What all did the death of Jesus on the cross accomplish?

This looks like a fun thread!

Somewhere and somehow, someone shared with me that the apostles of the early church chose a replacement for Iscariot and then the Savior chose his own replacement for Iscariot which was Paul. Not that the apostles replacement was a bad choice but they had not been authorized to pick the replacement (to the best of my knowledge). So the Savior chose among the persecutors a great apostle: Paul; our champion.

So while the other apostles were centered upon converting the Jews, Paul broke new ground in converting the gentiles and this was truly revolutionary. Such was the bold move that hurled the church into the church age with the complete gospel message. No longer were the members constrained by misconceived perceptions about the gospel message. No, the gospel grew because of Paul to include everyone.

Hurrah for Paul the Great, Champion of the Lord.

The past few days I have been thinking about the Savior on the day of Atonement. I think most of all he demonstrated his absolute control over the physical body to the point that the body did not control him in any way. It was like a used up item that had fulfilled it's purpose and was no longer needed. Thus, he endured the pain and suffering that was inflicted upon him but the physical body was to be cast off and away. So it was not so much the body but the unyielding experience to which he submitted himself to the will of the Father that was at the heart of the experience.

Just how far was he willing to go? He yielded himself to devils to do with as they wished. The torture to which any degree of doubt, any ounce of self regard, or any possible consideration for anything but obeying the Father would have proved catastrophic. Thus, he in perfect submission to God the Father; suffered, and bled, and died the physical death. All of this after having lived a perfect life having no sin what so ever. NO, not a bad or evil thought nor anything in the slightest that approached the classification of sin. No, he had such control over his body that temptation of the flesh was foreign to his entire demeanor. So, the only possible weakness sought by the devils was mental.

They knew that he was the Savior of the world; those devils possessing the deranged devils all of which engulfed upon him that one fateful day. If only they could cause one minor sin in him then they would win. So beating his body was simply the beating down of the Christ to crush him under their weight of wickedness to cause one small sin of any kind. Anything!

Yet, his submission to the Father was unyielding. He took all that the devils could dish out and in that submission had divine authority over sin. He took from them their power over mankind. No longer could they dominate sinful man but refuge was in the Christ of the world. Man was free from sin at last.

Thus, as scripture tells us, He washed us in his blood; we are clean.

Now, some church doctrines define the demarcation of exactly when a sinful person is free from sin. Yet, according to the act of the atonement the Savior himself forgave everyone. So there is no line of demarcation of when a sinful person is free from sin except that they accept that eternal payment that frees their soul from sin. No, nothing but that one on one salvation between the sinner and their God.

There are however other rewards than salvation and it is there that we grow. Thus, salvation is not the end but the beginning of our relationship with God. For example, the reward of participating in the salvation of others. This action rewards us as members of the family; to care about the peaceful eternal experience of others: empathy for the lost soul. Etc.

So now we have the distinct honor of participating in the Savior's return. We having salvation and watching and waiting. Thank you Gary for creating this site so that we can encourage others toward salvation in Christ.