The cross offers a glimpse into the heart of a God who is willing to be with us in death and suffering. But we need more than a God who knows our pain. We need mercy for our own contributions to the pain in the world. Christ’s death is not merely a picture of God with us. It is also a picture of a God willing to stand in our place.

Jesus Christ dies instead of us. He not only identifies with our suffering caused by our sin; He also enters into our sorrow and makes it His own. He takes our sin and its consequences upon Himself so that we can be free. He experiences the full force of God’s wrath toward sin in order that we might be saved. Only the cross satisfies God’s demand for justice and our desire for mercy.

Picture the first humans in the garden of Eden in uninterrupted fellowship with God and each other. They are called to do the will of God, but they disobey. Not your will, Lord, but mine! decides Adam, lurching forward to take the fruit. Thousands of years later, another garden is before us—Gethsemane. The Second Adam agonizes over the will of God, shrinking back from the cup of God’s wrath, the cup He must drink for His sinful people to be spared. Not my will, Lord, but yours! He decides.

The essence of Adam’s sin was that he put himself in God’s place. The essence of Christ’s obedience is that He put Himself in our place. Because of His life in our place, and His death in our stead, we are freed from our sins.

When the Romans crucified criminals in the first century, it was customary for them to nail an accusation list to the cross. The list informed people why this person was being crucified. When Jesus died, God took the accusations that Satan brings against us—all our failures and mistakes, our willful rebellion, and our constant inability to keep God’s law—and God nailed those accusations to the cross of His Son. So Jesus Christ died there on Calvary, bearing your sin and mine; the accusations that should be hurled against us were hurled against Him instead.

On the cross, God demonstrated His perfect justice and His great mercy. He executed justice by pouring out His wrath against sin upon His only Son. He showed mercy by absorbing that wrath Himself, thus allowing us to escape His judgment.

Because Jesus was filled with horror and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” we are filled with wonder and cry, “My God, my God, why have you accepted me?”

Because Jesus cried, “Father, forgive!” the taunts we hurled at Him on the cross are transformed into praise for His generous mercy.

Because Jesus said, “I thirst,” we can drink from the fountain of living water and never thirst again.

Because Jesus said, “Woman, behold your son,” and felt the pain of separation from His earthly family, we can experience the blessing of being united with a heavenly family.

Because Jesus cried, “It is finished!” our new life can begin.

Because Jesus committed His spirit into the Father’s hands, God commits His Spirit into our hearts.

Jesus is the Passover Lamb—the substitute that protects us from the wrath of God. He experienced the curse of God, the punishment for sin, the hellish torments of eternal damnation—all for the glory of God and the salvation of His people.

 Trevin Wax

- from Counterfeit Gospels, 97-98.

Paul Tripp in his latest book Forever reminds us that we live in a disappointing world (pp. 94-95).

Many of your hopes for this life have been disappointed.

Perhaps your job hasn’t turned out to be all that you had dreamed it could be.

Your house hasn’t turned out to be the “perfect home for us” that you anticipated.

You have had days when you have felt distant from your spouse, when you were hurt by what the other person said or did, or when your marriage took more work than you ever thought it would.

Your church has disappointed you too.

Your possessions have disappointed you as well. Maybe you’re even disappointed with you.

Your government has disappointed you.

Most of the things we hope in and for don’t have much of a shelf life.

If you are looking for true, sustainable hope, I would encourage you to turn to 1 Peter and read it today.  Here are some verses from this book that should fill Christians with hope in this new year!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, ESV)

“for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24–25, ESV)

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12, ESV)

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9, ESV)

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (1 Peter 3:21–22, ESV)

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7, ESV)

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13, ESV)

“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5:4, ESV)

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10, ESV)

It is our conviction that every Christian should be an active member of a Bible-teaching, Bible Believing local church. As believers in Christ, we are members of His body and must discipline ourselves to be actively involved in ministry as a way of life. Here are some specific reasons why you should be a committed member of a solid, Bible-teaching local church.

1. You follow the pattern set forth in the New Testament. 

Although the word “membership” itself is not used the principle is present in the New Testament. For example, most of our NT books are letters that were written to specific groups of people who had chosen to identify themselves with Christ and each other. The word “church” is almost always used to refer to a specific group of people who in some way had committed themselves to serving the Lord and one another in the same ministry location. Numbers were known (Acts 1:15 ESV, 2:41, 4:4), rolls were kept (1 Tim. 5:9 ESV), servants were selected (Acts 6:2-5), discipline was practiced (1 Cor. 5:12-13 ESV), worship was corporate (1 Cor 14:23 ESV), and shepherds knew for whom they were responsible (Heb. 13:17 ESV). If you are a part of the body of Christ by virtue of repentant faith in Jesus Christ then you should want to make that association visibly known through church membership.

2. You have a greater opportunity to use your spiritual gifts. 

At the moment of your conversion the Holy Spirit came to live inside of your body (1 Cor 6:19 ESV). When He did this, He brought along the spiritual gift(s) that He sovereignly chose for you to possess for the blessing of the church (1 Cor 12:7 ESV, 11). As we use our gifts, we are being good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10 ESV). Can you use your spiritual gift without joining a church? Yes, but in most churches many ministry opportunities are limited to church members only. This is as it should be. Unity in doctrine, purity of life, and submissive accountability to one another and leaders are necessary for a healthy Christian life. The process of becoming a member also gives the existing leadership the opportunity to discern one’s agreement in doctrine, ministry purpose, and goals; thus enabling them to know where best you may serve.

3. You become a more committed part of a spiritual family.

 Joining a local church demonstrates a certain level of commitment. It shows that you want to be more than a bystander, that you want to be involved in ministry in a more significant way. Joining a local church is like entering into a covenant relationship with other believers in order to love them as an active part of a spiritual family (1 Jn 4:7 ESV). We also need the spiritual oversight and soul care of faithful shepherds (Heb 13:17 ESV).

4. You ensure a balanced Christian life. 

By nature we all have the tendency to gravitate toward extremes. God’s design for the church—as a multi-faceted body whose members are interrelated and interdependent—provides the ideal atmosphere for balanced Christian growth. As we sharpen each other, our continual contact with other believers promotes balance. In his book, Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating fully in the body of Christ, Donald Whitney writes, “No one develops the proper spiritual symmetry just by listening to Christian radio, watching Christian television, or reading Christian books.  You can’t get this kind of maturity merely by participating in a group Bible study. Unless you’re an active part of a local church, your Christian life and ministry will be imbalanced.”

5. You avail yourself of the wisdom of a multitude of counselors. 

God never intended for us to live our lives independent of others, or above them. He desires for us to develop relationships of accountability with other Christians. According to Proverbs 11:14 ESV, in the abundance of counselors there is victory. The local church is a great place to find wise counsel and direction from spiritual leadership and older, more mature believers (Titus 2:1-8 ESV). These relationships will help guide you in the many decisions that you face in life so that you may discern God’s good and perfect will.

6. You experience the joy of serving others. 

God has re-created us in Christ Jesus for the purpose of bringing glory to Him by bearing fruit (Eph 2:10 ESV; John 15:2 ESV).  The fruit of the Spirit is primarily manifested in our relationships with others (Gal 5:22-23 ESV). Believers are to follow the example of Christ the Master Servant (Jn 13:15 ESV). By joining a local church, you are agreeing with God that one of the ways to bear fruit in the Christian life is by serving others.