Good Friday: A Remembrance of Our Lord’s Passion on Calvary

UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.

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Every Good Friday our church here in Tillamook holds a special service in remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross. We have followed exactly the same format for many years now, ending with everyone departing the sanctuary in silence as a reminder of the grief of that “good” day.  Of course it was good in the sense that the work was finished. Christ atoned for our sins and the power of death was taken from the devil.  The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Heb 2:14-15)

For all who are in Christ, the devil no longer holds power. Christ perfectly met the demands of God’s holy law in His perfect life and in His perfect sacrifice for us. Thus, the devil no longer has any basis to accuse us and demand our death. We have died to the law in Christ. For us, that Friday was very, very good. Don’t let the representatives of the devil bluff you. If by faith alone in Christ alone you are justified before God, then that justification is full and complete. Christ is our righteousness, not our own performance. It has long been the devil’s tactic to make Christ’s people doubt this and thereby bring us back into a bondage that Satan has no right to possess over us. Don’t fall for it. Satan is the father of lies and a murderer and destroyer right from the beginning. Expect the same kind of lies from his ambassadors, recognize them for what they are, and set your eyes on Christ.

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down;
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss ’til now was Thine;
Yet though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain;
‘Twas mine the dread transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Saviour,
‘Tis I deserve Thy place;
Oh, look on me with favor;
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Oh, make me Thine forever;
And, should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to Thee.

Be near when I am dying,
Oh, show Thy cross to me;
And for my succor flying,
Come, Lord, to set me free:
These eyes new faith receiving,
From Thee shall not remove,
For he who dies believing
Dies safely thro’ Thy love.