When I first got involved in Deliverance as a ministry, I was amazed at the number of people that did not believe in the devil and sin.  They were taught that when Jesus died on the cross, He made the devil powerless and took away all sin, past, present and future.  They quote two well-known scriptures as support of their beliefs.

Both are New Testament scriptures:

(Jn 1:29) “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

and

(Heb 2:14-15) “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

These scriptures have been misinterpreted or taught by pastors, teachers and Christians and has led many to false doctrine.

When people say Jesus took sin away, my first response is “do you sin”?  At that point I usually get a long stare or a chuckle.   When Jesus took away sin, He did not destroy our propensity to sin nor did He remove sin from the world.  What He “takes away” is the dominion and control sin had over us. Our sin nature is not gone but it does not have control over us.  We were all born in sin, but because of Jesus we have a choice.  Laws are now being changed because people want society to accept their choice of a sinful lifestyle.  What people don’t realize is that the Cities, States and Nation can change the laws but it is Jesus that has the final judgement.  (Read Romans 6: 5-14, it explains this “taking away of sin”)

The other scripture that says that Jesus “rendered Satan powerless”, does not mean that Satan is dead nor that he is powerless.

So actually what happened at the cross?

  1. Jesus took the penalty for our sins and imputed (gave us) His righteousness to us so we could have a relationship with God:
    1. The blood is the life of the flesh and the key to atonement (reconciliation through Christ).  (Lev 17:11)  “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.“
    2. He removed God’s wrath for our sins.  (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death”
    3. God made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
    4. There must be shedding of the blood for forgiveness (God’s own law). Jesus shed His blood for our sin so there could be forgiveness from the Father.  (Heb 9:22) “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.“
    5. (1 John 2:2) “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
  2. Jesus rendered “powerless him who had the power of death” (Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus did not destroy Satan nor did he take away his dominion over those who have sinned.  If so, why did John say that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one “ (1Jn 5:19).  Satan was made powerless as it pertains to spiritual death. Satan’s goal is to lead us to sin so that we would remain spiritual dead and unable to have a relationship with God.   Christ’s death was a defeat over his power to keep us in sin.  When Christ died, he paid for ours sins; debt was paid and our relationship with the father restored. Satan’s only weapon that can ultimately hurt people is to keep us in sin and in darkness.  (Colossians 2:13-14) tell us that “Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities when he forgave us of all our transgressions and cancelled the decree against us”.  He defeated Satan’s power over death and nailed it to the cross.
    1. (Heb 2:14-15) “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.“
    2. (Jn 5:24) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.“
    3. (Col 2:13-15) “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.“
  3. Adam brought sin into the world (led by Satan), and death through that sin.  Death spread to all men because all men sin.  Just as one man brought death, one man brought life.   Only one that was sinless could impute righteousness and give eternal life. We were resurrected from death with Jesus after His death on the cross.
    1. (Rom 5:17-19) “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.“
  4. When Jesus died the veil was torn down.  We now had access to the Father through Jesus.  During the lifetime of Jesus, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the place where animal sacrifices were carried out and worship was faithfully done.  (Hebrews 9:1-9) tells us that in the temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies—the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—from the rest of the temple where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7) to enter into God’s presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins (Leviticus 16).  When Jesus died and atoned for our sin, the separation we had from God was removed.  We now enter into the Holy of Holies through Jesus.
    1. (Heb 4:14-16) “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.“

In summary, what did Jesus do at the cross?  Thank You Jesus:

  • If not for the death on the cross, there would be no payment for our sin (sin has to be punished), past, present and future
  • If not for the death on the cross, our punishment for sin would be death.
  • If not for the death on the cross, there would not be forgiveness of our sins
  • If not for the death on the cross, we would still have separation from God
  • If not for the death on the cross, we would not have grace
  • If not for the death on the cross, we would not have eternal life
  • If not for the death on the cross, Satan domination over us would still exists