So that's 1 Corinthians chapter
15, and we're going to read from verse
one. But I wanted to take a few minutes today just to restate
how important and significant the death and resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ was in the doctrine of the Apostle Paul. and therefore should be for us
too. Paul knew and served a risen Christ. And he knew the reason
why the Lord Jesus Christ had died. It was that knowledge that
motivated his ministry, that knowledge that took him out from
his home city, from his local environment, to as far as he
could take the gospel to the Gentiles. And I think that we're
all aware how confused many Christians are today about what the Bible
teaches concerning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and
how that even basic elementary Christian teaching We call it
doctrine. We've not to be frightened about
the word doctrine. It's just the teaching of the
Bible. Basic elementary Christian teaching is increasingly opposed
by professing churches. And Paul tells the Corinthians
how the gospel and especially the preaching of the cross And
by the preaching of the cross, we understand the reason and
the nature and the consequences of Christ's atoning work. Why
the preaching of the cross must continue to be central in our
understanding and to be frequently declared so that it might be
received and believed. Preaching the cross strengthens
our hope supports our testimony and deepens our gratitude to
God and therefore it is continually important that we are taken back
time and time again to this gospel of the cross. So we're going
to read 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 and I'm just going
to read to verse 4. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if
ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed
in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures and that he was buried and that
he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. And Paul tells
us in this, just right on the surface, that I delivered unto
you first of all, this was the first in the first order of importance. This had the first priority in
his mind. Whatever else he said, it was
the preaching of the cross that was first of all. And he tells
us that he is only passing on that which he had received. He
received this from the Lord himself. So here is Paul, a first-hand
witness of the Lord Jesus Christ in his risen power, passing on
what he had received from Christ as being of the first importance
in our understanding of the gospel. In preaching the cross of Christ
and the message of the death and the resurrection of Christ,
we are coming to the heart of the gospel. Indeed, there is
no gospel apart from Christ's sacrifice for sin and his redemption
of sinners by blood atonement. And like Paul, we believe in
particular redemption, or what is sometimes called limited atonement,
because we believe Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures. So if we can show that the Scriptures
teach this particular atonement, then this is the message we have
to believe. And when we talk about particular,
it has reference to the extent and the purpose of Christ's atoning
work. It, that is the gospel of the
cross, the preaching of the cross, asserts that Christ died for
a particular people, for a limited number of specified individuals
and that that death is consistent with God's eternal design of
election and according to his sovereign will in his eternal
decrees. Now, some professing Christians
have sought to redefine the meaning and the purpose of Christ's death. And they claim that Jesus' death
on the cross was nothing to do with redemption or atonement
at all. And instead, they talk about
Jesus' death as a sacrificial example, which should teach us
how to be sacrificial in the way that we live. Or they talk
perhaps instead of it being a divine gesture to demonstrate how much
God loves us and what lengths He's prepared to go in order
to secure our affection and our allegiance in return. And some
people even say that the death of Jesus was an unforeseen mistake,
that Jesus didn't intend to die and that the resurrection allowed
God to take a different course of action and try another approach. But Christ died according to
the Scriptures. And scripture will not permit
these interpretations to stand without the proper emphasis on
the redemptive nature of Christ's death and the atoning power of
his blood. And passages such as Isaiah 53
speak of Christ's death being an offering for sin. and how
God's righteous servant justified many by bearing and carrying
their iniquities. So this substitutionary element
of the death of Christ is is foremost in these Old Testament
passages. And it chimes beautifully with
the New Testament teaching, such as John 10, where the Lord Jesus
is described as laying down his life for the sheep. And Acts
20, 28, where it's clear that Christ has purchased his church
with his own blood. And Paul shows that there is
a unity of purpose within the Godhead for this great transaction. When he states in Romans 8, verse
32, that the Father delivered Christ up for sinners, and in
Ephesians 5, 25, Christ tells us that he willingly gave himself
for his people. So Christ's death redeemed or
purchased or bought back his people who had been sold into
slavery, who had been sold into sin and captivity to Satan. And Christ paid the ransom price,
the redemption to God's justice and atoned for those that he
was redeeming. He restored them to peace with
an offended God and he justified them by his own perfect righteousness. And this is what is contained
in the preaching of the cross. And this is where that particularity
comes in because the death of the Lord Jesus must be seen as
substitutionary if we are to do justice to Bible language. Christ died for and in the place
of sinners. The crucifixion was not simply
the death of one man at the hands of Roman soldiers 2,000 years
ago. Christ died as a representative
of others. He suffered in their place instead
of them. He suffered both as the offerer
and the sacrifice offered. and our Lord gave his life for
the sins of his people. And God the Father accepted the
blood of his Son in payment for the sins of his people. Their
sins were placed on Christ and God the Father punished God the
Son, their substitute, instead of them. And in this way Christ
fulfilled all the Old Testament priestly typology and the pictures
that were contained in the sacrificial lamb and the various offerings
that had to be made for sin. So let's just bring that to the
fore then. For whom did Christ die? Did
he represent all mankind, or was he a substitute only for
some? Was his death for all men in
general, or only for some men and women in particular? Well,
the Bible isn't silent on this, as we've seen above in the Old
and New Testament. And Jesus himself says, I laid
down my life for the sheep. John 10, 15. Later in the same
passage, he distinguishes and separates between those that
are his sheep and those that are not. He identifies the sheep
as being those who are known to him, those who hear his voice,
and those who follow him. John chapter 10, verse 26 to
28. So we hold that Christ's atonement was substitutionary for a definite
number of specific individuals known to him and was limited
in its extent to those men and women for whom the redemption
price of blood was paid. and it's a limited number. They
are called variously God's sheep. They are called His little ones.
They are called the Church of God. They are called the Chosen. They are called the Remnant People.
They are called Mount Zion. They are called the Elect of
God. We've seen hundreds of these names that apply to this people
for whom Christ gave his life and shed his blood. They are
the particular individuals throughout history from amongst the Jews
and the Gentiles for whom Christ died. Now sadly, there are evangelicals,
so-called evangelicals, who claim in their confessional standards
to believe in particular redemption, but who prefer from their pulpits
and in their preaching to open up the scope of Christ's work
to include everyone. And some teach that the particularity
of grace is not in Christ's atonement at all, but in God's electing
purpose. And they say, therefore, that
Christ's death is sufficient for everyone, it covers everyone,
it serves for everyone, while it actually saves only the elect
whom the Father has chosen to save. Now, you might be able
to find some logic for that, but it is without scriptural
warrant. But what it allows them to do
is they can then offer Christ as a potential saviour for everyone. They can say to people, Christ
died for you and Christ has saved you if you will only accept his
gift. But that is the ground of the
various free will and Arminian errors that have afflicted the
church throughout history. Others will say that Christ's
redemption was for everyone, but the blessings and the benefits
of it are only applied to certain individuals by the Holy Spirit.
And again, what is happening here is that these people are
pushing a wedge between the united purpose of God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit by claiming that the extent of
Christ's atoning work differs from the elective purpose of
the Father and from the quickening work of the Holy Spirit. Let me put that another way.
Indefinite atonement or universal atonement is simply being suggested
to get around the implications of a particular redemption because
these preachers cannot abide the thought that Christ only
died for certain individuals. And it is inconsistent with the
divine purpose of grace and the particular application of atoning
blood. And with that, we cannot agree.
Christ's redemption must be viewed as particular because by it,
a transaction is accomplished in heaven. A transaction is accomplished
for divine justice. Christ's blood secured freedom
and a ransom was paid when that purchase price was given. In the atonement, the debt is
paid. The church is bought with a price. That's 1 Corinthians 6, verse
20. Christ, with his own precious blood, paid the ransom demanded
by justice and purchased the inheritance, the people that
God had given him. He purchased the inheritance
which had been sold under sin. Christ's people, thus redeemed,
are his purchased possession. Ephesians 1 verse 14, and claiming
that Christ's death is sufficient payment for everyone has no place
in faithful gospel preaching. Let me just begin to wrap this
up here. Redemption must be considered particular and limited because
substitution provides for the bearing and carrying away of
sin by a substitute. God's justice demands payment
for sin, but his holiness also demands the removal of that sin
and the application of righteousness. And perhaps the most wonderful
aspect of Christ's substitutionary atonement is his bearing the
sins of his people away. bearing them away in his own
body on the tree. That's 1 Peter 2, verse 24. And here we see the punishment
for our sin being taken by Christ and our sins being removed. God's mercy and his justice find
satisfaction in one glorious act. If the death of Christ was
general and indefinite, then the sins of all mankind must
already be both paid for and carried away. Now that's universalism. Everyone goes to heaven, there's
no need for hell, there's no final judgment, there's no punishment
for sin. but it is Christ's blood alone
that cleanses men from sin and makes us fit for glory. And Isaiah
declares, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed. And the Lord told Zacchaeus,
today salvation is come to this house and we find our salvation
in faith in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed
on the cross and the righteousness which he has secured. and the
liberty that that brings and the new life that we have with
him in his resurrection. This is God's purpose. This is
God's plan. We are God's people who have
faith in him. May the Lord always remind us
of the power and the efficacy of the shed blood of Jesus Christ
in the preaching of the gospel. Amen.