Stephen De La Vega

A darkness fell upon the land. It was noontime. Three hours later, a cry: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” No one would rescue him, his mouth so parched he scarcely swallowed. “I’m thirsty,” he pleaded, so they allowed a drip of vinegar – just enough to moisten his lips as he declared, “It is finished!” He gave up His spirit. It was his last breath. He bowed his head and died. But then the earth shook! Tombs opened! And all mankind gained the opportunity to interact directly with God as His children! You already know this is about Jesus. He gave up His life when He proclaimed, “It is finished” ( John 19:28-30 ). Some scoffed while He hung on the cross: “You were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. Come down from the cross and save yourself!” But they didn’t understand that Jesus spoke of His own body. They didn’t realize that Jesus invited them to destroy His body 3 years before they crucified Him ( John 2:18-22 ). This happened according to God’s ...

I recently heard about heretical teaching from an evangelical pulpit. The preacher taught that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. He declared that God took Jesus’ place on the cross at the moment of death. So, God the Son didn’t die. God died instead, for Jesus and God are one in the same. Or so it was preached. My dad listened from the pews in unwelcome surprise. In horror, really, because all hope and life hangs on the fact that God’s Son died on the cross to satisfy the penalty of sin – to satisfy His Father’s righteousness. Jesus asked His Father if there was any other way to pay the penalty of sin, but He submitted to His Father’s plan. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 I was as shocked as my dad as he shared about this errancy. We both listed biblical truths that depend on the fact that Jesus, Himself, was crucified on that fateful cross....