by Justin Pearson

I am teaching our current Christianity 101 class on Monday nights. We just finished week 4 which is entitled “What Does Salvation Mean and Why Do I Need It?” The focus of the lesson is on our need for a Savior.

We walk through the fact that we all have sin in our lives (Romans 3:23) and that because of this sin we are separated from God. God is 100% holy. He is the definition of holy. Because he is 100% holy he cannot be in any type of relationship or fellowship with anything that is unholy. If he did this he would become tainted and, therefore, be unholy. This is impossible for God. It is against his nature.

Many people try many different methods to reconcile with God and to be in relationship with him, but they all fall short. Whether it is good deeds, trying to be a good person, church attendance, baptism, giving money, spirituality, etc, none of them work. Why? Because none of them take away the sin that keeps us separated from God.

The good news is that God is not indifferent and he wants and desires to have a relationship with us, to reconcile us to himself. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the full weight and punishment of our sin and disobedience in order to rescue us and reconcile us. This is not because we are worthy or valuable. It is because through our redemption God receives even more glory. When we are reconciled to God we experience ultimate joy which is found in God alone through Jesus Christ alone.

I shared the following passage with the class:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 (ESV)

The cross, then, is not solely for us, but is to display God’s righteousness and to make him both just and the justifier. He gets the glory not us. We merely receive the benefit of joy!

I want to challenge you, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, to think about these truths and to meditate on the above mentioned passage. Ask God to help you understand the cross and the gospel more fully so that you too might experience ultimate joy.

I handed out a small red booklet to everyone in class entitled For Your Joy. You can access it for free in PDF format at the following link- http://www.desiringgod.org/media/pdf/books_bfyj/bfyj.pdf

I would encourage you to read this as well.

Drink deeply from Jesus this week.

Justin Pearson is the Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun
*Have questions about this? Email justin.pearson@mcleanbible.org or leave a comment on the blog.