Nishlam!

 

When, then, Jesus took the vinegar, He said, "It is accomplished!"  And reclining his head, He gives up His spirit. 

Johns Account 19: 30, Concordant New Testament 

As Jesus hung on that Roman cross, no doubt weary from the treatment He had received, He uttered the most iconic words in all of our Christian belief.  That being, IT IS ACCOMPLISHED!  In uttering these words, Jesus not only proclaimed the end of His ministry, but the end of sin as an issue as well.  In regards to sin, Christ has proclaimed it finished in the past, present and future.  There would be no need for Jesus to put sin to death a second or third time.  As the apostle Paul proclaims, Jesus died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul To The Romans 6:10}.  Why is this important?  Because in modern Christianity sin continues to be an issue for many believers.  I believe that many Christians know of the death of Jesus on the cross, but are unaware of the significance of His sacrifice.  For Christ did not simply die for the forgiveness of my sins, but that sin as a whole would be nullified {Paul To The Romans 6:6}.  Yet far too many Christian pastors continue to speak of sin as if it were still relevant in our lives.  That we need to be aware of its influence in our lives.  That because of sin, there is now a separation between ourselves and God.  This is, of course, ridiculous thinking based upon the lie of the accuser spoken in the garden {Genesis 3:5-6}.  But despite Jesus declaring the defeat of sin "Accomplished," the mainstream church continues to this day to deny the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Now, don't get me wrong, for I am fully aware of what I have just staked claim to.  The church denying the sacrifice of Jesus?  Yes, and hear me out.  When the powers that be in the modern institutional church continue to proclaim the existence of sin, they are in fact denying that Jesus gave Himself up for the defeat of sin {Paul To The Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  That's right, Jesus BECAME sin that it would die with Him on the cross.  To continue to speak to the existence of sin is, in fact, denying the sacrifice of Jesus.  Yes, I fully expect a backlash of opposition to such a blasphemous claim, but how else can you describe it?  When Jesus Himself declares It is accomplished, I believe Him!  

Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin may be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for sin, for one who dies has been justified from sin.  Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceived that Christ, being roused from among the dead, is no longer dying.  Death is lording it over Him no longer, for in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God.  Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

Paul To The Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament 

The larger question one might ask is, if someone not trained up in seminary Pharisee school can profess to this truth we find in scripture, then why don't modern Christian pastors do the same?  Even though it is never my intent to point the finger of guilt at the mainstream church on most issues, they make it far too easy to do just that.  Most church leaders will point to the words of Paul in Romans proclaiming that all have sinned {Paul To The Romans 3:23}.  Yet in the very next verse, Paul speaks to the deliverance which we find in Christ.  Yes, all have sinned, but through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross that stain has been washed away.  I am no longer considered a sinner, nor a sinner saved by grace.  For with the sacrifice of Jesus I am a new creation free from the condemnation of sin {Paul To The Corinthians (2) 5:17}.  It was never the Fathers intent to keep His children in a state of bondage, yet that is what many are experiencing today.  For to believe that we continue to live in sin is to be in bondage to sin.  To live free in Christ is the realization that sin was put to death with Him on the cross.  Knowing this, we can confidently say IT IS ACCOMPLISHED! 

So that, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: the primitive passed by.  Lo! there has come new! 

Paul To The Corinthians (2) 5: 17, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~