This is an extract from "that Christ Died for Our Sins", by Vincent Murphy.
That Christ Died For Our Sins

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I'll be serializing the whole book from now until Christmas Day - so stay tuned, share this on Facebook, and tell your friends so they can learn more about Christ this Christmas.
So, we have seen the characteristics of those for whom Christ died, and again the way in which his death is availed to man. We have seen how Christ died for the weak whilst they were weak, for sinners whilst they were in sin, for the ungodly whilst they did not yet repent and indeed for the enemies of God whilst they remained yet hostile; again we have seen that the death of Christ is availed to man by faith, and by faith alone apart from works.

Now, we come to the most crucial question in the book. Did Christ die for me? Do I receive forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and life eternal, because Christ died for me?

The scriptures answer this question is a very straightforward way. They declare boldly and without limitation or condition, that if you believe in Christ as your saviour then indeed Christ did die for you and you are justified by his shed blood for your salvation.

We’ve already read the much-quoted passage from John 3:16, but let us read on a little to John 3:18 where Christ declares without reservation that those who believe are not condemned, but those who do not are already condemned:

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:18

Later, when Paul was in jail, his jailer asked him this same question, “what must I do to be saved?” to which Paul explained that being saved was a matter not of what he had to do but only that he was called to believe in Christ the Lord:

30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:30-31

Here too, we could bring forward many examples of those who have been saved by their faith. Perhaps one of the most memorable is the account of the two criminals who were crucified alongside Christ. One had started to mock Christ, but the other rebuked him, saying:

“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:40-43

What a wonderful example of the salvation which comes by faith! The criminal, who was being justly punished for his deeds, a man who was most certainly a sinner – not only privately but publicly, was received by Christ himself based on the faith he had in his very last hours – when he had no chance whatsoever of amending his ways or adding good works to his name. This man confessed that Christ was God, trusted that Christ would enter into his kingdom despite very present death, and placed his hope in Christ’s ability to save him.

Do you believe in Christ as your saviour, and trust in his promises of salvation? If you do, then you are already saved, already forgiven, already Christian, and already reconciled with God. In this you can draw very great comfort, if you believe, for you can be “sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Further, you can be comforted that if you believe in Christ then your faith is not in vain; it is the gift of God and a sure declaration of God’s almighty will to save – not only generally, but you personally.

An extract from "That Christ Died for Our Sins" by Vincent Murphy, to be serialized here from now until Christmas Day. Read the book as serialized so far.

Buy this book for yourself, or as a gift at Christmas:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99 * Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86< * Lulu Print -$7.72 $5.79/£4.99 £3.74

5 com

This is an extract from "that Christ Died for Our Sins", by Vincent Murphy.
That Christ Died For Our Sins

Buy this book:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99
Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86
Print -US $7.72 $5.79
Print -UK £4.99 £3.74
I'll be serializing the whole book from now until Christmas Day - so stay tuned, share this on Facebook, and tell your friends so they can learn more about Christ this Christmas.
The way in which God saves is most certainly a worthy reason to give him praise, and truly glorifies His name – yet, it does not quite speak to our own standing. If this favour of God is not a reward for works, then by what instrument is it applied to man? How can I be availed of his blood for the forgiveness of my sins?

We’ve seen in some detail that Christ died that man could be saved, and we have understood the way in which his death achieves reconciliation with God. What we will now discuss is how this work of Christ in his death on the cross is applied to man unto salvation.

The simple answer is ‘faith’; that faith is the instrument by which salvation is availed to man. By faith is meant not only a knowledge of the truth of God’s salvation in Christ, but also a trust in the promises found therein.

It is not enough just to know of Christ as the Saviour or to understand the divinity of Christ, for even the demons confess the same but are not saved (Mark 5:7, Acts 16:17, James 2:19). What is meant is a faith in Christ as Saviour, by trusting in Christ for salvation. This faith then is not an academic faith, but a heart-felt trust in what God has done in Christ.

In this same way, when Paul explains the way in which the righteousness of God is applied or imputed to man, he shows that it comes through faith in Christ for all who believe:

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Romans 3:21-22

We see this reliance on faith set out strikingly by Christ when he teaches the crowds in in Capernaum. When asked “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28), he answered “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29). The answer Christ gives means exactly what it seems to mean – that even before God, it is faith that ‘counts’.

Later in that discourse, Christ went on to declare God’s plan for salvation specifically in these terms, saying:

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day

John 6:40

This faith is not in itself a work or something one has to do, but is a gift from God, as we saw in our discussion of Ephesians 2:8-9 in the previous section where we read of that saving faith that “it is the gift of God”. It is God’s will to save – as we read in II Timothy, it is God who saved us, “because of his purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (II Timothy 1:9). Again, when Christ was close the time for his betrayal and subsequent death, he prayed out loud to the Father with words showing his authority to give eternal life to all those the Father had given him – eternal life which is in knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. This faith is a gift, given according to the will of God before the ages began, to call to eternal life all who God wills:

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:1-3

So, not only is this faith a gift, but it alone leads to eternal life – it alone is the cause for which we are counted righteous or justified before God. Paul explains this specifically regarding those who do not work but do trust in Christ, showing that even their faith is counted as righteousness. There is no required mix of faith and works in order to be saved by the blood of Christ. All that is required is faith, and that in itself is a gift of God:

And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness

Romans 4:5

So, in terms of our justification – or how we are made or declared righteous before God, “we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28).

It is worth also noting that the question here is not the quantity of faith, but the presence of faith. Because faith is the expression of the will of God to salvation, even that which seems weak has the power to save – as it is according to the almighty will of God1.

1 Many sincere people, both of past generations and amongst our contemporaries, have worried that revealing this truth, that salvation is by faith alone and without works, is too dangerous. They have worried that if people realise that they are saved by faith, and not by their works, that they might take it as a reason to do all kinds of evil and wickedness. Three things must be remembered when thinking about this question: first – the nature of faith, second – the nature of bondage to sin, and third – the nature of God’s word. Regarding the nature of faith, it is a universal consequence of coming to trust in Christ for Salvation that this trust starts to show in the fruits of repentance and gratitude. If one truly does believe, then he will likewise know of both both his great debt owed to Christ and of his new-found freedom from bondage to sin such that he might amend his ways. In this way, the ‘works’ our critics wish to make a precondition for salvation surely do follow salvation. Regarding the nature of bondage to sin, as we will see in the following chapter, those who are in bondage to sin are both unwilling and unable to repent and turn back to God – be their outward displays never so impressive. Thus, it is impossible that works be a precondition for being availed of the death of Christ, for without faith pre-existing there can be no true repentance. Regarding the nature of God’s word, as we have seen amply, this doctrine is one which God has determined to reveal to man; and if it is the will and wisdom of God that it should be revealed then who are we or our critics to presume to stand against God’s own judgement and teach God what is wise to reveal and what best kept hidden?

An extract from "That Christ Died for Our Sins" by Vincent Murphy, to be serialized here from now until Christmas Day. Read the book as serialized so far.

Buy this book for yourself, or as a gift at Christmas:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99 * Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86< * Lulu Print -$7.72 $5.79/£4.99 £3.74
none

This is an extract from "that Christ Died for Our Sins", by Vincent Murphy.
That Christ Died For Our Sins

Buy this book:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99
Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86
Print -US $7.72 $5.79
Print -UK £4.99 £3.74
I'll be serializing the whole book from now until Christmas Day - so stay tuned, share this on Facebook, and tell your friends so they can learn more about Christ this Christmas.
Having briefly reviewed those for whom Christ died, we need to start getting more practical. How did those people for whom Christ died earn his death? What did they do to qualify themselves to receive this great mercy from God?

The simple and shocking answer is that they did absolutely nothing. The noted preacher, Charles Spurgeon put it this way: “The only thing I contribute to my salvation are the sins from which I need saving”.

We’ve already seen that in the list of those for whom Christ died, the only listed qualifications have been negative: the weak, the ungodly, the sinners, and the enemies of God. There was not even a requirement that they make some improvement first, for the scripture has explicitly said Christ died for them whilst they were still in that rotten state.

We can read about this in a positive way as well as negative, particularly in explanations such as that of the letter to the Ephesians, which reads:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

So, speaking of those who have been saved, we first see that their faith has been the instrument of salvation – rather than anything they have done. Then, we see that even their faith is not their own work – but has been given them by God as a gift. There is nothing they can boast about, because there is nothing they have done!

Those for whom Christ died did absolutely nothing whatsoever to earn or deserve Christ, and this is a very important thing to understand. Christ did not die for them because they had turned to God, had improved their lives, had refrained from sin or anything else. Christ died for them because it was the will of God to send his beloved Son that they might be reconciled in his death:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17

The cause or reason for the death of Christ then is not anything they have done to deserve it but rather due to the love of God. It is to a world which deserved condemnation that Christ came, but he came not to condemn, but to save from perishing. Further, this love in itself is not something earned or merited, but something which acted even whilst they were still sinners, still enemies and still weak. The very shortest chapter in the Bible is the 117th Psalm, which simply reads:

1 Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

For this steadfast love of God, who has been faithful and loving to us even while we were unfaithful and hostile to him, we truly can praise the Lord. Quite unlike the idols and false gods of the Greeks and Romans which were said to need many offerings and inducements to persuade them to smile upon the people, the true and living God acts in love to save those who are ungodly and caught in the jaws of sin.

An extract from "That Christ Died for Our Sins" by Vincent Murphy, to be serialized here from now until Christmas Day. Read the book as serialized so far.

Buy this book for yourself, or as a gift at Christmas:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99 * Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86< * Lulu Print -$7.72 $5.79/£4.99 £3.74

none

This is an extract from "that Christ Died for Our Sins", by Vincent Murphy.
That Christ Died For Our Sins

Buy this book:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99
Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86
Print -US $7.72 $5.79
Print -UK £4.99 £3.74
I'll be serializing the whole book from now until Christmas Day - so stay tuned, share this on Facebook, and tell your friends so they can learn more about Christ this Christmas.
We have been talking about Christ’s death for our sins quite freely in the first four sections of this book, but have left the word ‘our’ assumed. In this section we will look at the ‘our’ in more detail, and as we do so we will seek to answer four key questions, all of which lead up to the crucial question of whether Christ died for you personally for the forgiveness of your sins.

  • “For whom did Christ die?” reviews key passages from the Old and New Testaments to come to an understanding of who Christ died ‘for’
  • “How did these people earn Christ’s death for them?” asks the way in which those for whom Christ died earned this great kindness of God
  • “How can I benefit from blood of Christ for the forgiveness of my sins?” turns the question around and looks not at how one earns or deserves Christ’s death but at the instrument by which Christ’s death is applied
  • “Did Christ die for me?” poses the crucial question of how one might personally know if Christ died for him
  • Finally, “How can I be sure Christ died for me?” looks at some of the ways we might be assured
An extract from "That Christ Died for Our Sins" by Vincent Murphy, to be serialized here from now until Christmas Day. Read the book as serialized so far.

Buy this book for yourself, or as a gift at Christmas:
Kindle US - $2.99 $0.99 * Kindle UK - £1.71 £0.86< * Lulu Print -$7.72 $5.79/£4.99 £3.74
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