The Cross, The Grave and His LOVE

by Dan O’Deens

  • Without Faith it is impossible to please God.
  • In the Old Testament Leviticus tells us the ‘life of the flesh is in the blood’
  • Without the sacrifice of a lamb in the OT, the sin could not be covered
  • Without the Sacrificial Lamb, the perfect Lamb of God in the New Testament, there could not be forgiveness.
  • In the OT, Abraham believed (faith) and it was counted unto him as righteousness
  • In the OT, The serpent in the wilderness was raised up and everyone who looked upon it was healed from their disease
  • In the NT, Hebrews tells us, ‘without the Shedding of Blood there is no forgiveness’
  • In the NT, ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’

FAITH is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.   It is by grace through faith that we are rescued from sin and given new life through the blood of Jesus.

The OT pointed to ‘the CROSS’ as a symbol of suffering, shame and sacrifice.  Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God willingly chose to lay down His life, so that His perfect blood could be shed on our behalf.  This ultimate sacrifice was not just a ‘covering’ for our sin as it was in the OT sacrificial system, this was the culmination of the ages.  This was in fact God’s own perfect Son, taking away the sin of the whole world, past, present and future.

The work of Jesus on the Cross was finished but He was not yet done.  Jesus had one more feat to finish.   Every other religion is based on what ‘we do’ and our good works.  But God, demonstrated His LOVE to us, while we were yet sinners.  He died ‘for us.’  He did the work.  He laid down His life as a Good Shepherd laying down his life for his sheep.  This was a ‘good Friday.’  But, hold on because a ‘Great Sunday’ is coming!   Three days later, Jesus conquered the grave.  He rose from the dead.  Victory is ours.

Let’s return to FAITH.   Faith is a choice.  Today we look back to the Cross, we look at the empty tomb.  A new covenant has been given to us.   This covenant is not written on tablets like the 10 Commandments but is written and inscribed on our hearts.  A new commandment has been given to us, that we love God and love people.

LOVE is the killer App!   The app is free.  All you need to do is download it.  It is yours for the taking, but simply downloading the information is not enough, you have to by faith, BELIEVE that this app can change your life and in fact, give you life.   You have to accept the app and open the app and apply and begin using the app to guide your steps into this new relationship with Jesus.

In Christ Jesus, we have Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.