”Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” | Matthew 27: 41, 42

Such is the blindness of natural man that when he attempts to speak of spiritual things, even the most intelligent among them become fools.

The intelligentsia of Jewish religion had long hated Christ.

They had often gone to where he was teaching to ply him with questions in an attempt to tricking Him into saying something they could use against Him.

In so doing they doubtless heard much of His teaching.

Yet, now they say, “Come down from the cross and we will believe you.”

Their taunt is utterly absurd.

If He comes down from the cross, they will have no reason to believe Him; He will have made Himself a liar.

Did He not say, “… the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” and, “The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again”?

If He had come down from the cross, he would have proven Himself a liar and undermined any reason for anyone to believe Him.

But there is a more serious issue.

If Christ were to have come down from the cross, there would have been no value in believing Him. Faith would not have brought salvation.

Had Christ not fulfilled this death-work, believing Him would leave believers in their condemned state.

Their sins would not have been paid for, leaving them in a state of guilt, and God will by no means clear the guilty.

Anyone who does not see the cross-work of the Lord Jesus as the linchpin of the whole scheme of grace does not understand the scheme of grace.

The whole of it rests upon “Christ and Him crucified!”

~ Pastor Joe Terrell

Click here to listen to the message “If You Love Me” (51:32 minutes)

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Visit our primary website at www.ksgctn.org for more information about Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, watch our livestream (when available) and access our previously recorded messages.

Hurricane Road Grace Church Bulletin Article date: 29 November, 2020 | Previous post date: n/a | Cattletsburg, Kentucky