But I have looked for my glasses and they've been on my face. I've cleaned them so well that I thought, where are my glasses at? You've got to have a few years on you to understand what I'm talking about.

The title of this message is Life for Life and Restitution. Life for life and restitution. These verses are not, these chapters here are not easy to deal with. But the gospel is in them. You just have to dig. You know, if you find treasure, you usually have to dig for it. But the gospel is in this and I want to bring that out. I don't want to just skip over these. I want us to see Christ, life for life, and the restitution of all things.

Now I know today people argue that we should display the Ten Commandments and put them back in the schools. Some do. But if we're going to speak about God's Law, God's Commandments, then we have to speak about ALL of God's Laws, don't we? We can't just pick and choose. How about putting these two up in the school classroom? In verse 15, And he that smites his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. What about this one in verse 17? He that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Why not put these up? Do they sound too extreme? Well, this is who God is, and this is God's Word.

You know, those who are not found in Christ are going to face this. You know that? They're going to face these laws. Those who've cursed their parents, they're going to face this. Oh, I thank God for Christ. Because I read through all these laws, I thought, my, how many? We broke them all. Spiritually, we broke them all, haven't we? How many of us have been so angry with our parents that we just didn't want to look at them? Seriously, growing up.

I'll tell you what now, God's chain of command and authority begins in the home. It doesn't begin in the community, it begins in the home. That's where it begins. Respect is earned in the home, and that respect will show up in the community if it's shown in the home. But when we began to grasp the holiness of God, we also began to understand the seriousness and strictness of God's law. And this leads us to appreciate Christ and Him crucified. Nothing will make you appreciate Christ and Him crucified more than understanding something of the holiness of God and the strictness of God.

But the laws themselves that God has given here are RIGHTEOUS! That's what we have to understand, they're RIGHTEOUS! God cannot give a sinful law, He cannot give a sinful law. The problem is not with the law, it's with US, isn't it? Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 7, verse 12, and the commandment holy and good, just and good. That's what Paul has to say about it, and it's still that way. It's still that way. In other words, when we truly hear and understand the Law, we begin to understand our own sinfulness. That's when you begin to see God's holiness and the strictness of His Law, then you begin to see your own sinfulness. and we'll see our desperate need of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to be our substitute.

Now, this morning I want to focus on two main thoughts in this message. First, it's LIFE FOR LIFE and the restitution, restoring what was taken away. And I pray that Lord will help me give you the gospel in this morning. First, LIFE FOR LIFE. You know, back in Genesis 9, verse 6, God established this principle of justice. Who so sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he man. That was established back in Genesis. And therefore, what He is saying here, the taking of life requires a corresponding penalty, life for life. And here we see the application of this in verse 12 of chapter 21. When a life was intentionally taken, the offender was to be put to death without mercy. He was to be put to death.

But it's interesting, here's a side note in verse 13 for me for my message it is. When life was taken unintentionally, without premeditation, God provided a place of refuge. He provided a place of refuge. Now we know these as the cities of refuge that was established in Canaan, but they were not in Canaan yet. So the place that was established was the tribe of the Levites, or the ALTAR that was provided for them there. And if you'll notice there in verse 13, go back here to verse 13. And if a man lie not in wait, premeditated, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee, until the case could be determined.

Now this is interesting. When life was taken unintentionally, without premeditation, God provided this place. But I want you to notice He says, God delivered him into thy hands. God providentially brought this man into this situation and his life was taken accidentally, what we call accidentally. Listen, you and I might die in an accident on the way home, but it won't be an accident that we died. We don't die accidentally. Our Lord said to His disciples, a sparrow doesn't even fall to the ground, a little sparrow, without your Heavenly Father.

Here's an example I'm going to give you. My grandfather, when he was, I don't know what age he was, he was driving in Huntington, West Virginia. A man stepped off the curb right into the front of his car, and it killed him. The man was killed, died. My grandpa was found innocent. It was not intentional, not premeditated. He didn't get in the car looking for the person. He didn't know the person. Was God's hand in that? Seriously, was God's hand in that?

Now the Scripture teaches us in 2 Corinthians 5, all things are of God. Now he either allows it, he permits it, he permits it to happen, he rules and he overrules all things for the good of his sheep. He does. My grandfather and that car was used of God to take that man out. Is that too hard? That's the truth. It's not like God was asleep. It's not like he couldn't do anything. That's the truth. Nobody dies, no one dies without God's hand involved in it. And I'm not going to try to explain that because God is sovereign in all things, isn't He? He does not explain Himself to me and you.

In man's days, Job said, it's like a hireling. What's a hireling do? He punches in, he punches out. Isn't that what he does? I'm glad my life is in God's hands. I'm glad my, David said this, my times are in thy hands. My time of joy, my time of sorrow. My time to be born into this world, my time to be born again, my time to leave this world. It's in His hands, it's not just willy-nilly going along. God's a God of infinite wisdom and knowledge and power.

We had a family member, the preacher told, she lost her son. Her preacher told her, he said, God didn't do that, the devil did that. I would hate to have a God that couldn't keep me from dying at the hands of the devil. That's just not so. I just read to you, he said man was made in the image of God. Now no one is going to pass out of this life without God calling them out of it. He's going to call you out of it when it's time. And that's the truth, that's the truth.

Now this refuge was found, as I said, among the Levites or at the altar at this time. But I want you to notice something, and this is a little, I'll get back to the body of the message here in a minute. I get a little sidetracked from making my notes sometimes. But this refuge was found among the Levites or the altar. But even here there was no refuge for the guilty, those whose sins were not put away.

You see, in Christ, seriously, we're not guilty, aren't we? We're not guilty. There's nothing on the books against us because Jesus Christ suffered for every one of them. All my sins He put away. They're gone. He suffered for them.

But now listen here, over in 1 Kings chapter 2, remember in verse 28, David told Solomon, he said, I want you to kill Joab because he killed some men that was more righteous than he was. I want you to get his life. Well, what does Joab do? over at First Kings. He runs to the altar and he clings to the horns of the altar. And the man came back and said, Joab won't let go of the altar, he's not going. He said, well then slay him right there. And he went back and he slew Joab holding on to the altar.

Now this is an important point. Now listen to me. The guilty cannot escape the wrath of God by mere profession. A mere profession will not save anyone. It's possession of Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory. But just hanging on to a name? What did they say to the Lord? We preached in your name. We cast out devils in your name. We did many mighty works in your name. Using your name. We did these things using your name. And what does the Lord say? Depart from me, I never knew you. Hanging on to a name is not going to save anybody. It's possession of Christ, it's Christ possessing you. It's Christ IN you, the hope of glory.

Alright, now let's get back to the main body of this message. We'll see In verse 22 of 21 through 25, here's what we see. We see the exactness and equity of God's law is what we see. In case of injury, including harm afflicted on a pregnant woman and her unborn child, the law required precise and equitable justice. Life for life! Look over here. LIFE FOR LIFE, EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH, HAND FOR HAND, FOOT FOR FOOT, BURNING FOR BURNING, WOUND FOR WOUND, STRIPE FOR STRIPE. That's how exact God's law is. God's justice is specific, it's measured out, have you noticed that? And it's perfectly just, there's nothing wrong with it.

I think it was one of Madison's girlfriends told her this past week, she said that God of the Old Testament is mean. He's mean. Well, you think the God of the New Testament is a different God? Here's the deal, where are you going to meet God? You going to meet Him on the law, on justice, strict justice? You're going to meet Him in Christ, where mercy and truth have kissed each other, righteousness and peace have embraced each other. It's where you meet God. Our gods are consuming fire. Now you're going to meet a God who consumed fire or you're going to meet Him at the cross where the fire fell on His Son in your place as a substitute.

Life for life, the exactness of His law and the equity of God's law. You know, when we have been reading this, you see that the rich had no more favor than the poor, not before God. No one did. The punishment matched the offense, it matched the offense. God's justice is fair and no one can say it's not fair, it is fair. God can't give a sinful law, He can't do it. You know in hell there are degrees of punishment. Listen to Hebrews 10.29, Of how much sore punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God? How much sore, severe punishment?

You remember when the Lord spoke to Capernaum where He had done such mighty work, Chorazin and Capernaum? He said, WOE UNTO YOU, CHORAZIN AND CAPERNAUM, IF THE MIGHTY WORKS DONE IN YOU HAD BEEN DONE IN SODOM AND GOMORRAH, THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED AND REMAINED UNTO THIS DAY. He said this, IT WILL BE MORE TOLERABLE IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FOR THOSE SODOMITES THAN FOR YOU WHO HAD MUCH LIGHT. That's the truth.

You go over in Revelation chapter 20 verses 11 through 15 and it says He opened the books and everybody was judged by their deeds, those who were not in Christ. Those who were not in Christ. You've been judged in Christ. My sins have been judged in Christ. But now, the things that you forgot about, that people forgot about, even down to the thought, that's how far-reaching God's law is and justice is. It's how far-reaching.

But now, let's not stop here. This would be depressing if I stopped here, wouldn't it? We'd all be in a mess. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this law He fulfilled this law LIFE FOR LIFE, EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH, HAND FOR HAND, FOOT FOR FOOT, BURNING FOR BURNING, WOUND FOR WOUND, STRIPE FOR STRIPES. We can read that over in Isaiah 53, can't we? By His stripes we are healed.

In a spiritual and substitutionary sense, Christ rendered to the justice of God LIFE FOR LIFE, EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH, WOUND FOR WOUND, BURNING FOR BURNING, STRIPE FOR STRIPE. That's what happened at Calvary. That's what happened. He absorbed all of this in His own body on the tree. You see, we have sinned with our whole body. Therefore, in perfect righteousness, God has the right to cast both body and soul into hell to suffer. The entire person participated in sin, so the entire person faces judgment.

Stay with me here. This principle is pictured even in the curse of the serpent in the garden. Satan took over this serpent, didn't he? He possessed this serpent. He used it as an instrument of temptation and God cursed that serpent And it was to crawl on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life. Why? Why? Because it was used as an instrument of sin. And therefore it bore the consequences of that sin. Whatever sin touches, it curses.

In the same way, here's the point, IN THE SAME WAY, THE BODY WE USE TO SIN IS THE BODY THAT MUST FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN, NOT JUST THE SOUL, BUT THE BODY ALSO. That rich man said, Let's have Abraham send Lazarus back so he can take his finger and touch the tip of my tongue. He can touch it in water and just touch the tip of my tongue. I'm tormented in these flames.

UNLESS CHRIST BEARS THAT JUDGMENT FOR US IN HIS BODY, WE HAVE TO BEAR IT. Here's the GOSPEL, the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL, 1 Peter 2.24, WHO, THAT IS JESUS CHRIST, HIS OWN SELF, BEAR OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BODY ON THE TREE, THAT WE BEING DEAD TO SIN to the guilt of it, not to the presence of it, we still have the presence of sin, that will not happen until we die. But we are free from the guilt of sin and the power of sin.

He said, Sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, you are under grace. In other words, sin is not your master no more, it is not your king reigning and ruling over you. Sin will not have dominion over you. Yes, we sin, but we are free from the guilt of sin. and from the reigning power of sin, and someday the presence of sin.

But listen to this, "...who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes..." Stripe for stripe! Does this really give life to it? Stripe for stripe? "...by whose stripes ye were healed."

The Lord Jesus Christ was not whipped UNDER THE JEWISH LAW. THAT WAS 40 STRIPES SAVE ONE, RIGHT? THEY WOULD ALWAYS MINUS ONE STRIPE JUST IN CASE THEY BROKE A LAW. HE WAS WHIPPED UNDER ROMAN LAW. AND THEY WHIPPED HIM TO THE POINT THAT THEY THOUGHT IF WE DON'T STOP WE'RE GOING TO KILL HIM. HE WAS TOTALLY MUTILATED. WHEN THEY WHIPPED HIM AND THEY HAD THOSE PIECES OF METAL AND GLASS IN THAT WHIP AND THEY RIPPED HIM UP.

It says in Isaiah 52, His visage was so marred more than any man. He was unrecognizable. That's how they beat Him. That's the stripes we deserved. Stripe for stripe. They kept whipping Him. You think, are they going to stop? No. Not yet. They're going to, but not yet because stripe for stripe. We deserved every one of those stripes. Every one of those stripes belonged to Me. They belonged to Me. And He took it. He took it. I would have died under that, no doubt, but not him. Because he said, No man takes my life from me, I lay it down myself. Even when they nailed him to the cross, and he's hanging there mutilated, he couldn't die until he gave up his spirit. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. You're not taking my life, I'm giving it. He said, No man takes it from me, I lay it down myself.

Remember when they came out to get him, out there in the garden, when they came out to get him? What happened to those men when they said they were looking for Jesus? And he said, I'm Him, I am. They all fell backward to the ground. He had to give them the strength to get up and finish the job. I lay down my life, willingly, I lay it down. WHAT THE LAW DEMANDED, JESUS CHRIST PAID IN FULL, STRIPE FOR STRIPE, EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH, LIFE FOR LIFE, THAT'S WHAT HE DID.

Look in verse 29 and 30 in verse chapter 21. But if the ox were wont to push or gore with his horn in time past, and it has been testified to his owner, and he has not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. But however," here's a stipulation, "...if there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life, whatsoever is laid upon him." Hmm, this principle points us to the greater ransom the Lord Jesus Christ provided for us. The ransom laid upon Him was nothing less than His life for our life, His blood for our blood, His suffering for our sufferings. He paid the full price leaving nothing unpaid or unfinished.

Now to come to the second part of this, that's life for life. Now we've come to restitution. Life for life and restitution, that's the title of the message. In chapter 22, verses 1-12, this word restitution kept coming up, didn't it? It just keeps coming up. And we find the law of restitution in verse 1-4, we find the restitution for theft. When an animal is stolen, if it's killed or if it's sold, if it was an ox, you've got to restore five oxen. If it was a sheep, you've got to restore four sheep for one sheep. And then restitution, when the stolen animal is recovered alive, in verse 4, it was double. Double is what it was. If one was to allow that animal to feed in another man's field, HE MUST RESTORE FROM THE BEST OF HIS OWN FIELD AND VINEYARD. HE HAD TO RESTORE THE BEST OUT OF HIS OWN FIELD AND VINEYARD. IF THERE WAS DAMAGE CAUSED BY FIRE, AND IT SPREAD TO ANOTHER MAN'S CROPS AND BURNED HIS UP, THEN THAT MAN WAS TO RESTORE ALL HIS CROPS, MAKE RESTITUTION.

And then 7-13, WE HAVE RESTITUTION FOR ENTRUSTED PROPERTY. If money or goods are entrusted and then stolen, if the thief's caught, he's got to pay double. If an animal is entrusted in harm or die, it's amazing how minute God's law is, isn't it? It's right down to animals, right down to the tooth knocked out. You've got to let them go free. Think, God rules the universe. It's amazing.

But here's the story, here's the Gospel, it's called the Gospel of RESTITUTION. Here's the Gospel of RESTITUTION and how this applies to Christ. Now David's words in Psalm 69-4, I want you to listen to these words here in Psalm 69-4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. THE WHOLE UNREGENERATE WORLD HATES CHRIST, THE CHRIST OF THIS BIBLE, NOT THIS JESUS THAT WANTS YOU TO BE HEALTHY, WEALTHY, AND THAT'S NOT THE ONE, THAT'S NOT THE ONE OF THIS BIBLE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SOVEREIGN CHRIST OF GOD WHO'S SAVING A PEOPLE, A MULTITUDE OF SINNERS, NO MAN CAN NUMBER, BUT HE SAYS HERE THEY THAT HATE ME WITHOUT CAUSE ARE MORE THAN THE HAIRS OF MINE HEAD, THAT THEY WOULD DESTROY ME, BEING MINE ENEMIES WRONGFULLY, OR MIGHTY. THEN I RESTORED THAT WHICH I TOOK NOT AWAY."

When I read that, I realized this enemy right here, Paul said, You were enemies in your mind by wicked works. He restored what he did not take away. Christ suffered at the hands of justice for our wrongs, didn't He? Yet He Himself had taken nothing. He had taken nothing. Still He stepped in as the One who restores all things.

First, our Lord restored what sin had taken from us. HE RESTORED WHAT SIN HAD TAKEN FROM US WHEN ADAM FELL. HE RESTORED RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE IS NOW THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE'S OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WE ARE RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD. HE RESTORED PEACE. PEACE WITH GOD. PEACE IN THE HEART. REAL PEACE, NOT FALSE PEACE. WE HAVE REAL PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO IS OUR PEACE. HE'S THE PRINCE OF PEACE. YOU DON'T HAVE HIM, YOU DON'T HAVE PEACE. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE, YOU DON'T HAVE PEACE. CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT. BUT IT'S NOT PEACE. NOT HIS PEACE. HE SAID MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES. AND HE GIVES THAT TO EVERY ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES.

FELLOWSHIP. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. WE CAN NOW FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. OUTSIDE OF CHRIST, THERE IS NO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. THERE IS NO COMING TO GOD. YOU KNOW, IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT TO COME BEFORE GOD, YOU HAD TO HAVE A HIGH PRIEST. YOU HAD TO HAVE A BLOOD SACRIFICE, ATONEMENT. WE HAVE BOTH OF THOSE IN CHRIST. WE HAVE IN CHRIST ALL WE NEED TO COME TO GOD. HE'S RESTORED UNION WITH GOD. one with God. Go and read John 17. He made us one with God. He's restored joy. David said in Psalm 51, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. How'd you lose it? Bathsheba, adultery, and murder. There's no sin that the blood of Christ can't wash away. None. THOUGH HE WAS NOT THE ONE WHO ROBBED US, HE BECAME THE ONE WHO RESTORED US.

Secondly, He not only restored what was lost, did you notice when I was reading this that they had to be double? The ox had to be five, the sheep two, the thief was caught with them, he had to restore double. What does this say in Isaiah 40 verse 2? It says to Jerusalem, she shall receive double. Turn over to Isaiah 42, or Isaiah 40. Let me read this. This is what our Lord has done. Isaiah 40. Let me go ahead and read verse 1.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. SPEAK YE COMFORTABLY TO JERUSALEM, AND CRY UNTO HER THAT HER WARFARE IS ACCOMPLISHED, THAT HER INIQUITY IS PARDONED. FOR SHE HATH RECEIVED OF THE LORD'S HAND DOUBLE FOR ALL HER SINS, DOUBLE, DOUBLE FROM THE LORD'S HAND, POINTING FORWARD TO THE ABUNDANT, OVERFLOWING GRACE FOUND IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHERE SIN ABOUNDED Grace did much more bound.

Grace did much more bound. His restoration exceeds the damage. It exceeds the damage done by Adam and by us. And last of all, Christ restored far more than we lost in Adam. Far, far, far more. Where Adam plunged us into sin, Christ raised us to greater blessings, full pardon, a new nature, everlasting life, and union with God in a way, listen, in a way that's far richer than before we fell.

Christ had given double, double. We have no idea what we're about to experience. I can't even begin to scratch the surface of the glory that's about to be revealed. It says in us, not just to us, but in us. It says when we see Him, we shall be like Him. We're going to be like Him. And whatever is His is ours. What's His? Everything. All things, the scripture says, are yours in Christ. All things are yours.

It's God's wisdom how He meets them out because you and I can't handle all things, can we? You'd be richer if you could handle it, but you can't handle it. That's why you're not richer. God in wisdom has given you what you can handle. But someday, someday, we're going to have it all. We're gonna have all the blessings. He's restored all things. He's made restitution for all things. And he's given his life for our life. His eye for our eye, spiritually. Tooth for tooth, foot for foot, wound for wound. He was what? Wounded for our transgressions. Bruised for our iniquities. And by his stripes, we are healed.

When you start looking at those laws, then the gospel starts coming out. You start seeing God's mercy, God's provision, but it's all in Christ. It's all in Christ. All right.