What Happened at the Cross

I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you.Ezekiel 7:8The wrath of God toward sin can be poured out, and when it is poured out it will be spent.This takes us to the heart of what happened at the cross. The divine wrath toward sin was poured out on Jesus. He became the propitiation for our sins. All that was due to sinners was poured out on Jesus at the cross.Now, truths often get abused when they are isolated from other truths that belong beside them. John makes it clear that the propitiation was an act of love: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 4:10).God the Father gave us His Son. Jesus gave Himself for us. There was no coercion involved. The Father and the Son were one in self-giving. So, don’t ever think that God loves you because Jesus died for you. No! Jesus died for you because God loves you!God loved us even when we were the objects of His wrath: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).The divine wrath toward our sin was poured out on Jesus. Because it was spent on Jesus, there is nothing left to pour out on us: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).What Jesus accomplished on the cross is sufficient for every person who will confess their sins, for every person who wants to be forgiven and reconciled to God. If He does not become your advocate and your propitiation, the only reason would be that you don’t want Him.Do you want Jesus to be your advocate with God the Father, and to pay the propitiation for your sins?