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As we meditate upon the finished work of the Lord on the Cross of Calvary; as you bow your knee, and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, may the revelation of truth, set you free from a traditional mindset that limits the message of the Cross, to a day in the Christian calendar. For the Cross speaks a blessing over you, the propitiation of your sins that you may be holy, even as God is holy. He promises to cleanse you of your sins, to give you a new heart that is sensitive towards Him , putting His Spirit in you to cause you to walk in His ways. [Ezekiel 36:25-27]
And therefore, as Paul writes to the Romans “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit who dwells in you”. [Romans 8:11] At the second coming of the Lord, your body will be raised to life again. And now, in the present, as you await your glorious future, life can be gloriously different, for you are no longer under the obligation of following the dictates of your flesh. Sin need no longer be your master. Appropriation of what Christ has accomplished on the Cross of Calvary is done by His resurrection.
For the death He died, He died to sin once and for all, and the life He lives He lives to God. [Romans 6:10] When He died He took sin down with Him, and when He arose, He brought God down to us. Christ died to sin, to break the power of sin. And He lives now in unbroken fellowship, in constant communion with the Father, having accomplished redemption and deliverance, the forgiveness of sins
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [Romans 6:11] It is what baptism signifies. Going into the waters is being buried with Him, into His death, and coming out of the waters with Him into newness of life unto God in Christ. But the question in your heart could be whether it is really possible to live a life that is dead to wrong things, and alive to do what is right. But, in the sufficiency of His grace, it is made possible, for His strength is made perfect in your weakness. And His grace and mercy is new every morning. And it is why you need to be led to the truth of the Cross, in order that your Good Friday may indeed be a good Friday, and not a mere formality. For the message of the Cross is foolishness to the perishing, but to the one who believes, it is the wisdom of God and the power of God.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [Romans 6:11] It is what baptism signifies. Going into the waters is being buried with Him, into His death, and coming out of the waters with Him into newness of life into God in Christ. But the question in your heart could be whether it is really possible to live a life that is dead to wrong things, and alive to do what is right. But, in the sufficiency of His grace, it is made possible, for His strength is made perfect in your weakness. And His grace and mercy is new every morning. And it is why you need to be led to the truth of the Cross, in order that your Good Friday may indeed be a good Friday, and not a mere formality. For the message of the Cross is foolishness to the perishing, but to the one who believes, it is the wisdom of God and the power of God.
He Himself bore our sins on His body on the Tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; by His stripes you have been healed. [1 Peter 2:24] When He said, ‘It is finished’ on the Cross, it was a cry of victory, having accomplished His Father’s will and purpose, for which He had been born. Your sins, not in part, but the whole, have been carried away by Him, that it may be well with your soul. You have been healed by His stripes, and made whole. And in Him sand through Him you can be dead to what is sinful and wrong, and alive to what is godly and right. A new way of living that involves becoming more and more like Him is open before you. When previously you could have found enjoyment in sinning, gossiping maybe, that is vicariously enjoying other people’s sins, now, it is a different story. For, it is not sinning, that you find to be an enjoyable prospect!. Not possible in your own strength, but He makes it possible in you.
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. [Vs 25] Left to your own ways, you would invariably stray into sinful paths that seem outwardly tempting, but now Christ is with you and in you that you may appropriate what He has accomplished on the Cross. He died to sin, for you. He rose again to live for God, for you. And He is always with you, never to leave or forsake you. He lovingly watches over you, provides for you, that you may taste and see that He is good. A mother who prepares something special for her child is not content to cook it and lay it on the table. She then is with him to serve him and see that he partakes of it to her heart’s content. And, when wicked people that you are, the Lord says, know how to give good things to your children, how much more, He goes on to say, your Heavenly Father, loves to give good gifts to you, His child. He so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. And the Son, who laid down His life on the Cross in love, that you and I might live, to rise again on the third day, is now with you, your Shepherd and Guardian, guarding you, leading you every step of the way that you may appropriate all that He has accomplished on the Cross that you may die to what is wrong and live for what is good.
And when with the psalmist, the man after God’s own heart, you too can say that the Lord is your shepherd, He will provide what He knows you need, at the right time, that it may be blessed and beautiful. He will make you lie down, calm you in your stress, and give you rest and peace. He will lead you beside still waters, where your thirst is quenched with ease. He restores your soul in anxious times that you may say, ‘Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you’. And He who overcame death will be with you, in the valley of the shadow of death’. He has prepared a table for you, anointed you that you may be dead to sin and alive to righteousness, and the enemy can no longer overwhelm you. Your cup will truly overflow. And in confident expectation you can respond to say that goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life, for your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives in you forever that you may appropriate all that Christ has accomplished on the Cross to say, ‘It is finished’. Lifting up holy hands unto the Father in thanksgiving and praise for the sacrifice of His Son, who made Himself of no reputation, and humbled Himself to death, even death on the Cross, to be lifted up by God, and given the Name above every other Name, may the Spirit of the Living God, fall on you afresh, fill you anew, that you may be anointed, to be dead to sin, and alive to God, in Christ Jesus. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
