Denver Seminary

14 FALL 2017 comes about. For the great reformer, this was the very heart and essence of the gospel because it comes sola gratia, by grace alone. Given the depth of human depravity and rebellion, Luther and the other Protestant reformers were surely correct to see the cross as sacrificial love of the most magnificent sort. Left alone to our fallen nature and sinful schemes, we will only encounter brokenness now, death at some future point, and then an eternity of continuing despair. But as Jesus suffered on the cross and then cried out His final words, "It is finished" (John 19:30), God was rescuing us from that miserable existence. THE WORK OF THE CROSS But what exactly transpired as Jesus suffered, bled, and died on that hideous Roman execution rack? While Protestants debated this idea in the sixteenth century and theologians continue to do so today, at least three divine feats were accomplished. First, Jesus' death bore God's wrath against our sin, and He died in our place (Rom. 3:25). Labeled the penal substitutionary model of atonement, it shows that God is the central figure in the story of redemption and that He brought about our forgiveness and reconciliation by punishing Christ in our stead. Second, the cross exemplifies Christ's defeat of sin, death, and the evil powers of darkness. Often described as the Christus Victor view of atonement, this metaphor illustrates that by His sacrificial death, Jesus won the victory over everything that would destroy us (Col. 2:15). Third, His death brought about the justification of the ungodly (Rom. 5:9). This is not merely forgiveness, and certainly not amnesty! As Luther continually emphasized, it is the theological reality that because of what Christ did on the cross, unrighteous sinners bent on evil are legally granted a righteous standing before God by putting their trust in Him. Justification stands at the heart of our Evangelical Protestant faith because it declares in uncompromising terms that only God can grant us godliness. EMBRACING THE SCANDAL On the 500th anniversary of the advent of the Protestant Reformation how might we respond to such a majestic love, so visibly demonstrated on that cross for all of sinful humanity? Let me offer three suggestions. First, let us ponder it deeply. After going to great lengths to describe all that Christ had done to secure our salvation, the author of Hebrews says in 12:2, Let us fix "our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (NASB). Second, let us practice it regularly. Given the current cultural setting, this might best be demonstrated through our individual and collective humility as God's people. Paul makes this exact point in Philippians 2:5–8: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV). Third, let us proclaim it enthusiastically. Facing intense pressure from the Jewish High Council to stop preaching about Christ, Peter instead gave them a passionate rejoinder about Jesus' crucifixion and His resurrection because "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10–12). Denver Seminary has been enormously blessed by God for almost 70 years in its efforts to promote the good news of the gospel. This is our calling, and in it we rejoice! As we move further into the 21st century, may all of us take as our mantra what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14: "May I never boast except in the cross of Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." FOR FURTHER READING Michael F. Bird, Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, 'The Death of Jesus,' pp. 385–434. Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ John Stott, The Cross of Christ Christopher J. H. Wright, To the Cross: Proclaiming the Gospel from the Upper Room to Calvary Scott Wenig, PhD PROFESSOR OF APPLIED THEOLOGY; HADDON ROBINSON CHAIR OF BIBLICAL PREACHING Dr. Scott Wenig joined the faculty of Denver Seminary in 1994. He serves as professor of applied theology and as the Haddon Robinson chair of biblical preaching, teaching in the areas of homiletics, church history, and pastoral ministry. He earned a PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a master of divinity degree from Denver Seminary, and a bachelor of science from the University of Colorado at Denver. He has served on the staff of four local churches and now preaches regularly in churches along the front range. He is happily married to his lovely wife, Melanie, and enjoys reading, meeting with pastors and students for lunch or coffee, and March Madness. Crazylegs14/iStock

• Cover