Why did Christ make the ultimate penalty?
Jesus Christ went to the Cross willingly, He accepted our sins so that we could be free from ourselves. Christ did this so that we could tell others about His Saving Grace. Leviticus 16 tells us that God commanded that 2 goats be brought before the priests; one was to be sacrificed for the other, the one that was let go is defined as the scapegoat that was to be set free in order to roam the wilderness proclaiming God’s liberty. In this passage the wilderness represents the world that we live in. The scapegoat is guilty but was set free; contrast this with society’s definition of the word scapegoat which is used to symbolize innocence that has been proclaimed guilty. The beauty of this passage is that it helps us to understand that man is born in sin and only God is holy, so only God could pay the penalty of sin. We could ask if He knew that man would be sinners and that He would have to die, why did He create us. The obvious answer is for His pleasure. God is Love and love must share; life is love and love is life. In order to tabernacle with us, God had to give us His Eternal Life and that could only be done by redeeming us from ourselves so that we could be free from His condemnation. Revelation 22:4 tells us that we will tabernacle with God, this statement requires a condition of freedom from sin because God can not be in the presence of sin. In Romans 8, we learn that all of creation waited for deliverance from bondage by the children of God, reflecting back to Genesis 3 we learned that all of creation was cursed and this curse still exists today. (In Revelation 21, we learn that a new heaven and a new earth will be presented). All who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior have been given the responsibility to tell others in the wilderness. In order to do that we must grow in His Grace and knowledge so that we can transform our minds according to His Will for our lives, not just on Sundays but daily, weathering the storms that are sure to come.
The type of freedom that was given to us is somewhat different than our ability to understand. He gave us the freedom to choose for or against Him. A choice against His salvation will lead us to condemnation, a choice for Jesus Christ (Christ alone provides justification) will provide eternal security. As a young child, I used to look at the birds of the air and thought that they were free, as an adult I have come to understand that their freedom is not real. Birds are only free as long as they are in the air, on the ground they are bound and vulnerable. Fish are free in the water, not outside of the water. As long as they are in a conditioned environment they are free. Christians are free from environmental conditions, as a matter of fact Christ has freed us from all conditions, in Him we are free. The operative term here is "in Him."
We are talking about TRUE believers and not false professors.
