It has been said that there are only two things that are certain in this life: death and taxes. I praise King Jesus that He opposes that statement. As children of God we have the certainty of His eternal and innumerable promises: I will never leave you or forsake you; whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved; those who seek Me with the whole heart will find Me; I will come again; just to name a few. As human beings, we find the reality of the unknown to be extremely uncomfortable and unsettling. We want to be in the know; we want to be in control. We want to know where we’re going; how we’re going to get there; when we will arrive and what we’ll be doing upon that arrival. Just take a family vacation and you’ll experience all of these questions many times over from the cherubs in your backseat.
Many of us take the same approach in our spiritual walk. We spend, or should I say waste, immense amounts of time dwelling on what we don’t know rather than focusing on what we do know. That’s not to say we should remain in ignorance; God tells us in His word to study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15) and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2). We love clarity and finality. However, to be consumed or enamored with study of things that are beyond our comprehension as finite beings, we miss out on and void our lives of the power of what God has revealed to us.
One of the most comforting statements I find in Scripture is in Romans 6:10a: “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all.” His death, Christ’s death, was for our sin; everyone’s sin (1 John 2:2). And that sacrificial, atoning act was/is permanent, sealed in eternity through the power of Almighty, Infinite God, “once for all”. When Jesus proclaimed “Tetelestai” , that wasn’t merely a statement that announced the end of His suffering on the cross. That was the final victory cry for all of mankind; for all of eternity; from eternal God that our sin debt has been paid in full. God’s wrath is satisfied (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14-18; Col. 1:19-22). There is nothing left to be done (Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 25). Hence why Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in victory (Heb. 12:2).
As Resurrection Sunday approaches, I am thankful for Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Without all three elements, our faith/salvation is incomplete. Work would still need to be done; something more needed to take place. But because of Jesus, my sin has been removed….once…for…all. Now that’s something we can be certain.
