Hear
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30).
Believe
It is finished! This was the last statement Jesus made before He died.
But it was far more than just a statement; this was a victory cry. The sin issue between God and man was over. Jesus delivered the fatal blow to sin by taking it away once and for all. What this means is that He paid the debt, your debt, in full.
Because Jesus finished the work, forgiveness is now yours. You stand before God as righteous, holy and acceptable in his sight.
Why is this truth so hard for us to believe? Why do we struggle with the fact that nothing more needs to be done, or can be done, concerning forgiveness of sins?
For me, I bought into the idea that it was my job to defeat sin, to keep it out of my daily life. All I worried about was how to keep from sinning, and then when I did, how to get the black mark erased from beside my name. But the black marks kept adding up and pretty soon, I wondered if I was even saved.
I had this Christianity thing all wrong. I was trying to do something Christ had already accomplished. He defeated sin at the cross, and He forgave me of all my sins. His work was enough. He finished the task! I wasn’t responding to Jesus’s victorious cry through faith.
I wasn’t resting in the truth that in Christ I had redemption, “the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on me” (Ephesians 1:7).
The good news is this: It is finished! The work has been done. Maybe it’s time to simply believe that it’s true.
Live
Just three simple words comprise the most powerful, life-changing phrase in the entire Bible. “It is finished.” Is it finished in your life? Do you know that in Christ you are a forgiven person? If not, let Jesus’ victory cry become yours today.
