And if you listen to the, not
just this verse of Scripture, but the other Scriptures we're
going to refer to today, you may understand a little better
concerning what we believe and why we preach what we do concerning
the work and the sacrifice of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus
Christ. John chapter 1 and verse 29. Now this is written by the Apostle
John, but the John referred to in this verse, of course, is
John the Baptist, as he was baptizing in the River Jordan. John 1 29. The next day, John seeth Jesus
coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. familiar verse of scripture.
And the title of our message today is, The World Christ Died
For. The world Christ died for. The Lamb of God mentioned here
is none other than God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
Lamb of God. As you know throughout the scriptures,
the picture of the Lamb develops First, there was a lamb for one
man, Abel, Genesis chapter 4. And then, later on, there was
a lamb for one family, the night of the Passover in Egypt, and
the observance of it thereafter. And then, there was a lamb for
one nation with the sacrificial system the tabernacle, the priest,
especially the high priest, and the day of atonement, a lamb
for a nation. And then, coming to the New Testament,
there is a lamb, one lamb, for the whole world. And we're not talking universalism,
not all humanity without exception, but all humanity without distinction. John 4.14, Christ is called the
Savior of the world. And so He is. Not that every
person in the world will be saved, but that He's the only Savior
the world has. He's the Savior of the world.
Remember Noah, in preparing the ark, was the Savior of the world
in that all humanity never perished. Hebrews 11, 7 says that Noah
prepared an ark to the saving of his house. So Christ Jesus
is the Savior of the world. My question is what world? What
world? What world did Christ die for?
Well, in this text, he is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament
animal sacrifices, and that entire Old Testament order consummates
in God sending his Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. And here John
identifies him and invites all around to behold Behold the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world. What world? What world did Christ die for? Well, in a book entitled The
Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink, a favorite writer of mine,
read and beloved of preachers and teachers all over the world. In one of the appendixes at the
end of the book, The Sovereignty of God, Mr. Pink enumerates at least seven
distinct uses of the word world in the scriptures. And this is
very important that we know this. And each of the different uses
has a different meaning. It's very clearly. And so I want
to refer to these seven And I'm not going to turn to all the
scriptures, we're just going to refer to them. And if you'd like a
copy of this word study, I'd be happy to provide it to you. But the word is cosmos, world. And number one, it is used of
the universe as a whole. Acts 17, 24, God that made the
world and all things therein. seeing that he is Lord of heaven
and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. God that made
the world, there is the created world and all things therein
which God created. That's the first use. Number
two, the word world refers to the earth or life in this present Setting,
John 13, 1, when Jesus knew that His hour was come to depart out
of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were
in the world, He loved them unto the end. The reference there,
of course, is to Christ leaving this earth, to depart out of
this world, out of this life. Number three, the word world
is used of the world system. John 12, 31, now is the judgment
of this world. This world system is already
judged and under the condemnation of Almighty God. Now shall the
prince of this world be cast out. A reference to Satan, prince
of the world system. First John 2.15, we read these
words, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. It's not saying for us not to
enjoy God's creation. Not at all. But it's saying love
not the world system. That's in rebellion against God,
which is anti-God and anti-Christ. And then number four, the word
world. is used of the human race. And most people are inclined
to interpret every use of the word world as referring to all
the human race. It is not so, but at times it
does. And here's where it does. It
does refer to all humanity. Romans 3.19 stating the purpose
of God's law is that every mouth may be stopped and all the world,
that is all humanity, may become guilty before God. So in that setting it is all
humanity. Number five, this word cosmos
or world is used to refer to all humanity minus believers. The unbelieving world, is referred
to as the world. John 15-18, Christ said, if the
world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. Well now, believers do not hate
Christ, so the usage here is the world of unbelievers hating Christ. That's the world
Christ refused to pray for, by the way. John 17, 9, I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me, for they are thine. You say, well, now I didn't know
there was a world Christ refused to pray for. Well, read your
Bible. There it is, John 17, 9. It's
the world of the reprobate, the world of unbelievers. It's everybody
except God's elect. Pray not for the world and Then
number six cosmos the world is used of Gentiles in contrast
to Jews Romans chapter 11 and verse 2 Now if the fall of them
talking about the Jew natural Israel Be the riches of the world
the Gentile world You see, a distinction is clearly made between the Jewish
world and the Gentile world. This is clearly what John meant
in 1 John 2, verse 2, when he said, And He, Christ Jesus, is
the propitiation for our sins, we Jews, and not for ours only. but also for the sins of the
whole world. He's not the Savior of Jews only. He's the Savior of Gentiles as
well. And the whole world in that text
is not the whole world without exception. It's the whole world
without distinction. And that's the point John is
making. He is not teaching a universalism, a universal atonement with the
blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, no. He is talking in terms
of Jew and Gentile, that Christ is the Savior of Gentiles as
well as Jews. What world? The world of God's
elect. This is number seven. This is
number seven. Cosmos, the world, is used of
believers only. That's the case John the Baptist
refers to in our text. Behold the Lamb of God who taketh
away the sin of the world. The sin of God's elect. If he took away the sin of all
humanity, God would be unjust to put anyone in hell. Those for whom the beloved Son
of God died are accepted with God in the beloved Son of God. Turn over a page or two to the
third chapter, John chapter 3, and we're going to look at one
of the most familiar verses in the Bible, John 3, 16. Also, probably the most misinterpreted
verse in the Bible. Now, many of you could quote
it, but we're just going to look at it slowly here. For God so
loved the world. Here is a world that God loves. And he expresses his love in
the giving of his son. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son. that whosoever believeth, that is, them that do. I've read the modern versions.
Christ does not say whosoever decides to believe. He does not
say whosoever will believe, whosoever shall believe. He is not presenting
a future proposition, a standing proposition for anyone. No. He is stating a personal,
present identification of those for whom Christ died. It's whosoever
believeth. And then is given a promise to
these and to these only. They'll not perish, but have
everlasting life. So John 3.16 here then is not
a proposition to unbelievers. It is a promise to believers.
For God so loved the world. What world? The world he died
for. The world of his elect. That
he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth, that
is them that do, are not going to perish, but have everlasting
life. Easy-believism has deceived millions
in our time. No one decides to believe. Fallen humanity is locked in
unbelief. But God's elect hear the gospel
and find themselves believing. We don't decide anything. Somebody
said, well, how did you come to believe in God? How did you come to believe on
the Lord Jesus? I just found myself doing it. It just came. He puts it in here. It's not
something we can do for ourselves. It's a gift, Philippians 129,
for it is given unto us to believe. Now turn on over another page
or two to John chapter 6 and verse 33. John 6, 33. For the bread of God, and that's
Jesus Christ, he's called himself the bread of heaven, the bread
of God, the bread of life. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. What world? The world he died for. The unregenerate
world does not have life. They're spiritually dead in trespasses
and in sin. So he's talking about the world
of his people. Now turning on over to 2 Corinthians 5. I don't always ask you to turn
with me, but these are scriptures that everybody needs to be familiar
with. 2 Corinthians 5. And verse 17.
2 Corinthians 5. 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. The old creation was in Adam. The new creation is in Christ.
He is a new creature. All things are passed away. We do not seek after God in the
old man. No. Behold, all things are become
new. We seek after God in the new
man, in Christ. Behold, all things are become
new. And all things are of God, verse
18, who hath reconciled us, us, not them, to himself by Christ
Jesus, And it's given to us, the ministry of reconciliation. Now watch carefully verse 19.
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. What world is he referring to?
Well, now the very next statement tells us, not imputing their
trespasses unto them. He's talking about a world that
He has not charged with their own sins, not imputing their
trespasses unto them. He's talking about a world whose
sins were placed upon His Son, and by the sacrifice of His Son
and the atonement of His blood Not even one of this world Christ
died for can perish. That entire world Christ died
for is accepted with God in Him. It's the world of God's elect.
Ephesians 1, 4, it's the world chosen in Christ before the foundation
of this world we live in. Paul the Apostle is talking to
believers in Romans 5-8 when he said, God commendeth His love
toward us. He's talking to believers in
Romans 8-32. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all. Not them all. or all of all,
but us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us
all things? Same chapter, Romans 8 verse
33. He's talking to believers who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justifies It is
Christ that died. And he goes on to say, Who shall
separate us? Not the unbelieving world, but
us. The elect world, the world God
so loved. Who shall separate us from that
love? Who shall separate us from the
love of God? You ought to be real familiar with this Romans
chapter 8. And he then gives a list of things in the closing
verses of Romans 8. And he says in the last verse,
verse 39, to believers that none of these things shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6 says,
For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. Now what does that
say about those he don't chasten? Whom the Lord loveth, not part
of whom He loveth, but whom the Lord loveth. He chastens. He straightens me out. 1 John 4, 19, we love Him because,
here's the why, because He first loved us. Today's false gospel
Tells you that God loves you, whether you love him or not. That's not so. God's love for
an individual is so powerful, is so effectual that he will
do a work in that individual's heart. That will love God in
return. It's got to be so. We love Him. We must love Him. We cannot help
but love Him because He first loved us. Oh, how reasonable that we should
love Him. He's lovable. How unreasonable that He should
love us. We're so unlovely. We love God on the basis of who
He is and what He is. He cannot love us on the basis
of what we are. He loves us for Christ's sake. He loves us in His Son. Revelation 4, verse 5, we are
without fault. before the throne of God. Can
you imagine that? Can you imagine that? It's just
so in Christ. Oh, I've got lots of problems,
I've got lots of faults, I'm an awful person. Yeah, yeah.
But in Christ, without fault, before the throne of God. Psalm
of Solomon 4.7, Thou art all fair, my love, There is no spot
in Thee. Colossians 122, Christ in the
body of His flesh through death presents us holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight. Oh, what love! for one so sinless
and pure and holy as God's Son to come down and die for one
so sinful as I. I'm part of the world God loved. Not because I deserved it. Not
because I always act like it. But because I know that in spite
of me, in spite of my sin, in spite of my shame, I know in
my heart I love Him. I don't love Him like I should,
neither do you, but I love Him. And the reason I love Him, it's
because, and it can only be because, He first loved me. That's the
only way. That's the only way. Christ never died for Cain. He
never died for Esau. He never died for Judas Iscariot. They couldn't be in hell if he
did. But he died for the world he
loved. The world of his elect. It's an uninfluenced love. It never originated because of
anything in us or about us or anything we did or didn't do.
It originated with Him. He loves us not for who we are,
but for who He is. It's an everlasting love. We
referred to this verse a few moments ago. John 13 having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. What
end? Any end. And every end. He loves his people forever.
From eternity to eternity. You say, well, what if one of
them messes up? There's no what if about it. We all do mess up. He loves us. Long before I knew
I needed a Redeemer, He redeemed me by His blood on the cross. Oh, that fountain, that precious
blood has never lost its power. It will be my song long as I'm
here. The other old song we sang, He
took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own. He didn't come here to point
out all my wrong to everybody else and say, boy, uh-uh. He came here, took my sin and
my sorrows, made them His very own. And He bore the burden to
Calvary and suffered and died alone. No one of the songwriters
said, oh, how marvelous. Oh, how wonderful is my Savior's
love for me. I love Him now. Why and how? Because He was loving
me when I didn't love Him. I love Him now because He did
what was necessary then so I could love Him now. Do you sense His
love today? Can you love Him back? If He
loves you, you can and do. The Savior's love. I heard a
little story one time about many years ago when people, before
cars and all that stuff, people traveled with horses and wagon, said a man rode into town in
his wagon one day, pulled by two horses. He pulled up in front
of the general store, got off the wagon, tied the horses up, went inside. And just the minute
he heard a commotion outside, something or someone had spooked
his horses. And they'd come out untied and
were rearing up and fixing to turn and run. And the man glanced
out and saw it. And he ran out the door of the
store and was able to jump in between the horses and the wagon and grab a hold of the double
tree between the horses and the wagon. And he held on, screaming
to the horses to stop. Whoa, whoa. Well, They didn't. Just as he grabbed hold, they
got turned and started to run. And they ran for a mile or two
out of town, dragging the man. And finally, the horses stopped
just out of exhaustion, I guess, just stopped. And the man slowly let go of
his grip and he lay there beaten and bruised
and bleeding and dying from all the rocks and the obstacles. Others had seen it happen and
they came from town to try and help. And they got down beside
the man and saw his condition. And one said, why did you do
it? The horses are not worth it. That wagon is not worth it. Why did you do it? And the dying
man said in a faint whisper, look in the wagon. And they looked
in the wagon and there in the hay was a little bitty boy sound
asleep. That's why he did it. That's
why he did it. We don't always understand. It had nothing to do with the
horses or the wagon. It was his love for his own. And this morning, that's what
it's still about. It's his love for his own. And
he put me here to represent him, to talk of his love to his people. It's not my business. I'm not
interested. in what the religious world calls success. I'm not
interested in the broadcasting all the lies that I hear every
week that comes on the radio and in print. I'm not trying
to build a kingdom for myself or for anyone else. I'm here
just to tell you about one who actually died on a cross and
he went there deliberately and he died to save the world he
loved. And I delight in telling you
about him because I'm part of the world he loved. He who knew
no sin, that's the Lamb of God, was made sin for us, believers, that we might be made the very
righteousness of God, the very righteousness that God required.
We're made that in Him. God's standard is perfection.
It's never been anything less. But thank God He found, He provided
the very perfection that He required. He provided it in His Son. Behold,
the Lamb of God which taketh away all the sin of all the world
that he died for. Thank you for your attention.
Let's stand together.