Daily Devotionals: (April 2nd): Christ Died for the Ungodly

 

Reading: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.”  Isaiah 53:9

Our text tells us that He was judged and killed as a godless man. Christ designates a rich man generally as a godless man. His epitaph will be as Christ says (Matt. 19:23): “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The rich place their confidence and trust in their riches and are generally godless people. That is why Scripture equates a rich man with an ungodly man who relies on his riches.

The prophet wishes to say that Christ died as one worthy of death and the devil,  even though he was not an ungodly man. In His entire life not the slightest evil deed is to be found, nor in His teachings one tiny false word. Rather, in His teaching there is nothing but truth, and in His life nothing but innocence and holiness. In other words, He did not die for His own sake, for He did not deserve death; rather He is innocent and just in all His preaching and works. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” for the ungodly.

Christ was crushed according to the gracious and good will of God the Father. Christ was not guilty; He did not deserve this. But thus it graciously pleased God that by the innocent death of His Son our sins would be wiped out and we would be saved. But this was also the will of Christ. As He went to his death He said in the Garden, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Neither the law of Cod nor the ruler Pontius Pilate had any claim against Him personally, but it was in accord with the Lord’s gracious and good will.

“The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.”—A. W. Pink

Adapted from Martin Luther (Sermons 5:447–448).

Daily Devotionals: (April 2nd): Christ Died for the Ungodly

Reading: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.”  Isaiah 53:9

Our text tells us that He was judged and killed as a godless man. Christ designates a rich man generally as a godless man. His epitaph will be as Christ says (Matt. 19:23): “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The rich place their confidence and trust in their riches and are generally godless people. That is why Scripture equates a rich man with an ungodly man who relies on his riches.

The prophet wishes to say that Christ died as one worthy of death and the devil,  even though he was not an ungodly man. In His entire life not the slightest evil deed is to be found, nor in His teachings one tiny false word. Rather, in His teaching there is nothing but truth, and in His life nothing but innocence and holiness. In other words, He did not die for His own sake, for He did not deserve death; rather He is innocent and just in all His preaching and works. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” for the ungodly.

Christ was crushed according to the gracious and good will of God the Father. Christ was not guilty; He did not deserve this. But thus it graciously pleased God that by the innocent death of His Son our sins would be wiped out and we would be saved. But this was also the will of Christ. As He went to his death He said in the Garden, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Neither the law of Cod nor the ruler Pontius Pilate had any claim against Him personally, but it was in accord with the Lord’s gracious and good will.

“The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.”—A. W. Pink

Adapted from Martin Luther (Sermons 5:447–448).

April Devotionals: What Good Is an Empty Tomb?

“Come, see the place where the Lord lay” were the words of comfort the angel spoke to the women who came at dawn to the tomb. The purpose of the angels, of course, was not to advertise a tourist attraction or to create a shrine, but to comfort the woman and the disciples with the fact that the tomb was empty. It was the message of an empty tomb that the women were to take to the disciples: “He is not here: he is risen!”

While Christendom generally accepts the teaching of the resurrection, its significance is not felt as much as the doctrine is recognized. What I mean is, there is a difference between accepting the doctrine of the resurrection and experiencing the power of the resurrection—that power that emboldened the disciples and propelled the early church across the world.

Paul said if the physical and literal resurrection is taken out of the message of the church, then our preaching is in vain. We must ask ourselves, however, how much of the resurrection or the hope of the resurrection is heard in the preaching of evangelical churches. How much is understood? How much is hoped for intelligently and spiritually in the life of the believer?

How much of this power do you know, Christian? Has the resurrection of Christ ever come to your mind with power and lasting comfort in a time of difficulty, temptation, or despair? Have you ever been strengthened by the truth of the resurrected Redeemer and all the hope that it holds? Have you ever thought of the resurrection as beneficial in the practical, everyday living of life?

During the month of April we will be considering the resurrection of Christ with these questions in mind. We will be asking the question, what practical benefit does the physical and literal resurrection of Christ hold for us in the twenty-first century? Let’s ask ourselves, what good is there in an empty tomb for me, in my life, with my difficulties? In other words, how can I read the story of the resurrection with personal and real practical benefit?

During this study on the resurrection we will be drawing from the writings of Reformed and Puritan writers of the past, adapting them to the twenty-first-century mind and applying them to twenty-first-century life.

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Daily Devotionals: (April 2nd): Christ Died for the Ungodly

Reading: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.”  Isaiah 53:9

Our text tells us that He was judged and killed as a godless man. Christ designates a rich man generally as a godless man. His epitaph will be as Christ says (Matt. 19:23): “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The rich place their confidence and trust in their riches and are generally godless people. That is why Scripture equates a rich man with an ungodly man who relies on his riches.

The prophet wishes to say that Christ died as one worthy of death and the devil,  even though he was not an ungodly man. In His entire life not the slightest evil deed is to be found, nor in His teachings one tiny false word. Rather, in His teaching there is nothing but truth, and in His life nothing but innocence and holiness. In other words, He did not die for His own sake, for He did not deserve death; rather He is innocent and just in all His preaching and works. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” for the ungodly.

Christ was crushed according to the gracious and good will of God the Father. Christ was not guilty; He did not deserve this. But thus it graciously pleased God that by the innocent death of His Son our sins would be wiped out and we would be saved. But this was also the will of Christ. As He went to his death He said in the Garden, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Neither the law of Cod nor the ruler Pontius Pilate had any claim against Him personally, but it was in accord with the Lord’s gracious and good will.

“The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.”—A. W. Pink

Adapted from Martin Luther (Sermons 5:447–448).

April Devotionals: What Good Is an Empty Tomb?

“Come, see the place where the Lord lay” were the words of comfort the angel spoke to the women who came at dawn to the tomb. The purpose of the angels, of course, was not to advertise a tourist attraction or to create a shrine, but to comfort the woman and the disciples with the fact that the tomb was empty. It was the message of an empty tomb that the women were to take to the disciples: “He is not here: he is risen!”

While Christendom generally accepts the teaching of the resurrection, its significance is not felt as much as the doctrine is recognized. What I mean is, there is a difference between accepting the doctrine of the resurrection and experiencing the power of the resurrection—that power that emboldened the disciples and propelled the early church across the world.

Paul said if the physical and literal resurrection is taken out of the message of the church, then our preaching is in vain. We must ask ourselves, however, how much of the resurrection or the hope of the resurrection is heard in the preaching of evangelical churches. How much is understood? How much is hoped for intelligently and spiritually in the life of the believer?

How much of this power do you know, Christian? Has the resurrection of Christ ever come to your mind with power and lasting comfort in a time of difficulty, temptation, or despair? Have you ever been strengthened by the truth of the resurrected Redeemer and all the hope that it holds? Have you ever thought of the resurrection as beneficial in the practical, everyday living of life?

During the month of April we will be considering the resurrection of Christ with these questions in mind. We will be asking the question, what practical benefit does the physical and literal resurrection of Christ hold for us in the twenty-first century? Let’s ask ourselves, what good is there in an empty tomb for me, in my life, with my difficulties? In other words, how can I read the story of the resurrection with personal and real practical benefit?

During this study on the resurrection we will be drawing from the writings of Reformed and Puritan writers of the past, adapting them to the twenty-first-century mind and applying them to twenty-first-century life.

Subscribe to the Devotional blogs, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and tell others.