The first message today is called
the obedience of Christ. Open your Bibles if you would
to the book of Isaiah chapter 50. And then put your finger
in John chapter 10, we'll read two portions of scripture to
start off this, of the first short gospel messages today. The name of the message is the
obedience of Christ. Beloved, without Christ being
obedient to the law and living that perfect life in our room
and place, and then fulfilling and satisfying the law of God
by his death, we would never be saved. But praise be to God. Christ finished the work that
the Father sent him to do. In Isaiah chapter 50, verses
5 to 7, the scripture says, The Lord God hath opened mine ear,
and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my neck
to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off my hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting. For the Lord God will help me.
Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and know that I shall not be ashamed. This is the Messiah
speaking here in the Old Testament, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is wonderful. He says, I've set my face like
a flint. That means an immovable stone. He set his face. He knows that
he must die. He must die for the sins of his
people. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
knew why he came here. He's God. All the death of Christ was planned
and purposed by God in eternity, by God the Father, Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Then in John chapter 10, verse 16 to 18, the scripture
says this, and this again is our Lord's words, the words of
the Messiah, the God-man. He says this, and of the sheep
I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Oh, what a wonderful word. I
must bring them. I must. And they shall hear my
voice. There's no doubt. He's gonna
call them by his effectual, invincible grace. And there shall be one
fold, that's Jew and Gentile, and one shepherd, that's the
Lord Jesus Christ. We're the sheep of his hands,
beloved. God's elect are called the sheep of God's hands. Therefore
doth my Father love me. This is Christ speaking of our
Heavenly Father. Because I lay down my life, that
I might take it again. See, he has power to lay down
his life, and he has power to take it again, beloved. Why? Because all power has been given
to him by the Father. Oh my. He says this, no man takes
it from me, but I lay it down on myself. This shows us that
our Lord's death is voluntary. He laid down his life for us,
beloved. Oh my. And then he says this,
I lay it down on myself. I have the power to lay it down,
and I have the power to take it again. Well, he's Lord God,
isn't he? This commandment, look at this,
listen to this, have I received of my father. Oh, beloved Lord
Jesus Christ came into this world to save his people from their
sins. And in doing so, he lived a perfect
life of obedience to God. in the room and place of his
people. He's called the sinner's substitute.
Oh, it's wonderful. This is wonderful. We can't fulfill
the law of God. It's impossible for us to fulfill
the law of God. And Christ fulfills the law of
God in the room and place of his people. Perfectly, beloved.
Perfectly. So perfectly. Listen to this.
This is wonderful. So perfectly that now a charge
can be laid to God's elect. Isn't that wonderful? Not one
charge can be laid because our sins are bought and paid for,
beloved. Oh, it's absolutely wonderful. And God's law was
fully and perfectly fulfilled by the perfect life of the Lord
Jesus Christ, our substitute. because he fulfilled the law
of God in our room and place. This is good news for sinners,
I'll tell you. And also think of this, God's
law was also satisfied and fulfilled at the death of Christ. Because
the law says, the scriptures say, the soul that sinneth it
must die, right? So what does Christ do? He's
the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, dying in the room and place
of His people. He's the perfect substitute,
sinless in His life and sinless in His death, beloved. The spotless
Lamb of God. Oh, what a Savior. He's the God-man
mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. and God is satisfied with the
sacrifice of Christ. The perfect, spotless Lamb of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, dies in the room and place of his
people as our substitute before God's law and justice. It's wonderful. And all the sins, think of this,
think of all our sins, oh beloved, all our sins, not just some,
not just a few, but all our sins, all the sins I've ever committed
and ever will, are laid upon Christ. Oh my gosh, beloved,
isn't this amazing? Isn't this amazing? And think
of this, He extinguished the infinite wrath of God that was
against us. It's gone, beloved. It's gone. God's wrath is extinguished against
us because of this perfect work. And how did he do it? With the
shedding of his precious, precious blood, beloved. His redeeming
blood, the blood of the God-man. And we are so forgiven. Remember
in Exodus, he says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you.
We're so forgiven. We're so forgiven. that not a
charge can be laid to God's elect. And God even says to the believer
in Christ, your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. I say,
hallelujah. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. But it's true. It's the truth. God himself. Oh, says of his
people who are redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. So let us marvel at
the obedience of Christ, the perfect obedience of Christ. Think of this. There are three
little points. The Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to the commandment
of God the Father. Look at verse 18 of John chapter
10. He says, No man taketh it from
me. That's speaking of his life.
But I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Now he's the Son of God. He's
the Word of God. But he's in full submission to
the Father's will. Well, he's on this earth. He's
submitting himself to the Father's will, beloved. Perfectly, wholly. And he's speaking of, in this
verse, the fact that he's the shepherd and the mediator and
the surety of his people. Why did he lay down his life?
He's our surety. He's our guarantor, isn't he?
He's our great shepherd. He's our mediator. He laid down
his life to save us from our sins, beloved. This is wonderful. Marvel at these words. Look at
these words. This commandment have I received of my father.
With these words, beloved, he declares here that his death
as our substitute was arranged by God before the world was. Before the world was. In John
chapter 10 verse 18, he's speaking of his death and his resurrection
even before it happens. Even before it happens. He says
this again. No man taketh it from me, being his life, but
I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. This is wonderful, beloved. The
death of Christ, think of this. Think of this. The scripture
says this in Psalm 40 verses 7 and 8 of the Messiah. Then
said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of
me. I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, the law is written
within my heart. And then in Hebrews, it says
the same thing. In Hebrews chapter 10 of Christ. And think of this, the death
of Christ, the death of Christ was not, not accomplished by
the arrangement of man. You ever think of that? Man took
him and nailed him to the cross, but it was not accomplished by
the arrangement of man. And it wasn't accomplished by,
according to hell's decree, was it? Hell has no decree. No. It happened by the arrangement,
think of this, of the triune God. God the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. And it was accomplished by the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary's Cross. And think
of this, the arrangement of the eternal covenant was accomplished in the salvation
of God's people at Calvary's Cross, all according to the sovereign providence and
infinite love and grace of our great God. Romans chapter five,
verses six and eight says this, for when we were yet without
strength, when were we yet without strength?
When we're born into this world, dead in trespasses and sins.
In due time, Christ died for what? The ungodly. That's what
the scripture calls us in our natural state, the ungodly. And
look at that, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, according
to whose will and purpose? God the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit's will and purpose, which is one. For scarcely for
a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die. Oh, here we go. But God commandeth
his love, his everlasting, eternal, unchanging love, beloved. But
God commanded his love toward us, towards his people, and that
we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. My, oh my. This is wonderful. And number
two, think of this. Think of how perfect obedience
of Christ was. He came to do the Father's will.
In the Lord Jesus Christ, we see in this verse, John chapter
10, he voluntarily gave his life for his people. Do you know that
it was an act of free obedience to God the Father? No man forced Christ to die. Even God the Father did not compel
him to die or take his life from him, no. Our Savior died voluntarily. This verse brings this forth
by his own will. Our Redeemer's death was accomplished
by his own will as scripture says he poured out his soul unto
death. It's true, as we've seen in the
Scriptures, it pleased the Father to birth Him. It's true that
the Father cried, Awake, O sword, against one that is my fellow.
Smite the shepherd. Yet Christ took the wrath, the
cup of God's wrath, in His own hands, and drank damnation dry. The Son of God fell willingly
upon the sword of God's justice. Marvel that our savior died by
his own will. He gave up his life. He gave
up the ghost. The son of God laid down his
life for the satisfaction of divine justice. He is the chosen
substitute for chosen sinners, for the glory of God. and all
because of his great love for us. Moreover, he laid down his
life that he might take it again by his own resurrection power
and reign forever as our Redeemer King. Lastly, let us consider
the Father's love for the Son. Our Savior says, therefore doth
my Father love me because I lay down my life. I ask, is there
anything sweeter in heaven and earth to meditate upon and so
impossible to preach than the Father's love for the Lord Jesus
Christ, his darling son. Let us hear these words again.
Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life.
God himself never saw anything in the world so lovely, so infinitely
worthy of his love, admiration, and honor as the death of his
dear son upon the cursed tree for his people. here in his love,
because of this great act of love, because of this great act
of Christ's free obedience to the Father as our surety. The
Father has given his Son everything. John 17, two and three says this,
as thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus
Christ, whom thou has sent. Flee to Christ. He's the only
savior of sinners. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ
for saving the souls of his people. Amen and amen.