God's holiness demanded absolute perfection, utter and flawless obedience. It demanded the most beautiful, spotless, blameless sacrifice. All through the Old Testament, we see imperfect people bringing continual sacrifices that were able to provide only momentary, temporary at best, forgiveness of sin. The Law demanded more. Even when some of the most religious people thought they had finally attained perfection in keeping the Law through upholding its rigorous standards outwardly, when Jesus came on the scene, He brought them back to the original intent and purpose of the Law- to show them their need for a Savior. He showed them that outwardly you may look like you have it all together, but that God alone sees the inside, the heart, the mind-- nothing is concealed from Him. Keeping the Law outwardly isn't enough if your heart has not been transformed.
As He sat to eat with these religious leaders, He said to them, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" "You tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice and the love of God... Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you are like graves which are not seen and the men who walk over them are not aware of them." Luke 11:37-44
But these Pharisees Jesus was talking to were considered the best of the best when it came to keeping the Law. They did it better than anyone else, they were seemingly the closest you could get to holy and perfect. Jesus response to them was to emphasize what the Law was meant to do-- to bring them to the end of themselves, to expose their utter need for a Savior. He was trying to show them that none, but The One was worthy, perfect or holy enough to attain to God's level of holiness and perfection. The Law was never capable of making men holy, only He could do that. It was a temporary system to set the stage for The One who was coming, The One who would reconcile the world again to God.
Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, we see a repeated theme: He was most able to move and perform miracles among those who knew they weren't good enough. Self righteousness has always stopped the flow of His power. But to those who knew they weren't holy enough, His grace and healing flowed freely. To those who were confident in their own efforts, their own holiness and ability to keep the Law, He had no other choice, no other response, but to bring them back to the Law, to show them how they were falling short of it, to show them their need for a Savior. For these people, pointing them back to the Law, to their need of Him, was the most loving thing He could do.
In the Gospels, we find the story of a man commonly referred to as the rich, young ruler. He approached Jesus with flattering words, calling Him, "Good teacher." Jesus said to him,"Why do you call me good when no one is good but God?" But even with Jesus alluding to His Person as the Messiah, the rich young ruler still failed to recognize Him as such. He went on to ask Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life. Knowing that this man would have known the Commandments by heart, and also by the fact that he referred to Jesus as "Good" (suggesting Jesus had done a lot of good things to merit him such a title), It is obvious the rich, young ruler doesn't know who Jesus is. Jesus can see this man prides himself in his supposed ability to keep the Law, but yet this man still seems to know that there is something missing-- something more. Instead of seeing his need for a Savior (in the person of Jesus) as that missing piece, he is still focused on what other good thing he must yet do and he is certain if he just knows what it is, he can do it. Jesus replies to him, "You know the Commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother." To which the rich, young ruler replied, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." With this man's confidence in his own ability, his own self righteousness, Jesus has no choice but to emphasize the Law- to show him his own inadequacy- his need for a Savior. "Then Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up your cross and follow Me." This passage goes on to say that the ruler walked away sad and sorrowful for he had great possessions. Mark 10:17-22. The Law will always bring you to your inadequacy-- it will always point out that which you lack.
One of the very next stories we see in the Gospels is that of Zacchaeus, a tax collector. Tax collectors in this day and age were despised. Though they were usually Jews, they worked for the Roman Empire and were seen as traitors to the Jewish people. They made their living by tacking on an extra sum to the required taxes which they kept for themselves. However, many tax collectors (such as the Chief Tax Collector, which Zacchaeus was) would often conspire with Roman authorities to extort great sums of money from the people, making themselves very wealthy. Throughout Scripture, we see tax collectors thrown in the lot with the worst kinds of sinners, prostitutes and outcasts.
Yet to the tax collector Zacchaeus who climbed the tree, hungry to see the man Jesus- to Him Jesus came, called him by name and told him he was coming to eat with his family, in his home. There is so much to unpack here in Jesus' actions. First, that Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was. There were no pre-qualifications, no strings attached, no record of Zacchaeus repenting. We just know he was short in stature, wanted to get a better view of Jesus and climbed a tree to see above the crowd. Not only did Jesus come to this despised sinner and social outcast, but the Scripture clearly states Jesus called Zaccheaus by name. As you study the Bible, you will find names often have great importance and many times add an extra depth of understanding to the context of the story in which they are contained; Zaccheaus is no exception. His name literally translates, "Holy, pure, not guilty." Then there was this whole idea of Jesus going to Zaccheaus' home and eating with him. The Pharisees and religious leaders would never entertain such a notion and this kind of behavior is precisely why Jesus earned the nickname, "Friend of sinners." The Pharisees were so focused on the outward appearance, they believed that they, being "clean," would become unclean be associating with those who they considered unclean. Yet we see with Jesus, that He alone who was perfectly clean (inside and out) had the ability to hang out with the unclean and make them clean. I think it's safe to say that, given his occupation, Zacchaeus had no confidence in his own righteousness or good behavior. The Scripture says Zacchaeus joyfully received Jesus into his home.
Comparing the story of Zacchaeus to the rich young ruler, I see one thing immediately-- Jesus loved them both. His love is clearly demonstrated in His actions toward Zacchaeus and with the rich, young ruler Scripture says, "Then Jesus looking at him, loved him..." How does Zacchaeus respond to the grace and love that Jesus extended to him? "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.'" This story stands in stark contrast to that of the rich, young ruler who walked away sorrowful because he had great possessions with no record of him giving away even a single shekel. Such a contrast- one who sees his need for a Savior, one who still thinks he must save himself through his own effort.
Only ONE could satisfy the demands of God's holiness and perfection. Only the sacrifice of this ONE, the blood shed of this ONE would be enough to satisfy God's wrath against sin. Only Jesus, the pure spotless Lamb, could provide more than temporary pardon. His blood so perfectly met the demands of God's justice that it alone had the ability to completely blot out the sin and iniquity, not just for one man, but for all of mankind; not just for a moment, but for all of eternity; not just for one, but for all who would believe on Him and accept His sacrifice as their own.
It has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with Him. Just as there were no pre-qualifications for Zacchaeus, while we were still dead in our sins and trespasses Christ died for us.
"For when we were still without strength; in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die, BUT GOT DEMONSTRATES HIS OWN LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US." Romans 5:6
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE ONE, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT JESUS.
Even so much so, that in Romans, Paul takes us back to the beginning of creation with Adam. He shows us how Adam was the "one man" who would be a type and shadow of "The One", Jesus, who was to come (referred to in Scripture as 'The Second Adam'). Paul shows us explicitly, that the very source of our sinfulness and sinful nature came not of our own selves, but came through that one man, Adam. I know this is a long portion of Scripture I'm about to share. Read it slowly and let the totality of the Word of God sink into your heart:
"Therefore as sin came into the world through the one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or escape its power] because all men sinned. [To be sure] sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged to men's account where there is no law [to transgress]. Yet death held sway from Adam to Moses [the lawgiver], even over those who did not themselves transgress as Adam did. Adam was a type (prefigure) of the One who was to come [in reverse, the former destructive, THE LATTER SAVING].
But God's free gift is not at all compared to the trespass [His grace is out of proportion to the fall of man]. For if many died through one man's falling away (his lapse, his offense), much more profusely did God's grace and the free gift [that comes] through the undeserved favor of the One Man Jesus Christ abound and overflow to and for [the benefit of] the many.
Nor is the free gift at all to be compared to the effect of that one [man's] sin. For the sentence [following the trespass] of the one man brought condemnation, whereas the free gift following many transgressions brings justification.
For if because of one man's trespass death reigned through that one, how much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the One Man, Jesus Christ.
[One man's false step and falling away led] to condemnation for all men, so One Man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and right standing with God for ALL men.
For just as by one man's disobedience the many were constituted sinners, so by One Man's obedience the many will be constituted righteous (made acceptable to God, brought into right standing with Him).
But then the Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God's unmerited favor) HAS SURPASSED IT AND INCREASED THE MORE AND SUPERABOUNDED, so that [just] as sin has reigned in death, so grace (His unearned and undeserved favor) might reign also through righteousness (right standing with God) which issues in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:12-20
You see, it has never been about you. It has always been about the one man.
God in His infinite wisdom is not limited in the depth of His sight or understanding-- He alone sees the end from the beginning. While you were still dead in your trespass and sin, He saw the very source of the multitude of your sins-- NOT IN YOU, but in the one sin of the one man, Adam. That one sin, lapse, offense had great consequence, for in Adam was the seed of all humanity. That sin was powerful as it attached itself to all of mankind, but it's power was limited. There was One of greater power coming, One Whose crimson blood could blot out, not just Adam's one sin, but ALL sin, for all mankind, for all of eternity. This One coming was a King willing to leave His throne. A Deity wrapped in humanity-- a child who was born, a Son who was given, the Second Adam Who ALONE was powerful enough to overcome the sin of the first Adam.
Just as God's holiness demanded that all humanity be seen in the one sin of Adam, so now His justice demands that all humanity should now be seen in light of the sacrifice and righteousness of Jesus (the second Adam). Just as our sinful nature had nothing to do with our many sins, but the one sin of Adam; our righteousness has nothing to do with the good things we do, but in the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT ONE MAN, ONE SIN, ONE SACRIFICE FOR ALL.
Only if you choose to deny the sacrifice Jesus willingly made on your behalf, will you be found in sin-- the one sin of denying Christ who wants to apply His payment to cover your entire debt of sin.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised that another Helper was coming, the promised Holy Spirit.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, The Helper (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement. Of sin because they (unbelievers) to not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father (the total work and payment for the righteousness of the Believer is complete); about judgement because the ruler (evil prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence has already been passed upon him. (even though you may still see evil in the world, I have already overcome it all. The work for Satan's end and destruction is already complete.)" John 16:7-11 (words in italics mine).
You see, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the complete work of redemption. It's still about The One. Even though we still fall short, still make mistakes, the eyes of the Father are so perfect, so judicial, that it is impossible for Him to see the same sin in two places at once. His perfect justice does not allow Him to see you in a sin that was already paid for on the cross. And not just paid for, the Scripture tells us that Jesus' sacrifice was an OVER payment for our sins. On the cross, Jesus willingly took on all sin, for all mankind, for all eternity. Hebrews 10:14 states that, "By one sacrifice, He has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified." Furthermore God's wrath, punishment and judgement for that sin was completely poured out and SATISFIED at the cross so that when He sees you-- He now (legally) sees you in the righteousness and perfection of Jesus. This is why 1 John 4:17 can so boldly declare, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He (Jesus) is, so are we in this world." Not in heaven, eternity, or a future world to come-- but as JESUS is right now, at this very moment, so are YOU here on earth.
When you fall short, your own conscience will condemn you, but if you recognize His voice, you will begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, in the midst of your failure, declaring you righteous. This is grace. It's not a doctrine, it's not a teaching, it's a person-- His Name is Jesus. The Holy Spirit is present as our Helper to lead us and guide us into all truth. When you fall short, the ultimate truth in that situation is that Jesus has already overpaid the price and taken on the full wrath and punishment for that sin. Now consequently, you are the righteousness of God (in full right standing with God Himself) because of Jesus. If you can tune the ear of your heart to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, He is always speaking. He will always give you wisdom, always lead you in advance on the best paths to follow. But when you miss it, the ultimate truth is not that you have sinned and are in need of a payment for that sin, the ultimate truth is that you are the righteousness of God.
The Father knows full well that your capacity to overcome sin does not reside in your ability to attain to some moral standard that's good and pleasing enough to Him (which would be the same system as the Old Testament Law). The Law was never given to make men holy, but to expose their need for a Savior. The Law was not given to strengthen people, but rather to strengthen sin. We see above where I quoted in Romans 5 that the Law was given to "expand and increase the trespass, making it more apparent..." 1 Corinthians 15:56 tells us, "The sting of death is sin and the STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW." So what WILL give you the power to overcome sin in your life? Romans 6:14 clearly states, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." The answer is that GRACE alone has and is the power to overcome sin.
There is a well known passage of Scripture in the Gospels about a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees who so prided themselves in keeping the Law hated this extreme grace that Jesus was extending to the most blatant of sinners. It made them angry, they were constantly trying to trick Jesus, to set Him up to fail, to find grounds to accuse Him. They find a woman caught in the very act of adultery and drag her out into the street and ask Jesus what they should do. According to the Law, she should be stoned. Jesus is so full of wisdom (He is literally wisdom itself) He looks around at this crowd of accusers and says, "Okay. Let he who is without sin, throw the first stone." It says Jesus then began writing on the ground (this area would have been stone). There are a lot of different views on what He might have been writing, I believe this was a picture of the Law, the Ten Commandments- the finger of God writing in stone. Whatever it was, one by one, these accusers left till there was no one remaining. Jesus then looks at this woman and asks her, "Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you" There is no one, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." Jesus extends supreme grace to this woman, this sinner, this adulterer. He gives her the gift of grace, the gift of no condemnation-- This gift of mercy and grace empowers her to 'Go and sin no more.' Sin will no longer have mastery over her, because she is no longer under Law, she is now under grace.
In the Old Testament, the Jewish people were under an old covenant that was contingent upon man's obedience and ability to keep the Law. As we have already seen, the purpose for this period of time was not to save men through the Law, but rather to expose their utter need for a Savior and set the scene for Jesus to come and do the saving. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, He sets forth a New Covenant that is contingent upon HIS obedience to the cross-- which He has already completely fulfilled. It takes us out of the equation. Where do we come in? Simply to respond by receiving what has been accomplished on our behalf. This is what salvation is-- to see our need for a Savior and to accept Jesus' sacrifice as our own.
So what about NOW, once we're saved-- aren't there good things for us to do! The answer is a resounding YES! The difference now is that you aren't doing these good things to earn any merit with the Father. No amount of good things you will ever do will ever qualify you to attain to God's level of holiness and perfection-- Jesus has already accomplished this for you. The Word (Scriptures) are full of wisdom for us that will lead us and show us how to live. The book of John starts out talking about Jesus and calls Him 'The Word'.
"In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of men," John 1:1-4.
You see Jesus and the Word are synonymous, they are one in the same. As you read the Bible, the Word, and you see how to live rightly, You are looking into the very face of The One who has already stood rightly and accomplished all of these precepts on your behalf. There are several instances in Scripture that talk about Jesus and the Word being the Bread of Life. When you read the Word hungry to see Jesus, you are feeding on Him, learning of and about Him. And something miraculous happens-- you become LIKE HIM. This isn't my own idea, 1 Corinthians 3:18, "And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transformed into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit." When you behold Jesus (feed on Him, study the Word, get to know Him), you will become like Him.
Most anyone can recite John 3:16, "For God so loved that world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on Him would not perish, but have eternal life." People tend to think of "eternal life" in the future tense, most commonly as heaven. Yet, later in John 17:3 we see 'eternal life' expounded upon, "And this is eternal life that they may know You, the one true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." It's always been about Him and now we can dedicate our lives to knowing Him more completely.
It is this simple. This is the Gospel. Because of one act of sin in the Garden of Eden by one man, named Adam, sin entered the world. But when God spoke the world into existence, within the completeness and perfection of His Word was a plan for Redemption. Through the giving of the Law, He exposed to all mankind their need for a Savior, for The One, the Only One who had the ability to take upon Himself the sins (and judgment for those sins) for the entire world. This One Man came and took our place. He took your place. He took what He did not deserve so that when you receive Him, you receive what you did not deserve-- His very righteousness (right standing before the Father) and His sentence which is eternal life. It's all about Him, His sacrifice, His obedience and not yours. The more you know Him, the more you will love Him and want to become like Him-- and you will.
The only question that remains is this-- what will you do with the grace that has been extended to you? Will you, like Zacchaeus rejoice and gladly receive it and allow His grace to transform you? Or, will you go away sorrowful still dependent on your own effort and ability to do good?
Grace, in the Person of Jesus, has forever changed humanity. This is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday: This One Man made one sacrifice that was enough. It broke the chains of sin and death so completely that the very earth could not contain the power of His resurrected life. The tomb burst forth, the Son of Man was risen again, having conquered eternally the sin and death that entered the world through that one man, Adam. The Second Adam came, He lived perfectly, he died in your place and He rose again. And for those who believe on Him, you are now in Him, in that One Man. God now sees you as one with that One Man and in His perfect sacrifice.
My words cannot do the sacrifice of this One Man justice. Instead I will close this with passage in Ephesians, penned by the Apostle Paul:
But God--so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgement and made partakers of Christ's salvation).
And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgement and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through faith. And this is not of your own selves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]
For we are God's own handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God prepared beforehand for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us live.]
Ephesians 2:4-10, Amplified
