 One of the most probably quoted statements that we find from Jesus is in John 19.30. It is finished. So before giving a whole lot of extra information or detail, let's just go ahead and go to that particular passage and let's just see what it says. John 19.30, he says, "'Therefore when Jesus had received sour wine, he said, it is finished." Let me move this, I'll move some of my computer cursor over just a little bit because I wanna make sure I... All right, there we go. He says, it is finished. "'And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." I wanna look at while we're there, I want to, obviously in this case, we are going to have to look at the Greek to see really what he's saying. We're gonna have to look at what it actually is that's finished, but then we're also gonna have to see when it was finished. Because if we look at it just from the Greek, I mean just from the English, it looks like that Jesus is saying it is finished at that moment that he's saying it. But upon further review, when we look at it, we're gonna see that the tense of the verb is not present, it's what's called the perfect tense. The perfect tense, we don't have that in English, we have it in Greek. It is, and some people might even get confused with it. They may confuse it with what's called the heiress tense or the past tense. It's not a past tense. What it is, it is a completed action from the past. In this case, it has ongoing and future ramifications. So let's go back to it. This word, and you've heard the word in the Greek before, you've heard it as tetelestei. And what you see is there's this, it's from the Greek word teleo, which is to complete or to finish or to perfect. But when you have what's called in Greek this reduplication, in other words, it takes the first two letters of that word and then it duplicates it or we call it reduplication. And so the teleo, it is te, teleo or tetelestei. And we have also the ending. And so let's put it back on the screen again. It is, this word is in the single, it's a perfect middle indicative. And so what's being done is being done for the benefit of someone else. In this case, we need to figure out what the it is that was finished. And then also not only what it is that is being finished, but also when was this finished? And so my question to you guys is this, what do you all think that it is that was finished? Very important. As a matter of fact, this is singularly, well, this is one, I shouldn't say singularly, but this is one of the more important things that we can find out about why Jesus came, the point and purpose of it. And so my question to you guys is to be pretty interactive or as much as I can make it, what do you all think that it is that's been finished? What is the it that Jesus is referring to? And it is very important. Now, if you've been listening to me long enough, you should know this answer. Now, for some folks that maybe just been here, you need to, you're gonna wanna know what this is. If you have not paid attention or you don't know, you're gonna wanna know that it that is finished is the atonement, but even more than that. And I use the it, let's back up a little bit before we go there. Jesus makes a statement. Jesus makes a statement in John, I'm sorry, not John, Matthew 5, 17. He says, do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the purpose. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. So Jesus has come to fulfill the law. That's his point, that's his purpose, what he says. Now, there's a little bit more to it than just that, because the question is gonna be, what does that mean that he has come not to abolish it, but to fulfill the law? By the way, let's look at what the word is. The word for fulfill is plurio, or in this case, in this case, it is plurio sigh. And so he is going to bring an end to it, to fulfill it, which is what the word is. What does that mean though? Does that word, does that statement give us enough to go off of? Well, what is the end of the law? What does, what's the requirement of the law as far as we're concerned? In Romans 10, 4, he says, for Christ is the end of the law. And by the way, there's that word that we just use that Jesus says on the cross, which is the word to complete, to end, that's the goal, for Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Note, very important point. He is an end to the law, and what does he accomplish? He becomes righteousness for everyone who believes. Let's go back to that word again, for everyone who believes, and look at this word. This word is in the present active participle. Uh-oh, something's wrong with my cursor. Present active participle, this word, this is from the word pistol, which is to believe. So, Jesus is, or what will make someone righteous for that person who is believing. Now, I wanna stop there for a second because I think this part is very, very important. We need to understand, what do you mean by he is the righteousness? Well, what is the thing that God needs to have accomplished with us, through us, for us? What's the one thing that God needs to do? Or, more to the point, what needs to happen to us? What has to happen for us? Now remember, the requirement of the law, this is why some of you guys correctly said that sin must be atoned for, or the atonement, the requirement of law is that sin must be atoned for. I think oftentimes we miss that. I think oftentimes we get caught up a lot of times in our own theological and doctoral arguments and we miss the most important thing. The most important thing, guys, I don't care if you are Baptist, if you're Methodist, if you're Presbyterian, if you're Lutheran, I don't care what you, if you are Minion, if you are Calvinist, if you are, excuse me, if you are what provision is, I don't care what you are. The most important thing that has to be accomplished on your and my behalf is that we be atoned for it. We all are born in a state where there is something against us. There is a debt that's owed for us and the problem is it needs to be paid. There is an issue that stands before you and I and God. That is sin. And so before we are in His presence, that issue has to be taken care of. That issue needs to be dealt with, that issue needs to be dealt away with. Okay, so back on the screen. It must be only accomplished for the benefit of those who believe. If you are not one of the believing ones, then guess what? You will not have this righteousness, and we'll talk about this word maybe later, imputed to you. It will not happen. You must be one of the ones who believe. A believing one. And notice it uses the present act of participle. Okay, we've covered this before about people who believe, who understand exactly like we do, who see what like we see, and know what we know about Jesus, but their belief is fleeting. There is either mental sin or it's temporary. That's not the kind of belief that the Bible ascribes to a person who is one of His. It is someone who is in a constant state of continual believing. We enter into the state one time and it's continual. And what brings about it being continual is the Holy Spirit. He's the one that makes this belief in us continual. Are you with me? So now, if you are not one of the believing ones, well, then you cannot be right. Why is it necessary that we have to have this right standing before us? Well, look what he says in, I'm sorry, wrong passage, Genesis 315. This is where sin has occurred in the garden and God has stated that I will put entity between you and the woman speaking to Satan and between your seed and her seed. Now, notice this is a singular seed. This is the singular seed, the Hebrew word, Yerah, which is a seed or descendant and it's singular, he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. So very important. Now, obviously at this moment, I'm pretty sure neither Adam nor Eve or Satan fully understands what's gonna happen here. But God has stated that He is going to fix this issue. The issue that Adam and Eve caused, this issue where specifically Adam, this issue whereby sin has now put in all of us a state of separation. We all come into the world on the same plane as Adam. Are you with me? This is why we say that this is why I believe that it says that we are all dead and Adam because we start off at the position that Adam puts us in. It doesn't say so, but I wonder, I wonder, now I can't make this point, but I wonder if there had been a child born to Adam and Eve prior to the sin, then would the children of that child that was born or those children born were their children be born without this state? In other words, let's say if Abel were born before the fall and then Abel had children, it just makes me wonder, I don't know for sure. I can't say for a fact, why can I say for a fact? Because I don't have a scripture and y'all, I think people get bothered with me, but I don't know why. I think that we should have a scripture for our arguments. I think we should. And of late, people are saying, well, we don't have to have scripture, we have the totality of it, but you know what, I can't think of one argument. I can't think of one argument, one doctrine that I stand on where I can't find one scripture. I'm sorry. Yeah, there's a totality of scriptures that I can lean on as well, but also at least one scripture or two or three that I can lean on or whatever doctrinal statement that I believe. I believe that's the way it should be. Anyone that says different, I tend to worry about you because now I wonder, when you're saying something, are you making it up? Are you saying that I have to believe what you believe or I'm wrong, even though you can't find me a scripture because I say the same thing to the people who are casting out demons and we can't ask them a question. I say the same thing to the hypercharismatic people. I say the same thing to a lot of people and I need a scripture. Again, I believe the word of God is the most important thing and I believe what God wants us to know. He shows us in his scripture, everything else that we want to try to open up to our own interpretation, I think we get ourselves in a bit of a jam and a bit of a problem, what ends up happening is we fight and wanna kill someone because we don't see it the way they see it and we say show me. After the show me, well then pardon me for not seeing what you see if you're not gonna show me what I need to see. That's the way it ought to be. That's the way I was taught and so far I'm gonna go with that. So far it hadn't failed me. So God has stated that he needs to fix this issue. He's going to fix the issue. What's the issue? Well, the fact that now you have put yourself at him in a position that's opposite and empathetical to God. You have placed yourself in a position now God has this issue before you. God is a righteous God. I told you guys before and you're gonna hear more about this in the upcoming weeks when we start the class over again where God has these communicable attributes as well as these non-communicable attributes. The non-communicable attributes are the attributes that he doesn't share with us. The communicable attributes, the ones that he communicates the ones that he shares with us, such as loving, such as angry, God can be angry. Now, his attributes are obviously more godly. They're fuller, they're perfect. Like his love is obviously better. We don't know how to love, but not to the same level or degree that God does. Are you with me? But then he also has in-communicable attributes such as he is omnipresent, omniscient, those things. We're not omnipresent. We're not all knowing. We're not all present. We're not all powerful. Those are his attributes and his alone. So two attributes about him though that seem to be the overarching attributes that he has that seem to be the two attributes where everything else flows from is this. One, he's a righteous God. In other words, he's a just God. If he says X, Y, and Z, well then guess what? X, Y, and Z it is. If he says don't do this or there will be consequences, well then guess what? There will be consequences. He is not like some parents who say, if you do this, you're gonna get in trouble and then the child does it and then they don't get in trouble. No, he means what he says and he says what he means. He is righteous, he is just. He has a standard. Now, that can be a problem. It can be problematic for us if it weren't for the fact that of this other attribute that is just as important and prevalent that is the fact that he is a loving God. His love is the only thing. The only thing that can overcome or accomplish or satisfy his right, that's a better word, to satisfy his righteousness. That's the only thing. No excuses, nothing else. His love is the only thing that can make way for his righteousness to be satisfied. Now, we see that in Genesis five, where it states that Jesus, I mean not Jesus, that God has allowed them to bring an offering to him and so in some way, shape, or fashion, it has been given by God for them to some sort of way to allow them to be this sort of reconciliation where he still has interaction because God wants to be involved with his people. He loves them, at the same time, he's not gonna just deal with anything and so what does he do? He allows them to bring a sacrifice to him. Interestingly enough, the sacrifice that they bring is something that he's created. Here, I'll give you this and you'll bring it to me. Remember that, I'll give you this and what I give, you bring it to me. But not only the this, I want you to bring the best of what I've given. Very important guys, I want you as God, I want you to bring me the best of what I've given you and in doing so, we can be in the right standing. In doing so, you can be in a state of justification. Justification means to be declared right and treated as such. Now, I've told this story before and I like telling this story because I think it's, to me, it's the better analogy I can think of. I've said before that if you do something to violate me, to hurt me, to bother me, to offend me, then I've got the right to determine what it's going to be or what it's gonna take for you to satisfy my wrath or to atone. When we talk about this word atone or atone men, there are three elements. There's a covering, a canceling and a reconciliation. Reconciliation is the goal. We want to have this relationship but because of Adam, we don't have this relationship and everyone thereafter, Adam is in this state of being away from him and God holds this against you. God holds this one thing against you that he holds against Adam. That is sin. You are in a state where God has a problem and for you to be in his presence, it's a bother to him. In your natural sinful state, it's a bother to him unless you be in a justified state. Now he's the one that declares you just for, there's nothing like that when you become justified, it's not that your skin is better skin. It's not that your hair or your bald head is better. It's not that your eyeballs, your teeth, your eyelids are better. It's not that the blood in your body is better. It's not that the organs in your body has some sort of way been refreshed. It's not even that the heart inside of you is better. There's nothing better about you once you were redeemed or before you redeemed before you're toned for and after you. There's nothing about your body that's different. Your makeup is just the same way it was before and after. Now there's something internally that's going on. We'll deal with that later. But there's nothing about you that on this day you're not a toned for, the next day you are toned for and then you are right before them. There's nothing physically about you like, huh, now you can be my present because you've got perfect skin, no. You still have to deal with sin. You still have this nature in you even if you are in right standing. Don't believe me, ask Paul. Paul is the one who says, I find that there's these two nature, these two laws at war in me. I want to do this, but I end up doing that. So that doesn't change for the month, but now there's gonna be something that's gonna be given to you on the other side of the cross versus this side of the cross in Genesis. But the point is, I want you to see is that you stand as a person who before the Lord is unfit. You are unfit before the Lord. I'm unfit before, we all are unfit before the Lord. That's the issue. And so what God wants to do is to change that, to remedy that. Now only he can determine what is going to make you fit to be before him. In other words, what is gonna make you justified before him? And he is the one that has determined that it will be what? What has God determined that will make you justified before him? Well, one, him being satisfied. If, again, I say this, if you stole, I'll use a better example. I usually use a watch. But let's say because I see my man, Cowboy's five ring shows up. Let's say he did something wrong, did something really, really wrong. And I could see it happening because he's a Cowboy's fan. He stole my cup, my coach's cup. Stole my coach's cup and he walks up to me. Hey, Corey, what's going on? And he's got, he's got my coach's cup in his hand. He's playing around with it. And I said, man, that's not cool. That's just not right. And I'm bothered by that. He said, well, forgive me, I'm sorry. Yeah, but you got my coach's cup. Matter of fact, he says, Corey, forgive me, I'm sorry. And he starts drinking out of my coach's cup. How is that going to make me feel? It's gonna make me feel like one, you don't care about me. And then you're flaunting the thing that you did, how you violated me. You are flaunting that before my eyes. You don't care. But he says, Cowboys Five Rings says, I do care. I want us to be together again. I want, and you know what? I want reconciliation as well. I do too. Even though he's a, he's a Cowboys fan, I still want reconciliation. Now, he says, how? I tell you how it's gonna happen. Here's what you're gonna have to do. You're gonna have to first of all, it's gotta give me my coach's cup back. You cannot keep walking around and flashing the scene before the very thing that's bothered me, you are putting it in my face. And it's not that you're doing it, it's that you're doing it intentionally. Drinking in front of my face and tossing a cup in the air. You're doing all these different things. So I tell you what, I've got something for you that's gonna make me feel whole again. That's gonna make me look at you differently as though you're justified. I say, buy me two coach's cup, buy me a coach's shirt, a coach's cap, a coach's mug, a coach's thermos, a coach's blanket, and season tickets to the coach. That's what I want. That's what I want. And you say, Cowboys five reasons. Wait a second, wait a second, wait a second, hold up. I just took your coach's cup back. I gave it back to you, nope, nope, nope. You don't get to tell me what it's gonna take for me to feel whole again for me to forgive you. You can't tell me what it's gonna take. I'm the offended party. You are the offending party. So I get to tell you how it is. You say, well, you know what, I agree, you're right. And so what does he do? He gives me everything that I want. Now, after he does that, and I got my coach's season tickets and everything, and I got my coach's cup back, a year later, I cannot go to Cowboys five rings and say, you stole my cup last year. You did that to me. Now I remember it, but I can't hold that over his head again. Why? Why? If I'm righteous, I wouldn't do that. If I'm a just person, I couldn't do that. Well, certainly if that's what a just person would do, certainly a just and righteous God would do the same thing. And so not a coach's cup, but what does God demand as payment to satisfy his wrath? You all know it, blood, blood. See, you're kind of like, that's just me. That's just, wow, he said, Groupon coach tickets. Moderators, can y'all ban him and report him to YouTube? That's just, wow, that's just, that's me. It's funny though, it is funny though. It is funny. Probably won't get six free. But God has determined that it's going to be blood. It's going to be blood. How's that work though, God? Well, the way it works is you can't even give me the blood. Yeah, God, so what gives? I can't even give you the blood. I can't give you the blood. I can't give you what you're asking me for. So I'm in trouble. Now, what y'all think about that for a second? The one thing he wants, I can't give. Even if I could give, that's another thing. Even if I could give what God wants, I'd be dead. If I could give him the blood that he wants, if my blood was sufficient, if it were good enough, that would mean me dying. Well, I don't want to die, God. Listen, I know we want to be reconciled, but I tell you what, if I'm gonna die, I might as well die at the end of my life, then rather now. But remember, the two attributes, he's a just guy, he's a righteous guy. He demands satisfaction. He does not want to look at you in this offensive state. So what does he do? The other great attribute of his kicks in, that is he's a loving God. And so what does he do? Because he knows that you cannot pay or you cannot provide the very blood that you need to give. He's gonna give it to you. Are you with me? So what does he do? Remember in Leviticus 17. Now we covered 16 where he talks about how the atonement works. The atonement, there's three elements. There is this covering, there is the candle, the other candle. And it's like he waits. He waits, he waits till I get on. He didn't want to come in the whole day. What I wish I could do, I wish I could do him like we did Copeland and take him and get fixed, but he's already fixed. I should take this cat to get unfixed and then fixed again. That will show him. But anyway, let me see if he'll go away. He probably won't. He probably won't. He probably wants to, because he's selfish. He wants to make it an entrance, but he keeps, I'm gonna get rid of this cat. I'm gonna get another cat. I'm gonna get a quiet cat. Anyway, so what does God do? He says I've gotta deal with this covering, this canceling, and that will bring about reconciliation. Covering what? I don't need to see this sin. So what does he do? He offers on the day of atonement sins, all of people's sins are confessed on the head of the scapegoat and then those sins are sent away out into the wilderness. Then I've got to make a payment. There's a debt that's owed. I want you all to remember this aspect of it. I cannot see the sin anymore. Metaphorically, it's sent away. The sin or sins, let's be honest, sins, plural, many sins are sent away. Two, the debt is covered. Talked about giving me the extra cowboy. I mean the extra coats, cups and the tickets and thermos and so forth. There must be a cancellation of that debt. There must be a cancellation of that debt. How was the cancellation done? By blood, by the shed blood. The priest brings it, springs it on the altar, and then what happens? Then God, almost like he's inspecting, now he knows, but he has to come and he has to accept the gift. He has to accept the blood. I mean, I don't know, maybe if the priest decided to give, I don't know, some horrible animal's blood, no, there's certain animals that he had to give. And so God accepts it, and then payment is made. Now, you can determine, and in the example that I gave where Cowboys Five Rings stole my Coast Cup and brought it back and made, he made, atonement was made, and I said, now we're forgiven. But if he doesn't come around, if he thinks that I'm holding a grudge, if he doesn't trust that I've forgiven him, if he doesn't trust that I have forgiven him, listen up, ladies and gentlemen, if he doesn't trust that I have forgiven him, does that mean that we have been reconciled? No, he has to take place faith in me accepting it. This is what the day of atonement was. All of this happens and propitiation is made, but you do have to accept it, you have to place faith in it. If you don't place faith in what was done, well then guess what? Sorry, it didn't benefit you. Okay, now, there's one important passage, and move my Coast Cup out of the way, there's one important passage that's gonna bring us to Jesus saying it is finished, cause we've got to figure out what the it is. What is the it? Now you guys heard me say this before, some of you guys who are old enough that used to watch the 18 with Hannibal and B.A. and Face and Murdoch, and Hannibal was the leader, he would always say at the end with his cigarette, I mean, cigarette, I said cigarette, saying I love it when a plan comes together. When Jesus is saying it is finished, think about it that way. I love it when a plan comes together. Let's go to wonderful passage. If you like tattoos, tattoo this passes on your body somewhere too, if you wanna tattoo something, if you wanna graffiti something, write this down. If you wanna put little sticky notes all over your house or whatever, put that one up there. Whatever you wanna do, if you wanna mark it in your notebook or your journal, put this verse up there. Leviticus chapter 17 verse 11, this is where we see God's justice, His righteousness and His love come together. And I mean vividly in an awesome form. And some folks don't like this. I'll talk about those folks who don't like this in a second, but greater love has no man that he laid down his life for a friend. Look what God is saying here in Leviticus chapter 17 verse 11. He says, for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I've given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. Why? For it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. What's funny is I've got things kind of moved around a little bit. And so I'm used to looking at this screen. The screen is a little higher. And now I see, you know what? Let me just read on this screen. One day I'll get my eyes and everything adjusted. I'm trying to get this whole setup and how we move things around and kind of play with things. So anyway, I'm looking. So he says, I'm putting it back on the screen. I think it's important. He says, let's look at the very end of it first. He says, it is the blood by reason of life that makes atonement. He has stated that I want blood. I want blood, but God, I can't give you blood. I didn't say that. I just said I want blood. I just said I want blood and I need blood in order for there to be reconciliation. And so what does he say? He says, I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your sins. And we've covered this before where he says, I have given. That is the word not tatine. It's highlighted for you guys. That word means I have given. I have given. In English, you have to have the pronoun. You have to have the verb to be, which is have. And then the verb, I have given. Am I doing this right? Yeah, I have given. I'm trying to do it backwards for you guys to see. I, pronoun, have given. You don't need three words in Greek or Hebrew to make that statement. It can be all encompassed in one word. And so not tatine is I have given. But then something special is also present there. This is where if we go before the I have given, we see this word, I need. I, look at the bottom left-hand corner just in case you all are not following. I want you to see this for yourself. He says, I, myself, I have given. So it's I, I have given and it's taken or could be taken and probably should be taken. I, myself, have given. Let's think about that for a second. When I say, I, myself, have given, who is speaking? Who is telling us this? This is God. I, myself, have given. You've given what? I've given the blood. What do you mean I've given the blood? Well, he's not signifying, he is not signifying the blood of bulls and goats. That's not the blood that he's speaking of. He's speaking of a more perfect blood, a more perfect scapegoat. And even he's gonna talk about a more perfect mediator, which is also a better high priest. We won't cover the high priest portion or the scapegoat portion. We'll talk about that maybe some of the time we've covered, but Jesus, if you don't know, Jesus plays the part of all three elements. The high priest, perfect high priest who does not need to have a sense of tone for it in order to enter into the holy holies. He plays the part of the land who takes away the sins of the world, not like the scapegoat. And then he plays the part of the substitutionary atonement, the propitiation, the blood. And in this regard, better sacrifices all around. And so guess what doesn't have to happen? It doesn't have to happen continually. Are you with me? And so Jesus is who God, I believe, is referring to when he says, I myself have given. And so when Jesus says it is finished, he is speaking of the Tetelestive. He's speaking of something that happened in the past that is completed. Now, we know Jesus says that I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. Fulfillment of the law requires that. What satisfies the law is that. Are you with me? Now, something else that he also says that he's speaking about why he came so we can know for sure. In John 17.4, he says, I have glorified you on earth having, look what he says, accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, look at the word that's used for accomplished. It is the very same word, Telos, which is what Jesus says on the cross or will say on the cross to Telos die. I have finished, I have completed. This is an heiress active participle. So he says, I've done what I've posted, what I'm supposed to do, what I was sent here for. I've done that. Don't let the, listen, it's not like Jesus just using these words just haphazardly. He's using these words for particular reasons. So he says, I have fulfilled, I'm sorry, not fulfilled, but accomplished what you have sent me to do. And the Bible says that Jesus in Romans 10.4 that said, Christ is the end of the law. Now, what's this word for end of the log in? It's the same word. The same word that he says on the cross to Telos die derived from Telos. And then the same word that's used in John 17.4, Telos. This very same word he says, Telos Garneumo. So I have completed or as the Christ is the end of the law. And so the right, he is the righteousness to everyone who believes. Now, what's important to understand is when he makes this statement, what should be understood in this statement? This is Jesus saying the plan has come together. What is finished, the atonement, when was it finished, way back when, it's just happening now on the cross, but he uses the perfect tense, Telos die. And what's important about it is how we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. He's the end of it. He is what the law requires. That he is what the Bible is calling what God is calling for in Leviticus 1711. How do we know that? Because let's put on the screen the writer of Hebrews makes this statement. He says, therefore, when he, that Jesus comes into the world, he says sacrifices and offerings you do or you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. Very important, ladies and gentlemen. It was never the sacrifices nor the offerings that God cared about. That was something temporary. Remember the good news guys should be understood that it's not that salvation has come to the world. No, salvation has been in the world. It's not that salvation has come to not just the Jews, but everyone else. No, because even the sojourners like a Rahab could become part of this. No, the good news is that salvation has come to the world, everybody permanently. You could be atoned for not just for one year, but you could be atoned for forever. And how so, how does this happen? Well, he says so in Romans 10.4, he says to everyone who believes to the believing ones, to the ones that are believing. Tolling pistol aunties, which is to the ones who are believing. In other words, if you are believing, then atonement is made forever. Not just year after year after year and no, one time. And then what does the writer of Hebrew says? After he makes this, then he sits down at the right hand of the father. Now, I said before, God satisfies his own debt, his own wrath by paying the debt. Why is that important? Because the reason why a person goes to hell or the reason why a person does not go to heaven, the reason why a person goes to heaven or the reason why a person does not go to heaven, the reason why a person can be reconciled and in the company of the Lord, or the reason why a person cannot be in the company of the Lord is, depends upon whether he or she is in right standing. Depends upon whether this person is in a justified state, if this person is in right standing. How do you get in right standing? What makes you in right standing? Well, it's the blood, the perpetuation, and once that happens, there is no longer a debt that's owed. One of the good things, one interesting thing is when we look at any extra biblical sightings, which are archeological finds, historical findings of that day, if we find a bill of sales, a deed, something where something is being bought, they would often stamp on the bill of sales, a deed to tell us die. Why? Because it had become synonymous with a financial transaction as well. It has been finished, it's done. What we decided to do, it's been paid and it's been paid in full. That's why he can make this statement in Colossians 2. He says having canceled, look what he says, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it out of the way, having looked, nailed it to the cross. This debt that we have, it was nailed to the cross. This is where the shouting and jumping takes place. This is where, hey, if the one time in your life you wanna go and speak in tongues, go ahead. Go ahead, go on speaking tongues down, go ahead and go do a back flip, go fall out, go do whatever you, because if there's ever time to do it, it's because of that. The debt, now I'm not advocating that, but the debt is paid. The debt is paid, what does that mean? That means nothing else is due. You don't owe anything else. You don't have anything else to pay us. There's nothing else that is required. Did you hear what I just said? There is nothing else required. That is shouting music, Lisa said. Shondo, that's stomping music. Some of you folks that like to shout and scream because your favorite team scored a touchdown or won the basketball game and the baseball game won't have you. Shout at that. Rejoice at that, clap at that, cry at that, yell at that, run around the house at that. Go tell somebody else about that. That's the good news. The debt is canceled forever and it was nailed to, I'd love to know the heavenly metaphorical hammer that was used, it was nailed to the cross. Took three nails to do it. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that quick either. This painful debt that he suffered, that he bore for us, shedding his blood, body torn apart. There is nothing else left. And so when someone, by the way, when someone comes back and says to you that you still owe a debt, because when they say to you that you can place your faith in Christ and then thereafter lose your salvation, lose your place, lose your standing, you are no longer justified, this is where you gotta ask them, what in the world are you talking about? The Bible says that there is nothing else left to pay. He paid it all. Yeah, but his payment wasn't enough to cover your future sins. The devil is a lie. He paid enough to pay for everybody's sin a billion times over, past, present, and future. Only thing is required is that you believe that it's paid. That's the only thing that's required, that you believe what he did. Faith is how you can receive the payment that was made for you. Unfortunately, everybody won't. Unfortunately, everybody won't. But there it is, it would be that Christ would have to be, thank you, Jeff, Christ would have to be sacrificed thank you, Jeff, Christ would have to be sacrificed over and over and over. Think about how often we sin. He would have to be sacrificed over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. I mean, I can end the broadcast and come back, come back tomorrow, do another one and be over and over and he would have to be sacrificed over and over again. No, he paid, God stated what the debt is that's owed. He pays it and then somebody with a four year old mind would come back and say, no, the debt is still outstanding. No, it's not. Cause you don't understand salvation. You don't understand how this thing is put together. You ran in you and someone in your family or your pastor or your grandma or you read a book that told you, you didn't read the right book because if you read it from the start, he would have told you that the debt is paid. Understand what this means. Nothing else is due, could you imagine? And maybe some of these folks that make these statements, maybe some of these folks that make these statements have never paid a car off, never finished paying a mortgage off or never finished paying a bill off. Cause could you imagine if you paid that bill, that hospital bill or that car note, you paid your last payment and then they sent you another bill saying, we want some more money. What would you say to them? What would you say to them? Do you think that, first of all, if you were Christian, you might not be Christian on that day, right? You might not be, you might not be that godly on that day when you had this conversation. What would you say? Oh, you what? No, no, no, no, no, no, you, no, I'm looking at your computers, you made a mistake. The bill has been paid. I don't owe anything else. Yeah, yeah, Corey, minor, yeah, yeah, look it up. Yeah, what do you mean I still owe? No, I paid all my, I paid everything. I got the receipts. It's written down, I wrote down all this stuff. Yeah, I'll tell you what, I'll see you in court. Because if you come and tell me that I paid my last payment and I still owe, I'm gonna be fighting that. Think about how offensive that is to God. Because remember, he supplied, I got a dog on it, let me go back to it. He supplied it. There it is. He says, I myself, I have given. I myself, there it is, I myself, I have given it. I gave it on the altar to make atonement for your souls. If I gave it, do you think I'm gonna accept it? I accepted it. Which one of you Yehues are gonna come back and tell me that I didn't accept the debt that I paid to myself? Because that's what happened. God pays the debt for himself. He sacrificed his offerings, he didn't desire, but a body he prepared for me. Not me, but Jesus, who is God? And so because of that, you can't come back and say, but you don't know the Bible very well. You don't know the Bible very well, you're gonna come back and say that there's a debt still owed. Why is this written then? Why is this written? That was, guess what, here's what's funny though. That's the standard in the Old Testament, under the covenant, old covenant, under the law. If the debt was paid, now this was a yearly debt that had me paid, but even in that, you stood right before the Lord. You stood in right standing before, again, there was nothing special about you. When the priest had us in the tone four, there was nothing special about him. Nothing special about him. He goes to the holy, holy, same gray hair, same wrinkles, same blemishes on his body, same bad kidneys, all that stuff, same corn and calluses on his feet, all of that. But he is in right standing, not by his work, but by God's work, and so God declares him right. That's why, matter of fact, let me put this on the screen, I think this is important, I think we ought to go ahead and look at this. This is in Romans 8, move this cord out of my way. I didn't intend on going to this particular passage, but might as well. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all. By the way, that's important. This is though we're saying he spared his son, he didn't spare his son just because it didn't matter. Yeah, Jesus' life didn't matter. How will he not also with him freely give us all things? Here it is, who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies, that's important. I think we just look over this word justification, justified God is the one who justifies. So who is going to bring a charge against you? If you've been justified, who is going to bring a charge against you? The obvious answer is nobody. In order to bring a charge against you, you have to go to God, convince God that the charge that's against him that was paid by Jesus is still outstanding. That you did not place faith in him. And it didn't apply to you. He still, he still, oh, what does he owe? More of Jesus' blood? Because what he gave, what enough? Who, as he says, shall bring a charge against us? Who is the one who condemns Christ Jesus? Is he who died, yes, rather, who was raised with the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us? I can continue going on reading with it, but there's no one that's going to be able to stop Christ, who is now, he is no longer the high priest on earth who intercedes for us, but he's a high priest on in heaven. And I like this example. Some of you all who have may have been in trouble with the Lord, I'm not with the Lord, or with him, but also with the law, I like the analogy whereby, and I can identify with it, you go before the court and the judge is reading these things off. These charges against you. And the judge is, this guy's been, you know, he's fair, he's an honest judge, but he's by the book. This judge is by the book and you're worried because the great accuser, he's brought a lot of charges against you. The problem with this great accuser who brings all these charges against you. Your honor, Corey has done this, this, this, this, this, Corey has done all these things. Corey has done all these things and then the judge is going to ask, I know it, he's going to ask, how do I plead? But my attorney, my counselor, my advocate says, don't worry, I got this. What do you mean you got this? Because that judge, it's my father. Really? Okay, you feel good about yourself. I'm feeling pretty good now. All right, so what do I do? Just follow my lead, just do as I tell you to do. The judge has asked, how do you plead? You consult your attorney, because you feel like lying. You feel like lying, I feel like saying not guilty, but your advocate, your attorney says, listen, not guilty, all right. Not guilty, is that right? Yeah, I did right, I did right. Yeah, you did right, you did right. Okay, good. Plead not guilty. Now, the judge is satisfied with your guilty plea. The accuser is certainly there happy that you plead guilty. Now, he would have looked, he was looking forward to prove all the deeds that you've done to show it, because he's got evidence. The judge says, well, I've taken into account what you stated. I appreciate the fact that you were forthright and honest, but based on our sentencing guidelines, these are heavily sentencing guidelines, my boy, but based on our sentencing guidelines, the only course, the only correct judgment and sentence is death. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait. You look at your attorney, you look at your advocate, your counselor, you told me that all I had to do was trust you. You told me that that was your father, but now I'm being sentenced to death. Just calm down, your counselor tells you, have faith. Okay, your honor, your attorney says, your honor, father, you are just judge and you have stated that death is prescribed. That, of course, you said that the soul of the sin shall surely die. You never stated that someone could not die in front of him, so I am going to take his place. If someone has to die, I'll do it for him. How much do you love your attorney now? How much do you love your attorney now, the fact that he's dying for you? Wait a minute, you gonna take my sentence for me? Yeah, not just you, not just for you. Your honor, everybody in court room, everybody. That's what he does. And because of that, once the judge has pronounced sentence, you are declared right. No more charges will be brought against you. You are free to go, go as he says and sin no more. That's what we're here to do. If the debt is paid, then there's nothing else owed. That is what Jesus meant when he said to tell us die. There's nothing owed, the plan that was brought out, brought about in the past. That's what the perfect tense is. That was brought about, the father has accepted it and there's no more debt. Therefore, don't let anyone ever, ever. I don't care if they mean well, but they can't spell well. They mean well, but they can't read well. They mean well, but they don't know the Bible well because it's clear, the debt is paid. And so let no one put you back in this fear of being in bondage, be one, how crazy would it be for you to always think and looking over your shoulders, thinking that someone's coming to take what you have when there's no one coming to take it, when there's nothing outstanding. Every time a police car pulls behind you, you think, man, do I have some warrants? Do I have a warrant for my arrest? Am I in trouble? You can't even live come. You couldn't drive come, you couldn't go to work come. You couldn't sleep come because you gotta get up in the morning and get in the car again. You couldn't do anything with any kind of confidence. What kind of quality of life do you have? Even though he says I've come to give you life and life more abundantly, you can have no quality of life because you're always living in fear of God re-nigging and taking back what he gave you. One thing you couldn't give yourself, he gave you and you're in fear of thinking that God is gonna take it back. Don't let someone do that to you. I don't care how well they say it. I don't care, listen, now if you wanna live that kind of miserable life, I understand. Misery loves company. It does, even amongst so-called Christians. They love company, fine. Let them have it, you all can have it. You all can have a Christian pity party over there. Over here, we're going to rejoice and what does the Bible says? Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. I'm redeemed, I'm gonna say so. How about you?