At this point we need to address some potential misconceptions. Jesus Christ, as we said, was the sacrifice that paid the price for us on the cross. Many people may be under the impression that Jesus made the down payment, but we must contribute something to “the pot.”
Did Jesus pay the whole price or not? This question is vital to your salvation…
HOW MUCH DID HE PAY?
As you look at the following verses, notice the finality of the key words.
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, WHICH CAN NEVER TAKE AWAY SINS:
BUT [in contrast] THIS MAN, after he had OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOR EVER, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10-12)
Notice – ONCE FOR ALL, ONE SACRIFICE for [ALL] SINS FOR EVER. This denotes that Jesus Christ paid for every single sin of every single person for all time; past, present, and future.
… there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins… (Hebrews 10:26)
Did you see that? No more sacrifice to be performed for sins. No rituals, no fasting, no penance for sins. Jesus did it all. It is done.
And, having made peace (PAST TENSE – COMPLETED) through the blood of his cross…. (Colossians 1:20)
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)
It helps to understand the gravity and the extent of the payment, when one realizes that Jesus Christ WAS THE PAYMENT.
WHOM GOD HATH SET FORTH to be a propitiation (payment) through faith in his blood … for the remission of sins… (Romans 3:25)
The following verse denotes that there was nothing left to pay after Jesus paid the penalty.
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:14)
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3) Again, this verse denotes a completeness, a task that has been accomplished.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)
Did you see that?
Isaiah 53:11 was written about 700 years before the birth of Christ. At that time, God looked ahead into the future, ahead to the time when He would put His own Son to death on the cross in order to make the payment for us to get to heaven. And He said, on that day, when that is completed, God “SHALL BE SATISFIED.”
MANY SAVIORS OR ONLY ONE?
For the sake of thoroughness, let’s ask this question.
What if a person believes that Jesus can save him, but ALSO trusts in another religious figure ALONG WITH Jesus Christ, in order to get to heaven? In other words, Jesus and Buddha, or Jesus and Muhammad, or Jesus and Mary. (Many eastern religions would believe that Jesus is one of many saviors. So to them, He is A savior, but not THE Savior.)
Acts 20:21 does NOT say “faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ AND (fill in the blank).
That is why Acts 4:12 says there is
“…NONE OTHER NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
The Bible states that there is only one person designated as a mediator between God and man. Only one.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)
It is God Himself that designated that person.
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (payment) through faith in his blood … for the remission of sins… (Romans 3:25)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
God sent his Son.
Why?
…to be the propitiation (the payment) for our sins.
Hebrews 1:3 says of Jesus,
…..when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)
We need to point out just how important this concept is. Did you see the above phrase? There was no one next to Jesus on the cross to help Him pay the price. On that cross, He was “BY HIMSELF.”
The ONE TRUE LIVING GOD (1Thessalonians 1:9) sent His Only Begotten Son – JESUS CHRIST – not anyone else. No one else was qualified. No one else was God’s Son, was virgin born, had sinless blood, and fulfilled hundreds of verses of prophetic Scripture. No one else then took our sins upon Himself, spilled that sinless blood, and then was punished for those sins. NO ONE. He, and only He, was the promised Messiah. He was God’s Lamb. He paid the price; not Buddha, not Mary, not Muhammad, not any other saint, “god”, guru or religious figure (this is not meant to be disrespectful toward any of these people or religious figures; we are simply stating a fact. They were just people. Jesus was God’s Lamb.)
Let us speak quite frankly. This is not meant in any unkindness toward individuals in the following religions. On the contrary, it is meant to be honest, for the sake of those individuals that may be seeking the honest truth. The previous verses are saying that if a person believes on any other name than that of Jesus Christ, or even in addition to Jesus Christ, that person will not go to heaven.
Why is this? Because reality is that there is no other person who is qualified. According to Scripture, Jesus Christ was and is God. Because of that ability, and because only God is capable of performing such an act (shedding His own sinless blood), and because Jesus Christ was the only one to perform this act, there simply is no one else to trust. There is no one else in whom you or I CAN trust. As stated previously, NO ONE ELSE IS CAPABLE OR WORTHY TO SHARE IN THIS ACT. He was the only one with sinless blood; He was God’s only Son. Muhammad, Buddha, Mary or anyone else are fallible humans with a sin nature just like the rest of us. There is no priest, rabbi, imam or guru, or a saint or ancestor that is capable, qualified, or necessary to be a mediator between us and God. They did not fulfill the promises from Scripture of the Messiah. To think that they or I or you or any other human is qualified to get another to heaven is simply just not true. It is not reality. It is fantasy. Only God Himself was qualified. How many saviors?
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. (Isaiah 43:11)
…And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. (Isaiah 45:21)
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)
Now, let’s narrow it down even further. The previous verses regarding Jesus dying and shedding his blood on the cross by Himself, we applied to the fact that it is without any other PERSON. But also, Jesus Christ paid the price for your “ticket” to heaven thru Himself, and not thru any other ACT OR DEED performed BY YOU OR I. Many people call themselves Christians, and may pray to only the person of Jesus and believe that He is the only person who will take them to heaven. But many people are trusting in Jesus AND an outward exterior ACT to get them to heaven. It may be performing good deeds for others. It may be baptism, or communion, or sacraments [the word sacrament actually implies that one must perform a religious act in order to get to heaven. It also implies that what Jesus did over 2000 years ago, was somehow incomplete, or that He only made a down payment and we somehow must complete the rest. What the sacraments are actually saying is that they are RE ENACTING and RE-DOING the sacrifice of Jesus over and over again when they are performed. This is entirely contrary to the Bible which emphatically states that Jesus, in a one-time event 2000 years ago, paid the whole price and there is no further sacrifice. There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins… (Hebrews 10:26)]. Either Jesus paid the whole penalty, or He did not.
But can salvation be thru Jesus AND ANYTHING? While we have already stated we cannot work our way to heaven, people may still have the impression that we can perform our own good works and mix them together with what God did for us.
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (Romans 11:6)
Understand that a gift is free. If a person is working for something, then it is NOT FREE. IT IS WORK! A free gift is diametrically opposed to, is a polar opposite that of work. They cannot mix. Besides, if Jesus already paid the whole price, than what more is there to be paid? We are to simply accept it.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved… (John 10:9)
Notice, Jesus did not open the door to heaven, He IS the door.
We even have an example of some people, whose false reality was that they could enter heaven based on some other means in addition to Jesus Christ. They did not accept that finished payment. They instead had their own way.
“Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…
Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?’
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Were they sincere? Yes they were. Notice how surprised they were that the things they did were not going to get them to heaven.
Did they believe in Jesus? Yes, they did. Notice they called Him “Lord.”
Did they have faith? Oh, yes! Absolute faith. But absolute faith in the wrong thing. Notice, they had faith in what they were doing, but not in what Jesus HAD DONE. They had faith in Jesus AND their own good works, but not solely in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Their faith in good works inspired them to do great things, thinking that those things would impress God, and that He would be obligated to take them to heaven. But notice: their good works mixed with belief in Jesus DID NOT GET THEM TO HEAVEN (even though they did those works for Him).
Therefore, not only must the Person in whom you trust be Jesus Christ, but you must trust in Him and Him alone. Neither your baptism nor your good works can save you. Your church cannot save you. Neither an angel nor a human being (dead OR alive) can save you. None of these things can save you or even have a part in your salvation. (THEY DON’T EVEN WORK). Jesus Christ doesn’t need help from anybody or anything; He doesn’t need help from me, and He doesn’t need help from you. The only part He leaves up to you is the desire to be rescued and the ability to exercise your own free will to choose. You and I must be willing to let go of our pride, stop trusting in ourselves or our religion, and allow Him and Him only to save us.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “no man cometh unto the Father but by me AND baptism,” or “by me AND your church,” or “by me AND your good works.” He said, “but by me.” You cannot trust in Jesus AND anything. He is the ONLY way. To quote from others who have made the following statement, “Jesus didn’t say He was a good way; He didn’t say He was a better way; He didn’t even say He was the best way. He said He was THE WAY!” Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON. (1 John 5:11)
Did you see what that verse said? This life (eternal life) is in who? HIS SON. Not any other person, but in HIS SON.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, THAT WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM. (1 John 4:9)
Who might we live through? Through none other than His Son.
Remember Acts 20:21 says, “…faith TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
How many payments did God make?
Only one.
How many saviors did He send?
Only One
For Salvation to become a reality in your life, you must understand, you must realize the very simple truth, the very simple reality. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was the only qualified payment by the only qualified Messiah, the only qualified God. That only qualified payment has already been completed. It is done. It is faith in that payment alone that will get you to heaven. THAT is Bible FAITH. Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
IS FAITH JUST A HEAD KNOWLEDGE?
Faith is not just an intellectual head knowledge. It begins with the head, because the trust which you place in the payment of Jesus Christ requires you to know some facts. Jesus was the only qualified person, God in the flesh, who came to die for my sins. He died, He rose again. Those are Bible facts. That is head knowledge. But there is a difference between a HEAD knowledge and HEART knowledge.
One explanation of the difference would be like knowing facts about George Washington, versus knowing him personally. It would be like hearing about him 200 years after he lived, versus being his son and having an intimate relationship with him.
Do you believe in chairs? Sure you do. But consciously try this sometime, because I bet you haven’t thought of this before. Go over to a chair and sit down on it. Then, sit back and relax. When you sit ON a chair, you entrust yourself to the chair, you RELY upon it to support you. You placed your confidence in the chair. You made a transition from believing IN a chair to reliance ON, believing ON, committing yourself TO its ability. You have trusted ON the chair. Likewise, many people believe IN Jesus, but have never placed their confidence ON what He has done. They have never trusted ON Jesus, or placed their confidence in His ability.
Here is another way to explain it.
Let’s say I asked you the following obvious question. “If I pushed you off a 100 foot cliff, would you die?” More than likely your response would be, “Well, of course!” I then say to you, “OK. Why?” Again, a question that should not need to be asked, but you respond, “Weeell, as I fall, my body accelerates. When I hit the ground the sudden stop damages my body, leading to death.” You have placed obvious facts together in a sequence, and come to an obvious conclusion. Just like 2 + 2 = 4. It is a head knowledge.
Picture the following scenario. I grab you and hold your body over the edge of a cliff, 100 feet above the ground? What would your reaction be now? Picture it.
Would you not be terrified? Wouldn’t the empty space under your feet cause a reaction of instant terror? Fear and the reality of the moment would grip you. You might plead for your life. You may get angry, you might scream in terror, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” What is the difference between the first reaction, and that of the second? Simple. It went from a head knowledge, to a “heart knowledge.” While the first one was intellectual, you BELIEVED the second one because it affected you personally and you BELIEVED IT TO BE REALITY. YOU KNEW you would die.
The Faith the Bible talks about is a gripping understanding of the consequences. It is moving from facts to an understanding of the reality…… While you do not see hell, if you fit the criteria, you KNOW you are going there because God says so. You did not see Jesus on the Cross, but you KNOW He was there. You truly believe that what He did on the cross is your complete payment in order to go to heaven.
We need to repeat a verse at this point in order to clarify something, because many people believe that simply having a head knowledge of Jesus Christ, or a belief that He exists, will gain one entrance into heaven. But the Bible says…
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19)
Satan and the demons believe IN Jesus, and obviously they are not going to heaven. One must believe Jesus exists first of course, but a person must also trust AND ACCEPT, must EMBRACE, must RECEIVE, what Jesus HAS DONE for him, BELIEVING THAT WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS WILL SAVE HIM. It must be APPLIED to YOU PERSONALLY! What the sinner is doing is in faith, committing himself to, and relying upon God’s promise in Jesus’ payment to save him. It is relying upon and accepting the payment of Jesus Christ on the cross as complete and adequate.
So there must be a “…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21)
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith [in the ability of Christ’s finished sacrifice on the cross] without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28)
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe… (Romans 3:22)
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (payment) through faith in his blood … for the remission of sins… (Romans 3:25)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians. 2:8-9)
Grace is this. While our sins have offended a holy God, and have brought about a deserved punishment in hell, God in his mercy has offered to pay the price for us. Grace is God’s free gift He is holding out to you.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
It is THAT Gift of salvation that saves you. For by THAT GIFT (not you) are you saved THROUGH FAITH (in God’s ability to pay for your crimes and His ability to rescue you). Accepting that gift held out to you KNOWING that once you accept it, it will be yours because the GOD who is holding it out to you wants you to accept it more than anything in all the world and MUST SAVE YOU BECAUSE HE SAID HE WOULD AND HE CANNOT LIE. That is confidence. That is trust. And that is salvation by grace through faith.
Here is what God wants us to finally realize.
“If I am a sinner,
And my sin is taking me to hell,
And I can’t stop sinning,
And baptism won’t wash my sins away,
And I cannot keep the law,
And my good works won’t save me,
And I can’t pay my way out of this predicament-
THAN I AM IN BIG TROUBLE!
THEREFORE, I NEED SOMEONE ELSE TO RESCUE ME!”
EXACTLY!
That is where Jesus Christ comes in.
Let’s sum up what made it all possible.
God is above all things, a righteous, pure and holy God.
Therefore, God’s righteousness demanded that justice be carried out, and God’s justice demanded that sin be punished,
but God’s mercy pleaded to give man a way out.
God’s love desired man to be in heaven with Him,
but God’s holiness could not allow it.
(You could almost say that God was in a dilemma.)
God’s law, “The wages of sin is death” demanded that the sacrifice would have to die. (Romans 6:23)
God’s law, “Without shedding of blood is no remission” demanded that blood be shed. (Hebrews 9.22)
God’s law, “As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law” demanded that sin be punished (Romans 2:12b).
So God came up with a master plan (He knew what He would do all along).
THERE WOULD BE AN EXCHANGE!
But in order for there to be an exchange, the sacrifice couldn’t be a sinner. (If the one being sacrificed was a sinner, he would have his own sin for which to pay. There couldn’t be an exchange, because we would get his sin, and he would get ours). But since a human (Adam) was the one who brought sin into the world, the one to be sacrificed must be a human. So we needed a perfectly sinless human sacrifice willing to shed his blood and die on a cross, taking our place. Then, and only then, could we have a way out.
But as we said, there was no need to find someone WILLING when we couldn’t find someone ABLE (no one on earth has ever been without sin). It was hopeless!
GOD WAS THE ONLY SOLUTION!
Therefore God implemented the perfect plan.
“…God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Timothy 3:16)
When it came to satisfying God, you and I were incapable. But He loved us so much that He was willing to do the unthinkable: He put His own Son on the cross. Since we could not satisfy Him; Jesus’ death, punishment, and shed blood satisfied God’s requirements FOR us.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him (Jesus); he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.
…for HE (Jesus) shall bear their iniquities… (Isaiah 53:10-11)
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 53:6)
He (God) shall see of the travail of his (Jesus’) soul, and SHALL BE SATISFIED … (Isaiah 53:11)
On a day, two thousand years ago, there was an exchange (a sacrifice).
Jesus took our sins and was punished for them on the cross. When a person accepts Jesus’ payment on the cross – in exchange – that person gets Jesus’ righteousness.
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)
We were held hostage by our sin. Sin demanded death. Jesus was the ransom.
… Christ Jesus; …gave himself a ransom for all…. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
God’s gift to men was the sacrifice of His Son.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)
So that is what the Bible means by grace. That while we deserved death and punishment, God instead offered to us a gift – amnesty – a way out – because “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). That gift was “through Jesus Christ our Lord”, who made the payment with His life.
This means that if you accept this gift – if you really believe this – and consciously decide to place your full confidence in THAT GIFT – and ask for it, in God’s eyes you are pronounced forgiven. All your sins are forgotten. You are looked at by God as someone who has never sinned.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah 43:25)
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19)
At the moment of salvation, Jesus Christ takes up residence within you (lives inside you) and that spirit that once was dead within you will now be alive.
And I will put my spirit within you… Ezekiel 36:27
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Romans 8:9a
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:17
This is an added “plus” when it comes to salvation, because God living inside of you will help you to live the Christian life. (It is often the difference between someone who CLAIMS to be born again yet acts like a non-Christian, and someone who is truly born again and has a dramatic lifestyle change). The change comes from the INSIDE.
That is why the Bible refers to it as a “conversion.”
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul… (Psalms 19:7)
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19)
This is the “new creature” the Bible talks about.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Remember, you are not going to FEEL God come into you, so please, let us hasten to say, God is not interested in giving you PHYSICAL VERIFICATION. God does not want to give you a cheap momentary thrill, or a physical experience. He wants you to trust Him, and begin a relationship.
On page 6 we said, “So to be born again is simply to be born a second time; not physically, but spiritually. It is simply a ‘bringing to life’ of that dead spirit within us.” God miraculously recreates or brings to life that which was dead. You could say it is like a resurrection of that dead spirit within us. God also calls it regeneration, and renewing.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5) Notice, here is yet another verse where the Bible says that God “cleans us up” on the inside and forgives our sins. It is this salvation, this regeneration, that washes our sins away – not water.
After salvation takes place, heaven will be your home when you die.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
God judged your sin already on Jesus Christ.
God judged the person of Jesus Christ.
God died for you that you could live.
God bled for you that you could live.
God was punished for you that you would not have to be punished.
God’s justice was executed, sin was punished, and therefore God’s holiness was satisfied.
God’s love was given, and so His mercy was satisfied.
God rose from the dead so that He could defeat death, and so that you too can receive a new body someday.
Every single requirement laid out in the Bible was fulfilled.
It is over.
Finished!
COMPLETED! SATISFIED.
HERE’S NOTHING ELSE TO BE DONE. There’s nothing else that CAN be done, by YOU or anyone else.
So the bad news for us was, “…the wages of sin is death…”, but the good news now is, “…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23a, b)