God's Solution: Jesus Christ

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If we cannot save ourselves, God must do it. That is exactly what the Bible says He did. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Who Is Jesus?

The Bible says Jesus is God the Son, who became a man: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). He is fully God and fully man, which is why He can stand between the two parties. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

He lived the perfect life that we have not lived. Hebrews says He was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

What Did He Do?

He died in our place. This is the center of the Christian message.

• Prophesied. Seven centuries before, Isaiah wrote: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6).
• Explained. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• Purposed. Jesus said that He "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

Theologians call this substitution: the innocent One took the place of the guilty. A ransom is the price that sets a prisoner free, and Christ's death is that price. It is also reconciliation: it removes the barrier between God and us.

He Rose Again

The gospel does not end at the cross. Paul gives the earliest summary: "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The resurrection is God's seal on what Christ accomplished, and the guarantee that death is not the end.

The Only Way?

Jesus made an exclusive claim: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). The apostles repeated it: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Many people find this claim hard, and Chapter 11 returns to it. For now, notice that it is also a generous claim: the way is a person, and the door is open to everyone. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).

CHAPTER 5