There is no ambiguity about God’s intentions throughout the Bible. From the very beginning of creation God’s has desired to have a relationship with those whom He created. Reconciliation, ransom and sacrifice are all the result of God’s increasing desire to bring each one of us close to himself. Throughout history many people have tried to discredit or discount Christ’s death on the cross but they all failed in light of the clear message contained in the holy Scriptures.
The effectiveness of the death of Christ depended solely on who he was. This was no mere man. Jesus Christ was God-man. God was…in Christ. Christ’s life was of infinite value, and his death likewise had infinite worth. The sum total of the value of all those for whom he died does not approximate the value of Christ’s divine life, which he voluntarily surrendered on the cross at Calvary. We simply cannot comprehend the intensity of the spiritual suffering the Son of God endured at the cross.
Receiving the wrath of God for the sins of all men was indescribable anguish. The physical suffering of Jesus was intense but it paled in comparison to the spiritual suffering Jesus endured at the same time on our behalf. All of us are God’s offspring by creation but we become God’s children spiritually when we accept God’s gift of the cross. Those who believe in Jesus have eternal life and those who do not will inherit the wrath of God and suffer eternal damnation in the lake of fire. It’s either one or the other. We all have the free will to decide our eternal fate.
Even when we’re saved we’ll still sin and need daily cleansing by the Holy Spirit. We’ll all need to continue to grow in Christ through prayer and receive instruction from God through His Word. All that really matters is to make God ours by faith and to know we belong to God. God knows His own and He will protect us and hold us in His hands.
1 John 3:16 – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
1 Corinthians 6:20 – For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.