The Unfinished Work of a Crucified
Saviour
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Introduction: Shortly before He
drew His last breath, Jesus Christ cried out, “It is Finished”. At that
place and time Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree, became a
curse for us and paid the debt for our sins. On the cross He completed all
of the physical and spiritual sufferings needed for the salvation of
mankind.
Yet, more and more
Christians assume that all of the work for redemption ended at the cross. But did it? What exactly was finished on the cross? Or, better yet, what
provisions of our salvation would be finalized over the next three days
culminating in His resurrection? What would have happened had Christ not
risen?
Work left
undone:
- The
pains of death would not be loosed.
According to Acts 2:23-24 when God
raised Christ from the dead, He loosed the pains of death.
Romans 6:9 also affirms that because of the
resurrection, death hath no more dominion over him.
- We
would not be justified. Romans
4:25 states that Christ was delivered for our offences but that he was
raised for our justification. Ah, but Romans 5:9 says we are justified
by his blood. That is correct the blood was not brought into the holy
of holies until Jesus Christ rose from the dead. In John 20 Jesus told
Mary, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to
my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God, and your God.” Jesus could not be touched until
He ascended to the Father and applied the blood to the mercy seat in
order to justify us in the sight of the Father. Robert Haldane said it
well in his commentary on Romans (page 184). “The justification,
therefore, of His people, which includes not only the pardon of their
sins, but also their title to the eternal inheritance, was begun in His
death, and perfected by His resurrection. He wrought their
justification by His death, but its efficacy depended on His
resurrection. By His death He paid their debt; in His resurrection He
received their acquittance. He arose to assure to them their right to
eternal life, by fully discovering and establishing it in His own
person, for all who are the members of His body.”
- We
would yet be in our sins. 1Corinthians 15:17 describes a domino effect. If Christ is not risen,
then your faith is vain. If your faith is vain then you are yet in your
sins. It is true that Christ paid it all on the cross and that He like
the scapegoat carried our sins away, but the fact is that Christ had to
appear before the Father without our sin before we could be made the
righteousness of God in Him.
- We
would not have access to the Father. When God raised Christ from the dead, He sat Him at His own right hand
(Ephesians 1:20). Our access to the Father is through the Son. 1Timothy
2:5 states that there is one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus. Had Christ not risen from the dead we could not approach
the Father. Even the Old Testament saints that died (with a few
exceptions) had to go to Abraham’s bosom until Christ rose from the
dead.
- We
would have no inheritance. Though it is true that the testament
goes into affect with the death of the testator, in this case there
would be no heirs without the resurrection. 1Peter 1:3-4 teaches that
we have been begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection, but it
doesn’t stop there. The next phrase says “To an inheritance
incorruptible”. Without the resurrection there is no inheritance.
Christ would not be Lord of
both the dead and living.
According to Romans
14:9, the resurrection is needed in order for Christ to have the right
to be the judge. What right would Christ have to judge the unsaved dead
if He did not conquer death Himself? The fact that Christ conquered
death, hell, and the grave, gives Him the authority to call them to
judgment.
Problem: Many people will go to John 19:30
and say that when Christ said, “It is finished” all of the work needing to
be done to ensure salvation for mankind was complete. But there are
numerous completions of the work of Christ. For instance, in John 17:4 the
work He had given Him to do was finished. Evidently the Lord Jesus Christ
finished different aspects of His work at different times. When Jesus said,
“It is finished” in John 19:30. He was talking about the payment for our
sins. Consider this verse in the book of James. James 1:15 states that
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Perhaps when Christ had
made an end of sin it brought forth death. Just after Christ uttered the
words “It is finished”, He then gave up the ghost. Anyway, Jesus did not
say, “It is all finished”. That is merely how we read it. The fact is
Christ had to suffer, die and be raised again in order for us to have the
hope of eternal life.
Conclusion: As you can see, our
eternity depends on more than Christ’s death on the cross. This should
in no way take away from the work that Christ did on the cross, but
rather give the Biblical balance to the gospel.
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