Joy in All the Cross Achieved for Us

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

John Piper comments on the beauty of the cross and all that it achieved for us. Meditate on these glorious truths this Good Friday!

"There's a great hymn that says, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." The blood means that the Lamb has been slain in my place, so I don't have to be slain. The righteousness means that a perfection has been provided for me, so I have a standing before God in perfect righteousness.

"Our fight is fundamentally to appropriate all that the Cross has already achieved for us: a total acceptance with God, a total righteousness, a total forgiveness, a total deliverance from wrath, a total escape from hell, a total removal of guilt, a total inheritance of everything good that we ever hoped for--especially fellowship with God. The Cross bought all of that. It's so central, so precious. We should sing about it every day."

(Full article is here. All emphases are mine.)