‘The Sin Of The World’

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

John 1:29

When we speak of Christ, ‘the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world,’ what do we mean when we speak of ‘sin?’  What is sin?  A good definition is, ‘Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.’  This is what Christ came to address by His life and death.  Sin is what has brought us death.  When Christ came into the world, He came that we ‘might have life and…might have it more abundantly.’  He could not make that a reality without dealing with sin.  To this end, He lived perfectly to deal with sin as it respects the precepts of the law.  He then died sacrificially to deal with sin as it respects the penalty which the law requires.  This sin is the very thing of which we cannot free ourselves.  It is that sinfulness, which is ours by nature and by choice, that Christ addressed.  When we come to understand sin, the nature of it, and the effect of it, we come very quickly to recognize the virtue and value of the Person and Work of Christ.  This makes our view of Him as, ‘The Lamb of God’ even more delightful.  We behold Him as the Altogether Lovely One, Whose value is only exceeded by His virtue.  It is for this reason that we cannot make too much of Christ.  It is for this reason that all theology and doctrine, rightly understood brings us to, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.’

Our Gracious sin-bearing Savior,
we rejoice in Your perfect life and atoning death.
We praise You that by them,
You have satisfied the law of God in every way
on our behalf.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning