Jesus Crossed Boundaries: God and Sin

Jesus Crossed Boundaries: God and Sin.

“The next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and exclaimed, ‘Look! God’s Lamb! The One who is taking away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

In other words… Look everyone, there is God’s Passover lamb! He is the lamb sent from God, the pure blood sacrifice to erase the sins of the world! Jesus, the lamb sacrificed for all of us, is in the process of removing and carrying away the world’s sins, every one of them! He is the one and only, the one Lamb who is able to take away every sin of the world, the sins of every person for all time! His blood sacrifice is the Passover lamb for us, spotless, pure, capable of covering over all sins ever committed. He will bear the curse of the world’s sinfulness by actually becoming the curse. He will dissolve the sins by becoming sin for us, offering forgiveness instead of judgment. God so loved the world, the whole world, the entire cosmos, that he gave us His Son to completely forgive the sins of the world.

When John the Baptist shouted out that Jesus was the Lamb of God, he was referring to the Passover lamb, the defining moment in Jewish history (Exodus 12). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John is saying that, just as the blood of the perfect, unblemished male lamb provided a way to escape judgment and experience redemption from slavery in Egypt, Jesus will soon provide for redemption through His very own sacrificial blood. The lamb became the primary sacrificial animal in Mosaic Law, a lamb sacrificed in the Temple every morning and evening for the sins of the people (Ex. 29). For centuries, a lamb’s life had to be sacrificed for the penalty of sin. And now the Messiah, Jesus Christ, offering His pure blood as sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:18-19). “Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast.” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

One of the most potent titles of Jesus in Scripture is found again and again in John’s book of Revelation. It’s clear that only the blood of Jesus will be sufficient in taking away the sins of the world. John uses it 29 times in his vision of the Apocalypse. We are privileged to see much of the Lamb in John’s vision of heaven:

1. In the middle of the heavenly throne, looking as though it had been slain (5:6);
2. With seven horns and seven eyes. Horns are a symbol of power and authority, and the seven number symbolizes perfection. Eyes signify watchfulness and comprehenesion. The Lamb that was slain has perfect authority, and is constantly watchful and full of understanding (5:6);
3. As the only One in the universe who is worthy to open God’s holy scroll (5:8-10);
4. The object of high praise and worship by “every creature in heaven and on earth” as well as myriads of angels (5:11-13);
5. The object of great fear on the part of the rulers and great ones in hiding, fearing the fiery passion of the Lamb (6:16-17);
6. The One who was worshiped by great multitudes from all the nations (7:9);
7. The One who will lead the people, shepherding them to living fountains of waters (7:17);
8. The Author of the Lamb’s Book of Life (13:8);
9. The One standing on Mount Zion, listening to the New Song sung by those “who follow the Lamb wherever He goes”(14:1-4);
10. The recipient of a song sung by the triumphant believers, singing “the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb” (15:3-4);
11. The victor in a war with the Beast, proving that the Lamb is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14);
12. The One held in honor at the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (19:9);
13. As the One who was the true Temple in the New Jerusalem (21:22);
14. As the One providing the sole source of light in the New Jerusalem (21:23);
15. On the throne in the new Garden of Eden, providing “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal” (22:1).

 

So there is such a thing as a universal solvent in the world, but it’s not what I learned in chemistry class. That spiritual solvent is the blood of Jesus, and it is so powerful that it can make sin disappear! Because of Christ’s shed blood, it is an objective fact that everyone in the world is forgiven. We could walk up to anyone on the street, and if the conversation goes in that direction, we can say, ‘You know, the Bible says that your sins are forgiven whether you believe it or not. That’s an objective fact! Yes, the Lord is your Savior whether or not you accept Him. That’s simply a fact of life.’ This universal forgiveness is true for everyone, not just for a spiritual elite, or the “elect,” or the chosen people, or for those who have somehow earned it. Everyone is forgiven. Jesus’ sacrifice means that every person in the world is chosen to be forgiven. We are all chosen people.

Everyone is forgiven, but not everyone is saved. The potential for universal salvation is there. The possibilities are unlimited, but this forgiveness is a gift. Like any gift, it needs to be received in order for it to be applied. This free gift needs to be accepted in order for salvation to be a true fact in one’s life. It makes sense… If a gift is rejected, how can it be received and in one’s possession? How can a gift be applied to one’s life were it not accepted? Christ’s forgiveness is what makes salvation possible. Forgiveness opened the door, and we need to walk through the door to experience the gift. Without the Cross of Christ, the door would have remained shut and locked. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, the gift would not have been offered.

Scripture certainly seems to welcome the idea of universal forgiveness:

“I am writing you these things so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus the Messiah, the Righteous One. And this Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for our sins alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2).

“Christ died on behalf of all mankind, which implies that all mankind was already dead, and He died on behalf of all in order that those who live should not live any longer for themselves but for the One who on their behalf died and was resurrected.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

“While we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. God demonstrates His own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:6,8).

“Jesus suffered death, so that by God’s grace He might taste death for all humanity.” (Hebrews 2:9).

This brings up another important point in this truth about universal forgiveness. And that truth is love. Jesus didn’t die because He was disgusted with us. He didn’t die because we were worthless or full of evil and thus unacceptable. He didn’t die because, as one evangelist put it, “we weren’t worth more than a bucket of spit.” Quite to the contrary, Jesus died because He honors us for being made in His image. He died because He believes we are worthwhile and valuable. Christ died on the Cross because He values us and is full of love for us. It’s as if Jesus told us, ‘I consider you so worthwhile that I am going to die for you. I want you to be with Me in eternal life. I want you to be forgiven and enjoy right now freedom from captivity to sin, so much so that I will lay My life on the line for you.’

So, what now? We understand that God so loved the world, not just a few of the pre-ordained, but all of mankind. And while we were dead in our sins, we were helpless and stuck, we were in a spiritually hopeless situation, and Jesus came and sacrificed Himself for us anyway. Each of us around the world can safely say that even before I was born in God’s image but as a captive of sin, even before I realized I needed forgiveness, Jesus died for me and for all. We can see then that God’s forgiveness is an unimaginable gift, a free Christmas present, the ultimate gift already bought and paid for in blood, wrapped under the tree of the Cross, waiting to be received. Forgiveness is waiting to be unwrapped and taken home into our hearts. Unwrapping the gift is a matter of repentance and confession and the commitment to trust this Man who loved us enough to die for us. All we need to do is open our hearts in acceptance, extending our arms to receive this undeserved and unspeakable gift. Jesus crossed the boundary between God and sin by becoming sin, by absorbing sin and then dying, and thus taking away the sins of the world. The death of death, the getting rid of the penalties of sin,  was made complete when Jesus rose from the dead, destroying the power of sin, and thus opening the door to eternity for all of us.

“Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: We have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially for those who trust and believe.” (1 Timothy 4:9-10).