Les Feldick teaches that Christ died by crucifixion because the cross was God's own doing — the place where God poured out His wrath for sin and put to death the old Adam on the believer's behalf.
Crucifixion can only do one thing: it puts to death. In the mind of God, every believer has been crucified with Christ, and the old Adam is killed and put out of commission. No human endeavor can break that old Adamic nature's power — only God's power can. Jesus willingly endured crucifixion out of love, though He did not have to.
Romans 6:6 — The verse that directly connects the believer's old man to Christ's crucifixion.
Galatians 2:20 — Paul's testimony that being crucified with Christ results in Christ living in the believer.
Genesis 2:17 — The original death sentence God placed on the human race, which Les cites as making death necessary.
Ezekiel 18:20 — The divine principle that the soul that sinneth must die — the judgment God poured out on Christ.
The Bible shows that death is the divinely appointed penalty for sin. In Genesis 2:17 God warned Adam, 'for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,' and Ezekiel 18:20 repeats the principle: 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' Because that sentence rested on the human race, a real death was required. Romans 6:6 describes what that death means for the believer: 'our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.' The old man — the fallen nature inherited from Adam — is crucified with Christ. Galatians 2:20 shows the result: 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' Crucifixion puts to death, and the life that follows belongs to Christ.
Les Feldick emphasizes that the crucifixion of Christ is entirely an act of God. He reminds his class that God did all of this 'without even checking me out to see if I'm worthy of it,' and among all the things God has done on the believer's behalf, He has 'reckoned us as crucified with Christ.' Crucifixion can only do one thing — put to death — and so believers have been put to death in the mind of God. Les stresses that Christ's crucifixion was unique. Thousands of men had been crucified, but Jesus was the Creator God Himself who took on human flesh to go to that cross, and on that cross God poured out all His wrath for sin — every sin from Adam to the last person who will ever live. The people who nailed Him there were 'the created beings of the Creator that they were crucifying,' and God did it all out of love: Jesus did not have to die, but He willingly chose crucifixion because He loved us. Why crucifixion? Les's answer from these clips is that this death could only be accomplished by God. The old Adam — the fallen nature every person is born with — has to be crucified, and 'no human endeavor can do that. Only the power of God can break the control of our old Adamic nature.' God died the death we should have died in a substitutionary manner, killing the old Adam and putting him out of commission. Believers died with Christ in the mind of God, yet they live — and their response is a duty to live for the God who did everything when they could do nothing.
Les teaches that Christ's death by crucifixion was not just another crucifixion — thousands of men had suffered it. What made it unique was that the person on the cross was the Creator God Himself, who took on human flesh, and on that cross God poured out all His wrath for sin. Every sin from Adam until the last person who will ever live was laid on Christ and judged. At the same time, the crucifixion put the old Adam to death so that the body of sin is destroyed and the believer is freed from serving sin.
Les explains that in the mind of God every believer has been put to death on the cross of Calvary — God reckons the believer as crucified with Christ, and crucifixion puts to death. The old Adam is killed and put out of commission, so the body of sin is destroyed and the believer no longer serves sin. Yet believers are alive: Paul wrote Galatians as a living man even though he said he had been crucified with Christ, and believers now have the duty to live in light of all God did on their behalf.
Les says the old Adamic nature is so controlling that even the best upbringing — good parents and a godly home — can only teach a certain amount of inhibition. But there comes a point in the best person's life where they still give in to the control of old Adam. No human endeavor can break that control. Only the power of God can, and God did it in a substitutionary manner, dying the death the believer should have died.
Les asks whether Jesus had to die and answers no. God did not have to redeem the human race — He could have let humanity go or simply removed the human race from the earth's experience. But Jesus was willing to suffer the death of crucifixion for one reason: because He loved us. It was the choice He was given, and love is what led Him to the cross.
Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 7:5-14 Explained
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
God Reckons Us Crucified with Christ
Les explains that among everything God has done on the believer's behalf, God has reckoned the believer as crucified with Christ, and crucifixion's sole purpose is death.
God Poured Out His Wrath on the Cross
Les stresses that Christ's crucifixion was unique because the Creator God in human flesh bore all the wrath for sin — from Adam to the last person — on that cross.
The Old Adam Crucified and Killed
Les teaches that the old man, the old Adam, is crucified with Christ; crucifixion kills, so God puts the old Adam out of commission so the believer need not serve sin.
Only God Can Break Adam's Power
Les says no human endeavor can break the control of the old Adamic nature; only God's power can, and God did it substitutionarily in Christ's death.
Died with Christ, Yet Living
Les shows that believers have been put to death in God's mind on the cross yet still live, and their duty is to respond to all that God did when they could do nothing.
Created Beings Crucified Their Creator
Les reminds listeners that those who nailed Christ to the cross were the very creation of the Creator they crucified — the same God who died the death we should have died.
Christ's Voluntary Sacrifice of Love
Les says Jesus willingly suffered crucifixion for one reason: because He loved us. He did not have to, but He chose the cross out of love.
Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The first death sentence on the human race, which Les connects to the necessity of Christ's death.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Reiterates that the soul that sins must die — the penalty Christ bore at Calvary.
Romans 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Shows that the crucifixion of Christ put the old man to death so the believer is freed from serving sin.
Galatians 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul's statement that being crucified with Christ is followed by a new life lived by faith in the Son of God.
No. Les Feldick makes clear that God did not have to redeem the human race — He could have simply let us go or removed the human race from the earth's experience. But Jesus was willing to suffer the death of crucifixion for one reason: because He loved us. It was the choice He was given, and He took it willingly.
Because the old Adamic nature is beyond human strength. Les teaches that no human endeavor can break its control — only the power of God can. God did it when He reckoned the believer crucified with Christ, killing the old man and putting him out of commission.
God poured out all His wrath for sin on Christ — every sin from Adam to the last person who will ever live — and judged it on that cross. In the same act, God put to death the old Adam for the believer, so that the body of sin is destroyed and the believer no longer serves sin.
Les reminds his class that the people who nailed Christ to the cross and set Him up in public spectacle were the created beings of the Creator they were crucifying. It was the creation crucifying its own Creator.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 7:5-14 Explained