Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter
5. The name of the message is the
cross. Why was it necessary? The cross. Why was it necessary? Romans chapter 5. We'll start
in verses 6 and we'll read the verse 12. 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, that little word, all that
little word is wonderful, because look at this, but God commandeth
his love toward us. in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, that's Christ's blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him. That's glorious. That's enough right there for
us to praise our King forever. We shall be saved from wrath
through Him. Whose wrath? God's wrath. Because He paid
it all. For if, when we were enemies,
that was our state naturally, that's how we are born into this
world, we are enemies with God in our minds. 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. Remember, He lived the perfect
life as our substitute. And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom now we have received
the atonement. Our eternal souls have been purchased
by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore,
as by one man, that being Adam, sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned. Tonight I'd like us to consider
why Christ's death upon the cross was necessary. Now, at the heart
of what we believe is our Savior dying upon the cross. The fact
that He really did die upon the cross. And at the center of what we
believe, and the revelation of Scripture, is the cross. and our Lord and Savior who died
upon that cross. More than anything, it's the
one who died there. Christ. And the fact that He
died upon the cross for the sins of His people is central to what
we believe. Without Christ's death upon the
cross, we would have no payment for our sins. None. Have you ever really pondered
that? Without the death of Christ upon
the cross, Wayne Boyd's sin would not be paid for. My. And you can put your name in
there. You who are his blood bought
people. and therefore we would have no
redemption, and we would be doomed. We would be doomed. Now if you
get it wrong what happened at the cross, then everything will
be wrong. Everything will be wrong. So
the question comes before us, why was Christ's death Necessary. Now if you went out and you asked
a hundred different people this question, you would probably
get a hundred different answers. You probably would. Based upon
what people believe. And tonight we'll look at what
the Bible says about this, so we're not going to ask anyone's
opinion. We don't do that here. We're
going to look at what the Bible says about this. We're not looking
for opinion among sects, because there's certain sects out there
that have an opinion on certain portions of the scripture, and
they're so wrong. They make a whole works-based
system out of what they believe from cherry-picking certain verses
in scripture. And that's wrong. That's absolutely wrong. So we're
not going to ask for anyone's opinions. We'll look at what
the Word of God says for our answers to this question. I remember
a preacher saying that we should begin a debate or a discussion,
and please keep this in mind, if people ask you questions about
things, I've learned this now through the years, years of witnessing
to people and talking to people on the streets and even talking
to people across the road and stuff. And we should always remember
this. And I remember a grace preacher
saying this a long time ago. He said, we should begin a debate
or a discussion about Christ with scripture. With scripture. Don't give the person your opinion.
Tell them I believe this because this is what the scripture says. So we begin a discussion or a
debate with Scripture, we sustain it with Scripture, and we end
it with Scripture. Now I've noticed that a lot of
folks would rather give their opinion about what the Bible
says, and I've ran into that so much. I still get it even
now. They keep popping off about what
they think, and I always say, well, what does the scripture
say? I just call them on it right there. I usually have my tablet
with me, and I had the Bible with the Hebrew and the Greek
right there, and I can pull it right up. And so when I talk
to someone about the Lord, I have the scriptures right there, and
I can say, look, it says this. This is what the Bible says.
That's why it's good sometimes for us to write verses to our
hearts, too. Because then we're always ready
to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. And we can
tell them, this is what the scriptures say. But people will constantly
give you their opinion. And they will not even say what
the Bible says because they don't know what it says most of the
time. So we're not gonna have anything to do with that nonsense.
We don't have time for that. So the question comes before
us, why was the cross necessary? Why did Christ have to die upon
the tree at Calvary? Why was it that the Lord Jesus
Christ had to die in the room instead of his people? Why? Why? Why would one who was sinless
have to bear the sins of his people. And let's bring it home, and
let's bring it right home to you and I. You can put your name
in here, but why did Christ, who was sinless, have to bear
Wayne Boyd's sin? Why did he have to bear Neal
Waters' sin? Why? Why did he have to pay for it? Why was the death of Christ absolutely
necessary? And it was absolutely necessary. Why would the sinless Lord Jesus
Christ have to die on the cross? Why? Well, our first point is
because of the need of man. because of the need of men. Look at Romans 5, let's look
at verses 12, 18 and 19. Wherefore is by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. So there we see that in Adam,
Adam fell and we all fell Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, that's Adam by Adam, and death by sin, we're all born
dead spiritually, and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned. We're all born sinners because
we're children of Adam. And then look at verses 18. Therefore,
as by the offense of one, being Adam, judgment came upon all
men to condemnation. Now look at that. all men to condemnation. Every
son of Adam is guilty before, every son and daughter of Adam
is guilty before the law and justice of God. Now remember,
Christ is the seed of the woman. He's born sinless. But according
to this scripture right here, you know there's people who say,
well, I'm not a bad person, I'm a good guy, I'm a good person.
No, this says here, right here, Judgment came upon all men to
condemnation. The law finds every single human
being guilty. The law of God. Even so, by righteousness
of one, being Christ, the free gift came upon all men and the
justification of life. And we know that all there is
God's people. Because we know that not everyone's
saved. But all God's chosen people are. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, right? That's by Adam's transgression,
we were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
what? Many be made righteous. Now look at that wondrous statement
there. So by the obedience of one, being Christ, many shall
be made righteous. We can't make ourselves righteous.
But the scripture there declares that by the obedience of one,
Many shall be made righteous. Now we humans are creatures of
God. We're his creation. We're created
by him. We all have a soul which will
live for eternity. And we are made in the image
of God. And in Adam, we were once in
a covenant relationship with God. And now we know that Adam
fell. We just read of that. We know
that Adam fell. Now some would say, I've heard
this too before, and I'm sure you've heard this too. Some would
say, well, that's not fair. That's not fair. Let me tell you, if anyone ever
asks that question, you just tell them you don't want fair. You do not want fair. I don't
want fair, do you, as a believer? I don't want fair. I don't want
what's fair. I don't want what I should receive. I want mercy. I want mercy. Mercy, mercy, mercy. Lord, give
me mercy. So whenever I hear someone say
it's not fair, I know that they do not and have not tasted the
mercy of God. That's a telltale sign. that they have not tasted the
mercy of God in Christ. Verse 12 there says, wherefore
is by one man's sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
So the scripture here before us declares that we've all sinned.
So next time you hear someone say, or catch yourself saying,
man, he's a good guy, or she's a good lady. No, there's none
good. No, no one. There's none of us that are good.
And I know what we mean when we say that, but still, we should,
I'm trying to break myself of that. I'll be honest with you,
because there's none that's good. There's none that's good. Romans
3.12 says, they are all gone out of the way, they are altogether
begun and unprofitable, but there's none that do it good. No, not
one. Not one. So do you see the need? You see
the need that we have? Everything we do is tainted with
sin. We know that. We're all guilty before a holy
God, a righteous God. We're alienated from Him by our
wicked works. By our natural state, we're alienated
from Him. We're polluted by sin. And we're under God's wrath and
curse because of sin. And if anyone dies in that state,
then the wages of sin is death, the payment of sin is death. And everyone saved and lost are
certain to die. And some will be judged, but for the believer. There is
therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. There's
no judgment. Praise His mighty name. Years
ago, I was talking to someone who told me they had talked to
one of their friends who came from a professing Christianity
about the death of a local boy who was a teenager. And the person
I know mentioned that if the boy had not trusted Christ, then
he was in hell. And the friend of that person
said that his mom told him that when people die, they get a second
chance. That's just an outright lie. That's an outright lie. That
person knows nothing about the God of the Bible who said that. The scriptures proclaim, and
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. So every one of us, saved and
lost, have an appointment. And you know what? 10 out of 10 make that appointment.
10 out of 10. No one's gonna miss
it. Every one of us in this room
is gonna die one day. We're gonna die. Everyone in
that world out there is gonna one day die. We just have no
idea when it is. But God knows. He knows. Because it's appointed unto men
once to die. But after this, the judgment.
If we die without Christ, we're damned forever. That's the truth
of it. So from man's perspective, Christ
dying on the cross is necessary because we come into this world
in a helpless state. In a helpless state. We're born
dead in trespasses and sins. And we cannot help ourselves
out of that situation. We looked at that in Ezekiel
chapter 16 on Sunday night. The baby in the wilderness. He's
helpless and hopeless there. Has no ability to change the
situation that he's in. No power to even do that. That's
our natural state, beloved. That's our natural state. And we cannot remedy the situation
that we were born into by ourselves. Now you got a lot of people out
there trying to do that. You got a lot of people out there
in works-based salvation that are trying to remedy the situation
that they're in, and yet they're still in the same situation they
were in when they were born into this world. That's the truth. We cannot remedy the situation
on our own, no matter how hard we try, no matter what we try.
We are simply bankrupt sinners in desperate need of mercy. Of mercy. And if you don't believe this,
may the Holy Spirit of God reveal your sinnership to you, because
that's what we are. We're a bunch of sinners in desperate
need of mercy. So from man's perspective, Christ
dying on the cross is necessary because we are in a desperate
situation. A situation that we cannot change. We do not have the power. to
change that situation. We do not have the ability to
change that situation. We cannot save ourselves contrary
to what false religion says. They tell you you can save yourself by doing certain things. There's
whole groups out there that say you must be baptized to be saved.
That's called baptismal regeneration. There's people out there that
say, bow your head and repeat this prayer, now you're part
of the family God. That's called decisional regeneration. But
do you notice what's not there? Do you notice what's not there?
Holy Spirit regeneration. You see, making a decision has
replaced Holy Spirit regeneration. Ye must be born again. You must be born from above.
You must be. We will constantly fall short,
as everything we do is tainted with sin, and in our natural
state we are hopeless. But beloved, there is hope for
the hopeless. There is hope for the hopeless.
Where can this hope be found? Amen. Outside of ourselves and
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. That's where the believer's hope
is. Now we will look at the character of God and why the cross is necessary
from God's perspective. So we've seen why it's necessary
for us. because of our need. Why is the
cross necessary from God's perspective? God has many attributes. He's
holy, righteous, just. He's love. He's the epitome of
love. God is love. And His people love one another
because we love Him. He's changed who we are. We have love, joy, peace. We didn't have that before, and
now we have all that in Christ. The Spirit is at work in us. But our God is holy, righteous,
just. He's a God of love. And He has
many, many more attributes. So let's look at the character
of God. Why was the cross necessary from God's perspective? The scriptures
declare that God is love. Turn, if you would, to 1 John
4. 1 John 4. His love is an electing love. It's an electing love, beloved. This is what made the cross necessary
from his perspective. Look at this. 1 John 4, verses
8 and 9. 1 John 4, verses 8 and 9. He that loveth not, knoweth not
God, for God is love. We know that there's so many
exhortations for us to love one another as believers. If you
don't love the brethren, it's a sure telltale sign that you're
not one of his. Look what it says here. He that
loveth not knoweth loveth not knoweth not God for God is love. It was in this was manifest the
love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten
son into the world that we might live through him. here in His
love, not that we love God because there was a time when we didn't
love Him, wasn't there? I can look back in my life, there
was a time when I did not love God. Brother Noel, you and I
talked about that many times. There was a time when we can look and
go, I did not love God. Who made us to differ? And what
do you have that you didn't receive, right? Now we love God, don't
we? And we love His people, and we
love His gospel. We love where His people gather
together. We love to be with the people who love God. And
this was manifest, the love of God toward us, because that God
sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him. Herein is love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us. And what did He do? How did He
manifest that love, beloved? And sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. And we know that John's writing
to God's people here. We know he is. Here in his love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sins, to be the atonement for
our sins. God's love for his people had him send his
son. The Word of God. Now, let's bring
it home again. To be the propitiation for, put
your name in it, Wayne Boyd's sins. Put your name in it, if
you're a believer. He sent his son to be a propitiation
for your sins and mine. Henry Mahan said that oftentimes
we should put ourselves there and go, that was for me. For
God so loved, knew and watched, that he gave his only begotten
son. Wayne Boyd. Sister Cara, put your name in
there. He loved us. He loves his people. It's wonderful. Here in his love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and said his son
to be the propitiation for our sins. And every believer says,
for my sins. And the scripture says plainly
here that we did not love God in our natural state, right?
Not that we loved God, because we didn't. We didn't. We know from studying the scriptures
in Ephesians 2 that we're born dead in trespasses and sins.
And we saw earlier that we were enemies of God. And we know that
from other scriptures that we were enemies of God in our minds
by wicked works. We were, our enmity was towards
God and towards the people of God and towards the things of
God. If you had told me that I would
enjoy sitting and listening to the gospel 20 years ago, 30 years
ago, I'd have thought you were crazy. Is it so for you too? If you
look back on your life, did you desire to be where the gospels
preached and proclaimed? No, we didn't, did we? Now, this is the only place we
want to be. And if we could be here all the time, we would.
We would. Oh, my. Now whether you believe it or
not, the Scriptures declare that those who have had their sinnership
revealed to them know that we were enemies with God. But we
also marvel here at this Scripture that declares that God loved
us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, the
sins that I willingly committed. God sent his son to be a propitiation
for all my sins, past, present, and future. We just wonder in
amazement at that. Now remember, the first point,
we saw our need. There was no way we could change
that state, was there? And we saw why The cross was
necessary because of the state we were in. And look at this
marvelous, it's wonderful. God sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. So it was necessary for God to
send his son to be the propitiation and to die upon the cross to
be the propitiation for our sins. Or we never would have been redeemed.
No one. Who are the us spoken of? In
verses 9 and 10 there of John chapter 4, it says, and this
was manifest, the love of God towards us, because that God
sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through him, still speaking of the us, here in his love, not
that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to
be a propitiation for our sins. Oh my. Well, they're the elect
of God, beloved. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
1. We'll look at verses 3 to 6. They were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. And even though we've
read this passage many times, don't ever let it become commonplace.
Look at this passage with wonder and awe, because it truly is
wondrous, beloved. Because we know when we were
chosen in Christ, that God didn't look down in time and see who
would choose Him. As one old-time preacher said,
and you've heard me say it many times, God looked down through
time and saw all of humanity dead in trespasses and sins,
with no hope and no ability to change that situation. And remember,
our God lives outside of time and space, beloved. Dead in trespasses and sins. And then He chose to have mercy
on whom He chose to have mercy. Don't ever let these scriptures
become commonplace. Ephesians 1, verses 3-6. Look at Paul, he says, Blessed
be the God and Father. He's overjoyed with what he's
going to speak about here. He's given all the blessings
to God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
who hath blessed us, that being his people, God's elect, with
all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Christ. Now that's a key right there
to that verse, in Christ. Outside of Christ is absolutely
no spiritual blessings at all, none. None, only condemnation
and damnation outside of Christ. But in Christ, oh, in Christ,
Look it, it's not just spiritual blessings, it's all spiritual
blessings. We could sit here for a year
and talk, and years and years, and talk about all the spiritual
blessings we have in Christ. My, according as He hath chosen
us, we're elected, chosen in who? In Him, being Christ again, no
one is chosen, no one is saved outside of Christ. No one. It's always in Christ. In Christ and Christ alone. When? When did this occur? Before the
foundation of the world. Let that sink in. Before there
was ever a globe, a world. Before there was ever stars.
Before there was ever time and space, beloved. This is incredible. Before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy. Now remember, God saw us in our
sinfulness when He chose us. Because remember, He knows the
end from the beginning. He lives outside of time and
space, beloved. He dwells in eternity. That we should be holy. And look, this is marvelous.
And without blame. Perfect. And we know the only
way that can come about is by being clothed in the righteousness
of Christ. And we know that. Without blame
before Him, and we will stand before Him for eternity and worship
and adore Him in heaven. He is the object of worship.
Christ. Christ and Christ alone. Having predestined us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. And I love
this last part. Men like to talk about free will.
You always hear free will, free will, free will all the time.
People are always popping off about man's will. What about
God's will? It's supreme! It's the most important
will in the universe. Our will is bound by our nature.
And we have a dead nature. God is holy and righteous and
just. And look at what it says, He
does according to the good pleasure of His will. He does whatever
He pleases. That's my God. Is He yours? That's
my Savior. Is He yours? Oh my. And it pleased Him in
eternity to choose me in Christ. I can't get over that. Knowing what I am, knowing who
I am, even as a saved man, knowing that I sin just like all of you
do, and I marvel in the fact that God chose me. Is it so for
you? It ought to just fill our hearts
with praise for what He's done. It ought to. It's incredible. And then look, Paul just breaks
out in praise, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved. We are accepted in Christ,
in Christ alone. Nowhere else, right there. That
is so vital in that verse, accepted in the beloved. So outside of
Christ, what? There's no acceptation. In Christ,
we are accepted. We are accepted by God. Outside
of Christ, no one's accepted. It's very plain. It's very clear
what the scripture declares. So God's love, we see here that
God's love is electing love, it's everlasting love. And this
is why the cross is necessary, because without the cross, our
sins would not have been paid for. So God sends his son to
be a propitiation for our sins. I ask you this, can you pay the
price that God demands for your sins? Can you? I can't. Can you pay the price that God
demands for just one sin? Just one. Just one sin. One of
our sins. Can we pay the price for just
one? I can't. I know you can't either. See,
we need to realize how wondrous this forgiveness, this pardon
we have in Christ really is. God demands that the law be satisfied. God demands that His justice
be satisfied for our sins. We can't pay that. Again, we can't pay for all our
sins, which are billions in a lifetime, let alone one of them. But here's
the wonderful news of the gospel. Here's the wonderful news of
the gospel. The gospel preacher has wonderful
news, absolutely wonderful news. Christ died the sinner's substitute
on Calvary's cross, bearing the full penalty, bearing it all,
bearing it all, and making the payment for the sins of his people
that God demands. Look at Romans chapter 5, 8 there.
But God commanded His love toward us, and yet sinners, what? Christ
died for us. He died for me, the believer
says. That's wondrous. And in His dying,
He paid for all my sins. And all of it. I preach a salvation
that's D-O-N-E, done. Religion says, do, do, do. We preach salvation, D-O-N-E,
and it's all done by Christ and Christ alone. It's all finished. Now I struggle through this life,
I do, I admit it. And I know you do too. We battle
with sin all the time. But praise God, my sin's all
forgiven. Hallelujah! What a Savior! What a Savior
is Jesus Christ our Lord! John 15, 16 says this, You have
not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And ordained you that ye
should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He
may give it you. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you. And then over in Acts 13, 8. Acts 13, 8. This wonderful verse, or Acts
13.48, I'm sorry, not 8. Acts 13.48, this wonderful verse. The Gentiles had the gospel preached
to them by Paul. Look at this wonderful statement
in Acts 13.48. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad. They were glad. Oh, wow. They
were happy and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many
as were ordained to eternal life, what happened? They believed.
And you know that those who are spoken of as were ordained to
eternal life are the same. They're with the number that
were chosen by God in Christ that we looked at in Ephesians
chapter one. They're in the number when Christ says, you have not
chosen me, but I've chosen you. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my. Turn, if you would, to
2 Thessalonians 2. Our great God is a God of love,
but His love is an electing love. Just as the Scriptures declare,
He's chosen and ordained to save a people. And when did He choose
and ordain all this? Well, we looked at Ephesians,
let's look over at 2 Thessalonians. He's done this from the beginning,
from eternity. Look at this in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 12
and 13. So the cross was necessary that
those whom God the Father had chosen would be redeemed, would
be redeemed, beloved. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 12
and 13, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. Now, there's something we need to
remember all the time. God's people are called here
in Scripture, beloved of the Lord. Why? Beloved of the Lord. If you're
one of His people, you're beloved of the Lord. Because God hath
from the beginning, that's in eternity, chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit, you must be born again
in belief of the truth. And those who are born again,
they believe the Gospel. They believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. They do. They trust Him. Turn, if you
would, to Isaiah, Chapter 42. Isaiah, Chapter 42. Before the world was, God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit covenanted to save a people.
And this is spoken of both in the Old Testament as well in
the New. Let's look first of all in the Old Testament, Isaiah,
Chapter 42, verses 6 and 7. Look at this. Isaiah 42, verses 6 and 7. God
has covenanted to save a people. Isaiah 42, verses 6 and 7. I,
the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold
thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, And then that
sit in darkness out of the prison house. Now, when the believer
is born again of the Holy Spirit of God, our eyes are open to
look to Christ and look at this. Look at this to bring out the
prisoners from the prison. Have you ever thought that when
you were in your natural state, you were you were held captive
by sin? You were chained by your own
sins. Because we were. See, people
always talk about will, don't they? They talk about free will.
Our wills, again, are bound to our nature. If we have a dead
nature, then all we're gonna do is love
sin and want to be in it, and that's all. But if we're alive
in Christ and we have a new nature, now we have a war. I ask you,
do you have a war within you? Do you have a battle all the
time with sin? Do you struggle over sin? We
do, don't we? Did you before the Lord saved
you? No, we drank sin like water then,
didn't we? Didn't even bother us. Now we hate it. And we hate it. We hate it. See,
you ever meet someone that's pointing out everybody else's
sin? Okay? And a lot of people do that.
They point out everybody else's faults. That's a Pharisee, beloved. And I know because I used to
be one. You fault find with everyone. With everyone. You find fault
constantly. There's a guy I know across the
road that I see all the time. And this guy, he's always telling
me what's wrong with with with certain people doing certain
things. But and it can even be it can even be in sovereign grace
circles. Beloved, you find people that
are fault finding all the time. You know, I wonder about folks
like that. Because a Pharisee will point
out all the people's wrongs. But grace people, those who've
been given grace will give grace. We'll give grace. We'll give
grace. Because we've received grace.
We've received mercy. We've received mercy. We've realized
that we were prisoners who are now released from the prison.
And praise God, we're released. We're free. I'm praying about
going through Galatians in our Sunday school class, and I've
read a couple books on it. And I recently got another book
by Brother Tim James on it, and I'm looking at that. And constantly,
the message in all three of the books that I've read so far is
our freedom in Christ. The freedom that we have as believers.
We're prisoners set free, beloved. We're prisoners set free. And
look at them, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison
house. Think of the darkness that we
were in in our sin. Yeah, we were in utter darkness,
weren't we? And we've been set free from
that prison house, beloved. Now we walk in Christ. We walk
in the light. Now turn, if you would, to Hebrews
13, 20. And look in the New Testament here. Look in the New Testament. It speaks of the everlasting
covenant here. So we saw there in Isaiah that God said, I the
Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and
will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
for a light of the Gentiles. We know that speaks of Christ
and we're chosen in him. Look at this though, in Hebrews
13, 20. Now the God of peace that bought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the everlasting covenant. So God has a covenant
called the everlasting covenant. So we were in the prison house
of sin in our natural state. We were bound up in darkness,
but beloved, praise be to God, Christ has set us free. We are
set free. Now another reason the cross
was necessary, again with the covenant. Turn if you would to Isaiah 42
verse 1 and I'll read Psalm 89 verse 3 which says, I have made
a covenant with my chosen being Christ, I have sworn unto David
my servant. Look at this though, God has
made a covenant with Christ and who is God's elect one and who
are we elected in? Christ were chosen in Christ. Look at this in Isaiah 42, one
speaking of Christ. Behold, my servant. Whom I uphold,
mine elect and whom my soul delighted, God delights in Christ. And think of this as a result
of that, God delights. God delights in those who are
in Remember our study in Song of Solomon, we saw that. It's
just incredible. It's absolutely incredible. In whom my soul delighteth,
I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. So God's people are chosen in
Christ. Our great God's love is an electing
love, and it was this that made the cross necessary. And the
Lord Jesus Christ must die in the room and place of his people,
or they will never be saved. So in order for us to be saved,
the cross is absolutely necessary. Necessary. In order for those
whom God the Father chose in Christ to be saved, and we know
that we lack any ability or power to save ourselves, so from our
side it's necessary, and from God's side it's necessary, because
His law and justice must be satisfied. And plus, he's made a covenant
with Christ to give him a people, and Christ must redeem those
people. He must pay for their sins. Lord Jesus Christ must die in
the room and place of his people. He must. This is why we say,
if you go to hell, it's all you. You are fully responsible for
all your sins. But if you go to heaven, it's
all God. It's all gone. What does God
have to do for a man to go to hell? Just leave him alone. Just
leave him in his natural state. What does God have to do for
any one of us in this room who are saved to go to heaven? Everything.
And we proclaim that, don't we? We proclaim that. We've been
taught that, haven't we, by the Holy Spirit of God. He's taught
us that there's no way we can save ourselves. We cannot make ourselves fit
for heaven. Remember in our study in Colossians,
we saw that we are qualified for heaven, and when we looked
at that word qualified in the Greek, it means that we're made
fit. We're made fit. And it's only in Christ. And think about this, I want
you to think about this, the voluntariness of Christ's sacrifice.
The fact that he voluntarily went to the cross. The fact that he left heaven
to redeem his people. The word of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ willingly dies as the sinner's substitute. Willingly. Willingly. Because he knew that
it was necessary. Absolutely necessary. Turn, if
you would, to John 10. John 10. He willingly bears the
justice and wrath of God in the place of His people. And we see
this declared in Scripture. And His Father loves Him. His
Father loves Him, beloved, because He willingly lays down His life
for His covenant people. For the ones for whom Christ
died are the ones whom God gave Him in eternity. And we benefit
eternally from the death of Christ. Do you know that? We benefit
eternally from the death of Christ. Because He purchased our souls.
He redeemed our souls. All to satisfy the justice and
law of God in our place. Look at this in John chapter
10 verses 17 and 18. Therefore doth my Father love
me. Christ is saying this because I lay down my life that I might
take it again. He willingly laid down His life. No man taketh it from me. None. No one took Christ's life from
himself. He laid it down. He says, but
I lay it down on myself. See, He has all power, beloved.
Even in His death, He's got all power. All power. This is what
makes the death of Christ so incredible. Because He's God
incarnate in the flesh. This is my God. Is He yours?
This is my Savior. Is He yours? He willingly laid
down His life. I have power to lay it down.
Look at that. He's God. And I have power to
take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Our Savior is all power. He was all-powerful before He
came to this world, the Word of God. He was all-powerful when
He was upon this world. And beloved, He's all-powerful
now. And His Father loves Him because
He willingly laid down His life. May we marvel in the will of
God that Christ should die in our place. May we just marvel
at that. It's something to marvel about. And we marvel in the love of
God in Christ towards His people. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. All who come to Christ here never
cast you away. Other people might cast you away
or not want you in their life anymore. But Christ will never
do that. Never. Never. For I come down
from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that
sent me. He was submissive to the Father's will. And this is
the Father's will which has sent me that all of which He hath
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. John chapter 6 verses 37 to 39. Turn if you
would to John 17. We should marvel in the fact
that Christ has finished the work which God has sent Him to
do. John chapter 17. We should marvel in this. It
should just leave us in awe. John chapter 17. Verse four in
verse six and verse 24. Now, again, you have you have
millions of people out there trying to work their way to heaven.
They don't believe that Christ finished the work. They don't
believe that. And I was one of them at one
time. We were all there. Because there was a time for
every every one of God's people when we were dead in our trespasses
and sins, we we were there. Look at this in John 17 for I
have glorified the on the earth. I have what finished the work
which thou gave us me to do. Now he was going to go to the
cross. He lived that perfect life for God's people. Now he's
got to go to the cross and he's going to die. Look at verse 6.
I have manifest thy name unto the men which thou gavest me
out of the world. Look at that. Which thou gavest
me out of the world. When were they given to him?
Before the foundation of the world. We saw that in both 2
Thessalonians and in Ephesians chapter 1. Thine they were. They were of God's own choosing.
And thou gavest them me. We were chosen in Christ. And
they have kept thy word. Then look at verse 24. Father,
I will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where
I am. This is the high priestly prayer.
So Christ is praying that those that the father gave him that
they would be with him in glory. That they may behold my glory. Do you know what one day? Oh, this is wonderful. Do you
know that one day every one of God's blood-bought people, when
we depart from this earth, we're going to behold his glory? That's
what it says. We're going to behold his, we're
going to see him in his glory. We're going to see him in his
glory. This is, this is Christ praying for his people. they may behold my glory which
Thou hast given me, for Thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world." Oh my. So from looking at the Scriptures,
some things we know about the everlasting covenant are, it
was between God and His chosen people, and none of us were present
when it was made. Christ acted as our representative
and covenant head. The covenant terms Christ undertook
to fulfill them. The covenant had terms and Christ
undertook to fulfill them. The covenant had promises and
the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled them all for us. And all the
promises of God are in Him, yea and amen. The covenant was eternal. It can't be changed. It was made
in eternity by the eternal Trinity, the Father, Son, and the Holy
Spirit. They each have a part in it. The Father gave a people
to Christ, the Son lived a perfect life in their room and place,
and then He died on Calvary's cross as their substitute, He
redeemed them from their sins, and on the third day He rose
again, what? For their justification. And
the Holy Spirit draws the elect of God to Christ and regenerates
us. He regenerates us and we run
and flee to Christ. We're made willing in the day
of His power. And so all three persons of the Trinity are active
in our salvation. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And as we know from scripture, we would never choose God. But
praise God, He chose a people in Christ. And the believers
rejoices in this fact that we could never redeem ourselves
or live a perfect life before God, before what God's law demands,
but Christ has done this in our Roman place. Praise God. That's wonderful news. We could
never regenerate ourselves either, could we? Now, I've told you
that there's folks that believe in decisional regeneration, and
that's what that is. Brother Henry brought that out
years ago, and it's still going on today. Decisionism, make a
decision, has replaced Holy Spirit regeneration. And oh, how many
people are going to perish in their sins because they think,
I'm fine, I prayed a prayer, I'm good. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. We could never regenerate ourselves,
beloved. We have no power to do that.
We lack the ability. But praise God, the Holy Spirit
regenerates his people, God's people were born again. We're
born again by the one who has all power. You ever think of
that? We're born again by the one who has all power. We're
born again by the one who not only has all power, but he has
the ability to regenerate us. Oh, my. And he has the authority
because he's gone. Because He's God. The Holy Spirit
of God draws us to Christ and regenerates us. And then He keeps
us. And He keeps us. We're kept by
the Great Shepherd, eh? Bishop of our souls. So marvel,
dear saint, that that which is impossible with men, the things
that we just looked at, right? Can't save yourself, can't redeem
yourself, can't regenerate yourself. Remember the scripture says,
that which is impossible with man is possible with God. God
saves us, redeems us, we're regenerated by Him. That which is impossible
for us to do is possible with God. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Savior. And because this covenant was
eternal and was made by our eternal God, I want you to think about
this too. And that because it was it was it is eternal because
God's eternal and it's made by our eternal God. It is unbreakable. And it's sure. That's why Christ
says, I'll never lose one whom the father give. See, people spit in God's eye
when they say you can lose your salvation. Well, they don't even
know who God is. I don't believe they do. Because
because God of the Bible, he tells us You can never lose your
salvation. We're in Christ. We're in Christ. And she shall bring forth a son
being Christ and thou shall call his name Jesus. For he what? Shall. And the word there means
shall he do it? He shall save his people from
from their sins. Praise God, he did it. Calvary's
cross the cross. The cross was necessary, wasn't
it? Because we couldn't save ourselves, because God had chosen
the people in Christ, and they must be redeemed, they must be
saved. And so Christ comes upon this earth and dies upon the
cross. The word of God. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. It's not maybe. It's not, oh,
he's done all he can do, now the rest is up to you. No, no,
beloved, you saved me. He saved me 2000 years ago. He redeemed my soul. Oh, it's
wondrous by the shedding of his precious blood. Oh, that which
was impossible with me is possible with God. Oh, it's marvelous.
So let us proclaim Christ, knowing that he will save his people.
See, the gospel preacher gets up and we proclaim Christ. We
proclaim the gospel, knowing, knowing that God will save his
people. I can't save any of you, but God can save and God saves
his people when he will. He moves as he's pleased. And
we know because he saved us. When it pleased him to do so.
When it pleased him to do so. Oh, when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and they glorified the word of the Lord, and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. They had Christ
and Him crucified preached to them. Why? God on the throne remembers His
covenant, and Christ is at His side as the covenant head of
His people, and He is our continuing surety. So the cross was necessary
because man was in a hopeless state and could not save himself.
The cross was necessary because of God's covenant to those whom
He had determined to save in Christ. Those whom He had chosen
in Christ in the everlasting covenant. Those whom He had loved
from eternity. And it's been said again, rightly
so, that if you get it wrong on the fall, that's man's fall,
and in Adam you get it wrong with it all. But the same could be said of
the cross. If you go astray there, you go totally astray. People say, oh, Christ died for
everyone. No, he didn't. No. He died to save his people
from their sins. And praise God, he saved us.
He saved us. We've seen from scripture that
Christ did not come and die on the cross to make us savable,
but he truly redeemed his people from their sins. Beloved, it's
all of grace. Salvation is all of grace. All of grace. Not grace in some
works of man, no. All of grace. All of grace. Salvation's in Christ alone.
It's all of the free and sovereign grace of God in Christ plus nothing.
I remember a friend of mine, he wrote that on a chalkboard
one time. He said, salvation is Jesus Christ
plus nothing. That's it. That's it. not plus my church membership,
not plus my baptism, not plus a prayer I prayed, not plus an
aisle I walked. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is in Christ, in Christ
alone plus nothing. All of grace We who are the redeemed of God,
we praise our great God for His mercy towards us in Christ. And if you are here and you have
not trusted Christ, or if you hear this message and have not
trusted Christ, then my prayer is that God, our great God, would
grant you faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
the only Redeemer for sinners. The only Redeemer for sinners.
Heavenly Father, we thank thee for your goodness and grace and
mercy to us. Oh, Lord Jesus, as we looked
at what you did upon the cross and how you were a propitiation
for our sins, and each believer can say for my sins. Lord, may
we leave here marveling in this wondrous truth that we looked
at tonight. The fact that the cross was absolutely
necessary. The fact that you must die in
the room and place of your people. Otherwise, there's no hope for
any of us. And we thank Thee. We who are your blood-bought
people, we thank Thee and we praise Thee, O Lord. The praise of thankfulness be
on our lips this week as we ponder this. May we meditate upon this
through the rest of the week. May we think upon this wondrous
salvation that we have in Thee, O Lord. And in the fact that
You, God, have loved us and will love us for all eternity. What mercy we've received, Lord.
Undeserved mercy. Unsought after mercy. Oh, Lord,
you are truly a great God and King. We love you because you
first loved us. In Jesus name. Amen.