Most all of God’s works as recorded in Scripture can be summarized under three heads.   

#1 Creation

#2 Providence

#3 Redemption 

When the creation of God is exalted to the position of God Himself, this is idolatry.  Similarly, superstition makes an idol out of God’s providence.  It’s sad but true.  Natural amazement at God’s works can quickly degenerate to sinful exaltation of those works.  This sad reality is taught in Romans 1:25 - … …who worshipped…the creature rather than the Creator…”  

Is it possible to sinfully exalt Christ’s work of redemption?  I’m convinced that it is.  And so I must also ask, “Could it be that this is a besetting problem in Christendom today?  Could it be that we have made a god out of the cross.  Could it be that we have exalted the atonement of Christ to the position of Christ Himself?  Could it be that our faith has shifted from Christ Himself Who made atonement TO the atonement itself made by Christ?  Is it possible that our evangelism has shifted to being more about exhorting people to cling to the cross of Christ than clinging to the now exalted Christ Himself? 

I understand that if you were to place a frog in a hot frying pan, he would immediately jump out.  I also understand that if you put a frog in a cool pot of water and slowly heat the water, he will not jump out because the temperature change is not, at any moment, drastic.   Could it be that Christendom today, as a general rule, is boiling in atonement idolatry?      

Don’t think I’m just beating the air.  Let me illustrate my point.  Imagine you were buried under a pile of dirt unable to get out.  But a man, with a specialized shovel in his hand, promised to dig you out on condition that you trust in him, the great and mighty buried man rescuer.  If this were the case, your friends would not be doing you a favor by telling you to look to the shovel, to trust in the shovel and to cling to the shovel alone for deliverance.”  They would not be doing you a favor to tell you, “It’s all about the shovel!  Your only hope is the shovel.  Whatever you do, don’t lose sight of the shovel!  Keep the shovel as the central focus of your trust.”   

Instead, should not those who are trying to help this poor buried man tell him: “Trust the man with the shovel in his hand – the great and mighty rescuer.  He is no liar.  He is faithful to fulfill His promise.  He has promised to dig you out if you will but trust in Him?  Look, he is able to dig you out.  He has in his hand a shovel designed for this task which he alone can utilize for this purpose.  Trust in Him and He will use His specialized shovel to do exactly as He has promised!”      

The fact is, Jesus promises deliverance to all those who trust in Him.  Is He not faithful to His word? 

“…He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23) 

Modern day evangelism says, “Look to the cross of Christ.  Cling to the cross of Christ alone for salvation and you will be saved.  Believe Jesus died for you and you will be saved.”  They say, “Saving faith is all about trusting in the finished cross work of Jesus.  When you make the finished cross work of Jesus to be the central focus of your faith, you will be saved.  Don’t lose sight of the cross.”   

Enter cross worship. 

Have we forgotten that saving faith is faith in a Person - Jesus Christ Himself?  Reader, it’s not all about the cross.  It’s all about a Person – the Christ, the Son of God Who not only died a death of substitution, but rose from the dead, ascended to the Father and Who NOW reigns in glory with all authority and power.  We don’t trust in a past work of Jesus as the object of our faith.  We trust in a NOW Jesus who has promised to save. True, there is no forgiveness of sins apart from the death of Jesus on behalf of sinners.  But a dead Jesus cannot apply the merits of His atonement.  The writer of Hebrews teaches that when Jesus rose and ascended, as God’s ultimate High Priest, He was not entering an earthly holy of holies, but was entering the holy of holies in heaven itself to appear before God Himself.  It is there that He offered, once for all time, the merits of His own blood.  Now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, Jesus has authority and power from the Father to apply the merits of His historical atonement to those who believe in Him.  He also has the authority and power to give them His Spirit unto eternal life.  As important as the historical death of Jesus is, saving faith is not all about the cross.  Saving faith is all about Him, Him and Him.  He is the Christ, the Son of God glorified.  He is faithful to His words of promise.  The heart of our gospel proclamation is to be a proclamation of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God now glorified.  Saving faith lays hold of Him who is faithful - Him who is trustworthy - Him who is no liar - Him who is everything He claimed to be - Him who will do exactly as He promises.     

Certainly our faith in Jesus’ now Person is confirmed by understanding that He did, in fact, accomplish all that was necessary to save us.  But Jesus has never said to anyone at anytime, “Trust in my past work and you will be saved.”  He has not said, “Personalize my cross work and you will be saved.”  Instead, He has simply said, “He who believes in Me… from His inner most being shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).  Our trust is to be in the NOW Jesus Himself Who has said.  In childlike simplicity, we take Him at His word and are saved!   Any hope of salvation on a condition more complicated than this is an adulteration of the simplicity of saving faith. 

“…He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23) 

Certainly the cross work of Jesus has merit.  And that is a lot.  But merit, by itself, never can and never will save anyone.  Merit must be applied by Someone before there can ever be deliverance from the penalty of sin.  Thus, our trust is to be in the Person who applies the merits of the cross – not in cross merit itself.  When we would evangelize with the mentality that the lost must first understand all the workings of how Jesus’ keeps His saving promises before they can trust in the faithful Christ, the Son of God on high who does not lie, we have the cart before the horse.    

Abraham did not earn the title “father of our faith” by waiting to understand how God would give him a son before he believed God would.  And why did he believe God would?  Because His faith was focused on a Person, with authority and power, who cannot lie.   In fact, when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, he believed God would raise His son from the dead, if need be, in order to be faithful to His promise.   

Similarly, the faithful Christ, the Son of God, has promised cleansing from sin and eternal life to all who believe in his exalted Person.  We don’t wait to understand all the wonder workings of Christ’s merit/appeasing machinery before we believe in Him as the Christ, the faithful Son of God who cannot lie.  The fact is, those who experience the wonder working machinery of Jesus unto salvation, will NEVER fully understand the wonder workings of this saving machinery – not even in eternity.  Thus, the mentality that thinks one must first understand the machinery as condition for experiencing it, is in error.  In contrast to such adult like distrusting mentality, saving faith is childlike.  God Himself has given abundant witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God now glorified and faithful to His promises.  What more does saving faith need to hold on to?       

“…He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23) 

To proclaim the atonement to people as confirmation that Jesus is truly the Christ, the faithful Son of God is one thing.  This we should do with passion.  But to proclaim the atonement of Jesus to people as that which if they will but accept it as fact and personalize it, they will be saved, is quite another.  Such tends toward idolatrous deception.  The fact is, the atonement of Jesus is a work of Jesus.  And Jesus taught us that His works testify to His Person (John 5).  The works of Jesus are never in Scripture put forth as the object of saving faith that I am aware of except for one disputable text in Romans 3 which some translations read “faith in His blood.”  In contrast, Scripture always speaks of saving faith as faith in Jesus Himself – a Person who is faithful to keep His word of promise having displayed in His death that He has accomplished everything necessary to do so.       

Yes, we accept the finished work of Jesus on the cross as fact – an accomplishment that was absolutely necessary in order for Jesus to save sinners.  But we do not cling to the finished cross work of Christ as the central object of our faith.  Instead we hope in the NOW Jesus who could not be held in the grave, just as He said - Who gives eternal life to those who trust in Him, just as He said.  God forbid that we would deny His atonement or belittle the merits thereof or the love which motivated it’s accomplishment. A shout of praise to God for giving His Son to die and for Jesus being obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross.  We are so thankful to Jesus for His finished work and it confirms to our hearts His identity and ability. We understand that Jesus could not save a single soul without this machinery.  But God forbid that we would abuse this saving machinery by making it the object of our faith.  Such is idolatry.  Jesus, the Christ, the faithful Son of God glorified is the object of our faith.  We believe in Him as He has commanded us to and we rely on His promises!   

“…He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23) 

I need no other argument; I need no other plea.   It is enough that He’s God’s Son and that He’s promised me. 

FOOTNOTE:  True, this argument is not enough of an argument for Jesus.  In order for Jesus to save, He needs more argument before the Father than His bare word.  The Father will not forgive anyone on the mere foundation of the bare word of Jesus.  There must also be the finished cross work of Jesus.  This is why Jesus argues the merits of His blood before the Father.  But in contrast, Jesus has not commanded lost people to argue the merits of His blood before the Father in order to be saved.  To the contrary, the lost only need to meet the condition that Jesus through His Holy Apostles has set.  And that condition is that they must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the resurrected Son of God now glorified with all authority and power – His enemies being unsuccessful in their attempt to destroy Him in a grave.  Upon meeting this faith condition, Jesus has promised to hear and grant the salvation asked for.  Jesus does this by applying the merits of His blood and by giving the gift of His Holy Spirit unto eternal life.  All this is quite different from the approach that would plead the merits of Jesus’ blood with the hope that in such pleading, these merits will be applied unto salvation.  This is not saving faith.  To tell God, “I believe you sent Jesus to die for me and I’m clinging to the cross work of Jesus alone for salvation,” is not saving faith.  Reader, we are not saved by faith in the method Jesus uses to save.  Neither are we justified by faith in that tool by which Jesus justifies.  Neither do we enjoy appeasement of God’s wrath through faith in that finished work by which God’s wrath is appeased. In contrast, we are saved and justified upon faith in Jesus, the now glorified Christ, the faithful Son of God, endowed with all authority and power from the Father, able to perform all He has promised and quite willing to do so for all who call upon Him.     

         

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