Happy Easter!

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. - 1 Peter 2:24

Happy Easter. In yesterdays post I talked about sin and focused on what Jesus bore on the cross. Today however let's look at what this means for us.

If we are guilty of breaking God's law and are going to be damned to Hell for eternity, we need help. Hell we are told is a horrible place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place where we will forever reap the payment for our sins.

But, God in his mercy has made a way for us to be freed from this punishment. Instead of eternity in Hell he offers eternity in Heaven. Heaven is described as the new city of Jerusalem, a wonderful and awesome place beyond our comprehension.

How then do we get this mercy and enter into Heaven? Jesus bore our sins on the cross and there he died paying once for all the penalty for our sins. His death payed the debt we owed.
Jesus came to earth with the purpose of freeing us from our sins. He knew from the beginning that his life on earth would end in his taking our place on the cross, shedding his blood to free us from Hell. He willingly laid down his life so that we could live.

Imagine for a moment that you owed 200 million dollars to someone. The money was theirs and you took it by some illegal means. Your punishment was to pay them back while in jail, and you would not be released until it was paid in full. It would be impossible for you to pay that debt back. Your hope of ever seeing another free day would be gone.

That is exactly how we stand before God. The Bible tells us that if we break just one of God's laws it is as if we broke all of them. In this state then we are hopelessly condemned and deserving of Hell. We have no ground upon which to argue our case. The law states that we are guilty and only mercy can set us free.

Now imagine that your 200 million dollar debt was paid by someone. The guards come and release you from prison. You ask them how this can be since you have only paid a few dollars back and they tell you that John Smith paid your debt.

This is what Jesus has done for us. God's law clearly condemned us to death. But Jesus came to earth perfectly kept God's laws and then died in our place to pay the debt we owed. Best of all, he not only died, but rose again from the dead conquering sin so that we may live in righteousness.

Our debt is paid. Our sins forgiven. All we have to do is repent and believe. Do you believe? Come to Jesus this Easter day and celebrate, truly celebrate what he has done for you.