Make sure this thing is going.
Last night's sermon is already posted on Sermon Audio, so if
you want to get that tomorrow or get that whenever, it's already
up. And I'll post this one, Lord willing, this evening as well. Tim, come. Well, I appreciate the invite
up here. It's always good to come back up here to Missouri
and see my friends. I've known them for many years.
I see some folks I don't know real well. Oh, I know that one. But it's good to see y'all and
pray the Lord. We got a light up here? Yeah. I'm getting old and I need more
light. Outstanding. Let's shoot over here on that
again. Hebrews chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 but we see Jesus who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned
with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man. For it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons
unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings. Our Lord's work of redemption
when considered for a moment remains the most astonishing
thing that a human mind is privileged to ponder. The mind made spiritually alive
by God's grace and given unction to understand all things is yet
made to stand in awe of this great and wondrous and magnificent
thing. We cannot begin to perceive the
unspeakable depths of shame and humiliation and sorrow that our
Lord plumbed in order to save the likes of us. The eternal Son of God laid aside
the robes of His resplendent glory and took upon Himself the
form of a servant and the fashion of a man. He, the ruler of heaven
and earth, was made under the law. The sovereign architect
of the universe walked in this world with nowhere to lay his
head. God Almighty became homeless
in his own world and try as we might we simply are unable to
wrap our finite minds around this But where our impotent reasoning
betrays us, God-given faith believes and bows and worships and even
understands to a degree. From the realms of glory, our
Redeemer's path was ever toward humiliation. He who was rich
for our sakes became poor that we, through His poverty, might
be made rich. Each step that He made was willingly
made in agreement with the Father's eternal purpose. And we are at
a loss to understand the depths of sorrow, the unimaginable anguish,
the daily dishonor, monstrous malice, and relentless persecution
that culminated with the blessed Son of the Most High, the desire
of all nations suffering the incomprehensibly ignominious
death of the cross of Calvary. What mind but God the omniscient could conceive such a scheme? It would indeed be blasphemous
for us to come up with such an idea. for us to say, God has
to come down here and save me. He was made to be sin for us
who knew no sin. He was forsaken and cursed. He
became a curse and was punished by God the Father. And this is
God's handiwork. And I'll be honest with you,
I feel like Spurgeon said, I'm casting my bark, my tiny bark
on a mighty sea. I'm utterly unequipped to process
the magnitude of the goings-on at Calvary. Here the believer
takes up his headquarters in the dust and simply cries, My
Lord and my God. Considering this, there's just
one question that is worthy of asking. If at some point in my
life I'm able to rub two cogent thoughts together, I'm compelled
to ask why. Why did the Son of God suffer
such a death? Why did God so torment His beloved
Son and bruise Him in such a vengeful way? I know that it was to save
my soul. I know that He died that I would
live. He suffered the just for the
unjust that He might bring us to God. This is clear in Scripture. the Word of God plainly declares
this there was no other way for the Omnipotent God to save me
this is love expressed Christ on the cross God pouring out
His wrath upon His Son, His love expressed to what it says in
Romans chapter five God has committed His love toward us, spread His
love abroad in our hearts Christ died for us as sinners
First John 3.16 says, Hereby perceive we that love God. This
is how we understand God's love. This is how we know God's love.
How did we know that? He laid down His life for us. First John 4 verses 9 and 10
said, Herein is love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us and gave His Son a propitiation for our sins. If a sinner is to be made suitable
to be accepted in the presence of the thrice holy God, he must
stand there justly, without guilt, or not at all. The justice of
God must be perfectly satisfied. We just sang it in that song.
He met the law's demands. The only way God could save people
and forgive their sins was the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,
without the shedding of blood. There is no remission of sin. This is the Bible doctrine and
it's of nuclear import. It encompasses the very glory
of God in the gospel. This blessed truth severs true
Christianity from all other religions. If this truth is removed from
Christianity, it becomes as valueless to the souls of men as Judaism,
or Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Shintoism, or Islam, or Fundamentalism. where perfect justice is not
administered in punishment for sin there is no salvation no
salvation the scriptures warn us of damnable heresies entering
in brought in by false prophets and among those damnable heresies
none is more common and more destructive to the souls of men
than the denial of Christ's absolute satisfaction of God's law He
satisfied it Hebrews chapter 10 verse 26 through 29, you'll
find God speaking of something. Look over there if you will,
Hebrews chapter 10 verse 26, it says, For if we
sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain
fearful look for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall
devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment,
suppose ye he shall be worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith
he was sanctified an unholy thing, and had done despite to the Spirit
of God." That word unholy is an interesting little word in
the original language. that someone who counts the blood
of Christ as common which means not for anyone in particular
but for everyone in general if you count that blood to bear
to meet the Holy God in wrath and vengeance Hebrews 2.9 complains
the necessity of Christ's substitutionary satisfaction of sin as clearly
as any other. It says we see Jesus. We see Jesus. We believers see
Him because the Spirit of God has graciously revealed Him to
us. We see Him as our Savior and the Christ of the living
God. We see Him as the fullness of
the Godhead and a body. We see Him as graciously, affectionately
bestowed upon us in grace. He was the Word and is the Word. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God. The Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God and the Word was made flesh. dwelt
among us, and we beheld his glory as he only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth." In him, God said, dwelleth the fullness
of all things. In him all fullness dwells. What
does that mean? Well, the Greeks had this idea
of a pantheon, a whole bunch of gods for different things. They called it the fullness.
God said Jesus Christ is the fullness. He alone is the fullness. He is Our complete redemption,
Scripture says, for we are accepted in the Beloved after God has
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world and Christ
has redeemed us by His blood. He is the Christ, our Redeemer,
and the Son of Man, the Lord, our righteousness. He is everything. For God hath made Him to be unto
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that no flesh
should glory in His presence. If you see Him, truly see Him, see Him with the eyes of faith,
then flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, the Father which in heaven has.
We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels. That's how He's described here,
the Creator of angels, was made a little lower than the angels.
He was made the seed of woman. Figure that out. Try to wrestle
that over in your head and come up with an answer. He was the
seed of woman promised in Genesis 3 15 to the serpent. The seed of woman is going to
bruise your head the Lord said to the serpent and you're going
to bruise his heel. The seed of woman born of a woman
born under the law to redeem them that are under the law it
says in Galatians chapter four this is why he came this is why
he came he was made lower than the angels
for the suffering of death we see Jesus made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death you see our faith The
faith is about death. We celebrate the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. What I'm doing right here in
preaching the gospel, I'm talking about the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. When you submit yourself to believer's baptism, you're
talking about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and his burial
and his resurrection. When you take the Lord Jesus
Christ's table take the wine and the bread he said you do
show forth my death until I come again Jesus Christ lived a perfect
life lived absolutely perfect life but listen very carefully
we're not saved by his life he lived a perfect life in order
that he could die a perfect death and become the perfect sacrifice
for sinners for the suffering of death our sweet Savior entered
this old world to die He set his face like a flint toward
Jerusalem. He came to suffer death. He did
not come to set up a government in earthly Jerusalem. He did
not leave glory to set up a new religion or even establish a
Babylonist church. He did not come to be a reformer
or an example of morality and virtue. Jesus Christ, the Immaculate
and Eternal Son of God, became a man for one reason to die in
the stead and room of His people and to save His people from their
sin. He came to this planet to die. He entered into this earth's
atmosphere to die because there was no other way to save you
and me. There's no other way. No other
way. we have here recorded for us
the unqualified success of this wondrous death having finished
salvation having coming into this world to die having suffered
death he was crowned with glory crowned with glory that's what
it says in Philippians chapter two he was born found in the
fashion a man was obedient even to the death of the cross wherefore
because For that reason, God has highly exalted him and given
him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he's Lord to the
glory of the Father. You have a joint in the middle
of your leg. There's a reason for that. Because one day you're
going to bow the knee. Everyone here and everyone who
walks upon this face, the face of this earth is going to bow
and they're going to confess. going to say it out loud though
they may have despised Him from the day of their birth and mocked
Him, one of these days they're going to bow and say He is Lord
and that's the truth that establishes the truth for every human being.
I may tell you that God loves you but I may not be telling
you the truth. I may but I may not because He
doesn't love everyone. Jacob have I loved and Esau have
I hated. He said he hates the workers
of iniquity every day he says. I can tell you that Christ died
for you and I might be telling the truth but I might not because
he died for his sheep. He laid down his life for his
people. He's a substitute for his elect. That might not be
true but this is true of you and everybody you know and everything
that rise and wriggles upon the face of this earth this is the
truth he's your lord so I ain't made him lord, you can't make
him nothing he's your lord and what he says to you ain't no
invitation it ain't up for opinion what he says to you in this book
is an absolute command because that's all a lord can do is tell
you what to do And what he's done, he's the Lord. Christ is
exalted, crowned with honor and glory. And that singularly excellent
human being that died for us and redeemed us on Golgotha's
hill, now sits in resplendent respite, crowned with glory,
imbued with honor as the Lord of all. Jacob described him,
Judah, as a lion fresh from the prey and as an old lion. And who shall rouse him up? He's
done His duty. He's fulfilled His course. He's
died in the room instead of His people. The very one who died
for us lives to rule this world absolutely. He moves and manipulates
all things and all people to give eternal life to as many
as God has given Him. He rules this history. History
is being played out for one reason by God to bring His people to
Himself. This is human history. You will
be used, you will be used, I will be used, all things will be used
for that singular purpose. He's God Almighty and He moves
and manipulates all things. I love that fact. I'm thankful
for that. Consider the next phrase, Christ
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
or death that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man. This phrase does not depart from its context. Paul
did not decide to suddenly inject the false notion of universal
redemption here or in any other place in scripture for that matter.
This is not a declaration that Christ died for those whom he
would not pray for. He said, I pray not for the world,
I pray for them that thou hast given me, for they are thine.
Or for those that were not his sheep. He said, I lay down my
life for the sheep. Or for those who are manufactured
vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction. What if God, willing to show
his wrath and make his power known, endured with much long-suffering
the vessels made for wrath? What if he did that? That's a
rhetorical question. That means you have nothing to
say about it. What if God did it? You ain't got nothing to
say about it. Did Christ come to save those
vessels that He would cast away on the potsherd? Did He? Of course not. He didn't come
to pray for those or to save those for whom He hid His truth
in Himself from. There were those who didn't like
his preaching, didn't like John the Baptist preaching. John the
Baptist was a rough character. He was a rough character and
he didn't play pretty with anybody. He'd come and told a story and
then went back out in the wilderness. And they didn't like him. They
said, he's such a downer. And when he preaches like that,
he's not going to make us mourn. He's not going to make us cry. Then they heard Jesus Christ
and he was kind and gentle and invited sinners to himself and
talked to sinners and spent time with them and went to people's
houses and had a glass of wine. And they said, look at him. He preaches just like somebody
playing a little flute, like a piper. We ain't gonna listen
to him. We're not gonna dance to his
tune. And our Lord looked at them and lifted his eyes to heaven
He said, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank Thee that
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and
revealed them unto babes. For even so it seemed good in
Thy sight, Father. No man is known the Father but
the Son, and no man the Son but the Father, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. this statement here does not
even suggest that Christ died for those who suffer the wrath
of God in hell no such thoughts would count his shed blood to
be vanity and deny the accomplishment of his sacrifice this phrase
tells us that Christ did not die to be a good example but
rather as the surety of his people to die in their room instead
in the original language there's no word in this phrase that should
be translated man it doesn't say he died for every man it
says he died for every or he died for all or he died for everyone
the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cursed tree
for every one of the sons he intended to bring to glory every
one of them that's how it's described here he by the grace of God should
taste death for every one son, every son he's gonna bring to
glory. Verse 10, for it became him for
whom are all things and by whom are all things and bringing many
sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings for every single brother that he has shamedly claims as
his own. And verse 11, for both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for
which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." for every
member of his body, in the midst of which he will sing praise.
And verse 12, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. For every one of the children
God the Father hath given him to save, for those he came, for
whose sake he assumed flesh and blood. This is a wondrous statement. When were you considered a child
of God? if you're a saved sinner here
tonight when were you considered a child of God? listen to this
carefully verse fourteen for as much then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood he also likewise took part of the same they were children so he became the child of God
that's what that's saying you were always a child, when were
you a child? when God chose you unto salvation before the foundation
of the world you're his child you're his family God is suffering
that's what it says for as much then as the children were partakers
of flesh and blood he also partook of the same, that through death
he might destroy him that hath the power of death, that is,
the devil. For every one of Abraham's seed
he died." Who are Abraham's seed? Those who believe on Jesus Christ
according to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 26. It's a wonder. Verse 10 is a wonder because
it flies in the face of what generally men generally think
about suffering and shame. What man looks on a person brought
to suffering, shame, and indignity, especially if that person has
done no wrong, and says of that humiliation, boy, that looks
good on him? You wouldn't say that, would
you? But that's what this says. It says it became him. It became
him. That means it fit him, it looked
good on him, it glorified him, it honored him and honored God. For it became him for whom all
things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through severance. It became him. It was necessary,
it had to be, but more than that, it was immensely and impressively
lovely to God. For God to save sinners and bring
them to glory, the Son of God must suffer in the room instead,
all that the law and justice of God could demand, and it yet
be an adornment for the Lord Jesus Christ. He hung there in
agonies and blood, and it was beautiful. It was magnificent. It became Him. plainly declared
that the death of Christ was necessary he said he said to
his disciples many times I've got to go to Jerusalem and they're
going to get a hold of me they're going to put me in chains and
they're going to whip me and they're going to beat me and
they're going to kill me because that's the way it has to be he
must suffer saith the scriptures he must suffer it became him
it became him God's decree demanded the Lord Jesus Christ for he
was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, and ye have taken with wicked hands. Our Lord's covenant surety
agreement ensured it. John chapter 10, he says, My
Father, I lay down my sleep. No man takes my life from me. I lay it down to myself. My Father
gave me this command. My Father gave me this command.
The Old Testament prophets promised of His coming. The Old Testament
prophets spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the prophets gave
witness to Him. You want to know what Daniel was talking about?
He was talking about Christ. You want to know who Isaiah was
talking about? He was talking about Christ. You want to know who
Jeremiah was talking about? He was talking about Christ. Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, they all talked about the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said that to the Pharisees who studied that book from Genesis
all the way to Malachi. who knew it backwards and upside
down, who had scribes write out that book over and over again.
He says, you search the scriptures. You spend your time in this book,
you search the scriptures. For in them you think in searching
the scriptures, you have eternal life. But they are they which
testify of me. The Bible talks about me and
the only Bible they had was the Old Testament. Until A.D. 51 when 1 Corinthians was written,
all they had was the Old Testament. And they went everywhere preaching
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And Paul's first words to the
Corinth Church in his first epistle is, I determined to know nothing
among you. Say Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is that book. This is that wonderful book.
The Old Testament's prophesied of Him and promised His coming.
And divine election ordained the recipients of the benefits
of His coming. The only way God could save His
elect was to satisfy His justice by and through the death of His
Son. I could say it a thousand different ways, but it's the
same thing every time. The next phrase proves beyond
any shadow of a doubt that this great transaction was not merely
the best of many possible ways to save sinners. It was the only
way for whom are all things and by whom are all things this is
God's doing this is God's doing and we use words like necessity
and necessary because we are bound by our inability to express
the magnitude of what took place here it was necessary for God
to save sinners in this way not because there was other options
but because this is the way God did it if God did it that's the
right way and the only way here the Lord is described as the
first cause of all things, by whom and for whom are all things. That's what it says in Romans
11, 36, Proverbs 16, and 2 Corinthians 5, 18. It says that over and
over again, all things are of Him. Read Colossians 1, verses
15 and 16. All things were made by Him and
for Him. You were made by Him. You were
made for Him. And you have a job. and you have
a purpose. I don't know what it is and you
probably don't either, but you'll serve it, I know that. There
is no unemployment in God's economy. Everybody's got a job and everybody's
going to do it for His namesake and for His glory. Why did He
do this? In bringing many sons to glory
is the declaration of God's gracious design toward His elect. I have
loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore I have drawn
thee unto me. In what God has purposed, he
shall do." They were already the sons in eternal adoption
and divine predestination long before Christ came to redeem
them. For as much as the children were partakers, then He partook
the same. We are given the privilege and
made aware of that. become the sons of God, and given
the Spirit of God's sons in the new birth, born of not of the
will of man, not of the will of flesh, but of God. They are ransomed, many, that
God gave His Son, a ransom for many. Who is this
wonderful One who will bring many sons to glory? He is the
captain of their salvation. He is the captain because the victory belongs to
Him. He alone took upon Himself responsibility
for the salvation of His people. He alone has earned the rank
and glory for the accomplishment of the salvation of His people.
He earned that lofty rank because He was made perfect through sufferings.
I don't even begin to know what that means. It sounds really
good though. It was by his perfect sufferings and death as our substitute
that he perfected them that were sanctified by one sacrifice forever. Without his suffering for the
satisfaction of justice, there could be no salvation. Though
he were a son, Scripture says, yet learned he obedience to the
things he suffered. and being made perfect he became
the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him as
Hebrews chapter five his sufferings and his death satisfied justice
God's justice God's inflexible justice and his death put away
our sins put them away all the language What does that mean? Well, as far as the east is from
the west. How far is that? Behind God's
back, before whom are all things. Behind His back. Buried at the
bottom of the sea. Put away. Put away. Three things
are clearly declared in this passage of scripture. It is impossible
for a holy and just God to save any sinner apart from the satisfaction
of justice. Secondly, Christ satisfied justice
for many sinners. And thirdly, it is impossible
for God in His holiness to punish anyone for whose sins justice
has been satisfied by the blood of Christ. He shall see of the travail of
his soul the result of and the product
of the travail of his soul. and shall be satisfied propitiated
and appeased. The law has no claim on an executed
felon. You're dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. You're dead and your life is
hid. See my life? I can't see my life. It's hid. I don't know my life. It's hid. It's a wonder. It's somewhere up there in glory
with my Savior. My life is Him. He is our life. This passage
said, the old poet said, payment cannot twice demand, first at
my bleeding surety's hand and then again of mine. We who have
received such amazing grace can do nothing but sit in admiration
and awe and adoringly ponder the perfections of our captain
for the rest of our days. But we see Jesus. was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned
with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man for he became him for whom all things by whom
are all things and bringing many sons to glory to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings we would see jesus
the author and finisher of our faith god bless you brother