The cross didn't just happen because of sin. It happened to fully cover all freewill offerings, peace offerings, thank offerings, gifts, and fulfillment of vows we will ever need to offer. It encompasses all our worship and efforts, serving as the singular moment that once and for all addresses every sense of obligation to please God.

Chata’ (sin in Hebrew) primarily means “to miss the mark,” but in contexts like Proverbs 19:2, Hosea 4:7, and Proverbs 8:36, it carries undertones of losing one’s way, glory, or soul, which can be interpreted as losing identity or forgetting who we are as God’s image-bearers. In a New Covenant perspective, chata’ reflects a failure to live in the truth of our union with Christ, but His redemptive work restores our identity, ensuring we are no longer defined by our sin but by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Jesus reveals in John 14:20, "In that day, you will know that I am in the Father, you are in me, and I am in you." This is the heart of the Gospel. Through the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no separation between us and God.

Created in His image, we misused our freedom and became a mess, blind to our Father's love. We even killed Jesus, our Creator. Yet, God raised Him from the dead and, instead of vengeance, offered grace. In our darkest moment, He redeemed us. When you realize how unfair this is, gratitude is our only remaining option.

Even Jonathan Edwards realized late in life: "we contribute nothing to our salvation but the sin that made it necessary." The Gospel is simple—God finds us in our lostness and saves us by His grace alone.

God doesn't stand far away when you and I go through pain. This is important to know. He meets you in the valley of the shadow of death to reveal that death is nothing but a shadow. He's not far off. I preach a message of union, no distance, no separation between us and God. And this goes for suffering as well. He's right there. And He's not simply observing. He suffers with us. Can I tell you this? We have a God who weeps with us, suffers with us, holds us in the middle of it. Pain is not a sign of God's absence. You can find yourself aware, perhaps more than ever, of the intimacy of the presence of the Lord. Psalm 34, verse 18. David wrote this so beautifully when he said, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." You're never alone in your pain.

Freedom in Christ is not a flag we wave or a law we keep, but a love that invades and rewrites your story. It’s the wild, reckless grace that Jesus Christ won for you. You’re not just free from—you’re free to. To love, to live, to be fully, gloriously everything you were created to be, wrapped in the Father’s embrace and delight.

The Tale of the Fractured Table by Bill Vanderbush

Even in the new covenant, there's an assignment for you and me. The new covenant becomes the gateway into the greater works Jesus told us that we would do. The finished work of the cross becomes an access point to the greater works that we could have never walked in without it.

The finished work of the cross becomes the access point into a life of purity and righteousness and holiness that you could have never achieved on your own. It's purely a gift of grace. When we find ourselves falling short of that standard, well, then what? The Bible says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So the new covenant is the fulfillment of all of it. Jesus, our Savior, who made us right with God. That's the ministry of reconciliation. So here's the challenge. Live as though you're already loved by God, because you are. You're not under a contract. You're in a covenant with God who never quits, never gives up, never runs out.

Is hyper grace actually biblical?!? Believe it or not, yes. Grace is ADHD hyper. It's hyper like a room full of ferrets. It's a nursery of toddlers on their fourth cup of cool aid. It's not a theology. It's a lifestyle. And it's the heart of how the Apostle Paul described the grace of God.

You are not an afterthought. You are the consequence of God's unshakable determination to be your Redeemer.

Exploring the Power of the Word Made Flesh by Bill Vanderbush