It Is Finished!
I have a mortgage on my house. This means I have a financial debt on my house I owe to the bank. But what I do not have is a spiritual debt I owe to God for my sins. I have no sin debt whatsoever. And if you are in Christ, neither do you!
How can I say this? Because I believe the Bible:
“Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. ” (Romans 4:23-25 NKJV)
Notice why God raised Jesus from the dead. “Because of our justification,” Paul writes. Not because He was the Son of God, but because His death on our behalf had justified us in God’s sight. Because His death for us made us right again before God!
Jesus accomplished our justification. God accepted His blood as full payment for every one of our sins and absolved us of all our guilt and spiritual indebtedness. This is the meaning of justification. And now we have peace with God. Not debts, but peace!
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1 NKJV)
How can you be so certain God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins and your sin debts have been settled completely? The resurrection of Jesus! It is written, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (I Corinthians 15:17 NKJV). But, by implication, if Jesus arose, you are no longer in your sins. You are no longer being charged as a sinner!
When you settle a debt, in a legal transaction, you are provided with a receipt. The receipt proves you have made full payment and are no longer obligated to make any further payments on your account. This is what the resurrection of Jesus is, the receipt He obtained from God to prove He has fully discharged the sin debts of the world.
On Friday, as Jesus hung on the cross, he was paying for the sins of the world. And on Sunday, when He raised Jesus from the dead, God was presenting Him with the receipt issued by the Court of Divine Justice, as proof the sin debt was settled. The account was now paid in full. It is finished!
And what do you do with a receipt? If there is any dispute or doubt about the status of your account, you produce your receipt to prove you have made payment and that payment was received and accepted. The receipt settles the argument.
That is why Jesus spent 40 days on earth showing himself alive with many infallible proofs after his resurrection. He was producing His receipt to His disciples. He was providing them with legal, tangible evidence that His death was not in vain. God had accepted His blood as full payment for all their sins and released them from all judgment. They were no longer “in their sins.” They were justified!
And you should learn to do the same! When the devil or your conscience accuses you of still being under judgment for your sins, and want you to believe God is still holding you legally accountable for your sins, even though you have trusted in Christ, pull out your resurrection receipt, and show it to them. “See here, it is written, he was delivered for my offenses, and raised because of my justification.”
Now, Child of God, you can abuse this truth if you choose, and be miserable. Or, you can embrace it, celebrate it, and be fulfilled! It’s up to you.
But, because Jesus paid for all your sins in the past, you will pay for none of your sins in the future. The resurrection settles the argument. He was raised because of your justification. It is finished!
A Moment of Grace 