Sep 15
19
Christ Died in Place of His People (Matthew 27:21-26)
Put your place in that cell with Barabbas. He hears his name shouted by
the crowd. Then he hears, “Crucify him, crucify him!” He is convinced he
is a dead man walking. The jailor opens the door to his cell. But
instead of dragging him to the cross, the jailor unlocks Barabbas’
shackles announcing that Christ Jesus has taken his place on the cross;
therefore, Barabbas is a free man. That is the good news of
substitution! Every chosen child for whom the Son of God shed his blood
at Calvary shall be set free by the Spirit of regeneration through the
key of the gospel of the free grace of God. It is not possible for the
law to punish the Substitute and punish those for whom he died.
The truth of the successful particular redemption of chosen sinners is
the gospel which manifests the righteousness of God—all others are not
another. He has seen the travail of his soul and is satisfied. Is this
news good to you or do you scream unfair? Do you think Barabbas screamed
unfair? Do you think he argued that there was something yet that he must
do? Do you think he had to be persuaded out of that jail cell? Many
convicts have had to be hog-tied to get them in a prison cell, not one
pardoned prisoner has had to be coerced to go free. Has the Spirit of
God entered into your heart with this gospel, unlocked your bars of
spiritual death with life, un-shackled your chains of unbelief with the
gift of faith?
When death-row sinners behold the glory of God in the face of Christ
Jesus it is the Light of the open door on the eternal day of blessed
pardon. Picture Barabbas dancing and singing, “Redeemed! Redeemed! Free!
Free!” Oh, may God have mercy today and make us sing that joyful song! –
Clay
Curtis
The living dead
As sin and death reigns in the unregenerate, grace reigns in those who
live in Christ. Not to minimize the importance of the believer’s
conversation in this world which would honor Christ and His gospel, the
text and context of the verses before us speak of the efficacious work
of God the Spirit in His gracious persevering, preserving presence in
His people. It is not we that reign over our sin, it is the grace of God
by the righteousness of Christ in us that reigns over sin. Although we
are very much aware of our sin, we are dead to sin because we are alive
in Christ. We do not live in sin, we live in Christ – “For ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God” Col 3:3. The Holy Spirit is
confirming to us the impossibility of living in Christ and living in sin
at the same time – “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?”. He is also answering the sarcastic argument many try to make
against the grace of God – “Shall we sin more that the grace of God will
abound more?” He says, “God forbid!”. The life of a child of God is a
mystery to the world (and somewhat a mystery to us because we still live
in this body of death). The difference is, we simply believe what God
says and we “reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:11. We reckon that’s the way
it is because that’s the way God reckons it is. The child of God is
alive and dead at the same time. Some day soon we shall lose the dead
and there will only remain the life, that eternal life which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. I speak to the dead because it is only the dead
that can hear – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they
that hear shall live.” John 5:25 -Tommy Robbins.
Are we really dead to sin.
The word reckon is the same word that is translated impute or account.
The sins of the elect were imputed to Christ. They became His. He became
guilty before God. He was actually made sin. And He really died for the
sins that had become His. He paid the debt of our sins. And just as
truly as the sins of the elect were imputed to Him, His perfect
righteousness is imputed to them. Just as literally as our sin became
His, His righteousness became ours. We are literally “the righteousness
of God in Him.” Since our sin was reckoned to Him, and His righteousness
reckoned to us, we reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, because we really
are! If He really died, then we really are dead to sin. If He really did
rise from the dead then we really are alive to God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. We are not required to feel this, but we are required to
believe it! Todd Nibert.
Sovereign Grace.
Sovereign grace is not a religious denomination or theological movement.
It is a concise expression of the clear teaching of scripture that
describes who God is and how He saves a sinner.
God is sovereign. He is the most high God (Gen 14:22), supreme and
elevated in authority, character, dignity and worth above all His
creatures. He is not accountable to anyone (Job 33:13). He does as He
pleases, when He pleases, with whom He pleases (Is 46:10). He is not
dictated to nor influenced in any degree by anyone or anything and
cannot be questioned or hindered in anything that He does (Dan 4:35, Rom
11:34).
Grace is God’s eternal favor and blessing upon a sinner who neither
deserves it nor seeks it. Grace is salvation. Grace is Christ and all of
the benefits of His meritorious life and sin-atoning death bestowed upon
the wretch who is worthy of only condemnation and punishment.
Sovereign grace is the sovereign God purposing and promising to be
gracious to whom He would be gracious, and then bringing to pass that
purpose and making good on that promise by putting those objects of
grace in Christ and Christ in them (1Cor 1:30, Col 1:27). – Chris Cunningham
The Righteousness of God
One of the more important phrases in our English Bibles is the phrase,
“The righteousness of God.” Martin Luther claimed that a proper
understanding of this phrase led to his salvation. But a word or phrase
has no power unless we understand what it means. There are at least
three ways the Scriptures use this phrase:
1) God’s essential righteousness that directs all His works. In all God
does, He is righteous, for righteousness is among His essential
attributes. When He condemns, He is righteous. When He saves, He is
righteous. His wrath is a righteous wrath and His love is a righteous love.
2) The gift of righteousness that comes from God to all who believe.
This is the righteousness of the Gospel and is set forth as distinct
from the righteousness of the Law. In the Law, we must render
righteousness to God; in the gospel, we receive righteousness from God.
In the book of Romans, this righteousness is seen primarily as the
righteousness of justification. That is, it describes the righteousness
imputed to every one of God’s elect which makes them accepted by God and
legally secures to them all the blessings of God.
3) A righteous nature given to every one of God’s elect. The “legal”
righteousness of God makes every elect accepted by God. But salvation
goes beyond making us accepted; it also includes fellowship with God.
“Fellowship” means “to have in common.” For a man to know, love, believe
and communicate with God, he must have a nature in common with God’s. 2
Corinthians 5.21 says that all for whom Christ died are made to be the
righteousness of God in Him. The word translated “made” is the word the
Scriptures use for the creation of the universe, and is also the word
Satan used when he tempted Christ with, “Make these stones into bread.”
This word goes beyond what a thing is merely declared to be and touches
the very being or essence of a thing. Because of Christ’s work on the
cross, every believer’s essential nature is changed: At regeneration,
every one of God’s elect is created in Christ with a new and sinless
spiritual nature which is created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. It is from this new nature that we know, love, believe and
communicate with God. In the flesh, we can do none of these things, but
from a regenerated spirit, every one of God’s people does all of these
things. In time to come, this work begun in us in our spirits will be
brought to perfection as even our bodies will be made like Christ’s
glorious body, and will no longer be a hindrance to our regenerated
spirits. In that day, we will no longer feel compelled to cry out, “O
wretched man that I am,” for in that day, we will be, body and spirit,
like Christ. –Joe Terrell
The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals the righteousness of God in
the justifying work of Christ which He wrought for the elect and is
credited to their account before God, and is imputed to them and
imparted in them by the regenerating work of His omnipotent Spirit.
The gospel exalts the righteousness of Christ and condemns man’s
self-righteousness. Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed”. God Almighty
is just and righteous in accepting sinners clothed with the
righteousness of their appointed Substitute. The righteousness of God is
not revealed by the light of nature or by the works of man. Only the
“good news” of the gospel of Christ reveals and declares this wondrous
work and transaction.
Man has naught to accomplish or perform, therefore we glory in Christ
and Him alone, and we are not ashamed – “To declare, I say, at this time
His righteousness: that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:26. In the gospel of Christ is the answer
to the unanswerable question in Job 9:2 “I know it is so of a truth: but
how should man be just with God?”
The glory of His righteousness is revealed to us and in us here by His
Spirit by the preaching of the gospel, and will one day be revealed
openly and universally for all to behold and wonder – “In those days
shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the
name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.” Jer 33:16.
This is what the gospel is all about – He shall see of the travail of
His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous
servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Isa 53:11. We
may rightfully be ashamed of any other so-called gospel. Any messenger
with any other message is accursed of God – “As we said before, so say I
now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed”. Galatians 1:9 Tommy Robbins.