Feed Your Soul: Defined by Love {Jesus Christ & Salvation}

How do I now do justice to the beauty of the cross? I cannot. Indeed, I will be worshiping Him for the way He has saved me from my sin for all eternity.

With the last post in this series, I waded through some truths about sin. Has that post about sin and wrath not made this one all the sweeter to anticipate? There is a Savior! As Thomas Watson said, “Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.”

This is sweet; these are the three words I have learned to describe what Jesus has done on the cross for me:

• Penal: The just punishment that my sin deserved…
• Substitutionary: was placed on Christ instead…
• Atonement: allowing my relationship with God to be fully restored in eternal peace.

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From Hope Mommies’ doctrinal statement, we can learn more about the One who is our Savior –

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God and continues to be the God-Man forever. We believe Jesus to be the second person of the Holy Trinity, being of the one and same essence, both co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that He was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, entered into human flesh in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man by shedding His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that He Himself, through His substitutionary death on the cross, is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world and that, along with His bodily resurrection from the dead, guaranteed redemption and salvation for all those who believe. We also believe that He later ascended into heaven, is exalted at the right hand of God, where He is our High Priest and Advocate. (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; Eph. 1:7, 20-21; Heb.4:14; Phil. 2:9-10; Col. 1:17-19; Heb. 1;3, 3:1, 7:23-25, 9:24, 12:2; I John 2:1-2)

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Christ took my sin so completely that His perfect obedience could be applied to me. J. D. Greear teaches, “In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more and nothing I have done that makes You love me less.” By Him I am forgiven, declared righteous (justified), and healed: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

In the last post in this series about sin, I wrote that anything I have in Christ is mine because it has been freely given to me—not based upon merit, but according to His grace: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

How good to know the truth that justification is by His grace alone, for through that truth, I can be assured that it has not depended upon me: “But by His [God’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Justification was not given based upon my goodness, but only because of Him and His goodness. Perfect Jesus took on sin so that He might attribute His righteousness to me: “He [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

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This is our salvation as described in the Hope Mommies doctrinal statement –

SALVATION: We believe that salvation is the free gift of God to unworthy sinners based on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the Holy Scriptures. Salvation is granted on the basis of God’s grace alone, not man’s good works, by regeneration by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ alone (John 1:12, 3:16-18, 36, 6:35-40; Acts 20:20-21, Romans 3:21-28, 4:1-5, 10:9-13; Eph. 2:8-9) and repentance from sin (Mat. 3:2, 4:17; Mark 1:15, 6:12; Luke 5:32, 13:1-5, 24:44-47; Acts 2:37-39, 3:17-26, 17:30-31, 20:20-21, 26:17-20; II Cor. 7:10, 12:21; I Thess. 1:9; Heb. 6:1). At salvation, the believer immediately passes out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified, accepted before the Father according as Christ, His Son, is accepted; loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him, and one with Him forever. (John 5:24, 17:23; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; I Cor. 3:21-23; Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:10; II Peter 3:18; I John 4:17, 5:11-13) We also believe that the greatest degree of reformation, the highest attainment of morality, the most attractive culture, baptism or another ordinance, cannot help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only by a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, may one obtain salvation and thus become a child of God. (Lev. 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matt. 26:28; John 3:5, 18; Romans 5:6-9; II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; I Peter 1:18-19, 23)

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The last post closed with the reasons of hope from Scripture that the unborn and infants who die in this life are taken to be with Jesus. I think about my daughter in that wonderful place! My stillborn child was a real, beautiful, human person designed by God. And she is is a real, beautiful, human person who was designed by God and is with God.

She who used to be with me and who is now in heaven gives me all the more impetus to believe that heaven is real. For heaven to house my child, it must be real just as she is real—for it is as though a part of me is there. Heaven has come into view like never before. This yearning for heaven is a beautiful gift that my child has given to me.

When I start thinking about heaven so intently, in turn, I understand all the more that Jesus Christ is my only hope. My yearning for heaven becomes paired with the knowledge that Jesus Christ is strong to save me from sin and wrath! Over time, this has led me to this peace: Heaven is good because it is where I will see my Savior face-to-face.

This brings peace because, I do not look to another human for hope or protection; I know my child can ultimately bring me neither. And it will help me see an eternal perspective, that losing my child has not defined me. The only One who is able to truly save, watch over, and protect me from deepest, eternal harm, Jesus Christ, is single foundation of my hope. And I have peace He is a solid place to stand, and I am defined by the fact that I can never lose Him. I am defined by Love.

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:35-39)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)

J. D. Greear teaches, “In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more and nothing I have done that makes You love me less.”

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Prior to losing my first daughter, I had expected her to experience many firsts, like first smile, first step, and first word. But I did not expect that she would experience a first that I still await. She was first to meet our Lord. As a mother, it does not seem that my own little baby should go much of anywhere without me, much less be first to do something that is still incomprehensible to me on earth. In an earlier post in these series, I wrote about how I had hoped to “be there” for her in this life. But I could not be there for her in death. I could not go with her. I could not tell her what to expect. I could not help her through. But Jesus could. And Jesus did. My baby, too, is defined by Love.

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The “Feed Your Soul” blog series takes the bereaved mother through Scriptural doctrines, which are beautiful truths preserved through the ages by God’s sovereignty to be food for her soul as she grieves.

Read the past posts in this series:

Feed Your Soul: Come in Need {Intro}

Feed Your Soul: God are You Silent? {Bible}

Feed Your Soul: Where Can I Find Rest? {The Godhead & The Father}

Feed Your Soul: Eternity at Stake {Man & Hell}

Lianna Davis, Social Media Coordinator // You can read more from Lianna over at her blog, lovelysovereign.com and at her daughter Noelle’s memorial blog, liannadavis.tumblr.com