When you think about salvation, do you ever wonder why Christ had to die? Some times we shrug it off as if it was just something that was required by the law of God. But, there's actually more to it than that.
God has a law. And, the ten commandments are probably the most important part of that law. Before Christ came and died on the cross, everyone was judged according to that law.
It's like when a person dies and they have no will. This is called "intestate". An intestate succession is governed by law and is written in stone. You cannot argue with the judge that you want more of a person's assets than your other family members. You cannot say that another person should receive anything. The rules don't give. They don't change. They're adamant as stone.
The Old Testament law is what judged a man for millennia because that was the law of God and there was no will/ promise of God to change those facts. God gave His law to man to show them what was needed for them to gain entrance to heaven or what would send them to hell.
Exodus 24:12- And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
God made sure that His 10 commandments were in our subconscious. That is what our conscience is for, to teach us to do right even when we don't read the law. God didn't want people who could read, or had access to the law to go to hell. So, he made a way to guide them when there seemed to be no law.
Romans 2:14, 15- For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Laws have consequences when broken. Mankind has divided these up into major and minor offenses, but to God there are no little sins. Anyone who sinned would be required to face the consequences.
Deuteronomy 17:11- According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
Galatians 3:10-11- For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Doing good works didn't guarantee that you could escape hell. When a man died he was judged by the rules of the law of God as if it were written in stone. There was no arguing. There was no changing. And there were no substitutions.
James 2:10- For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
But, what if God had a Last Will & Testament written? What if God said that He could make a way to escape being judged by the strictness of the law?
A will is called a Testament. When a person dies with a will it goes through a testate succession. In write will, you can exclude persons, include persons who aren't even related to you, change amounts given, grant specific gifts, etc.
It was a very tricky thing that Christ had to do. He couldn't completely negate the law of God, but He could write in a substitution. The law required blood for sins, and it was either you pay for your sins or an animal paid for your sins. If no blood was covering your sins when you died in the Old Testament (under the law of intestate succession) then you would go to hell. But, Christ wrote in a substitution, if you were claiming His death as the payment for your sins through faith in His death on the cross then your sins would be considered paid in full.
Leviticus 17:11- For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Hebrews 9:22- And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Galatians 3:13- Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
However, a testament (will) can be changed or revoked as long as the testator is alive. It isn't until the death of the testator that the testament becomes irrevocable. Whatever the will states after the death of the testator supersedes the law, so the rules of the intestate succession have no power.
Christ had to die to make his salvation irrevocable to man. Until His death, the rules could change. The law had some power to it still. But, after His death the testament became the final authority.
Hebrews 9:15-17- And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Those who do not accept God' gift of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ will be judged by the Old Testament law, and they will fall short! Especially since there is no temple or priesthood for them to go to with their animal sacrifice. Once you understand what sin is and what the cost of its payment is you have no other choices. You go to hell and pay for your sin or you accept the payment that was already made by Christ.
Romans 3:20 - Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Romans 6:23a- For the wages of sin is death;
When a person stands before God at the end of days, he will be judged according to his works and how he kept the law. The only hope for any sort of good outcome is for there to be a lawful substitution- Christ's good works and perfect sacrificial death in place of your sins and your eternal death in hell.
Daniel 7:10- A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Revelation 20:12- And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Christ died to not only fulfill God's law and pay the price of sin, but also to cement a Testament, a promise of God, for those who were willing to accept the provided substitute.
The choice is yours- would you like to be judged by your works according the Law Of God at the judgement or would you rather be judged according to the promises of forgiveness with your sins paid in full that Christ afforded with the New Testament of His blood?
