Bible Studies

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It seems that everywhere you go these days someone is talking about Mel Gibson's newest film entitled, "The Passion of the Christ". Never before has a Christian film made such an imact as this movie has. In two weeks, the movie grossed over 214 million dollars! Why do you think that this movie made such an incredible impact on Christians and non-Christians alike? What should that be telling us? What it tells me is that there are a lot of people out there who are searching for answers. And who could blame them? Look around you. Turn on the news. All you hear about is violence, gang fights, murder, drug raids, kids killing each other, or their parents, and if that wasn't enough, now the threat of terrorism has become so commonplace that when they raise the terror alert, no one blinks an eye!

But there is hope. The only hope we have. And that is in Jesus Christ. Ask just about anyone if they know why Jesus died on the Cross, and they will tell you, "To save us from our sins." Sadly, that is about all they can tell you. Even more sad is the fact that some Christians know little more than that. In this newsletter, you will find articles, essays, and more that deal with Jesus and the sacrifices he made and why.

Who Killed Jesus?

There has been a lot of controversy over the film, "The Passion of the Christ". Critics called it anti-sementic. I saw the film, and quite honestly, I didn't see anything in it that led me to believe that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' death. What I did see was a story about love, sacfrifice, and forgiveness.

So, who killed Jesus? We all did. Every person who ever lived or will live. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us that "he himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, tht we might die to sin and live to righteousness: for by his stripes you were healed". What does that mean? That Christ died as a substitution for us. God exchanged our sin for Christ's righteousness.

The Cross of Christ is the center-point of human history. From the time that Adam sinned, it was preplanned that God would send his only son to die on the Cross. From that point on people looked forward in faith to what God had already promised he would do.

Isaiah 53 goes into great detail of the suffering that Jesus would go through. Verse 4 says, " Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried:Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted." It goes on to say in verse 5, "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities:The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging, we are healed. So you see, everything happened the way it was supposed to happen, the way it had been prophecied.


Victory At The Cross

When Jesus died on the Cross, there was a great victory won for all of us. Not only did God deal with our sin, but he also dealt with all the suffering and misery that was the result of our sin. The Cross meant freedom in seven areas. (1)Freedom from Satan's power (Colossians 1:13, 2:15) (2)Freedom from past sin (John 8:36) (3)Freedom from your old self (Romans 6:6-7) (4)Freedom from sickness (Mathew 8:17) (5)Freedom from judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28) (6)Freedom from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) (7)Freedom from everlasting death (John 3:16)






The Blood

There is an old gospel song that we used to sing in church when I was a kid. It went something like this: "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." Do you remember that song? What is so important about the blood? Ephesians 1:7-8 tells us that "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His Grace, which He lavished upon us." The shedding of the blood of Jesus at the Cross was essential for us to recieve forgiveness for our sins. Remember in Exodus when God rescued the people of Israel from Egypt? He commanded them to put the blood of a lamb over their doorposts. In Exodus 12:13, God told Moses and Aaron that " the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." The sacrificial lamb was a picture of the coming Lamb of God.

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