Reconciled By Satisfaction Only
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 5/30/2010 AM |
Text: | II Corinthians 5; Lord's Day 5 |
Psalters: | 227, 41, 109, 310 |
- By satisfaction? Absolutely
- To escape punishment and again be received into favor is to be reconciliation.
- God created a great and intimate friendship which was horribly destroyed by sin.
- Reconciliation means that the relationship is restored.
- Given the nature of God, the only possibility is via the satisfaction of God?s justice.
- If man is to have God?s favor, it can only be in accordance with God's perfect justice (Exodus 23:7; 34:7; Isaiah 1:27).
- Note well that hell is not satisfaction.
- Can we ourselves make this satisfaction? By no means!
- False religions and Roman Catholicism says we can.
- Our Arminian natures always want to earn God?s favor by ourselves.
- But Scripture and the Reformed faith declares that man cannot deliver himself.
- Further, we only increase our guilt, and do that daily - our list of debts grows longer every day.
- The so-called "good works" of sinful man are really not good (perfect love for that moment).
- It is not possible for us ever to make it right between God and us.
- Further, no mere man can qualify as a proper substitute for us (Q & A 14).
- Can satisfaction be made for us by another creature?? No!
- God Himself provides the only possibility for deliverance (Psalm 49:15; Rom. 9:16).
- God gave His own Son into our flesh in order to redeem us.
- He came into our flesh because man must bear the punishment for man?s sins.
- And as the eternal Son of God, Christ could give infinite value to the work He performed.
- God was in Christ reconciling us to Himself.
- God took our transgressions from us and placed them on His own Son, and laid His own Son on the altar of His wrath.
- Jesus canceled our debt and earned for us the right to dwell with God in His House forever.
- The gospel is the good news that there is full remission and perfect righteousness.