But Jesus...

A helpful summary of sin and the saving power of Jesus over it.

• Sin means we were doomed to die. But Jesus died to give us eternal life. “[He] died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10). 

• Sin means we were cursed. But Jesus became cursed to make us blessed. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). 

• Sin means we were shamed. But Jesus endured the shame of the cross to give us honor. “He has now reconciled [you] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22). 

• Sin means we were guilty. But Jesus was condemned and punished so we could be declared not guilty, “canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). 

• Sin means we were enemies of God and deserving of his anger. But Jesus deflected that wrath onto himself to give us God’s favor. “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). 

• Sin means we were shut out from fellowship with God. But Jesus died alone on the cross so we might never be lonely again. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). 

• Sin means we had no hope of lasting happiness. But Jesus suffered sadness to give us eternal joy. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).