How biblically accurate is the common interpretation of Christ’s statement, “It is finished!”?
Some Christians frequently quote Christ’s words on the cross, “It is finished,” when referring to the salvation process. To reinforce this interpretation, they also support it with the statement, “It is done.”
In using these two short sentences (“It is finished” and “It is done”), they affirm that in the salvation process, there is nothing more that we humans (or even God) could ever add, or should ever do, because everything is all “finished” and all has already been “done” for us by Christ Himself.
More specifically, this interpretation also focuses on in the belief that there is even no more need to still keep any of God’s laws and commandments, because that would be tantamount to simply adding more “works” to that which is already finished. Acts of further obedience to God’s laws is viewed to directly contradict the belief that salvation should be based on “faith alone” and nothing more. Thus, adherents to this type of teaching confidently keep on celebrating their finished “victory” in Christ at every worship opportunity. This system of belief is somewhat related to the popular teaching on “Once Saved, Always Saved,” which has already been addressed on this website.
Many websites in the Internet on the topic of “It is finished” support these stated ideas. According to one article, Jesus does not need your “help” because, supposedly, “it is [all] finished.”
But what does the Bible really say? And what did Christ really mean when He said those words?
