Good morning. Turn with me, if you would, to
Psalm chapter five. Psalm chapter five. We'll read
the first nine verses. Give ear to my words, O Lord.
Consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my
cry, my King, and my God, for unto thee will I pray. My voice
shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning will I
direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not
a God that hath pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil dwell with
thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all
workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that
speak leasing. The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful
man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude
of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness,
because of mine enemies. Make thy way straight before
my face, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward
part is very wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulcher.
They flatter with their tongue." We'll end our reading there.
We're our pastor this morning is in Danville. He and janitor
in Danville. Frank will bring the message
there today and also on Tuesday and then Lord will and he'll
be back worshiping with us on on Wednesday. We're delighted
today to have Walter and Penny Pendleton with us. Thank you
all for the long drive in. We pray after services you have
safe trip home and we pray for you as you deliver the message
from from our God that he be with you. Let's pray together
before Walter comes up. Our holy heavenly father, we
pray that your name be worshiped in this place this morning among
us as we meet together. Thankfully, we're thankful that
you brought us together to hear your word, to hear of your son,
to hear of your holiness and your justice and your mercy all
met together on your son, on Christ, our savior. We're so
thankful that you've seen fit to draw us to you and also to
draw us together to this place. We pray for those that aren't
with us this morning, that you heal and comfort and lead according
to your will. We think of those who are sick,
that you heal and be with them. Comfort where comfort's needed.
bind up hearts where sorrow is present. Be with your people
according to your will, according to your promise. We pray for
Walter as he comes, that you leave him not alone, but be with
him, bring him recollection of his studies and bring him a word
through his heart from you, Father. Be with us as we listen. We pray
this thankfully in Christ's name and for his sake. Okay, brother. Good morning. Give me just a
moment. And while I'm doing this, if
you wish, be turning to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I just want to read one verse
this morning for our Bible study. And I know that this verse is
no doubt very familiar throughout all of professed Christianity.
But with God's people, it is a verse that brings great comfort. Of course, it is 2 Corinthians
5, verse 21. And let me read that before I
go into our study in depth. Paul, of course, is continuing
here to our brothers and sisters at Corinth, and he writes these
words in verse 21 of 2 Corinthians 5. For he hath made him to be
sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now let me stop for just a moment
and state this. Of course, it's clear from the
context, but what Paul is saying is, for he that is God, God the
Father. For God the Father hath made
him that is God the Son. For he hath made him to be sin
for us. Again, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now, of course, this is clear
from the text. There are two maids. mentioned
in this verse, in this text. Now, I won't spend a lot of time
on this in particular, but I want to make this statement. Both
of these maids are acts of God. This is something God Almighty
has done. Now, first of all, in the beginning of our lesson
here, first of all, Christ was made sin. Now, this is the language
of scripture. Secondly, We, that is those whom
Christ reconciled by his death, and of course that is quite clear
in the preceding verses, and let me just read a couple of
those, verse 18 and 19 specifically. And all things are of God, who
hath, do you see that? Who hath, not is, but let us
note for our study, who hath, past tense. This is a done deal,
as we say. And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry or the service of reconciliation." And then
there's this glorious thing that the Spirit of God does for us.
He moves Paul to say, let me explain. Just so there's no doubt
about what he's saying here. He says, to wit, or that is to
say, that God, notice the language, was, not is, but God was in Christ,
reconciling the world. So we know this. Whoever this
world is, and I'm not here to argue about this, not my point
this morning, but whoever this world is, they were reconciled. Isn't that what that says? I
mean, that's clear. To wit, that is to say that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. And then
on top of this reconciliation, we find this great blessing with
the reconciliation. not imputing their trespasses
unto them, and hath committed unto them, and hath committed
unto us, rather, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
So again, this text is clear. Christ was made sin. We, that
is those Christ reconciled by his death, that is, we can say
believers, they'll all be brought to be believers, are made, that's
the second made, Christ was made sin, that's the first made, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ. Now, here's
a glorious thought. The first made, that's Christ
made sin, The first made assured the second made. I can say that
because of the language of scripture and even in light of our text. This is cause and effect. Notice the language. For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who do no sin, that we might be. Do you see that? Now I realize
that many in religion today says this could be a maybe so, maybe
not, but that's not the language of scripture. This is the language
of cause and effect. If the first made is true, and
it is, then the second made must come as a result of the cause. The cause is Christ's made sin. The effect is that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. And let me be so bold
as to say, even God himself could not have made us the righteousness
of God in Christ had he not, had he, Christ, not dealt with
our sin and sins on the tree first. God is a savior. but he is a just God and a Savior. So again, Christ was made sin. Those of us who were reconciled
by his death, that is, believers, we are made the righteousness
of God in Christ. And this first made assured the
second made. It's cause and effect. Now, our
study this morning will concentrate on this phrase, Christ made sin. That's my subject and title,
if you will. Christ made sin. But remember,
as we look at things, I want to give you five things from
scripture here. But as we look at this, remember, I must emphasize
cause and effect. Since the first is true, the
second is guaranteed. So it's cause and effect. The
first made assured the second made. As I said, our study will
include five observations from the sacred canon of Holy Scripture. This is a subject that kind of
reminds me of that announcement God made to Moses, put off your
shoes, for you're on holy ground. And when it comes to the subject
of Christ made sin, I will not stand here this morning and try
to explain this to you. I will stand here this morning
and by the grace of God try to declare that it's true based
on the word of God. So what I want to do is we look
at these five observations from the sacred canon. We're going
to see this. Thus saith the Lord. And just as a side note, this
is not a part of the lesson per se, The scripture, the Old Testament
is full of thus saith the Lord. In the New Testament, there's
a lot of it is written. You understand what I'm saying?
Think about this, when Christ came on the scene, he didn't
say a whole lot of thus saith the Lord, or it is written, though
I'm not saying he never used that language, but you know what
Christ said? I say unto you. Think about that. So number one,
if you're following along, turn to Hebrews, the first chapter. Remember, we're talking, we're
concentrating on the first made this morning for our lesson,
Christ made sin. I'm going to read the passage,
make a couple, all these passages, these five different observations.
I'll read the passage, I'll make a few statements as I read the
passage, and then I'll sum up this passage in connection with
Christ made sin. So, look at Hebrews chapter 1.
First of all, just one verse, verse 3. Who, the context, you
can go back and read it later. It's clearly Christ, the Son
of God. Who? being the brightness of his glory,
that is God the Father's glory, who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, now notice this next phrase,
when he had by himself, do you see that? when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high." The first maid was between the
father and the son only. It was for us. Isn't that what
we read in our text? Let me turn back to it and read
it. For he hath made him to be sin for us, but we had no part
in it. other than it was done for us. This was a transaction that took
place, if I can use that word. There may be a better word. I
understand that. I acknowledge that. I confess
that. But this transaction, this Christ made sin, was between
God the Father and God the Son only. And we will, as we read
these other four observations, we will see how this was just
between God the Father and God the Son. So the first thing We,
or I want to try to emphasize this morning in our lesson is
this, the first maid was between the father and the son only. And you know we might think,
well that's pretty simplistic, that's not that big a deal. Yes it is, as we will see from
the others. Right now turn to Psalm 22, the
22nd Psalm. 22nd Psalm, now this is, This psalm, without question,
is what men call a messianic psalm. But a brief note, they're
all messianic psalms. Some may be more pertinent than
others, may be more clear, let me say it that way, may be more
clear than others, but all the psalms essentially are about
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But let's look
at this, Psalm chapter 22, just the first three verses. Here
we can see, we're about to read the very cry of the Lord Jesus
Christ himself on the cross. As a matter of fact, the New
Testament writers even testify that he said these very words.
Look at it. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now you think about that, why
hast thou forsaken me? Our Lord did not cry this because
of ignorance. He cried this because he was
our substitute. He knew why the Father had forsaken
him. Look at it. My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? There can be only one reason
why God the Father would forsake God the Son. seeing. That's the only reason. And we
read, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. But let's go on.
Look at it. Why art thou so far from helping
me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the
daytime, but thou hearest not. Now, notice this. Notice the
language. And in the night season, and
they're not silent. How can this be? Daytime and
night? Is he not talking about the cross?
Yes. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? But do you remember that a certain
hour when he hung on that tree, what happened? The sun went dark. And no man, no man, No woman
was allowed to look upon that transaction when God the Father
actually forsook the Son. Not only was it a transaction
between the Father and the Son only, man was not even allowed
to see it physically happen. The Son went dark. But then look. My mind says, well, but doesn't
Peter say, our brother Peter say that he suffered the just
for the unjust? How could he be made sin? How
could it be God and man at the same time? Again, I'm not here
to try to explain these things. I'm here to declare, thus saith
the Lord. But look at what he says. Now
he knew what was going on, Christ did, but thou art holy. Do you see it? God the Son did
not accuse the Father of any malfeasance when he turned his
back on him. Why? Because the only answer
to that question is Christ was made sin. Now let's move on. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. And
let's hear what our brother Peter has to say about this. 1 Peter
chapter 2. And we're going to read just
a couple verses near the end of that. 1 Peter chapter 2, verses
23 and 24. Now look at it. Who? When he
was reviled. Reviled not again. When he suffered. Isn't that what we just kind
of read about in Psalm 22? My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken
me? When he suffered, he threatened
not, but look at this, but committed, do you see that? He surrendered
himself, see it? But committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously. Now look at it. Who his own self
bare our sins, where? Do you see that phrase? In his
body on the tree, you see it? It's much
more that he just carried them like a mule or a donkey or a
horse carries a load. It certainly was that, I'm not
suggesting it was not, but it was deeper, more personal than
that. Think of it, the first maid was
between the father and the son only, Hebrews 1-3. The first
maid was a one-time only occurrence. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? But when he was raised from the
dead, he was personally allowed sometime shortly after that to
even ascend back to the father. You remember? He told that one
woman, don't touch me yet. I've not yet ascended back to
my father. So the first maid was between the father and the
son only. The first maid was a one-time occurrence only. The
first maid was inside the son. I don't know how to put this
other than state it and preface it with this. I am not belittling
what Christ went through physically for men on that tree. They were
torturing him to death. That's what they were doing.
Were it not for the fact he held his own life in his own hands,
they would have killed him. I mean, they beat him so badly
before he even hung on the tree, you could not recognize who he
was. And what Penny and I seen was
a shroud of Turin or Turan or whatever it is. Notice that Jesus
on that shroud's got this big old beard. You know what the
book says they did? They plucked it out. I mean,
he grabbed handfuls of it. His face, he was beaten, spit
upon. But my brothers and sisters,
that's nothing compared to what he experienced when we read this. Turn to Isaiah 53. Remember,
he bore our sins where? In, in his own body on the tree. So let's, let me get turned to
it, Isaiah chapter 53. And just for the sake of time,
just a couple verses here. So remember, the first maid was
between the father and the son only. The first maid was a one-time
occurrence only. The first maid was inside the
son. But here we read something else.
Verse 10 of Isaiah 53, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
Now that word pleased there is the word of just satisfaction. It's not talking about, there's
no reason we have to believe that God the Father sat up there
and laughed while his son died on that tree. But he did do what? Turned his back on him. Everybody,
ever had anybody do that? Just turn, you're sitting there
talking to him. And they just turned their back on him. This
is what happened to the son. But look, yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. And that word bruise is not a
little bruise you get when like you stump your finger, your toe.
This is to crush. Yet it pleased the Lord to crush
him. He hath put he, yes men put him
to grief too, there is no question. They were torturing him, but
he put him to grief. Look, when thou shalt make, I
can't explain this, his soul, see it was down inside. It wasn't
just what he suffered out here, it's what he suffered down inside
from the forsaking of the father. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. That's why I'm
saying it's cause and effect, do you see it? He shall see his
seed. my beloved brothers and sisters,
he was travailing in birth for us, giving us birth in being
made sin for us. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his days. And the pleasure, I think of
it, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper, prosper in his
hand. That lets me, on the way up here, just driving
up here. I don't know how many times,
if I didn't do it with these, I don't know how many times down
in here I complained in my heart. For what? Coming and getting
to worship God with these people? And yet that's how bad I am.
But he was made to be that. I have no words. I don't have
any great philosophical language that would give you that you'd
say, oh, there it is. I can experience that. We had
best pray to God we never experience this. He experienced this so
we would never experience God forsaking us. But it goes on. He, that is God the Father, shall
see the travail of his what? Soul. You see it? If it were
just being tortured, he could have just been tortured. But
his soul had to prevail. Had to bring forth us in this
birth. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall my righteous
servant justify, or that is, make righteous. Same word. Make righteous many. For he shall
bear, there he is, bear their iniquities. So what am I saying? Let me sum this one up. The first
maid was not some mere judicial pretense. It was real. It was real. And I think one
reason it's so difficult, if not impossible, to give some
illustration of that is because this only happened one time forever. That's God the Father forsaking
the Son. There's nothing else to compare
to that. There's no trouble I've ever went through. No matter
even how faulty I was and how I confessed it, there's no trouble
I've ever been through that amounts to that. My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Now turn to Psalm 69. This is the fifth one. Psalm
69. Remember, the first maid was
between the father and the son only. The first maid was a one-time
only occurrence. The first maid was inside. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. The first maid was not a judicial
pretense. It was real. It was real. Now let's read Psalm 69 and just
a few verses. Look at verse five. Now, it's
clear from the words of this psalm. You go back and read it
later. These are some of the very words of our Lord himself,
and some of them are recorded in the New Testament as from
him. But look at verse five. Oh God, thou knowest, what? Do you see that? My foolishness. But he had none, that's true,
until he was made sin. And he confessed my foolishness
as his own. Do you see it? Do you see it?
Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness, look, and my sins. He had none, that's true, of
his own, but he was made to be sin for us. And my sins are not
hid from thee. Look at verse seven. Because
for thy sake have I borne reproach. Now, we can see the reproach
he bore amongst men. Remember, they laughed. They
made fun of him believing God. They said, he trusted in God.
Let him come down from the cross now. We'll believe he's the Christ.
But that reproach, doesn't fathom of when the father turned his
back on the son. You see it? Because for thy sake
have I borne reproach. Shame hath covered my face. Go over to verse 19. Let's move
along. Verse 19, thou hast known my
reproach and my shame and my dishonor. My adversaries are
all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart. I can't explain that. My reproach sometimes makes me
ashamed, but I have to confess to you, it don't break my heart.
Because my flesh loves every moment of it. It does. Now, the spirit of God in me
is repulsed by it. The new man is repulsed by it,
but me, the old me, that still Walter Pendleton deep down inside,
I'm not ashamed of what I am by nature. I love it. I bask
in it. And yet when he hung on that
tree, my brothers and sisters, he felt that shame. That reproach,
do you see it? Look, reproach hath broken my
heart. I am full of heaviness, and I
look for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters,
but I found none. They gave me also gall for my
meat. You see that? When you read these
Psalms, you read Psalm 22, Psalm 40, Psalm 69, you will see the
very cry the very place of our Lord himself,
his thoughts, his innermost feelings, what he was going through when
he hung on that tree. So listen to this, the first
maid was intimately and intensely personal. It was personal. Having said that, you're still
up Psalm 69, think about this. Having said that, I am responsibility,
if you will, duty, if you will, demands that I say these words
to you and me as well. Never be ashamed of the exact
words of Holy Scripture concerning the fact that Christ was made
sin. Don't feel like, well, let me
find a better word or a better phrase. No. No, Walter, don't. These are
God-inspired words. They're the best. I can't come
up with a- if I think I have a better word, all I'm doing
is softening, softening, watering down the truth of the gospel. And why would I say such a thing?
Look at Psalm 69. Verse six, now remember we read
five, we read seven, but look at six. This is the same Lord
Jesus. When he's going through, be made
sin for us. When he says in verse five, my
foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee. Look, let not
them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for
my sake. You see that? But that's so hard,
it's so difficult, if not impossible to explain, that's not the point.
He went through it, don't be ashamed of any of that. Do you
see that? Well, I just, I can't say it. Then bow before God in it. Just
bow before, just don't say anything, but just bow before God in it.
Because to be ashamed of it is to be ashamed of who? That's what he says there. And
remember, he was thinking this on the tree when he was made
sin. He is praying to the Father about
us. You see it? Let not them that
wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not
those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. So the next time you feel a little
awkward if someone ever asks you, what does that mean when
Christ was made sin? Just tell them, I don't know.
I don't know. Only he knows. Even these words
here doesn't allow me to understand. To relate to it. And I'm glad. Because the only way to really
understand it is to go through it. And he went through it. So we never have to. Heavenly Father, such profound
truth, just profound words, Lord, beyond our puny small minds to
truly grasp and comprehend. But by your grace, Lord, we can
believe him, rest in him, and trust him. In Christ's name,
amen. All right, that's it.