The Scots Confession, Chapter IX

The Scots Confession, Chapter IX

Christ’s Death, Passion, and Burial

That our Lord Jesus offered himself a voluntary sacrifice unto his Father for us, that he suffered contradiction of sinners, that he was wounded and plagued for our transgressions, that he, the clean innocent Lamb of God, was condemned in the presence of an earthly judge, that we should be absolved before the judgment seat of our God; that he suffered not only the cruel death of the cross, which was accursed by the sentence of God; but also that he suffered for a season the wrath of his Father which sinners had deserved. But yet we avow that he remained the only, well beloved, and blessed Son of his Father even in the midst of his anguish and torment which he suffered in body and soul to make full atonement for the sins of his people. From this we confess and avow that there remains no other sacrifice for sin; if any affirm so, we do not hesitate to say that they are blasphemers against Christ’s death and the everlasting atonement thereby purchased for us.

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"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Sin. It is a dark, ugly stain upon us and our efforts. It is a part of everything we do. It is a powerful thing, one capable of binding us and restraining us from ever breaking free.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. Despite our sin and our turning from God, God saw fit to send us a Savior who died for us. This was the only way sin could be broken; we could never have done it on our own, and the bonds of sin would still hold us today were it not for Christ. We can never achieve what Christ did upon the cross: our forgiveness. Thousands of years ago a man hung upon a cross, held there not by nails forged by human hands but rather by the love of a God unwilling to let us go. Jesus Christ died and descended into hell for the sake of humanity.

Now that we have a Savior who died for us, are we willing to live for Him?