Big Ideas1. Because of his love, God sent his Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus always lived under God’s rule.
3. Yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought us forgiveness.
2WTL Narrative
Because of his great love and generosity, God did not leave us to suffer the consequences of our foolish rebellion. He did something to save us. He sent his own divine son into our world to become a man – Jesus of Nazareth.
Unlike us, Jesus didn’t rebel against God. He always lived under God’s rule. He always did what God said, and so did not deserve death or punishment. Yet Jesus did die. Although he had the power of God to heal the sick, walk on water and even raise the dead, Jesus allowed himself to be executed on a cross. Why?
The Bible rings with the incredible news that Jesus dies as a substitute for rebels like us. The debt that we owed God, Jesus paid by dying in our place. He took the full force of God’s justice on himself, so that forgiveness and pardon might be available to us.
All this is quite undeserved by us. It is a generous gift, from start to finish. But that’s not all…
Biblical Reference
We are establishing the glorious truth of substitutionary atonement. That Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, who is fully God and fully man, died to take the punishment that sinners like you and me deserved. It was His perfect life – the fact that He never sinned or rebelled against God – that qualified Him as the one, only, and perfect substitute. Since His innocence did not deserve judgment, He was able to take the judgment that we deserved.
Theological Truth
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. – 1Peter 3:18
Transition
But that’s not all…
