A powerful, deep theological exposition on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection fascinated his representatives on Tuesday (May 28) at the European Conference on European Mission in Berlin, Germany. Delivered by the Rev. Charles Price, this speech urged evangelists across the continent to boldly concentrate their message on the cross of Christ.
In a session hosted by Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Society, the global preacher who shared the gospel in more than 100 countries within the People’s Church in Toronto unleashed a message titled “The Cross and the Blood of Christ are the centre of preaching the Gospel.”
Drawing from Corinthians 1:22-25, he emphasized that the heart of his message was “crucified on the cross of Christ.”
He began by asking a very important question: Who did Jesus die for?
“You might say now, he died for the world,” Price said. “You might say he died for a sinner. You might think he is saying he died for the elector. You might personalize him and say he died for me.
“And, of course, there is truth to all of that in that we are beneficiaries of his death, but we are not the ones who demand the death of Christ as a punishment for sin.
“As long as you confess your sins, as long as you repent, and as long as you turn your back, God will forgive you.”
Price challenged the representatives whether they were satisfied with such a situation to resolve the evil. He pointed out that in such a scenario, no one needs a “cross for that”, but that he is “sorry.”
The context of “sorry” was then explored. Children say the wrong words, Price says, and parents immediately forgive them.
“No one died, but Christ still had to die. Why? What you see is that it is not us who demand the cross, it is God who demands the cross, it is the Father who demands the cross.”
Then, a controversial perspective was raised by price. Behind the cross is not love, but God’s judgment.
“In the first example, Jesus died because of his father. I want to explain that, but that’s important. I make a statement that may sound wrong. What lies behind the cross is not God’s love in the first example, but God’s love is behind the cross, but it is God’s skill that demands the cross.
“We do not understand the cross until we know God’s nature against sin. The New Testament speaks of God’s wrath and his judgment.”
I read Romans 3:24 for the price. He outlined how the propulsion achieved by the blood of Christ’s shed, quoting one John 4:10, meant to appease those who are offended.
“These words are important in regards to the work of Jesus Christ,” Price said. “He is support for our sins, not just for us, but also for the sins of the world.”
In other words, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross encouraged his Father, Kakaku explained. He was working on his father’s justice and his anger over his father’s sins.
“I know this is difficult for people who don’t like the idea that God doesn’t have negative feelings,” Price told the delegation. He explained the importance of these facts to better inform the evangelistic declaration.
“If that’s just a matter for me, I’m forgiven. To God, it violates His justice, violates His integrity, defeats the purpose that He created us, and that must be addressed.”
Why the cross? Prices pointed out two aspects that God’s character needs to make the route of the cross. First, God is just, and secondly, He is merciful, so He is merciful to fulfill justice to fulfill mercy.
But it brought further problems as justice and mercy are not inconsistent. Price has revealed that the only way justice and mercy can be compatible is by “the introduction of third parties.”
Price used illustrations that were fined and requested to attend court for a speeding crime. He imagined that someone would need to catch a speeding in the car and stand in front of a judge. It is clear that “guilty” is the verdict and that judges must choose justice to punish the offender or to be free. The judge will fine 250 euros ($284 USD), but someone from “third party” writes a check to pay the fine.
“And I’m leaving that court,” Kake imagined. “Justice was done, but mercy was going on, I stepped into the situation and got a third party who paid a penalty on my behalf.”
Price admitted that the representative knew such an example of this court scene to explain salvation through Jesus Christ.
“But I have to leave court,” Price again imagined. “And I’ll leave there based on the fact that justice is dealt with and satisfied. And now I have experience… I have experience of mercy.
“He made me me so that I could be in my relationship with God.
Price then delegated the “important questions” to further consider the truth of the cross for the purposes of a bold evangelistic declaration.
“To forgive our sins and cleanse all iniquity to us, we appeal to His justice, which is why it is called “justified.” (Forgiving us is God’s just act.
“‘justification’ is a legitimate term. That means that justice is completely satisfied. ”
Explaining this powerful point, Kake once spoke of a conversation with a Scottish lawyer. The man in this law told him that in Scotland, some offenders would be hanged for crimes before the death penalty was abolished in 1969.
When a criminal dies, a sign is placed at the prison gates to give the individual’s identity and the date and time of execution. This sign gives notice that the deceased has been “justified.”
“Does that mean he was forgiven? No. Or did he not do it after all? No. That means that justice is completely and completely satisfied. The judge took off his wig and he went home!” He stated the price as he gave a parallel inference to what Jesus did on the cross to satisfy the justice he needed to deal with his sin.
“The lawyer is currently working on another case. The officer is back on the street. It’s over. He’s justified, that’s the legal meaning.
“And it’s finished to the extent that on the cross of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul wrote, “I was crucified with Christ.” ”
Price recalled having held a church meeting in Australia last month on Good Friday. He said the message from the time, “Welcome to your own funeral.”
The man said to him, “Interesting title. What about that?” Price asked who died on Good Friday, confirming the man’s answer that Jesus died, but pointed out that he also legally died.
“It’s over. Your sins are being dealt with. Justified – as if I’m dead,” Price said.
The Bible reminded us that we were crucified with Christ and buried with him, and then brought up to the newness of eternal life.
Mercy and love acknowledged the price “behind the cross,” but God could not forgive sin on mercy alone. “Or, we would not need a cross. That is why all the blood of the bull and goat could only cover sin. We could not remove it under the old covenant. A premonition of what happened on the cross.
Money checks could be the post office until the end of the month, Price said as a separate illustration if the individual had no money in his account up until then. The check itself has no intrinsic value at this time until the cash actually arrives in your account.
“All the priests of the Old Testament made sacrifices and offered the blood of bulls and goats (quoted Peter), but these cannot take away their sin. They can cover it.
“The bank has cash.”
“We appeal to God’s mercy, but justice is mandatory, not discretion,” Price said. “I don’t want to be frivolous, but let me give you another illustration. Justice is an obligation, and when we confess it, God is obliged to forgive our sins.
“Suppose you have the reality about this, did you know about your sins and my sins, do you have cash in Till?”
1 Peter 1:18 speaks of how the currency of sin was paid not by silver or gold, but by the precious blood of Christ, not by the “perishable”;
“It reconciliates men and women, boys and girls with God,” Price said. “It cleans up the junk and removes sin. It is paid, we are declared clean. So the cross has power.”
Billy Graham preached once and knew there was “powerlessness.” Price tells the story, and a German businessman called John Bolton told him it was because he hadn’t preached on the cross. That observation has since changed Graham, who had vowed to preach only in the hearts of the cross, the blood and the resurrection, the gospel.
“Without the gospel, without the cross, there is no salvation, there is no forgiveness,” said Price, and he pointed out that Paul in Galatians 6:14 vowed to boast about “other than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“It’s at the heart of the gospel,” he added. “And from cross-flow to justification, from justification to justification, from justification to forgive and from purification to flow.”
“When the Holy Spirit speaks of our sin, he convicts us. He convicts us guilty. He convicts us righteousness. And he convicts us judgment. That judgment was made to the man of Jesus Christ, our guilt was eliminated, and we were declared justice. He urged them to “live it and preach it.”
