Here are few good posts focused on the cross, resurrection, and our salvation for your weekend reading:
Jared Wilson considers the many things Jesus accomplished on the cross for us.
Steve Dewitt writes about Jesus’ resurrection body – which points to what our resurrection bodies will one day be like.
Tullian Tchividjian reminds us that because of Christ we are already righteous – and that changes everything.
Have a great Resurrection Sunday celebrating our Risen Savior!
And let us learn from the story of the passion always to hate sin with a great hatred. Sin was the cause of all our Savior’s sufferings. Our sins twisted the crown of thorns; our sins drove the nails into his hands and feet; on account of our sins his blood was shed. Surely the thought of Christ crucified should make us loathe all sin.
– J. C. Ryle
Was he flogged?
It was done so that “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
Was he condemned though innocent?
It was done so that we might be acquitted, though guilty.
Did he wear a crown of thorns?
It was done so that we might wear the crown of glory.
Was he stripped of his clothes?
It was done so that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness.
Was he mocked and reviled?
It was done so that we might be honored and blessed.
Was he reckoned a criminal, and counted among those who have done wrong?
It was done so that we might be reckoned innocent, and declared free from all sin.
Was he declared unable to save himself?
It was so that he might be able to save others to the uttermost.
Did he die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful death?
It was done so that we might live forevermore, and be exalted to the highest glory.
– J. C. Ryle
J. C. Ryle writes regarding the cross:
Let us meditate frequently on these things: let us often read over the story of Christ’s cross and passion. Let us remember, not least, that all these horrible sufferings were borne without a murmur; no word of impatience crossed our Lord’s lips. In his death, no less than in his life, he was perfect. To the very last, Satan had no hold on him…
These words challenge me. As he stood in turn before the chief priests, Herod, and Pilate, he endured a mockery of justice without a murmur. He endured the lashings without a murmur. He endured the mockery with a murmur. He endured the beatings without a murmur. He endured the spitting without a murmur. He endured the crown of thorns without a murmur. He endured the nails piercing his body without a murmur. He endured hanging on that cross without a murmur. He endured the wrath of God for my sin without a murmur. Without a murmur.
And yet these words also convict me. They point to my own sinfulness. He endured horrible suffering without a murmur, yet I can easily murmur at the smallest things. A slow driver in front of me, an interruption while I’m trying to focus on a task, and many other small things in life can cause me to murmur. In his perfect example I am confronted afresh with my own sin. I simply don’t measure up. And yet that is why he endured the suffering without a murmur. So my sins could be laid on him. So his perfection might be attributed to me.
As I ponder his sufferings for me, it moves me to change. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to face the trials of life without a murmur. On my own, I simply can’t. But with his help in the power of the Spirit, I can press forward, I can grow more like him, I can begin to face life without a murmur.
Father, help me to face today’s trials without a murmur, as I remember Jesus who endured for me so much more – without a murmur. Amen.
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
– Matthew 26:39
What is this cup? It is clearly a reference to the wrath of God for your sins and mine….
That’s why there’s shuddering terror and deep distress for him at this moment. In the crucible of human weakness he’s brought face to face with the abhorrent reality of bearing our iniquity and becoming the object of God’s full and furious wrath….
This is what bearing our sins means to him – utter distress of soul as he confronts total abandonment and absolute wrath from his Father on the cross, a distress and an abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp.
In this, our Savior’s darkest hour…do you recognize his love for you?
– C. J. Mahaney
Hi all! A few good reads for the weekend:
First, what do you do when you are struggling with your faith, or trials seem to be shredding your faith? How do you get your faith back? How do you press forward in your faith? Mark Altrogge has some wise words to guide us.
Second, let’s think about worship. Better yet, let’s prepare for gathering to worship with our church family tomorrow. Bob Kauflin gives us three good reasons to sing in church. And Mark Altrogge reminds us that the words matter.
Third, as we prepare for Passion Week, Ray Ortlund gives us a helpful quote from John Stott on one way the cross changes us.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day building your faith, worshipping the Lord, and reflecting on your Savior!
The Cross-Centered Life – C. J. Mahaney
I recently reread this book, and have included a few quotes in some past posts. It is a short book, but it has an important message. We simply can’t lose sight of the cross, or even more – it must be central to our lives. He shows how the cross destroys legalism and removes guilt. And he gives practical suggestions for living with the cross at the center of our lives. Much worth reading…and rereading.
C.J. Mahaney in his book, The Cross Centered Life, provides two quotes that tie his topic to the issue of idolatry:
I fear that the cross, without ever being disowned, is constantly in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the center, we are not far removed from idolatry. – D. A. Carson
Legalism has its origin in self-worship. [i.e. idolatry] If people are justified through their obedience to the law, then they merit praise, honor, and glory. Legalism, in other words, means the glory goes to people rather than God. – Thomas Schreiner
(For more thoughts on idolatry, see the new Three Passions Idolatry page.)
Imagine that you are a begger dressed in dirty, filthy rags. You work really hard, and after a long time you are able to buy a shirt. You proudly put it over your rags, but the rags are still underneath, and you can still see the rags on your legs. What is more, you note that your new shirt is stained with dirt; it is not as clean as you thought.
Then one day, the son of the king comes through town. You hide in the crowds, but he picks you out, and tells you to come with him. He casts your new shirt aside, and takes your rags. To your surprise, he takes his clean robe and places it on you, as he puts your old rags on himself. What you could not do by your own effort, he has done for you. And the king welcomes you to his palace.
Dear reader – are you still in the rags of your sin or have you received the great exchange offered to you by Jesus, the King’s Son? If you are still in your rags, Jesus offers this great exchange to you – he died to pay for your sins, and he offers you his perfect righteousness. Turn from your sins and trust in Jesus and he will give you a new life. If you have received this great exchange, no matter what you have done, you are pure and clean in his sight.
Have you not read:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” – Titus 3: 5a
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” – Isaiah 64:6
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:6
“For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” – Romans 3:21-22
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” – Isaiah 1:18
Brian J. Mikul 