God's View of Sin ...

If we would know how God views sin, we must not measure it by how lightheartedly man treats it, nor by how common it appears in the world, nor even by how it wounds our own conscience. We must measure sin by the cross. Sin is not merely a mistake, a weakness, or an unfortunate choice. It is a direct offense against the holiness of the eternal God. Sin is a daring defiance of His Word, a trampling upon His glory, and a mockery of His authority.

But if we would truly understand the infinite evil of sin, we must look to Calvary. There, on the accursed tree, God unveiled His view of sin. He did not even spare His own beloved Son, when He stood in the sinner's place. What horror must belong to sin, when its payment required the abandonment of the sinless One by His own Father? What dreadful weight must sin carry, that it could crush the eternal Son of God into the dust of death? What must God think of sin, when He would lay upon Jesus the iniquity of His people, and exact from Him every drop of wrath which our guilt deserved? 

Behold the bloodied brow, the pierced hands, the parched lips, the darkened sky, the cry of dereliction: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me!" (Matthew 27:46) These are God's thunderous declarations that sin is no trifle. Sin is not something He can simply overlook. Sin is a monster so vile, that it demanded nothing less than the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Here is a sight too deep for words: the infinitely holy One, bruised for the utterly unholy. Jesus, the Righteous, suffers for the unrighteous because God is too pure to let sin go unpunished. The cross is not only the supreme display of divine love, but also the supreme revelation of divine justice. Never again can we doubt how God views sin. He hates it with a holy hatred. And yet, in that same moment, we see something else: God's matchless grace. For He who spared not His own Son, has also made a way for sinners to be fully cleansed and forgiven.

Holy and righteous God, open my eyes to see sin as You see it. May I never trifle with that sin which nailed my Savior to the cross. Let the horror of Golgotha humble me, and let the mercy found there, lead me to hate sin and cling to Jesus, who bore it all in my place. Amen.

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[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Habakkuk 1:13 ... Why dost thou shew me iniquity and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.

Psalm 5:4-5 ... For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. ❤

Divine Love!!

The greatest treasure of all of God's unsearchable riches, was His only begotten Son. God took Jesus from His bosom, where He had forever dwelt serenely; and sent Him to earth, that He might live and die to save rebellious sinners.

The death of Jesus manifests the solemnity of God's dealings with sin and is fitted to bow the soul in lowliest humility before Him. If the evil of sin is seen in the tremendous price required to atone for it, then sin must be evil beyond thought for nothing less than the bloody death of the Son of God could remedy it.

In the presence of the sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, sin must be an evil so great that it is not possible to exaggerate its horrors. Oh, sinful men, your transgressions are horrendous indeed, since they can only be expiated by such a sacrifice! Oh, reprehensible creatures, you required a dying God to save you!

The sin-atoning death of Jesus displayed the supreme love of God to heinous men. He gave up the darling of His heart, to save wicked sinners. God has manifested His love in the death of His beloved Son, in a way which must have astonished every inhabitant of Heaven; and it ought to ravish every man of this lower globe.

Truly, the blood of Jesus is the ruby gem of the ring of divine love! Brethren, we have but a faint idea of how much the Lord our God loves us. "God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

There was nothing lovable in us; we were enemies to God, polluted and polluting. There was everything in us that was obnoxious to the holy mind of God. And yet, because of the riches of His grace and the supremacy of His mercy. He loved us to the uttermost.

Lament that you should be guilty of such a horrible thing, that even God's own spotless Son must suffer, bleed, and die; before our sin, with all its scarlet dye, could be washed out.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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1 Peter 1:18-19 ...  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Hebrews 9:22 ...  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. ❤

Paul's Hobby-Horse!

The world is full of distractions, and even within the church, countless voices clamor for attention.  But Paul, that faithful minister of the gospel, had one great theme that eclipsed all others: Jesus Christ and Him crucified!  This was not a passing interest or occasional emphasis it was his constant, unwavering focus. If Paul had a "hobbyhorse," it was Christ crucified.  He rode it in every letter, proclaimed it in every sermon, and treasured it at all times. Paul had deep theological knowledge, an unmatched intellect, and a rich grasp of Old Testament Scriptures.  Yet when he came to Corinth a city dazzled by eloquence and puffed up with human wisdom, he deliberately laid aside every other topic.  He determined; he resolved to make the cross of Christ his singular subject. Why? Because the cross reveals both the vileness of human sin, and the marvelous grace of God in salvation. 

The cross manifests the sinfulness of man, exalts the glory of God, and unveils the only way of redemption.  To preach "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is to proclaim the eternal plan of God, the willing sacrifice of the Son, and the effectual power of the Spirit in saving those for whom Jesus died.  It is to declare that totally depraved and spiritually dead sinners, can be reconciled to the holy and righteous God, only through the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus.  No philosophy or moral reform can accomplish this.  Only the blood of the Lamb can cleanse and justify ungodly sinners! 

In a world of theological fads and spiritual shallowness, we need more men like Paul men who will refuse to drift from the centrality of the cross. The cross must not be reduced to a mere entry point of the Christian life. It is the very heart of the gospel, the foundation of all doctrine, and the fuel for sanctification. As believers, we never outgrow our need to hear again and again, of our Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us! Let Paul's holy obsession be ours. Let Christ crucified be our boast, our theme, our delight, and our message! May we, too, resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

1 Corinthians 2:2 .... For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Galatians 6:14 .... But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. ❤

Love is Best Understood Through the Cross

The cross was certainly the most visible act of God’s love towards us. It was also planned. It wasn’t an accident. I think sometimes people think that Jesus was this man on earth and he was kind of like a leaf on a river and got carried to and from and somehow ended up on the cross, got lucky and paid for everyone’s sin, or maybe unlucky, depending on how you look at that. That’s not actually what it was. Yes, people made choices and decisions that resulted in Christ going to the cross, but the decision made before the world was created was that Christ would go to the cross to pay for sin, so what we see is this act of love on the cross was intentional. It was planned. 

Also though, the cross was about God, primarily. We often think of the cross as being about us. Now, we are beneficiaries of the work that was done there, but the cross, first and foremost, was God glorifying himself in the creation of a people for himself, doing something only he could do. So, when we want to understand love let’s understand that its planned, it’s about God, but it’s also about people. It’s about us. The cross is the way in which God shows his love for us, so love has a God-facing component, it often has a man- or woman-facing component, but the cross was also sacrificial. It was undeserved and costly. 

The last point is that it was an objective good. God said the cross was good. God said the cross accomplished his plan, so love is something that has a right answer. It has a God-grounded right answer, so the things we can learn just briefly by looking at the cross: Love is planned, love is about God, love is about man, love is sacrificial, and there is a right answer to this question, but love is best understood through the cross.

[Excerpt from First Baptist Church New Smyrna Beach Fl.)

John 3:16 ... For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 5:2 ... And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Romans 5:8 ... But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.❤

If God Feeds His Birds ...

Romans 8:32 ... He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

This glorious promise carries us from Calvary's crimson hill to the spacious plains of God's boundless provision. The Father, having offered His beloved Son as a substitutionary sacrifice for His people, thereby demonstrated that every cost of our redemption was borne in full. If the Sovereign of Heaven did not count the anguish of Golgotha too great to spare His only begotten Son, then will He now withhold from us any good thing? Never! 

The gift of Christ for our salvation, secures every lesser gift. As we behold the infinite compassion manifested in the cross, we trust that such love will daily supply our every need. If God did not spare His beloved Son for us, then He will withhold no needful blessing from those for whom Jesus died. If God has given you Jesus, then He has engaged all the riches of Heaven for your good. He who gave the greater, will not deny the lesser. If God feeds His birds, then surely, He will not starve His babes. 

Free pardon and full forgiveness, grace along the way, and glory at the end all this our Savior has promised to give! Believer, when fear whispers that your burdens exceed your father's care, return to Calvary. There you see the height of His giving and there you find the answer to your every need. Rather than sinking under anxiety, let faith boldly think: "Will my God, who gave His darling Son for my salvation refuse to give me daily bread, comfort in sorrow, or needed strength?" 

No trial can outstrip His upholding grace; no Scriptural request can exceed His generosity. 

Heavenly Father, you did not spare Your own Son but delivered Him up for us. Teach us to rest in that matchless gift. Grant us faith to plead Your promises, courage to cast all our cares on You, and joy in anticipating Your gracious provision. May our lives overflow with gratitude as we receive the riches of Your grace. Amen. 

[Thomas Watson] 

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Delivered For You!!

Who delivered up Jesus to die? 

Not Judas, for money. 

Not Pilate, for fear. 

Not the Jews, for envy. 

But the Father, for love!

[Octavius Winslow]

Romans 8:32 ...  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Romans 4:25 ... Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Luke 9:44 ...  Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.

Acts 2:23-24 ... Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ❤

I Scarce Can Take It In!

"And when I think that God His Son not sparing Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in That on the cross my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin!" by Carl Gustav Boberg, 1885

The words of this beloved hymn capture something far greater than poetic beauty they express the soul-staggering wonder of the gospel. "And when I think that God, His Son not sparing sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in!" This is the awe-filled confession of a redeemed sinner who has glimpsed the infinite cost of divine love! That the glorious God infinitely righteous and perfectly holy would not spare His own beloved Son but deliver Him up for an ungodly people who had rebelled against Him, is a truth that overwhelms the heart! 

When Abraham was asked to offer Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice, God provided a substitute. But when the Father gave His Son at Calvary, there was no substitute for Him for Jesus was the substitute! The cross is not merely a demonstration of love it is the only means of salvation. On that cursed tree, the spotless Lamb bore the full weight of divine wrath not for His own sins, for He had none but for the countless, crimson sins of His people! 

"That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin!" The sin was ours. The guilt was ours. The punishment was ours. Yet Christ bore it all, gladly and willingly. This was not a cold transaction, but a mission of infinite compassion. He who knew the joy of perfect fellowship with the Father, took upon Himself the horror of forsakenness and wrath. He who upholds all things by the word of His power, was nailed to the accursed tree by sinful hands for all of the sins of all of His people. 

Who can comprehend such mercy? The angels veil their faces in awe before this redeeming grace, and the saints shall sing of it forever. Let your heart be stirred again by the wonder of the cross. Meditate on the cost. Marvel at the love. Worship the Savior who bled and died to take away your sin. And when you think on such love, such sacrifice, such glory does not be ashamed if you scarce can take it in. Eternity will not exhaust the praise due to Him who gave His life for us. Let every breath now be spent in adoration of the One who bore both your sin, and the divine wrath due to you. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

Romans 5:8 ...  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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The Thief on The Cross

How does the thief on the cross fit into your theology? 

No turning from his sins, No baptism, no communion, no confirmation, no speaking in tongues, no mission trip, no volunteerism, and no church clothes. He couldn’t even bend his knees to pray. He didn’t say the sinner's prayer and among other things, he was a thief.  Jesus didn’t take away his pain, heal his body, or smite the scoffers. 

Yet it was a thief who walked into heaven the same hour as Jesus simply by believing in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. He had nothing more to offer other than his belief that Jesus was who he said he was. No spin from brilliant theologians. No ego or arrogance. No Shiny lights, skinny jeans, or crafty words. No haze machine, donuts, or coffee in the entrance. Just a naked dying man on a cross unable to even fold his hands to pray.” 

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) 

I read this today and was reminded of the simplicity of the Gospel. 

[Author Unknown]

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Acts 16:31 ... And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 10:13 ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Mark 1:15 ...  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. ❤

For the Ungodly!

To redeem poor sinners, Jesus came down from Heaven, put on the rags of our mortality, agonized, bled, died. Jesus is made His people's substitute, burden-bearer, sin-remover, guilt-sustainer. Their debt is placed to His account. His riches pay the full amount. Sin is removed from the sinner and placed on the Sinless! 

Their curse is rolled on Him and He endures it until no more remains! God deals with Jesus as the guilty one! He, as spotless Deity, receives imputed sins, and fully expiates them all. In the vicarious victim, God's justice is satisfied, and wrath expires! Jesus, in His life, in the garden, on the cross suffers their sufferings, dies their death, and so becomes their uttermost salvation! 

His pains are their pardon! His stripes are their healing! His agony is their recovery! 

[Henry Law] 

Romans 5:6 ... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

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The Most Precious Spot!

Take your place with Mary near to the cross of Jesus. There meet and blend suffering-and love, sorrow and sympathy. Standing in faith near the cross you are near the suffering Savior, the loving Son, the sympathizing Brother born for your present grief. Jesus, in the depth and tenderness of His love, is at this moment all that He was when, in soul travail. He cast that ineffable look of filial love and sympathy upon His anguished mother. 

Likewise, He can enter into your circumstances, understand your grief, and sustain and soothe your spirit as one only can, who has partaken of the cup of woe which now trembles in your hand. Drink that cup submissive to His will for He drank deeply of it before you and has left the fragrance of His sympathy upon its brim. Your sorrow is not new to Christ. Stand close to the cross of Jesus! It is the most accessible and precious spot on this side of Heaven, the most solemn and awesome spot on this side of eternity! 

The cross of Jesus is the focus of divine love, divine sympathy, and divine power. Stand by it in suffering, in persecution, and in temptation. Stand by it in the brightness of prosperity and in the gloom of adversity. Go to Christ's cross in trouble, repair to it in weakness, cling to it in danger, and hide beneath it when the wintry storm rushes fiercely over you. Near to the cross, you are near your Father's heart, and your Savior's side you seem to enter the gate of Heaven to stand beneath the vestibule of glory! 

Nothing but love will welcome your approach to the cross of Jesus divine love that pardons all your sins, flows over all your unworthiness, heals all your soul-wounds, soothes all your sorrows, and will shelter you within its blessed pavilion until earth is exchanged for Heaven, and you lay down the warrior's sword for the victor's palm, and spring from the foot of the cross to the foot of the throne to be forever with your precious Lord! 

[Octavius Winslow] 

John 19:25 ... Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

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Willingly ...

Jesus Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the throne of grace.

[Thomas Watson]

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John 10:17-18 ...  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Hebrews 4:16 ...  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. ❤

Does Jesus Think On Me?

Jesus of Nazareth, the sinless Son of God was hated without cause, arrested, beaten, mocked, spat upon, shamed, stripped of His clothes, crowned with thorns, publicly humiliated, nailed to a cross, and died in agony! 

What is the first thing He says while hanging upon the cruel tree? Does He ask His Father to send a legion of angels to destroy His persecutors? Does He condemn His unjust executioners? Does He call for fire and brimstone to fall on these wicked devils? That is what we would do, is it not? But He is not like us. He is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts; for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts! 

Instead of words of wrath we hear words of mercy. Instead of a consuming fire we see forgiveness. Oh, what unfathomable grace! His lips are like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. Jesus prays, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours!" John 17:9. He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." 

Child of God, be of good comfort you were on the heart of Jesus as He hung upon the cross! You may ask yourself: Does Jesus think on me? Does He notice me? Does He love me? Oh, you of little faith! You are always on His heart! You were on His heart in eternity past! You were on His heart when He was in such anguish in the Garden, that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood! You were on His heart on the cruel cross! And you are on His heart now in glory! 

As He died in bloody agony under the wrath of God, He was thinking of you! "Father, forgive the sin of My poor, ignorant, rebellious child; for he knows not what he does!" 

[Frank Hall]

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Behold, His Precious Gift!!

Look at the cross! Behold His precious Gift transfixed to it, and that by His own hand, and for your sins! Then look at your present circumstances, survey your needs, your trials, your chastisements, your bereavements, your heart-sickening, heart-breaking tribulations, and know that God still is love. 

If He had love strong enough, deep enough, to give you Jesus; to tear Him, as it were, from His bosom, and to transfix Him on yonder accursed tree for your iniquities; has He not love enough to bow His ear to your cry, and His heart to your sorrow? Will He not rescue you from this difficulty, deliver you out of this trouble, shield you in this temptation, supply this need, support and comfort you in this grief? 

Oh yes, He will! Doubt it not! The cross of Calvary is a standing pledge; standing until sin and guilt, need and woe shall be known no more; that God, who "spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will with Him also freely give us all things" necessary to our good, and promotive of His glory. 

[Octavius Winslow]

Romans 8:32 ... He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

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He Prays That We May Experience It!

Paul acknowledges that the love of Jesus is too great to be fully understood, yet he prays that we may experience it! The apostle is not referring to a merely intellectual understanding, but a personal, transformative relationship with the Lord Jesus. We can only truly experience this love, through the Gospel. Christ's love is most clearly seen in the cross.  

As we meditate on Jesus' wondrous sacrifice for our sins, we are overwhelmed by the vastness of His love. Though we may never fully comprehend it, we can rest in the assurance that His love for us is infinite, and deeper than all of our sins and shame! May His measureless love for us, lead us to a life of gratitude, worship, humility, and holiness. 

We shall never know the depths of Christ's love for us, until we feel the weight of our sin, and the worth of His sin-atoning death, which delivers us from the Hell that we rightly deserve. This unsearchable love of Jesus humbles the pride of man, exalts the grace of God, and calls us to a life of holiness! 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Romans 5:8  ... But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 Ephesians 3:18-19 ... May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. ❤

Deicide!

The Word of Truth declares that "the carnal mind is enmity against God" (Romans 8:7). Men do not believe it, in fact most of them pretend the very opposite. Nevertheless, at Calvary they gave proof of their hatred of God. Not only was Christ un-welcome here but men hated Him and that "without a cause" (John 15:25). He gave them every reason to admire and adore Him, but they had an inveterate detestation of Him! 

Multitudes go through the form of paying homage to God, but it is a "god" of their own imagination. They hate the true and living God and were it possible they would rid the universe of His existence! This is clear from their treatment of Christ, for He was none other than "God manifest in flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). They hated and hounded Him to death and nothing short of His cruel death by crucifixion would appease them! 

Here at Calvary the real character of man was revealed, and the desperate wickedness of his heart was laid bare. There it was shown that man was capable of the blackest of all crimes! As evil as man had shown himself all through his history the coming of Immanuel to this earth brought sin to such a head that all that which had gone before, was relatively but a trifling thing when compared with the monstrous wickedness which was done against Love incarnate! 

In the treatment which the Son of God received at the hands of men we see sin in its true colors, stripped of a disguise, exposed in its hideous reality; revealed in its true nature as contempt of God, and rebellion against Him. Here at Calvary, we behold the climax of sin and the fearful and horrible lengths to which sin is capable of going! That sin which germinated in Eden culminated in the crucifixion! Here at Calvary, we see sin at its apex Deicide in the slaying of the Lord of Glory! 

[A. W. Pink]

Luke 23:21 ... But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.

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God's Love to Us!!

The love of God to sinners is an ocean without shore, a mystery that stretches beyond the grasp of the highest angel. That the infinitely holy God--before whom seraphim cover their faces should set His heart upon those who were defiled, defiant, and dead in sin is the most humbling truth in all of Scripture. His love was not merited by anything in us, for we were altogether sinful and unlovely. Yet He loved us! 

And His love was not a mere sentiment it took action. He gave His Son, His only, His beloved to bear the curse we deserved. The Father did not spare Him, but handed Him over to be mocked, scourged, and nailed to a cross! There, the spotless Lamb of God endured the sin-atoning wrath due to the very ones who hated Him. What tongue can express such love? What mind can fathom its depth? This love is not a relic of the past it is alive and active this very moment. He loves us still. 

In discipline and direction, in provision and pain His love sustains and sanctifies us. It is unchanging, invincible, and ever nearby. No failure of ours exhausts it; no affliction removes it. His love is as eternal as He is. This love is the well-spring of every spiritual blessing. Let this melt the pride of our hearts, still our restless fears, and ignite a life of glad obedience. Nothing strengthens faith, calms the soul, or drives us to holiness like the felt reality of Christ's astonishing love in dying for such vile, undeserving sinners like us! 

O believer, marvel and rejoice you are loved with a love that never began, will never fade, and can never be broken! 

[A.W Pink] 

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Isaiah 53:5 ... But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Ephesians 5:2 ... And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.❤

At Calvary ...

The cross is God's way to punish sin and forgive sinners at the same time.

[Adrian Rogers] 

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Ephesians 1:7 ...  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Colossians 1:14 ... In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Hebrews 10:10 ...  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ❤

That Dagger!!

We never know the full evil of our iniquities until we see what it cost our precious Redeemer to put them away. The true Christian looks upon sin, as we would regard a knife rusted with gore with which some villain had killed our mother, our wife, or our child. Could we play with it? Could we wear it as a jewel hung around our necks? Could we even endure it in our sight? 

Accursed thing, stained with the heart's blood of my beloved, I would gladly fling you into the bottomless abyss! Sin is that dagger which stabbed the Savior's heart to death! Henceforth it must be the abomination of every man who has been redeemed by the sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus. "A bleeding Savior I have viewed, and now I hate my sin!" 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Ephesians 3:18-19 ...  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

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"The Savior!"

Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the lack on our part. Faith saves, because it owns the complete salvation of another and not because it contributes anything to that salvation. 

Faith is not our Savior. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing the Savior is another. 

Faith is one thing and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God. 

[Horatius Bonar]

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Romans 5:10 ...  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Ephesians 2:16 ... And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Galatians 2:20 ...  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ❤

The Greatest Sight You Will Ever See!

Jesus has borne the penalty of sin on behalf of His people. Behold the wonder! There He hangs upon the cross! This is the greatest sight you will ever see! 

Son of God and Son of Man, there He hangs, bearing unutterable pains, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. Oh, the glory of that sight! The innocent One, punished! The Holy One, condemned! The ever blessed One, made a curse! The infinitely glorious One, put to a shameful sin-atoning death! 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

2 Corinthians 5:21 ...  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ❤