Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

                                                                                                                 John 19:30 

Today: Read John 19

We see it all over Christian literature…the proposition of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. It is the reality that when Jesus gave His life, everything that is necessary for God to pardon mankind and to save their souls was accomplished. The idea of this completed work comes from Jesus’ final declaration of, “It is finished!”

Throughout history, man has offered up many attempts at explaining the whole of scripture. Some accept the finished work of Jesus while others begin there, only to move toward a performance-centered doctrine emphasizing mankind’s responsibility of being moral as a means of achieving salvation. But accepting the finished work of Jesus as our means of receiving salvation, forgiveness, and redemption requires that we abandon all other efforts in our quest for a relationship and peace with God. Consider Paul’s explanation of this idea in the following passage:

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

                                                                                                         2 Corinthians 3:4-6 

First, Christians should have confidence before God. We are to approach Him as a people who have already been accepted by Him. We should approach the throne of God with confidence and pray with boldness (Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 3:12). And all of this is made possible, not by our behavior or morality rather it is supplied by the finished work of Jesus.

Secondly, Paul elaborates on that very point. As believers, we are not adequate to enjoy those things because of anything that we have done rather our adequacy in having a loving, personal, and intimate relationship with God comes from God through the work of Christ on the cross. Christians are not people who are accepted by God because they have somehow lived better lives than others. On the contrary, Christians are sinners just like everyone else but they have received the gift of salvation on the basis of faith.

Thirdly, Christians have been given a ministry, namely that of sharing this good news to the rest of the world. As born again believers, we are already adequate for serving God by proclaiming the gospel. This is an important point in that many believers go through a struggle of feeling unworthy to share the gospel. This sense of unworthiness could come from a lack of knowledge or perhaps some moral failure in their lives. But Paul is reminding us that the finished work of Christ on the cross not only saves and redeems us, it positions us to be effective messengers of good news. As we wholly accept the finished work of Christ by faith, we can defeat the enemy as he attempts to silence us through accusations of our own inadequacies (Ephesians 6:16).

Finally, Paul reminds us of the two covenants in which we must all choose. Christians are ministers of a new covenant established by…you guessed it…the finished work of Jesus on the cross. The old covenant depended on keeping the letter of the Law. It was established on tablets of stone (the Ten Commandments) and brought with it demands on the hearer, demands that none of us can achieve. Interestingly enough, when we look for synonyms to the word “demands”, we find the following: stress, strain, anxiety, weight, difficulty, load, burden, and hassle. This is why Paul declares that, “the letter kills” but the “Spirit gives life.” As believers, we now serve the ministry of proclaiming spiritual freedom by faith in the finished work of Jesus, something that the Law will never provide (Acts 13:38-39).

If we need to see that concept boldly declared in a single reference, consider the following: 

…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

                                                                                                               Galatians 2:16 

Notice that mankind will never be justified (made right with God) through works of the Law. Performing works of the Law means that we do what is right and avoid that which is sinful. Regardless of how well we believe that we may be doing, we have all fallen tremendously short of the perfection required to be with God. Only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has the ability to position us to be accepted by God and to be at peace with Him. Here is the same passage only highlighting the role that faith (believing) plays in obtaining this salvation:

…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

                                                                                                               Galatians 2:16 

Only by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross will we find love, joy, peace, spiritual freedom, and abundant life. When we begin with the cross only to drift into a works-based doctrine, these spiritual realities will be eclipsed by the demands of the Law. These demands, if left unchecked, can ultimately produce frustration, failure, and despair. Instead of living in spiritual power and victory, those who seek acceptance from God through works, will find the familiar voice of shame, guilt, anguish, despondency, and yes, even depression.

The litmus test for determining where we fall in the spiritual landscape of doctrine is by answering two questions:

1. Are you going to heaven?
2. Why?

If we claim to be born again believers in Jesus, the answer to the first question should be an emphatic, “Yes!” If we cannot confidently say that, then we need to do some investigating into what prevents us from having eternal security.

But perhaps the answer to the second question is of even more importance. If we say that we are going to heaven, we need to be able to articulate the reason for our confidence. If any portion of our answer points to something that we have done (other than receive salvation), then we are most likely mixing the finished work of Christ with that of works. We would do well to remember that we must let go of the old covenant in order to embrace the new (Galatians 4-5).

It is finished! Everything that we need to enjoy life now and to be secure in our possessing of eternal life is found on the cross. The work is already done (Romans 4:4-5). Why not call on God today and accept this amazing gift of salvation by faith in His finished work!