Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. There seems to be some
confusion in the minds of many who preach the gospel today as
to exactly what the Lord Jesus accomplished when He died on
Calvary's cross. One of the most popular ideas
that I hear being proclaimed far and wide is that by shedding
His blood and dying, He made salvation a possibility for all
men. Now, this idea sounds plausible
enough, except that if it is true, then no one is actually
redeemed. No one's guilt is canceled. No
one's sin debt paid. No one would have received any
actual benefit from the death of Christ in a substantial way.
The only thing we would have is the potential to be redeemed.
Something would be lacking. We would still be in our sins.
The whole concept of redemption, that is, buying something with
a price, would have no real meaning. Now, the Scripture is quite clear
that the Lord Jesus actually secured or obtained something
for His people. If something is secured or obtained,
then there is no doubt as to its possession. The definition
of the word obtained, which is used in our text, is defined
for oneself to procure, to get, or obtain. with the suggestion
of accomplishing the end which had been imbued. Now we're quite
certain that the Lord Jesus had a certain purpose in mind when
he went to the cross. He came into the world with this
purpose and he accomplished exactly what he intended to do. The question
we need to ask then is, what was it that our Lord obtained?
The simple answer to this question is that he purchased the redemption
of those he died for, or that he did all that was necessary
to procure it for them. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." To be redeemed is literally to be bought back,
that is set free from something they were held under. So what
have the sons of God been bought back from? Number one, they have
been bought back from the debt of sin. The law demands that
those that break it must pay a price for having done so. The
payment that is required is eternal death, because the crimes we
have committed are against an eternal God. So we have a debt
that must be paid, but in order for us to pay it, we must be
eternally separated from God. But the Lord Jesus Christ, having
no sin of his own, and being the possessor of an eternal life
of immeasurable value, has canceled this debt for his children by
paying the ultimate price of laying down his life as an atonement,
that is, a reparation or compensation, becoming their substitute and
acting in their behalf to settle their debt. They are justified
by his blood. The sons of God have been brought
back, number two, from the curse of the law. Christ has redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. As
the Lord died to cancel the debt of sin, which His people would
ultimately have to pay in the future, He has also canceled
the curse of the law, which could affect them in the present time.
The law of God is not a curse, but the law contains a curse
for the lawbreaker. We have all sinned, and therefore
have brought this curse upon ourselves. Guilt and despair
are the fruits of this curse. The Lord Jesus Christ has removed
this curse from His elect by His death, having borne the curse
of the broken law in their behalf. Those who have been set free
by His redemption no longer live under the dark cloud of guilt
and impending doom. The greatest enemy which we face
as a result of the law's curse is the fear of death. This fear
has been taken away by our Lord's death. Death is swallowed up
in victory. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be unto God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The sons
of God have been brought back, number three, from the law of
sin and death. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For
what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. Not only have the sons of God
been set free from the debt of sin and the curse of the law,
but they have also been set free from the principle of sin, which
dictated the course of their actions in time past. They are
no longer slaves and bondmen to sin. They owe no allegiance
to that which once held them in bondage. Our Lord died to
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. Do you have the Spirit of His
Son?