Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. And if you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'll be preaching from Hebrews chapter 2, beginning
at verse 9, Hebrews chapter 2. And today's message is a continuation
of last week's message entitled, For Whom Did Jesus Christ Die? For whom did Jesus Christ die? Now, I urge you to get the message
from last week. You can order it from our website
or call us. We can get you the message to
listen to along with this one if you didn't hear it. But what
I'm talking about is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which stands at the heart of the gospel. Who is Jesus Christ? What did he accomplish? Why did
he do it? Where is he now? And the answers
to those questions are in the gospel. Who is Jesus Christ?
He's God in human flesh. He's Emmanuel, God with us. That's the kind of person that
it takes to save his people from their sins. You see, and we talked
about this, how God is a holy God. God is a just God, and he
must punish sin. And yes, he is a loving God.
Yes, he is a merciful, gracious God, but he cannot show love
and grace and mercy at the expense of his justice. He must be just
when he saves sinners. The very moment we talk about
God forgiving sin, the problem that exists there is how can
God forgive my sin and still be God, still be a righteous,
holy, just, true to himself, a righteous God? And the answer
is found in the person and finished work, accomplished, successful,
redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who stood as the surety
of His people. What is a surety? A surety is
one who takes responsibility for the debt of others. And that's what Christ did. The
debt of the sins of His people was charged to him before the
foundation of the world in the everlasting covenant of grace.
He was set up to be the surety of his people. He said, put their
debt on my account, I'll repay it. I'll pay the price. We can't
pay the price. The price of sin is death, eternal
death, eternal damnation. But Jesus Christ as God-man took
the debt of the sins of his people upon himself. And he came to
this world and substituted himself. Now that's what Hebrews 2 is
about here in verse 9, when it says, we see Jesus, verse 9 of
Hebrews 2, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. He had to die to pay,
that was the price of the sins, that was the debt. for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor. In his death there
was honor because he satisfied the justice of God for the sins
of his people. He was buried and arose the third
day because he established righteousness, the entire merit of his obedience
unto death, which is imputed, charged, accounted to his people.
And it says that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man. Now last week I showed you that
word man is not in the original language. It should be everyone. But it doesn't matter. Who's
he talking about? This is a pronoun that needs
to be qualified. Is he talking about everyone
without exception? The answer is no. How do we know
that? Because of the context, the following
verses. And here's the identification
of those for whom Christ died. Now listen to this. He says in
verse 10, first of all in verse 10, he says, for it became him,
that means that whatever he's talking about here, which is
the death of Christ, it was fitting, appropriate to the nature and
glory and person of God. Why did Christ have to die? Because
God is a just God. And again, yes, He's a loving
God, but He cannot express His love apart from His justice being
satisfied. So it was fitting to His nature. It became Him, His glory. God
must be glorified. And it says, For whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing... Now here's the
first identification. of those for whom Christ died,
in bringing many sons unto glory." The many sons. Now, who's he
talking about? Well, he's talking about the
sons of God there. Those who are sons of God. Now,
over in Galatians chapter four, in verse four, it speaks of the
coming of Christ into the world to die for his people. It says
in Galatians 4 in verse 4, but when the fullness of the time
was come, that's God's appointed time, God sent forth His Son,
that's the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, made of
a woman. Now that's His humanity. He was
conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit,
and we've seen already how that had to be because He had to die
to pay the debt. the sin-dead, so he was made
of a woman, made under the law, the law of God. All the salvation
of his chosen people was conditioned on him. He had to keep the law
unto death to satisfy justice. And he did it, verse 5, now listen,
to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive
the adoption of sons Now that adoption is a legal issue that
took place when God chose his people before the foundation
of the world. Their names were written in the
Lamb's Book of Life. Now listen to verse six, this
is important, of Galatians 4. And because you are sons, now
notice it doesn't say and in order for you to become sons,
no, it says because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." In other
words, He's brought you into a new relationship with God,
which before the Holy Spirit came into the heart, that is,
give us a new heart, regeneration and conversion, the new birth,
brings us to faith in Christ. Before that, we were enemies.
But if we're chosen of God and redeemed by the blood of Christ,
we'll be regenerated by the Spirit. And so back over in Hebrews 2,
in verse 10, they're the many sons, they'll be brought unto
glory, that's heaven. That's the new heavens and the
new earth, that's eternal life, eternal fellowship with God. And it says in verse 10, to make
the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. So
what that means is, now that doesn't mean that Christ, through
his suffering, was made a morally perfect person. No, he was always
morally perfect in himself. But it means it was fitting to
God in order to bring these many sons whom he adopted unto glory,
that Christ come and perfect the work of redemption and righteousness
through his suffering. Christ had to die. He had to
obey unto death. He had to complete it. He had
to finish it. He said it's finished. He's the
end of the law, the fulfillment, perfection, finishing of the
law for righteousness to them that believe. Christ brought
forth an everlasting righteousness of infinite value. And who did
he do it for? In his death, in his blood? He
did it for those who believe. That's who the elect are. My
friend, those who live and die in unbelief, they weren't chosen
of God, they weren't redeemed by the blood. And they're not
the many sons. How do you know? Well, now let's
look at verse 11 of Hebrews 2. It says, for both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one. Now, who is he that
sanctified? Well, that's Christ. And who
are those who are sanctified? That's the many sons. That's
the every man for whom he died, tasted death. That's his elect. What does sanctification mean,
sanctified? You know what it means, you know
most people when they think about being sanctified, they think
about moral perfection. Well, none of us in ourselves
are morally perfect. Now I said Christ is morally
perfect. And we who are saved, we can
claim perfection, not in ourselves, but in Him, based on His righteousness,
His perfection, imputed, charged, accounted to us, legally. But
we have this Holy Spirit within us. He dwells in the people of
God, and He's perfect. But we in ourselves, we have
a struggle with sin. But what is this sanctified?
It means to be set apart. So he says, you could say it
this way, for both he that setteth apart and they who are set apart
are all of one. They're one with Christ. When
were God's people, the many sons, those for whom Christ died, when
were they set apart? Well, they were set apart by
God in divine electing grace before the foundation of the
world. My friend, you say, well, that's just not fair for God
to do that. Well, again, read Romans nine, but here's the thing.
If God had not chosen a people, none of us would be saved. There'd
be no salvation for any of us. If God had come down to after
the fall, if God had come down to earth and gathered every individual
that ever would be born on the face of the earth together and
said, now, how many of you of your own will will choose me?
None of us would have done it. That's what the Bible teaches.
None righteous, none good, none that seeketh after the Lord.
That's not talking about just some low segment of society. That's talking about all of us
by nature. No man can come to me except the Father which has
sent me draw him. All of that. But we were set
apart, God's people were set apart, sanctified in electing
grace in Christ. They were chosen and given to
Christ, one with Him. He's their representative. He's
their surety. And then secondly, they were
set apart in redeeming grace at the cross when Christ died
for them. They're one with Him as He's their substitute. Paul
dealt with that in Romans chapter six when he talked about that
we are planted together in the likeness of his death and planted
together in the likeness of his resurrection. When he died, I
died. If I'm one of his now, if I'm
one of the many sons, when he died, I died. He did it for me.
When he was buried, I was buried. When he arose again, I arose
again. And he's seated at the right
hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for his
people. That's oneness, you see, in substitution,
in redemption. And then, they are sanctified,
set apart in regenerating grace. You've heard me talk about the
three R's. Ruined by the fall, that's our sinfulness and depravity.
Redeemed by the blood, that's the redemption of the people
of God. Righteousness established. And regenerated by the Spirit,
you must be born again. set apart by the Holy Spirit.
Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 called it sanctification of the Spirit,
set apart by the Spirit, and belief of the truth. They come
under the preaching of the gospel, and it's made by the Holy Spirit,
the power of God unto salvation. They're given ears to hear, eyes
to see spiritually, a new heart, new life, and God draws them
to himself. They're given faith to believe,
brought to repentance. The love of God is shed abroad
in their hearts, their mind, affections, and their will. And
so in verse 11, it says, for both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. They're one with Christ. He's the head, they're the body,
the church. For which cause he's not ashamed
to call them brethren. Now there's another identification
of those for whom Christ died. Those who are the every man,
they're his brethren. Over in the book of Matthew chapter
12, and I read this sometime, there's a episode in the Lord's
public ministry where he was teaching in a household, preaching
the gospel, and it was sort of packed and overflowing, and here
come Mary, his earthly mother, his surrogate mother, and his
half brothers. He had some half-brothers. You
see, Mary and Joseph had children of their own, and they wanted
to see Jesus, but they couldn't get into the house. So they sent
somebody into the house, and they went into him, and they
said, now, your mother and your brethren are out here. They want
to talk to you. Remember what he said? He said, who is my mother? Who are my brethren? Who is my
family, my real family? He said, those who do the will
of my Father. And what he's talking about,
the will of the Father there, is the revealed commandment of
God for sinners to believe on the Son. That's what he's talking
about. To believe on the Son. He's not
ashamed to call them brethren. Now that's not based upon anything
in me because In me, I'm sin. And he has a lot to be ashamed
of, but because he's put away my sins and given me a righteousness
that answers and equals the demands of God's justice, by the grace
of God, unmerited, undeserved, he's not ashamed to call his
people his brethren. How do you know who his brethren
are? His brothers and sisters. They believe on him. They trust
him. They bow to him. They submit to him. as the Lord
their righteousness. And here's how you know, look
at verse 12. He said, he's not ashamed to
call them brethren, verse 12, saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren. In the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. That is a description of a sinner
saved by grace coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, being
brought to faith by the Holy Spirit. Christ declaring God's
name unto his brethren. What is it? Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You know, the doctrine
of election in Scripture does not deny the whosoever wills
of the Scripture. Because the Bible teaches that
those whom God chose, you know what He does? He makes them willing
in the day of His power. the day of His powers, when He,
by the Spirit, declares His name, who He is, His name identifies
Him, distinguishes Him from any other supposed Savior. And that's
what the issue is. Whosoever will. I can tell you
right now, anybody, any of you, who call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. But what is his name? Are you
calling upon his name or the name of some other, the name
of a counterfeit? For example, there's a denomination
that calls themselves Christian who denies the deity of Christ.
So when they call upon the name Jesus, it's not the true Christ
of the Bible. And the same goes with his finished
work. Are you calling upon a Savior who made you savable, and you're
doing your part, you're making the difference? Well, that's
not the Savior of the Scripture, friend. That's not His name. His name is Jesus, God our Savior. His name is Jehovah Sid Canu,
the Lord our righteousness, calling upon His name, you see. And He
declares His name to the brethren. And He makes His people willing
in the day of His power to come to Christ. He doesn't drag sinners
into the kingdom against their will. He changes their will.
That's what He does. That's what conviction of the
Holy Spirit is. Under the preaching of the gospel,
He brings them to see truth. The truth about who God is in
His justice and in His holiness. The truth about who we are as
sinners who deserve nothing but damnation. that if left to ourselves
we would go merrily into hell. And the truth about Jesus Christ
and the grace of God that reigns unto eternal life through His
righteousness by His grace. Here he calls them the church
in verse 12, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in
the midst of the church. What does the word church mean?
It means called out ones. Those who have been called out
by the Holy Spirit under the preaching of the gospel, called
out of the world and into the fold, into the church. And he
says, will I sing praise unto thee. All glory to God. Look
at verse 13. He says, and again, I will put
my trust in him. And again, behold, now listen,
behold I and the children which God hath given me. That's the
every man. That's for whom Christ died,
the children that God had given him. And when did God give them
to him? Before the foundation of the world. And he said, as
I've quoted before in John 6, 37, all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. But that doesn't bar people from
coming to God. He says, and all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. Am I one of these every man? Am I one of these brethren? Am
I part of this church, the true church of the living God? Am
I one of the children? And you'll come to Him. And then
look at verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, human beings, He Christ also
himself likewise took part of the same, flesh and blood, yet
he was without sin. And he did it that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the
devil. And look at verse 15, and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. He did this to die. He took part
of flesh and blood to die because he had to die to satisfy the
justice of God. You've heard of the word propitiation
in the New Testament. That's what that is, a sin-bearing
sacrifice who brings satisfaction. And in that he destroyed the
devil, the accuser of the brethren, who had the power of death. and
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage. Now what power of death does
the devil have? The devil has no power to kill
people or take lives. He can't give life, he can't
take it. He had to have God's permission to even touch Job.
But what power of death is he talking about? He's talking about
the power of condemnation. based on accusations that stick. The devil is the accuser of the
brethren, and Christ removed those accusations, the validity,
and they can't stick. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
is risen again, and is even at the right hand of the Father,
ever living to make intercession for us. That's Romans chapter
8, I believe verse 33 and 34. But you can look that up and
check my numbers on that. But here's the key. What is the
fear of death that he's talking about? It's the fear of judgment.
It's the fear of condemnation that brings sinners into the
bondage of legalism. And when God the Holy Spirit
brings a sinner to Christ, That fear's gone. Now that doesn't
mean we don't fear physical death or the ways of death, the tears
of death, and the pain of death, but it means that in Christ we
see that when we come before God at judgment, our sins have
been taken away. There's no charge against us.
We have a righteousness that answers the demands of God's
law and justice. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. And then we're delivered to grace,
not legalism. Verse 16 says, For verily he
took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the
seed of Abraham. Who's the seed of Abraham? That's
the offspring of Abraham. And who are the children of Abraham?
Well, look at Galatians chapter 3 and verse 26. The Apostle says here, for you
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. You believe
in Jesus Christ as He is identified and distinguished in the Bible,
not just your idea now. If you truly believe in this
Christ who accomplished this work, then, he says, you're a
child of God. And he says in verse 27, for
as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
That word baptized there doesn't refer to the ordinance of water
baptism. It means being placed into Christ,
union with Christ. Putting him on, that means you
believe in him as your righteousness, which has been imputed to you.
Verse 28, there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond
nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus. one in Christ, equally saved,
equally justified, equally righteous, equally sure for heaven based
on his righteousness. And then verse 29, and if you
be Christ, if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham's seed,
Abraham's offspring and heirs according to the promise. For
whom did Christ die? Look back at Hebrews 2 and verse
16, the seed of Abraham. Who is the seed of Abraham? That's
not talking about the physical Jews. That's talking about anyone
who's been brought to faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile. And
then look at verse 17. He says, wherefore for this reason
in all things it behooved him. He was indebted to do this. Christ
is the surety of his people to be made like unto his brethren,
there they are again, that he might be a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation,
propitiation for the sins of the people. He made a propitiation,
a reconciliation for the sins of his people, his brethren,
the seed of Abraham, the church, the many sons. Verse 18, for
in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, tested, he is
able to succor or to comfort them that are tempted. How does
he comfort his people? By bringing them to see that
he is their propitiation, he is their reconciliation, he is
their high priest. Remember the high priest of Israel?
went into the Holy of Holies one day a year, the Day of Atonement,
and on his breastplate he had the names of the 12 tribes of
Israel on his shoulders, the amulets. That was a type of Jesus
Christ who goes into the presence of the Father with the names
of his people written on his heart and on his shoulders because
he carries them. The government shall be upon
his shoulder. That's who he died for. His people. That's called,
in the Bible, that's the true Israel of God. Spiritual Israel. And who is spiritual Israel?
They're called the children of the promise. What is the promise? It's the promise of eternal salvation. It's the promise of the forgiveness
of sins. It's the promise of all spiritual
blessings. It's the promise of justification
before God based on Christ's righteousness imputed. It's the
promise of life given by the Spirit in the new birth. It's
the promise of protection, it's the promise of preservation,
all by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who is
your hope? Who is your comfort? Who is your
assurance? Or what is? Christ and His many
sons, His church, His brethren, the seed of Abraham, His people,
all of them, all that the Father gave Him, they'll come to Him. and him that cometh to him I
will in no wise cast out." I hope you'll join us next week for
another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia, 317-07. Contact us by
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today and may the Lord be with you.