The Crucifixion and the Human Condition

"We thus judge, that if one died for all then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again."

If there is any truth central to the message of the gospel it is the truth that Jesus Christ died for all. From this truth Paul, in the above text, illicits another truth: that all were dead.

Apart from Christ we were not just faulty but dead. "Dead in trespasses and in sins" as Paul said in Ephesians.

That Christ died on our behalf tells us just exactly what we all deserved - we deserved to be crucified. We deserved to be whipped, spit on, beaten, and nailed to a tree.

In other words, man is a totally depraved, rotten, worthless, filthy creature. There are no exceptions to this rule. As David said, "No, not one."

That leaves no room for any human pride, feelings of worthiness, goodness, or dignity. It leaves us all as worms and worse than worms - only dung on the ground. Only in Christ do we have any worth and then only as monuments to God's grace.

Therefore, as Paul said, we should not henceforth live to ourselves, but unto Him which died for us and rose again.

All hail King Jesus!

Mark Osgatharp

 

oops! I posted this in the wrong forum. A moderator may want to move it.

Mark Osgatharp