Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant and you are finishing your meal and the server comes to you and you are expecting to receive the check and they come to tell you that someone who was in the restaurant has paid for your meal and you do not owe anything for it?
I remember hearing about a couple that had had given birth to pre-mature twins and they had stay in the hospital a long time and receive pro-longed care. When they finally were able to come home, the couple received the hospital bill and their insurance did not pay for all of it and it left a balance of over a million dollars. They did not know that they were going to do but to trust God and just begin to pay on the bill a little at a time. Later that year, at Christmastime, the couple received a letter from the hospital stating that every year during this time, the hospital board votes and decides to cancel someone’s debt to the hospital. They were letting them know that this time they voted to cancel this couple’s debt and consider it paid in full.
Because of Adam’s sin, we were born into a sin debt that we could never pay. And then on top of that, we all have sinned and missed the mark in our own lives and added to that debt.
Romans 3:23 NKJV (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Because of our sin, we owe a debt to God that we could never pay. We could never be good enough, serve long enough because the penalty for our crime was death.
Romans 5:17-21 | NLT (17) For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (18) Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. (19) Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (20) God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. (21) So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
People are asked, “If you died today, do you believe that you would go to Heaven?” Today, more people than not will say yes, because they believe they are a good person or they do things like go to church.
They are in essence saying, “I deserve to go.”
Romans 3:10 NKJV (10) As it is written: “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE;
But that is why God sent Jesus to the earth: To pay the price for our sin.
Isaiah 44:21-22 NLT (21) “Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget you. (22) I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
Jesus has paid the price in full and there is nothing left to pay.
1 Corinthians 6:20 | NKJV (20) For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Ephesians 2:8-9 | NKJV (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast.
That takes care of one side of this wonderful Gospel – the payment for our sin. But what about the rest of what Jesus bought and paid for?
Psalms 116:12-13 | TPT (12) So now, what can I ever give back to God to repay him for the blessings he’s poured out on me? (13) I will lift up his cup of salvation and praise him extravagantly for all that he’s done for me.
The word “salvation” in the Hebrew and the Greek language is an all encompassing word that is more than just a spiritual experience. It is an all inclusive word that means everything that Jesus bought and paid for.
Here are some things that He did for you and me that we can receive today:
- On the Cross Jesus took your sin, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive His righteousness.
- On the Cross, Jesus took your shame, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could hold your head high in Him.
- On the Cross, Jesus became guilty for you, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could be declared innocent.
- On the Cross, Jesus experienced God turning His back on Him, but God raised Him from the dead so that God would never leave and forsake you.
- On the Cross, Jesus took the disrespect and dishonor of men, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive the honor and respect of God.
- On the Cross, Jesus died in darkness, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could live and walk in the light.
- On the Cross, Jesus gave up His Son-ship and was beaten as a slave, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could become a son of God.
- On the Cross, Jesus died in obscurity, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive meaning and significance.
- On the Cross, Jesus died spiritually, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive a new life spiritually.
- On the Cross, Jesus took your sickness, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive healing.
- On the Cross, Jesus took the curse that was on us, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could receive His blessing.
- On the Cross, Jesus became a nothing for you, but God raised Him from the dead so that you could become everything in Him.
- On the Cross, Jesus died on Friday as an everyday thief, but God raised Him from the dead on Sunday as a King for you.
Acts 13:28-30 | TPT (28) Even though they could come up with no legal grounds for the death sentence, they pleaded with Pilate prophesied they would do. “Then they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. (30) But God raised him from the dead!
You see, the power of the Gospel that we preach rests in the fact that Jesus is no longer dead, but He did rise from the dead and is alive forever.
1 Peter 1:18-21 | TPT (18) For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, (19) but the precious blood of Christ—who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us. (20) This was part of God’s plan, for he was chosen and destined for this before the foundation of the earth was laid, but he has been made manifest in these last days for you. (21) It is through him that you now believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, so that you would fasten your faith and hope in God alone.
Revelation 1:12-18 | NLT (12) When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. (13) And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. (14) His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. (15) His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. (16) He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. (17) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. (18) I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
Our past ends with the Cross. Our new beginning begins with the Resurrection.