BELIEVING IN THE LORD’S DEATH
AND RESURRECTION
The only condition for God’s salvation is faith. Faith is saying that you are willing and that you want it. What is the faith that the Bible talks about? First, God has accomplished redemption by the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. His work on the cross has been completed. Why has it been completed? I do not know why. Neither do you. Only God knows why. How can the blood of the Lord Jesus redeem us from our sins? Why is the Lord’s redemption effective? We do not need to ask these questions. These are matters for God. The Lord’s work on the cross has been accomplished, and God’s heart is satisfied.
The cross of the Lord Jesus is not for satisfying our heart. It is for satisfying God’s heart. Does the settlement of a debt satisfy the heart of the creditor or the heart of the debtor? If God feels that something is sufficient for Him, we also should feel that it is sufficient. God is righteous. If He says that the Lord’s work is able to redeem us from sin, it is surely able to redeem us. Whether or not you think that the work is sufficient is irrelevant. What matters is that God thinks that the work is sufficient. It is not just a matter of whether or not the money has been paid. What matters is whether or not the creditor considers the money paid. If the money you pay satisfies his heart, you will have no problems. I wish I could repeat this a hundred times. The work of the Lord Jesus is not to satisfy our heart. The work of the Lord is first for the satisfaction of God’s heart. It is God who demands the judgment on sins. It is God who requires that sins be dealt with. It is God who said that without the blood there is no remission of sins. If God were unconcerned, the blood would be unnecessary. The blood is there because God is concerned. If God were unconcerned, the cross would be unnecessary. There is the need of the cross because God is righteous.
The Lord has accomplished all the work on the cross. Hence, God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the proof that God is satisfied with the Lord’s work on the cross. Although we do not understand how the cross has satisfied God’s heart, we know that Jesus of Nazareth has risen from the grave. Was it the death of Jesus of Nazareth that the apostles went all over the world to preach? Have you heard such a gospel? I have never heard such a gospel. They went all over the world only to tell others that Jesus of Nazareth has been resurrected. If you read the book of Acts, you will see that the apostles did not preach the death of Jesus for our sins. What they told people everywhere is that this man had resurrected. They preached this because the fact of the Lord’s resurrection proves that His death has glorified God. The Lord Jesus was resurrected because His work had been accepted before God. His redemption is complete, and we can now be saved. If the Lord’s work had not been completed, He would have been left in the grave. Hence, resurrection is nothing other than the Lord Jesus satisfying God’s heart. The Lord Jesus has resurrected from the dead. The apostles preach this to us as a proof for our faith, calling us to believe in the Lord Jesus. On the one hand, salvation has to do with the Lord’s death. On the other hand, it has to do with the Lord’s resurrection. His death is for the settlement of our debt and the forgiveness of our sins. By this death the problem of our sins is solved. His resurrection is the proof that His work of death has satisfied God’s heart. God considers His work right and proper.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 14, by Watchman Nee)
