Jesus did not pay any sin debt, for a dept paid cannot possibly be forgiven,(therefore canceling out mercy, of the which triumphs over condemnation)...... but rather at Calvary He purchased the souls of whosoever should deny themselves, pick up their cross of persecution, and follow after Him, in that they might through repentance be reconciled back to God via His wonderful mercy, and he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.....That my friend is the finished works of Christ..in short He established the New Covenant and did away with the old....But this mercy, love, and long suffering will by no means justify the guilty sinners who repented not Exodus 34, because the wrath of God abides still upon the children of disobedience, and the servant of sin abides NOT in the house forever....
We need to distinguish between the OT & The NT.
In the OT they were under the law, not just the Mosaic Law but the Levitical law.
Jesus summed up Mosaic Law, 10 commandments into 2 commandments.
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
In fact he even took it further by telling us to love our enemies, do good to them and pray for those who persecute us.
When Jesus said it is finished, when to whole sins of the world were placed on him, he meant it was finished.
All sins were forgiven of men, only one sin remains that cannot be forgiven.
A price had to be paid for sin, that caused a barrier between us and God. When Jesus said it is finished, the price was paid and the temple curtain was torn it two. We now have free access to God and come before his throne as a result of faith in Jesus.
Nothing more or nothing less. If we add to it we are saying the price Jesus paid was not enough and we need to add something to the ledger to balance the books.
Its a false insurance policy to do so.
At Calvary Jesus purchased the souls for everone even those who at the time denied him. Yes even Peter who did 3 times and Thomas who doubted and would not believe until he put his fingers in his scars.
People did not have deny themselves and take up their cross daily in order to be saved.
This is what is required to be saved.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 16:8-9
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
The sin in unbelief in him but whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Now when
Romans 10:9-10
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Then as a result we have the Holy Spirit who is in us to help us to deny ourselves, in a sense saying "Let me shrink and you increase.
To me it's not just the finished works of the cross but the start of new works as a result of the cross.
Me in Jesus and Jesus in me.
Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;