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See also Gospel
See also Salvation
C.H.Spurgeon
"See the greatness of your sins which required so vast a sacrifice"
"Note that there have been men who have died for others, but they have never born the sins of others; they were willing to take the punishment, but not the guilt"
Indian Chief
The story is told of an Indian Chief who had a chicken stolen from him. He demanded the culprit be caught and receive 50 lashes. The culprit was found late at night and in the dim flicker of the fire light he was tied to a stake. The Chief was questioned if he was sure that this is what he wanted. Before the words left the guards mouth the Chief demanded the culprit to be lashed 50 times. But just as the guard pulled back his arm with the whip in his hand, the Chief saw a flame light up the culprits face, "My son" he cried, "Stop". The Chief ran over to the boy, took his own top off and placing his arms around the boy and presenting his own back to the guard, he said "continue."
True Story
A welsh man was learning to sky dive, and on his first jump he was strapped to his instructor. As they fell facing each other, both rip cords were pulled but neither parachutes opened. Moments before they hit the ground, the instructor pulled the Welsh man on top of him. The instructor took the full force of the fall and died, but the Welsh man survived.
A female supporter gratified on a wall inside the Anfield Football Ground re: The Sheffield Hillsborough Disaster (where 96 people lost their lives).
"To the fan who gave me the kiss of life, Rest in Peace."
Woodrow Kroll
"I would like to think this story is true, but I am not sure.
Cyrus king of Persia during one of his wars, captured a prince and his family. He summoned the prince before his court to question him.
Cyrus 'How much will you give me to release your children?'
Prince 'Half of all I own', Cyrus was impressed
Cyrus 'How much will you give me to release yourself'
Prince 'All I own', Cyrus was impressed
Cyrus 'So how much will you give me to release your wife'
Prince 'Why I will give you my life', Cyrus was so impressed he released them all.
On the return journey, the prince asked his wife, 'Did you notice how handsome King Cyrus was?' 'No', his wife replied, 'as I could not keep my eyes of the one who was willing to give his life so I could go free.'"
Martin Luther wrote: "All the prophets did foresee in Spirit that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer, etc., that ever was or could be in all the world. For he, being made a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world is not now an innocent person and without sins...but a sinner." He was, of course, talking about the imputing of our wrongdoing to Christ as our substitute.
During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier's fiancée had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell's heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!"
The name Donald Ruhl belongs to an elite group of only 28 men. Donald Ruhl and 27 other in WWII threw their bodies on grenades to protect their fellow soldiers. Donald Ruhl gave his life on Iwo Jima.
Luther "Our most merciful Father...sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him...the sins of all men saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blasphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged upon the cross; and briefly be thou the person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them. Here now comes the law and saith: I find him a sinner...therefore let him die upon the cross. And so he setteth upon him and killeth him. By this means the whole world is purged and cleansed from all sins."
Don Ratzlaff
In "The Christian Leader," Don Ratzlaff retells a story Vernon Grounds came across in Ernest Gordon's Miracle on the River Kwai. The Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behaviour, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot . . . It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then, finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! . . . The incident had a profound effect. . . The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: "No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness." Sacrificial love has transforming power.
Chuck Swindoll reports that a seminary student in Chicago faced a forgiveness test. Although he preferred to work in some kind of ministry, the only job he could find was driving a bus on Chicago's south side. One day a gang of tough teens got on board and refused to pay the fare. After a few days of this, the seminarian spotted a policeman on the corner, stopped the bus, and reported them. The officer made them pay, but then he got off. When the bus rounded a corner, the gang robbed the seminarian and beat him severely. He pressed charges and the gang was rounded up. They were found guilty. But as soon as the jail sentence was given, the young Christian saw their spiritual need and felt pity for them. So he asked the judge if he could serve their sentences for them. The gang members and the judge were dumbfounded. "It's because I forgive you," he explained. His request was denied, but he visited the young men in jail and led several of them to faith in Christ.
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