to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2, I do bid you
greetings from 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky,
for all the brethren there, and from my dear pastor, Brother
Henry. And we have been mindful of you
and your transition period here through Changing pastors is not
an easy job. It's difficult. And we've been
mindful of you in prayer and hoping that the Lord will work
his wonders to perform. And I do pray today that God
would speak to us through his word. I don't want to see a vision.
I want God, the Almighty, the one you sang about, to speak
to us through his word. And if God knows this, if God's
going to speak to us, He's going to speak to us through His Word.
That's what the book says. And I do pray that God will make
His Word effectual in our heart. I hope He'll give us ears to
hear. Our Lord often said, He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear. I pray God, by His power of His Spirit, would cause us
to hear His Word. It's not here, but in here, down
inside, in our soul. And I also hope that Lord will
enable us to worship him, to worship him. And I want to worship
the Almighty God, and I want to worship him around that sacrifice
that he provided the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where I'm accepted,
in that sacrifice. And that's what I want to talk
about today. I want to talk about Christ, our great high priest,
who made that sacrifice. Now, look at Hebrews chapter
2. Hebrews chapter 2, and look at verse 17 here. He says, "...wherefore
in all things it behooved him," now he's speaking of Christ our
Lord, "...to be made," M-A-D-E, "...made like unto his brethren,"
now watch it, "...that he might be a merciful," merciful, "...and faithful," faithful. He's merciful, manward, and he's
faithful, godward. Faithful, high priest, in things
pertaining to God. Now watch this. To make reconciliation. And they tell me the word here
is atonement. Reconciliation is the effect
of atonement being made. Christ made the atonement. And
in making that atonement, he reconciled us to God. He made
peace. He made peace, that peace you
were talking about. He made peace with God for us. Now, you've often heard people
say, I'm trying to make peace with God. You can't do it. You
can't do it. God's angry with the wicked.
He's not pleased with the things we do. God's pleased with Christ.
God made peace with his people in Christ. That's what he's satisfied
in Christ. To make, notice this here, it
doesn't say to make an attempt at atonement or reconciliation,
it says to make. to make a reconciliation for
the sins of his people, for his people, his people. Now, happy
and blessed is the man who has the message, such as our text,
to declare unto sinful men, Christ our merciful and faithful high
priest. Not only allowed to to declare this message, but be
able, be able of God to rejoice. I know him, whom is life, who
is my priest. I know him. And I rejoice, not
only that God's given me the privilege to tell other men,
and someone said what he's preaching anyway, and it's just one beggar
telling another beggar where he found bread. I found bread
in Christ. You interested? I am. I'm hungry. I need fed from him. I need fed. But also realize
that it's a blessing to rejoice in this blessed gospel of the
glory of God, but also realize that it's a burden. It's a great
burden and a responsibility to tell other men the gospel. God's
going to hold you accountable for it, you know that? And I
tell you, these people that lie on God, these preachers that
tell lies on God, I pity them. They're going to have to give
an account for that before God. before God. I'm thankful that
God has taught me the truth of his word, because apart from
his revelation, apart from his divine revelation, I'd be out
there, and I was at one down, right with him. Preach and sin
or save yourself. But you can't. You're lost. You shut out. You shut out unless
God does something for us. So it's a great responsibility
to declare this message, and God's going to hold us accountable.
But you know, this message, It's far too great for any human lips
to declare, isn't it? How are we going to tell out
the greatness of our God? How are we going to—you tell
me how we're going to explain with human words and terms the
majesty and the glory of Christ's effectual blood redemption. Now,
how are we going to do that? It's beyond words, isn't it?
We can just try to do our best at it. Try to do—but I comfort
myself with a thought that it doesn't require excellency of
speech to declare this gospel. It doesn't. It doesn't. Paul
said it, and he's a man that could have been an orator. He
said, I came not with excellency of speech and of wisdom. He didn't. He said he wanted your faith
to stand in the power of God, not in the wisdom of men. See,
our faith stands in the power and wisdom of God, not in men.
So we don't come with excellency of speech. You see, the excellency
of the gospel lies in him. Who is the truth? That's the
excellency of the gospel, is Christ. Not the way people declare
this thing. You know, oratory. You can move
masses and millions of people with oratory. You look at Adolf
Hitler, what he did with his oratory. Now, he moved masses
of millions of people into committing horrible atrocities against humanity,
against God, with oratory. But the excellency of this gospel
lies in Christ, who is the truth. You see, the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation, not my wisdom. It's the gospel of Christ
that's the power of God unto salvation, not my wisdom, logic,
or oratory. Oratory, you can move fleshly
emotions and move people with oratory. But that won't save
people. It takes the gospel of the grace
of God. And it pleased God. It pleased
God. I don't understand these things,
but it pleased God to put this treasure of the vessel, this
treasure in an earthen vessel, that he might tell other men
who the Savior is. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching from a sinful man to tell other sinners about this
great God. Isn't that a mystery? But it pleased God to do that.
It pleased God to do that. Now, in our text here, in showing
the absolute necessity for Christ the Son of God to become man
in order to save his people from their sins. The Word of God sets
forth with amazing detail the perfect humanity of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's God Almighty come in the
flesh. Explain that. I can't. I believe
it. I can't explain it, but I do
believe it. He's God manifested in the flesh. But the Word of
God sets forth amazing detail, the humanity of Christ. And we
see something else here. We see the oneness and the unity
of Christ and his people. Christ and his people. He became
identified with us. Look in this chapter 2 here at
verse 11. Notice what it's, Hebrews 2,
11. He says, for both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified,
they're all of one. They're all of one. You see,
that unity, that identification between the God-man, the God-man
mediator, and his people, they're one. They're one in him. Now
you say, and you know, our Lord prayed to this end. Look in John
17. Our Lord, in his high priestly prayer, prayed to this end. Look
at John 17, verse 20. John 17, 20, you with me? I like to hear those pages ruffle. When you're preaching to a large
crowd and you tell somebody to turn, you know, you hear that
big ruffle, and you know everybody's turning. I like to hear those
pages ruffle. Look at John 17, 20, and I like
people to use their Bibles and to follow along. And I know your
pastor, Paul, he does too. He loves the Word of God. Look
at verse 20, "...neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also, which shall believe on me through their word, that they
all may be one." You see how he prays? "...that they all may
be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be one." There it is again, "...in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one." You see
that? Over and over, one. Now look
at Galatians chapter 3. Hold your place there in Hebrews
2, because we're going to look back there at several things.
But look at Galatians chapter 3 here, and the Apostle picks
this up again, and he says here in chapter 3, starting with verse
26, he says, For you all are the children of God. Now watch
this. by or through faith, not works, faith. God brought faith
in Christ. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither born nor free, male nor female, you're
all, watch it, one. You see that? In Christ. And
if you be Christ, you're one with him, then you're Abraham's
seed and heirs according to the promise, heirs. Well, you say,
in what ways? We've established that we're
one with him in Christ, his people. In what ways are we one? Here's
some answers in chapter 2. If you're interested, look here.
What ways are his people and our Lord one? And look at verse
11. He says, "...they are one in
sanctification. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all one." They're one in sanctification. What does that mean? Believers
considered in Christ are perfectly righteous. Perfectly righteous
and holy. Not in themselves now. But in
Christ, in their substitute, you see, he wrought out a perfect
righteousness. See, God doesn't say, sin or
produce a righteousness. That's what this religious world
is saying, sin or produce a righteousness. But the gospel says, receive
one. Blessed is the man to whom God would impute righteousness
without works. I have a righteousness that God
pleased with. How did I get it? He gave it
to me. Christ wrought it out for me and imputed that unto
me. One is sanctification. Believers are perfectly holy
in Christ, in him. They were accepted in the Beloved.
They're one in a family relationship. Look at the last part of verse
11. He says he's not ashamed to call
them brethren, and he declares his name unto his family, his
brethren. You see that? His brethren. So
we're one in a family relationship. We have the same Father. God
is my Father. We've been begotten of his Holy
Spirit, and he calls us brethren. Brethren. Now, notice this. We're
one in worship in verse 12. He says, in the midst of the
church will I sing praise unto thee. Their hearts are united
to sing praise unto thee, the true and living God. Unto thee. Now, next we see that they're
one in trust. One in trust in the next verse.
He said, I will put my trust in him. in the living God, they're
one in trust. Paul says, I know whom I have
believed. I know him whom I have believed. And now notice this, they're
one in nature, in verse 14. He says, for as much then as
the children, all the covenant children, were partakers of flesh
and blood, he also likewise, he took part of the same. Same
nature, flesh and blood. Now apart from sin, he had no
sin. He had no sin. See, we were begotten with a
sinful seed. He was begotten of God, eternally
generated Son, without sin. The deity of Christ is essential
to the gospel. You see how many ways we're one
with Christ our Lord? Now, notice this. The Word of
God not only sets forth his oneness, his identification with us, with
his people, but it also sets forth something else here, and
we see this very prominently in this chapter. It sets forth
the glory and the deity and the uniqueness and the superiority
of Christ our Lord. Notice what it says in verse
10. He says, Christ is the captain of our salvation. He's the captain
of our salvation. We are those whom he saved. Notice
he says he's bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings. It says in verse
11, Christ is the sanctifier. We're the sanctified, but he
does the sanctifying. See how he sets forth his glory? He does the sanctifying. Christ,
it says, Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren. Clearly
says that he's superior to us. Next, we see that Christ is the
leader of our praise and presents us to God and makes it acceptable
in his blood. Christ, in verse 14 and 15, we
see that Christ is a destroyer. Notice what it said there. He
said it destroyed, he bruised death, conquered the devil. and
has delivered them. You see, he's the deliverer.
We are the delivered ones. You see, it says, for his glory,
his preeminence, as it does in all the scripture. You see, God
hath made him the head of the body of the church, that in all
things he might receive the preeminence, the first place, that he might
have the glory. Jonathan Edwards said in that
book he wrote, The History of Redemption, the grand design
of God's redemption. The grand design of God's redemption
is what? To keep you out of hell? That's
not it. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the grand
design of God's redemption. To glorify his Son. To glorify
his Son. We see something else set forth
here in this chapter, and then we'll look at our text here. We see something of his distinguishing
His distinguishing sovereign grace, distinguishing sovereign
grace and mercy. We see something of his electing
love and his distinguishing grace. Notice what it says in verse
10. He says he's bringing many sons of the glory. He's making, he's the captain
of their salvation. You see how that distinguishes
those people out. They who are sanctified are set
apart by God's eternal election and decree. He's all one with
them. You see, God set them apart.
He declares his name. He declares who he is unto his
brethren. You see how that grace, distinguishing
sovereign grace you see here. He says, Behold, in verse 13,
Behold all, I Behold, I and the children which God hath given
me," you see, God gave Christ to people. All he's referred
to, he said, all that the Father hath given me shall come to me,
and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. Now, notice
verse 16 here, and this is, this is something, I just seen this
recently. Talking about sovereign grace, now notice verse 16, what
it says here. For verily he took not on him. Now, do you have something there
that indicates you have a note in your margin? He took not on
him, and it says in my Bible, taketh not hold. He didn't take
hold. That is, he didn't lay hold of
the angels. You see that? He didn't lay hold
of the angels, but he took on him, or that is, he laid hold
of the seed. What does it say there? Abraham. Let's say Adam does it. He didn't
lay hold of the seed of humanity to redeem them, but the seed
of Abraham. Who's Abraham? Remember what
we read in Galatians 3? If you be Christ, then are you
Abraham's seed. Covenant people, and heirs according
to the promise. You see that? Distinguishing,
sovereign mercy. God will have mercy on whom he
will, and whom he will, he'll harden. Does that make you mad?
That doesn't make me mad. It makes me glad that God Almighty
would show mercy to somebody. And he will have mercy. He's
plenteous in mercy. He delights to show mercy to
sinners. Now look at our text here. He
says, Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ could
not be our high priest. And we have a high priest. He
could not be our high priest and offer sacrifice for sins
and intercede for us unless he was truly man, unless he truly
identified with us. Do not think of our Lord Jesus
Christ merely as appearing as a man. He was not a phantom man. He didn't charade as a man. He
was a real man. He was a real man in body, soul,
and spirit, and yet he's God Almighty, the God-man. I can't
explain these things, but I know they're so. He is truly man,
very God of very God and very man. You know, according to the
law of God, the priest, according to that old covenant law that
Christ fulfilled, the priest of old was taken from among the
people. He was taken from among the people.
Now, look over here at Hebrews chapter 5, verse 1, and this
is what we'll see here. The priest was taken from among
the people. He was identified with the people,
and Christ was identified with his people in his incarnation
and birth and his death. Look at Hebrews 5.1, "...for
every priest taken from among men," notice that, he's taken
from among men, "...is ordained for men in things pertaining
to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin."
He must be taken from among men. He must be a partaker of their
nature, of those on whom behalf he would act. You see, the priest
Here you have the prophet of God, the prophets, and here's
the priest. Do you know the difference? God to the people, and here's
the priest. The priest, what'd he do? He
represented the people before God, and that's what Christ,
he's both prophet, priest, and king. He's prophet, priest, and
king. But he became, you remember what
we read in Hebrews 2.14? He likewise, as much as the children
were protectors of flesh and blood, he likewise also took
part of the same. If we're ever to be made like
him, Our Lord Jesus Christ had to be first made like us. In
Hebrews chapter 7 it says, such a high priest became us, who
was holy, harmless, only foul, and totally separated. But he
became us. If we're ever to be made partakers
of the divine nature, he first had to be a partaker of this
human nature. Apart from sin now, let me make
that clear. If we're ever to be made a partaker
of his divine nature, He first had to be partaker of our humanity.
If we're ever to be conformed to his image, he first had to
be made in likeness of sinful flesh. Now, these things are
true. He had to be taken from among men. That's why his birth
and his identification with us is so essential. Now, secondly,
we know this. He acted not as a private individual,
this priest of old. He represented a people. And
our Lord Jesus Christ represents a people when he stood here as
our surety, as our representative, as our mediator. Notice what
it says here in this verse. He's ordained. He's taken from
among men and is ordained for, in the place of, in the stead
of. Now, notice what it says. It
doesn't say man, does it? Men. Men. Men. Some men. He acted not as a private
individual, but as a public official in a place for men. Our Lord
stood as our representative in our room and in our stance before
God as our high priest. Because of the absolute holiness
of God, has God ever taught you that? That He's absolutely undiluted,
holy, dwells in a light which no man can approach unto? Our
God is holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God Almighty. And because of the absolute strictness
of his holy law, and because of the exceeding sinfulness of
our flesh, we are sin. That's what we are. I'm not talking
about what we do. I'm talking about what we are,
Stan. S-I-N. And John said if we have no S-I-N,
we deceive ourselves and we call God a liar. God says we're sinners. God says we're sinners. Because
of exceeding sinfulness of us, and because of God's holiness,
there's no approach unto God. Unto this God now, the living
God, apart from his priest, mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said,
and you quote part of that in your lesson, Terry, he said,
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father
but by me, but by the Lord Jesus Christ, he said. Christ the God-Man,
the God-Man Mediator, has been appointed to make reconciliation,
to intercede for us. One God, the Scripture says,
one God and one Mediator between God and men. Not man, but men. Our Lord Jesus Christ, one God-Man
Mediator. Now, we know this about this
priest. As he was pictured in the Old
Testament, he came not empty-handed. Notice what it says here in the
last part of verse, Hebrews 5-1, that he may offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sin. He came not empty-handed before
God, but furnished gifts and sacrifices for sin. You see,
we must not only have a priest, this great high priest, our Lord
Jesus Christ, that's authorized, appointed, anointed, son of God. But we must have a priest with
a suitable sacrifice for saying suitable sacrifice for saying,
you see, without a priest. A priest without a sacrifice
for sin is no peacemaker. See, there's no peace without
that sacrifice for sin, no peacemaker between God and man. Without
a sacrifice, sins are not atoned for. Without a sacrifice, the
justice of God is not satisfied. Without a sacrifice, we must
forever perish under the just weight of our sin, and we could
spend an eternity in hell and never satisfy. the holiness of
God, the strictness of God's law, never satisfied. But Christ
did. Christ satisfied. He paid that
debt. He paid my debt. I would to God
that we all not only believe this truth. You know, a lot of
people talk about, oh, I believe that. I believe I need a mediator.
I believe I need a substitute. I believe I need a sacrifice.
But do you really? Do you really? I'm really interested.
Has God ever taught you in your soul your need? I have a need
of a sacrifice. I have a need. I need someone
to come and put my sin away. I have a need. I tell you, if
God ever grips your heart with your need, you know what you'll
do? You'll run to Christ. You won't
run to the law. You don't run to mom and dad.
You don't run to the church. You run to him. Right in your
heart. Come to Christ, as Scott Richardson
said, and don't move a muscle. Come in your heart. Have a need.
If God ever shows you your need, shuts you up to your need, you
flee to him. Oh, I tell you. I tell you what. We have a high priest who made
sufficient atonement for our sins. And that's good news. for
sinners. Christ died. You see, the scripture
says Christ died. He didn't come to call the righteous. Christ died for the ungodly,
for the guilty. You guilty? The ungodly. But good news, we have a high
priest, and he has someone to offer. And you know what he offered
up? Look at Hebrews chapter 8, verse 1. I'll show you what he
offered up. Hebrews 8, verse 1. He says, Now of the things
which we have spoken, He says, this is the song. He says, we
have a high priest. We have a high, we have such
a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the
majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary of the two tabernacle
which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is
ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices whereof it is of necessity that
this man have somewhat also to offer. What did he offer? Do you know? Do you know what
he offered up? Do you want the answer? It's
right here in this next chapter. Look back at chapter 7, and we'll
see what he offered up. Look at Hebrews 7, 22. He says,
you with me? This is important, Hebrews 7,
22. By so much with Jesus made a surety of a better testament,
and they were truly many priests. because they were not suffered
to continue by reason of death. But this man, speaking of Christ,
this man, because he continued with ever, he has an unchangeable
priesthood, wherefore he is able to say to the uttermost, uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession.
For such a high priest became us, who was holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. Who needed
not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first
for his own sin, then for the sins of the people? This he did
once, when he offered up," now watch it now, here's the key,
himself. Himself. He offered up himself
as a sacrifice for sin. For sin. He offered up himself.
Can you get a hold of that? God Almighty, in human flesh,
Himself died for my sin. Himself. Himself. Look back at our text here. Hebrews
2.17. He says, We have a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. And He is,
Christ is, a merciful and faithful high priest to make Atonement,
reconciliation for the sins of the people, for the sins of the
people. Not an attempt at an atonement,
but to make atonement, to make propitiation. And it's a definite
atonement for the sins, he says here, for the sins of the people,
of the people. Has your soul ever been awakened
and convicted to the awesome, awesome reality and the fact
that God must punish sin, that God is holy and will by no means
clear the guilty, and that we're sinners, that we've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God? Has He ever taught you that,
that we're sinners, that the soul that sinneth it shall surely
die, that the wages of sin is death? It's death, and that's
what we deserve. That's what we got coming. That's
what I've merited. If God is ever to pardon sin, there
must be something done by which his holy law can be honored,
his justice satisfied, his holy righteousness established. There
must be atonement or pardon. Forgiveness of sin is impossible
without an atonement, and we have one. We have when our Lord
Jesus Christ, our merciful, faithful high priest, he didn't offer
up that typical. You see, he didn't bring a lamb,
did he? He is the lamb. Behold the Lamb of God. He didn't
offer up that typical animal blood. Christ didn't offer up
a lamb or a bullock. He offered up himself, himself,
as our sacrifice for sin. Now look at Hebrews chapter 9.
Hebrews chapter 9. He offered up himself. Hebrews
9, verse 11. He said, But Christ, being come,
and high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, this is to say, not
of this building, neither by the blood of goats, and of calves,
but by his own blood." You see that? He entered in by his own
blood, with his own blood, once into the holy place, having obtained.
He did it. He obtained eternal redemption
for us. Blood of bulls and of goats and
the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the
purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered up himself without spot
to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God." The living God. Consider this. Look at verse
26. He said, but now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Of himself. There it is again. Consider this
now. He who against all sin is committed. David said, against thee and
thee only have I sinned. Himself provides the sacrifice
and provides himself as that sacrifice. Can you get a hold
of that? He who against all sin is committed. himself provides that sacrifice
and provides himself as that sacrifice. John said, Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. I tell
you, how great must be the merit of that sacrifice when it was
God himself who offered up himself. The scripture said God had purchased
the church with his own blood. That's what makes his atonement
so beautiful. It's God's blood. God had purchased
the church with his own blood. I will not say now, listen to
me, that God died, but I will say that he who died is God's
own man. He's the eternal God, and we
know several things about his sacrifice. He voluntarily agreed
to be the victim of this sacrifice. He said he made himself of no
reputation. He took upon him the form of
the servant and was made in the likeness of him. He took upon
himself, he did it willingly, willingly, Terry, to be our sacrifice,
to become our sacrifice. He said, I lay it He said, no
man takes my life from me. I lay it down in myself, and
if I lay it down, I have power to take it again. No man took
his life. He laid his life down willingly. Willingly. He was a willing substitute.
Willing. And I noticed this. He didn't
offer up himself for himself. He didn't offer up himself for
himself. Do you remember that old, what
we read there a minute ago, that Old Testament priest? When he
came in, he offered up first sacrifice for his own sins, and
then for the sins of the people. But see, Christ, he didn't offer
up a sacrifice for himself. You see, he didn't need one.
He's holy God. He's God. He had no sin. He knew
no sin. He did no sin. He needed not
a sacrifice for sin. Well then, for whom did he die?
For whom did he die? for his enemies, for sinners.
He died for the ungodly, the scripture says. You see, the
great and chief and good shepherd became one of the sheep. He became
one of the sheep as our surety. And as our surety in that covenant,
eternal covenant of grace, he assumed all the debt and responsibility
of his people. You know, do you remember back
when you were young and you met your wife? And when you married
her, You know what happened? All of her debts became yours
when you married her. That's so now. That when Christ
married us in eternity, as our surety, as our representative
mediator, he assumed all the responsibility to pay our debt
and to meet that which we couldn't do. when he married us in that
eternal covenant. And Christ said, he said, he
calls our sin, he calls it his sin. Listen to this in Psalm
40. He said, for innumerable evils
have encompassed me about. He said, mine iniquity. He calls
our sin that was laid on him, mine iniquity. He said, God laid
on him my sin. He calls it mine iniquity. I've
taken hold upon me so that I'm not able to look up. There are
more than the hairs of the head, therefore my heart's paler. You
see, the Scripture said God made him to be sin for us. The Lord
laid on him all of our iniquity, all of our iniquity. Let your soul, in your soul's
mind and eye, see our Lord as he dies a brutal, horrible death
and agony and soul suffering. And then remember this, he wasn't
suffering for himself, but for others, for others, for his sheep.
for his sheep. He died for the ungodly. I wish
we could all say, one by one, as Isaiah said in Isaiah 53,
it was for me. He loved me. He was wounded for
me. He was bruised for me. The Lord
laid on him my iniquity. And with that time, I'm healed. I'm healed. Is that your hope? When Christ died, you died. Were
you soon laid on him? Is that your hope? That's a good
hope. Christ died to put away my sin, effectually to put away
my sin. Christ's atonement is so effectual
now, listen to me. Christ's blood is so effectual,
so complete, so accomplished that it'll never be offered up
again. You remember them Old Testament
priests came again and again And again, their work was never
finished, they never had a chair, again and again. Christ made
one offering, one sacrifice, one offering, one sacrifice.
He said it's finished, didn't he, on the cross. He said it's
complete, I finished the work that the Father had given me
to do. If you ever forsake this sacrifice, know this, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sin. If you will not have Christ and
His atonement, there is none other. There's nowhere else to
go. There's nowhere else to go. If
you will not be saved by His redemption, you will never be
redeemed at all. It's Christ or nothing. It's
Christ or perish. Sink or swim, I must go to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And there's a great comfort in
Christ accomplished redemption. He made atonement for His people. He put away our sin. Now rest
in that. Rest in that. Don't go about
to produce your own sacrifice. Don't bring your own works. Rest
in what he did. Can you do that? Rest in his
effectual work, his effectual blood, his one death, a slain
death for all who trust him. His one bearing of our sin has
put away sin for all of his people, all of his sheep. Scripture said,
for Christ also had once suffered for our sin. The just for the
unjust that he might bring us to God is one offering, one sin. That God might be the just God
and yet save sinners and not compromise His holiness with
that sacrifice. Now, God can justly forgive sin,
because his well-beloved Son stood in our place, bore our
penalty due to our sin. Therefore, God is just when he
says, Loose him, and let him go. You see, the law has no claim
on the believer. The law has been executed in
our substitute. And it says, Let him free, whom
the Son set free. He is free indeed. He's free
indeed. And we know this atonement. is
effectual atonement. We know our Lord didn't make
an attempt. It's not, and we don't have a
theory of atonement. We have an atonement that atoned
and redemption that redeemed. And Christ died effectually to
put away the sin of his people. That's what it says here, do
you remember? For the people. For the transgression of my people,
the scripture said, he was slain. Christ didn't make atonement
for all of humanity. He didn't now. If he did, if
Christ died for all of the sins of all men, then all men must
be saved. That's how effectual his blood
is, if that's so. But it's not. Christ died for
his elect. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep, and all those for whom he died will be saved, and
not a one of them gonna be lost. He said, they'll follow me. He
said, I'm bringing them to my Father. I'm bringing them to
my Father. We have an effectual atonement,
don't we? Christ died. The angel said,
he laid down, he said, here's a messenger from glory, come
down here. And he said, call his name Jesus, Savior, Joshua,
Savior, for he shall save his people. Shall not try to or want
to make an effort or down payment, he shall save his people from
their sin, from their sin. I'm thankful for that effectual
atonement that put away my sin. Oh, I tell you, as we consider
and meditate upon this blessed gospel, the grace and glory and
mercy of God in Christ, I believe a sinner, a sinner in our confined
comfort, a sinner can find some hope in this effectual high priest
who stood as our representative, who made an effectual, sufficient
atonement to satisfy the holy justice of God. And God says,
you know what? what God provides. God provided
this atonement, didn't He? Who provided this atonement?
God did. What God provides, God will accept
in Christ. And we're accepted in the beloved.
Is that not so? That's what the Word says. We're
accepted in the beloved. Don't come on the basis of your
works. Come on the basis of His merit. Come to God on the basis
of the Lord Jesus Christ's merit. And God will have mercy for Christ's
sake. Then this is comforting to the
sheep. This gospel, I'll give you three things and I'll quit.
This gospel of substitution and satisfaction quiets a conscience
of a troubled soul. It does now. If you ever really
get disturbed about not what you did, not that watermelon
you stole, but I'm talking about what and who you are. sinner
before God. I tell you what, this atonement
that atoned for sin will give you some comfort. It'll purge,
you remember what we read, purge your conscience from dead works
to serve a living God. You know what those dead works
are? Self-righteousness. Self-righteousness. You say you
sin, listen to me now, you sin will never keep you from Christ.
You know what will? Self-righteousness. That's so.
That's so. But this atonement comforts a
troubled conscience. He offered up himself. Christ
died for me. He stood in my stead. He took
my guilt. Christ bore my punishment. And
my soul says, that's enough. Furthermore, God says, I'm satisfied. He smelled that offering and
said, I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied with that. That's
all I want. That's all I need. And furthermore,
that's all God requires. He that spared not his own son,
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Who's going
to lay anything to the charge of God's elect, huh? It's God
who justified, and it's Christ who died. Who's going to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ? Can't do it. It's
comfort there. Isn't there comfort there for
his people? Next we know this, the gospel
satisfies my understanding. Let those who will ridicule this
gospel of substitution, but it seems to me if God appointed
Christ as my high priest, mediator, to atone for my sin, and if He's
satisfied with His sacrifice, with His intercession, why shouldn't
my understanding be complete in Him?" The Scripture said,
"...in Him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we're
complete in Christ." Nothing lacking. Nothing lacking. We're
complete in Him. And how this gospel, how this gospel wins the affections
of his people. Doesn't it really now? This gospel,
Christ died for my sin. Doesn't that move your heart
and melt your heart? If it doesn't, I wonder about
you. I wonder about you. This gospel wins the affection
of men. of his sheep. Can you help loving
the Lord Jesus Christ who offered up himself for you? Can you help
it? Paul says it's the love of Christ. It's not the law that
motivates me. What motivates me? My soul. Here is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be propitiation
for my sin. My soul. What further motivation
does a believer need than that Christ died for my sin? Do what
we do for the glory of him. But his love, possibly the love
of Christ, constrains me. And loving him, do you not desire
others to come to know him? And do you not desire to honor
and to glorify him? And you want others to know about
this gospel, don't you? Like I said earlier, It's just
telling another beggar where you found bread in Christ. In Christ. I wish all men knew
it. I'm not a bit discouraged in
teaching and preaching this gospel to other people because I know
this, God has a people. And I know this, He's going to
call out those people. And He's going to call out those
people through a means. that he's ordained. You know
what that means is? I hear what I'm doing, preaching his gospel.
He's going to call out to his sheep through the preaching of
the gospel. And I tell you, oh, what a Savior
we have. What a merciful, faithful high
priest, and what a Savior we have. May our love for him increase,
abound and redound to the glory of God. May our worship be deepened. I tell you, to worship God. I
mean not to play church. I did that long enough. I want
to worship the living.