It Is Finished

Have you ever heard the cliché. Everyone's entitled to one mistake, the garden of Eden. God says if you eat of this tree you shall surely die.

If you do it twice so I'll give you one because there's no entitlement program here in creation and everybody here is entitled to one mistake will obviously that's not true, were never entitled to sin.

We are so many people today say human rights all going to make our fair share of mistakes, but as we just cc that's not the way God sees it. Welcome to this good Friday of Renewing Your Mind today. Dr. school is going to examine Christ's death on the cross to see why it was necessary and still do just one thing person in mind on this good Friday evening we are going to be looking at the Gospel according to St. John chapter 19 reading verses 23 to 30.

Then the soldiers when they had crucified Jesus took his garments and made four parts to each soldier apart and also the tunic of the tunic was without seeing woven from the top and one piece and they said therefore among themselves. Let us not tear it, but cast lots for its whose it shall be that the scripture might be fulfilled which says they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore, the soldiers did the same mother stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of," said Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, woman, behold, your son and then he said to the disciple, behold your mother and from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said I thirst in the vessel full of sour wine were sitting there and they filled a sponge with Sarwan and put it on his slip and put it to his mouth so when Jesus had received the sour wine he said it is finished and bowing his head. He gave up his spirit. In his earthly ministry. The incarnate Jesus was a man on a mission. But the question we want to look at this evening briefly.

If this why did he have to go on this mission. Why did he have to seek and save those who were lost. Why did he have to give his life as a ransom for many. Even in the liturgy earlier this evening in our affirmation of faith.

We asked the question why did Christ have to go all the way to death. Remember the reply that we read together because God's justice and truth demand. It they require it. Only the death of God's son could pay for our sin. So there in that brief statement we get the clue to the reason for the mission.

The reason why it was necessary for him to die. It was necessary because of sin.

What is the big deal about sin, how are we to understand sin and there are many ways to look at the reality and the power of sin, then the give definition to it this evening. I would like to look at three basic foundational aspects of sin. Three ways in which the Scriptures describe sin. The first way that the Bible speaks about sin is as a debt we all understand what a monetary debt involves a debt is where we are all waiting money for something for which we have not yet paid. But when the Scripture speaks of our debt with respect to sin. It's not talking about money. It's not a monetary debt. It's a moral debt and where does that debt come from it comes from our standing before God, as he is our Creator and has our creator God is sovereign and he has inherently intrinsically immutably the right to impose obligations upon his creatures, and when somebody comes to you and says what you want to do this for you to do that sometimes our responses who said so why do we have to do this or why do we have to do that well. Parents will say because I said so, that's not always sufficient as it, and ultimately when God imposes an obligation that obligation can never be excused until it is fulfilled, and this is why the Bible speaks to us in terms of sin as a moral obligation imposed upon us when God says thou shalt worry, says thou shalt not, when God Almighty says I may or may not do something. I am now obligated to obey his commandment. When we sin, we fail to fulfill our obligation to God when we fail to do that in a monetary way in this world we are subject to lawsuits or foreclosures, and there is a sense in which ultimately if we don't have our debt paid morally by God, he will foreclose on that debt, and that's one foreclosure.

We never ever want to experience and so the Bible describes us as debtors to God, but the bad news is the Scriptures go on to say were debtors who can't pay our tents, so the first way the Bible speaks about sin is in terms of moral indebtedness for which we have no possible way of settling that debt, you know, you hear the cliché. Everybody's entitled to one mistake where that come from the garden of Eden. God says if you eat of this tree you shall surely die. If you do it twice so I'll give you one because there's no entitlement program here in creation and everybody here is entitled to one mistake will obviously that's not true, were never entitled to sin ever. But even if we were entitled to one mistake, how long ago did you use your entitlement up. You spent that entitlement many times ever since you got out of your bed this morning, we are debtors who cannot pay our debts. But here's the myth that abides in our culture all yes I know I have failed to pay my debt.

I haven't done everything that God has told me to do and require me to do.

I try to live a good life and try to make up for. But if God calls you to perfection to perfect holiness, which he does you sin once what you do to make up for it is nobody in this room who has the ability to atone for his or her own sin were debtors who cannot pay our debts. Secondly, the Bible speaks of sin.

In terms of enmity, and here's where it gets very mottled.

I'm afraid I'm sure that most of you are aware that the Scripture say that by nature. We are at enmity with God, that is, rather than willingly serve him obey him and worship him our natural inclination is to despise him. We don't want him in our thinking. We don't want him in our lives we flee from him, as we flee from our debts, and so the Scriptures tell us we need to be reconciled because by nature were estranged from God because of enmity is our enemy on our friend. Now that's describing our posture towards him. But on the other side.

What is his foster toward us will. Here's where the mythology comes in the mythology that pervasive in the culture and sadly even in the church is that even though were at enmity with God. God still loves us even though we are estranged from him. He's not estranged from us.

After all, the Bible says God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life that is truly did love the world that much that he sent his son on this motion to save sinners sinners from home.

God is a strange it's not only that, he is our enemy, but in our natural state, dear friends, we are his enemies. We declared war against him, and he has declared war against us.

And there's no way we can win that war. Yes, God loves everybody. In one sense of his benevolence and his beneficence not in the filial sense, not only redemptive sense. The Scripture makes it clear that when we remain impenitent God up or recess whole will believe anybody ever goes to hell. God would send anybody to hell.

God may hate the sin but he loves the sinner, but is not the sin he sends to hell. It's the sinner from home. He's a strange unless that center is reconciled to God, he will everlastingly live under the burden of enmity and estrangement from God. I know what I just said to you is something that the vast majority of the people in this world and the vast majority of the people of the church don't really believe that's what the Bible teaches. And that's what the truth is, finally, the third way in which the Bible speaks of sin is in terms of guilt legal trespass you know what the confession says we teach our little kids. What is sin. Sin is any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God. When we break the laws of men.

The laws of our society are subject to arrest and prosecution were brought before the bar of justice and weight seek to have a defense attorney who will stand up for us try to explain away our guilty this and I talk to people all the time no talk to them about their guilt will say why don't feel guilty possible if you don't feel guilty. That's a shame because that's like not feeling pain when you're sick, because the pain is a signal to you that something is seriously wrong with your body and if you don't feel the weight of guilt in your life. That's a shame because you're not getting the signal that there is something seriously wrong with your soul.

And can you imagine a defendant giving this defense, Your Honor, I can't be guilty of this crime because I don't feel guilty but criminal trials in our nations legal system are not about feeling. But the question is was the law broken because of the law is broken, your guilty, whether you feel guilty or don't feel guilty, you may hate the law. You might disagree with the law, but in terms of the law. If you violated you've incurred guilt and ultimately this is our standing before God when we break his law. We incurred guilt will Jesus had a mission to deal with the debt to deal with the estrangement and to deal with the guilt. All of that was laid upon him.

That was the mission that the father gave him in eternity, the sun had to come and pay the debt that we couldn't pay.

He had to fulfill the moral obligation that we didn't fulfill. That's why he had to live a life of perfect obedience to qualify for giving this perfect sacrifice of the father. He came paying the price that was required of those for whom he died. He came to take upon himself the fullness of the wrath of the father that on the cross, the father would forsake him and regard him as an enemy because he stood in my place and I was his enemy. So the son of God became the enemy of God and God for soaking.

Is it any wonder that he sweat beads of blood in December.

The same father. Let this cup pass from me must I become your enemy. Must I take all the hostility of Adam's fall and raced toward you on me, and subject myself to your just and holy reprisals that the estrangement may pass and that my people can be reconciled to you, you realize that when Jesus was on the cross and the father saw this hideous bundle of sin, he was indignant. Finally, the guilt required a just punishment, justice had to be satisfied and that's why the fathers referred principally to the atoning work of Christ is a work of satisfying the justice and the righteousness of God because God is not like us.

He doesn't wink at sin. God doesn't look at our sin of several boys will be boys and girls are bigger none. The first thing we have to learn about God is that he's holy and a holy God never winks at sin. He never negotiates his own righteousness if we are to have any kind of saving relationship with God. His righteousness must be satisfied.

His holiness must be satisfied. That's why he demands a perfect sacrifice which only one could give was only one lamb without blemish and it was his mission to satisfy the justice of God that our sin may be remitted that is sent away.

He spent his whole life preparing for that moment. Finally it came when he went to the cross. We read in verse 30 so when Jesus had received the sour wine he said to tell us by in Greek consummated him asked in Latin that tell us thy the perfect sense of the verb, it is finished its language borrowed from the commercial world were somebody's playing time payments. Time after time after time and finally makes the last payment in the receipt is stamped paid in full. That's a language he uses from the cross. His work of redemption has reached the point of consummation, and he knows it. The mission is all over its finished. No church, no person can add anything to what was consummated in that our I can add anything but thanks be to God. I can't subtract anything from it either because it's all the things in the Old Testament were only shadows of this reality that was to come. The bulls and blood and goats could not take away sin could not pay the debt could not placate the wrath of God. Only this sacrifice by the Lamb of God can take away your sin. That's what he did for all who put their trust in him the debt has been paid once and for all the estrangement is gone. Now we have peace with God. The guilt is been satisfy, and our sin is remove. No wonder then that the darkest hour in human history is called good Friday that's Dr. RC Sproul, preaching a good Friday sermon at St. Andrews Chapel where he served as co-pastor for many years is our tradition at St. Andrews Chapel that that after every good Friday sermon that there is no benediction, no music, no postlude. The congregation simply walks out of the church in silence.

It is a powerful moment, we thank you for joining us for this special edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm Lee Webb Dr. Spruill preach verse by verse through many books of the Bible.

Over the years.

One of them was the gospel of Luke. We collated those sermons into a hardback volume that we like to send you today for your donation of any about this is an online offer only. So make your request when you go to Renewing Your Mind.words you know and we see clearly what good Friday is about.

We can't help but rejoice at the overwhelming significance of the gospel reminded that the phrase Christ died for sinners is the best news we could ever hear. Thank you for being with this special edition of Renewing Your Mind and we hope you'll join us again Monday is when you are teaching fellow, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson boxes through the basics of the Christian life and like Stephen must show us the doctrines of grace in the gospel of John, beginning Monday here on Renewing Your Mind