Turn in your Bibles this morning to Philippians 2. Philippians chapter 2. In that psalm that we read. It said, the words of the Lord are
pure words. As silver tried in a furnace
of earth, purified seven times. The words of the Lord are pure
words. So it doesn't matter what I say
or you say. It doesn't matter and won't matter
what you think as opposed to what I think. It will be the
pure words of the Lord. The pure words of the Lord. And what I'm about to read to
you is the pure words of the Lord as he gave them by the Apostle
Paul. The word apostle means one sent
forth. And he sent him forth to sin
these words, beginning in verse 5 of chapter 2. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. Now he's using the example of
Christ for the conduct, for the way of life of these people. But he always instructs in a
gospel context. But he made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of men. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Now in the eighth verse of this chapter, the apostle makes a distinction
between the death of Christ and all other deaths. He says it like this, and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. In other words, His death is
like no other. It is described and distinguished
here by the Apostle Paul as even the death of the cross. Now there's no doubt about it,
that it was painful, that it was shameful, that it was cruel,
and many other things. But the truth is, many other
deaths have been like that. They've been cruel. They've been painful. They've
been shameful. Many have been tortured, abused,
and suffered horribly. And not only that, but this is
not only the death of a martyr, because many men have been martyred,
and even martyred for the cause and sake of Christ. It's not
just a crime, though it certainly is that. But I want you to think
about this morning is what makes this death different. So as Paul describes it in this
way, even the death of the cross. Well, it's characterized by obedience. He became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. So Christ, in his death on the
cross, is obeying someone here. He's doing what he's doing in
obedience to the Father. That's what it says. He became
obedient unto death. He's like Isaac was on Mount
Moriah when he went up with his father there on Mount Moriah
and was about to be put to death himself. It's a picture of disobedience
unto death. But this death is unique because
it was prophesied hundreds of years before it actually happened. And it was pictured in types
and shadows in the Bible more times and in more ways that can
ever be told just time and time again by picture and shadow of
sacrifice and offerings of all kinds. It was pictured and typified
many times. And it was this thing that was
central, pictured in the camp of Israel for all their history. They all gathered, set up the
tabernacle, all around the tabernacle. And there in the tabernacle,
a death took place. Blood was shed. An offering was
made. And it is a central thing in
the gospel. The very central thing in the
gospel. And that's rather strange because
the gospel, the word gospel means glad tidings and good news. But how can it be that a death
is said to be glad tidings or good news? Normally death is
bad news to us. But there is only to be fed life
through this death. And it is unique. One thing is
because of who died. Look back in verse six and seven. Who thought, who being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. but made himself of no reputation
and took on him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness
of men." In other words, this man, this person This man who
became a man was undoubtedly God. There's only one way that
you can think it, not robbery, to be equal with God, and that's
to be God yourself. He's the one that the Bible says
was God manifest in the flesh. So it is unique in that here
is one who is God, who has become a man, in order to die. So what is that all about? And then it says also that he
was a sinless man dying. But aren't the wages of sin death? Doesn't the Bible tell us that
the reason of death is sin, and here is yet a sinless man dying,
paying the wages of sin, of whom the Bible says he knew no sin,
who was himself undefiled, harmless, separate from sinners? That is to be considered, those
things such as that, who's dying and why he's dying, and the fact
that he is dying, but there's a reason for it. He's a representative man. He's not representing himself. He's representing somebody else. He's a substitute man. He's a mediator man. That's what the Bible says. There
is one mediator between God and man. One mediator. One go-between. One that will
stand for man and God. There's one mediator between
God and men. The man, Christ Jesus. That's why he came. And that's
why he humbled himself. That he's come as Jehovah's servant. Men are always struggling with
when he says in one place, that the father is greater than I. And then he says in another place,
I am my father one. And they struggle with that,
but he is as Jehovah's servant saying, my father is greater
than I. I do always the will. I'm always obedient to the father. He's a mediator man. He's a,
he's like that willing bond servant. You read about in excess that
there came a time when he could go out free. But he identified
with his family, his people. And he didn't want to go out
from the house of his master. And he had his hair bored. And
that showed that he was standing for his family. And he was standing
there and identifying with them. And he didn't want to go out.
He wanted to stay and be obedient to his master. But he's Jehovah's servant. Isaiah 42, God says, Behold my
servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put forth my spirit upon
him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Again in Isaiah, behold, my servant
shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. That's not an ordinary servant
there. In Isaiah 53, he shall see of
the travail of his soul and be satisfied, and by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. He's dying. And this death is
unique for this. He's dying because he has come
to bear the sin of somebody else. His people. Most folks don't even know that
God has a people. But if we know anything basic
about Jesus, it is this. When instructed what he was to
be called, his earthly parents were told this in Matthew 121. Thou shall call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people. people from their sins. He's come here to obey the Father's
will. He's come here as the mediator
of the everlasting covenant. He's come here to do the thing
that cannot be done for us as God alone, and that is to die
for our sins. He's dying because he has been
made sin by imputation. That's a Bible word. That is
a Bible word, but it simply means to charge to one's account. He's buying here, his death is
unique because all of the sins of his people have been charged
to his account. God is holding him accountable
as their covenant head, as their savior. He's holding them accountable
for their sins because he stood as surety for them before the
world began. You know what a surety is? The
Bible speaks of a surety. The Bible gives an illustration
of what a surety is. And a surety is one who becomes
responsible for someone else's debt at the beginning, not a
guarantor. A guarantor is somebody that
will pay the debt if the debt is forfeited. If it is not paid,
then that guarantor will step in. But assurity assumes the
debt at the beginning. And Christ has come. to be the
surety, to fulfill the surety ship of his people. Listen to Isaiah 53. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. That's the Lord's people talking.
You see, Christ said, I lay down my life for the sheep. He said, I purchased, I gave
myself a ransom for many. It says that he purchased the
church with his own blood. And everywhere you look in the
scriptures, This death is unique because it is a death that he
dies for a particular people given to him by the Father and
chosen from among Adam's race just simply by the grace of God. When you hear him in John 17,
And you notice that he is praying. Over and over and over again,
he says something like this, I pray not for the world, but
I pray for them that you've given me out of the world, thine they
were, and you have given them to me. He's coming here to this occasion
to die for the bride that's been given him. So that Christ instructs
us through the apostle, he says something like this. Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself
for it. So he's gonna save somebody. He's not come on a fool's errand. The death of the cross is not
like any other death, but he has come and he's gonna save
somebody and he's gonna do it through this death, even the
death of the cross. You see, the death of the cross
is most unique because of what it accomplishes. The easiest way to determine
whether or not a gospel is a false gospel or not is to look at what
men say that the death of Christ accomplishes, actually accomplishes. And most people say in their
day that it really accomplishes nothing. That's right. They say that it
accomplishes nothing because it is only made good if you do
something. It's only effectual if you do
something. So in actuality, that makes the
death of Christ not to accomplish anything. But that's not the
death of Christ, even the death of the cross that we read in
the Bible. It is singular in that it alone
is salvation. And that separates it from all
of the deaths, but especially from the deaths of all of the
false Jesuses there are in this world, and of all the false gospels
wherein Paul warns us, calling them another gospel. That's what he called them. Surprise,
surprise, nobody knows that. But he warned again and again,
another gospel, another Jesus, another spirit, beware lest you
fall for one of these. Because the difference in the
false Jesus and the true Jesus is his success. His success. Through this death. Christ delivers
men from the curse. He delivers His people from the
curse. Galatians 3 says this, Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on
a tree. He did what? He delivered us
from the curse. Well, who are the us there? They're
those who believe that He delivered us from the curse rather than
those who believe that He delivered from the curse if we do something. You see, we weren't even there
when the death of the cross took place, and yet at the death of
the cross, he delivered us from the curse of the law because
everyone, it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. Not only that, it is unique in
the fact that this death makes his people, who of themselves
are all sinners, it makes them righteous. Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians
5.21, Says, for he, that is God, hath
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. Not possibly. Not maybe. Not waiting to see what you do.
But Jesus Christ, God made Him to be sin for us in the same
sense that He made Him to be a curse for us, to bear that
sin offering that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. Not just righteous, but the righteousness
of God. You see, this obedience that
he speaks of here is also spoken of in Romans chapter 5. Turn over there to Romans chapter
5. And look down in Romans chapter
5 and verse 17. Now, here in these verses, the
Lord only speaks about two men. He speaks about Adam. He speaks
about Christ. He speaks of one who's called
the first Adam. He speaks about the one who's
called the last Adam. He's talking about how, in principle,
God deals with us through each of these men, but the very difference
is stated so plainly and clearly. How can we not see it? He just
talked about how in Adam we all sinned. But he goes on to say it like
this, for if by one man's offense death reign by one, in Adam all die. When Adam sinned in the garden,
him being a representative man and representing his whole race,
when he sinned in the garden, we all sinned. That's what it
says. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by men, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. We fell by what one man
did, we'll be saved by what another man does. All right, next verse. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so,
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
under justification of life. All men are in Adam. So we all
fell, we all offended, we all came to condemnation. But in
Christ, not all are in Christ, but all who are in Christ, they
receive justification of life. Now notice this next verse. For
as by one man's disobedience, Many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ was
obedient in every way. He was obedient as a child. He
was obedient as a man. Obedient to God. And he said,
I do all things that please the Father. But in the original here, this
says something like this. By one man's disobedient act,
the many were made sinners. What did Adam do? He ate of the tree in the midst
of garden. And by that, he plunged our whole
race into sin. The evidence of it is right now. But this says, by one man's obedient
act, the many were made righteous.
Which means this obedient act is the death of the cross, even
the death of the cross. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace reigns. But it only reigns
in righteousness. In God dealing with our sins
in a way that honors Him in every way. In other words, in a way
that is right in His sight. People talk about grace today
all over the place. But it's not righteous grace.
Christ died for His people. He paid their sin debt in order
for God to be right and just in showing grace to His people. Christ's death before God's justice
is pleasing to God in the sense that it satisfies every claim
against His elect. Every single one. He's dying
for all the sins of all His people, of all times, past, present,
future. That's why when somebody says,
well, what about if I sin tomorrow? Well, what about it? There's
no what about it at all. You will sin tomorrow. He that saith he has no sin,
he makes God a liar. He denies the Lord Jesus Christ
in every sin. But when Christ died, all my
sins were future. All my sins. It satisfied God so much in His
holiness and righteousness that all Christ died for shall be
saved from wrath." Now, God's going to judge sin. But Paul says, writing in Romans
5, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him. I love the sound of that. We
shall be saved from wrath through Him. Why? Being justified. That is, being declared righteous
by His blood, His death. His cross death is unique because
of the condition of those He dies for. How are they described? Romans 5, for when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. How are they? They don't have
much strength? No, they are without strength. That means without strength to
satisfy God, without strength to pay the price, without strength
to die the dead, without strength in every sense whatsoever. So He must come and save us. And we shall. He died for the ungodly. It is unique in that it's the
greatest demonstration of the love of God for them. Somebody says, well, I see the
love of God in the flower and the love of God here and there
and there. Oh, no. If you want to find out how God
is, you better look at the cross. Because in the cross, you see
just exactly how God is. He deals with sin. When it is
even late on his son, he puts him to death. And yet, this is
the greatest act of love that's ever been known. Paul again in Romans 5, but God
commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. How could you ever talk about
the love of God in any way other than the death of Jesus Christ,
the cross death of Christ? Look over just a page in Romans
8. In Romans 8, in verse 33, he said, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Does he just do it randomly?
Does he do it without any consideration of his justice? Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, for who also maketh intercession
for us? It's Christ that died. And then it's unique in that
it made peace with God on the behalf of those that he died
for. And people are always being told
to make their peace with God. Believers can't make peace with
God any more than anybody else can. But it says this, it says
in Colossians 1, and having made peace through the blood of His
cross by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself by Him, I
say whether they be things on earth or things in heaven. How
is peace made? He made it by the blood of His
cross. His death is unique in that it
satisfied the law that was against us and triumphed over every other
enemy, both his and ours. Colossians again, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and he took it out of the way, nailing it to
his cross. and having small principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it, in his cross. Every enemy, every foe of both
God and his people, And that means that the death of the cross
is at the center of everything. Everything. In Romans 14, for this end Christ
both died and rose and revived that he might be both Lord of
both the dead and the living. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes
this to the Corinthians, For I delivered unto you, first of
all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. to the Thessalonians, he wrote,
who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should be
together with him. You see, there's always a positive
fruit. There's always a resulting success
that has to do with the interest of his people. Peter writes,
for Christ also has suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit. Jesus in John 10, no man taketh
it from me, but I lay down it of myself. I have power to lay
it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. Voluntary death. John 12, and I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said,
signifying what death he should die. The cross. Paul writes, and he says of Christ,
who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. He says, who his own self bare
our sins in his body on the tree that we being dead to sins should
live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. And then to the Hebrews he writes,
for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. Paul, writing to the Galatians, said, if I preach what other
men are preaching, especially if I, like some who have come
in among you now, have come preaching a mixture of works and grace, then why? Do I suffer the offense
of the cross? What is the offense of the cross? The offense of the cross is that
you and I are such sinners, incapable of saving ourselves, that the
Lord of glory had to become a man and die in order to save us. The offense of the cross is the
fact that salvation is in that death alone and not by one single
thing you do. The offense of the cross is that
salvation is all of grace. The offense of the cross is that
God himself, and especially Christ, gets all the glory. I hear people talking about,
when I made my decision, you ask them if they're saved,
and nine out of ten will begin to tell you what they did. I
was baptized. I came forward. I went to the
front. I prayed the sinner's prayer.
I, I, I, I. That's offense. The offense. Let me read you one more portion
of scripture. You read it with me. First Corinthians,
Chapter 1. First Corinthians, Chapter 1. Verse 17. Paul says, For Christ sent me
not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom
of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. There's a way of preaching that makes the cross of Christ
of none effect. You can hide it in flowery oratory. You can hide it in funny illustrations. You can hide it a million ways. And preachers do because they
know the cross is offensive. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish, or are perishing, foolishness. But unto us who are being saved,
or are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise, where is the
scribe, where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made
foolish the wisdom in this world? For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God through
the foolishness of preaching to save them believe. where the
Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach
Christ crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling box,
unto the Greeks or Gentiles foolishness, but unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Now, the death of the cross hasn't got anything to do with
the wood, hasn't got anything to do with the symbol. As a matter
of fact, all these things are just idolatry. Not the sign,
not the necklace, not the pin, But the person who dies there
and what he accomplished, he accomplished a full, free, final
salvation for all his people. And they will all be brought
to believe it. He'll find them. And nobody else will believe
this. Paul said, but God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him
freely give us all things? Then the writer of Hebrews, writing in chapter 12, says,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. despise the shame but for the
joy that was set before him. What was that joy? Joy of pleasing
the Father and the joy of saving all his
people from their sins. He endured the cross and God raised him from the dead
and set him at the right hand of the throne. He died a death like no one else. He died as a person, no one else. He died with sins imputed to
him, not his own, but his people. And he accomplished their salvation,
our salvation, every whit. He said on that cross, it is
finished. I've done my best, feeble as it is. to speak to you based on God's
pure words. They've been tried. They've been
tested. What I say doesn't mean a thing. But what God says means everything. And we'll either believe it will
perish. The preaching of the cross is
to them that are perishing foolishness. But to them that are being saved,
it is the wisdom of God. Now wisdom, what does that mean? In other words, God is holy and
righteous and just without sin, cannot look upon sin, must punish
sin, and you and I are nothing but sin, rebels, enemies. Now wisdom lies in how the two
can be brought together. It's Christ, the wisdom of God,
and it's the wisdom of Now, if you're not a sinner, you've got nothing here. Move along. But if you're a sinner, this
is your only hope. It's my only hope. God help us to believe it and
look to Christ. Father, we thank you for your
dear son and for the death of the cross. We thank you that he accomplished
the salvation of your people. We delight to have it so. We
delight to be saved all together by one outside of ourselves. We delight to have no part in
it, therefore get no glory in it. We're just thankful that he saved us and called us, not according to our works, but
according to his own precious shed blood. and death for sin, even the death of the cross. We thank Him. We pray in His
name. Amen. Amen.