This morning, I showed you from
Psalm 28 and verse 9, that which I trust the Lord God will do
in our midst, during our conference, and even tonight. And as a result
of the labors we put forth for the furtherance of the gospel,
save thy people, bless thine inheritance, feed them, Lift
them up forever. Now, if you'll turn with me to
Matthew 27 tonight, I want, if God will enable me to preach
to you the message by which the Lord God performs and accomplishes
these wondrous works and operations of His grace. The message that
you will hear Next weekend is the message I intend to preach
to you tonight. You will hear it from eight faithful
gospel preachers, each one led of God the Holy Spirit I trust,
directed and empowered by God the Holy Spirit to declare his
word faithfully and thereby declaring the message of the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the message we preach incessantly. here and around the world. I make no apology. I make no
apology for declaring that this is the singular theme of this
pulpit. It is the singular theme of this
preacher's lips. It is the delight of my heart. And this is what we preach everywhere. Those men whose ministries we
try to support and encourage and promote, those missionaries
that the Lord allows us to have some hand in their labors proclaim
this message. You'll find it here in Matthew
chapter 27 verse 15. Beginning of verse 15 will be
our text. And here's the picture of the
message. Now at that feast, the Feast
of the Passover, the governor was wont to release unto the
people a prisoner whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner,
a notorious man called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered
together, Pilate said unto them, whom will ye that I release unto
you? Barabbas? or Jesus, which is
called Christ. For he knew that for envy they
had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment
seat, his wife sent unto him saying, have thou nothing to
do with that just man? For I have suffered many things
this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priest and
elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas
and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said
unto them, whither of the twain will ye that I release unto you?
They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, what
shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say
unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, why? What
evil hath he done? But they cried the more saying,
let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could
prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was raised, he took
water and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent. of the blood of this just person,
see ye to it. Then answered all the people
and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Can you
imagine? His blood be on us and on our
children. Then released he Barabbas unto
them, And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be
crucified. Luke tells us he delivered him
to their will. Whenever you think about man's
free will, as men call it, and you hear men boast of man's will,
Remember, Pilate delivered Jesus to the will of men and they crucified
him upon a tree. My subject tonight is Barabbas,
a picture of substitution. Of all the doctrines taught in
the word of God, none is so vital as the doctrine of substitution.
Men everywhere talk about substitution. Religious people everywhere do.
Preachers everywhere speak of Christ Jesus dying as the sinner's
substitute. They speak much about Christ
the substitute, and they speak much about substitutionary redemption,
but they speak in such deliberately vague terms, such deliberately
vague terms that virtually no one understands what the scriptures
teach in teaching substitution. Virtually no one understands
what is meant by the doctrine of substitutionary redemption. It is for this reason I want
us to look at the story of Barabbas because it is a clear, very instructive
picture of substitution. Here is the illustration by which
the nature of Christ's death is set before us as a substitutionary
sacrifice and atonement for sin. The innocent man in this place
died in the place of one who was guilty. And the one who was
guilty must therefore go free. Christ died in Barabbas' place. That meant Barabbas could not,
must not die. Christ died upon the cross that
in the minds of men had been erected for Barabbas. And since
Christ was hanging on that cross, Barabbas could not hang on that
cross. Now you're all familiar with
the story of Barabbas. It's recorded by all four of
the gospel writers. During the days of Israel's subjection
to Rome, the Roman government developed a rather strange custom.
I used to think it was strange until we started trying to pacify
every kind of, people under the sun in our own society. But in
order to sort of pacify the Jews, to kind of tip their hat toward
the Jews and their religion, whenever the Jews celebrated
their holiest of all days, whenever they celebrated the Day of Atonement
and the Feast of Passover, Pilate, by order of the Roman government,
was given this responsibility of giving up a prisoner to the
Jews, releasing him, setting him free. As the Jews themselves
in their celebration of the Passover were celebrating their deliverance
from Egyptian bondage, so the Roman government said, on this
day, in honor of these Jews and their religion, we will release
a prisoner at their request, whomsoever they will. Since some
prisoner must be released on the day of atonement, Pilate
must have thought to himself, I found a way now. by which I
can set free this Jesus of Nazareth who is called the Christ without
incurring the wrath of my superiors in Rome. And so he sets the choice
before these Jews. He says, whom will you that I
should deliver unto you, release to you? Barabbas, this man who's
guilty of rebellion, of sedition, of robbery, and of murder. This
man notorious for his evil, this man who is clearly guilty of
these horrid crimes, this man who fully deserves to be executed,
or Jesus, this just man, this man against whom no crime has
been charged, this man against whom no fault can be laid. This man of whom we have examined
with great care, but we can find no cause of death in him. And immediately, with one voice,
they said, Barabbas. Well, what shall we do with Jesus
then? Crucify him. Crucify him. Let his blood be on us and on
our children. And so Pilate, willing to content
the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus
when he had scourged him to be crucified. Who was Barabbas? We're not told. All we know about
Barabbas really is just what's recorded of his crimes. His name
means his father's son. More about that later. But this
man Barabbas appears to have committed at least these three
crimes. He was imprisoned for murder, sedition, and robbery. We might well pity the father
of such a son. This wretch is brought out and
set in competition with the holy son of God. And the poor inhabitants
of Jerusalem were so heartened in their obstinate rebellion,
so hardened in their unbelief and sin, so thirsty for the blood
of the innocent son of God that they preferred this obnoxious
creature Barabbas to God's own fellow. Now, this fact is significant. There's more teaching here than
I can possibly get said. In this act of freeing the guilty
and binding the innocent, We have a vivid example of salvation
by substitution. The guilty is set free and the
innocent is put to death in his place. Barabbas is spared and
Christ is crucified. Here we have a striking, striking
example of substitution, the doctrine of the atonement, of
our redemption. The Lord God Almighty can be
just and justifier of the ungodly is here displayed. He brings
one who is his own fellow, who is holy, righteous, and just. One who is himself a man like
us, but one altogether unlike us, for this man is God, a man
of infinite worth and value. And he sacrifices his own darling
son, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, our mediator, the God-man. He sacrifices him in the room
instead of his people. and by his sacrifice satisfies
all the demands of his holy law and all the demands of his righteous
justice and now God Almighty looks on his son and pardons
you. That's substitution. Christ died
in your place. That means you can't die. That's
substitution. The Old Testament rites of the
cleansing of the leper, you'll remember, involved two birds.
One that was sacrificed and his blood was caught in a basin or
in a bowl. And then the other bird was dipped
in the blood of that slain bird. The slain bird represents our
Redeemer. That other bird dipped in the
blood of the slain bird is set free and it flies through the
air with blood dripping from his wings. That's me, set free
by the blood atonement of Jesus Christ the Lord. Every soul that
by faith is plunged into the fountain filled with blood drawn
from Emmanuel's veins is set free, owing life and liberty
to the Savior who was once for sinners slain. Now let me make
four statements concerning this man Barabbas and what transpired
here. Four statements. Number one,
Barabbas was a man guilty. He was guilty. Guilty of numerous
offenses. We sometimes say a person is
as guilty as sin. Well, Barabbas was as guilty
as sin. His life was a life of riotousness and ungodliness. He was tried in the court of
law and found guilty of robbery, sedition, and murder. As such,
he's a fair representative of Ron Wood and Don Fortner. He's
a guilty man. His name, Barabbas, is a name
that would suit all the sons of Adam. We are all like Barabbas,
the sons of our father Adam. We are in his image. We have
his nature and his character is reflected in us all. Like
Barabbas, we're all rebels. Rebels. Now, that term rebels
is not a compliment. We kind of tend to make a man
who has a rebellious spirit, a man who's independent and a
maverick, we like to call him. That's another word for rebel,
rebel. We like that. Well, Barabbas
was a rebel who stirred up sedition. He was a revolutionary. That's
a modern name for rebels. He wouldn't submit to authority
of any kind. That's the problem with our race.
We are proud, self-willed rebels. Proud, self-willed rebels. In our father Adam, we rebelled
against God's command and the race was plunged in despair,
plunged into death and despair. We came forth from our mother's
womb speaking lies because we're born with a rebel's nature. In
pride and self-will, we rebelled all the days of our lives against
God's throne. We sinfully rebelled against
God's holy law. Man acts like he does simply
because God says don't do this. And man sees the good and refuses
to do it because God says do this. Our nature is rebellion. Sin's our name, sin's our middle
name, sin's our last name. Sin is what we are, rebels. And
we are steadfast and persistent in that rebellion. As children,
we start out rebelling against our parents. It's as natural for a child to
say no to mom and dad as it is for a thirsty man to drink water.
How come? Which of you ever taught your
sons and daughters to rebel against you? What father ever said, now
son, whatever I tell you to do, I don't want you to do it. Whatever
restraint I put on you, I want you to burst from it. Well, nobody,
pretty sure nobody would be that crazy. No, they wouldn't. Not
the vilest of men. They may teach their children,
by example, to follow in their path of rebellion, but no man
ever had to teach his son or his daughter to be a rebel. It's
born within us as adults. We rebel against moral authority
and civil authority everywhere. I wish I didn't have to acknowledge
it. It's been my nature all my life. All my life. I'm just automatically inclined
not to do something when someone tells me I've got to. Aren't
you? I'm just inclined that way. It's called sin. I find it perfectly
reasonable to wear a seatbelt. I find that perfectly reasonable.
And I almost always wear it. But sometimes I just, nah, I
ain't going to. Why? Why? If you have a record,
it's going to save your life. Yeah, but the law says I've got
to. And I don't like the law telling me I've got to. What
stupidity on my part. And I know better. We're rebels. We rebel against authority wherever
it's found. It's our nature. Even as believers,
we have a nature within us that rebels all the time. Not just
against men. Not just against the laws of
men. Not just against good common sense. A nature within us that
rebels against God and his word all the time. Read the seventh
chapter of Romans. In the new birth, this old man's
not cleaned up. This old man's not changed. There's
in me this heart of rebellion, deep-seated rebellion against
God, that carnal mind that's enmity against God. Oh, God forgive
us, but rebellion is what we are. And like Barabbas, we're
all robbers. Adam's determination in the garden. was to rob God of his authority,
rob God of his honor, and rob God of his creation. That was
his determination. He takes the fruit his wife gives
him, Eve being deceived, Adam knowing exactly what he was doing. He said, God, you've got no right
to be God. Larry Brown, that's what rebellion
is. God, you've got no right to be God. I rightfully should
have what I want in this world. I rightfully should have my own
way. We rob God of his glory, refusing
to worship him as God. We rob God of his honor, refusing
to believe his word. He that believeth not makes God
a liar, the scripture says. We robbed God of his creation,
stealing that which God has made for himself and using it for
ourselves with no regard to him. And we robbed ourselves and robbed
our children in the process by sin, robbed ourselves of the
blessed tranquility of man walking with God in God's garden. Robbed
ourselves of the image of the creator in which man was made.
Robbed ourselves of true freedom. Robbed ourselves of fellowship
and favor with God. Robbed ourselves and our children
of life itself. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
one. Or chapter two, rather. Ephesians chapter two. Through our sin and rebellion,
our race is reduced to nothing but emptiness and vanity. You
remember that word in Genesis 1, in the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth and the earth was quite literally
the earth became without form and void and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. That's how we're described throughout
this book. just as by some climactic thing that happened between the
creation, the original creation, and time we get to Genesis 1,
2, the earth that God created perfect to be inhabited is without
form and void and engulfed in darkness. So we through the sin
and fall of our father Adam had been reduced to nothing but chaos,
vanity, and darkness. In Ephesians 2, verse 11, Paul's
described for us what God's done for us by his grace. And he said,
but don't ever forget what you are and what you were. Wherefore,
remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh. And that's not a compliment.
Gentiles in the flesh. Gentiles, those folks who worship
stumps. Gentiles, those folks who worship
rain gods and sun gods and moon gods and star gods and war gods
and wind gods and any kind of god that they can invent. Gentiles,
those folks who lived in revelry and fornication and adultery.
Gentiles in the flesh who were called uncircumcision, that word
really as it's used here, called by the circumcision filth. Because that's what you were.
That's what you were. Called by the uncircumcision,
by that, called uncircumcision by that which is the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. That at that time, you were without
Christ. What does that mean? What does
that mean? You who are here tonight without
Christ. Aliens from the Commonwealth
of Israel. Aliens from all that's involved
in God's blessing upon God's chosen. Aliens from the Commonwealth
of Israel. Strangers from the covenants
of promise. Oh, God promised, God loves,
God gives, and not to you, not to you. You read this book from
cover to cover, I'll give you a challenge. I'll give you a
challenge. Read it from cover to cover. Mamas and daddies quit
lying to your babies. Read it from cover to cover.
There's not a word of hope in this book for you who believe
not. Not a word. Not a promise from
God to you who believe not. Not a promise. Nothing. Oh, Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so. Thank God I can say that with
confidence. You who believe not, there's
not a hint, not a hint that God loves you. Oh, no. Strangers
from the covenants of promise having no hope, no hope. That's what it is to be without
Christ, without hope, without God. What a shape to be without God
in the world, perishing in a lost, dark, doomed, damned, confused,
chaotic world. That's where we were when God
found us and saved us by his grace. That's where we were when
God saved us by his rich mercy in Christ Jesus. Again, like
Barabbas, we're all murderers. In the course of his rebellion
and robbery, this man had committed murder. So have you, and so have
I. There's not a guilty one among
us. You read our Lord's explanation of the spirituality, the great
extent of the law, and he tells us that envy and anger and hatred
and wrath and malice Our murder. Every father wants a son. Every man wants to reproduce. It's in our nature. We want to
reproduce so that our name will be carried on. And the one thing
we give to our children is a plague of the heart and
death. The one thing every father gives
to every child. What's more, we're all guilty
of the blood of the Son of God. John Newton, if I can remember
it, he wrote, in evil long I took delight in all by shame or fear
till a new object struck my sight and stopped my wild career. I
saw one hanging on a tree in agonies and blood who fixed his
languid eyes on me as near his cross I stood. Sure never to
my latest breath can I forget that look. It seemed to charge
me with his death, though not a word he spoke. My conscience
felt and owned the guilt and plunged me in despair. I saw
my sins. His blood had spilled and helped
to nail him there." Yes. Pilate delivered Jesus to their
will and they crucified him. And David Coleman, you too, and
me too, and your baby and mine. I wouldn't have done that. Oh,
yes, you would. You spent your life trying to kill him until
he stepped in and gave you life. You spent your life in opposition
to him until he stepped in and took away your rebellion by his
grace. The fact is there's not an evil
deed, there's not an atrocious crime in the history of humanity
that's not in your heart and in mind by nature. Alan Kibbe, that thing that we
most pretend to abhor in other men, we really cherish in ourselves
by nature. That's called depravity. That's
called humanity. Oh, I believe in the innate goodness
of man. Oh, you don't believe God then.
I believe there's, there's a spark of good in everybody. Well, you
haven't read this book then. No, sir. No, sir. Not good compared
with, or in reference to God almighty. Not good in any spiritual
sense, no. There's nothing good in any human
being before God. Read the third chapter of Romans.
Now, in the second place, not only was Barabbas guilty, he
was a prisoner under the sentence of law. He was a prisoner condemned,
dead at law. Barabbas had been tried and found
guilty. The sentence was passed and Barabbas
must die. On the day when the Jews observed
their Passover, three thieves were to be crucified. Barabbas
had the appointed place in the midst of them as the greatest
of the three. Picture Barabbas in that prison.
He expected very soon to be taken out, nailed to a cross, and hung
up to die as the just payment of his crimes. That's what he expected. I had
no idea how long he had been in that prison. I had no idea
how long before this he had been found guilty, but he was guilty
and dead at law. Because he wasn't on probation,
he was sentenced to death. The curse was upon him. And so
it is with every person in this world by nature without Christ
Jesus. Would you turn to John chapter
three for just a minute? John chapter three, verse 36. I want you to turn and read it. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. Now, careful what you say, preacher. I believe on the Son of God. I have everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son of God shall not see life. Anybody here? Anybody here? You yet refuse to believe on
the Son of God? Anybody here, young or old? You
yet refuse to believe on the Son of God? Put your name right
here, right here. The wrath of God abideth on you. The wrath of God that inflames
hell itself. The wrath of God that burns against
the wicked who are already damned abides on you. Not me. Well, I'm not talking
to you then. I'm not talking to you. I pray that God will this moment
make you to feel in the depth of your soul the intense fury
of his wrath against all ungodliness. It abides on you. The reason God gave the law is
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Paul tells us we all were by
nature children of wrath even as others. Now, I recognize there's
never a sense in which God's wrath is on his elect. I know
that. I know that. But those who are God's elect
who have not yet been called live under the sentence of condemnation
in their consciences. And your conscience bears me
record. You're guilty and whatever hell is, whatever hell is, that's
what you deserve, whatever it is, whatever it is. Men are prisoners. shut up under
the law. Prisoners until Christ comes
in his mercy. Men today like to boast of their
independence and their freedom. I remember, I remember, I was
born in 1950. And I caught myself the other
day, I hadn't even said this to my wife, I see these fellas
with their britches hanging down below their butts and I want
to stick a lit cigar right there every time I see it. I just have
an urge, I just want to do it. But I remember long about 1957,
58, about the time Elvis Presley got real popular, we all got
real independent. Isn't it amazing how independent
fellows, free thinking fellows, all imitate each other? And I
would squeeze my tight-fitting blue jeans down just as far as
they would go. And my mother would slap my rear
end every time she saw it and slap it several times real good.
But I was independent, independent. I was going to be my own man,
independent my foot. Just doing what everybody else
does, slaves to men's opinion. Slaves to the customs of others. Slaves to the opinions of my
peers. I'm talking about folks I could
whip with one hand tied behind my back. Slaves to them, because
I want their approval. And so it is with children. So
it is with teenagers. And so it is with their moms
and dads. Slaves to religious custom. Slaves to religious tradition. Slaves to the thoughts of men.
All the while boasting of independence and freedom. Men are prisoners. Not only prisoners to the customs
and traditions of men, prisoners to their own sinful nature, prisoners
to Satan taking captive of him at his will. Man by nature is
shut up under God's law. Prisoners. But the book speaks
of some who were called thy prisoners. and they're called thy prisoners
of hope. Not because they have any hope
in themselves but there's hope for them because these prisoners
find themselves in a deep pit where there's no water and no
escape and they're in desperate need. They realize they're prisoners. Oh, blessed, blessed, blessed
it is to see one made to feel the bondage. the shackles of sin and death
and condemnation from which he cannot make himself free. That sinner shall soon be free
for the sun has come to make the prisoner free. Oh, you who
are yet without Christ, I tell you that he alone can set prisoners
free. He said, if the son therefore
shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. So I urge you, cry out to him, beg of him mercy,
that he may come and set you free. I tell you also that the
law of sentence upon you is a sentence that cannot be broken. This is
what God's law says. You can read it for yourself
in Ezekiel 18, 20. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. Die physically and die the second
death eternally under the wrath of God in hell. Be no breach
of that law. There'll be no bending of that
law. There'll be no breaking of that law. There'll be no compromise
of that law. Every sinner must die, either
personally or in a substitute such as God alone can find and
provide. A substitute able to bear and
satisfy all the fury of God's holy wrath with one sacrifice,
the sacrifice of himself. That substitute is Christ Jesus,
our Lord. All right, here's the third thing. Bless God, a substitute has been
provided. There's a substitute who was
provided for Barabbas. The Roman soldier comes on the
day of execution. I can almost picture Barabbas
curled up in his cell, shivering with fear, terrified. That man who had terrified so
many now must face death. And he hears the jailer coming,
and he hears the keys rattling at his door, and he's terrified,
terrified. And the jailer takes off his
shackles, and walks him outside and says, Barabbas, you go home,
you're free. Jesus of Nazareth is to die in
your stead. Christ died in Barabbas' place. That meant Barabbas, by law,
must go free. not just as a magnanimous gesture,
not just as a forgiveness, a pardon as we would look at it in our
course today, but by law, by Roman law, the very law that
had condemned him. Barabbas must go free because
now a substitute dies in his stead. Children of God, that's the teaching of this book.
You must die either personally or in a substitute. And Christ
is the substitute of whom the Lord God speaks in the book of
Job when he says concerning his elect, deliver him from going
down to the pit for I have found a ransom. Christ is that substitute
whom God set forth to be 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 that believeth in Jesus. Jesus who his own self
bear our sins in his own body on the tree. not on his body,
in his body, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness
by whose stripes ye were healed. The substitute must be God and
he must be man. He must be God because no man,
not all men on all the earth through all of history could
ever satisfy the justice of God. But he who is our substitute
is a man, a man like us, but a man with no sin, the virgin
born son of Mary. He is himself God incarnate. And now this man suffers the
wrath of God. But the one who dies, the man
who dies is God in the flesh. God loved the church and purchased
it with his own blood. How can you explain that? Explain
it. Every attempt, Merle, to explain
that explains it away. He who died in our stead is God
in human flesh. And because he's God, his sufferings
are of infinite value. to satisfy every demand of God
in our stead. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered
the just punishment due to our sins as our substitute. God took
his son without the care, hung him up in our place between two
thieves. God forsook him, his own beloved
son. and cried a wakeful sword against
one that is my fellow, smite and slay the shepherd, and justice
buried its sword in the heart of Emmanuel. God Almighty then
buries his son out of sight. That body that bore our sins,
he buries out of his sight. Buries it as that thing that
cannot be looked upon because he's of purer eyes than to behold
iniquity. He went into the grave, a transgressor,
cursed of God. But three days later, he came
out justified in the spirit, freed from all sin. And we in
him justified and freed from all sin by a marvelous transfer
of grace. Jesus Christ was made sin for
us And because he was made sin for us, our sins were imputed
to him. And he suffered the just consequence
of our sins. Oh, the hell of God's wrath. With one tremendous draft of
love, he drank damnation dry. And that same God of wisdom and
grace and mercy, justice and truth. makes us the righteousness
of God in his son. That's called substitution. Substitution. And it's true for every sinner
for whom Jesus Christ died. That brings me to my fourth point.
Because Christ died in his place, Barabbas was set free. Because Jesus Christ died in
the room instead of Frank Call, you've been set free. God cannot and will not punish
both the sinner and the sinner's substitute. God will not destroy
his justice, punishing both the sinner and the sinner's substitute. God will not demand that the
same crime be punished twice, both in the sinner and in the
sinner's substitute. If Christ died in my stead, I
cannot die. That horrid doctrine that teaches
there are men for whom Christ shed his blood in vain. That
horrid blasphemy that teaches that some folks are in hell for
whom the Son of God died at Calvary is a mockery of God, a mockery
of justice, and a mockery of good sense. That's absurd. Absurd to imagine that the Son
of God died for nothing. Absurd to imagine that God would
punish both the sinner and the sinner's substitute. Oh, no.
Every sinner for whom Christ died must go free. John, I'm sorry, Augustus Toplady
wrote a great hymn, a great hymn. I couldn't find a tune for it
some years ago, so I tried to adapt it best I could, but this
is how Toplady wrote it. From whence this fear and unbelief
hath not the father put to grief his spotless son for me? And
will the righteous judge of men condemn me for that debt of sin
which the Lord was charged on thee? Complete atonement thou
hast made, and to the utmost farthing paid whate'er thy people
owed. Nor can God's wrath on me take
place if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled with thy blood.
If thou hast my discharge procured and freely in my room endured
the whole of wrath divine, payment God cannot twice demand, first
at my bleeding surety's hand and then again at mine. Then
turn my soul unto thy rest. The merits of thy great high
priest have bought thy liberty. Trust in his efficacious blood
and never fear the wrath of God since Jesus died for thee. Understand this, the sin atoning
death of our Lord Jesus Christ is a satisfactory substitution. When our Savior said it's finished,
he had satisfied all the demands of God's law, all the demands
of righteousness and judgment. He had satisfied all the debt
of his people. He had satisfied all the designs
of God in creating this world. He had satisfied all that the
law of God typified and represented. And every guilty sinner for whom
Christ died at Calvary must go free. So the question is, for
whom did Christ die? Let's see if I can answer that
in the book. He died for the ungodly. That's a pretty accurate description
of Joe Blakely, isn't it? Ungodly. Ungodly. When you try to think of a word
to describe an obnoxious character, obnoxious behavior, just beyond
description, that's the word. Ungodly. Ungodly. Is there anybody here tonight
ungodly before God? Are you ungodly? Ungodly? Christ died for you. Who did
he die for? Those who are without strength. No strength, no ability to do
anything to change what you are. No strength, no ability to do
anything to appease God's wrath. No strength, no ability to do
anything to make yourself righteous. No strength, no ability to give
yourself life before God. Is there anybody here who has
no strength? Christ died for you. Christ died
for you. Who did he die for? His enemies. Men and women who hate God. Who hate God. Have you found
in your hearts that enmity by which the Son of God was nailed
to the tree? Not me. Christ didn't die for
you. Oh, preacher. Oh, yes. I am a God-hating rebel. That's the folks Christ died
for. That's the folks Christ died for, ungodly, helpless,
without strength, his enemies. He died for every needy sinner
who trusted him. And you're trusting him? is proof
positive that he died for you. Proof positive. It's the evidence
of things not seen. It's the substance of things
hoped for. I know my name is written in the book of life of
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world because I know there's
one thing. I know there's one thing. I trust
him. All the hope I have. All the
righteousness I have, he's all I have. And bless God all I want. Brother Scott Richardson, preaching
on Christ being all to his people. And somebody asked him, some
church-going religious woman asked him, said, well, is Christ
enough? This was his response. If he's
all you've got, he is. What have you got? What have you got to commend
yourself to God? What have you got to give you
acceptance with God? Jesus Christ. Amen.