It says in verse 8, that God commended his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies,
we were enemies, We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.
Much more being reconciled, we should be saved by His life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Christ, our atonement. Our blessed Lord Jesus, our atonement. And that word atonement, in the
margin, if you've got a margin in your Bible, and it gives you
a definition, it means reconciliation. But they use the word atonement
here, and in the Old Testament, the word atonement appears 77
times. In the New Testament, this is
the only place where the word atonement is used, and it means
reconciliation. Reconciliation means bringing
together two parties that oppose to one another, two parties that
are at odds with one another, two parties that are against
one another, to be reconciled. And why is this word, this word
atonement, so prominent in the Old Testament and not in the
New? Well, in the Old Testament, the word atonement was used differently
than it is now. There it only, you know, 16 times
in one chapter it's used. In the Day of Atonement, in Leviticus
16, the word atonement is used 16 times. And what happened was
on the Day of Atonement that they had two ghosts. And the
high priest, it was for the Day of Atonement for all the sins
of all the children of all of Israel, were put away that day
for another year. And what happened was that they
had two goats and they'd cast lots. And first of all, the priest
would offer sacrifice for himself. And he'd enter into the holy
place, offer sacrifice for himself, he'd come back out and he'd cast
lots on those two goats. One of the goats was made a sin
offering. And they shed his blood, and
the other was a scapegoat, and on both of them they would lay
their hands on the head of that ram, and they would put their
hands on the head of him, and confess all the sins of all the
children of Israel. And one of them they would slay,
and the high priest would enter into the holiest of places behind
the veil, and he would sprinkle that blood on that mercy seat
seven times, and before that mercy seat seven times. And then
when he'd come out, there would be a fit man who would lay his
hands on the head of that goat and confess all the sins of the
children of Israel again. And then he would carry that
scapegoat and go out into the wilderness until he went out
of sight and he would come back. So that was one experience that
by the scapegoat and the bloodshed of the goat that they took into
the blood of the holiest of holies. showed that the sins were carried
out of sight and also atoned for. That was one experience
at that day. That people not only had the
bloodshed to put away their sins, but the sins by representative
were carried out of sight. And in the Old Testament that
stood for that one scriptural experience only. But today, when
it comes to the whole sacrifice and redemptive work of our Lord
Jesus Christ, it means so much more. The work which our Lord
Jesus did and wrought out for His people was so great and so
glorious and had so many aspects to it. First of all, towards
God. Toward God. Toward God. And then towards me and you.
Towards me and you. That one word, like atonement,
can't explain it all. You can't just use one word to
explain what our Lord Jesus Christ did, can you? You can't use just one word to
tell what He did to save His people. Now, they could use one
word in the Old Testament, atonement. But in the New Testament, there
are so many different words to express it, but yet I want to
look at this one word. This word atonement, this blessed
truth, as regarding our Lord Jesus Christ and His work, and
how it relates to us and God, and how He saves us by it. But
let me give you, first of all, the need for an atonement, the
reason for an atonement. Here in verse 12, it says this,
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death
passed upon all men, for all have sinned. That's the necessary
reason of atonement. That's the reason we have atonement,
because of sin. There's a sin. Now, I tell you,
beloved, there's no time in history, no time in history that you can
find. You find the first people in
the scriptures, and you go back through history. And let's take
any anthropologist that'll tell you about history that studies
mankind. There's no time in history, no
place on this planet where men didn't offer sacrifices when
they approached their gods. Not one time in history, not
no place on the planet. They always found men and women
who offered sacrifices. The Mayan Indians offered sacrifices. They had them great big pyramids
down there, and they had all these altars, and they had all
these places, and all these gods that had to be appeased. The
Aztecs had all these great big altars, and all this blood had
to be appeased. And you go now in any place on
the planet and people are still offering sacrifices to their
gods. Now it may be a blood offering,
it may be a human offering, it may be an animal offering, it
may be a food offering, but it will be an offering to their
gods. And they've got more than one
god, so they have to have different offerings to satisfy the different
attributes of their gods. In fact, you know, you find in
the New Testament, you find in the Scriptures that they offered
human sacrifices in the Scriptures. Manasseh, one of the kings of
Israel, he offered his children as sacrifices to the gods. He was the king of Israel. They
took him captive and cut out his tongue and put out his eyes.
And I tell you, they offered virgins, they offered their firstborns,
they offered animals. And down there in Haiti right
now, you know, where they've had that big earthquake and all
them people, they offer sacrifices down there to their God's even
yet to this day, and have their voodoo and their witchcraft.
And I tell you, beloved, man by nature knows that something's
wrong with him, and when he needs the help of God, little he, he
always brings a sacrifice. Now the sacrifice that he does,
they always have, they always do, and they always will. And
I tell you, if it's nothing but their own sense of their own
goodness and their own morality and their own works, they're
going to bring something to their God. Ain't that right? Now, if you don't get anything
else I say today, you get this right here and you ought to write
it down. Men approach their God on the basis of two things. First
of all, they approach Him on the basis of their concept of
God. And secondly, on the basis of
the concept of themselves. And if either one of those is
wrong, then their approach to God will be wrong. Men approach
the God that they know. Ain't that right? And they approach Him on the
basis of the way they look at themselves. Now you think about that. What
kind of God do you have that you, how do you approach Him?
Now that's why most folks, beloved, when they approach God, they
come, beloved, with their own will, with their own power, with
their own goodness. They come with their own sense
of morality because that's what their God will accept. Their
God will accept a food offering. Their God will accept a human
offering. Their God will accept something
about themselves. And if either one of them is
wrong, their concept of God or their concept of the self, then
there really is no atonement. They're approaching God on the
basis of their own ideas and their own opinions. I'll tell you that, and all you've
got to do is look around you, and you see exactly what people
think of God, and what they think of themselves. The average preacher
is trying his best to keep everybody happy, everybody at peace, everybody
satisfied, and how does he do that? By getting them to sign
cards, join a church, come to the front, and they come to bring
some kind of prayer, some kind of cheer, some kind of offering,
some kind of sincerity, some kind of resolve, some form of
doctrine, They bring something to God besides Christ. And if you bring anything to
God besides Christ, it's because you think too much of yourself
and too little of God. And most people's God is too
little, and they're too big. Most people's God don't have
any power, and they've got it all. Is that not right? But I'll tell
you, look what it says here with me in Romans. I'll tell you that,
and this is the reason of an atonement, because of sin. And
until man becomes a sinner, he won't need an atonement. Look
here in Romans 3.23, look what it says. It says here, for all have sinned. All! and come short of the glory
of God. Now, when they say they come
short of the glory of God, that means you come short of all that
God is. And you say, well, I don't miss
it by much. You don't have to miss it by much. You know, people
say all the time, boy, you just barely did get by on that one.
Now, you can miss it by a frog's hair and an automobile wreck.
You can miss it by a fraudulent lot of things, but when it comes
to this business of approaching God, you either got to being
to the glory of God and everything by the glory of God, or you miss
it all together. Romans 3.9, look what it says. Why are we better than they?
Knowing no wise, for we have proved proved before both Jews
and Gentiles that they are all understand. As it is written,
there is none righteous, no, not one. Well, where are you
going to get righteousness at? There is none that understand,
but there is none that seeketh after God. That's what says nine. Whoa, you mean there ain't nobody
seeks after God? Not one soul has ever sought
God on this planet by their own power, their own will. Not one. How in the world do we come to
seek God? How do we come to come to God? Because He seeks us first. That's why none come. That's
why none seek an after Him. Adam didn't seek after Him. Noah
didn't seek after Him. Abraham didn't seek after Him.
None of the apostles sought after Him. How come they come to Christ?
It's because He sought them. Abraham was an idolater. Adam went and hid. No one was
as weak as anybody else in his generation. That's what he said here in Romans
5, 10, 14. And listen to this. Gary had it in his hymn this
morning. Romans 5, 10, 14. If when we were enemies. Enemies? Enemies of God? Enemies of His
sovereignty, of His power, of His right to do what He will
with His own. Enemies of His grace. Not enemies
of free will, not enemies of our own worth, not enemies of
our own righteousness, but enemies of His grace. Salvation entirely,
completely by Him and what He does. Enemies of His election,
that He elects some, passes by others. That it's his right to
choose whom he will, pass by whom he will, to have compassion
on whom he will, have mercy on whom he will? To be enemies of
His Son? To say, we will not have this
man reign over us. Enemies of His righteousness?
I don't need a righteousness. I've got one of my own. I established
it long time ago when I accepted Jesus. I established it a long
time ago when I decided I was going to make a change. I established
it a long time ago when I went to that altar. I established
it a long time ago when I decided I was going to start praying
and reading the Bible. Oh, enemies of it. Enemies of
His will? No. No enemies. That's what we
were. That's the reason we have to
have an atonement. That's the necessary reason. That's the
necessity of atonement. We sin. We sin. And I tell you, people have got
to get over this idea of sins. We sin because we're sinners.
We're by nature. It's a nature we have. It's an
attitude we have. It's something we are. And we
do what we do because we are what we are. Oh, let me give you the meaning
of this word atonement here. It means to cover up. Cover up. Let me show you something over
here in Psalm 32. Look at this. I want you to look
at two places with me. This word of dominion means to
cover up, to cover up. Psalm 32 says this. He says, This blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Let me show you the first place
it was ever used. In Genesis 6, the first place
this word atonement was ever used. Let me show you what it
means. Genesis 6. Oh, blessed is that man whose
sins are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Covered up. Can't be seen. And watch what
happens here now. And this is the same word in
Genesis 6, 14. God told Noah to make this ark,
and make thee an ark of gopher wood. Room shalt thou make in
the ark, and shalt pitch it within, and without with pitch. That
word pitch is the same word as atonement. That word pitch, you
look it up in the Hebrew, you look it up in your scrolls concordantly,
it means the same word as atonement. That means it's covered. And
what happened in this pitch within and without with pitch? You know
what that means? It was judgment-proof. It was judgment-proof. You know,
when the rain came down on it, water ain't going to leak in.
When the rain come up on it, water ain't going to leak in.
All that rain, all that water, all that flood was the judgment
of God. God said, I'm going to cause
a great flood and destroy everything that wriggles and writhes on
the topside of this earth. But He says, you pitch that thing
within and on the outside too, And if one drop of water, now
you listen to me, if one drop of water would have got in that
ark, there better be a leak in anywhere, that would have been
the wrath of God getting inside that ark, the judgment of God
getting in. And because it was atoned, it was judgment proof,
Noah and his whole family was covered. It means that sin is so covered,
Man, that sin is so judgment-proof that God regards it as no power,
no strength, no ability to do anything to the one who
is atoned for. It can't arouse his anger. And let me show you another one
here in Genesis 32. Let me show you another thing about atonement.
And this is a different word to choose, but it still means
atonement. Genesis 32, 20. This is when
Jacob has been over in Laban, he's been over there, and now
he's heading back home now. And his brother Esau, he's scared
to death to go back and face his brother Esau, because his
brother Esau, last time he's seen him, he said, I'm going
to kill you when I see you. Well, Jacob has been gone years
and years and years, and he's going home. And look what he
does here in verse 20. And say ye moreover, he put all
these, he put his wives and his families and all of his animals
and all of his goods, he went them before him, went all before
him. And he says, moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.
He said, this is what I want you to tell him. Speak unto Esau. For he said, I will appease him
with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see
his face, peradventure he will accept of me. Now what that word
appease him is the same word for atonement. I'll cover his
face. I'll cover his anger. He won't
be mad. When I see his face, he won't
be mad at me anymore. When I see his face, there'll
be no danger of him doing anything to me. When I see his face, he
gonna be glad to see me. And that's what happens with
the atonement of Christ. When God looks on us now, He'd
look on us with delight, with joy. Oh Lord, look upon my servant. How can you say look on me? Because
Christ has went before us and atoned and appeased for us. Alright,
back over in our text. And like it's the blood, you
know, when the high priest went over into the holiest of holy
on the day of the great day of atonement, on the day of atonement.
When he went in there, the first thing he'd done, before he went
in there, the first thing he'd done, he stood right before that,
say this is the mercy seat right here, say this is the mercy seat.
And this is the lid on the mercy seat. This is gold. And right
down underneath it is the Ark with the Ten Commandments in
it. And it's got this gold ring around here. It's got these two
cherubims standing up just like this here, right over it. Gold
cherubim. Well, when that high priest went behind that veil,
he took that blood, and the first thing he'd done, he sprinkled
it seven times right in front of that mercy seat. Just, oh,
seven times. Why'd he do that first? So he'd
have a place to stand in. He couldn't stand before God
without a perfect atonement. I can't even get on before the
mercy seat unless I've got to play stand. Then he took that
mercy, sprinkled it seven times on the mercy seat. So he had
a perfect standing, and then when that blood was on that mercy
seat, what it done was, beloved, it covered that broken law on
that mercy seat. And God could not see that law
anymore for the blood. He couldn't see the condemnation.
He couldn't see the guilt. And so when that high priest
came back out there, he came out there with a perfect standing
and a perfect conscience because of the blood. And oh, beloved,
there was no evidence of guilt anymore. Why? Because it was
covered by the blood. And I tell you, beloved, in the
death of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the death of our Lord Jesus
Christ, there was such satisfaction given to the righteous anger
of God Almighty, the righteous anger. And he had been angry
at men. The wrath of God says we were
enemies. We were aliens. We were strangers.
And God was angry with men. He could not look upon men. He
could pure eyes and behold iniquity. And I, Lord Jesus Christ, by
His death, by His blood shedding, gave such satisfaction to the
righteous anger of God Almighty, that now, beloved, the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ is removed. Removed! The anger of God completely. The work of our Lord Jesus was
more thorough at the cross, and there was no temporary, no partial
dealing with sin. No, no. I mean, there ain't no
danger of His sins being put away, of anybody ever having
their sins brought up against them again. They've done that. The high priest went in year
after year after year, once a year. Christ went in once. Those sacrifices never put away
sin. Christ put away sin once and
for all. And the work of our Lord Jesus
Christ, now listen to me, does not pass over or overlook sin.
It takes it away. It takes it away. You know, look
over with me in Hebrews chapter 10. You keep Romans 5 and look
in Hebrews 10 with me just a moment. This is a perfect illustration
of what I'm trying to say. And that's what I'm going to
deal with tonight, how we interpret comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. We're talking about spiritual things. We're talking
about the blood of Christ. We're talking about the blood
of a goat and the blood of a scapegoat that's being tossed off in the
wilderness. And they've done that once every year. And every
time they brought those sacrifices, it just reminded them that they
needed a sacrifice. It just reminded them, once again,
that God's against us over our sins. But Christ, when He put
our sin away, God can't remember them anymore. Yeah. Is that not
right? You see, it don't just pass over
them or overlook them. It actually takes them away.
Don't have to come back and do it again. But look what it says
here in Hebrews 10.1, for the law. Having a shadow of good
things to come. That's all it was, was a shadow.
There's no substance in a shadow. And it wasn't the very image.
It was not the image of the things that you saw. And that thing,
the law, with that shadow, could never, with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year, continually make the comers there
unto purpose. It couldn't make them perfect.
They came once a year, offered the goat again, and put their
hands on the head of the scapegoat again, shed the blood again,
the high priest went behind the veil again, said, that can never
make the comers there. Because if it had, would they
not have ceased to be offered? If it were accomplished, putting
their sins away once and for all, it would stop like that.
Because if the worshippers once purged, they would have had no
more conscience on their sins on their conscience, if they
had put it away. But in those sacrifices, there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. Oh, it's not possible that the blood
of bulls and goats should take away sin. It's just not possible.
Wherefore, when He comes into the world, He, He, He says, Sacrifice
and offerings thou wouldest not. Never satisfied you but a body. A body that has prepared me.
I've always been. I've been with you from eternity.
I'm the eternal God, but you prepared me a body. Why do you
need a body? To suffer in. To live in. To
represent a sin. To bleed in. Huh? And burn offering for sacrifices.
For sin, thou stand no pleasure. There said I, lo, I come in the
volume of the book that's written of me to do thy will. And then
look what it says, and down there in verse 10, what wills he talking
about did it come to do? By the which will we are sanctified
to the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Look down in verse 14. For by
one offering ye have perfected, perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Oh my, the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. Back over here in Romans 5 with
me. You know, they come in there every year and offer the same
sacrifices. Never once, never once did He
put away any sin. But Christ, that's why those
were shanners. There was no image, there was
no substance to Him. But when Christ come, He was
the very image of God. He wasn't a shatter. He was real.
He didn't cast a shatter. He was the fulfillment of those
shatters. He was that sacrifice that fully atoned, fully put
away sin. And Romans 5.9 says this, Much
more. I love this word much more. He
entered, if the blood of bulls and goats could not take away
sin, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself, and if, now watch this, much
more than being now justified by His blood, and when you find
blood, it means death, death. We shall be saved from wrath
through Him. Now watch this, for if, when
we were enemies, We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.
How much more, then, shall we be saved because He lives? If His death put away sin and
He lives, how much more, then, are we going to live? How much
more, then, are we justified? Oh, beloved, the offerings under
the law, what they did they covered, but they never took away sin.
Those sins God passed over. But our Lord's death puts away
sin completely. And God doesn't see them, and
He can't find them. And oh, beloved, the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ just does not pardon sin, but cleanses
it. All of it. Once and for all. Look with me in Colossians 2.13.
Keep Romans 5. I love these Scriptures. You know,
John said it this way, the blood of Christ cleanses us, cleanses
us from all sin. Cleanses us from all sin. If
those people on the Day of Atonement, they rejoiced, oh, they rejoiced. And it seems another thing, too,
about the Day of Atonement. The priest did all the work.
The priest did every bit of the work. All the people just stood
there. They didn't do a thing. Didn't
do nothing. They just stood there. And that's
what we do. Christ did it all. We just stand
here. And when it was over, they all
said, Amen, Hallelujah. And that's what we do, beloved.
We say, Amen, Hallelujah. Our high priest did it all. Look
what it said here in Colossians 2.13, talking about all sin. And you, being dead in your sins,
and the uncircumcision, or the filthiness of your flesh, hath
he quickened together, giving you life together with Christ,
having forgiven you, how many? All your trespasses. How many trespasses do you reckon
I had, you had? But he forgave them all. For
all these people of all the ages. And oh, let me show you in Isaiah
53, who provided this atonement? Who were the source of this atonement?
Who was the source of this bloodshed? Who was the source of this one
who puts away all of our sins? Who provided it? Why was it given? Isaiah 53, 6, look what it says. I tell you, who gave this atonement?
Who offered this atonement? Who was the source of this atonement? Watch in verse 6. All we, like
sheep, have gone astray. You notice God always, even in
the Old Testament, called His people His elect, His sheep,
His people, His vine, His trees of righteousness. I mean, He
always referred to them as they were. All we, like sheep, have
gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. Now watch this. Now I and the
Lord, Jehovah, God Almighty, have laid on him, made the iniquity
of us all to meet on him. Look down in verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord, and
sacrifice and offerings I had no pleasure. that I delight to
do thy will, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased
the Lord to put him to grief. It pleased the Lord when you
shall make his soul an offering for sin. It pleased the Lord
that when he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days. And
it pleased the Lord that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
in his hand." Satisfied. Who gave this atonement? God
did. God gave this. This man didn't
come up with this. Man couldn't have in a million
years come up with God becoming a man with the ability and the
power and the glory and the merit and the worth to put away all
the sins of a multitude that no man could number through that
offering. That's why people still come
with their works. That's why they still come with
their blood. That's why they still come with their merit.
That's why they still come with their own power. That's why they
come with their own decisions. That's why they come with their
tears, their repentance. They'll even come with their
faith. But if they don't come with Christ, they just ain't
coming at all. It's coming to a God of their
imagination. And oh, but God gave him. It
pleased the Lord to do this. And I tell you, God done this. You look what Cain offered. Cain come to offer the fruit
of a cursed ground and the works of his own labor. And God cursed
him for it. And look over here in Luke 18.
Let me show you something a Pharisee brought. I hope you don't bring
these things. I certainly don't want to bring
them. There was a time that I did bring them. In Luke 18 and 10,
look what this Pharisee brought us. God Himself
brought this atonement. God Himself was the source of
this atonement. God Himself gave the Lord Jesus
Christ. God Himself put the iniquity
of us all on Him. God Himself bruised Him for us. But look what this Pharisee,
our Lord Jesus Christ, picked this parable under that they
that were righteous and despised others. Two men went up to the
temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a Republican. And
here's what the Pharisee offered to God. The Pharisee prayed thus
with himself, God, I thank you that I'm not as other men. I'm not an extortioner. The other
men are extortioners, unjust adulterers, and I'm not even
like this publican. And listen, this is what he brought.
I fast tithes in the week, twice in the week, and I get tithes,
ten percent of everything I got. And he brought himself. That publican smoked on his breast.
That's where his problem was. He knew that. And he saw that
altar up there with that sacrifice on it, and that fire under it,
and that burnt offering, and that sacrifice, and that brazen
altar. He saw that smoke ascending from
it. And he says, God, on cause of that sacrifice, that mercy
seat, that blood shedding, that burning sacrifice, have mercy
on me, the sinner. And God said, he went down to
his house just about. He took what God offered. Why did God give this atonement?
We're back here in Romans 5. I'll show you God provided it.
God is the source of it. Bless His holy name. God can
not tell you this much, and I've said it to you so many times,
and I hope God, if He lets me preach another 15 years, and
I'll be 75 then, I hope He lets me preach another 15 years, I'm
going to say the same thing over and over again. God only accepts
what He provides. If He provided the sacrifice,
that's what I want. He provided atonement, that's
what I want. He provided the blood, that's
the blood I want. He provided righteousness, that's
the righteousness I want. I want what He provided because
what He provided, that's all He's going to accept. That's
what He provides, that's what I want. If you give it, I want
it. If you've got it, give it to
me. But oh, why did God give the atonement? Look here in Romans
5 and verse 8. Here's the reason. But God commendeth
His love toward us. Oh, His love? His love? Where did He love us? Where did
He love us? He said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love and with cords of loving kindness have
I drawn you. Oh, God commended his love for
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Look at it. Keep Romans 5. Look
at Ephesians 5. Oh, bless our Lord's name. Ephesians 5.2. Look at this.
That's why Paul says, you know, husbands love your wives, even
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for you. Ephesians
5.2 says this, Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children,
and walk in love, watch it now, as Christ also hath loved us. How do we know how much he loved
us? Giving himself for us, an offering. and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling Savior. That's why God gave Christ. That's
why God gave us this atonement. And what's the method of the
atonement? What is it? Well, it's blood. It's blood. You know, God says, when I see
the blood, but this is much more than that. He said, I have given
the blood upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul. Without the shedding of blood,
and when you find blood in the scriptures, and even in the Old
Testament, it's unto death. The blood shedding is to put
away sin. It's the innocent for the guilty. The just for the unjust. Before there's shedding of blood,
there has to be some guilt. Because there wouldn't be any.
And not only is there some guilt, but that guilt is before God,
and God's the one that has to be appeased. And when you understand
God's appeased, and His wrath is taken away, then your conscience
will be quietened. Huh? And, oh beloved, that's
why it says, by His own blood, He entered once into the holy
place. What did He do when He got in there? Got eternal redemption
for us. He took that cup of the New Testament,
he took that cup when he was getting ready to die, and he
took that cup of wine and he handed it to his apostles, his
disciples, says, drink, this is the blood of the New Testament
in my blood. This is the cup of the New Testament,
which is my blood, which is shed for many. And we're drinking
the blood right now. I'm drinking the blood of Christ
right now. I'm taking the blood of Christ right now. I'm taking
the body of Christ right now. He's my bread. He's my blood.
We said, he said, if you eat my flesh and drink my blood,
you have no part. Well, now listen, I'm taking part of him today.
Ain't that right? That's what we're doing right
now. And he says, you know, Moses says, show me your glory. God
says, you can't see it and live. No man can see it and live. He
said, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll put you in this cleft
of this rock, and I'll put my hand on it, and I'll cause my
hinder parts to pass by. And oh, God put us, rock of ages,
cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let thy power of thy
blood cleanse and make me pure. Oh, be of sin the double cure.
What double cure? What does he mean by double cure?
Save me from the power of sin, save me from the guilt of sin. And if you ever understand you're
saved from the guilt of sin, then sin will have no more power
over you. But until you understand you're
saved from the guilt of sin, God took all the guilt away.
Christ took all the guilt away. Took all the reason for the guilt.
He took all the sin. And if you ain't got no sin,
you can't have no guilt. There ain't no condemnation of
them that are in Christ. And if He takes the guilt away,
then what in the world can sin do you anymore? That's why we
don't go under the law. All the law can do is make you
guilty. We're not under law. We're under grace. Oh, ain't you grateful for that?
And oh, let me tell you something else. I've got to hurry, I know.
What is the atonement? What is the essence of the atonement?
Well, I'll tell you what it is. It's Jesus Christ our Lord Himself. That's what it is. Ain't that
what it says here in verse 11? And not only so, but we joy in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom we have now received
the atonement. Christ is our propitiation. You know, Christ put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. Christ himself is the atonement. Now listen to what I'm going
to tell you. It's not the sufferings of Christ, it's not the death
of Christ. But it was the person of the Son of God in the sufferings
and in the death. There's lots of people going
to perish trusting in... I'm trusting in Christ and Him
crucified. I'm trusting in the death of
Christ. But let me tell you something. I'm trusting in Him who was crucified. The cross has no power. There's
two other people crucified with Christ. There was no power in
their death. There was no merit in their death. They suffered
too. They died too. They shed blood too. But they
wasn't the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it's not the suffering.
It's not the death. It's who suffered. It's who died.
You understand what I'm saying? Yeah. You know, He is the propitiation. You know, God sent Him forth.
Ain't that what it says there in Romans 3.25, I believe it
is? Yes. It says, Whom God set forth.
We said they're just men to go. God laid on Him the iniquities.
God set Him forth. Setting forth in the scriptures.
Setting forth on the cross. Setting forth in the prophets. Setting forth, foreordained Him
to be a propitiation. That word propitiation means
to put away the wrath of God through an atoning sacrifice.
And God declared His righteousness in doing that. Now listen to me, it's not how
much suffering, but it was who suffered. It was Christ who suffered. It's not how much blood that
was shed, but it was whose blood that was shed. Do you know Christ
shed blood before He ever went to that cross? Well, when He was circumcised,
He shed blood then. He sweared as it were great drops
of blood when He was in the garden. But I'll tell you one, beloved,
when they put the crown of thorns on Him, He was shedding blood.
But it wasn't unto death. And when He died, when He died,
that's when His blood had the power to us. It's who died. It's whose blood. It's who suffered.
It was who that was on that cross. Oh, it's not death itself, but
it's who died. Do you understand what I'm saying? That's why I say, you know, people,
you know, if they say, what's that old song we used to sing? Oh, the old rugged cross. Yeah. I'm not trusting in the cross.
The cross is not my glory. It's who died on that cross.
That's my glory. Ain't that what it says right there? Not only
so, but we also joy in God. What does that word joy mean?
We boast in, we glory in, we brag in, we have joy in, in one
person, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we don't wear crosses.
That's why we don't have them in our building. And what happened? Salvation. It's salvation. Salvation. That shall put him
away of sin. And that's what he said. And
that's what he says there. Not only so, not only are we
saved by his life, reconciled by his death, but being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we joy in
God throughout. We joy in God. We rejoice in
God, boast in God, glory in God. Why? Because He did it all. He did it all. All to Him alone. To God be the glory, great things
ye have done through Jesus his Son. Amen.