‘Of my own accord’: The Eager Redeemer (pt. 3)
by Tony Reinke
“Every step He took from Bethlehem to Calvary did but unfold the willingness of Jesus to die… They thought the nails alone kept Him to the cross — He knew it was His own love that fastened Him there.” -Octavius Winslow
When it comes to the willing sacrifice of Christ for sinners there are two common errors. The first is to look at the death of Christ as merely an example for us to live by a higher moral code, willing to give our lives to defending country or confronting world poverty. The other error is to tip our hats to the work of Christ and then live daily as though the Cross has no practical impact whatsoever. Both errors are confronted in the willingness of Christ.
Christ’s death is not our example
In our wartime era, we are daily confronted with the latest deaths of American men and women. The men and women of our armed forces – who are called to leave their families to face evil and to risk their own lives — are each an example of sacrifice. But this sacrifice is distinctly and profoundly different than the willing death sacrifice of Christ.
Wartimes give us a special opportunity to see the incredible sacrifice of Christ. Charles Spurgeon writes,
“A man may righteously surrender his life for the good of his country, and for the safety of others. There have frequently been opportunities for men to do this, and there have been brave fellows who have worthily done it; but, then, all those men would have had to die at some time or other. They were only slightly anticipating the payment of the debt of nature; but, in our Lord’s case, he was rendering up to the Father the spirit, which he might have kept if he had chosen to do so. ‘No man taketh it from me,’ said he concerning his life; ‘I lay it down of myself;’ and there is here a cheerful willingness to yield up his spirit into his Father’s hands. It is rather remarkable that none of the Evangelists describe our Lord as dying. He did die, but they all speak of him as giving up the ghost, — surrendering to God his spirit. You and I passively die; but he actively yielded up his spirit to his Father. In his case, death was an act; and he performed that act from the glorious motive of redeeming us from death and hell; so, in this sense, Christ stands alone in his death” (sermons vol. 45).
Christ was no mere man awaiting natural death but the eternal God who was not naturally subjected to death. This is the Man who willing subjected Himself to death as the Atonement for His people.
Our hearts are rightfully grieved to hear of a young man or woman’s death. The earlier the death the more traumatic the grief. If it is so grievous to our hearts to hear of the death of small child, how much more traumatic the death of One who never should have died?
We can willingly give our lives in the name of freedom, the defeat of evil, and the preservation of our country. But this is the offer of a life that will be taken by nature anyways and so it’s a qualified “willingness.” I don’t want to appear cold or harsh toward those who have lost family in the war or tragedy. My point is simply that there is no correlation between the willingness of one to die for freedom and the willingness of the Savior to drink the cup of the Father’s wrath. Christ’s willingness to endure death was an example for no sinful man.
Christ’s love is the husband’s example
However, the willingness of Christ does leave a pattern of love. And nowhere should the loving willingness of Christ more exemplify our lives than when we as husbands care for our wives. Paul writes,
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27)
Notice the willingness of Christ “gave himself up for” the Church. This willingness provides the scope and context for every response of the husband towards his wife. Christ willingly endured pain and sorrow to pursue His Bride.
On Ephesians 5 Octavius Winslow writes, “With the burden of sin — the fire of justice — the wrath of God — the ridicule of man — the malignity of devils — the sorrows of Gethsemane — the pains of Calvary, and the sea of His own blood, all, all in vivid prospect before Him, He yet went forward, loving not His own life unto the death, because He loved ours more.”
The lessons for husbands are many. We pursue our wife’s spiritual purity in a way that is un-reluctant, un-hesitant, and un-limited. Our lives should reflect an eager pursuit of our wives as Christ’s love pursued us willingly. We do not wait for the right time to care for our wives; we pursue them as Christ pursued us willingly and eagerly. Loving leadership of our wives should be a humble and eager pursuit of their eternal good.
In light of the eagerness and willingness of Christ to pursue the Cross for me, here are some questions I can ask and ponder as a husband:
-What do I willing sacrifice for my wife?
-How do I serve my wife in a way that exemplifies this willingness?
-Do I serve her with grumbling or with joyfulness?
-Do I serve her when externally prodded or with spontaneity?
-Do I initiate serving my wife or do I only respond?
-Does my eager service communicate my joy in her?
-What personal sins must die to willingly sacrifice for my wife?
-How do I demonstrate a pursuit of my wife’s eternal health?
The willingness of Christ to endure the Cross is both an amazing spectacle of divine sacrifice and a beautiful example of Christian love. Christ “gave himself up for her.” Have we given ourselves to our wives?
Remember marriage is temporary (1 Cor. 7:27-31). The eternal significance of marriage is in providing a context where the willing love of Christ is displayed to the watching world. So husbands, take this incredible theme of the free willing sacrifice of the Son and use your marriage to show this truth to the world.
Conclusion
Spurgeon reminds us that when we ponder the Cross we should remember how “spontaneous” was the sacrifice by which he redeemed us from sin, and death, and hell. That word “spontaneous” is a loaded term. It means Christ pursued the Cross out of personal willingness, not any external manipulating force. Literally, “spontaneous” means “self-acting.”
Christ spontaneously pursued the Cross, motivated by a personal willingness. He was both a suitable Savior and a willing Savior. There is a weight to His willingness that should press upon our hearts at all times.
It was a great time of fellowship and hanging out with five close friends in Christ! We tooled around on frozen lakes and rivers on snowmobiles, built a large bonfire, worshiped the God of all creation, watched dozens of deer and just hung out and enjoyed the 20-inches of snow. In the words of my friend Chris, “Minnesota winters are underrated.” (Did you hear that, Bill?)
faithful to the expositional ministry of the Word. Without advocating an exposition that overlooks the insights of previous generations, nor placing an improper emphasis on Puritan literature over Scripture, the church needs to think about how we can complement our expositions of Scripture with the great Puritan literature. This conviction pushed me to rethink my own use of the Puritans and to re-build a Puritan library specifically suited for expositional preaching.
Tony Reinke 