But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
-Isaiah 53:5
I struggle, like many perhaps, with believing that I can add to what Christ did on the cross by serving "penance" for my sin. This idea, created in the Middle Ages, takes shape in my life when I berate myself for mistakes and even try to do things to make up for my evil deeds - as if I could give God anything more valuable that what his only Son did on my behalf.
The dangers of this are two-fold:
1. I forget Christ's perfect and complete gift of salvation and decide that my pain is more worthy of God's grace.
2. I don't focus on the heart-change of Biblical repentance but instead focus on my behavior — putting myself "back in the black" in God's ledger.
Christ came to take on the sins of the world, that we may freely receive the gift of salvation - it is by Him, and Him alone, that we are saved, that no man may boast.
It is by HIS stripes we are healed, not ours.
-T
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