The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Obedience in the midst of suffering & sacrifice

Hello Pilgrim,

There is an important and fundamental question that needs to be asked: How does the death of our Lord result in our salvation?

Perhaps the most popular answer to this question is that man is a sinner and that God has to punish the sinner in order to maintain His righteousness. But instead of punishing the sinner, He punishes Jesus Christ as a substitute and therefore the sinner does not have to endure the penalty of his sin and get's to go free. For the typical Christian, this would be his only understanding of the cross.

There are a couple of things the scriptures repeatedly emphasize:

1) The cross(as well as His entire life) was a demonstration of His worthines: sinless, faithfullness, obedience, humility, etc. Trials and sufferings are a test of the individual, and Jesus Christ was true, faithful, obedient, etc. no matter what sufferings He had to endure, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice.

2) The Father delights in His obedient Son. The Son's perfect faithfulness and obedience in the context of such great personal sacrifice is as it were a delightful fragrance to the Father.

3) The Father exalts the Son, rewarding Him with a kingdom, all power in heaven and on earth, the inheritance of all, etc.

4) The Son uses His power and authority to save, redeem, abolish all rule and authority, subject His enemies, etc.

An example of this would be Joseph. The "cross" that Joseph had to bear was being sold into slavery, falsely accused, and cast into prison. In all of his trials and sufferings, Joseph remained faithful and true. Both his master, and the prison administrator saw in Joseph someone who was faithful and true and who could be entrusted with power and authority: a very worthy man, indeed. Joseph is then exalted to Pharoah's right hand and uses the power and authority given to him to save Egypt from famine/death and buy all of Egypt for Pharoah.

Jesus Christ died for our sins. He died for our sakes. But His death alone doesn't solve our sin problem.(1Cor 15:18) A dead savior cannot save anyone. His resurrection, glorification, exaltation, and rule and reign is essential also.