Why Good Friday is the Best News Ever
Despite intense personal and political division, we all agree on one thing: something is terribly wrong with this world. Pain, suffering, injustice, and death affect us all at some point because we live in a broken world. And we live in a broken world because we are all personally broken.
Who hasnât committed any moral wrongs? (If you claim you havenât, you just committed a moral wrongâlying!) The truth is we are all fallen. While we hate the evil done by others, we rarely notice the evil we do. We may call our political opponents hypocrites, but we donât even live up to our own standards much less Godâs. None of us are perfect. We are all guilty of something.
Itâs only when we admit our guilt can we fathom the liberating and eternal implications of Good Friday. Thatâs when the innocent and perfect God-man took the punishment you and I deserve on Himself so we could be forgiven of our moral wrongs and reconciled to God.
âWhy do we need to be forgiven and reconciled to God?â you ask. âCanât God just grade on a curve?â
No, because God is an infinitely just Being. If He didnât punish moral wrongs, then He wouldnât be the infinite standard of justice. We know this standard of justice exists because without it we couldnât even recognize any of the injustice we complain aboutâanything wrong in our society or any evil that has been done to us personally. Injustice canât exist unless justice exists, but justice canât exist unless God exists. Without God as the moral standard every behavior would just be a matter of opinionâeven murder, rape and child abuse!
Thankfully, God is also the infinite standard of love which compels Him to find a way to allow unjust people like you and me to go unpunished. He does that by punishing Jesus of Nazarethâwho volunteers for the missionâin our place.
âThe Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His live as ransom for many,â Jesus revealed (Mk. 10:45). Just before he went to the cross, Jesus also declared that thereâs no greater love than âto lay down oneâs life for oneâs friendsâ (John 15:13).
On the original Good Friday 1,989 years ago, Jesus suffered and died not to turn us into nice people but forgiven people. Jesus isnât merely a moral example like other religious leaders; Jesus is our substitute. Since weâve already committed moral crimes, we canât work our way to God by being a âgood personâ. Jesus was that perfectly good person in our place. Heâs done all the work for us and offers His life for ours as a gift. When you accept His gift, you are not only forgiven but given the righteousness of Christ. You are a new creation adopted into the family of God by grace, apart from works (2 Cor. 5:17-21, Eph. 2:8).
Without grace we will each get justice. If you think about your life and every hidden thing youâve ever done, do you really want justice from God? Justice is getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you donât deserve. The only way to avoid justice is to accept the grace Jesus provides by putting your trust in Him.
Accepting the sacrifice Jesus made on Good Friday liberates you from your past, present and future wrongs by making forgiveness and eternal life possible (John 3:16). Thatâs why Good Friday is truly âGoodâ. In fact, itâs the best news ever.
Recommended resources related to the topic:
Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)
In a world obsessed with superhero movies, is there anything we can learn about God from watching the big screen? Stay tuned for the Hollywood Heroes book trailerâthe latest by Dr. Frank Turek and his son ZachâCOMING SOON!đđ±https://bit.ly/3LqDsn9
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Dr. Frank Turek (D.Min.) is an award-winning author and frequent college speaker who hosts a weekly TV show on DirectTV and a radio program that airs on 186 stations around the nation. His books include I Donât Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Stealing from God: Why atheists need God to make their case, and is co-author of the new book Hollywood Heroes: How Your Favorite Movies Reveal God.
Original blog: https://fxn.ws/37N4qa5