About Me - And My Best Friend (cont.)

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, into the world, because of His love for us. Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin and was the only sinless Man to ever live. As such, He did not have to die. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23. Death is the ultimate price we pay for sin. And after that, by rights, we should go to Hell. But of His own free will, Jesus Christ gave His life for us on a cross. He was crucified, had nails driven through Him and suffered a tremendous amount for us. He took our sins upon Himself; He was our substitute. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24

The following Scripture (Bible verse or group of verses) explains it in more detail:

"[H]e was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53:5-9.

"Stripes" in the above quotations means whip marks. For our sakes, Jesus Christ was arrested, subject to a mock trial, had a crown of thorns placed upon His head, was whipped, spat on, made fun of, and finally crucified to die a cruel, agonising death. The only sinless Man who ever lived died a truly awful and totally unjust death. Why? To bear our sins and iniquities. He took our punishment, shed His blood for us. He was God's sacrificial Lamb, a final and ultimate sacrifice for our sins. "For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ, God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) But it doesn't end with His death. For Jesus Christ did something even more amazing - he rose from the dead!

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Matthew 28:5-6

In the Resurrection, Jesus Christ won a final victory over sin and death. "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Colossians 2:14-15

The "principalities and powers" referred to here are Satan and his kingdom of devils, sin and death; all the powers of Hell, basically. On the cross and with His subsequent Resurrection, Christ triumphed over all of them, and broke their power over us, if we will only believe in Him and trust Him.

You see, through Jesus, we who are lost in our sins can be reconciled to God and made new. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

To find out how you can be born again, forgiven of your sins and begin a new life with God through Jesus Christ, click here or on Page 6 below.