Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Job tells us that the Lord has
sealed his transgression and iniquity in a bag. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. He
has not only paid the price which he determined, but he has become
the substitute of his elect bride, making her sins his very own.
For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is the glorious
doctrine of imputation, which we see first demonstrated by
the fact that all of mankind were made sinners by the sin
of our father Adam. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. The exact payment which he made
for that sin, which he made his own, was equal to that which
he determined must be paid by those who had actually committed
that sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, for the wages of
sin is death. Now if he has paid for that sin,
which he made his own, he has delivered those whose sin it
originally was from any and all punishment which his law required
of them. Nothing else can possibly be required of them, since he
by himself has borne their iniquity and carried their sorrows. This
truth is beautifully set forth by the hymn writer Augustus Toplady
when he wrote, Complete atonement thou hast made, and to the utmost
farthing paid, whate'er thy people owed. How then can wrath on me
take place, if sheltered in thy righteousness, and sprinkled
with thy blood? If thou hast my discharge procured,
And freely in my room endured The whole of wrath divine, Payment
God cannot twice demand, First at my bleeding surety's hand,
And then again at mine. Multitudes of deceived preachers
go about the countryside proclaiming that although Christ died for
sinners, that there is yet another requirement or condition which
must be met in order for that payment to be effectual or to
actually obtain justification. They tell us that men by believing
make his atonement for them effectual. Yet the Scripture never indicates
that anything is necessary for the redemption of sinners, but
that which Christ has performed. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Nor does it
ever tell us that men are justified by an act of faith. Abraham was
not justified by his act of faith, but rather by the one who was
the object of his faith. For what saith the scripture,
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
It is true that those for whom Christ died shall believe it
in his own time, because faith is the gift of God, and is that
by which the sons of God are made manifest. But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name. which were born not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God. They did not become the sons
of God by believing, but were shown to be the sons of God by
manifesting the gift of faith, which is given only to those
who are born again by the Spirit of God. For by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the
gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Not only has he sealed our transgressions in a bag, with the needle of
his grace and the thread of his blood, he hath prepared for us
a garment, with which we shall be clothed, so that we might
stand in his presence. If so, that being clothed, we
shall not be found naked. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. He is our covering. Blessed are
those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Therefore he
has made the sins of his elect to be his own by imputation,
and by the same imputation he has made his righteousness to
be theirs. They have no other, nor might I add do they need
any other, for his is a perfect righteousness. They are justified
as a result of his work alone. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest
became us, that is, he was exactly suited to our need, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher
than the heavens. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.