Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you have a Bible this morning,
I would like you to please turn with me to Romans 5. I always
say this, but I like everyone to turn and read along if you
can to see that what I'm reading is what God's Word actually says.
So, starting in Romans 5 this morning, in verse 6, For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure, for a
good man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his
love toward us, in 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 reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall 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. I want to ask a few questions
this morning, starting off, and we will answer these questions
at the end. What does it mean or entail that
Christ died for us when we were without strength and ungodly? What does it mean or entail that
God commendeth His love toward us while we were yet sinners,
Christ having died for us? What does it mean when it says
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son? And what
does it mean or entail to receive the atonement? That word atonement
in the last verse we read means this, exchange or restoration
to favor. I want to look at this morning
the subject of a sacrifice, a substitute. What our passage is talking about
is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for his people. We can see when
we read in the Old Testament that God set up ordinances for
the nation of Israel where animal sacrifices would be slain and
their blood shed. This was all a part of God's
law given to the nation of Israel. Most people only relate to 10
commandments. but the 10 also include all these
animal sacrifices. There are hundreds of commandments
that go along with the 10. These sacrifices were but a picture,
a type only. These sacrifices would only typify
that one sacrifice that would accomplish what we have just
read here. I want to look at three things
this morning and give you what God's word says about these things.
What does God's word tell us about sacrifices? Why is a sacrifice
needed and for who? What does the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ really mean? I want to first look at and answer
these three questions first, and then we will answer the questions
I first asked concerning the passage we have read based on
scripture. So let's first look at what God
himself tells us in his word about sacrifices and the sacrifice. We first have the burnt offering
in the Old Testament. We can see that the burnt offering
was for the atonement of sin in its typification. In Leviticus
9, let's turn to Leviticus 9, please. Leviticus 9 in verses 2 and 3. And he said unto Aaron, Take
thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering,
without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And unto the
children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid
of the goats for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb. both of
the first year without blemish for a burnt offering. Some offerings were made in the
morning and some in the evening. In Exodus 29, verses 38 and 39,
we read this. Now this is that which thou shalt
offer upon the altar. Two lambs of the first year,
day by day continually, The one lamb thou shalt offer in the
morning and the other lamb thou shalt offer at evening. So back
in that time, a sacrifice which meant that it would probably
have its throat cut to drain the blood and then to burn it
with fire. This is a pretty gory picture,
but this is what God required. So this is what they had to do
according to the law, according to the Ten Commandments. The
Scripture tells us that there is nothing remitted, that is
to say, forgiven without the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9,
let's turn to Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9 and verse 22. We read, and almost
all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding
of blood is no remission. What is there no remission of
without blood? There is no deliverance from
sin, and that's the meaning of this word remission. It means
freedom, deliverance, forgiveness, liberty. So if anyone is to have
forgiveness of sin, or pardon of sin, or deliverance from sin,
there has to be bloodshed. But scripture also tells us that
all this bloodshed in the Old Testament did not take away one
sin. there had to be thousands of
animals who shed their blood. And yet, not a one of them took
away or pardoned one sin. What does God's word say about
it? Again, in Hebrews 10 and verse four. Hebrews 10 and verse
four. Hebrews 10 in verse four says
this, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of
goats should take away sins. God Almighty tells us in his
word that the blood of bulls and goats, even back then, could
never take away sin. So no man was ever saved by those
sacrifices, nor will they ever be. Jesus Christ is the only
sacrifice whose blood was able to take away sin, to whom these
sacrifices pointed to. And I say take away. I want to
come back to that in a minute, talking about Jesus Christ and
his sacrifice. But first I want to ask the question,
what is the sacrifice needed for? And for who is this sacrifice
needed? The fall of man, which was seen
in the fellow head of all men and women, which was Adam, this
fall necessitates the need for some kind of payment to God for
that sinful rebellion against him. Most men and women do not
see the extreme nature of their sin against God. Most people
think they are pretty good people. No matter how good you might
seem to be when you compare to other fallen men and women, When
you are compared to the holy, separate, just nature of God,
our sin is so extreme that we are a stench in God's nostrils
as we are born in Adam. This rebellion and this sin,
and when I say sin, I mean a capital crime against God Almighty. All
sin and any sin is a capital offense against God Almighty.
We are a stench in God's nostrils because we are dead in trespasses
and in sin. Someone might ask, how dead are
we? We are D-E-A-D dead. As dead as you can get spiritually.
No life to God. Because of this offense, and
since God is eternal, he requires a payment that we cannot make.
We are all, first of all, dead in trespasses and in sins. So
there is nothing we can give to God that he requires because
all we do is sin by nature. God requires death and blood.
Since God is eternal and requires satisfaction that is eternal,
then our soul will forever die before God. Without Christ, we
are without hope and in the world. unless we have someone to take
our place who will offer up sacrifice perfect enough, eternal enough
to satisfy God Almighty eternally. This is what scripture testifies
to. It does not matter what we think
about it. It only matters what God says about it in his word.
First of all, we know God has told Adam that in the day he
ate of that fruit, he would surely die. And Adam died. You can read
that in Genesis 2 and verse 17. We died in him as our federal
head. Let's read Romans 5 and verse
12. Romans 5 and verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man's sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, that all have sin. What is the result of this death
that has most assuredly passed on to us according to scripture?
Proverbs 14, 12 tells us this. There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
So according to scripture, no matter what way seems right to
you or what seems right to me, the end of it is death. What
do we read in Romans that we are by nature? No matter how
good we might think we are, this is God's summation of us. Romans
3 and verse 9, it says, what then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise. For we have before
proved, both Jews and Gentiles, this is everybody, that they
are all under sin. What else does it go on to say
in that passage to describe every son and daughter of Adam? Jew
and Gentile, it says. It says, there is none righteous,
no, not one. None that understandeth. None
that seeketh God. They are all gone out of the
way. All are unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher.
With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps
are under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. They are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. They do not know the way of peace.
And there is no fear of God before their eyes. This is what God
says about all of us by nature as we are born in Adam. This
is who God says we are. To everyone listening to me this
morning, this is what God says about you. This is what God says
about me as we are born in nature. The reason you did not know this
is because of your heart. Jeremiah 17 and nine says this. The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? The answer to
that question is no one but God. God does know your heart and
he knows that it is desperately wicked. If you think you are
good or that you can do some good, God tells us in his word
that your heart is deceiving you. It is telling you that you
are good when in fact it is wickedly against God. You want to say
that you can at least will to come to God? Your heart is deceiving
you and it is wicked against God. And you don't even know
it because it has deceived you. In Job 14 and four, we read this. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? And then he answers it. not one. Proverbs 21 and verse 27 says
this, the sacrifice of the wicked, that's all of us by nature, is
abomination. How much more when he bringeth
it with a wicked mind. So what is God going to do with
those who are like this? And we already see that that
is what we all are like. If you do not believe this, then
you do not believe God and what he says in his word, and in fact,
are calling God a liar. You are doing as those did with
Stephen and stopping up your ears so you cannot hear the truth
of God. In Nahum chapter one, verses
two and three, we read this. God is jealous, and the Lord
revengeth. The Lord revengeth, and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance
on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord
is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit
the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the
whirlwind, and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of
his feet. So what is, we come now to what
is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Since I have no intrinsic holiness,
and I have no righteousness of my own, there had to be one who
would and could pay the debt of sin I owe. There is this great
gulf between God and man, and we need a daysman betwixt us.
someone who can bring a thrice holy God together with a fallen,
sinful, wicked man, restoring that man to favor before God. Ephesians 5 verses 1 and 2, we
read this, Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and
walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself
for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Listen to me, this had to be
a man. This man was none other than
Jesus Christ the Lord. He was the substitute for his
people. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ
is the fulfillment of all those Old Testament sacrifices. Maybe
you might think that those sacrifices meant something to those people
back then. But scripture tells us they,
those sacrifices, did nothing for sin. Did those sacrifices
have to be made back then? They most certainly did. Because
God commanded them to do it. They had to make these sacrifices
because they, those sacrifices, were pointing to Jesus Christ
the Lord and what He would accomplish when He came to this earth. He
took my place and suffered and died for me to take away my sin
so that they are as far as the east is from the west. Did He
suffer? Did He die? He most certainly
did. He tells us himself, it is finished. What is finished? Salvation is
finished. We do not believe God to bring
about our salvation, no. But to acknowledge that salvation
was accomplished by Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus Christ the Lord
was God manifest in the flesh. God came down himself to make
an atonement for sin for us, as our passage says. For us,
for we. He was a substitute for some
people. There are some people who Jesus
Christ did come to make an atonement for. It is us, it is we. Are you a part of that group? Are you the sinner? Are you ungodly? Are you an enemy of God? This
is who God tells us here that Jesus Christ died for. If this
is not who you are, then Jesus Christ did not come to die for
you. Ah, but if you are, rest assured,
Jesus Christ has already finished the work to be done for salvation.
Just believe Him. To not believe the record God
gave of his son is to spit in God's face. So now, let's go
back and answer those questions that I asked at the first this
morning. What all does it mean or entail that Christ died for
us when we were without strength and ungodly? Christ died for
us when we had no strength to call out to God. to cry out for
mercy to God, to walk for God, to work for God. We had no strength
so we could do nothing towards God at all. We were also ungodly. Men and women today do not think
they are ungodly. They think about God all the
time is what they think. We are all ungodly as we are
born in Adam. Some of them do not realize and
some will never come to realize that their thoughts of God do
not match up with who God says he is in his word. This is all
of us by nature. Ungodly, totally opposed to God. Unless God himself does something
to change that, then we will remain that very way. What does
it mean or entail that God commendeth His love towards us while we
were yet sinners, Christ having died for us? We have sinned against
God. This sin, as I have previously
said, is a capital offense against God. Sin requires a perfect sacrifice. If we are sinners, and that is
clear from Scripture from everything that we have seen, Everyone is
a sinner then we cannot perform any type of sacrifice that is
acceptable to God Being in sin. We cannot even pray to God and
he hear us in John 9 John 9 let's turn to John 9 I'm gonna read one verse in John
9. John 9 and verse 31, we read
this. Now we know that God heareth
not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth
his will, him he heareth. So how is it even possible for
us to be united with God again? Well, the answer to that is in
the answer of the next two questions. What does it mean when it says
we're reconciled to God by the death of His Son? When Christ
died, Him being the perfect sacrifice because He is God, so He is holy,
He's just, He's good, He's righteous, He's clean, no blemish in Jesus
Christ. This sacrifice being a sweet-smelling
savor unto God the Father, He pleased the Father, and those
for whom He died are also a sweet-smelling savor unto God, because when
God smells them, He is smelling Jesus Christ the Lord, because
those who are His are in Him. What does it mean or entail to
receive the atonement? In time, those who are ungodly,
those who are sinners, are sent the Spirit of God giving them
life. That life where the Spirit of God dwells. And the Spirit
of God having all the characteristics of God which are given as gifts
to those for whom He has chosen. Those believe Jesus Christ and
because of that faith given by the Spirit of God Himself. The
faith being the very faith of Jesus Christ Himself. This meaning
that He had this faith which He started and He perfected. He being Jesus Christ the Lord. This faith, since it is His faith
given to us as a gift, points those who have it to Him, to
Jesus Christ, the Lord. Oh, has God given you this? Have you received the atonement? Can you believe Jesus Christ? If you can, then He will and
does hear you, and it is because of what He has done. Cry out
to Him for mercy. Join with Christ. Join with His
people who speak of this almighty, sovereign, just, gracious God. Rejoice in Him as Him being your
substitute that has taken the wrath of God that was earned
by you and has joined you together with Him in Himself. So let's
read our passage one more time in light of what we now know.
Romans 5, verses 6 through 11. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in 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 reconciled to God by the death
of his son, Much more, being reconciled, we shall 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. Do you believe him? Is he your
atonement? I hope he is this morning. On this same station on WVVACW,
we have another broadcast at 12 noon that we have our Sunday
morning messages on. I ask you to listen in, tune
in at that time to hear the same Jesus Christ and Him crucified
message.