My text this morning is going
to come out of the book of Romans, but the subject that I would
call your attention to in a few minutes will be regarding the
death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there's no passage any better
at describing and setting forth the glorious truth regarding
the saving death of our Lord Jesus Christ than Isaiah chapter
53. Now, it would help us stand back
with wonder and amazement that the detailed description of the
crucifixion of Christ by the prophet Isaiah was penned over
seven centuries before Christ came into this world to die. Now, this is a whole lot more
than a man's guess. This is divine revelation. No other way to account for it. Beginning at verse one, Who has
believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? My, what questions to precede
what follows. And please notice that the first
question in verse 1 is answered by the second question in verse
1. Who believes the report? the
same person that God reveals His saving arm to. To whom is
the arm of the Lord revealed? Now we come to speak concerning
our precious Redeemer. For He shall grow up before Him. God the Son shall grow up before
God the Father as a tender plant. and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form, nor comeliness,
and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him. All the pictures of Him are not
only contrary to the very commandments that people claim to keep, but
they're totally false, totally false. No form, no comeliness, and when
we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire in Him. So when we first hear the gospel
of Christ, we find it not according to our liking. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, I hid,
as it were, my face from him. He was despised and we esteemed
We valued him not. Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His strikes we are healed. Now, this healing
has to do with a disease called sin. Now, God might be pleased, and
He might not, to alleviate or even remove one sickness of one
kind or another. He often does this, but he most
often does not. But this is talking about a different
disease. This is healing from the disease
of sin. Wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was
upon him and with his stripes. we are healed. With his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep, all of us
like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord has laid on him, on Christ, the iniquity
of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he opens
not his mouth. He was taken from prison, Pilate's
prison, and from judgment, the judgment before Pilate. And who
shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken." Whose people are they? God's people. And he made his grave with the
wicked man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea. I'm sorry, made his grave with
the wicked in his death on the tree between the two thieves,
and with the rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, in his death, because
he had done no violence. Neither was any deceit in his
mouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him
to grief. When you shall make his soul
an offering for sin, what's Christ doing on the tree? making his
soul an offering to God for his people's sin. And from that vantage
point, hanging on that tree, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, he must be raised from the dead, and the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. All that God purposed
to do in the death of Christ must be accomplished. Any view of Christ not being
satisfied with what His death and gospel produce is an insult
to Almighty God. Christ does everything He pleases. He saves all whom He intends
to save, all for whom He died, not one single solitary pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
in Christ's hand. He shall see of the labor, the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify
many? The Lord Jesus, being Jehovah's
servant, shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him,
this is the father speaking now concerning the son, therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide
the spoil with the strong, because he has poured out his soul unto
death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare
the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. What a passage, what a death,
what a Savior, what a Redeemer. Now before I announce the text
and the title, let us pray. Lord, we come now at this time to your appointed means by which
sinners are to be saved, and saints are to be uplifted and
nourished and fed and edified. But Lord, if this is to be to anybody in this place this
morning, it must indeed be a work of divine grace. no preacher anywhere can accomplish spiritual things without a miracle
from heaven. We cannot do these things for
ourselves or for others. So this morning we come casting
ourselves upon your mercy and upon your grace in our blessed
Lord Jesus Christ. But Lord, if you do not come
among us in the power and work of your Spirit, we shall not be any the better
for having been here. But if you visit this place, visit our hearts in the power
of Your grace. Lord, indeed, nothing is impossible
with God. But Lord, we don't have You on
a rope. You do as You please in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of men. And no one can say unto
you, what are you doing? You do what you please. So Lord,
we beg this morning, have mercy upon our souls. Be pleased, if
you would, to unveil the hidden truths in this book we call the
Bible. known to us in your glorious
revelation, from your Word and by your Spirit, that we might
truly see him as never before and fall on our faces at his
feet, begging mercy at his hand and saying with the Apostle Paul,
Lord, what would you have me to do? Help us, we pray, for Christ's
sake. Amen. Now just a few weeks ago
in the conference in Danville, Brother Todd Nivert brought a
message on Romans chapter 5 and verse 6. And he raised several
questions in regard to this statement. And I'd like to attempt, I'm
not sure this is an accurate rendition of his questions, I
think these questions are appropriate and that you'll find them so.
So my text this morning is simply in one statement of Scripture
in verse 6 of Romans chapter 5. Romans 5, 6, for when we were
yet without strength, talking about strength of soul, we had
no spiritual strength. My goodness, we were dead spiritually. We couldn't even get up from
the dead when we were yet without strength in due time. That's when God's time arrives,
due time. Here it is. Christ died for the
ungodly. Now we live in a world, a religious
world, that does not know what that word means, that statement
means. Sinners are being urged to show
some indication to God that they desire His favor to be upon them. And He'll see that and He'll
come and bless you for it. That ain't what this says. Christ
died not for the godly, for the ungodly. And the problem is nobody
wants to call himself ungodly. But if God ever saves you and
me, we'll be glad to own this as being true and a whole lot
worse than that. Now here's the question. The last time I have written
acknowledgment of when I tried to preach this question was in
the year 1988, and I don't remember the month or anything, but I've
got that much written down. But I don't remember addressing
this statement since that time, but that doesn't mean I didn't.
And your memory's maybe not perfect either, but mine's a whole lot
better. It's a long way from perfect and getting worse all
the time. Here's the question. For whom did Christ die? For whom did Christ die? Most people say for everybody.
This book does not say that. Isaiah 53 did not say that. Romans 5, 6 does not say that
he died for everybody. If Christ died for everybody
and everybody's not saved, then it doesn't make a hill of beans
of difference for whom he did die. His death is worthless. You follow me? But you know I
know his death is not worthless, and you know it's not worthless.
It accomplished all he intended to accomplish. For whom did Christ
die? And Brother Nybert raised this
question. Why ask this question? Are you trying to divide people? Why do you ask such a question?
What's the importance of such a question? Let's see if we can find out.
Now, this is worth your time and mine. In John chapter 8 and verse 32,
the Lord Jesus said to His heroes on that occasion, You shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And then He says in verse 36
of that same chapter, If the Son shall make you free, you
shall be free. Indeed. So the truth that makes
us free is Christ as the truth. Now the people in John 8 didn't
like those words. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. You can look it up and read it
for yourself. They've got the very next verse, John 8, verse
33. They said, what do you mean free?
We've never been in bondage to any man, which was an absolute
lie. They were under Roman domination
that very moment that they declared they were free. Now that's how
all of us are when it comes to our soul. We think things about
ourselves that just flat aren't so. And when we run in this book
into statements that describe us in terms that we just can
hardly bear to think about being true about ourselves, we say,
well, that ain't me. Well, I'm telling you, when grace
comes home to our heart, we bow to every description this book
offers of us, and there must be hundreds. There must be hundreds. So the first reason to ask this
question is to know the truth. The truth. If it's true, we ought
to be interested in knowing it. For whom did Christ die? The second one has to do with
what these words mean. Christ died for the ungodly. For whom did Christ die? What
does this question mean? What is the meaning of it? Let's look at it this way. Let's take Judas Iscariot and
Simon Peter. Both of them were the apostles
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Judas Iscariot is in hell, and
Peter is in glory. For whom did Christ die? Did he die for Peter? You say, yes. Did he die for
Judas Iscariot? No. No. If he did, his death is ineffective. For the scripture says that Judas
Iscariot has gone to perdition, to the damnation of his soul.
You know, you know, every human being does not go to heaven Now,
I know how it is in Harnett County. Once you're dead, the preacher's
going to say you're a saint and you're already in heaven. But
I'm telling you what the preacher says ain't got nothing to do
with it. The question is, did God in mercy and grace reveal
Christ to my soul, this Christ who died for the ungodly? The ungodly. Now how about turning to, I tried
to do a little bit of this when we were, I'm turning to 1 Timothy
chapter 1, but I tried to do a little bit of this when we
were getting ready to sing that hymn, O for a Thousand Tons to
Sing. But here's a more graphic and
powerful look at the subject in regard to the question surrounding
this question, for whom did Christ die? And it seems to me, and Brother
Nybert suggested this in his treatment of this part of it,
it seems to me that in order for a preacher to preach the
gospel of Christ, he must know something about this question,
for whom did Christ die? You follow me? I don't see how
we can truly preach the Gospel without reckoning with this question,
for whom did Christ die? And the reason for that is this,
this bowing to the truth, this God having broken our heart in
the convicting work and regenerating work of His Spirit and bringing
us to the end of ourselves, that we have no goodness, To offer
to God we have no reason to ask Him to even look our way, and
so we just fall down in the dust and become beggars for mercy. Here in 1 Timothy chapter 1,
we have it in this language, verse 15. You've heard this verse 13 times. This is a faithful saying. worthy of all acceptation, universal
acceptance. This is true the world over.
It's true every generation, every century, every place on the globe. It's true. This is a faithful
saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to do what? to save sinners. Sinners? Now, I know everybody almost
is willing to say, well, yes, I'm a sinner. But when you begin
to show him, when someone begins to show me or you in this book
what it really says about us, then is when we begin to object. If that's what a sinner is, I'm
not one. I'm not that bad. Not that bad. As Spurgeon said, you can call
a man a horse and he might not hit you, but if you put a saddle
on him and a bridle in his mouth and begin to ride him, you might
find otherwise. That's the same way it is with
a sinner. Exactly how it is. When we began to hear faithful
preachers and teachers of God's Word telling us what this book
says about us. It's hard to take. As a matter
of fact, it's impossible apart from saving grace. Now, let's
finish verse 15. Or did I finish it? If I did,
I'm going to go back over it. This is a faithful saying worthy
of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save the sinners. But that ain't the end of it,
is it? Of whom? I am chief, the
chief of sinners. Who's that talking? Oh, this
is that high-muckety-muck that was the Pharisee of the Pharisees.
This was that man that thought he was holier than anybody else.
And now he says, I am the chief of sinners. Now I want you to
be sure and look in your Bible. It does not say, I was. He says, of whom I am, that's
present tense language, chief. Paul is just about ready to leave
this world as a martyr for our Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel,
and he still calls himself the chief of sinners. Now, this religious
world in which we live knows of no such gospel as this, but
I'm telling you, this is the gospel, and this is why this
question is necessary. For whom did Christ die? He died
for sinners, all of whom claim to be the chief of sinners. Those
are the people that know something of God's saving grace in Christ. Now if you'll turn to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. Here's another question that
bears our understanding of it and our
look in the scriptures concerning it. John chapter 10. Why ask this question? In order for you and me to know
whether or not we are one of these persons for whom Christ
died. Now, we could almost take every
verse in John 10, but here's the condensed version. Look at
verses 11, first of all. I am the good shepherd, This
is our Lord Jesus Christ speaking. This is the New Testament counterpart
to the Old Testament 23rd Psalm. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The sheep. The sheep. Well, what does it mean if you're
not a sheep? Well, it means you're a goat. All humanity, this entire world,
is divided into sheep and goats. And our Lord said, I give my
life, the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Look
at verse 15 in John chapter 10. As the Father knows me, even
so know I the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep."
The sacrificial death, the substitutionary death, the redeeming death of
the Lord Jesus Christ is for whom? For whom did he die? Well,
one thing is flat for certain. You can't get around this. He
died, whatever it means, here's what it says, he died for the
sheep. The sheep. Now, that's unmistakable. We may not like what it means,
but that is, in fact, what it says. Now, while you have John
10 in front of you, we will leave that particular train of questions
and come to a fifth question in regard to the subject that
is before us this morning. Who are the sheep? Who are the
sheep? Now, why do we want to know that?
To find out if I is one. Who are the sheep? If Christ
died for the sheep, it behooves us to know who the sheep are
and whether or not we're one of them. All right, right here
in John chapter 10. First of all, in verses 24 through
26, our Lord is speaking to those that are not too pleased with
what they've heard, to put it mildly. Then came the Jews, round
about him, and said unto him, How long do you make us to doubt
charging Christ with causing them not to believe in Him? How
long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Now you know for sure these people,
they're not even approaching the Lord Jesus. My, so you wouldn't You wouldn't
approach anybody like this. You'd go to somebody that you
owe money and you'd say, now, how long are you going to make
me keep owing you money? Well, I reckon he could do it
until you pay him. You follow me? I know that seems silly, but
that's what this is. They're charging Christ with
their unbelief. How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. The Lord Jesus answered them,
I told you, I told you, and you believe not. The works that I
do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me, but you believe
not. Why? What did our Savior say? You believe not. because you
are not of my sheep." Is that really what it said? Do we dare read it like that? But you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you? My sheep hear my voice, verse
27, and I know them, and they follow me. He knows all his sheep by name. They were numbered and named
in old eternity, given to Christ in that precious
covenant My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them to
Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of My Father's hand. I am the Father are one. Now, what were the two categories
referred to earlier? One of which is the sheep. Goats. Sheep and goats. All right, we've got a few minutes
left, so I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 25. Just a few statements here in
Matthew 25 that distinguishes for us and informs us with utmost
clearness In regard to this question having to do with sheep and goats,
sheep and goats, I had a preacher write me a letter a few years
ago when we did a mail out here. He informed me that he was a
goat who by an act of his own free will became a sheep. If that were true, that would
be amazing, wouldn't it? But it ain't true. Well, how can you sit in judgment
on Him? Because the gospel that I preach, He claims to be no
gospel at all. And yet it's God's gospel. It's
the gospel that's all of grace. What other conclusion can you
draw? All right, let's...Matthew 25.
Verses 31 through 34. Matthew 25, 31. When the Son
of Man shall come in His glory, referring now, I presume, to
the Lord's return, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall
He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before him shall be
gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand." Now hang on to that. The sheep are on which
side? Right side. The right hand, but
the goats on the left. Goats where? On the left. Then
shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come you blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. Now look at verse 41. Then shall he say also unto them
on the left, left, who are they? Goats, on the left hand. What does he
say to them? Depart from me, you cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Look
at verse 46, ìAnd these shall go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal.î And who are these people called
the righteous? They are the very persons to
whom God has imputed the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's the only righteousness
that God will accept, is the one that he gives us in his grace
and mercy in