The Son of God is being slandered by many preachers today. We may often hear them saying, "Jesus Christ has attempted to save all humanity by dying for us all and paying the price for our redemption. But His work alone is not sufficient for our salvation. He has done His part, now we must do ours. We must finish what He has commenced. If we trust in Him, what He has done for our salvation will become effectual, and we will be saved. But if we do not trust in Him, what He has done will have been a wasted effort, and we will perish in the lake of fire."
These slanderers of Jesus Christ therefore become also beggars of sinners for Him. We may often hear them pleading during their altar calls, while their congregations sing verse after verse of invitational hymns, "Please let Jesus save you. He so very much wants to save you, but He is helpless to do so unless you let Him. He has done all He can to save you; now the rest is up to you. Please finish what He has begun."
Their Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 11:4) is but an inglorious caricature of "God ... manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16), the Son of God who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). He came from heaven to earth for a very specific purpose. And at the end of His earthly ministry, He shouted in victory in His dying breath, "It is finished!" (John 19:30).
"Finished!" is His ministry as the substitute for His people. He Himself declared He had come "as the Son of Man ... to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). He identified the "many" when He said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
The loss of life is the penalty God inflicts for sin: "the soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4) and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ did not die for His own sins, because "[He] committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). Rather, He died as the substitute for others, in their place and stead. God His Father has therefore declared of Him, "[F]or the transgressions of My people He was stricken ..., for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:8,11): " The sins of God's people were laid upon Him, and He died the death they deserve, suffering as their substitute, in their place and stead. Consequently:
"Finished!" is His mission for the salvation of His people. This mission is signified even by the name which was given to Him at His birth: "you shall call His name JESUS [i.e. Savior], for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). This work of salvation has many aspects, and He has finished each.
He has remitted the sins of His people. He did so through what He called "My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
He has justified His people. He has fulfilled the prophecy of His Father when He declared "My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11).
He has bestowed eternal life to His people. In His high-priestly prayer to God His Father (John 17), He acknowledged that the Son of God "should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him" (v.2). And He declared, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (v.4). In summary, He had ascertained that every one of God's chosen people would both hear and believe the gospel, and receive eternal life through their faith (vv.6-8). He had already ascertained this was done for those who lived during the days of His earthly ministry, and He promised to do so for those who will live in subsequent ages (vv.20f).
Truly "It is finished!" Jesus Christ has taken upon Himself the sins of His people, and died in their place and stead, and paid their penalty for sins, and redeemed and justified every one of them. And He has guaranteed that every one of them will enjoy the eternal bliss of heaven, and that none of them will perish in the lake of fire. And He has ascertained that every one of them will hear and believe this glorious gospel. Is He your Lord and Savior?