Well, this morning, we're going
to speak a little bit on that. As introduction, before we begin
to speak on the suretorship of Christ, we'll first look at why
we need to have someone to stand in our place of surety. Surety
of a debt that, as I said, must be paid. In Genesis 2, beginning
at verse 15, it says, And the Lord took the man, he took Adam,
and put him in the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep
it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. That was the command
of God to Adam. And that's what determined whether
or not he would continue in that garden in fellowship with God
or not. But then he says, for in the
day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now, this
death is not only a physical death, which that began also
in Adam, but it was spiritual death. Immediately, when Adam
disobeyed God, he died spiritually, totally separated from God as
far as fellowship. Now, Scripture's clear. The penalty for sin is death.
Somebody's going to have to settle that debt. Either the sinner
who owes the debt toward God or a suitable substitute and
representative that's willing to stand in the place of that
sinner in order to pay that debt. And always remember when suretorship,
which is what we're going to speak on this morning, when suretorship
is employed or made use of in the case of a debt, that there
are three parties concerned. There's the creditor, the debtor,
and the surety. Now, the three parties here,
the creditor being God the Father, as it relates to that debt that
we're talking about, that sin debt that must be paid. The creditor,
God the Father, he's the one that the debt's owed. The debtor,
being God's elect, he's the one that owes the debt. And the surety,
God the Son. He's the one who assumes the
obligation to pay the debt. Now, because of our fallen Adam,
we need and must have someone to stand in our place, a representative
substitute in surety. One will pay the debt, pay that
sin debt that we owed, but none of us could pay. This morning,
we're going to look at such a person, Christ, the surety of God's elect. Among the many descriptions used
in Scripture to describe our Savior's glorious person and
redemptive work, none could be more instructive, consoling,
and assuring than that which is spoken of in our text, Hebrews
7.22. Here the Lord Jesus Christ is
described as our surety. Let's read here what the book
of Hebrews has to say about this subject in Hebrews 7, beginning
at verse 19. It says, for the law made nothing perfect. That
is, that old covenant law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. But
the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw unto
God, and inasmuch as not without an oath, he was made priest. That's Christ, God the Son. For those priests, speaking of
the Levitical priesthood, were made without an oath, but this
with an oath, this particular priesthood. with an oath by him
that said unto him, this is the father and the son here, the
Lord swear and will not repent, thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. And then verse 22 says, by so
much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, a better
covenant. by which Jesus made a surety
of a better covenant. And they truly were made priests,
speaking of that old covenant priesthood, because they were
not suffered to continue by reason of debt. They died. These priests
died. Now, but this man, speaking of
Christ himself, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood,
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." Speaking of His sheep, of those that the Father gave
Him from everlasting. Now, I want to show you this
morning what assurity is and how the Lord Jesus Christ performs
the work of assurity on behalf of all the Father gave Him to
represent in the everlasting covenant of grace. Like I said
earlier, you have very few summons on this topic, but even though
this everlasting covenant of grace was ordained before time,
before this earth was created, it is embedded and fixed throughout
the Word of God. So what is assurity? Let me first
begin by first giving you a picture of assurity and then try to explain
assurity's work. Illustration here, by way of
illustration here, we're going to look at Joseph's son, Judah,
as he became surety for his youngest son, Benjamin. Now, we'll begin
by, I have to tell you a little bit about this story, y'all are
most familiar with it, and that is that Jacob, he had sons. In fact, I think he had about
11 sons, but anyway, They went out one day, all of these sons,
and Joseph was with them. And the sons decided to throw
him in a hole and wound up being sold into bondage, really, and
wound up in Egypt. Well, he wound up in Egypt, and
as he was in Egypt, there was a famine in the land.
famine in the land as far as food and so forth and the Pharaoh
he had a dream nobody could interpret the dream and they finally called
Joseph in to interpret a dream and Joseph told him as God had
given him the interpretation of the dream that there was going
to be a famine and I won't go into all of it but the famine
there was going to be a famine and someone was going to have
to take certain steps and everything
to make sure that people had food. And anyway, Joseph explained
this and told this to the Pharaoh. Pharaoh finally made, he took
Joseph and he pretty much put him in charge of Egypt. And he
put him in charge of everything except the throne itself. And
in the process, Jacob, of course, and his sons that were They were
going through a famine too. And so Jacob told his sons, y'all go
on up to Egypt and get some corn that we may live. And so they
left and went up there. And in the process, Joseph, the
one they had sold in bondage, he saw him, he recognized him.
And long conversation ensued and so forth about, as Joseph
asked him about, did they have a father? He recognized him,
but they didn't recognize him. And he asked him, did they have
a father? And did they have any more sons? And they told him,
yeah, we had One, he was not here anymore, in other words,
and then we had a younger brother back there. Anyway, Joseph wound
up sending them all back. He said he wanted to see the
younger son, Benjamin. So he sent them back, and he
kept, I think it was Simeon that he kept there in Egypt. He went
back to tell his father Jacob what had happened. And we pick
up here the conversation here after they had gone back, left
Egypt and gone back to the father Jacob. And we pick up in Genesis
43 beginning at verse 8. And this is Judah, the brother
that went back to tell his father, said to Israel, to Jacob, his
father, send the lad with me, that's Benjamin, and we will
arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou,
and also our little ones. And then, here's what Judah said,
I will be surety for him, I'll be surety for Benjamin. Of my
hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever.
Well, the idea is this, As Judah became surety for Benjamin, the
Lord Jesus Christ became surety for God's elect in the everlasting
covenant of grace. In this covenant of grace, God
the Son covenanted with God the Father. In that covenant, Christ,
as it were, said, I will be surety for the elect. I'll be surety
for the elect of my hand shall thou require. If I bring them
not unto thee, and set them before thee, then let me bear the blame
forever. What a faithful Savior is Christ
our Lord. He took on that office on His
own, the office of surety, the office of standing in the place
of His elect, and in time, doing all those things necessary to
safely bring them home. The work of assurity is one who
approaches one person on behalf of another person. He's a representative
man, a man who voluntarily puts himself under obligation to another
person. In this sense, Christ is assurity. He drew near to the Father on
our behalf, on the behalf of all His sheep, all of the elect,
all those that the Father give Him in eternity. And all of it
was laid to His account. Look at John 6, 38. This is Christ
speaking. He says, For I came down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me in that
covenant of grace before time, I should lose nothing. I'll bring
them home safely. He says, but should raise them
up at the last day. They're safe. They're secure
in Christ. They're surety. He promised this. This was a promise. He put himself
in bondage to the Father as a servant to come in time and do all those
things on our behalf. Also look at Psalms 40, beginning
verse 7. Then said I, lo, I come In the
volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will,
O my God. Yea, thy law is written within
my heart." Now, a surety is one who strikes hands with another
in solemn agreement. Suretorship is, to a man of honor,
a voluntary bondage. Look at what Scripture says concerning
the awesome responsibility of being surety for someone. Look
at Proverbs 6, beginning at verse 1. My son, if thou be surety
for thy friend, if thou stand in the place of your friend to
pay a debt or to do something, if thou hast stricken thy hand
with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. When Christ became
my surety, he voluntarily placed himself in bondage to his father
until his service would be performed. Let's look at what Christ says
of himself and his relationship with the Father in that everlasting
covenant of grace. Look at John 10 beginning at
verse 16. Christ says, And of the sheep
I have which is not of this fold, that is of this Jewish fold,
he has Jews and Gentiles, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life
that I may take it up again. No man take it from me, but I
lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I received
from my Father. This was the commandment of the
Father in agreement by the Son to be surety of God's elect.
This is what Lord Jesus Christ did as our surety in the everlasting
covenant of grace before this world was ever created. Most
of you are probably familiar with being a cosigner on an obligation
of another. And I know I am, and sometimes
I've been burnt. by being a cosigner. But that
is, when you have somebody, I remember this example that I tell you.
When I come out of the Army and moved back here to Albany, I
really didn't have any kind of credit at all. I'd just come
out of the Army. And I'd need to buy furniture for the house,
and I'd need to do a lot of things. But it's hard to get a loan or
anything unless you have a cosigner. So I got my dad to cosign for
me. And in that example, I was able
to. But you know what? If I hadn't
have paid that debt, my daddy would have been responsible to
pay that debt. And that's with man. With men, assuredly, it's
a mere guarantor or a cosigner. who is jointly responsible with
the principal debtor for the payment of a debt. Not so with
Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not
merely agree to meet our obligations to God's law if we, by some circumstance
or condition, became incapable of meeting our own obligations.
Our blessed Savior, as our surety, took the whole of our obligation
before the law of God upon Himself. And he did it up front, even
before the debt was even made in that everlasting covenant
of grace. Also, when men assured he may be legally forced into
suretorship, a father is legally responsible for the debt and
legal liabilities of his minor children. Automatically, you're
responsible. Now, but Christ voluntarily,
cheerfully placed himself in servitude to God's law as a surety
of his own elect. From the instant God the Son
became surety for His people, He became servant to the Father.
Isaiah 42.1 says, Behold My servant, whom I uphold, Mine elect, in
whom My soul delighted. This is the Father speaking of
the Son. Also Isaiah 49.3, And said unto Me, Thou art My servant,
O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. once again, and also in John
10, 17 and 18. Therefore does my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. This
commandment have I received from my Father. When God the Son became
my surety, He took the whole of our debt upon Himself. He
became responsible for our obligations. As soon as God the Son was accepted
as our surety in the everlasting covenant of grace, God's elect
were released from all of our debt and obligations to God's
holy law and justice. Look at Romans 4.8. This is Paul speaking back of
what David said back in the Psalms. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. There are some individuals that
God will not charge them with their sin, and that's those God's
elect. Concerning Christ our surety
and ransom for sins, look at Job 33, 24. Then He is gracious
unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit.
I found a ransom. Speaking of Christ, our ransom.
The dictionary says this of a ransom. To rescue or redeem somebody,
especially by a self-sacrificing act, and especially from sin
and its punishment. Christ is our ransom. He is our
redeemer. He has delivered His elect from
eternal destruction. He has delivered His elect from
going down to the pit in eternal destruction. When Christ became
surety for the elect, their sins were imputed or credited to his
account. They were charged to his account. Now, let's take a look at a picture
of imputation, where a debt is owed by one person but is charged
to another person. This is illustrated in what happened
with the story in the book of Philemon. Chapter 1. Illustration, by way of illustration,
Paul became surety for Onesimus. Paul is writing this letter to
Philemon concerning Onesimus, which was Philemon, he was a
servant of Philemon. Now, Philemon 1, beginning at
verse 18, this is Paul speaking here, as he's writing this letter,
back to Philemon. It says, If he hath wronged thee,
if Onesimus hath wronged thee, or owed thee aught, put that
on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with
mine own hand. I will repay it. Paul was imprisoned
there in Rome. Now, among those who went to
hear Paul was a fugitive, this fugitive named Onesimus, who
had once been a servant of Philemon. in his household and from this
epistle it would appear that Onesimus had either robbed his
master or embezzled goods in some way from Philemon and then he fled
to Rome where Paul, by divine providence, he came in contact
with. And he heard the gospel as he
came in contact with Paul. the gospel and thereby was converted
under Paul's ministry. Now this epistle records Paul's
efforts to reconcile Philemon with his former servant as he
asked Philemon to receive Onesimus, but not only as a returning servant,
but now as a beloved brother in Christ. And in Paul's appeal
for this reconciliation, we see the beautiful illustration of
how God reconcile sinners unto himself. As such, I'm sure some
of you have heard this book of Philemon presented on how Paul
willingly substituted himself on behalf of Onesimus, willingly
standing in his place as his surety to pay the debt that Onesimus
owed to his former master Philemon. Well, in the same way, the Lord
Jesus Christ willingly substituted himself as a surety for all those
he reconciles unto God, those he saves by having taken on and
actually paying the debt of God's justice due to their sins, a
debt that they couldn't possibly pay. Now, by divine imputation,
our sins were placed to the account of God the Son, and that was
in that everlasting covenant of grace. He became responsible. Christ became responsible for
him. He became responsible and accountable for our sin debt,
and he became surety, and the sins of God's elect were imputed
and charged to God the Son. You might ask, when was that?
Well, it was before time in old eternity, in the everlasting
covenant of grace made between the Godhead, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. Listen to what the Apostle Paul
says concerning imputation. Look at 2 Corinthians 5.21. It
says, For He, God the Father, hath made Him, God the Son, to
be sin for us. This is by imputation. He charged
Him with sin. Who knew no sin, Christ who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
And it says in Isaiah 53.6, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,
all that he represented. When Christ became our surety
for that debt, we were then and there relieved from all liability
of punishment due to our sin debt. Christ took on that liability,
and he became surety for that debt. The debt we owed but couldn't
pay. Our sins actually and really
became His by imputation. God's forbearance, patience,
and long-suffering with this world is due to suretyship, Christ's
suretyship engagements. God's eye has always been on
the blood. It is the blood of Christ, our
surety. that held back the hand of God's judgment when Adam sinned
and that He didn't destroy the earth at that time. The Old Testament
saints were pardoned. They were justified and forgiven
upon the basis of Christ's obedience unto death as I assured you,
even though Christ had not yet actually rendered that obedience.
Let's look at some scriptures that tell us this. Look at Isaiah
43, 25. I, even I, he that blotteth out
thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy
sins." And in Isaiah 45, 25 through 25, it says, Surely shall one
say unto the Lord, Have I righteousness and strength? Even to him shall
men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. And in Hebrews 11, 13, in the
New Testament, it says, These all died in the faith. Speaking
of all those Old Testament saints, not having received the promise,
they were not here when Christ actually came and done that work,
but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and
embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on this earth. Now those blessed saints of old,
and there's a long list of those saints that's given here in Hebrews
11, some of which are Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and just many,
many more. They all had knowledge of and
faith in Christ as their surety. They all looked for this coming
Messiah. They actually possessed true
faith. and repentance, which is the fruit and effect of what
Christ would accomplish for them when he would come in time and
complete the work of righteousness on their behalf. This is how
sure and certain Christ's work is. Now, as I said, these Old
Testament saints, they had faith. Christ says Abraham saw his day.
God give them faith. All of this is the fruit and
effect of what Christ accomplished at the cross. And they had it
back in the Old Testament. Now, and they were justified,
made righteous. What did the Lord Jesus Christ
agree to as surety? What did He agree to? When Christ
became our surety, He made certain promises in the name of His covenant
people, which He is honor-bound to perform. These promises were
voluntarily made by Christ without any constraint or force, except
the constraint of His love and the force of God's grace. But
now, having made those promises, He is bound to perform them,
bound by His own honor. What are those promises? What
did our great surety agree to do? Basically, our eternal surety
agreed to do a couple of things. First of all, he agreed to meet
and perfectly fulfill all our responsibilities to God. Standing
a surety in our place, Christ did not simply assume part of
our responsibility in a given area. He became absolutely and
completely responsible for his people in all things. Secondly,
he agreed to render perfect obedience to the law, establishing righteousness
for which we were indebted to do. He worked out a righteousness
for his people. Christ said, I finished the work. He completed it. As our substitute,
he agreed to satisfy the penalty of the broken law, which is death.
When all things pertaining to the work of salvation was complete,
Christ, as he hung on the cross, he says, it is finished. By His
perfect obedience in life and in His death, our great surety
magnified the law and He made it honorable. And He made it
in our place, in our stead. See, He never broke the law,
never broke the law. We're the ones that owe the debt,
but He's the one that paid the debt. Hebrews 10, beginning at
verse 5, When he cometh into the world,
he saith, Sacrifice and offerings thou wouldst not, but a body
hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God."
This is Christ. Christ assuredly agreed to bring
all of his elect safe to glory. John 6, beginning at verse 39, It says this, and I do love these
Scriptures. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me. This is Christ, speaking of Christ.
That of all which He hath given me. We need to understand something
about it. People just gloss over, just
look over these statements in Scripture. That of all which
He hath given me. There was some people given,
given to Christ to represent. I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the
last day." The Lord Jesus Christ, our surety, became responsible
to bring God's elect safely home. This is the words of assurity.
Look at Hebrews 2, beginning at verse 10. For it became Him, for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons
into glory, speaking of Christ, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all one, for which cause he is
not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church, will I sing praise
unto thee." And again, in verse 13, it says,
I will put my trust in him, and again, Behold, I and the children
which God hath given me. What did Christ, I surely accomplish?
What did He accomplish? Well, He reconciled us to God
in His sin atoning death. He entered into heaven as our
covenant head. and claimed our eternal inheritance.
In our name is our surety. Also, He will, in the last day,
present all of His elect faultless before the Father's glory with
exceeding great joy. In that day, He will appear without
sin. Also, those that are in Him will
also appear without sin. His Father will say again, Well
done. Let's look again at our text,
Hebrews 7.22. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better covenant, a better testament. Friends, Christ our
surety is all of thee. All of our righteousness and
all of our justification before God. Christ is all my salvation. There's no other. Christ is all
my salvation. He is my comfort and He is my
assurance. He is my motivation to obey God.
We're motivated to obey God out of love and gratitude, all based
on what Christ did in our covenant head of surety. And He is my
hope of eternal life forevermore. Christ is all to this poor sinner. And He's all to all, all sinners,
all of God's elect that come to God by faith. Well, I hope
this message in some way glorifies God and exalts Christ, our representative
in surety before God, and that it excludes any boasting on our
behalf, on the sinner's behalf, as we look to Christ and Christ
alone for all of our salvation. Amen.