If the Lord will enable me, I
want to preach to you this morning about the satisfaction of Christ. That's the title of my message,
The Satisfaction of Christ. The Apostle Paul in this first
three chapters of the Book of Romans has been showing us why
Jesus Christ had to die, why the Son of God had to die upon
the cursed tree. Romans chapter 3, verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there
is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth
a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. And when the Apostle Paul writes
here by divine inspiration and declares that the holy Lord God
has set forth his son, a propitiation through which we now receive
the forgiveness of sins, receive righteousness, and receive God's
salvation. God sent his son forth to be
a propitiation through whom, in whom, and by whom he might
be both just and the justifier of all who believe. Before God
could do anything for us, he had to do something for himself.
I've said that to you repeatedly. Before God could do anything
for us, he had to do something for himself. Before God could
save a sinner, he had to do something for himself. Before God could
show mercy to any sinner, he had to do something for himself.
Justice must be satisfied. Now, that's our subject this
morning. Propitiation and satisfaction are two words that are very much
interchangeable. When Christ is set forth to be
propitiation for our sins, He is set forth by God as that one
who made satisfaction to divine justice by the sacrifice of himself. Now, there's nothing in all the
world more delightful, more compelling, more constraining, more comforting,
more reproving than the sacrifice of God's son at Calvary. He hath
made him. sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. There's so much fighting and
debating going on among preachers over that text of Scripture that
it breaks my heart. Shelby and I were chatting the
other day She has become aware of some of the accusations fellows
make and really disturbs her, doesn't bother me too much. Accusations
they make with regard to your pastor and blasphemous doctrine
and all those things, twisting and perverting things. And I
said to her, I'm uncomfortable even talking about this in this
light. This is the most stupendous thing
in the world. made His Son sin for us. Because that's the only way God
could make us the righteousness of God in Him. If that doesn't
overwhelm you, I don't know what will. If that doesn't grab your
heart, I don't know what will. He hath made Him Sin for us who
knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him Christ Hath redeemed us from the curse of the law Being
made a curse for us Being made a curse for us imagine
that God made his son sin. And when God made his son sin,
he made him a curse. A cursed thing. A cursed thing. When God made his son sin for
us, he not only Treated him as though he were
a sinner He not only heaped upon him all the fury of his wrath
as if he were himself guilty But rather he made his son sin
He made his son guilty He made his son a cursed thing The object
of God's just and righteous fury. Why would he do that? Why would
he do that? That the blessing of Abraham
might come on us. That all God's covenant mercy
given by his spirit to save sinners might come on us. God could not
give us his spirit in life God could not give us eternal life. God could not give us righteousness. God could not make us righteous
except first Christ be made sin and made a curse, cursed of God
for us so that God might now in justice heap upon us the boons
of his grace. That's what our Savior meant
when he said, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if
I go not away, the comforter will not come to you. Except
Christ first suffer and die upon the cursed tree. God cannot,
God cannot, God cannot be merciful and gracious to sinners. Justice
must be satisfied. Do you understand that? Justice
must be satisfied and it can be satisfied only by Christ's
Substitutionary sacrifice as the center substitute turn to
Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 The Apostle Paul I do not frustrate
the grace of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, if righteousness come by something you do, if righteousness
could come in any way except by the sacrifice of God's Son,
then Christ died in vain. What a statement. What a statement. That means, Don Renari, if God
could save you in some other way, and he still killed his
son to do it, he killed his son for nothing. He killed his son
for nothing. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Among
all the countless damning heresies perpetrated in our day from pulpits
all around the world, not just papist and Methodist and Pentecostal
pulpits, Baptist pulpits, not just liberal conservative pulpits,
not just conservative fundamentalist pulpits. Of all the damning heresies
perpetrated from pulpits all over the world, none is more
common and none more destructive to the souls of men than the
denial of Christ's satisfaction. And when we talk about satisfaction,
I'm telling you that when Jesus Christ died at Calvary When Jesus
Christ died at Calvary when he said it is finished He had fully
satisfied the offended justice of God for somebody He had fully
put away somebody sins. He had fully redeemed somebody
He had fully obtained eternal redemption for somebody if one
soul for whom Christ died at Calvary would have perished in
hell, then that means Christ didn't do anything at Calvary. This notion, this blasphemous
notion that Jesus died for everybody is damning. It is a denial of
the very character of Jesus Christ as God. Here in Hebrews 10, verse
26. If we sin willfully, after that
we have received the knowledge of the truth, There remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins. You've received the knowledge
of the truth, and you turn back to Paul specifically writing
to Jews. It cost them a lot. Brother Lynch
and I were discussing this a few weeks ago after one of the Bible
class lessons. Back in those days of the apostles
in the early church, Jewish converts, as long as they just attended
the worship services, that's all right. Like it is today,
that's all right. But as soon as they were baptized
and confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior, they were flat
cut off from their families. I mean, treated as though they
were dead. They couldn't get a job. The unions wouldn't let
them work. You think unions are strong today? York lived in that
day. They had guilds, unions, and folks couldn't work. They
were put out of business. And many who once professed faith,
who once professed faith, John says, they went out from us because
they were not of us. They went back to their old ways
and back to their old religion. Though they had been outwardly
sanctified, their lives cleaned up by the religion, they went
back to it. Now, what's the consequences? If we sin willfully, forsake
the assembling of God's people, forsake the worship of God, After
that, we've received the knowledge of the truth. There remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins. If you forsake Christ, you got
nothing. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and defiary
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Now watch this. Of how much sorer punishment
Suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot
the Son of God and have counted the blood of the covenant wherewith
he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace What's he talking about? What's he talking about? Those who declare that Christ
died for sinners who were in hell Declare that the blood of
Christ is an unholy thing. The word unholy is common. Common. Folks talk about common
grace and common love and common atonement, general grace, general
love, general atonement. That's meaningless grace, meaningless
love, meaningless atonement. Understand that? that trample
underfoot the blood of the Son of God, counting it a common
thing, something that is as common as the dirt under your feet,
and thereby do despite unto the Spirit of grace, despise the
grace of our God. Now, I chose Hebrews chapter
2 for our reading earlier because I think Hebrews 2, perhaps more
clearly than any other single passage, shows us and explains
to us both the necessity and the nature of Christ's satisfaction.
Read Hebrews chapter 2 with me again, verses 9 and 10. Hebrews
chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. We see Jesus. We see Jesus. We don't yet see everything put
under his feet. God said he created Adam in the
garden and made him behead over all his creation and put everything
under his feet. I get a little frustrated because
they ain't much under my feet. There's not much I control. There's
not much over which I have any dominion. And just as soon as
I think I can control something, I found out I can't control that
either. Well, nothing's put under man's feet. Nothing's put under
man's feet. You run up onto a snake out there
in the field and you jump back because you're scared of it.
It's not put under your feet. What's the promise then? He's put everything
under the foot of men. Oh, he has. That man, yonder
in glory, everything's under his feet. And in him, soon, everything
shall be put under our feet. We see jesus with the eye of
faith because he's been revealed to us. We've been revealed to
us by the spirit of god We see that he is jesus our savior the
christ of god We see in him all the fullness of the godhead all
the fullness of god's grace all the fullness of god's glory all
the fullness of redemption You see him our redeemer the son
of god made of god unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Do you see him? Do you see Him? If so, flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but our Father which is in heaven, who
was made a little lower than the angels. He who made the angels
was made beneath the angels. He who made the angels took not
on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of
Abraham. He came into this world of man, born bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh, made under the law to redeem them
that were under the law. Now watch this. For the suffering
of death, why did Christ come? Just a little while, you're going
to see Christmas trees popping up everywhere and folks are going
to be sending out brochures selling, having Christmas sales and advertising
things for Christmas. And you'll be sending out Christmas
cards and folks will be singing Christmas carols and have put
up nativity scenes everywhere. Folks will be talking about the
birth of Christ. Everybody talked about it. Everybody scream and
jump up and down and fuss if you're forbidden to put up your
Christmas trees and forbidden put up nativity scenes all the
stuff I'll say this better stuff, but if you're forbidden about
it religious folks get oh, they get bent out of shape. They get
bent out of shape But nobody knows why I came Nobody has a
clue why I came ask him ask him Why'd he come? for the suffering
of death He came here to die. Not to be a king over in Jerusalem,
not to be a social reformer, not to be a moral reformer, but
to be a sacrifice for sin. He came here to die over and
over and over again. He said the son of man must be
lifted up. The son of man must be betrayed.
The son of man must be delivered to the Gentiles. The son of man
must be hung upon the tree. The son of man must be crucified.
The son of man must die. Why must he? Because there's
no other way for God to save sinners. For the suffering of death, Christ,
the son of God, Came here to die in the place of guilty sinners. To die because this is the only
way God in justice can justify the guilty. You remember when
Moses prayed, Lord, show me your glory. I beseech thee, show me
thy glory. He said, all right, Moses. There's a place I'm going to
put you in the rock. And I'll put my hand over you.
And I'll pass by you, and I'll declare my name. Here's my glory.
Here's my glory. Name, my name. Jesus means Savior. Joshua, same word, means Savior.
Names in the old days used to mean something. We don't pay
attention to names these days. We name folks something because
it sounds nice. It sounds like a boy. It sounds like a pretty
girl. So we name something. I ran into a fellow doctor's
officer the other day. Don, he takes blood out of my
finger. I said, you know what the name means? He said, no,
Don, what does it mean? I said, well, you got two choices.
It either means mighty ruler or a little brown stranger. And I'm not either. I'm not either.
Names don't mean anything these days. Back in the 50s, I think
every other boy in the southern part of the United States was
named either Donald or Ronald. That's all. That's all. But the
name doesn't mean anything. Not so in this book. God says
my name is my glory. My name declares to you who I
am. My name declares to you what I am. My name declares my character. It's my attributes. And he says,
I will by no means clear the guilty. I will by no means clear the
guilty. That means Doug Hacker, God Almighty, will not simply
pretend you didn't see it. He won't do it. He can't be God. and just pretend you didn't see
it. It can't happen. And then he turns right around
and says, this is my name, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and
sin. What a contradiction to men,
to men. But God found a way by no means
to clear the guilty and yet forgive iniquity, transgression, and
sin. How can he do that? He took my sin and made His Son my sin. And when He made His Son my sin,
He poured on Him the fury of His wrath. Because when His Son was made
my sin, His Son deserved God's wrath just like I do by nature. You understand that? You understand
that? That's what redemption's all
about. That's why Christ had to die. And now, since Christ
has paid for my sin, he put away my sin by the sacrifice of himself. And God has never beheld sin
in me or iniquity in you, who he is. That's what he says. Never
better because he beheld us from everlasting in his son who was
made sin for us and died under the curse of God for us being
made a curse for us The next line here We see him Jesus who
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death
crowned with glory and honor He who died to save my soul sets
on the throne of the universe given power and dominion over
all flesh has control of everything and everybody Controls every
thought and every action of every man every angel Good and bad
of every demon of hell and of Satan himself. He's in charge
God's given him power over all flesh To give me eternal life
To give eternal life to as many as thou has given him Christ
who died lives to save Christ who bore our sins lives to give
us righteousness. Christ who took on himself our
nature and in our nature was made sin and in our nature died
under the wrath of God. In our nature sits in glory God
in our flesh to give us his nature. To make redeemed sinners partakers
of the divine nature. Now look at the next line, that
he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Oh, now there you see that means
he died for everybody. You know, it would help a whole
lot in understanding this book if you would read everything
in its context. Read everything in its context. People have a bad case of versitis. And they get upset and some doctor
starts spitting verses at you like a machine gun spitting bullets.
Just this verse, that verse, this verse, that verse. Paying
no regard to what the scripture says. Paying no regard to the
message of scripture or to the context in which it's found.
You can take any single statement in scripture and make it mean
most anything. The book of God says, let him
that stole, steal. No more working with his hands. You mean if others are supposed
to go out and steal, not work with their hands? That's reading it totally out
of its context. It says, let him that stole, steal no more,
rather than working with his hands. There's all the difference
in the world. Watch what that means. Why is
that shocking? Anybody with good sense would
read it that way first time and Anybody with good sense will
read the Word of God as it stated. Well, what does this mean? When
our Lord has said here he came here specifically to taste death
for every man the word man There's not a there's not a corresponding
word for it in our in the Greek text now you can Take my word
for it or I'll find you a Greek text and look it up yourself
But there's just not a corresponding word. The word would be translated
better every and that's that way That he by the grace of God
should taste death for every or for every one or even for
all But he's talking about those described right here in this
context. Look at this. Who are those for whom the Son
of God tasted death? Every one of the sons he would
bring to glory verse 10 Every one of those brethren of whom
he is not ashamed, verse 11. Every member of his church in
the midst of which he will sing God's praise, verse 12. For every
one of the children the father gave him to save, for whose sake
he assumed our flesh and blood and for whom he died, verse 13.
Who is this every man? Every one of Abraham's seed.
Every one of Abraham's seed. The Lord Jesus, when he came
into this world, passed by the fallen angels. Now, I don't know
why folks don't get upset with that. I've never heard anyone
pretend that they were upset because God didn't show any mercy
to the fallen angels. I've never heard anyone object to that.
Have you? I've never read it. I've never heard anyone get upset
because you say Christ didn't die to redeem fallen angels.
Their parents, he left them in their father's state, did nothing
for them, except held them in chains of darkness to the judgment
of the last day. Now, I've never read or heard
anybody getting upset with that. But when you say he didn't die
for all men, oh, now they're upset. Because that involves
taking power out of your hands. That involves taking salvation
out of your hands. That involves taking God out
of your hands. Men who think they're God just
won't tolerate that They just won't tolerate that He took not
on him the nature of angels and the scripture doesn't say here.
He took on him the nature of Adam He says he took on him the
seed of Abraham Took on him God's covenant people took hold of
God's covenant people to redeem and save them Why was the Son
of God? made to humble himself so to
suffer and die the painful, shameful, ignominious, cursed death of
the cross, that he might save his people from their sins. Look
at verse 10. For it became him. It became
him. It behooved him. It was necessary
for him. If God would save sinners, it
was necessary for him if he would bring them to glory. to suffer
and die. When Paul says it became him,
it was necessary for God to slay his son to save his people. Lest we begin to think somehow
that puts some kind of limitation on God. Well, if you say that
this is the only way God could save sinners, then that puts
a limitation on God. Is it a limitation on God to
say God cannot lie? Of course not. He who is truth
cannot lie. Is it a limitation on God to
say God cannot sin? Of course not. He who is holy,
perfectly holy, the holy Lord God, he who is righteousness,
cannot sin. Cannot sin. And it is no limitation
on God's sovereignty to say this is the only way God could save
sinners. God saves sinners this way because
there is no other way. Because God's just. Because God's
just. For who for whom are all things
and by whom are all things This one who sent his son to die for
us Is he who made all things for himself and by whom all things
are brought to pass? What's this in bringing many
sons to glory? We were his sons Oh god help
you to hear me now If this minute, if this minute
you believe on the Son of God, if this minute God gives you
faith in Christ, that doesn't mean you have this minute become
God's child. We were His long before the worlds
were made. made his by special adoption
in eternal election, the sons of God from everlasting. We were
given power to become the sons of God, the authority, the right,
the power, the ability to become the sons of God. When God, the
Holy Spirit gives us faith in Christ in the new birth, when
he comes now, we're enabled to lift our hearts to God, looking
to Christ and say, Abba, father, That's my father. That's my father. Oh, what an honor. What a privilege. Calling God my father doesn't
make him my father. Calling God my father with confidence
is the declaration of my assurance that my sins are forgiven through
the blood of his son. Now we draw nigh to God, calling
God our father. Now we are openly and manifestly
declared to be the sons of God, being given faith in Jesus Christ
the Lord. Turn back to Galatians chapter
4. Hold your hands here in Hebrews 2 and look at Galatians 4. Verse
4. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying,
my father, have a father, father, father. When the fullness of
time came, God sent his son into the world who accomplished redemption
for us. so that we might now receive
the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of God, and be given faith in
Him, crying, Abba, Father. We are the sons of God now, through
Jesus Christ shed blood, made to know our heirship. The person
by whom God's elect are brought to glory is Christ, the captain
of our salvation. of our salvation. I've often
told you Mr. Spurgeon was referred to by the
men in his congregation as Captain Spurgeon. They gave him that
title and it was given in respect. They referred to him as Captain.
They knew what they were talking about, Captain Spurgeon, because
he was the one in charge. Now listen to me, listen to me. is the captain of our salvation. He's the one in charge. He's
the one at the helm of the ship. He's the one responsible for
the whole thing. He's the one who brings it to
pass. It's his work, not ours. We're just passengers on the
ship. He's the captain of our salvation. And watch what it
says here. Made perfect through sufferings,
made complete, made whole as the captain of our salvation
through the things he suffered. This is what God, the Holy Spirit
declares in Hebrews chapter two, verses nine and 10. And this
is what God, the Holy Spirit declares in Romans chapter three. Since it was the design, purpose
and pleasure of God to bring many sons to glory and happiness
as the sons of God. It was necessary for Christ,
God the son, to die in our place, suffering all the fury of God's
holy wrath in our room and in our stand as the captain of our
salvation. And now he made perfect, made
to be the perfect, whole, complete Savior of His people by the things
He suffered. Imagine that. Imagine that. That man yonder in glory is made complete as the captain
of our salvation, made perfect as the captain of our salvation
by the perfect accomplishment of redemption on our behalf. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, that we might
receive the blessing of Abraham, the promise of the Spirit, in
the free grace of God saving our souls. Now, if you believe
on the Son of God. Do you believe? Do you trust
the Son of God? Oh, God help you to believe Him.
If you now believe on the Son of God, Christ is the propitiation
for your sins. Christ is the satisfaction of
divine justice for your sins. Yonder in glory is all that God requires of me,
and all that God can give to me, and all that I can bring
to God, and all that I am before God. Now if that doesn't compel you
to give your heart to Him, nothing will. Let's wrap this up, 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 My homiletics pastoral theology
professor said to us about once or twice a week Boys, if there's
no summons, there's no sermon And he was exactly right Here's
the summons for you Here's the summons for me. Verse 14, 2 Corinthians
5. The love of Christ constrains
us. The love of Christ constrains
us. Stacy Hall, your whole life sticks
into change permanently. Everything about it. You're going
to have to make some sacrifices. Everything about it. You're about
to become a pastor's wife. Means you've got to keep your
mouth shut and take it on the chin. Means you've got to behave
like a lady all the time. Understand what I'm talking about? Why would you do that? Why would
anybody? Why give up this? Why give up
that? Why? Why? Why? You who are God's Live for
Christ. Don Fortner, live for Christ. But give me a reason. The love
of Christ constraineth us. Compelled by the love of that
one who so loved me that he made himself what I am. that he might
bear the wrath due me and make me what he is. The love of Christ
constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all,
if one died in the place of all his people, then all were dead. And that he died for all. Children of God, hear me. Oh,
God help you to hear me. Christ died for us. That they which live, we who
are born of God, should not henceforth live unto themselves. Oh, God, give me grace to quit
insisting on my way. They should not live unto themselves. Well, what are you going to live
for? Him which died for them and rose again. Are you listening to my only
grandson? Are you listening to my only granddaughter? This is
something to live for. Oh, this is something to live
for. Him who died for us, that we might live by Him. Amen.