
Judges may be merciful and spare the guilty, parents may spare their children, but God did not spare his Son. Paul emphasizes the breadth of Christ’s work when he says God gave him up for us all. However, God doesn’t save men in the mass. He delivered up Christ in the distinctiveness of the sin, guilt, and weakness of us all. Jesus was delivered up for your sins of this past week. That ought to make you think twice before giving in to temptation.
Just over 150 years ago Octavius Winslow wrote, “‘Delivered him up for us all.’ If any other expression were necessary to deepen our sense of the vastness of his love, we have it here. Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy — but the Father, for love.” (Octavius Winslow, “No Condemnation in Christ,” 1852.)
If God has done the greater, he will do the lesser. He will graciously give you all things. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 helps show you the breadth of that promise.
The God who has chosen you is the God who is perfectly holy. He is the God who knows all things. Yet he has still chosen you in love. If he has loved you in Christ, who can bring any charge against you? Paul echoes the language of Isaiah 50:8-9. Isaiah looked forward to the coming of the Suffering Servant, the One who would obey perfectly, and who thus would be vindicated. What Isaiah anticipated, Paul assures you, is a reality in your life if your trust is in Christ.
By God’s grace can you say, “God is for me”? If so, conclude triumphantly, “Who can be against me?”
(In preparation for the message on January 2, 2011)