WHY SIN IS UNREASONABLE

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2)

Devotion 18 of 23

MADE A CURSE

To be cursed is one thing, to be "made" a curse is quite another. Just as the possession of Jesus is the ultimate blessing, Jesus having sin laid upon Him made Him the ultimate curse. The judgement of God against sin took place in the Person of the Son. The Father "loved the Son" throughout His earthly ministry (John 3:35; 5:20). However, technically speaking, this was not the case when Jesus was upon the cross. There the indignance, anger, and wrath of God were vented upon the Son. God hated what He saw in Jesus, on the cross, and thus cursed Him. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Gal 3:13). Thus we are persuaded, sin that caused such an unworthy curse to occur is unreasonable!

Forsaken by God

There are some supposed scholars who argue Jesus was not forsaken by God, even though Jesus cried out in Psalmic precision (Psa 22:1) concerning that very experience. Their theology betrays their benighted understanding and distance from God. They do not sense the heinousness of sin, the seriousness of the human dilemma, or the greatness of Christ's sacrifice! They are trying to extrude Scripture through their perception rather than drawing their perception from Scripture.

When the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus, the Father had no alternative but to turn His face from His "only begotten Son." There was no other way for the Christ to be "made a curse." In a very real sense, He tread the winepress of the wrath of God "alone" (Isa 63:3). It was in this experience that God "put Him to grief" (Isa 53:10), or "caused Him to suffer" (Isa 53:10). Man, with all of his wickedness, could not inflict enough suffering on the Christ to "satisfy" God (Isa 53:11) or accomplish an atonement for sin.

Jesus knew He came into the world in order that this [cursing] might be accomplished. Yet it tore at His heart when it occurred. "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34). Anything that could evoke such a cry from Christ is totally unreasonable! This is not a statement saints are to doubt. Rather, it is one that will, when believed, develop the hatred for sin required to constrain men to run from it.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I praise You in Jesus' name that He did not remained cursed. In His name, I thank You for raising Him from the dead and exalting Him to Your own right hand, where there is no more curse. Grant me grace to forever be with Him there.

-- TOMORROW: WHEN FEARING IS IN ORDER --