a conclusion of a study on heaven a few weeks ago and now are finishing up just the last Few chapters here of the gospel of John we had gotten Jesus up to the Declaration take him and crucify him and John 19 16 so he delivered him over to be he delivered him over to them to be crucified and That seemed like a natural break, and so we're coming back. I just want to remind us that we're kind of jumping in here to a very emotional moment, a very unnerving moment for the apostles. Last week, we saw the reactions of the various people. We saw the Jewish priests, we saw Pilate himself, but then we also saw in verses 25, through 27, we saw the believers in Christ who, even as this catastrophe was happening, were nonetheless there as eyewitnesses. So now today we're going to pick up at verse 28, and we'll read verses 28 through 37. This is entitled, The Death of Jesus, and we're going to just focus in today really wanting to apply the truth in verse 30, this statement that Jesus says, it is finished. This Greek, one Greek word here could be translated, the debt is paid. And so that's really where we're going to be focusing in today, but would like to read this record again by one who was there, the one whom Jesus loved. He was referred to back there in verse 26, the one whom he loved standing nearby. And it was the author of the book of John who now takes on the duties of being an oldest son to Mary. This is a very significant exchange just before Jesus dies. So now we pick up in John 19, beginning at verse 18. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of preparation, And so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness. His testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken." And again, another scripture says, on Him whom they have pierced." This is the Word of God. Well, I ask you, friends, would you have gone out to the crucifixion of your King? Would you have said with the chief priests What they said back earlier in the passage, when Pilate asked them, would you crucify your king? They answered, verse 15, we have no king but Caesar. Do you fall in that camp? Or is Jesus your king? And would you demonstrate your loyalty to your king? by standing by as he's crucified. The question I want to ask you today, I have two questions that maybe can form some of our conversation tonight. First question, do you believe that a moral debt can be forgiven? Do you believe that a moral debt can be forgiven? And maybe more pointedly, do you believe in moral debts? That is, do you believe that there's anybody that's actually keeping track of such things? Is God in heaven writing down the sins that people do? Who cares? Just do whatever you think is right. I think those are two profound questions. Do you believe that a moral debt can be forgiven? And do you believe in moral debts? Jesus was not a blubbering failure on the cross. Oh no. He calmly announced in John's retelling of the story as the last statement prior to his death, it is finished. This Greek word, and you may want to write this down, the Greek word is tetelestai. The T-E on the beginning is because this is a perfect indicative. That is, it is a present result of a past action. It is a completed action. That's what makes it perfect. And so tetelestai, translated here and most usually translated, it is finished. But I want to emphasize today this phrase. And in fact, I want you to know that we have contemporary examples from this same time period where this word, tetelestai, is used in a banking context. And so it's not simply that it's completed, but it's that it's paid. It is paid, or it is paid in full. And you'll see that I have that stamp down at the bottom of the bulletin notes today. This act of sacrifice on Jesus' behalf was the great purpose of His whole life. By it, He had accomplished for His people what they could not. And there's two things, and I want to try to draw this distinction sharply today. Number one is the payment of their sin debt. And number two is the breaking of the power of sin in their lives. Do you see that those are two different principles? The first one is a mathematical principle. Pay the debt. You have to get to zero. And the second one is the question of moral influence. The question of how do you live? The question of does sin rule in your life? Jesus addresses both of these when he says, it is finished. I want to call you today to learn how in Adam we were sold into sin and exist under the dominion of sin. But then, by faith, we appropriate the, and I wish I had put quotation marks around this, you might do this in your notes, the price that Jesus paid. Jesus was on the cross for a judicial purpose. He paid the price we could not pay to be released from our sin debt, to forever redeem His chosen people. And again, I want to come back to from sin's penalty and from sin's power. For those of you who maybe haven't heard me tell this story before, one of the sermons that I distinctly remember hearing preached when I was a young man was a sermon. I don't remember right now what the text was, but it had three points. Three points. The penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. And the preacher labored to draw the distinction that we're going to make today between the penalty of sin and the power of sin. The penalty of sin is what you are judicially owed because of your sin debt. And this, Jesus pays upon the cross in your place and as your substitute. That's the gospel. But the good news also includes the fact that because your debt has been paid, the power of sin, the dominion of sin in your life has been broken. This is what Romans chapter 6 and 7 and 8 are all about. If you haven't read those passages recently, go back and think about the question, does sin reign in your life? Then the third one is about the presence of sin, that's glorification, we're not talking about that today, but I just want you to see that what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to go back and remember that in passages such as this, we are reminded of various dimensions of salvation. Jesus is not failing on the cross. If you were following Jesus because He was a social influencer, then you would all unsubscribe from His channel today. Because He's been humiliated. If you're following influencers, the most important thing is that they're influential. And when you're hanging on a cross, about to die, you don't seem very influential. But those who knew who Jesus really was, were there. John was there as an eyewitness. Friends, you don't just follow Jesus when He's popular. You follow Him if it costs you your life. Because Jesus didn't die to make your life nicer now. He didn't die for your best life now. He died so you could have eternal life. with your Creator, in the new heavens and new earth, forever. That's the hope of the Gospel. So let's look at this today again. So this word, we're really zeroing in on just this one phrase in verse 30. It is finished. By the way, you can relate this to the other gospels. It turns out there's seven statements that Jesus made while he hung on the cross. And that's a very popular sermon series that many, many pastors have preached. I've preached this in the distant past. So this is the final of those seven sayings. But Jesus is hanging on the cross and he says to Telestai, it is finished. So it is finished, that is this thing that was begun has now been completed. But do you see how if you take that same word and you put it into a banking or a mathematical context, it's a very similar thought to The debt has been paid. The debt is finished. The bondage that that debt creates in the relationship between the borrower and the lender, that is completed. That is finished. So the first point today as we think about this word, it is finished, or the debt is paid, is number one, this means the debt has been paid. And I want you to see in three different places where the Bible is teaching us to think of sin in terms of debt. All right, the first one, we have already read this morning in Colossians 2 verse 14, we have the apostle Paul describing what Jesus' work on the cross was accomplishing. I want to back up to verse 13, and I want you to hear verses 13 and 14. So this is Colossians 2, 13 and 14. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. Well, how does God forgive all our trespasses? Verse 14. by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." So, Jesus is being nailed to the cross, but what is God nailing to the cross? The record of debt that stood against his people. Jesus now is the substitute. He is the payment of our debt. We have sinned against God. We've incurred a sin debt. And now, here is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. Do you see, friends, that God is clearing the decks? by giving His own Son, the sinless Lamb of God, who now can be a substitute. One man died for many. How many? Well, think about all the true believers there have been in the last 2,000 years, plus all the believers that were relying on the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. We need to see this imagery of debt. Debt is a challenging thing. Once you get there, they get to arbitrarily add things to your debt. And the more you're in debt, the more you drown in debt. And the more you feel like a slave. And the more that you say, who will free me from this? And some of that may be some of our experience here today. I realize I may be stepping on eggshells. But I want us to see that this is the vivid image that God lays up for us. And when Jesus is hanging there, about to go into His own death throes, He says, it is finished. Jesus here is following in the steps of Abraham and the author of Genesis. Think back to Genesis 15 verse 6. We've talked about this verse so many times. Abraham had just been given the promises of God. Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, as the sand on the seashore. Think of the time that you've been to the ocean and you've walked. I remember one time walking six miles along the ocean, barefooted. My feet were really sore the next day because I was walking for six miles in the sand. And I remember thinking how much sand, how many grains of sand I had seen on that six mile walk. And to envision in my mind going all the way up along the east coast of the United States, all the sand on all the beaches on the east coast of the United States if I had just kept going. That was the promise that God had made. Your descendants will be as numerous as the sands on the seashore. And then the next verse says, and he believed God. And God counted it to him as righteousness. Reckoned to him. I like the ESV though, it's, and he counted it to him. Here's the mathematical vision here. He's recognizing that all Abraham has done is trust me. But his trust, I'm counting as righteousness. Because he's trusting in me, I will deliver him. And I believe that, going right back to this verse, ultimately Abraham is counted as righteous based on the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. This is probably about 2000 BC. And yet already God was preparing the way and pointing in various and important ways to the substitutionary atonement of Jesus on the cross. There's one other way I want us to see the debt has been paid. This is a unique verse actually in the New Testament in Acts 3 verse 19. Peter is at the conclusion of his second Pentecost sermon. He's just healed the lame beggar there at the gate to the temple. And it says, and he was walking and leaping and praising God. And people came running from all around the temple, there's been a miracle, there's been a miracle. And Peter then proceeds to give his second sermon in the book of Acts. And here's sort of the high point of that sermon, just one verse. Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out." This phrase, blotted out, this is the only time when this verb is used in the New Testament. But it's a very, very important one. Because more than 20 times in the Old Testament, the Hebrew equivalent of this word is used. And here, imagine you have the ledger, and you have each one of the debts that this person has taken on a loan here, and they didn't pay it back here, and each one of those things, and imagine how you would blot it out. This is the pre-modern equivalent of whiteout. To blot it out is to white it out. That is to take the little thing, and I did this just recently because I made a really bad error on a really important document, and I took that white out and I whited it out, and it disappeared. And it was no longer part of that document. This is what Tetelestai is all about. The debt is paid. Your sin has been blotted out. and do a word search on that phrase in the Old Testament, to blot out or to have something blotted out. That's almost 25 times in the Old Testament. So the point here is that the debt has been paid. But now I want to expand this just one step. Point number two, this means that Jesus has taken away our penalty. Now I want you to think about the temporal consequence of debt. In other words, it's one thing to say, oh, mathematically you're in debt, but there is a penalty attached to that debt. So you have a car. It's a car that you like, but it's a car you couldn't afford. And so you took out the loan on the car and now you Quit paying the payments on the car. Maybe you lost the job. Maybe there's other more important things. But you know it's a matter of time before those guys have seen these wreckers doing their job here in Topeka. They're called repo guys. And they're usually the ones that carry the really big revolver, you know, underneath in their tow truck. They have a dangerous job to do. Their job is now to enact the penalty of the debt. What's the penalty? If you don't pay on this car, we're coming and we're getting this car. And you might have it parked somewhere so we won't find it, but we will find it and we'll come rolling up in the night and we'll hook that car to our tow truck and we'll repossess that car because there is a penalty attached to the debt. And so again, think about the importance of this in terms of this debt being blotted out. In order for the penalty to be removed, in order for your car not to get repossessed, something has to be done with the debt. Either the debt has to be blotted out, it has to be erased, or that debt has to be paid. And in fact, this is exactly what Jesus has done. Isaiah 43, 25 says, I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins. Isaiah 44, 22 says, O Jacob and Israel, you are my servant. I formed you. You are my servant. O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. And then 1 Peter 2.24, Peter's speaking here. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. Do you see the imagery? It's the same that Paul uses in Colossians. He was carrying our sins. That is, he was canceling the record of debt against us by nailing it to the cross. Jesus was the payment of the penalty of our sins. He carried that required consequence of death. He voluntarily gave up his life that we might be free. Now I want to quote 1 Peter 2.24 because this is a transition into the third point this morning. The apostles are often doing this. They're They're integrating our thinking even as they're teaching us to distinguish doctrines. 1 Peter 2.24 says this, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Do you see how the analogy changes in the middle of the sentence? First he's talking about Jesus bearing our sins. It's as though He's carrying our sins when He is nailed and lifted up on that cross. But there's a purpose for that. It's that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. It's in the first clause that we see the penalty aspect of the work of Christ. However, there is a purpose clause in order that And now we're on to the second thing. And the second thing is that Jesus breaks the power of sin in our lives. This really moves us out of the penalty aspect and into the power aspect of sin. That is what is going to rule you, friends. There is a progressive healing aspect of salvation that continues throughout our lives upon the earth. We call it sanctification. That is more and more dying to sin, becoming actually holy. Our debt is forgiven over here, but now we're learning to live with Jesus as our example. We're learning To imitate Jesus, we're learning to walk as those faithful disciples of Jesus, doing what Jesus teaches us to do. And so point number three, the word tetelestai, it is finished, also means that the cross crushes the power of sin. And I think that, friends, this is the most important point of our work today. I am confident that people who are members of this church have understood the substitutionary atonement of Christ. But what I want you to see today as Jesus cries out, it is finished, is that He's announcing that the power of sin in your life has been broken. If you actually understand the gospel, it breaks the power of sin in your life. And again, I quote here from Romans 7, but Romans 6, 7, and 8, this is what they're all about. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another. It's not fundamentally about behavior. It's fundamentally about being. Who are you? It's about being owned and possessed by Christ. I'm a slave of Christ, Paul says over and over. We belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Now we're talking about this fruitfulness. Are we going to do the good works that God has prepared beforehand? Are we going to be zealous for righteousness? Are we going to be a transformative, salty, and bright presence in our culture? Friends, we've got this down pretty well, but how are we doing as believers in being a light and an influence in our culture? That's the question that I think is before us today. 1 John 3, 8 says, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. You want to join in with sin? This is what you're joining. This is the side you're joining. But the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. The reason Jesus came, the reason Jesus died on the cross, is to give you freedom from the sins that you're struggling with. This is a radical message. Sanctification starts at the core of who you are. It's not a matter of, don't do that. Oh, you know, Johnny, tell Sally you're sorry. Sorry. Sally, what do you say? I forgive you. Okay, now everything's good, right? Absolutely not. Friends, we have been born again to a living hope to live a completely different way than the way the world lives. To stop sinning, to have the dominion of sin in your life broken by The saving power of Christ. That sin is finished in your life. It's finished. It's gone. It's paid for. Do you see the connection? We must always distinguish between the legal aspects of salvation and the moral aspects of salvation, but we can never separate them. They must be connected. In fact, I think I would go so far as to say that the error of the historic Roman Church has been the confusing of these things. The error of the Protestant Church has been the separation of these things. They must be distinguished, but they must be connected. And Scripture does that consistently. We need to see that God has given us Christ's righteousness as a gift. He counts us as though we are His. And now the challenge before us is to live consistent with that truth. As Romans chapter 6 says, therefore reckon yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. You are slaves of whatever you obey. So why are you living in sin? And then Romans 7, Paul then tells us his own story. I like the idea of the cognitive dissonance of Romans chapter 7. With my mind, I serve the law of Christ. But with my flesh I serve the law of sin." Why do I do the things I don't want to do? I know you have this experience. For five minutes you say, I'm not going to do it, I'm not going to do it, I did it. Oh, I must not be a Christian. Friends, when are we going to get the framing of this issue right? That the whole point of Jesus shedding His blood in this vivid and graphic way up on the cross is to communicate to us once and for all that the power of sin has been broken in the lives of believers. That coming to Christ is nothing less than reckoning yourself dead to sin. So stop it! Stop sinning! And I know, the Bible also talks about these besetting sins that we struggle with. And those are the ones, I know, I've talked with some of you. Those are the ones that you struggle with. That you ache over. That some of you struggle with assurance. Because of the presence of besetting sin in your life. That's the struggle that we're called to live in. But Romans chapter 5 announces the free gift of grace. That's the penalty of sin. Romans chapter 6 and 7, and most of 8, then address the power of sin. That's where I want us to land. That's what I want us to dialogue about tonight. And so, let me ask those two questions again. Can a moral debt Be forgiven. And do you believe in moral debts? Is there someone who actually keeps track of what you do? Does what you do matter? Do the choices you make matter? Is it simply a matter of personal preference of your feelings? Well, I feel like doing this. Let's just all do whatever. Or is it a matter of the moral law of God guiding us into living not for ourselves, but for Him who redeemed us at the cross? To live for the glory of Christ. To live out the righteousness of Christ imputed to us as a gift. To point out the the moral corruptions that flow from moral sins. If everybody just stops keeping track of money, it might be easier for five minutes. And then our entire culture would fall apart. The moral questions surrounding money are actually quite profound. Is it fair to take taxpayer money and pay off the bad debt of people who can't pay those debts back? Is that moral? Do you see how these public policy questions are directly related to these matters in the Gospel? Jesus Christ declared In His final moments, in the final moments of His public ministry, it is finished. Not only did God impute our sin to Christ, He also imputed Christ's perfect righteousness to us. That is, He counted it as belonging to us. This imputation precedes the progressive realization of God's righteousness in our moral character through sanctification. Every true Christian possesses legally the righteousness of Christ imputed by God. And he receives that through faith alone. Friends, we need to believe what God says. We need to believe His promises. We need to obey His commands. We need to be His hands and feet in the world. We need to stand for what is right. And we need to oppose what is evil. This is a moral universe. It has a moral fabric that at times is very clear in the minds and hearts when most of a culture are Christians. This is seen and known instinctually. This is one of the blessings in the history of our country. And yet, friends, the fact that we stop thinking about the moral fabric of society doesn't mean it goes away. It doesn't mean it stops existing. Rather, we go into the deep and dark crevices of moral confusion. This is where our culture is today. Instead of delighting to do the will of God, the good works that God has prepared for me to do today, I really don't want to do anything. I would rather do the minimum effort and get paid lots of money for it. But it's somebody else's problem. It's not my problem. I'm just going to check out. I've met seniors who have checked out. I've met teenagers who've checked out. I've met 46 year olds who've checked out sometimes. We need to stand for truth in God's world. God created the world. God is redeeming the world. And Jesus on the cross has broken the dominion of sin. and the lives of those who trust in Him. Let's close together in prayer. Lord our God, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for this simple statement from the cross, one of these seven sayings of Christ. It is finished. The debt is paid. We thank you, Lord, that because of Jesus' sinless life and substitutionary death, that Lord, we can stand with confidence, not that we are clean, but that we have been given white robes of Christ's righteousness. Lord, you're the one who said, come, let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Thank you, Lord, that you are the one who makes us clean. You're the one who breaks the power of sin. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us as brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage one another to step out from under the power of sin. Lord, that we would become radical in living as Christ would have us to live. Not loving the world, not loving the things in this world. But, Lord, that we would be those loyal faithful, that loyal faithful bride of Christ who follows Him wherever He goes. Oh Lord, help us to live the truth that in Christ our sins are blotted out. And Lord, help us to be that force for righteousness in the world. We give You thanks for it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, if you would turn with me to Psalm 26, Selection B. Psalm 26, Selection B. This emphasis upon the moral fabric, the moral implications of Christ's justifying death are what are before us in this Psalm. Notice that this Psalm is challenging us to think about our integrity. It's teaching us to say, yes, I have walked in integrity. That is, I have trusted in the Lord. I've been unwavering. This psalm asks God to examine me, to prove me, to test my heart and my mind. I behold your steadfast love, your truth has led my way. Notice that this psalm leads us to commitment to certain things. It also leads us to rejection of other things, things like worthless fellows, things like hypocrites. Don't be in a crowd with wicked men. Don't sit alongside evil. This is a psalm that's challenging us to examine our relationship with the world. I would challenge you to examine your relationship with the media you consume, the television you watch. Do you make promises and then break them? How are you using your time? Do you have a mindset of service in the world? Are you living for others or are you living for yourself? These are the kinds of questions that I think the breaking of the dominion of sin in our lives should lead us to reflect on. So do that as we stand together now. Let's stand and we'll sing Psalm 26b, all four stanzas.