Unfinished Work
Christ finished His saving work on the cross once for all, and we who are blood-bought rejoice evermore in this finished work – but Christ has an unfinished work that is ongoing today.
It is Finished..” But we must not forget that there is an ongoing work in the world today “Christ in you – Christ working through you”
For the one who has placed their trust in Jesus for salvation, and rested their eternal destiny on His finished work at Calvary, the Bible is the divine authority, upon which our lives should be founded.
But for those who have broken free from the bondage of man-made rules, and trust in Christ’s finished work alone, discover the Bible to be their sole Source of divine authority and the singular sufficiency for every aspect of their Christian life.
Preordained Acceptance
But God preordained that all who believe in Jesus are fully accepted in His beloved Son. The peace and love and acceptance of God is only through His beloved Son. Without assurance of this precious fact, many live a life of daily dissatisfaction. Without confidence in His Word, many spend their years in constant mistrust. If the failing beauty of a wife doesn’t influence the ardour of a devoted husband, how much more God’s never-failing acceptance is of the believer in Christ. God’s acceptance of you and His acceptance of me is based on one thing – the finished work of the Lord Jesus, on Calvary’s cross: being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is unchanged and the unchangeable God forever. His acceptance of you and of me rests on the finished work, accomplished by Christ.
We are free, by the finished work of the Cross, from the domination of the man who is now so repugnant to us, and we discover with untold delight that the One who so attracted our hearts is our very life. -C.A.C.
Finished Work
Yet we have an assurance, from Scripture, that our salvation in Christ, is secure.
Security in our salvation is locked into Christ’s finished work – in time and eternity.
Devastating Doubts
Assurance and eternal security is probably the most comforting doctrine for believers, for our security rests in Christ’s finished work, and to doubt it can be devastating.
To add anything to the finished work of Christ is to say His death was insufficient.
To add anything to Christ’s sacrifice is to deny His triumphant cry – it is finished.
The Father is Satisfied
To suggest that believers can add anything to Christ’s finished work is blasphemy.
Christ’s finished work satisfied the Father – it is an impertinence to suggest otherwise.
The modern teaching adds repentance as a work – as an extra requirement – as an addition that has to be added to the finished work of the cross – if man is to be saved, which would require a sinner to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ AND also repent.
Finished Work
When anything other than believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is added to the finished work of the cross, it means that Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary was insufficient – and the only way to resolve this issue is to apply the correct meaning to the word – repent. Remember – the correct meaning ‘repent’ – is to ‘change…’ We must not use the incorrect meaning of the word’ repent’, which is often taught as going through a process of listing all our sins – as an addition to believing on Christ.
Spiritual Victory
Yet unbeknown to Job and evil’s cruel plan – Christ’s It Is Finished cry, would pierce the far reaches of creation’s extremity. A plan conceived in eternity past.
But when anything is added to the finished work of Christ it threatens our purity. We are complete in Him and purified in Him but all additions introduce a pollutant.
As the finished work of the Cross is applied to the life by the Holy Spirit, thereby progressively holding the old man in the position of death, the believer is conditioned for the Spirit's fulness.
Positionally, in the finished work of the Cross and resurrection, we have been cut off from the old man through death, and have been born into the new Man by the new birth.
Experientially, day by day, our part is to choose against the old (put off) in favor of the new (put on), thus allowing the Holy Spirit freedom to apply the finished work of the Cross (Rom. 6:11).
The wondrous depths of the finished work of the Cross will always be adequate to deal with the terrible depths of the unfinished work of the old man.
There are always remaining, however much we have advanced, hidden strongholds of the old man which must be rendered inoperative by the finished work of the Cross. -F.J.H.
We are to rest in His finished work - both for birth and for growth.We are not to overcome the lusts of the flesh in order that we may walk in the Spirit.
Easter Reflections - STUDY
6th word from the cross
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished': (Telelestai)” and He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished (Telelestai).
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and was identified as the chosen Lamb of God. He hung on a tree with His hands and feet pierced, and He cried, “It is finished”. His garments were divided among the soldiers and they cast lots for His clothes.
God breaks the heads of Leviathan – that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan – which deceiveth the whole world.. I will break the pride of your power – and – Jesus said… It is Finished…Ps.74:14 Rev.12:9 Lev.26:19 John 19:30
Legalism and seeking to merit God’s favour by producing good works in ones own flesh is an impossibility for God is only pleased with one thing – the finished work of Christ, and that is apprehended by believers who live the grace-faith-promise way.
Resting in Christ
Let us not be like the Galatians who deliberately put themselves back under the condemnation, by trying to please God in their own strength instead of resting in the liberty of Christ’s finished work – He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law on our behalf through His sacrifice.
First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.
to as many as received HIM, to them was given the power to become sons of God – even to them that BELIEVE in His name – and trust in His finished work.
It is Finished
This is not a future hope... although it’s final manifestation is indeed future. It is a completed and finished fact in your life and in mine – as a child of God. Just as Christ defeated death and Satan, as once and for all he cried, It Is Finished… so these truths are accomplished and finished in your life and in mine.
It is a DONE DEAL;It's an ENDED EVENT;It's a FINISHED FACT;It's a CONCLUDED CERTAINTY;IT IS FINISHED
After the believer enters into life by faith, he wonders why it was so difficult for him to see that it was all of grace - the humble reception of a finished work.
And yet he goes through the faithless struggle once again before he sees that his daily Christian life is also a finished work - complete in Christ.
You are complete in Him, Who Himself is perfect There is nothing anyone of us can do to make ourselves perfect, for He has done it all – and it is finished.
One may have a measure of relief and the assurance of eternal security because we trust the shed Blood and His finished work on the Cross, but when we come to divine favor and the reality of the Christian life, that is all connected with a Person, and inseparable from that Person. -C.A.C.
Finished Work
If you have even one doubt about the provision of God, you are in this category. If you have a question-mark over the promises of God, this applies to you, too. If you doubt God’s love or question your security in Christ, you deny His cross.. for these are wrong perceptions of Christ’s finished work on the Cross – this is an incorrect understanding of all God’s attributes – His justice and love.
If you can run over in your mind and find one single blessing with which God might bless us today, with which He has not already blessed us, then what He told Paul is not true at all, because He said, God hath....' It is all done, It is finished.' God hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies!
There are three vital factors that will keep us on the path, and in the power, of spiritual growth: (1) study to know that God's purpose in saving us is to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28, 29); (2) learn to reckon upon the finished work of the Cross as His provision for that purpose (Rom. 6:11); (3) yield to the Holy Spirit as He carries out the daily process of that purpose (2 Cor. 4:11).
Any time there is effort involved in the matter of resisting sin, we can be sure that we are depending to some extent upon the flesh, instead of resting in the finished work of the Cross.
To a large extent, we will be pawns of the devil until we stand on the specific facts of the Bible and assert, I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and am a new creation in Him on the basis of the finished work of Calvary.
For Their Sakes
In the case of John 15:13 our thoughts immediately fly to the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross, uttering the words: “it is finished“, so that we might live.
Multifaceted Legalism
Legalism is a chameleon that appears in many shapes and sizes – colours and hues. It imposes man-made requirements on the finished work of Christ.
We stick to our 'rag-rights' (our own self-righteousness), until by God’s engineering of our circumstances... all self-righteousness is blown away from us and we are left with nothing, and we become abject paupers and finally say:- 'It is all up – it is finished'. And then He moves.
We are to depend on His finished work as sufficient to reunite us with a holy God.
This is the good news of the gospel of grace which centres on Christ’s finished work on the cross – and the fact that He rose from the dead to accomplish our full salvation.
And despite the mess, we make of our lives, as did the first Adam, God’s original purpose will be completed in Christ Jesus, Who is the second Adam. It is finished
Deep Darkness
His eternal existence was rudely interrupted with His birth into a race of fallen men. The glory He shared with God was set aside, for a time – as He tabernacled on earth. The glorious relationship with His Father was temporarily terminated for 3 dreadful hours of deep darkness, as He paid for your sin and mine so He could cry – IT IS FINISHED.
Only Way
It all centres around believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, for apart from Calvary there is no forgiveness of sin – no salvation – no heaven. Man’s assumption is inevitably that I must win my way to heaven by my good deeds. God’s criteria is believe on the finished work of Christ crucified – and nothing else. The one point men seem to forget is that we are all sinners and estranged from God. Sin is the one thing that separates man from God.
God is faithful - and not only has he already delivered us from the consequences of sin and eternal separation from Himself, by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross..
What glorious grace it is to know that the forgiveness of our sins does not have to rest on our own merit or good works, but is secured on Christ's finished work on the Cross for His name's sake.
They are a new creation in Christ, and they have been called and chosen to be His sons and daughters simply because they believe on the only begotten Son of God and the finished work of salvation that was carried out by Him, on Calvary's Cross.
If there was any other way to be declared righteous before God and receive forgiveness of our sin, other than through the finished work of Christ - then His sacrifice was not sufficient!
But by a simple act of faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary, we have been lifted out of this shocking state of eternal slavery and transferred into Christ's glorious kingdom of everlasting light and life - the kingdom of God's only beloved Son.
It is not God's will that any should perish but that all should come to a faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary, and so God planned and purposed to give His one and only begotten Son to become the one and only Saviour to a world of lost sinners, and ordained that the one and only way to be saved was by grace through faith in HIM.
Their salvation is by grace through faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross, and forgiveness of sins and eternal life are two of many heavenly benefits that every sinner receives by grace through faith in the only begotten Son of God.
It is faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead that saves mankind from their sin.
How shocking that so many legalists do not consider that Christ's sacrificial death was sufficient - and insist that we have to add our own works to His finished work on the Cross.
and we look to the Lord Jesus as our blessed hope, Who will return one day to take those who have trusted in His finished work at Calvary to be with Himself forever.
But reconciliation can only be accessed by faith in His finished work.
It is not faith in faith, but faith in the finished work of Christ.
It is not faith in faith that saves us, but faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary's Cross.
Being reconciled to God does not depend on what we do but rests entirely on what Christ has already done, and by simply trusting that His finished work on the Cross has paid the full price for our sin, we are reconciled back to God; we have peace with Him and are regarded as blameless in His sight.
When legalism is adopted as a requirement for righteousness, the glorious gospel of Christ Who is our righteousness, is abandoned. When circumcision is insisted upon as necessary for salvation, the gospel of grace is nullified, for works of the Law have been added to Christ's finished work of Grace on the Cross.
God testified to pre-Cross Israel as well as to the post-Cross Church in every way possible to bring us to faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary, for it is not His will that any should perish but that all come to faith in Him.
The gracious gift of hope is secured on the unchangeable and unconditional love of God, which He poured into our hearts by His Spirit, when we first trusted Christ's finished work on Calvary.
God in the Person of Jesus Christ came to earth and was born into His own creation so that all who believe in His finished work on Calvary's cross, for the forgiveness of sin might be forgiven - and have eternal life.
Eternal life and inheriting the kingdom is a human impossibility, but with God, it is not only possible, but a free gift of God's grace, which is generously bestowed on all who believe in Christ's finished work on Calvary's cross.
It was one act of disobedience that placed us under God's eternal condemnation, and one act of willing obedience, that brought justification of life to all men - and it is received simply by faith in the finished work of Christ.
An attitude of tranquillity should be part of a normal Christian life, for we receive peace with God when we are justified by faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary, and we have ongoing access to the peace of God when we remain in fellowship with Him - in purity of heart - in the unity of the spirit.
His inspired words continue to glorify our Father in heaven as he spoke of Christ's advent and finished work of redemption which was accomplished at Calvary, and will be completed in the future.
Paul recognised Israel's zeal for the Lord and yet also pointed out that they based their righteousness on 'doing' the works of the Law rather that 'believing' in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Paul described the Man Whom God had appointed to judge the world, but he did not mention the name of Jesus Who died to pay the penalty for sin and Who would save them by grace through faith in His finished work at Calvary.
We are to be covered in His truth, covered in His righteousness, and rest in His peace and His salvation which is ours by grace alone through faith alone in His finished work alone.
Salvation is not dependent on any type of legalistic practices, but on grace alone by faith alone in Christ's finished work alone.
But sadly today, many religions denominations, Jewish practices, and other works of the flesh are being added to the glorious gospel of Christ and His finished work on Calvary by certain legalistic groups as a necessary requirement for salvation.
Man is free to choose to accept Christ as Saviour and believe in His finished work at Calvary... but man is equally given the choice to reject His free gift of grace and unconditional love.
The Lord Jesus effected reconciliation through His death on the Cross when He shed His human lifeblood for us, and NOTHING can be added to His finished work of reconciliation.
NONE of the religious rules and regulations, appealing philosophies, human commands, Jewish procedures, or aesthetic practices, however appealing, can be added to Christ's finished work; for they are nothing more than human commands and doctrines, and irrelevant to our salvation.
But in order that ALL Scripture might be fulfilled and not one jot or tittle of the Law or the prophets be overlooked, Jesus said, I THIRST.Though higher critics delight to scrutinise biblical passages in an attempt to spiritualise the Word or discover some small place of discrepancy, while other foolish and liberal-minded men attempt to discover some scriptural contradiction in order to discredit the Word God and His Christ, we can stand firm on Christ's finished Work, for He is the end of the Law and the fulfilment of all prophecy, in order to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.Christ completed every prophetic utterance and the righteous requirement of the Law, and His death for you and for me paid the full price.
Or, these vicious people would try to introduce legalistic rules together with a works-based gospel, denying Christ's sacrifice on the Cross and contradicting Christ's finished work on Calvary as the one and only way to be saved.
They (pre-Cross Old Covenant saints) looked forward to the coming Saviour and the Cross, while we (post-Cross New Covenant saints) look back to the finished work of Jesus Christ, the living, risen, ascended, and glorified Word of God.
We were placed into the Body of Christ the moment that, by faith, we trusted Jesus for salvation... and all who would one day come to place their trust in His finished work at Calvary were crucified with Christ.
The only way we fallen sinners can purify ourselves and be declared righteous, is to fix our hope on Christ by faith in His finished work on our behalf.
James did not sugarcoat the gospel of God, nor did he pull his punches when teaching the truth... because he knew the serious and eternal consequences of rejecting the gospel of grace, or of feigning faith in Christ's finished work.
After praying that He will glorify the Father through His finished work on Calvary, Jesus intercedes for His disciples, whom the Father gave Him out of this world, for these men were to be God's chosen instruments.
Although he started his Christian life by grace through faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross, Peter reintroduced certain aspects of the Law into his Christian walk.
Christ died for us, not as an example of what we should do, but as a demonstration of God's unconditional love for us. There is no other way to gain salvation but through faith in Christ. We must never forget that our whole salvation - body, soul, and spirit - our justification, sanctification, and glorification ALL rely on Christ's finished work.
Christ's finished work on the Cross was declared to be sufficient by the Father, and the final triumphant cry, IT IS FINISHED, was announced by the Lord Jesus Himself before He gave up His spirit into the safe-keeping of the Father.
How sad that having heard and believed the saving message of the Cross and that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ's finished work alone, as written in the Scriptures, that many today follow this same pattern or reverting to legalism or seek to impose the restrictions of the Law on their brothers and sisters in Christ.
He would find out that all that needed to happen was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be spiritually born from above - for as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the perfect Son of Man (the eternal Son of God) be lifted up so that Nicodemus, together with all who trust in Christ's finished work at Calvary, might be saved.
Although this appears to suggest that our eternal salvation depends on US holding fast to the end, this cannot be the case or Christ's finished work on the Cross would be insufficient, and our salvation would depend on US holding fast to the end.
And by virtue of His finished work and unchanging Word, we are fully persuaded that we are accepted in the Beloved and that God Who started a good work in us, will complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.
In their desire to defend the truth of the saving message of salvation (by grace alone through faith alone in Christ's finished work alone - as recorded in the Scriptures alone), these enthusiastic legalists add a wide range of works to this God-breathed message of the Cross.
It identifies those who have trusted in Christ's finished work on the Cross for salvation, as the blessed benefactors of His amazing gifts and graces, and it lays many foundational principles for the Church and its unique role in God's eternal plan.
But if anything is added to Christ's finished work on the Cross, or if anything is omitted from the full, final, and finished substitutionary work at Calvary, it renders Christ sacrifice of Himself as both redundant and irrelevant.
There is nothing that needs to be added to Christ's finished work on the Cross, and there is nothing we can do to make our salvation more secure than it already is - for in Christ we are saved as a free gift of grace, by believing: Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone, for there is no other way to the Father, except through the SON Who gave His life as a ransom for all who would believe in Him.
It is by God's grace that the Father gave His only begotten Son to pay the ransom price for our sin, and it is by faith in His finished work on Calvary's Cross, that salvation (the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting) becomes our eternal possession.
It is only those that have entered into a relationship with the Lord through faith in His finished work who can be truly wise and participate in all the blessings that accompany godly wisdom.
The Galatian Christians were being urged, by Jewish legalists, to add works of the Mosaic Law to Christ's finished work on the Cross as a necessary requirement for their salvation.
Now, as then, any form of legalist work that is insisted upon as being a necessary addition to God's free gift of salvation by faith alone in Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection, is strongly to be rejected, and Paul spends two whole chapters in this book of Galatians using the strongest possible language in defence of justification by faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross alone.
While it is true that through the Law comes the knowledge of sin, it is faith in Christ's finished work alone that justifies the sinner.
Faith in Christ's finished work alone causes sinners to be made right with God.
And through the teaching of the apostle Paul, God demands that we too recognise that salvation is His free gift of grace to all who will trust in Christ's finished work at Calvary.
Despite Israel's rejection of their Messiah-King, Paul is giving full assurance that God's gracious offer of salvation by grace through faith in Christ finished work, is wide open to both Jew and Gentiles alike and he gave the assurance to both Israel and the nations: If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
But thanks be to God that we have a Saviour Whose own perfect life and sacrificial death broke the power that the Law had over our old sin nature, by grace through faith. Faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary alone can break that binding contract between the sinner and the Law.
The question continues to rage and appears to contradict Paul's teaching that we are not justified by works, but by faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
Thank God that He loved us so much that He sent Jesus to be our Redeemer, and thank God that He has chosen us for salvation simply because we trusted in Christ's finished work on our behalf.
From the early days of Christianity until the days in which we now live, there have always been attacks on the Person of Christ and His finished work on the Cross.
Because we simply believed in this finished work, we were catapulted into the family of God and His eternal kingdom, clothed in His righteousness, made to sit in heavenly places, and given an inheritance eternally secured in heaven for us.
He was there when Christ shouted, “It is finished!' and he was one who witnessed the empty tomb - The apostle John was also among those present when the resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room and proclaimed: it is I be not afraid.
This is a non-negotiable, scriptural fact, and knowing God and trusting in the finished work of the true historical, scriptural Jesus Christ is life - eternal life - everlasting life - abundant life, for the Lord Jesus ALONE is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
From the beginning Scripture spoke of God's redemptive plan for mankind, which could only be achieved in and through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Although Christ's finished work at Calvary accomplished all that was required to complete God's redemptive plan for mankind..
The price of sin paid in full. 'It is finished' and He did it on our account. Because we are already saved, we are to be removed in the Rapture before this terrible time, and we will be with the Lord, forever.
Christ overcame the world, the flesh, the devil, and death itself at Calvary, on behalf of all who trust in His name when He cried out in triumph: It is finished.
And although Satan remains forever a defeated enemy in the life of all who trust in His finished work on Calvary, that evil and malicious serpentine enemy, who is called the devil and Satan, will continue his aggressive onslaught against all who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb.
He further highlights the problem of Legalism, which insists that good works are added as an additional requirement for salvation, rather than recognising that Christ's finished work at Calvary is sufficient.
He denounces Asceticism and severe self-discipline as a means of gaining God's favour, rather than salvation being a free gift of God's grace by faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus.
Having outlined the frailty of man's flesh and the mysterious glory of Christ's cross, Paul reaches his climactic conclusion, that anyone, who is in union with Christ, by believing His finished work on Calvary paid the price for their sins, has been made a new creation.
It is a mystery that was planned in eternity past, a mystery that came to fruition when we trusted in Christ's finished work at Calvary, a mystery that caused heaven to rejoice and hell to tremble.
John also records: It is finished, that great cry of victory when Satan, sin, death, and hell had been forever defeated, after Jesus had endured 3 hours of the most intense physical suffering, followed by three more hours of the most terrifying time, when He underwent spiritual separation from His Father and the Holy Spirit (i.e.
We recognise much in the old order; the Mosaic Law, the Tabernacle, the sacrifices, the feasts, and the priesthood, as typifying Christ and pointing us to the Person, the ministry, and the finished work of Lord Jesus, which is vastly superior to anything that has gone before.
Having been given a breathtaking description of our privileged position in Christ and the astonishing benefits of trusting His finished work on the Cross for our salvation, Paul outlines the importance of being spirit-filled and walking in holiness.
It is only through His sacrifice on the Cross, faith in His finished work, and humble submission to His authority in our lives, that we will become established in the faith and overcome the perils of the flesh.
As we look back to the consummation of God's greatest gift of love in our lives - Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross, we see that Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Saviour of the world and only begotten Son of God is our own perfect Kinsman Redeemer, and like Ruth, we are to look forward to the coming of our promised Kinsman-Redeemer as we sit quietly and wait.
Although a fleshly Christian life and a legalistic leaning does not necessarily mean gross indulgence in sexual immorality and other unseemly practices, it does mean that our actions are in opposition to the will of God for our life - for the appetites of the flesh are not necessarily sinful, but they do refer to any works of the flesh that emanate from the old sin nature (our fleshly heritage before we were born-again) rather than the new-life-in-Christ which we received as a result of our faith in His finished work on the Cross.
Whether opposition to the gospel comes from moralists, religionists, Judaisers, legalists, or any other opposing body, all resistance to God's Word is designed to diminish the Person of Christ and His finished Work on the Cross, for salvation.
Yet the gospel of grace is so unfathomable that it staggers the minds of men and angels - that God should send His only begotten Son to die for the sin of a world, at enmity with Himself - so that all who believe in His finished work at Calvary's Cross would be saved, and become be His adoptive sons, and heirs of His kingdom.
Man can add nothing to Christ's finished work and not one of us can do anything to merit God's favour.
Salvation is by faith alone in Christ's finished work ALONE. Fallen man can do nothing to make himself more acceptable to God and there is nothing that fallen man can offer to add to Christ's finished work on the cross..
All who believe in Christ's finished work at Calvary shall be saved.
But there is only ONE way to be saved, there is only one way to gain forgiveness of sin, there is only one way to receive life everlasting, and that is by faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross.
And for all who have trusted in His finished work at Calvary: We have been made kings and priests to His God and Father, to Whom be all glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.
However, Paul takes pains to remind us all of an unchanging truth: Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord - let him who glories, glory only in the finished work of Christ.
How foolish to revel in the ungodly wisdom of the world when Christ's finished work at Calvary is all we need to live godly in Christ Jesus.
Whether talking about our spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ by faith, or our water baptism as the outward sign of our trust in Christ's finished work as Saviour - we can say, with all other members of the Body of Christ, I have been crucified with Christ and buried with Him in baptism, through faith in God.
Paul knows that rejoicing in the Lord is a defence against doctrines of demons, and a safeguard that exposes legalistic practices and the abhorrent false spirituality that is flooding the Church today, which denies the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
It was God's plan from eternity past that the Lord Jesus would cancel the record of the charges against us and take it away by nailing it to the Cross, and for those who believe in His name, it is FINISHED.
Just as Christians today look back to Christ's finished work and are saved by faith in Him, so pre-cross believers looked forward to the coming Messiah, and their faith was credited as righteousness - they were saved by grace, through faith in the coming Lord Jesus Christ.
Everyone who is saved by grace through faith in Christ's finished work is given power from on high to live a victorious life.
Peter knew that the Christian life begins with precious faith in the finished work of Christ and continues with maturing faith, as it is implemented day by day throughout our earthly walk.
As those who have been saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, how easy it is for us to be critical of Israel's ongoing rebellion and apostasy.
Christ's finished work on the Cross, paid the full price for our sins and has already been fully accepted on our behalf by our Heavenly Father: For there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
This verse has caused many Christians to question whether Christ's finished work on the Cross is sufficiently powerful to keep them saved.
But Paul reminds us at the start of chapter 2, of what we once were before we were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, forgiven of our sins, born from above, baptised into the Body of Christ, and made children of God through our position in Christ, as a result of His finished work at Calvary.
It is on the basis of Christ's finished work on the Cross that mankind has been redeemed so that all who believe on His name are forgiven, justified, sanctified, and glorified IN Christ our federal Head, and made one with Him.
We who have trusted Christ on the Resurrection side of Calvary, have been brought into God's family by grace through faith in Christ's finished work and are now children of God, through Christ.
This grace of God is so abounding and precious that there are neither words sufficient to describe, nor songs sufficient to sing of His amazing love and the gracious gift that has been poured into our hearts, through the finished work of our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.
He redeemed us from the curse of the Law, and secured redemption and the forgiveness of sin, for all who would trust in His finished work at Calvary for the salvation of their soul.
For this is the work of God as well as the command of God to all who are dead in their trespasses and sins: Believe in Him Whom He has sent, believe in Christ's finished work for the forgiveness sins and life everlasting.
Our salvation depends entirely on Christ’s worthiness, and the work that He carried out on Calvary’s Cross, when He offered up His sinless life to pay the price for our sin, freeing us from the guilt of sin and the penalty of sin – and breaking the suffocating power of sin in our lives.And all that humanity has to do to receive this eternal gift of salvation is to believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father.
Faith in Him and His finished work on the Cross is ALL that is needed, and whosoever will, may access this free gift of salvation by grace.
Salvation is the amazing gift of God’s grace, and does not have anything to do with us. All that is required of you and me is to believe – believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.Those of us who believe this by faith are justified, saved, redeemed, declared righteous, positioned in Christ, clothed in His righteousness, in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit, and have been given a whole host of other supernatural and eternal benefits, simply by believing on the finished work of Christ at Calvary, for He died for our sin according to the Scriptures, was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.
Christ's finished work at Calvary not only disarmed the rulers, authorities, principalities, and powers, but God placed Him in the position of ultimate authority and universal control and put all things in subjection under His feet.
And when the price for sin had been fully paid He cried, it is finished, and, gave up the ghost. For three days and three nights, Christ's body lay cold in the grave while His soul remained in the bowels of the earth.
There is nothing man can do to add to Christ's finished work for He paid the price of all our sins - in full.
We too and saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ - according as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Where then is boasting?
No wonder we are urged by the writer to the Hebrews to HOLD FAST to our confession, to keep a firm grip on our trust in Christ's finished Work, to believe all God has said through His Word, to unreservedly remain firm to His Truth, and to boldly approach the throne of grace.
Christ's finished work on the Cross gave every member of the human race the opportunity to be bought back, from the slave-market of sin and Satan, and to become free to live the rest of our life as Christ's bond-servant - through faith.
We cannot be saved by our own effort, and we cannot do anything to add to Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross, for the sacrificial offering of Himself on the Cross for our salvation was all-sufficient in the eyes of God - and it is finished.
Salvation is a finished work for all those who are 'in-Christ'.
But when my imperfections are compared with Christ's perfect life, then I realise what a wretched man I am trying to keep God's impossible law when, as a result of Christ's finished work on the Cross, I have been clothed in Christ's perfection – by grace.
He marvels at the rapidity with which they turned from the glorious gospel of God's grace: By faith alone in Christ's finished work at Calvary, to a different gospel which was not an optional alternative, but a totally false gospel.
It is given freely by faith in the finished work of Christ Who bore our sin alone, carries our burden freely, and keeps calling us: Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
The curtain in the Jewish Temple, which represented the separation of incurably sinful man from eternally Perfect God, was torn from the top to the bottom, ripped asunder from heaven to the earth, demonstrating that the finished work of Christ Jesus was accepted and sufficient.
God is not only faithful to keep the wonderful promise that He made to unfaithful Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, but he adds in the letter to the Hebrews: I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more, for where there is the remission of sins, there is no longer any offering to be made for those sins - for it is finished.
Because Christ paid the full price for all sin on Calvary's Cross and the Father accepted Christ's offering for sin, it is finished for all who have trusted in His redeeming work on the Cross.
IT IS FINISHED, through time and into eternity.
It is finished.
Christ's finished work on Calvary is sufficient and secure for all who trust in Christ as Saviour.
Perfect love casts out fear, and our relationship with our heavenly Father, which is founded on Christ's finished work at Calvary, should give us inner joy and a profound peace.
Israel's millennial rest in the land promised to Abraham and his descendants, is one part of their promised sabbath-rest, and the 'rest' that Christians enjoy through faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary, is a down-payment for the full sabbath-rest in which we will one day participate: So there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God, in the eternal ages to come.
who is dead in their trespasses and sins, and has not accepted the free gift of grace, by faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary - the natural man.
Some legalists were mingling the Jewish Law (which had been fulfilled in Christ) with the glorious gospel of grace, in an attempt to place the liberty that Jews and Gentiles now enjoy in Christ's finished work at Calvary, back under bondage to the Law.
Instead of rejoicing in Christ's finished work on their behalf, these born-again believers forget they have a new Christlike-life within and work at achieving an unattainable righteousness through their old sin nature.
And ONCE Paul has hammered home this shocking truth about our sin and the hellish consequences that apply to Jew and Gentile alike... he then starts to give the GOOD NEWS of salvation - which is by grace through faith in Christ's finished work..
Praise God that we are saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary and receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting as a free, unmerited gift of God's goodness and grace.
We were warned not to pay attention to worldly fables, foolish myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the doctrine of God and the glorious gospel of Christ, which is received by grace through faith in His finished work at Calvary. We were told that many would hold to a form of godliness, while denying its power..
May we never wander from the truth that only through faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross, is the wall of separation between us and God removed.
Our salvation has everything to do with Christ's merit and His finished work on the Cross and has nothing to do with our human merit or the good deeds we may do.
Our salvation rests of the finished work of Christ on the Cross of Calvary: So that all who believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
There are about 150 passages in the Word of God that state unequivocally that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ's finished work on the cross - alone, but sadly there are some that cause confusion in the body of Christ by teaching that without water baptism a man or woman is not saved and they often cite this verse as evidence..
And yet if our eternal salvation is dependent on water baptism it stands in contradistinction to the clear teaching of the rest of the Word of God - and it indirectly declares that Christ's finished work on the cross is insufficient for our eternal salvation - requiring us to add to His finished work.
From the foundation of the world, the shed blood of the Lamb of God was God's demanded purchase price for the salvation of all mankind, and although the waters of baptism are a most beautiful picture of the inner cleansing that results when a person is saved by grace through faith in Christ - if it is a requirement for salvation in addition to Christ finished work at Calvary, it proclaims that His finished work was insufficient to pay the full price for the sin of the whole world - God forbid!
We are not justified by carrying out the ten commandments, adherence to denomination requirements or self-imposed regulation, for in many places Scripture warns us that: by the works of the law will no man living be justified. However we are frequently reminded that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ - alone.
This indictment of all humanity concludes that every mouth is silenced before the righteousness of God - And THEN Paul starts to give the good news of salvation - that we are justified by believing on the the finished work of Christ.
It replaces the confidence that must be placed in Christ's finished work on the Cross with trust in our own prideful performance for both our initial justification and ongoing sanctification.
May we place our entire trust and confidence in the finished work of Christ at Calvary and remember His shout of triumph was delivered on account of ALL who trust in Him: IT IS FINISHED.
The finished work of Christ does not only refer to our initial salvation when we first believed, and ongoing sanctification throughout our earthly life, but Christ's work at Calvary incorporates our final glorification the redemption of our bodies, when Christ returns to claim the Church as His Bride – the time when we are officially adopted as sons of God.
We are to preach the truth, that God purposed to save mankind from their sins - by faith in Christ's finished work on the cross, which is the one and only means of reconciliation with a God Who is offended by our sin.
We who have trusted in the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross have already received reconciliation; redemption; the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
Therefore, even though this psalm, like other psalms, prayers, and praises of David is an ever-present source of comfort and encouragement to all believers, and rightly so, this verse is a prayer that the Christian can never pray, for in so doing it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the permanent, indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of ALL believers - following Christ’s finished work on Calvary's Cross.
It was by grace though faith in the coming Messiah that Abraham and David were credited with righteousness, and it is by grace through faith in the finished work of the Messiah that you and I are credited with righteousness.
Let us give Him the thanks, honour, praise and glory due to His name, knowing that our position, privileges, promises and salvation is ours by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
These teachings rob the believer of the true perspective of all that Christ is in the Christian life. These philosophies add heavy burdens to believers by teaching that you have to add something more to the full, final, and finished work of Christ.
Adding works to Christ's finished Work of salvation, will NEVER be accepted by God. 'Believe AND be baptised'. 'Believe AND give money'. 'Believe AND evangelise'. 'Believe AND do good works' 'Believe AND attend church, AND go to confession, AND say the rosary...............' And so on...
When any 'work of the flesh' is being added to Christ's finished work on the Cross, it is using the Law unlawfully.
When we have reached the point where we have girded up the loins of our mind and fixed our eyes on the truth of Scripture, we will have secured our hope on Christ's finished work, and our confidence in His Word will remain secure.
He fastens the confidence we have in Christ to His finished work at Calvary, which secured our forgiveness of sin, our eternal future, our confident access into the throne-room of grace, and restored fellowship with the Father.
Therefore, we are exhorted to give more earnest heed to the Person of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross, and to pay very close attention to all that we have heard so that we do not drift away from the truth of God's Word.
It is faith in the full and finished work of the Son and trusting Him as Saviour that is the criteria for reconciliation to the Father - as was agreed by the Godhead in the eternal council chamber of heaven, before the world began.
When the Lord Jesus cried: It is finished, He had paid the price for the sin of the world and so He voluntarily breathed His last breath and gave up the ghost.
Far from negating the Law, the gospel of Christ upholds the Law, for the death penalty is paid for every man's sin by Christ and those who place their trust in His finished work for salvation instead of trusting their own works of righteousness are saved from death - BY FAITH.
ALL members of the Body are equally beloved of the Lord and all are accepted in the Beloved... by grace through faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary.
Legalists and law-mongers decry the gospel of grace and accuse those that rejoice in the liberty that we have in Christ's finished work at Calvary, of promoting a dangerous doctrine that leads to a carnal lifestyle and a license to sin.
It is this very liberty that we have in Christ's finished work at Calvary, which has released us from our former legalistic yoke of bondage and set us free from the curse of the Law.
But crucifixion, cruel nails, and the triumphant cry of IT IS FINISHED, had to be announced before the promised Holy Spirit would start to be poured out on the newly-born Church.
He warned them not to follow after the teachings of these deceivers, but to be watchful for their deceptive scheming which insists that in order to be rightly related to God, believers had to add to Christ's finished work on the Cross, by adhering to legalistic teachings and works of the flesh.
Through believing on Christ's finished work of redemption, we have peace with God, for Christ is the propitiation for our sins Who made peace with God on our behalf.
May we be willing to tell those who are lost in their sin, that today is the day of salvation for any who place their trust in Christ's finished work on the Cross.
He opened our understanding of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone, and helped us to understand more of Christ's propitiatory work on the Cross on our behalf.
This was the ministry for which God the Father sent His Son into the world – a ministry of reconciliation and hope for a world lost in sin – providing salvation for all that would trust in His finished work on Calvary.
But sin and Satan have no more dominion over those that choose to place their trust in His finished work, for the Cross triumphed, and His work is finished.
He is the One upon Whom we are to cast our heavy burdens and rest our weary souls for Jesus won every spiritual battle we will face, when He proclaimed from the Cross, It is finished.
No doubt he also heard the precious pardon awarded to the dying thief, the words of grace offered to His mother, His anguished cry when He took the full weight of the world's sin upon His sinless shoulders, and surely this same centurion heard Christ's triumphant proclamation of His forever finished work - IT IS FINISHED - Tetelestai.
Having laid the indestructible foundation that sinful man is irrefutably lost and at enmity with God through rebellion and sin, and having proved that all humanity have fallen far short of the glorious perfection that God expects from His creation, Paul jubilantly proclaims the triumphant victory of Christ's finished work on the Cross, over Adam's sin and our inherent sin nature.
Christ's finished work on the Cross demands our everlasting thanks and praise, for although we have not seen Him, we love Him and greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, knowing that it is through HIM alone that we have obtained as the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our soul.
They taught that good works had to be added to Christ's finished work on the Cross - otherwise they would not be saved or would lose their salvation!!
Sadly, today, there are those that hold fast to this false, works orientated, legalistic teaching - but we are to remember that if ANY works of the flesh are added to Christ's finished work on the Cross - His life was given in vain.
No surprise that he so passionately opposed any form of Jewish legalism or works-based religiosity, for when any work of the Law, legalistic observances, external rights, denominational rituals, or religious ceremonies are proudly added to Christ's finished work of salvation, it renders His death on the Cross as insufficient.
As our representative, His finished work on the Cross fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law on our account - releasing us from the power of sin.
It happens when we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ our Saviour, but from that moment onwards, we begin the lifelong process of progressive sanctification.
It is believing on Christ's finished work at Calvary that we have been reconciled to the Father (in one body through the Cross) so that now there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male or female, young or old, slave or free.
The message of the Cross continues to cut to the quick of the self-righteous, self-centred, self-confident, self-seeking believer in their impossible attempts at self-sanctification, rather than being Christ-centred, trusting in Christ's-righteousness, and maintaining a confidence in Christ's finished work alone.
Christ's finished work on Calvary is the only standard approved in our Father's eyes, and it is only by faith in HIS finished work alone that we can gain God's approval.
It is only the one that does NOT work for their salvation, but believes in the finished work of Christ, who is justified by God and imputed with Christ's righteousness.
Today there is a living, resurrected, glorified Man seated on the right hand of the Father in majestic glory, and as members of His Body, we are eternally identified with Him and His finished Work on Calvary's Cross.