God's Glory Church

“For Christ also suffered once for our sins, to bring us to God, the Righteous for the unrighteous, though dead in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” — 1 Peter 3:18

A wealthy twenty-year-old was drag racing with his friends and hit a pedestrian to death. Although the young man received three years in prison, some believe that the man who appeared in court (and who later served his sentence) was a hired “surrogate” for the driver who committed the crime. Similar things happen in some countries where people hire doppelgangers to avoid being held accountable for their crimes.

It may seem scandalous and outrageous, but more than two thousand years ago, Jesus became our substitute and “suffered for our sins… The righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Pet. 3:18). Having become God’s sinless sacrifice, Christ suffered and died once and for all (Heb. 10:10) for all who believe in Him. By His death on the cross, He bore the penalty for all our sins. Unlike the man who decided to take the place of a criminal in order to get some money, Christ’s substitutionary death gave us hope because He willingly gave His life for us (1 Peter 3:15, 18; John 10:15). The Lord Jesus did this to close the gap between us and God.

Let us rejoice, be comforted and reassure ourselves in this deep truth. Only through the vicarious death of Jesus can we needy sinners have a relationship with our loving God and full spiritual access to Him.

How has Christ’s substitutionary death changed your life? What does it mean to you to have access to God and eternal life through His death on the cross?

Dear Jesus, thank You for dying in my place so that I could have access to God.

Author: Marvin Williams