forsaken' by Chris Tomlin 

The so-far mentioned reasons for why Christ suffered and died can be followed at http://knowing-christ.blogspot.com/:-

8) To become a ransom for many

7) To cancel the legal demands of the law against us

6) To show His own love for us

5) To show Grace for sinners

4) To achieve His own resurrection from the dead

3) To learn obedience and be perfected

2) To please His own Heavenly Father

1) To absorb the wrath of God

Be blessed,

Meghna and Ashish

(inspired by 'Fifty reasons why He came to die' by author John Piper)

8) To Become A Ransom For Many

Christ Suffered and Died . . .

To Become A Ransom For Many

"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,

and to give His life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:45

"There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

 who gave Himself as a ransom for all"

(1 Timothy 2:5-6).

What is a ransom?

Webster's dictionary defines 'ransom' as  "a consideration or a price that is paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity."

Who was this ransom?

Jesus Himself said that He came “to give His life as a ransom.”  His life was given as a 'ransom', which means His life was paid for the release of someone or something. Beloved, that someone or something is none other than -  you and me !

What does this mean for us - for all mankind?

The whole need for a substitute to die on our behalf is because we have sinned against God and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And, because of our sin, “the whole world is held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). The ultimate captivity from which we need release is the final “judgment of God”  (Romans 2:2; Revelation 14:7).

When Christ gave Himself as a ransom for us, the Bible says that we were made free from the condemnation of God. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

What was the ransom price?

The ransom price of our release from God’s condemnation is the life of Christ. Not just His life lived, but His life given up in death. Jesus said repeatedly to his disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him” (Mark 9:31). In fact, one of the reasons Jesus loved to call Himself “the Son of Man” (over sixty-five times in the Gospels) was that it had the ring of mortality about it. Men can die. That’s why He had to be one. 

The ransom could only be paid by God, because the ransom had to be a spotless, blemish-less, sinless, life given up in death. 

This price was not coerced from Him. That’s the point of saying, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” He needed no service from us. He was the giver, not the receiver. “No one takes [My life] from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord” (John 10:18). The price was paid freely; it was not forced. Which brings us again to His love. He freely chose to rescue us at the cost of His life.

How many did Christ effectively ransom from sin? 

He said that He came “to give His life as a ransom for many.”  No one who embraces the treasure of the ransoming Christ, is excluded from this salvation. 

The principle is simple :-

The giver of the ransom is: Father God 

The ransom is : Jesus Christ, Son of God

The receiver of the ransom is : Father God 

The captive who is released : you and me! 

God gives every individual the opportunity to en-cash Jesus, as the ransom for their freedom from God's judgement. If en-cashed by faith, that individual's sin is totally paid for. That individual becomes a new creation. Old things pass away and all things become brand new. Hallelujah!

Lets pray: 

"Dear Father, thank You for offering Jesus Christ, as a ransom for my freedom. I have a been a slave to my sinful nature. I have been far from You. I have been doing things my way, choosing my opinions over Your's. I know I can never make it to Heaven by my own list of accomplishments. I need Your help. I thank You for the sinless, spotless Lamb who was offered in my place. He paid the ransom for my release. From today, I am free to live for You and live with You in Heaven for all eternity. Thank You very much. In Jesus Name. Amen."

Lets worship: with the song 'How deep the Father's love for us' by Sarah Sadler at 

The so-far mentioned reasons for why Christ suffered and died can be followed at http://knowing-christ.blogspot.com/:-

7) To cancel the legal demands of the law against us

6) To show His own love for us

5) To show Grace for sinners

4) To achieve His own resurrection from the dead

3) To learn obedience and be perfected

2) To please His own Heavenly Father

1) To absorb the wrath of God

Be blessed,

Meghna and Ashish

(inspired by 'Fifty reasons why He came to die' by author John Piper)

7) To Cancel The Legal Demands of The Law Against Us

Christ Suffered and Died . . .

To Cancel The Legal Demands of The Law Against Us

And you, who were dead in your trespasses . . .

God made alive together with Him,

having forgiven us all our trespasses,

by canceling the record of debt that stood

against us with its legal demands.

This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13

What a folly it is to think that our good deeds may one day outweigh our bad deeds. It is folly for two reasons. 

First, our good deeds are not that good. Our good deeds are defective, because we don’t honor God in every way as we do them. Do we do our good deeds in joyful dependence on God with a view to making known His supreme worth? Our good deeds are often flavored with selfishness and self preservation. God says in the Bible that our good works are like filthy rags! (Isaiah 64:6)

The second reason it is folly to hope in good deeds is because there is no Scripture in any faith, where God has attempted to list the scoring system of how many and what type of good deeds will outweigh bad deeds, and by how much amount. Do we earn 5 points by giving alms to the poor and 15 points when we help an old lady or a blind man cross a busy road? Does telling a lie make you lose 20 points or 40 points or 2 points? The bottom line is that there is no Scripture anywhere in any faith, where God has listed the exact calculation by which He will balance out the good and bad deeds of each individual. So, it is a serious deception to base our salvation on  'karma' or list of good deeds.

So, if God loves us and wants us to be cleansed of our bad deeds, what do we depend on? 

If we are going to be saved from the consequences of our bad deeds, it will not be because they weighed less than our good deeds. God has a totally different way of saving sinners. There is no hope in our deeds. We cannot earn brownie points before God's eyes by being goody goody!!

There is no salvation by balancing the records; of our good and bad deeds. There is only salvation by canceling the records. 

The record of our bad deeds (including our defective good deeds), along with the just penalties that each deserves, must be blotted out—not balanced. This is what Christ suffered and died to accomplish. The cancellation happened when the record of our deeds was “nailed to the cross” (Colossians 2:13). 

How was this damning record of my bad deeds( including defective good deeds) nailed to the cross? Parchment was not nailed to the cross. Christ was. So Christ became my damning record of bad (and good) deeds. He endured my damnation. He put my salvation on a totally different footing. He is my only hope. Faith in Christ is my only way to God. 

Lets pray: 

"Dear Father, thank You for making a way for me to be totally forgiven. My sins were not just pushed under the carpet and forgotten. They were nailed to the cross on which Your Son took my punishment. Father, I thank You for saving me from the foolishness that my good works are good enough to save me. My salvation is purely because of the sacrifice of Jesus. There is no other name, under Heaven, by which a man can be saved, but the name of Jesus. Thank You very much. Amen."

Lets worship: with the song In Christ alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend   

The so-far mentioned reasons for why Christ suffered and died can be followed at http://knowing-christ.blogspot.com/:-

6) To show His own love for us

5) To show Grace for sinners

4) To achieve His own resurrection from the dead

3) To learn obedience and be perfected

2) To please His own Heavenly Father

1) To absorb the wrath of God

Be blessed,

Meghna and Ashish

(inspired by 'Fifty reasons why He came to die' by author John Piper)