Once Suffered For Sins

2005-12-01

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

God showed His love for people by delivering His Son over to die for us. His people that He joyfully created gave Him no thought, and were helplessly alienated from Him when they sinned against Him, so God took matters into His own hands by sacrificing His own Son. One might put the sacrificial death of Jesus this way: if a person of perfect health went to a terminally ill patient in a hospital and somehow had the disease transferred over from the sick man to the healthy man, this is what Jesus did. The disease was sin; He took it from us (not to say that He became sinful) and died in our place so we could live. Jesus is offering to all people everywhere to take their sin, but He is not forcing this generous act upon us. By trusting in Jesus, in the work He has done, we can be set free from the eternal consequences of our sin.

Likewise, think of yourself as on trial before God. A prosecutor, who is the devil, is listing all that you have done to show that you do not belong in heaven. When he is finished, your defense attorney Jesus stands up and says, “He may have done all of those things, but his punishment, fine, jail term, and death penalty have been paid in full by Me.” Remember the words of 1 Peter 3:18, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins.” No matter what you have done, Jesus paid the price once and for all. And if you sin again, and you will, you do not need to fear God’s judgment (though he does discipline his children). The event of Christ’s death covered all of humankind’s blemishes and atrocities. You just need to trust in Him and your sins are forgiven forever. Once for all. Forgiven forever.