“He Surely Must Die That Salvation May Come”
Our Lord’s death was absolutely necessary. There was no other way. It was essential that he suffer and bleed and die. We are not saved because Jesus was a great speaker. We are not saved because his words are like manna to the starving soul. We are not saved because of his goodness and kindness, even his perfection. All of these things stand as guides, as illustrations of the kind of things we ought to do and be; Jesus was our exemplar. As Paul said, however, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Our hope in Christ indeed stretches beyond this vale of tears, not alone because of his immaculate life but also because of the regeneration and redemption which come to us as a result of his death.
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