1 Peter 3:18 TPT
[18] Christ suffered and died for sins once and for all—the innocent for the guilty —to bring you near to God by his body being put to death and by being raised to life by the Spirit.
From yesterday's devotion, we saw the love of God made manifest in the quality of the gift He gave as a sacrifice for sin. The greatest and the most sober part of this message is the price paid. God's view of sin and the right and appropriate punishment for sin are seen from the price that was demanded. Right from the Garden of Eden when man first sinned, the wages of sin became death, and those wages are still the same today. No amount of effort, education, enlightenment, earnings or expenses can change these wages. You cannot argue your way out of the dues that are tied to sin, without taking advantage of the provision God has made for sin. Death was the price for sin, and the perfect offering had to be made to pay the price for sin once and for all. This is why Jesus had to die, because no other sacrifice could provide a permanent way out of sin, and the platform for deliverance from the power of sin. Only the blood of Jesus could do that.
It is not a sacrifice to be repeated every time man sins, but it is a flow that is good for all seasons, on this side of eternity. No matter how terrible my past or present is, the blood of Jesus provides restoration redemption and sanctification. I have access to the riches of God's grace by the death and resurrection of Jesus. When he died and rose again, He won victory over sin and all its consequences, which is death. He was raised up and he sits at the right hand of God in heaven, far above principalities and powers. It is by my total and absolute surrender to and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Saviour that I am located in Him. If He is at the right hand of God, by my acceptance of Him as Lord and Saviour, I am seated with Him, wherever He is. He has brought me near to God. I have access to all that has been promised to all who put their trust in Jesus. There are no alternatives provided here; it is all trust in Jesus, or nothing else. God's time of favour is here.
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