Welcome to our program. Today
I'm going to be preaching from the book of Hebrews, chapter
2, beginning with verse 10. And the title of this message
is in the form of a question having to do with the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I've entitled this message, For
Whom Did Christ Die? Now, the fundamental principles
of Christianity can be summed up in several different ways.
What sets true Christianity, the religion of the Bible, the
religion of Christ, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
grace of God, salvation in Him, what really and truly sets it
apart from all other religions? Well, all other religions are
religions based upon the works of sinners. In other words, salvation,
heaven, eternal life, whatever, the inheritance of glory, is
always based upon the works of the sinner. It's salvation conditioned
on the sinner. Whereas the religion of Christianity,
what Christ himself taught, what the Bible is all about from Genesis
to Revelation, is salvation totally conditioned on the Lord Jesus
Christ. In other words, the gospel of
God's grace is a message that does not command or call sinners
to do a work for God in order to attain or maintain salvation. But it calls on sinners, commands
sinners to look to Christ as the one who fulfilled all the
conditions, all the requirements, all that God required, all that
sinners need. In other words, it's based upon
a work that has already been accomplished, already been finished
by Christ. It's righteousness in Him. It's
the forgiveness of sins in Him. And the two fundamental principles
of that grace of God in the Christian religion has to do with these
two things, the person and the finished work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's why the Apostle Paul in
1 Corinthians chapter 2 made this statement in verse 2. He
says, For I strive to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. Now, we could expand upon that,
but basically what that means is that Christianity is founded
upon who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Who is he? The Lord asked
that question one time to those who were trying to trap him with
religious questions that had no meaning and no substance.
He said, let me ask you a question. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the Messiah. He's the Anointed One. He's the
God-man. He is God and man in one person. He is truly God. And we should
never hesitate to say that. I know people who, you ask them,
is Christ God? And they'll say, well, He's the
Son of God, as if that means He's a lesser God. In the Bible,
to identify him as the Son of God is to identify him as God,
and we shouldn't hesitate with that. He's not a lesser God.
He is very God of very God. He's the second person of the
Trinity. And then he's also man, the Son
of God. Jesus Christ, the second person
of the Trinity, united with human nature. There was no mixture
of the two natures, deity and humanity, but he took into union
with his person a perfect, sinless humanity, body and soul, created
for him in the womb of the Virgin Mary. And he became God-man. Now I know there's a depth to
that, a mystery to that, that we cannot explain, that our finite
minds cannot grasp, but this is who he is. And it's because
of who he is that he has the power and the ability and the
right to save his people from their sins. That's what the Bible
teaches. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. And his name
shall be called Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with
us. He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word,
John 1, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And
verse 14 of John 1 says, the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. The next principle is what he
accomplished. When He came to this earth, He
came for a purpose. He came as the representative,
as the substitute, as the sin-bearer, as the representative, as the
surety of a people that God the Father had given Him from the
foundation of the world. And for them, He obeyed the law
perfectly. You see, God requires perfection. We can't do it, we're sinners.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But
Christ, the substitute, obeyed the law for his sheep, for his
church. And because they are sinners,
sin has to be dealt with. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. God will by no means clear the
guilty. And nothing can take away sin
but the blood of a God-sent, God-appointed substitute, one
who is both God and man. Well, God cannot die, but this
person who is God did die because he's man and has to be attributed
to his humanity. So he went to the cross of Calvary
and shed his blood for the sins of his people. And here in Hebrews
chapter 2 and verse 9, it says, he tasted death for every man.
He satisfied law and justice. He shed his blood unto death.
He paid our debt in full. He brought in an everlasting
righteousness that would enable God to be just and justifier.
He was buried and rose again the third day and ascended unto
the Father, having purged the sins of his people. So we're
talking about the person of Christ. We're talking about the death
of Christ, his accomplishment. His death was a victory, not
a defeat. And his purpose in dying was
not to make us savable, not to bring out a blanket pardon for
everybody that would only be effectual if man would accept
him. His purpose was to save his people
from their sins. Well, here in Hebrews chapter
2 and verse 9, it speaks of Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels, that's his humanity now, for the suffering of death. He suffered death. crowned with
glory and honor, his death accomplished what he set out to do, that he,
by the grace of God, should taste death for every man." Now, the
every man there does not teach the doctrine of universal atonement. It doesn't teach that Christ
came here and tried to save somebody or everybody, and it's only successful
if somebody accepts it. The every man there, in fact,
is not even in the original, it's just every one or literally
every son. Now, for whom did Christ die?
The next verses give us descriptions that will show us exactly the
ones for whom he died. And let me tell you something
here. Anybody who wants salvation by God's grace in Christ can
and will have it. You see, these blessed truths
don't shut sinners out of the kingdom of heaven. Man by nature
does not want God's salvation. We want it our way. See, that's
our problem. Somebody said, well, if you can
just of your own free will make this choice. Listen, our wills
are in bondage to sin. And if God leaves us to our wills,
we'll perish. Because we don't know any better.
We're so self-righteous and sinful and depraved, spiritually dead
sinners. That's what the Bible says. Remember
in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 it says, And you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins. The Bible says you will
not, Christ said, you will not come to me that you might have
eternal life. No man can come to me except the Father which
hath sent me draw him. So this issue of salvation is
the sinner coming to Christ for all of salvation, because
God has made him willing in the day of his power to come to Christ. And so this every man here, he
tasted death, the scripture says. That means that Christ experienced
the fullness of what death is. Everything that death is. Well,
who did he die for? Let's ask that question. Well,
the Bible answers that. Look at verse 10. I'm going to
give you these descriptions as we go down through these verses.
For whom did Christ die? He says in verse 10, For it became
Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things. Now
that's God the Father. In other words, this death that
Christ died was fitting to the Father's character. God is holy,
and He must be holy. He cannot be anything less than
holy. God is just, and He must always
be just. He cannot be anything less than
just. Now God is merciful. And He's
gracious. And He'll save sinners. He's
compassionate. He's loving. He's a loving God.
God is love. You see, the fact of the matter
is, it's not just that God does love, but it's that God is love. That's His nature. But here's
the point. He cannot express and show and
manifest His love without His holiness. His love must be holy
love. His mercy He cannot show or express
or manifest His mercy apart from His justice. He must be holy. He must be just and truthful
as well as merciful and loving and gracious. And the only ground
upon which God can do that The only ground upon which he can
be a holy God as well as a merciful God, a just God as well as a
loving God, is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this death
became him. It was appropriate to who he
is, his glory, his character. So it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things. in bringing," now here's
the first description of those for whom Christ died, "...in
bringing many sons unto glory." Christ died for many sons who
are brought unto glory. Now these many sons, who are
they? They're sinners saved by the grace of God. And they're
called sons because they're children of God. That word sons there
is used generically. It refers to any man or any woman
who is saved by the grace of God. That's who he died for. The Bible says that in Adam many
were condemned. How many? As many as Adam represented. But in Christ shall many, that
the many shall be made alive. How many? However many Christ
represented. Who are they? They are many sons
who will be brought unto glory." Now, you cannot be brought unto
glory unless you're saved. You see, salvation by the grace
of God, based on the blood and righteousness of Christ, ensures
that the sinner who is saved will be brought unto glory. There's
no losing salvation here. If God saves you, He'll keep
you, He'll preserve you, He'll bring you unto glory in Christ. And these sons Their sons by
election, God chose them. Their sons by redemption, Christ
redeemed them. Their sons by new birth, the
Holy Spirit has given them life and called them out of the world
into the church by the preaching of the gospel. Their sons by
adoption, God has adopted them into His family. So how do we
know they're saved? They'll be brought unto glory.
To be brought unto glory means to be glorified with Christ in
the end. It's an eternal inheritance of
glory in heaven. So Christ did not die for anyone
who will perish. He died, he tasted death for
every son who will be brought unto glory. Now this glory is
just as important as initial salvation itself. To have one
without the other would not be salvation at all. What this is
teaching is this, is that the Lord Jesus Christ secured all
of salvation, complete salvation, for these many sons. And it says
here that he's going to bring these many sons unto glory, and
it became the Father, it was appropriate to the Father to
make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Now
that word perfect there, referring to Christ, doesn't refer to his
essential nature. He's always perfect, always has
been, always will be. He's holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. He never knew sin. He never committed
sin. He is the sinless substitute.
The sins for which he died on the cross of Calvary were not
his own by commission. They were his only by imputation. That means this. It's just like
a debt. If you incur a financial debt
at a bank, and the bank has legally on its books that that debt is
charged to you, but if someone would come in and say, now take
that on the books and charge it to me instead, that's by imputation. That debt would be charged to
another person. Well, here's what happened. You
see, God the Father took the sins of these many sons who will
be brought unto glory, and he legally charged them to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He laid them to his account so
that Christ took those sins upon himself and they actually became
his sins. Not because he committed them,
but because God the Father laid them to his account and he willingly
took them. He said, I'll do it. He said, I'll lay down my life.
of my own will. He said, no man takes it from
me. He said, I give it. He's the willing. He's like the
lamb in Isaiah 53, who was led to the slaughter, who opened
not his mouth, because he loved his father and loved his children.
And he willingly said, I'll take their place. And he became responsible
for their debt. All right? And he went to the
cross and paid that debt. Now, he was made perfect through
suffering. What that means, being made perfect
here, means he completed the work. It means he finished the
work. The work that he was sent to
do in tasting death for these many sons who will be brought
unto glory was totally completed on the cross. And you know what
he said when he was about to die? He said, it is finished.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes it. You see that? He loved them unto
the end. That means literally, in John
13, 1, he loved his people unto the completion of the work. He
finished the work which the Father gave him to do. That's what he
said in John chapter 17. So these many sons who will be
brought unto glory, they'll be saved, they'll be preserved,
they'll be brought to glory because Christ has finished the work. It's not based upon their words.
These many sons will not be brought to glory because they've worked
hard and earned their salvation. These many sons will be brought
to glory because Christ has finished the work. Now, I ask you this
question. Do you want to be one of these
many sons who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? That's
what the many sons do. Those for whom he tasted death,
they shall believe on him. Now, in verse 11, he goes on
to identify this every man for whom he tasted death. For whom
did Christ die? Well, it says in verse 11, for
both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all
of one. Well, Christ is the one who does
the work of sanctification. Now that sanctifying there, he
that sanctified, that means they're set apart and actually made holy. The Bible says, For by one offering
he hath sanctified Christ by the shedding of his blood, and
by taking their sins on himself, and satisfying law and justice,
by bringing forth an everlasting righteousness of infinite value,
He cleansed the sins of all of his people. Who are they? Well, it says, they who are sanctified. They who are washed clean from
their sins in the blood of Christ. He and they are one. That's what
that means. He's the representative. They
are the many whom he represented. He's the head of the body. The
body is the church. He's the shepherd, they're the
sheep. And they are one in the eye, these two, Christ and all
the many sons, he who sanctified, Christ, he who did the work,
and all who are sanctified, all who are set apart and washed
clean in his blood, they are all one in the eyes of God's
law and justice. They cannot perish. You see,
he said that in John 10, he said, I know my sheep. And they know
me, I know them by name. He said, my sheep hear my voice.
And they follow me, and another they won't follow. He said, they
will not perish. No one can pluck them out of
my hand. And so these who are sanctified,
they are set apart in Christ, represented by him. He's their
substitute. He's their surety. He's their
sin-bearer. He is everything that God requires
of them. and they're sanctified, they're
set apart, and they're washed clean in his blood. Now, you
cannot perish if Christ shed his blood for your sins, because
he that sanctifyeth and them that are sanctified are all of
one. Well, here in verse 11, he gives
another identification of every man. He says, for which cause
he is not ashamed to call them brethren. They're brothers of
Christ. He's the firstborn brother, the
Scripture says. He's the preeminent one. He's
the one who has the birthright of salvation. He earned it, you
see. He's firstborn in the sense that
he is the one who came to earth and became incarnate. And he's
firstborn in the sense that he was the first one that resurrected
from the dead. A resurrection. He did it as
a representative of a people. Who? His brethren. All men and
women who come to Christ for salvation. That's who. And they're
brethren in the Lord. You see, by nature, we're children
of Satan. We've rebelled against God. We're
in the family of Satan, sinners. But Christ has made us free and
brought his people into the family of God. And he said, if the Son
makes you free, you're free indeed. And this is an amazing statement
here. Who are these that he's not ashamed to call brethren?
They're sinners saved by the grace of God. He's not ashamed
of them because he bought them. He washed them in his blood.
He clothed them in his righteousness. He sent his Spirit to give them
life and to bring them to conversion, to faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works and idolatry. And he's not ashamed to call
them brethren. In verse 12 he gives us a further
description of these brethren, these many sons. the every man
for whom he tasted death, for whom did Christ die? He says
in verse 12, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. How do you know who his brethren
are? They are the ones to whom Christ declares the name of the
Father. Now, what does that mean? It
doesn't mean just a pronouncement of his name. Anybody can say
the word God or Lord or praise the Lord. What he means when
he says he declares his name, the Father's name, is this, he
gives them a saving view of the Father. Back over in the book
of John chapter 6, the Lord spoke of this when he was talking about
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." In John 6, 37. And
then in verse 44 he says, No man can come to me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up
at the last day. Now what he means by that is
this. If the Father draws you, you will be raised up again at
the last day. You'll be saved. Well, how does
that come about? Well, in verse 45 he tells us,
It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be all taught
of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." In other
words, he says, I declare thy name unto the brethren. In Christ
we see how God is our heavenly Father. the one who loves us,
the one who redeems us by the blood of his Son, the one who
adopts us into his family, who is both a just God and a Savior,
the one who cares for us, the one who provides for us and keeps
us and will bring us into glory." And it says here, he said, I'll
declare thy name unto my brethren. The next one he says in verse
12 of Hebrews 2, he says, in the midst of the church, will
I sing praise unto thee." The next identification of those
for whom Christ died is the church. This is the church that he redeemed
with his own blood. The word church means called
out ones. This is the church that Christ
redeemed by his blood and he sent his spirit to give them
life and to call them out of the world by the preaching of
the gospel. In other words, it's those who believe in Him, who
trust in Him. That's who He died for. He died
for those who know Him as Savior and as Lord, who submit to Him
and His righteousness as the only ground of salvation, that
which alone entitles them to the whole inheritance of grace
and glory. This is the church of the living
God, the pillar and ground of truth, the body of Christ made
up of sinners saved by grace, and they're a collective body
under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who he died
for. And they're his church, and he
sings praises unto God through his church. In verse 13 he goes
on. He says, and again I will put
my trust in him, and again behold, I and the children which God
hath given me. There he identifies them as the
children, the children which God has given him. For whom did
Christ die? He died for the children which
God has given him. Now, remember I quoted this back
in John 6.37. Listen to what it says again.
He says in Hebrews 2.13, and again, I will put my trust in
him. That is their testimony. Our
faith is not in ourselves. It's not in the church. It's
not in the denomination, it's not in experience, it's not in
anything we do. Our faith is in Christ. And he
says, and again, behold, I and the children which God hath given
me. God gave him a people. And he
said in John 6, 37, he said, all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. You ask this question, how can
I know if I'm one to whom the Father gave to the Son? Here's
how you know. He says, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Have you come to Christ? Have
you seen your sinfulness, your utter helplessness, your depravity,
your spiritual deadness? Have you seen that God would
be just to send you to hell based upon your best works? Have you
fallen at the feet of Christ and begged for mercy like that
old publican, God, be merciful to me, the sinner? Have you fallen
down on your face and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean, saying, God, I have no hope in myself. I have nothing
to recommend myself unto God. Even my best works are filthy
rags. I have no confidence in the flesh,
my only hope of salvation. is Christ, His blood, for the
forgiveness of all my sins, and His righteousness for my justification."
Have you seen that Christ is your wisdom, your righteousness,
your holiness, and your redemption, and you have no other but Him? And you've come to Him, the children
which God gave to Him, the children of the Heavenly Father, chosen
by God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, called out by the
Spirit, given life and adopted into his family. That's for whom
Christ died. That's what the Bible teaches.
When the Bible talks about the world, it's talking about God's
children all over the world, not the whole world, not even
those who perish in hell, but those children which God gave
him from the foundation of the world.