I haven't looked at all, but
I suspect, I just suspect that if you were to go on one of those
internet webpages that supply preaching from folks all over
the world, like Sermon Audio, even Free Grace Radio, you would
go on one of the webpages. I suspect you might not find
a single sermon on the subject of limited atonement. In fact,
I'd be surprised if you find one. There'll be one posted today. My subject today is limited atonement,
the most glorious, blessed, comforting, inspiring aspect of gospel truth
revealed in Holy Scripture, limited atonement. and the one aspect
of gospel truth about which men are most willing to compromise
and men are most quick to deny and folks are most enraged to
hear. Limited atonement. About nine,
maybe ten years ago, I have a friend, Brother George Ella, from the
northern part of Germany. He wrote a book, biography of
William Huntington, biography of John Gill, He asked me to
do the forward to his biography of Gill, but we had never met.
And he was coming to the United States and was going to give
a series of lectures. In fact, I had been asked to
go myself to this conference, big, big, big Southern Baptist
Church out in Oklahoma, or in Enid, Oklahoma, just north of
Oklahoma City. And when I found out that George
was coming, I decided I'd fly out and meet him. So I bought
an airline ticket and drove up to Cincinnati. and got stuck
in the airport. Actually, I went to Lexington
and flew to Cincinnati on the way to Oklahoma City and got
stuck in the airport all day long and had to fly back because
of snow. Didn't get to go out. And so
I called George when I got home and let him know why I didn't
show up. And he said to me, oh, I wish
you could have been here. He said, there are 30 Southern
Baptist preachers here hearing these lectures about John Gill
and his theology. I said, there are what? 30 Southern Baptist preachers.
I said, George, do you mean to tell me that there are 30 Southern
Baptist preachers in Indian Oklahoma who believe the gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace in Christ? Yes, there are 30 of them. I
said, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll tell you what I'll do.
If you'll go to your lecture tomorrow morning and take a,
just ask one question. How many of you in the past year,
well, make it the past five years, make it ever, have preached on
the subject from your pulpit on limited atonement? Raise your
hands. I shall give you $100 for every
hand you see. They may talk about it in their
studies. They may write books about it. They may debate about
it. They may fuss about it. But they don't dare proclaim
it. If they did, they wouldn't stand long in any Southern Baptist
pulpit. Not many others either. And I
didn't hear back from George concerning that particular survey.
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to Romans chapter 5.
Romans chapter 5. My subject is the atonement,
specifically limited atonement. Therefore, being justified by
faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And that's
not all. And that's not all. That's the
meaning of those next words. And not only so. We're justified
in Christ by faith in him. We have peace with God. access
to God and to all his grace, we have a firm standing upon
Christ the rock of our salvation and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. Man, what a declaration. What
grace. But that's not all. And not only
so, this is just standing at the bottom of the mountain looking
up. This is just the beginning. This is just the outset. We're
just getting started. Verse 3, And not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. The love
of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. That is to say, the
love of God has reached its goal and has been brought to perfection
in us by the gift of the Spirit of life, by the gift of the Holy
Ghost, making us partakers of the divine nature in the new
birth. That revelation of the love of
God for us, experienced and known in the soul, is the comfort and
assurance of our hearts before God. love casteth out all fear."
There's no fear in love. Because we are assured that God
loves us, we have nothing to fear. Being assured that God
loves us, perfect love, His perfect love cast out all fear. Read
on. 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 God commendeth his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The love of God shed abroad in
our souls, experienced in our hearts in the new birth, is the
love of God commended to us in the sacrifice of his Son. The
Holy Spirit comes in the new birth and convinces us that Christ
is ours and we're His. And God commends His love to
us in the sacrifice of His Son, saying, this is how I love you. This is how I show my love for
you. This is the display of my love. And we're convinced of
His perfect, everlasting love. Read on, verse 9. That's not
all. That's not all. Much more than.
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him. 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. Now, look
at my text, verse 11. Paul is talking to us about heaps
upon heaps upon heaps of grace. And not only so, When I read
those words back in verse 3, and read them again here, I almost
want to stop and say, wait, there can't be more. But those are
the very words of inspiration. Oh yes, there's still more. Much,
much, much more. Not only so, not only are we
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, and secure in life
by the life of our risen Lord, We also, all who are saved by
His grace, joy in God. We also joy in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement. Our faith in Christ did not make
atonement. Our faith in Christ contributed
nothing to atonement. Our faith in Christ was not a
condition of atonement. Our faith in Christ received
the atonement just as our faith in Christ receives the justification
accomplished by our Redeemer when He died in our room instead
at Calvary. The atonement, the atonement.
What does that word mean, atonement? It's used throughout the Old
Testament Scriptures. It's just used over and over
and over again in the Old Testament. In the book of Leviticus, chapter
16, we read earlier, describing the day of atonement, it's used
just every other verse, the word atonement is used. The basic
meaning of the word is to cover, to cover. As pitch with which
the ark was covered, covered Noah and his family from the
flood of God's wrath, so the blood of Christ covers God's
elect. As the blood of the paschal lamb
sprinkled on the mercy seat on the day of atonement covered
the broken law of God, so the blood of Christ covers and blots
out all our sins. As the blood upon the doors of
every house in Israel calls the judgment of God to be blind to
sin in that house and calls death to pass by that house. So the
blood of Jesus Christ causes God to be blind to our sin, causes
God to declare we have no sin. He beholds no iniquity and causes
God's judgment, God's wrath God's sword of justice to pass from
us now and forever. Christ, by his sacrifice, is
the antitype of all these Old Testament types. He is the covering
of his people, covering us from the curse of the law we've broken,
covering us from the wrath of God we deserve. covering us from
the avenging justice of the Holy Lord God to which our sins otherwise
would expose us. But this word atonement is found
nowhere else in the New Testament, that is, in our English translation,
except here in Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. Many people object
to the fact that it is so translated here in verse 11, but the translators
did a good job. Not only so, but we also joy
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. The atonement was made for us
by Christ, our surety and representative, our covenant head. The knowledge,
the blessing, the benefit of it, the application of it, comes
to us by the God, the Holy Spirit, in the gift of faith, when he
effectually sprinkles the heart, sprinkles the conscience, cleanses
us inwardly by the blood of God's darling Son, our Lord Jesus. And the effect of atonement experienced,
the effect of blood sprinkled upon the conscience, is joy,
peace, hope, and comfort in the blessed knowledge of redemption
accomplished. Oh, if God will give you the
blessed knowledge of redemption accomplished, Christ has put
away your sins. Christ has satisfied the justice
of God for Christ by His blood and His obedience unto death
has made you the very righteousness of God. The blood of Christ sprinkled
on the conscience gives us joy, peace, hope, and comfort. The word here translated atonement
means reconciliation and it is usually translated that way in
the New Testament. In fact, almost everywhere else
in the New Testament it's translated reconcile or reconciliation.
The words atonement and reconciliation both mean satisfaction made and
accepted by God for the sins of His people. The English word
atonement is a very old English word. You hear it often these days.
People use, I believe, an atonement. That means you can make up for
your sins. That's not what the word means. The word means at
one with. At one with. Sinners by the blood
of Christ are made at one with God and God at one with his people. When God graciously reconciled
us to himself in Christ, and causes us, who are by nature
enemies of God, to be reconciled to Him. We, whose hearts by nature
are enmity against God, are reconciled to God. Now let me tell you what
that means. That means we have no problem
with God. I have no problem with God being
who He is. I have no problem with God saying
what He says. I have no problem with God doing
what He does, no matter when, where, with whom, or to whom. He's God. I'm reconciled to Him. I'm reconciled to Him. People
read the Scriptures. People who ought to know better
read the Old Testament. And we look at it and say, how
could David have done that? How could Moses have done that?
How could Solomon have done that? How could the judges have done
that? How could they have taken up war against such people and
utterly annihilated nations? How could they do that? God said
do it. That's how. God said do it. That's how. That's not a problem. He's God. He's God. If there's a God in heaven, How
could he send? How could he put up with? How
could he allow tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, disease,
war to wipe people out by the thousands? He's God. He's God. God said to the whirlwind,
go there. God said to the flood, sweep
away that island. That's God's doings. How can
you talk about God predestinating men to life, predestinating all
things? He's God. We are at one with
God. I used to fight him. I used to
be opposed to him. I used to stand with my fist
shoved in his face saying, God, you've got no right. No more. No more. Through the blood of
Christ. I'm at one with God in all His ways, in all His words,
in all His works, in all His being. The English word atonement
means at one with, and we receive the atonement by faith. The Lord
Jesus didn't merely provide the possibility of atonement for
His people. He accomplished it. He obtained
it for us. Our faith in him, I repeat, contributes
nothing to his finished work. Faith simply receives what Christ
has done. Complete atonement thou hast
made, and to the utmost farthing paid, whate'er thy people paid
or owed, nor can God's wrath on me take place, if sheltered
in thy righteousness and ransomed with thy blood. Have you received
the atonement? Have you received the finished
work of Christ accomplished for you? It's my prayer that even
as I preach this message, God will grant you faith in His dear
Son, the Lord Jesus, by the mighty operation of His grace. Now let's
look at this matter a little more closely. Let me say this
first. Unlike Papists and Protestants, Unlike Papists and Protestants,
we believe and preach only, only what is written in this book. Now that distinguishes us from
Papists and Protestants. Historically, this is the one
thing that distinguishes Baptists from all other religious denominations.
I have back in my office I think it's a three-volume set of books
called The Creeds of Christendom, and it makes for interesting
reading. There are creeds that Philip Schaaf put together, all
the creeds in the history of the church up until the time
he died and put them together in these volumes so you can go
back and read all the confessions of faith and all the creeds that
men have written. We rejoice to know that the doctrine
we preach is a doctrine that has been historically received
and proclaimed by God's church. But that's no basis of faith.
That's no basis of faith. I refuse to pin my name to any
man's creed, any man's confession of faith, no matter who wrote
it, no matter how much I like and admire the man or the men.
I refuse to pin my name to anything pinned by men and say, this is
what I believe and preach. This is what I believe and preach.
You understand that? That's the reason we have no
confession of faith. That's the reason we have no creed to which
we adhere. And I'll tell you why. As soon as Grace Baptist Church
writes out a confession of faith, a creed, says, this is what we
believe. If there's something comes up,
and there will be, that's not quite exactly the way it ought
to be, not exactly the way the scriptures say. What you will
do is you'll close the book and get the creeds that this is what
we believe. That wouldn't happen. We write the creed so folks won't
depart from it. They won't either. They'll hang
on to it and go to hell by despising the Word of God. We rejoice to
acknowledge and delight in the fact that the doctrine we believe
is logical and reasonable. That's just fact. That's just
fact. I don't like the term Calvinist. Somebody asked me the other day
out at the Wellness Center, said, you're not a Calvinist, are you?
I said, of course I am. Of course I am. I said, I'd make John Calvin
look like an Arminian. Of course I am. I flat believe
what's called the five points of Calvinism. I don't much like
the term. But yes, I believe those things. I most certainly
do. And the fact is, anything contrary to what's commonly called
five points of Calvinism, just is baseless in logic and reason. Just baseless. Brother Todd Nybert's
sister, Susan, was in school at Ashland, and she was taking
a tough time. She was going to community college
there. Of course, she, folks got word she was a Calvinist.
She attended church where Brother Bayham was a pastor. She was
Calvinist, and folks giving her a hard time. And the professor
got wind of it. And he stood in class one day,
and he said, now I'm not religious. And I don't profess to be a Christian,
but I've read this book in the Albany Bible. I've read this
book several times. And he said, what folks call
Calvinism is what this book teaches. And besides that, besides that,
if I were a Christian, I'd whole lot rather be a Calvinist and
know I was going to hell than be an Armenian and not know where
in the hell I was going. It's logical and reasonable.
But we don't believe anything. because it's logical and reasonable.
We don't preach anything because it's logical and reasonable.
We believe and preach what's written in the book of God. We
practice baptism by burying folks in water because that's the way
it was taught and that's the way it's done in the New Testament
and that's what our Lord teaches. By this we show forth the gospel
of God's free grace. We observe the Lord's table.
Unlike most people we observe the Lord's table insisting on
the use of bread and wine Unleavened bread and wine because that's
the way it was done in the New Testament And that's the way
we show forth our Lord's death until he come we observe the
Lord's table insisting Opening the Lord's table come here opening
it. We don't open it. We just don't
fix it out We don't shut anybody out who believes the gospel if
you believe on Christ. This is his table for you Oh,
we believe in strict closed communion. We got a problem when you read
Acts chapter 20 Because disciples came together from many cities
and broke bread together we observe and practice and preach what's
written in the book of God and We certainly believe in the free,
full forgiveness of sin. Because it is written, there
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. We believe
the Trinity. And I have read, I've read books
and books and books. I've read every good theology
book I could get my hands on in the past 47 years about the
Trinity. I've read every one I could get
my hands on. And I haven't read one that explains it. And I have
tried. haven't come close to getting
close to explaining the doctrine of Trinity as well as this. There
are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. You find it in
1 John chapter 5 verse 7. Why do you believe in the Trinity?
Because it's written in the book of God. We believe in irresistible
grace. Irresistible grace because it
is written in the Word of God. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee. Blessed is the man
whom thou choosest and by marvelous, sweet, overpowering, irresistible
force of grace calls to approach to you. When will you come to
Christ? I'll tell you when you'll come.
When God forces you to come. When God forces you to come.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. But no
man is willing until God by irresistible grace makes him willing. We believe
and preach the glorious, sweet gospel doctrine of God's sovereign
election. Because our Savior said, you've
not chosen me, I've chosen you. We believe, absolutely believe,
in the final, sure preservation and perseverance of all God's
elect. Because our Savior said, I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. And we believe
in particular effectual redemption, limited atonement, limited atonement. Brother Don, why do you have
to use those two words? They offend people. That's why
I have to use them. That's why I have to use them.
Because men who hate God are offended by God's truth. And
they're not to be coddled. They're not to be just, we can
gently get a fella to believe the gospel before he realizes
what he's done. You can, what you ought to do is just kind
of ease into this thing and get people in a mood to accept things
and get to be their friend and their buddy and after a while
you can get them to say alright, alright. That's not it. Men and women are rebels to God
and an ambassador who represents the king An ambassador who represents
the king. Not one who's trying to make
room for himself. Not one who's trying to get him a good place
to live over there in that hostile land. Not one who's trying to
enrich himself. But an ambassador for the king.
An ambassador for the king demands that the king's enemies bow.
He confronts them. He doesn't coddle them. He confronts
them. He doesn't coddle them. I'm not
talking about a diplomat. I'm talking about an ambassador.
He comes and says, this is what the king says. You hear to it
or you die. There's no other option. No other
option. We believe in limited atonement because it is clearly
stated and universally taught throughout the word of God and
there is not even a hint, there is not even a hint anywhere in
this book of anything contrary to it. Rejoice in and enthusiastically
preach that glorious, God-honoring, soul-comforting gospel doctrine,
limited atonement, because I believe the book. It's just that simple. Me and today, the Arminian worksmonger,
the will-worship freewheeler, believes in limited atonement
too. He believes in limited karma.
I fell across the street there. I fell right across the street.
When I was meeting somewhere else, I had Shelby call one day
and ask him what he meant by being opposed to hyper-Calvinism,
anti-Calvinistic. And he gave her his answer. He went to school widely out
in Springfield, Missouri. I won't tell you, everything went on.
I wasn't real nice. The fact is, this is what they
believe by limited atonement. They say, oh, no, no, no, we
don't believe in limited atonement. Yes, they do. They limit the power,
the merit, and the efficacy of the atonement. The whole world
would have us to believe that Christ died for folks who go
to hell, just like he died for folks who go to heaven. He wants
to save folks who go to hell, just like he wants to save folks
who go to heaven. But he doesn't have the power to do it. His
blood's not sufficient. They've got to do something.
They've got to make a contribution. This is God's part. That's their
part. And thus they limit everything
about the atonement. We don't limit the power of the
atonement. We don't limit the efficacy of
the atonement. We don't limit the merit of the
atonement. We simply declare that the objects
of atonement are limited to God's elect. Christ died for His people,
all His people, and none but His people. And by His death,
He effectually accomplished and obtained eternal redemption for
us. This is the very first thing
God taught me when He saved my soul. And I am fully persuaded
this is the very first thing and the most important thing
God teaches all His people in conversion. This is what I saw
as I heard the gospel of God's grace. I saw that God's darling
son came into this world in human
flesh, lived in this world in my nature, and died upon the
cursed tree in my room. in my stead, in my place, and
by his sacrifice put away my sins. I didn't see that he made
it possible for that to happen. I didn't see that he made it
maybe a likely thing that would happen. I saw that he put away
my sins by the sacrifice of himself. And there since by faith I saw
the Thy flowing wounds supply, redeeming love has been my theme
and shall be till I die. Now I realize there's a great
division among religious people over the doctrine of limited
atonement. I'm sorry that such divisions exist. But let me quickly
add this, and I want you to hear this. I'll take the blame wherever
it comes. There is no division among saved
sinners in this matter. There is no division among God's
people in this matter. The great majority of religious
people believe what I've already told you is described as universal
atonement or universal or general redemption. They believe that
the Lord Jesus shed his blood for every person in the world
and that the intention of Christ in his death was the eternal
salvation of all human beings. Now, let me give you four inescapable
conclusions to that doctrine. Anybody who believes that Christ
died for folks who are in hell has to acknowledge these four
things. And all of them are blasphemy. Anybody who believes that Christ
died for Judas and Judas is in hell has to acknowledge these
four things. Anybody who believes that Christ
died for the sons of Korah who were already in hell when he
died have to believe and acknowledge these things. Number one, if
it was our Lord's intention to redeem and save all men and all
men are not saved, then the purpose of God, the purpose of Christ
in his death is frustrated and brought to nothing. What he intended
to do, he didn't do. Number two, if the Lord Jesus
shed his blood for every person in the world, and some of those
go to hell anyway, some of those for whom he died go to hell anyway,
then that awful, blasphemous absurdity must be acknowledged
that Christ died in vain for them. He died for them. but it didn't
make any difference. He suffered the wrath of God
for him, but it didn't matter. He paid the price to divine justice,
but that didn't matter. He died in vain. Number three,
if Christ died to make atonement for all men, to save all men,
and some perish in hell anyway, then Jesus Christ failed in his
mission. His work of redemption is a failure. He came to redeem. He tried to
redeem. He wants to redeem. He does everything
he can to redeem. But some folks aren't redeemed.
A fellow who used to pastor First
Baptist Church here in town, Al Giesler, that was his name.
I was driving out of town one night going somewhere to preach.
And I was tired. It was late when we left, about
10 o'clock. maybe nine o'clock, I guess, and he was on radio
and I turned it on to get pumped up a little bit. He was closing
out, giving his altar call, his invitation, and with pretended
tears, he said, oh, won't it be a shame, won't it be a shame
that there'll be so many in hell for whom Jesus died and just
bawled? And I pulled over to the side
of the road and I said, shall we write it down? I don't want to forget it. Yes,
it will be a shame, a shame to him who tried to redeem and fail. If you try to do something and
can't do it for any reason, the shame is yours and nobody else's. If Christ tried to save, tried
to redeem, and fails to redeem, and fails to save, He bears the
shame, no one else. If Christ died to make atonement
for all men, to save all men, and some still perish in hell,
then the death of Christ really makes no difference. It doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter. He just as well stayed where
he was. It doesn't matter. He didn't accomplish anything.
These absurdities which we cannot and will not endure, blaspheme
God, nullify everything taught in this book about salvation,
and declare that Jesus Christ is a failure, and that means
He's not God, and you're yet in your sins if you trust Him.
Now, that's what most people believe about the Atonement,
but there are some among whom we're glad to be numbered, who
believe and preach the doctrine of Scripture, limited atonement."
What's that, Brother Don? We believe, according to Scripture,
that the intention of Christ's atonement and the effects of
His atonement are identical. What He intended to do, He has
done. Christ Jesus has redeemed us
from the curse of the law. Is that what the book says? Find
me a place in this book. I challenge you. I challenge
anybody. I promise you this. If you can
find me a place in this book where this is taught, I will
never attempt to preach or in any way explain anything in this
book again. I'll be silent forever. Is that
good enough? I promise you. I promise you.
You can either take me at my word or you can go around and
tell everybody Don Fortner lied to you. Find me a place in this
book where it is ever suggested, where it's ever implied that
Christ tried to redeem. That Christ made it possible
for you to be redeemable. That Christ tried to save. Where
the Son of God made it possible for you to be savable. It's not
in there. The book speaks about redeemed.
Is that how it speaks, Mark? Redeemed. Redeemed. I have redeemed, he said, or
in prophecy I shall redeem. Never I will try to redeem or
I have tried to redeem or I have provided redemption if you'll
pretty please let me do it. That's blasphemy. That's blasphemy. Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law. Christ Jesus did not make it possible for our
sins to be put away. He put away our sins. by the
sacrifice of himself. The Son of God purchased us,
a people peculiar to himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ perfected
forever all God's elect. He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. That's past tense. The work was
done. He finished the work, perfecting
forever them that are sanctified. Everywhere in the book of God,
everywhere in scripture, where the death of Christ is mentioned,
everywhere where it is prophesied, everywhere where it is typified,
everywhere in which it is in any way pictured, every single
example, and in every place in scripture where the death of
Christ is spoken of, it's spoken of as being that which he did
for his elect. for a specific people by which
he accomplished our redemption. Turn back to Isaiah 53. Let's
see. Isaiah 53, verse 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief, when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. When God the Holy Spirit
quotes this passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21, he says
he made him sin. And there's a reason for that.
If you care to get a concordance and look up the word, everywhere
in the Old Testament, we read it in Leviticus 16 for our scripture
reading, sin offering is used, sin offering is used, sin offering
is used. Every single place, every single place, where it
talks about that offering that was made for sin, which is called
a sin offering. The word is sin. It is never
sin offering. The word is sin. When it pleased
the Lord to bruise him, when thou shalt make his soul sin
for an offering, he shall see his seed. That's his seed. Not somebody else's seed. That's
the woman's seed. not the serpent's seed. He shall
see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall
see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. The many for whom he died the
many whose iniquities he bore, he shall see them with him in
glory, and he shall justify them. He shall save his people from
their sins. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Throughout the scriptures, throughout
the scriptures, it speaks of Christ's death as being a limited
atonement, an effectual atonement for his elect. When God brought Israel out of Egypt.
He gave him a commandment. He said, take the blood of an
innocent lamb. You kill that lamb. And you sprinkle
his blood on the doorpost and the lintel. And when I see the
blood, I'll pass over you. And everywhere where there was
blood sprinkled, in every house where there was blood sprinkled,
in every single place where the Passover was sacrificed, Not
one person in that house perished. Didn't matter how good they were
or how bad they were, nothing depended on them. Where the blood
was sprinkled, judgment passed by. And in every house in Egypt
where there was no blood sprinkled, death and judgment came. So it
is today. God sent Noah into the ark. Noah built the ark. When I think
about that ark, I think about how things must have been. Rex,
we still tend to think, because our minds are so clouded, we
still tend to think about being in Noah's day as, you know, they
were just maybe a step above cavemen. Noah must have been
a brilliant man. That ark must have been a ship
like we can't imagine. Shelby and I were talking the
other day, and flying over vast expanse of country and going
over what they call the bad lands, driving the other day. The original
people here, I'd be surprised if it wasn't inhabited, the earth
wasn't inhabited then in those days fully as it is today. But
there were eight folks in the whole world who were the objects
of God's grace. And Noah preached for 120 years. to his generation saying, get
in the ark. Get in the ark. Get in the ark. But that ark was just built for
eight people. It was just built for eight people. Noah said,
get in the ark! Get in the ark! And everybody
laughed at Noah. Everybody laughed at Noah. And
finally, the Lord said to Noah, take your sons and your wife
and their wives and get in the ark. And Noah and his sons and
their wives walked into the ark and God shut the door. That ark
was made for Noah and the wrath of God fell on the whole earth.
It fell on Noah and his sons and their wives like it fell
on everybody else, but it never touched them. All the wrath of
God was absorbed by the ark. So it is with Christ our Redeemer. God poured on Him all the fury
of His holy justice against sin and we were in Him and it never
touches us. It's called particular effectual
redemption, limited atonement. When you get to heaven's glory
and hear the saints of God sing His praise, Revelation 1, Revelation
4, Revelation 5, Thou hast redeemed us. Thou hast us, and redeemed
us, and brought us out of, not alone with, but out of every
nation, and kindred, and tribe, and tongue. The doctrine of the Bible is
limited atonement. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
and accomplished the eternal redemption of his chosen people,
according to the will of the triune God who made him sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. We must and do reject as blasphemy
and heresy any doctrine that denies the efficacy of our Savior's
sin-atoning Dear dying lamb, thy precious blood shall never
lose its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin
no more. This is what I'm saying. I've
received the atonement. I believe on the Son of God. That means my blessed Savior
took my sin and gave me his righteousness. He took my condemnation and gave
me his freedom. He took my guilt and gave me
his innocence. He took my shame and gave me
his glory. He took my death and gave me
his life. He took my hell and gave me his
heaven. He took my place. and gave me his place. That's our motive, our inspiration
in all things as believers, as preachers, as the Church of God
to glorify our God in all things. We also joy in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement. Have you received the atonement?
Take your place in the dust before his cross as a guilty, lost,
helpless sinner, and trust him alone. A guilty, weak, and helpless
worm, on Christ's kind arms I fall. Be thou my strength and righteousness,
my Jesus and my all. Amen.