8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
From the fall of man in Genesis 3 to the time that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification, man only hoped for salvation; no one could be saved from sin and become born again. The people who reposed faith in Jesus before He died on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day could only repose faith in Him as the Messiah, but they could not be saved from their sins. They couldn’t believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Though there were instances where Jesus gave pardon to people, yet they could not be saved and delivered from the life and nature of sin. Why? Because the substance to that hope of having our sins forgiven had not been delivered yet, and that was not delivered until Jesus Christ took our place as our Substitute and died for our sins and was raised again. Hope for salvation was substantiated through the finished work of Christ. Halleluyah! Jesus died for our sins and was raised again for our justification. Our opening verse tells us that Christ Jesus suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us back to God; He was put to death in the flesh but quickened or made alive by the Spirit! So, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin in order that He might bring us back to God.
When Jesus took our place as our Substitute, the Bible says that He surrendered Himself as a sheep going to the slaughter, to be taken away and crucified. As our Substitute, Jesus Christ bore our sins and the punishments thereof, and by the stripes that wounded Him, we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24). If you were in the dispensation of Isaiah or Jesus (when He walked the earth before He became our Substitute) and you hoped to get saved, you would have had to wait for Him to die on the cross and be raised from the dead before you could get saved. But thank God that the substance of the hope for your salvation has come. Jesus Christ already died and rose from death. Every man who has come into Christ has come into the end of hope to get saved. Christ is the end to people hoping to be saved, hoping to be healed, hoping to be blessed, and hoping and hoping. You have come to the substance and fulfilment of all hopes – the Man Christ Jesus, our Substitute and Saviour!
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I declare that I have come to the substance and fulfilment of all my dreams because I have come to Jesus Christ, my Substitute and Saviour. I believe in Jesus and I am settled for life. Hallelujah! Amen!
Further Meditation:
Hebrews 11:1; Titus 2:13-14.