2 Timothy 2:19 (NIV)
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed
with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone
who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that
"in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them."1 The great fact on which genuine faith
relies is that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,"2 and
that "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the
unrighteous, that he might bring us to God";3"He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree";4 "Upon him was the chastisement
that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."5 In one
word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is substitution.
The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ
being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,
Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in
the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave Him, who are known to
God by name and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in
Jesus—this is the cardinal fact of the Gospel. If this foundation were removed,
what could we do? But it stands firm as the throne of God. We know it; we rest
on it; we rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to meditate upon it,
and to proclaim it, while we desire to be stirred and moved by gratitude for it
in every part of our life and conversation.
In these days a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of
the Atonement. Men cannot bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the
thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by
experience the preciousness of this truth, will proclaim it confidently and
unceasingly and in defiance of them. We will neither dilute it nor change it,
nor distort it in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a positive
substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the place of men. We cannot,
dare not give it up, for it is our life, and despite every controversy we
affirm that "God's firm foundation stands."
Thought for today:
Do I take accountability for my sin?
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