a_Nextmessage02

a_previous02

jdglogo1

Message 1 - By Keith Surface

Penalty Paid, or

Pardon and Deliverance?

     Introduction

This message was written by Brother Keith Surface, associate pastor of Calvary Outreach’s Tabernacle in the Woods church, and deserves our serious consideration.  JDG

Has Your Penalty Been Paid?

Are you aware that sin has a penalty?  The Bible states that the wages of sin is death.  So does this mean that when you physically die, you have paid for your sins? Of course not! If that were so, every one of us would eventually be our own redeemer simply because we died. We know that physical death is a reality we shall all face if Jesus does not return in our generation: But what about after we die? Is that the end or is there something else that awaits us? Actually there is something else.  It is called the Day of Judgment. There, the righteous shall be rewarded, but all sinners and unbelievers will receive the wages of their sinful ways. We would all be wise to find out exactly what those wages are now, before we get to our payday.

It is clear that the wages of sin is really eternal damnation. The book of Revelation tells us of a SECOND DEATH called the lake of fire where sinners will spend eternity.  Now if the lake of fire is the penalty for sin, then how long will it last?  One moment? One week?  One year? How long?  Will the sinner just burn to ashes, or will they be released after a certain term is served?

Jesus warned of eternal damnation and He said there was a fire that would never be quenched. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah also spoke of this unquenchable fire. In the New Testament Jude wrote of the vengeance of eternal fire and John had visions of those who had no rest from their torment, neither day or night.  These statements seem to speak of more than just the agony of damnation, but also the duration of it. The penalty for sin is more than just a horrible agonizing damnation; it is also eternal damnation (Revelation 14:11). 

Paul, the Apostle, warned that those who did not know God would receive everlasting destruction from the presence of God.  Banishment from Gods presence is forever. The condemned man will never again stand before God. This, alone, could qualify as the ultimate punishment. Just as after King David sinned he pleaded with God not to take His Holy Spirit from him, even so for us, eternal banishment from Gods presence is more than the soul can bear. 

The Price Paid

We can have no doubt that Jesus Christ paid an enormous price for our salvation; but was that price the payment of a penalty? In order to answer this question there are two important points we need to consider:

1. The death Jesus suffered for us was a physical death.

2. His sufferings ended when He gave up the ghost (died).

Although there are many descriptions in the scriptures of Jesus’ physical sufferings, nowhere are they spoken of as being spiritual. The stripes, the wounds, the bruises, and the nails were all inflicted upon His body. Consider how the prophets and apostles specified that the sufferings were in Jesus fleshly body.

  • a body thou hast prepared me
  • being put to death in the flesh
  • in the body of His flesh, through death
  • we are sanctified through the offering of His body
  • who bare our sins in His own body on the tree
  • as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh

It was the suffering of Jesus in His fleshly body that is the key to our redemption. There is no record that Jesus suffered spiritually, or that He will suffer eternally.  When He said, It is finished, and died at Calvary, our redemption was accomplished and His sufferings were over. Luke tells us that, immediately before He died, Jesus cried, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. God, His Father, had promised not to leave his soul in Hell or let His body see corruption. The word Hell, as used in this passage, does not speak of a place of damnation; it is used to speak of the grave, or the place of the dead. Peter was speaking of this place when he wrote that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison. He did not go as one suffering, but as the bearer of good news. Jesus was the victor, the conqueror, and on the third day He was resurrected from the dead to abide forever in His Fathers presence.

Based upon the evidence so far, we come to these simple deductions:

1. For a penalty to be paid, the punishment suffered must meet or exceed the punishment due.  A condemned man cannot fulfill a true twenty-year sentence in one day. This would be unjust.

2. If physical death is not the penalty for sin, then Jesus death on the cross was not payment of sins penalty because a physical death cannot satisfy the demands of eternal damnation.

3. If our penalty was to be cast into the lake of fire, then Jesus, in order to pay that penalty, would have had to be cast into the flames of damnation? Some do preach that Jesus burned in Hell, but they do so without any scriptural basis. Yet if Jesus died to pay our penalty this would have had to be the case. Rest assured, Jesus did not burn in Hell. Instead, on the same day that He died, He went to paradise.

4. The sinners damnation is eternal. If Jesus took that upon Himself, He would have had to suffer eternally in order to bear our punishment? Since the sinner can never be released from his damnation, how could Jesus be raised from the dead if His death was to pay our penalty? The certain proof that Jesus did not take our penalty is the fact that HE AROSE FROM THE DEAD on the third day. He is not eternally damned, nor is He forever destroyed from the presence of God. Rather He is alive and sits at the right hand of the Father. If Jesus went to the cross to pay a penalty for sin He would never have come out of the tomb.

5. God promised to pardon those who forsook their way and returned unto Him. Webster’s Dictionary defines a pardon as the excusing of an offense without exacting a penalty. Forgive and pardon are synonymous terms. However, pardon and payment of penalty are opposing terms. If we were pardoned, our penalty was not paid; if our penalty was paid, then we were not pardoned. Paul wrote that God tolerates sins that are in our past and forbears (holds back punishment) because of our faith in Christ Jesus.  In other words, we have been pardoned.

In the scriptures, you will find many occasions where they speak of Jesus dying for our sins. This is defined by some as Him taking our penalty; but that is not true. It simply means that our sins are the reason Jesus chose to lay down His life. For our sins does not mean for our penalty. Jesus died to make us free from sin. His body was the vehicle God used to carry our sin to the cross and fulfill the sentence of death (the condemnation) that was upon it. Since He bore our sin in His body, the death of His body, became the death of our sinful man. Calvary is where God fulfilled the promise He had made to Daniel to finish the transgression and make an end of sins. Jesus went to the cross to destroy sin, its power, and its presence. There is not a single scripture that says Jesus was taking our punishment or penalty. Its just not there.  There are, however, many things that Jesus did accomplish on the cross which are clearly stated in the word of God.

          1. He put away sin.                                    Hebrews 9:26

          2. He sanctified the people.                        Hebrews 13:12

          3. He crucified our old man.                       Romans. 6:6

          4. He made many righteous.                       Romans. 5:19

          5. He redeemed us from all iniquity.           Titus 2:14

          6. He destroyed the Devil.                          Hebrews 2:14

          7. He destroyed the body of sin.                 Romans 6:6

          8. He took away the sin of the world.                  John 1:29

Why Is This Important?

1. Because a fallacy believed, will always blind the mind to the truth, of those who believe it. If you believe that Calvary was about paying a penalty, you will always be hindered from looking beyond and seeing the true purpose of the cross.

2. When the gospel is preached as a penalty paid message, the conclusion many come to is that sin has no penalty. The doctrines of unconditional eternal security are based, partly, upon the mistaken belief that all of sins penalties (past, present, and future) are paid.  Therefore if sin has no penalty, then the sins of Christians have no effect on their eternal destiny. This error has deceived many and led them to wrongly assume that God will receive the unrighteous into His Kingdom.

But the wages of sin is still death. Either we are delivered from our sin through faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel, or we await the judgment of eternal damnation. The issue is Life or Death.  The decision... is yours.

Message 1 - By Keith Surface - Penalty Paid, or Pardon and Deliverance?

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

TOP of PAGE

NEXT MESSAGE

Keith Surface MESSAGES

JDG MESSAGES

Leroy Surface MESSAGES