Romans 4:25
The Greatest Delivery Ever
Introduction
There is a story that tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. Those who knew him asked him the question, 'Why have you become a Christian?' He answered them and said, ‘Well, suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn't know which way to go. And then, right there at the fork in the road you saw there were two men. One man was dead and one man was alive. Which one of these men would you ask is the right way to go?'"
Today we celebrate the most glorious day in human history – the day Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of God, was raised up from the dead. We do not follow a dead man. We follow a risen Lord, who was dead, but now is alive forevermore and who holds the keys of death and Hades.
This is why it is the most important belief in the Christian faith. The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the highest, most glorious point in all human history. It is the cornerstone and foundation of our faith as Christians. You cannot remove His resurrection and have any faith left at all – it all comes crashing down.
This is why so much of what the Bible says has to do with this great historical truth. And that’s why Jesus Christ’s resurrection should not be for Easter sermons alone. But, it should necessarily be a common theme all year long in the preaching and teaching ministry of the Church.
Having said that, it can be a little difficult on Easter morning then to choose where to go and preach from. But, where I want us to turn this morning is to Romans 4. And there is one verse that I want us to center on today, it is verse 25.
Why am I choosing this verse today? Why am I not going to one of the Gospel’s to see the historical account of His resurrection where we can see those first few hours on that glorious day and those first eyewitnesses to Jesus alive? Why am I not going to 1 Corinthians 15 to see the powerful preaching of Paul on the resurrection?
The reason is because in this one verse Paul packs all the weight of the truth of what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means into one sentence. And I want to unpack verse 25 for us so we can see the riches of the Resurrection.
Let’s read it, “He –Jesus - was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” The title of our sermon this morning is this: “Easter: The Greatest Delivery Ever”. What God gave to mankind through His Son Jesus Christ on that Easter weekend is the greatest delivery ever in human history. If there is one thing I want for you to see today it is this: There is nothing greater that you can receive then what God has delivered to you on Easter.
What has God delivered? Four months ago we celebrated the gift God gave to us when His Son was born from a virgin. But, today, we celebrate again as this One is miraculously born again. At Christmas He was born from a womb, but, on Easter, Jesus was born from a tomb.
I want to divide this sermon into 2.5 parts. Part 1 is Delivered to Death. Part 2 is Delivered from Death. And Part 2.5 is the Decision to be Delivered.
Delivered to Death (25a)
Notice the first half of verse 25, “He was delivered over to death for our sins…” Jesus was delivered to death.
The word “delivered” in the Greek is “parodidomai”. It means “to hand over to the custody of another”. It has the idea that the one who is handed over is now under the authority of another. If I am delivered over to someone they now have total right over me. They have custody of me. I am surrendered to and in submission to their authority and power and use of me.
But, one very important question we have to answer is: Who delivered Him? Who handed Jesus Christ over to be put to death? This is answered in two ways. First, humanity delivered Jesus over to death. The Jews, together with the Gentiles condemned Him and crucified Him. In Acts 3:13 the Apostle Peter, using the same word, told the Jewish leaders, “God has glorified His servant, Jesus, whom you handed over to be killed. You disowned Him before Pilate.”
They betrayed Jesus in front of Pilate and delivered Him over to him to be killed. And we see this handing over, this delivering over, this betrayal of Jesus by men, particularly the Jews, happening over and over again on the last day –even hours – before He finally is buried in His grave.
He was betrayed (parodidomai) to the Jews by Judas (Mk 14:10). He was handed over (parodidomai) to Pilate by the Sanhedrin (Mk 15:1). Pilate handed Jesus over to the people’s will to be crucified (Lk 23:25). Jesus was being delivered into the hands of His enemies until finally He was delivered over to death.
This is the lowest point of humanity. This is how far the reach of mankind’s evil will go. All the atrocities and all the evil that has been done by man to man is unbearable to even think about. But, for humanity, there is no greater evil, there is no greater injustice, there is no greater atrocity and no greater moral failure than to take and crucify the pure and innocent Son of the Living God.
He is of infinite worth and praise beyond even human description. Isaiah 53 says that there was no deceit in His mouth and that He had done no violence. Second Corinthians 5 says that He knew no sin. He had never experienced sin by indulging in it – not once – He was entirely separate from sin. Acts 3 declares Him the Holy and Righteous One. The day that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified was the darkest moment of human history.
But, this is what God planned. You see, even though man delivered Jesus over to death, through it all it was the plan and purpose of God to hand Jesus over to death. You cannot miss this point: God was delivering His own Son over to death. He is called “the Lamb of God”, that means He is the lamb that God offered as a sacrifice.
In 1 John 4:10 it says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The Father sent Jesus into the world because it was His plan that Jesus die in this way. Jesus was not a victim who couldn’t defend Himself from wicked men. Jesus gave Himself willingly into their hands. “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own accord” He said in John 10. When He prayed in Matthew 26 in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” It was God’s will for Him to die.
Talking about God the Father Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all…” God did not spare Jesus – He forsook Him. Mark 15 records the agonizing words of Jesus when He was abandoned by the Father on the cross: “Eloi, Eloi, lamasabachthani ..My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
You will never know that feeling. You and I will never in all our life – in this one and the one to come – even begin to understand what He was going through when He said those words. For at that moment He was suffering all of our punishment that should have fallen on us. But because He suffered it for us we will never know what He went through. God the Father did not spare His Son, but, He forsook His Son on the cross so that He could spare us. That is why we give thanks and that is why we praise His name!
God did not just know Jesus was going to be crucified - He planned it and made it happen. Peter said this much in Acts 2:23 when he was preaching to the Jews, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Those men acted in their own free will, according to their own evil purposes, and it was all under the umbrella of God’s control.
It’s important to understand the nature of Jesus Christ’s death. It was two-fold. First, He died physically. His body died. Does that seem obvious? Some people don’t believe that. They believe in the swoon theory - that Jesus fainted on the cross and the people who buried Him didn’t realize that He was still alive. But that is absurd and here are 4 quick reasons why:
First, Roman soldiers were paid, professional killers. They crucified more than 30,000 people. They knew what they were doing, they knew how to kill, and they knew when someone was dead. Second, these same skilled soldiers shoved a spear into his chest. I’m not a doctor but I think medically that leads to a very short life. Third, it was common for someone to die during a flogging.
Flogging criminals was a common form of punishment in Rome. “During a flogging, a victim was tied to a post, leaving his back entirely exposed. The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum or flagellum which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. … The victim often died from the beating….During the flogging, the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone ("hamburger " : Metherall). Extreme blood loss occurred from this beating, weakening the victim - perhaps to the point of being unconscious.”
If someone survived that, do you think they would survive being crucified and speared in the chest? Fourth, they prepared His body for burial. It was the custom of the Jews to anoint the bodies of the dead with spices and aloes, as we see in John 19:39-40. With the time it took to take Jesus down from the cross, bring His body to the grave, anoint Him, wrap Him and place Him in the grave, not to mention the time taken to grieve – there is no way He could have been alive and they didn’t know it. You can’t hold your breath that long! The fact is He was dead. He did not faint.
He had to die physically. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too had to share in their humanity so that by death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is the devil”. God did not become an angel. God did not become an animal. God became a man. He became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. And the reason He became like man is so that He could die as a man –physically. A body was prepared for Him and that body was destined for death.
The second way Jesus died was spiritually. While He hung on the cross He was separated from the Father and literally endured all of the conditions of hell. This is the moment that made Jesus sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane. This is the moment that made Him ask the Father that if there was any way possible to let this cup pass Him by. It wasn’t the flogging. It wasn’t the beating. It wasn’t the mocking by men and spitting in His face. It wasn’t the crown of thorns piercing His head. It wasn’t the 3 nails driven into His flesh. It wasn’t the excruciating physical pain of hanging on the cross.
There was an agony far greater and more terrifying than the wrath of man. It was the wrath of God that He was facing. This is spiritual death. Being cut-off from the Father’s fellowship (Isa 53). The beginning of Jesus ministry was marked by the Father’s declaration of His love for and pleasure with Him (Mth 3). Now, at the end, at the climax of His earthly ministry, Jesus was not facing the love of the Father, but, the full measure of His fierce wrath. All the weight of divine judgment was brought down upon Him. God’s wrath that has been stored up all along was finally hurled from heaven down onto His Son who in those 6 hours was enduring all the penalty for every sin ever committed by men.
That’s why His death was unique – it was substitionary. That’s why no one else will have ever died like Him - because when He died He bore God’s wrath for our sins. He was our substitute. He took our place. He suffered it all on our behalf. He suffered what He suffered so you and I will never have to suffer it. He was delivered over to death for our sins.
Delivered from Death (25b)
Point number 1 is that Jesus was delivered over to death. Point number 2 is that Jesus was Delivered from Death. “He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.”
He was raised that Easter morning after spending 3 days in the grave. It was the act of God, the full triune Godhead to bring Him to life. Galatians 1:1 says the Father did it. John 10:18 says Jesus did it. Romans 8:11 says the Holy Spirit did it. God in His full and perfect will performed the resurrection of His Son, Jesus – who is the Christ.
And in doing so, it proves two things: the Sonship and the Success of Jesus Christ. First it proves His Sonship. Romans 1:4 says, “Jesus Christ, through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.” By raising Jesus to life God was declaring that this was His Son.
God has been declaring Jesus to be His Son from the beginning: in the prophets long before Jesus came (__); to Mary when she was pregnant with Jesus (Lk 1:35); at Jesus’ baptism (Mth 3:17). From the beginning, while Jesus was on earth He declared to be the Son of God. His enemies crucified Him for declaring to be the Son of God. And, after He lay in a grave God declared again with power that Jesus was His Son by bringing Him back to life.
The resurrection is historical fact. It is not a legend, it is not a myth, it is not a story, it is not a fairy tale. Jesus of Nazareth lived and died and came back to life. And there have been any number of theories that people have come up with to try and give any other possible explanation for an empty tomb and no body. But anyone who is honestly weighing the evidence will see the absurdity of them. And an honest evaluation of the evidence left behind for us will prove more than convincing.
Not only does the resurrection prove the Sonship of Jesus, but, secondly, it proves His Success. He came for a reason. He accomplished our Justification. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised up to life FOR our justification.”
The word justification is such an important word. It is the Greek word, “dikaiosis”, and it means “to be declared righteous” or “to be regarded as innocent of the charges”. It means that the God of heaven and earth who is the Holy Judge legally changes your status from guilty to not-guilty.
It means that your sin has been cancelled, and, therefore the death penalty has been cancelled. We were all born into sin and the power of sin is death. Romans 6 says the payment for our sin is death. 1 Corinthians 15 says the power of sin is death. James 1 says the product of sin is death.
Death is the ultimate result of sin - but if sin is defeated then so too is death. Jesus took sin on Himself and suffered the death penalty of sin and therefore there sin has no power over those who are in Christ. And because He satisfied God’s justice and atoned for our sins God raised Him from the dead so that the atoning work He did could become available to all who would trust in Him.
Conclusion: Your Decision to be Delivered
Need a verse that relates….
The question is: Have you been delivered from death? Only faith in Jesus Christ can deliver you. Only Jesus death and resurrection can justify you before God. That means that any effort of your own will fail. That means that any other way, whether religious, spiritual, moral, or social will not do for you what only Jesus Christ has done for you. His work – not yours – is what God accepts. He died your death so you could live His life. He took up your shame so you could take up His righteousness. There is the exchange.
In the beginning of the message today I talked about a man who described the fork in the road. There is a fork in the road for you today. Which way will you go? Perhaps you’ve never heard of Christ. Perhaps you’ve been following the road of your life and just now are hearing about Jesus Christ. Then today you have come to a fork in the road. One road goes on without Christ. Only dead men are on that road. For it’s a road of self-trust and religion and good morals. Going in one direction is the road that leads to death. Proverbs says that there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.
On the other road awaits a man who is alive and who offers to lead you down the other road. He Himself was dead once, but, now He is alive forever. He can lead you to life. But, what you must first realize is that you have always been on the other road - the road of death. You must see that. And you must choose. You choose to be delivered from death. Jesus Christ said that whoever believes in Him has crossed over from death to life. The decision to be delivered is yours. The decision to be saved from your sins and to get on the road of eternal life is yours.
The Greatest Delivery Ever
Introduction
There is a story that tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. Those who knew him asked him the question, 'Why have you become a Christian?' He answered them and said, ‘Well, suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn't know which way to go. And then, right there at the fork in the road you saw there were two men. One man was dead and one man was alive. Which one of these men would you ask is the right way to go?'"
Today we celebrate the most glorious day in human history – the day Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of God, was raised up from the dead. We do not follow a dead man. We follow a risen Lord, who was dead, but now is alive forevermore and who holds the keys of death and Hades.
This is why it is the most important belief in the Christian faith. The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the highest, most glorious point in all human history. It is the cornerstone and foundation of our faith as Christians. You cannot remove His resurrection and have any faith left at all – it all comes crashing down.
This is why so much of what the Bible says has to do with this great historical truth. And that’s why Jesus Christ’s resurrection should not be for Easter sermons alone. But, it should necessarily be a common theme all year long in the preaching and teaching ministry of the Church.
Having said that, it can be a little difficult on Easter morning then to choose where to go and preach from. But, where I want us to turn this morning is to Romans 4. And there is one verse that I want us to center on today, it is verse 25.
Why am I choosing this verse today? Why am I not going to one of the Gospel’s to see the historical account of His resurrection where we can see those first few hours on that glorious day and those first eyewitnesses to Jesus alive? Why am I not going to 1 Corinthians 15 to see the powerful preaching of Paul on the resurrection?
The reason is because in this one verse Paul packs all the weight of the truth of what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means into one sentence. And I want to unpack verse 25 for us so we can see the riches of the Resurrection.
Let’s read it, “He –Jesus - was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” The title of our sermon this morning is this: “Easter: The Greatest Delivery Ever”. What God gave to mankind through His Son Jesus Christ on that Easter weekend is the greatest delivery ever in human history. If there is one thing I want for you to see today it is this: There is nothing greater that you can receive then what God has delivered to you on Easter.
What has God delivered? Four months ago we celebrated the gift God gave to us when His Son was born from a virgin. But, today, we celebrate again as this One is miraculously born again. At Christmas He was born from a womb, but, on Easter, Jesus was born from a tomb.
I want to divide this sermon into 2.5 parts. Part 1 is Delivered to Death. Part 2 is Delivered from Death. And Part 2.5 is the Decision to be Delivered.
Delivered to Death (25a)
Notice the first half of verse 25, “He was delivered over to death for our sins…” Jesus was delivered to death.
The word “delivered” in the Greek is “parodidomai”. It means “to hand over to the custody of another”. It has the idea that the one who is handed over is now under the authority of another. If I am delivered over to someone they now have total right over me. They have custody of me. I am surrendered to and in submission to their authority and power and use of me.
But, one very important question we have to answer is: Who delivered Him? Who handed Jesus Christ over to be put to death? This is answered in two ways. First, humanity delivered Jesus over to death. The Jews, together with the Gentiles condemned Him and crucified Him. In Acts 3:13 the Apostle Peter, using the same word, told the Jewish leaders, “God has glorified His servant, Jesus, whom you handed over to be killed. You disowned Him before Pilate.”
They betrayed Jesus in front of Pilate and delivered Him over to him to be killed. And we see this handing over, this delivering over, this betrayal of Jesus by men, particularly the Jews, happening over and over again on the last day –even hours – before He finally is buried in His grave.
He was betrayed (parodidomai) to the Jews by Judas (Mk 14:10). He was handed over (parodidomai) to Pilate by the Sanhedrin (Mk 15:1). Pilate handed Jesus over to the people’s will to be crucified (Lk 23:25). Jesus was being delivered into the hands of His enemies until finally He was delivered over to death.
This is the lowest point of humanity. This is how far the reach of mankind’s evil will go. All the atrocities and all the evil that has been done by man to man is unbearable to even think about. But, for humanity, there is no greater evil, there is no greater injustice, there is no greater atrocity and no greater moral failure than to take and crucify the pure and innocent Son of the Living God.
He is of infinite worth and praise beyond even human description. Isaiah 53 says that there was no deceit in His mouth and that He had done no violence. Second Corinthians 5 says that He knew no sin. He had never experienced sin by indulging in it – not once – He was entirely separate from sin. Acts 3 declares Him the Holy and Righteous One. The day that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified was the darkest moment of human history.
But, this is what God planned. You see, even though man delivered Jesus over to death, through it all it was the plan and purpose of God to hand Jesus over to death. You cannot miss this point: God was delivering His own Son over to death. He is called “the Lamb of God”, that means He is the lamb that God offered as a sacrifice.
In 1 John 4:10 it says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The Father sent Jesus into the world because it was His plan that Jesus die in this way. Jesus was not a victim who couldn’t defend Himself from wicked men. Jesus gave Himself willingly into their hands. “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own accord” He said in John 10. When He prayed in Matthew 26 in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” It was God’s will for Him to die.
Talking about God the Father Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all…” God did not spare Jesus – He forsook Him. Mark 15 records the agonizing words of Jesus when He was abandoned by the Father on the cross: “Eloi, Eloi, lamasabachthani ..My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
You will never know that feeling. You and I will never in all our life – in this one and the one to come – even begin to understand what He was going through when He said those words. For at that moment He was suffering all of our punishment that should have fallen on us. But because He suffered it for us we will never know what He went through. God the Father did not spare His Son, but, He forsook His Son on the cross so that He could spare us. That is why we give thanks and that is why we praise His name!
God did not just know Jesus was going to be crucified - He planned it and made it happen. Peter said this much in Acts 2:23 when he was preaching to the Jews, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Those men acted in their own free will, according to their own evil purposes, and it was all under the umbrella of God’s control.
It’s important to understand the nature of Jesus Christ’s death. It was two-fold. First, He died physically. His body died. Does that seem obvious? Some people don’t believe that. They believe in the swoon theory - that Jesus fainted on the cross and the people who buried Him didn’t realize that He was still alive. But that is absurd and here are 4 quick reasons why:
First, Roman soldiers were paid, professional killers. They crucified more than 30,000 people. They knew what they were doing, they knew how to kill, and they knew when someone was dead. Second, these same skilled soldiers shoved a spear into his chest. I’m not a doctor but I think medically that leads to a very short life. Third, it was common for someone to die during a flogging.
Flogging criminals was a common form of punishment in Rome. “During a flogging, a victim was tied to a post, leaving his back entirely exposed. The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum or flagellum which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. … The victim often died from the beating….During the flogging, the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone ("hamburger " : Metherall). Extreme blood loss occurred from this beating, weakening the victim - perhaps to the point of being unconscious.”
If someone survived that, do you think they would survive being crucified and speared in the chest? Fourth, they prepared His body for burial. It was the custom of the Jews to anoint the bodies of the dead with spices and aloes, as we see in John 19:39-40. With the time it took to take Jesus down from the cross, bring His body to the grave, anoint Him, wrap Him and place Him in the grave, not to mention the time taken to grieve – there is no way He could have been alive and they didn’t know it. You can’t hold your breath that long! The fact is He was dead. He did not faint.
He had to die physically. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too had to share in their humanity so that by death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is the devil”. God did not become an angel. God did not become an animal. God became a man. He became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. And the reason He became like man is so that He could die as a man –physically. A body was prepared for Him and that body was destined for death.
The second way Jesus died was spiritually. While He hung on the cross He was separated from the Father and literally endured all of the conditions of hell. This is the moment that made Jesus sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane. This is the moment that made Him ask the Father that if there was any way possible to let this cup pass Him by. It wasn’t the flogging. It wasn’t the beating. It wasn’t the mocking by men and spitting in His face. It wasn’t the crown of thorns piercing His head. It wasn’t the 3 nails driven into His flesh. It wasn’t the excruciating physical pain of hanging on the cross.
There was an agony far greater and more terrifying than the wrath of man. It was the wrath of God that He was facing. This is spiritual death. Being cut-off from the Father’s fellowship (Isa 53). The beginning of Jesus ministry was marked by the Father’s declaration of His love for and pleasure with Him (Mth 3). Now, at the end, at the climax of His earthly ministry, Jesus was not facing the love of the Father, but, the full measure of His fierce wrath. All the weight of divine judgment was brought down upon Him. God’s wrath that has been stored up all along was finally hurled from heaven down onto His Son who in those 6 hours was enduring all the penalty for every sin ever committed by men.
That’s why His death was unique – it was substitionary. That’s why no one else will have ever died like Him - because when He died He bore God’s wrath for our sins. He was our substitute. He took our place. He suffered it all on our behalf. He suffered what He suffered so you and I will never have to suffer it. He was delivered over to death for our sins.
Delivered from Death (25b)
Point number 1 is that Jesus was delivered over to death. Point number 2 is that Jesus was Delivered from Death. “He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.”
He was raised that Easter morning after spending 3 days in the grave. It was the act of God, the full triune Godhead to bring Him to life. Galatians 1:1 says the Father did it. John 10:18 says Jesus did it. Romans 8:11 says the Holy Spirit did it. God in His full and perfect will performed the resurrection of His Son, Jesus – who is the Christ.
And in doing so, it proves two things: the Sonship and the Success of Jesus Christ. First it proves His Sonship. Romans 1:4 says, “Jesus Christ, through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.” By raising Jesus to life God was declaring that this was His Son.
God has been declaring Jesus to be His Son from the beginning: in the prophets long before Jesus came (__); to Mary when she was pregnant with Jesus (Lk 1:35); at Jesus’ baptism (Mth 3:17). From the beginning, while Jesus was on earth He declared to be the Son of God. His enemies crucified Him for declaring to be the Son of God. And, after He lay in a grave God declared again with power that Jesus was His Son by bringing Him back to life.
The resurrection is historical fact. It is not a legend, it is not a myth, it is not a story, it is not a fairy tale. Jesus of Nazareth lived and died and came back to life. And there have been any number of theories that people have come up with to try and give any other possible explanation for an empty tomb and no body. But anyone who is honestly weighing the evidence will see the absurdity of them. And an honest evaluation of the evidence left behind for us will prove more than convincing.
Not only does the resurrection prove the Sonship of Jesus, but, secondly, it proves His Success. He came for a reason. He accomplished our Justification. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised up to life FOR our justification.”
The word justification is such an important word. It is the Greek word, “dikaiosis”, and it means “to be declared righteous” or “to be regarded as innocent of the charges”. It means that the God of heaven and earth who is the Holy Judge legally changes your status from guilty to not-guilty.
It means that your sin has been cancelled, and, therefore the death penalty has been cancelled. We were all born into sin and the power of sin is death. Romans 6 says the payment for our sin is death. 1 Corinthians 15 says the power of sin is death. James 1 says the product of sin is death.
Death is the ultimate result of sin - but if sin is defeated then so too is death. Jesus took sin on Himself and suffered the death penalty of sin and therefore there sin has no power over those who are in Christ. And because He satisfied God’s justice and atoned for our sins God raised Him from the dead so that the atoning work He did could become available to all who would trust in Him.
Conclusion: Your Decision to be Delivered
Need a verse that relates….
The question is: Have you been delivered from death? Only faith in Jesus Christ can deliver you. Only Jesus death and resurrection can justify you before God. That means that any effort of your own will fail. That means that any other way, whether religious, spiritual, moral, or social will not do for you what only Jesus Christ has done for you. His work – not yours – is what God accepts. He died your death so you could live His life. He took up your shame so you could take up His righteousness. There is the exchange.
In the beginning of the message today I talked about a man who described the fork in the road. There is a fork in the road for you today. Which way will you go? Perhaps you’ve never heard of Christ. Perhaps you’ve been following the road of your life and just now are hearing about Jesus Christ. Then today you have come to a fork in the road. One road goes on without Christ. Only dead men are on that road. For it’s a road of self-trust and religion and good morals. Going in one direction is the road that leads to death. Proverbs says that there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.
On the other road awaits a man who is alive and who offers to lead you down the other road. He Himself was dead once, but, now He is alive forever. He can lead you to life. But, what you must first realize is that you have always been on the other road - the road of death. You must see that. And you must choose. You choose to be delivered from death. Jesus Christ said that whoever believes in Him has crossed over from death to life. The decision to be delivered is yours. The decision to be saved from your sins and to get on the road of eternal life is yours.
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