Jun 24
2
“Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory…” Ps 115:1.
There are many messages in the world that promise salvation. Only one gives to God ALL the glory. The gospel of God’s free and sovereign Grace in the glorious person and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only message that will cause a sinner to declare, “not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory…”.
Truly, salvation is of the Lord and his people love it that way. The Lord gets all the glory in ELECTION having chosen us for no other reason than his own good pleasure and will. He gets all the glory in REDEMPTION, having by himself purged our sins with his own precious blood. He gets all the glory in REGENERATION, arresting us on the road to destruction and making us willing in the day of his power. Our God gets all the glory in SANCTIFICATION, keeping us from falling away and causing us to be renewed in faith day by day. He gets all the glory in GLORIFICATION, by presenting us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Every other message contrived by man robs God of his glory and credits it to man. “Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be (ALL) the glory…”. ~GE
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Christ Made Sin
“For He hath made Him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”. 2 Cor 5:21.
Oh, what a great mystery. The sinless Son of God being made sin. We can only stand in awe of this glorious truth. Like everything about our God, it is unsearchable. As always, our understanding must be confined to what God has revealed in His Word.
Whatever Christ, “being made sin” means in the fullness of His substitution, we cannot doubt from Scripture that shame, sorrow and separation were experienced by Him to their fullest. “My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.” “For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin”. Ps 38:5-6, 17-18. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” Ps. 22:1. “Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, I am not able to look up”, was our Sin-Bearer’s cry.
If you paid the penalty for someone else’s crime, you could feel some sense of pride for such a selfless sacrifice. Or you could feel resentment that you were made to suffer unjustly. One thing you could never feel is shame, sorrow or separation from God.
It is a straw man to say we have defiled the sacrifice by making Christ a sinner. Have we not learned from our own experience with sin that shame, sorrow and separation are the real burden of sin? Infinite sorrow and separation was His experience. When God saw the travail of His Soul, He was satisfied. ~GE
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GOD SPARED NOT
In 2 Peter 2:4-7; several times the word of the Lord says, “God spared not;” the righteous and holy judgment of God fell without any mixture of mercy on many. The angels that fell were judged and cast out. The rebels in Noah’s day were judged and with the flood of God’s wrath. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ashes for their sinful wickedness. But we also read of God’s mercy to some, Noah and his family were spared. The Lord delivered Lot.
The Lord knows how to justly deliver His people from the wrath to come without compromising His righteous character (2 Peter 2:9; 1 Thes. 1:9-10). The Lord our God justly delivers His elect from the wrath to come because He spared not the Lord Jesus Christ from the holy wrath of His anger against our sin (Isa. 53:10; Lam. 1:12; Zech. 13:7). Read this verse slowly; “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Romans 8:32-22).
What amazing love the Lord God commends to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; (Rom. 5:6-10; 1John 4:10). Were it not for His sovereign love, His fetching grace, and the sacrifice of Christ for our sin, we too would eternally suffer the wrath of God. Thank you Lord for the gospel of substitution and satisfaction; (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). Tom Harding
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Matthew 27: 15: Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. 16: And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17: Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?… 21: The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22: Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23: And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Put your place in that cell with Barabbas. He knew he was guilty. Death awaited him. There was no escaping. As he sat in his cell, Barabbas did not know what Pilate had said to the crowd. The only thing Barabbas could hear was the angry crowd chanting, “Barabbas! Barabbas! Barabbas!” Then he heard the crowd yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!” He must have been terrified, convinced that he was about to die.
Sinner, have you found yourself in that place? Has the Spirit of God made you confess that you are guilty before God’s holy, unbending law? Has God sent the sentence burning into your conscience so that you own the truth that you deserve to die? It surely is the case with every sinner as we are born in Adam. (Rom 3: 10-13; 19-20, 23) But you will never need another to save you until you are convinced in the court of your conscience that you are guilty.
Then try to imagine this. Barabbas heard the jailor nearing his cell. The jailor opened the door. But to his surprise, the jailor unlocked Barabbas’ shackles announcing that he was free to go. How? Why? It was because another, Christ Jesus, had taken his place.
Sinner, this is the good news of substitution! Christ took the place of his people on the cross. (Jn 10: 15) He took the sin of his people on the cross. (2 Cor 5: 21) Christ took the judgment and wrath of hell for his people on the cross. (Gal 3: 13) And on the cross, God saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. (Is 53: 11) By Christ pouring out his precious blood in place of all those that the Father gave to him, Christ purged our sins, satisfied justice and obtained eternal redemption for all for whom he died. (Heb 1: 3; Rom 3: 24; Gal 2: 16; Ti 3: 7; Heb 9: 12)
Therefore, at the appointed hour, through the Spirit of regeneration, through the key of the gospel, each child for whom Christ died shall have the Holy Spirit sent to them where they sit bound in the sin and death of their dead, carnal nature. Each one shall be brought to believe on Christ and be set free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8: 1-4) It is not possible for the law to punish Christ the Substitute then punish even one for whom he died. (Rom 5: 9-10) They are justified before God! This truth of the successful, particular redemption of chosen sinners by the death of Christ is the gospel which manifests the righteousness of God, Christ Jesus! (Rom 3: 21-22)
Sinner, has God opened your jail cell with the key of the gospel of the substitionary death of Christ Jesus the Son of God? Has the Holy Spirit un-shackled your chains of unbelief with the gift of life and faith in Christ? When death-row sinners behold the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus then the Lord Jesus sets his child free, saying “to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.” (Is 49: 9)
Can you picture the joy Barabbas had that day? That temporal freedom is nothing compared to the joy of the child of grace when we are enabled to sing, “Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, his child and forever I am!” May God in his free, sovereign, invincible grace make you sing that joyful song today!
Clay Curtis
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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!
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I Plead the Merits of Christ
Remember, Lord, the blood and sweat
Of Him Who more than paid my debt.
Remember Christ upon the tree,
And now be merciful to me.
Remember how that Jesus bled
In this poor, guilty sinners stead.
He bore your wrath and curse for me
In His own body on the tree.
A perfect righteousness He wrought,
And by His blood my pardon bought,
So that His righteousness might be
By grace imputed now to me.
I plead the merits of the blood
Of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
The sinner’s Substitute is He,
A mighty Substitute for me!
Tune: “When I Survey” p. 118
The gospel!
Octavius Winslow
The gospel is the master-work of
Jehovah, presenting the greatest display of His manifold wisdom, and the most
costly exhibition of the riches of His grace. In constructing it, He would seem
to have summoned all the resources of His own infinity to His aid . . .
His fathomless wisdom,
His boundless love,
His illimitable grace,
His infinite power,
His spotless holiness
—all contributed their glory, and conspired to present
it to the universe as the most consummate piece of Divine workmanship!
The revelations it makes,
the facts it records,
the doctrines it propounds,
the effects it produces—
proclaim it to be the “glorious gospel of the
blessed God.”
We live encircled by shadows . . .
our friends are shadows,
our comforts are shadows,
our supports are shadows,
our pursuits are shadows, and
we ourselves are shadows passing away!
But in the precious gospel we have substance, we have
reality, we have that which remains with us when all other things disappear,
leaving . . .
the soul desolate,
the heart bleeding, and
the spirit bowed in sorrow to the dust.
But the gospel . . .
guides our perplexities,
mitigates our griefs,
sanctifies our sorrows,
heals our wounds,
dries our tears,
because it leads us to . . .
the love of Jesus,
the tenderness of Jesus,
the sympathy of Jesus,
the grace of Jesus!
The gospel . . .
reveals Jesus,
speaks mainly of Jesus,
leads simply to Jesus,
and this makes it “glad tidings of great joy,”
to a miserable, lost, and Hell-bound sinner!
Hail,
Sovereign Grace, Eternal, Free!
(by Don Fortner)
1. Hail,
sovereign grace, eternal free,
So bountifully bestowed on me!
Grace chose me in eternity,
And sent my Lord to die for me!
2. T’was grace, God’s free and sovereign grace,
That stopped me as to hell I raced,
And sweetly forced me to confess
My sin so vile, my wretchedness!
3. Grace gave me eyes and made me see
What Christ, my Lord, has done for me.
He ransomed me with His own blood
And reconciled me to my God.
4. Let heaven and earth my song now hear,
Come, ransomed sinners, sing with cheer –
Hail, sovereign grace, eternal, free,
So bountifully bestowed on me!
Jesus Christ and Him crucified
(Author unknown)
“For I resolved to know nothing
while I was with you, except
Jesus
Christ and Him crucified.” 1
Corinthians 2:2
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, is
the way in which God . . .
displays His perfections,
unfolds His purposes,
maintains His rights,
confounds His foes, and
secures His glory in the salvation of His people.
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, is
the only way in which . . .
death is destroyed,
sin is conquered,
righteousness is established,
rebels are reconciled,
saints are sanctified,
and Heaven is opened!
Christ Our Substitute.
“He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” II Corinthians 5:21
This is a day of new beginning for us all. As your pastor, I sense that you are all as full of anticipation regarding our ministry together as I am. Therefore, I thought it would be good for us to remind ourselves of our one task as a church—We must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to our generation. This is our one and only message, “In due time, Christ died for the ungodly.” Every doctrine of the Bible may be summed up on one doctrine. Every book of the Bible, when understood in its essence, has but one message. That doctrine and that message is Substitution. Brethren, always keep these three things in mind concerning the death of Christ.
1. The Atoning Sacrifice Of Our Lord Jesus Christ Was a Divine Work. God the Father appointed his Son to be a redeemer and God the Son voluntarily gave himself for us. It is true wicked men crucified the Son of God. But, our Redeemer was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Having chosen Christ as the Substitute for his people, God made his Son to be sin for us! What amazing love.
2. The Death Of Christ Was A Substitutionary Atonement. The Lord Jesus Christ, the holy, harmless, undefiled Godman Mediator, was made sin for us. It was a legal work. God charged his Son with all the sin of his people. And because he was made sin for us, he was slain as our substitute, in our place. As our surety, he paid the ransom price and redeemed our souls.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ Was Triumphant In His Death. When our surety cried, “It is finished!” he did not mean that the work was partially complete. He meant that the work was done, which had been committed to his hands. The law was fulfilled. Justice was satisfied. Our sins were gone. And we were made the righteousness of God in him. There is no possibility of any soul for whom Christ died perishing. All for whom he was made sin are made righteous by him.
Don Fortner