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Evangelism: The Journey Begins

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Wade Ogletree

The Legacy of Jehoshaphat

We tolerate many things in our lives and survive them, but our children take note, and what we survive can destroy the generations to follow. Consider King Jehoshapat:

2 Chron: 17-20
17:3 "Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the former way of his father David; he did not seek after the Baals."

Jehoshaphat was a good and Godly king, but he had a weakness, he allied himself with the evil kings of Israel.

18:1b "By marriage he allied himself with Ahab."

He fought with Ahab against the Syrians, the battle in which Ahab died. On his return, the prophet Jehu said to him:

19:2b-3 "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God."

20 Moab, Ammon and other countries came upon Judah. Jehoshaphat prayed to God, and the enemy armies turned against each other, and the victory was Judah's.

20:35 Again, Jehoshaphat allied himself with an evil king of Israel, this time Ahaziah. They had formed an alliance to make ships to go to Tarshish, but God told Jehoshaphat that because he had allied himself with evil men He would destroy his works, and the ships were wrecked, every one.

2 Chronicles 21 Jehoram
21:6 Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's first born, had taken a bride from the house of Ahab, as his father had done.

21:4 When Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram became king, and to strengthen his position, he murdered all his brothers, and (v. 6) he followed the ways of the house of Ahab.

This is the beginning of a tragic series of events that had its roots in Jehoshaphat allying himself with Ahab by marriage. Jehoshaphat was a good king. His only weakness was his alliances with the kings of Israel, and he never let his marriage into that family effect his dedication to God—but its impact on his children and grandchildren, and the entire nation of Judah, was devastating.

We're following a family saga, and this our first lesson. Our sins, even the sins of righteous men, have repercussions beyond what we can see. What He asks of us, He asks in wisdom and love.

It has been said that what a father tolerates in moderation, his son will indulge in excess.

21:20 Of Jehoram's death, the Bible says, "He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed."

2 Chronicles 22 Ahaziah and Athaliah
22:1 When Jehoram died, only his youngest son Ahaziah still lived, the other sons having died at the hands of Arabian raiders, so Ahaziah was made king.

22:2,3 Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, Jehoram's wife, was of the house of Ahab, and she advised her son to do wickedly.

22:2,10 Now Ahaziah only reigned for a year before he died in battle, and when Athaliah learned that her son had died, she murdered all royal heirs of Judah and made herself Queen to rule in his place.

22:11 But of one the king's daughters hid one of the sons, a child, not even a year old, by the name of Joash.

2 Chronicles 23: Joash and Jehoiada
23:1-11 After six years, the High Priest Jehoiada made plans to restore the rightful heir to the throne. He gathered the military to his side and brought the Levites into the plan, and they anointed Joash as king.

23:12-15 When Athaliah saw what had happened, she tore her clothes, screaming, "Treason!" Jehoiada had her taken out and executed.

2 Chronicles 24: Joash's Reign
24:2 Joash was a good king and did what was right in the sight of the LORD—all the days of Jehoiada the High Priest.

24:17-18 But when Jehoiada died, Joash followed the advice of the leaders of the people and turned from following the LORD.

24:21 God spoke to Joash through Jehoiada's son, Zechariah, and for it, Joash had Zechariah stoned.

24:16 The High Priest Jehoiada was buried with the Kings.

24:25 The King Joash, when he died, they would not bury him with the Kings.

2 Chronicles 25: Amaziah
25:2 Joash's son, Amaziah, followed his lead. "He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart."

25: 14 After God led them in victory against the people of Seir, Amaziah brought back the gods of the people and worshiped them.

Romans 8:7
For to he carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Once, in Mobile, I was looking to have a sign made. Someone had posted Ads along the side of the road with the word "Signs" upside down and then a phone number. It caught my attention so I called the number and went to visit the shop. The "shop" turned out to be back in the woods in a mobile home surrounded by hunting dogs and decrepit vehicles.

The owners, husband and wife, were there to greet me and show me their work. Eventually, talk of business moved on to other things, and we began sharing our thoughts on religion. We covered some rather interesting topics. How many Holy Spirits are there? How is the modern church comparable to a Wal-Mart? And, finally, is it possible to attain perfection in this life?

The woman stared off into the distance and said she had reached perfection once, and she walked in perfection until the day she committed adultery.

As strange as that sounded to me at the time, I knew that the basis for her reasoning was actually fairly common. Many people hold to the premise that sin just comes out of the blue. The truth is that most, if not all, sin takes place within before it ever expresses itself without.

There's a procession that we see in the first Psalm:

Pslam 1:1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

The psalm sings of the happiness of the person who does not do these things, but what of the person who does? What is going on?

The very first step is counsel—it's of the mind, ungodly thoughts, ungodly advice.
That leads us onto the path of sinners. I find it interesting that this person is standing in the path. Who just stands in a path? That's not what paths are for. But, I'd like to give this poor fellow the benefit of the doubt. He's told himself he won't go down that path. But he's heard the counsel of the ungodly, and he's curious. How much harm can there be in a little curiosity? "I won't walk down the path," he says, "I'll just stand there and see what's happening." Then what? I think I know what he'd say. He'd say he was minding his own business, all sweetness and light, and then BOOM, he was sitting in the seat of the scornful. He had joined those who scorn the will of God, and, boy-oh-boy, he doesn't have a clue how that happened.

No. There's a process. And it starts, not with an action, but with a thought.

Ephesians 4:17-29
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

These verses sound like a downer, but the truth is, this is good news. The negative side is that we "should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind." The positive side is as Isaiah 26:3 said of God: "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

The question is, how do we translate this into action? How do we stay our minds on God and find that perfect peace?

Let's read on in Ephesians 4...

Ephesians 4:20-24
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

There are three steps outlined here. Put off the old conduct. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And, finally, put on the new conduct, or, as Ephesians 2:10 put it, the "good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them."

The problem is that so often we allow ourselves to conformed to the image of this world, but God has commanded us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

And it is a command. It's something we're told to do. If it just happened upon salvation, the Bible would tell Christians about what has already happened. That's not what God says. To the saved, He says, "Don't be conformed to the image of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

So the question we face is are we living transformed lives or conformed lives? Wait. It goes further than that. How many men of god have we seen fall? It seems to happen with sobering frequency. Why? Becomes conformity sneaks in.

None of us is perfect, so every one in this room knows what conformity looks like. The issue is, what do we do about our areas of conformity? If we let it be, it will spread like a cancer, and the transformed man will be conformed back into the image of this world. He was in a high, spiritual place, and sin brought him low. That's why we call it a fall.

The fake and the phony never falls. He just gets shown for what he is. It's the transformed man who, having given into conformity, discovers to his horror that it has taken over his life—that is the man who falls.

Like I said, none of us is perfect; so I know there are people in this room today who are going through a season of conformity in their lives. It could be that you've never been transformed by the renewing of your mind. You got saved and then just quit. You're really not much different than you were before. If so, be careful.

It is the work of Christ on the cross that saves you, not the transforming of the spirit of your mind, but that transforming work is evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in the life of the saved. On judgment day there will be many people who will stand before Christ, having never seen transformation in their lives. Some of them, having truly put a saving faith in Christ Jesus, will enter in—but the Bible says they will be saved as if through fire. They will have nothing to show for the way they lived their lives.

Others will stand before him, and He we say, "Be gone. I never knew you."

While we're here on earth, we usually don't know the difference between the two. Jesus told a parable about a farmer who sewed good seed and it produced wheat. An enemy came into the field and sewed bad seed, and it produced tares. Tares are fake wheat that produce nothing of value. In the parable, the farmer's servants asked if they should go in and pull up the tares. The farmers said they would wait until the harvest, lest his servants harm the good wheat by mistake.

That harvest is the day we stand before Christ, and He will separate the wheat from the tares.

That's different from separating the wheat from the chaff. We've all had chaff in our lives that needs to be burned away. With a tare, the whole thing gets tossed.

If you've never put your faith in Christ for salvation, He has the call on your heart right now. Don't ignore it. In the same way, if you are saved, He has another call on your heart. It's the call to be renewed, to be transformed. Don't ignore it, either. Let the work of God in your life be His witness to the world.

Moving on, I want to ask a few questions. First, why isn't all this dealt with at salvation? Second, why, then, is it still an issue after we've seen the transforming work of God in our lives? Why are we still vulnerable to the ways of the world? Why do Christians still have to struggle with sin? And why do men of God fall?

The answer to all of that, I believe, is this: Our everyday decisions to follow God in obedience or chase after our own desires are ultimate decisions about who we are becoming and who we will be when we enter eternity.

We read 1 Corinthians 3:12-16 last week. Christ is the foundation, and if anyone builds on that foundation, what he has built will be tested in that day we stand before Christ. The good will remain. The useless will be burned away. Too often, I think we get caught up thinking all that's talking about what we do—I believe it's talking about who we are. The good news its that the junk is burned away. The bad news is, whatever good that's within us, that's who we are. No more. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us we have a glorified body waiting for us. We decide here, we decide now, what will be poured into that body.

We have been given the grace of using this time and these trials and tribulations to be transformed. You had no choice about how you were born and who you would be in this life. But in eternity, we will enter as the person we have become in Christ, stripped away of all the garbage.

That is both a great encouragement and a great concern. An encouragement because I have that chance to shape who I will be. A concern, because of how I've shaped up so far. I have more growing to do, and I mean to do it.

To begin with, we have to realize that at any given moment we are either conforming or transforming. We are never doing both, and conforming is faster, easier, and often slips by unnoticed.

This morning, I want to focus on what may be the most debilitating form of conformity, that which we call "habitual sin". Too many Christians slip into a pattern of sin, and they don't know why. They don't know how to break free. Once free, they don't know how to stay out of trouble.

Maybe today we'll share a few thoughts that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will set some people free.

If step one is realizing that we are conforming, that we are in sin, then step two is fairly obvious. Just about everyone gets this far.

Ephesians 4:22
That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.

In a word: Repent. Turn away from your sin, and ask God for His forgiveness and restoration. It seems like that should be all there is, but then we end up walking circles. Repenting from sin and then repenting from our repentance and falling into sin again. We break the cycle by moving on to step three.

Ephesisans 4:23
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

We forget this part and go storming right into step four. It doesn't work that way.

I see five components to being renewed in the spirit of your mind.

1) Remove yourself from contaminating influences.
2) Spend time with God.
3) Get serious about your time in the Word.
4) Get serious about your time in prayer.
5) Stay clear of your mental ruts.

Have you ever ridden a bike down a dirt trail and gotten stuck in a rut? If you have, then you know a few things about them...

1:They form along well-traveled areas. Habitual sins, by definition, are well-traveled areas.
2:The more a rut is used, the harder it gets. Every time we give in, we make it worse.
3:Once you're in a rut, and until you get out, you're going where that rut leads you. That is the number one worse thing about the mental ruts we form. Remember what I said earlier about sin starting with thought. Well, habitual-sin has built itself an express way bringing you from thought to action in no time flat.
4: Ruts are hard to get out of, but not impossible.
5: Ruts are easy to slip into, so stay clear. This is a really hard truth to accept. You can't mentally travel in areas other people do, because they don't have your ruts. Stay clear.
6: Finally, even when a rut is no longer used, it stays around for a very, very long time. Just because you've been out of the rut for a while, don't kid yourself that it's gone. Again, stay clear.

And remember:

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Like I said, ruts are hard to get out of, but not impossible. There is always a way of escape.

Finally, we have step four:

Ephesians 4:24
and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

We want that part to come quicker, easier. We want to say, "I'm sorry," and, POOF, we're a new man. God is telling us here, though, that we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind before we'll see that result in a changed person.

Everything that a man is being first within, it is expressed first in his thoughts before it's ever seen in action. If you hate your brother, Jesus said, you are already guilty of murder. If you look upon your neighbor's wife in lust, you are already guilty of adultery.

Before we were saved, we thought like the world, now we are called to think like Christ, to see things His way, to come at the world with His values and His perspective, to value people as He values them.

Let's close with Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul prays for the Philippians that their love may grow, but it is not a mindless growth. It's an intelligent love and one that understands underlying motives and spirits.

This kind of love does not condone what is wrong, contrary to our modern concept of "tolerance". Paul prays that they would approve of "the things that are excellent". Excellent. I don't need to preach on what is excellent. I just need to suggest you ask yourself the question. What things are excellent in the eyes of God?

He prays that they would be what they seem to be, sincere. Perhaps you've heard the origin of the word. They didn't have used-car salesmen in Paul's day. What they had was sculpture. Lots and lots of sculpture. Good business, except its an expensive medium. You ruin a canvas, no big deal. You crack a life-size chunk of granite, you've got problems. Artists started hiding their mistakes by pouring wax into the defects. Art lovers now had a problem. On hot days, their collections were falling to pieces. Honest artists began to hang signs by their work: Sin-Cere, "Without Wax". Be what you seem to be. Give no cause for offense.

Instead, be "filled with the fruits of righteousness" to the glory of God.

This is a formula for driving hypocrisy from our lives.

All the law and the prophets hang on but two laws: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5) and love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Now let that love abound with knowledge and discernment. Approve of what is right.

In Romans 1, Paul talks about people who are given over to a debased mind to do that which is unfitting, and (in verse 32)...

Romans 1:32 ...who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

The difference between the man of Philippians 1 and the man of Romans 1? One is loving and "other-centered". The other is self-centered. But, interestingly, the loving, "other-centered" man is the one who is discerning and approves of what is excellent. The "self-centered" man shows "tolerance". He approves of the evil others do and so seeks to justify himself.

The loving thing is to warn a man of the consequences of sin. When we pretend that all things are relative and that we must not judge, we are only seeking to excuse our own behavior. That is not love. That is selfishness.

Philippians 2:3-11 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming the the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, of those on earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There's a pattern here: "to the glory of God the Father", "to the glory and praise of God". We become "other-centered" by being "God-centered" first. When we seek to live our lives to the glory and praise of God, we will esteem others better than ourselves, we will look out for the interests of others and not just for our own.

If I love my daughter, then I will care about what she cares about. If I love God, I will care about people.

Not that this is an instant change in the life of the believer. We have to grow. We have to learn to die to ourselves, to take up our crosses daily and follow Him. Sometimes, even the most religious among us have a hard time with that:

John 12:42-43 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The self-centered man is a slave of others, held back from bringing glory to God, shackled by a fear of what others would think. That was King Saul's problem. He was focused on himself and so followed his own people rather than God. He disobeyed and dishonored God in an attempt to please people. He "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God".

Sometimes, I can see that in myself, as well. Probably, most of us can, otherwise there would be more evangelism, there would be more lives lived for the glory and honor of God. Instead, we fear our friends, strangers, anyone other than God.

It's true that when we stand up for what is right, that when we share the love of the gospel, we may face rejection. The Philippians faced persecution for their beliefs. Paul had this to say:

Philippians 1:27-30 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and hear is in me.

"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."

In Acts 5:41, the apostles had just been beaten for preaching Christ, yet they rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name."

It is tempting to dismiss the rejection and gossip American Christians face as suffering. Very few of us are forced to die for our faith in this country, but the smaller, simpler sufferings are real, and they terrify people, otherwise we should not have been scared into silence.

The same evil spirit that wields the executioner's blade wields the cruel remark. It is a spiritual battle, and as long as we remain self-centered, we will lose. When we are God-centered, though, then we have the strength to stand.

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood."

If we are to fight this battle, we must be prepared. We have our weapons:

Truth, righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

Too, we have our orders: Love. In Philippians that love is made intelligent and discerning.

To love, Paul adds character, which is at the heart of sincerity and righteousness.

May we be so defined, as men and women of integrity, bearing "the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God".

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

God is Holy, God is Love
The Paradox of Salvation

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it written, "The just shall live by faith."

A brief overview of the beginning of the book of Romans:

Romans 1—God's judgment upon the Gentile is just.

Romans 2—God's judgment upon the Jew is just.

Romans 3:1-20—Both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, and the works of the law cannot save us.

Which brings us to:

Romans 3:20-26 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Let's Take a closer look...

Romans 3:23-25a ... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness...

Justification—the unearned position of being made right with another.

Romans 3:26b "...that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." NKJV

Romans 4:25 "[Jesus our Lord,]...who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our justification."

Romans 5:18b "...through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life."

Propitiation—the satisfaction of God's wrath.

Romans 3:25a "...[Christ Jesus,] whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith..." NKJV

1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but also for the whole world." NKJV

1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." NKJV
Slide Eight:

Redemption—to purchase or buy back; to pay ransom.

Romans 3:24 "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." NKJV

Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." NKJV

Colossians 1:13-14 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." NKJV

And moving on...

Romans 3:25-26 ... whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The meat of the matter...

God cannot ignore the punishment due as the consequence of sin, for to do so would be unjust. It would seem impossible then for God to be both just and the justifier ... which would be very bad news for us.

The Paradox of Salvation:

1) God is limitless except as He is limited by His nature.

He has all power; He has all knowledge; He is everywhere, BUT He is good. It is His nature. It is what defines Him, and it is the only thing that limits Him. For example, God cannot lie. That is a limitation, and thank God for that limitation.

2) God is good.

That goodness can be broken down into two equal aspects:

3) God is love, and God is holy.

Those two aspects of His nature create the paradox.

Love seeks restoration, but holiness demands judgment.

That brings us back to:

Justification—the unearned position of being made right with another.

God's love sought to justify us.

Propitiation—the satisfaction of God's wrath.

Christ's sacrifice satisfied the holy demands of judgment. Unlike the rest of us, Jesus did not deserve to die. He alone could take our place.

Redemption—to purchase or buy back; to pay ransom.

Christ ransomed our life at the cross.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, take another look:

Romans 3:25-26 ... whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Though all were deserving of death, up to the time of Christ, God passed over the sins of the faithful—just as, in Egypt, He passed over those who in faith were marked by the blood of the lamb.

Yet, all that time, the demands of God's holy nature rested fully in what Christ was to accomplish upon that cross.

Christ's death demonstrates the righteousness of God in saving those who lived by faith in Old Testament times and those who live by faith now.