Posts by Jason Helopoulos
As a Christian, why not sin? We could give a myriad of answers to that question. However, the best answer is supplied by Paul in Romans 6. Paul could have talked about the misery that sin brings, the pain that it inflicts upon others, the consequences which flow from it, or the penalty that Christ had to pay for it. But that is not where he first turns. He wants Christians to understand that we cannot easily entertain sin, because of our identity.
Christ Jesus--as our High Priest--is in the Holy of Holies and He has our names inscribed upon the palm of His hands. We are ever before His face. He always remembers us. In John 10, He says, "I am the good shepherd, I know my own." We may not be able to see Him right now, but that doesn't mean He doesn't see us. We may not hear His audible voice from heaven right now, but He is far from silent. He is praying for you. And whatever He asks of the Father is granted to you. As He says in John 11:42, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me." The Father always hears Him, His prayers are always effectual, and He is always praying for you. He is faithful and will not leave His post. You have a besetting sin, He knows. You have a troubled marriage, He sees. You cannot seem to overcome the death of your loved one, He hears. He is ever there, crying out on your behalf, showing forth His wounds on your behalf. He is your intercessor. He is your High Priest. That should give us great comfort when the trials seem too much, the sin too great, the loneliness too present, or the doubts too real. There is comfort in knowing that He is interceding for us.
Christ's intercession is so often the forgotten part of His redemptive work. We rightfully focus upon the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. We know the important role that each of these play in the establishment of our salvation, but what about Christ's work as our intercessor? We are robbing ourselves of much of the Christian life and faith when we do not give Christ's intercession the attention it is due. There is much encouragement and comfort in understanding that Christ is our High Priest, who lives to make intercession.
The Lord knows us and knows our afflictions. In Mark 6:30-44 we have a beautiful picture of this knowledge of the Lord and the compassion that flows from Him in light of this knowledge.
He in our place. "He has borne our griefs" (Is. 53:4). "He was wounded for our transgressions" (Is. 53: 5). "He was crushed for our iniquities" (Is. 53:4). "Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his stripes we are healed" (Is. 53:5). He was our substitute. It has been argued that this is unjust; it isn't right. Some enemies of the gospel have gone so far as to say that Christ being our substitute was some sort of divine child-abuse. However, that is far from the case.
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