THE GLORY OF THE CROSS: ATONEMENT

  AND FORGIVENESS

 

  By A. W. Tozier

 

  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:

 yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,  and

 afflicted.                                                                 -  -  Isaiah 53:4

 

      Never make any mistake about this --- the suffering of

 Jesus Christ on the cross was not punitive!  It was not for

 Himself and not for punishment, of anything that He

 Himself had done.

 

       The suffering of Jesus was corrective.  He was willing

 to suffer in order that He might correct us and perfect

 us.

 

       Brethren, that is the glory of the cross!  That is the

glory of the kind of sacrifice that was for so long in the

heart of God!  That is the glory of the kind of atonement

that allows a repentant sinner to come into peaceful and

gracious fellowship with his God and Creator!

 

       It began in His wounds and ended in our purification!

It began in His bruises and ended in our cleansing!  That

painful and acute conviction that accompanies repentance

may well subside and a sense of peace and cleansing

come, but even the holiest of justified men will think back

over his part in the wounding and chastisement of the

Lamb of God.

 

      A sense of shock will still come over him!

 

      A sense of wonder will remain --- wonder that the

Lamb that was wounded should turn his wounds into

the cleansing and forgiveness of one who wounded Him!

                ----------------------------------------------------------

 

Yours in Christ,

Paul N. F.

 

 

 

Here we have another former post on forgiveness.  This one should

convince us that we all should be forgiving -- ALWAYS.

 

Forgiveness is so important that it is mentioned each time we say the

LORD'S PRAYER.  IT IS A MUST, or else we will not be forgiven by

Our Lord.

 

Dying for us, Jesus said to the Father to forgive them for they know

not what they do.