open our Bibles again this evening
to Romans the third chapter. Romans the third chapter. What would you give to know that your sins are blotted
out? All the sins of this day. sins of your thoughts, your imagination, your lips, your deeds, just the
sins of this day. Add to that all of your sins,
all that you've ever committed, all of that which torments the
conscience of man. Or would you give to know that
God's anger and wrath is completely turned away from you? Would you give the blood of bulls
and of goats? Would you give the labor of your
hands? Would you give a life of devotion and piety? I dare say that if any man knew
knew for certain that by doing any of these things, by giving
any labor of his hand, by giving his life to be a life of strict
religious devotion, of strict piety, that by in any way inflicting
pain or suffering upon himself, by making any sacrifice, if he
knew that by doing those things, He could gain complete forgiveness
from God. There's nothing he wouldn't give
or do. Satan said concerning Job, and
he was right, he said, skin for skin, yea, and all that a man
hath will he give for his life. That's the religion of man. Man
thinks. that by giving, by doing, by
sacrificing, by devoting himself to God, by inflicting pain and
suffering upon himself, he can win God's favor and somehow make
atonement for his sins. But God will not accept any gift
you bring. He will not accept any work that
you do. He will not accept any suffering
that you may endure or any suffering you may inflict upon yourself
to make up for your sins. In fact, everything that you
may give or do by way of penance will only add to your guilt and
aggravate your sin before God. The only thing that God will
accept, the only thing that will appease God's wrath is the blood
of his own dear son, whom he has set forth to be a propitiation
for our sins. If you would be accepted with
God, you must cease to work as you regret a moment ago. You
must cease trying to please God for yourself. You must cease
offering anything to God to make up for your sins, and you must
bring him only the blood of that propitiatory sacrifice which
he himself has made. Cain was a religious man, and
he brought before God the best, most sincere work that he could
bring. He brought before God the best
of the fruit of the ground. He brought before God that which
he had labored earnestly, labored hard, and labored long to produce,
and God turned him away. God rejected Cain and his offering. Abel, on the other hand, Cain's
brother, came before God and he brought him no works. He brought
him no good intentions. He brought him no resolutions.
He brought him no promises. He brought him blood, just blood. the blood of that slain sacrifice,
representing typically the blood of God's Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and God had respect for Abel and to his offspring, because
he had respect to the blood. Do you see that? The Lord Jesus
Christ, Paul tells us here in Romans 3 and verse 25, is that
one whom God had 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 which believe it in Jesus." Every once in a
while I get hold of something that I just can't let go of,
and that's the way this third chapter of Romans has been. I
began last week planning to preach to you Sunday morning from these
verses, and I wound up preaching Sunday morning and Sunday night,
and I think perhaps tonight we will conclude this exposition
of verses 24, 25, and 26. Nothing is more important than
what Paul teaches in this passage. In verse 24, the apostle showed
us that justification is a free act of God's grace through the
redemption that was accomplished in the death of his son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse 25, he is telling
us that Christ's redemption effectually accomplished the justification
of our souls because his blood was a propitiatory sacrifice
for sin. The death of Christ, John Gill
said, gave God contentment and satisfaction, because his justice
was appeased by it, and the demands of his law were answered, yea,
it was magnified and made honorable. Now there are two other passages
of scripture, I want you to turn to them, in 1 John, where this
word propitiation is spoken of. In 1 John chapter 2, The apostle
John tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the propitiation for
our sins. You have it in John 2 and verse
1. John's admonition is, my little
children, these things write I unto you that you sin not.
And if any man sins, when you do sin, don't despair. When you
do sin, don't give up hope. When you do sin, don't think
that God is angry with you. If any man sin, we have advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. And this is the comfort of it.
That advocate who is our intercessor before God, he is the propitiation
for our sins. And not for ours only, but for
God's people, for the sins of the whole world. That is, for
the sins of God's people scattered throughout the whole world. You
have it again in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 9. The Apostle says,
and this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might
live through him. And herein is love, not that
we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Now this is the doctrine of Holy
Scripture. God the Father sent his Son into
the world in human flesh. to offer up his soul and body
as a sacrifice for sin, thereby to make an expiation of sin and
a full atonement for sin. And now, upon the grounds of
Christ's sacrifice, upon the grounds of Christ's sacrifice,
get that, upon the grounds of Christ's sacrifice, God is merciful,
propitious toward his people. He is pacified toward us. Do you remember what Bob Pontzer
read Sunday evening in Ezekiel 1663? when I shall be pacified
toward thee. That's the root meaning of this
word propitiation. Notwithstanding all of our iniquity,
transgression, and sins, God is propitious. He's pacified
toward us because Jesus Christ died. That's the doctrine of
Paul here in Romans 3 and verse 25. Turn to the book of Hebrews,
if you will. I'll give you an illustration
of this propitiatory sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 9. The Apostle
Paul in Hebrews is declaring for us how that Jesus Christ
is better than all things under the law. Better than the angels,
better than Moses, better than Aaron, better than Joshua, better
than Melchizedek. He's better than all of those
things that were typically set forth in the Old Testament. Now
in chapter nine and verse five, he is telling us how that Jesus
Christ is the true tabernacle. And he was typified in verse
five in the mercy seat. Over it, that is over the ark
of the covenant, which contained Aaron's rod that budded, and
it contained the broken law of God, over that ark were the cherubims
of glory, shadowing the mercy seat, which we cannot now speak
particularly. Now that word mercy seat is the
very same word that over here in Romans 3 25 is translated
propitiation. When Aaron went into the holy
of holies, there stood before him the ark of the covenant. Inside that ark was the broken
law of God. That's what our sin is. It's
the transgression of God's law. Over the ark stood the cherubim
on either side facing one another. The Shekinah glory of God was
above it. But between the ark, the broken
law of God, and God's glory was the mercy seat. Aaron came in
with the blood of the paschal lamb, and he covered that mercy
seat with blood. And God's glory was revealed.
And there atonement was made. There God met with man. There on the mercy seat, mercy
went forth unto the children of Israel. It was symbolic. It was a picture. No, that blood
of that lamb did not really take away sin. That blood of that
lamb did not really cause God to be merciful. But it symbolized
that which was to come. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ,
who stands between a holy God and a sinful God. who have broken
His law, and His blood takes away our sins. And upon the grounds
of that blood, God is righteous. God is pacified towards you. God is merciful to you. God remembers
your sins and iniquities and transgressions. No more against
you. His blood not only covers them,
but washes them away. It is that mercy seat to which
the publican had reference. He had it in his mind's eye when
he said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. You know what
the word merciful is? He said, God, be propitious to
me, the sinner, through the blood of the Christ who is to come.
God, be propitious, be merciful to me through the blood of the
Lamb who is to come that our sins might be blooded out. The
death of Christ is spoken of in Scripture peace between God and man. It
is spoken of in Romans 5 in verse 11 as an atonement. The word
atonement is easily divided up into three syllables. At-one-ment. Literally, at one with. The blood of Christ has united
God and his people. We're no longer divided, but
united in the blood of God's Son. And the blood of Christ
is described as a propitiation. a vindication of God's honor,
an amendment for the offenses of man's sin, an appeasement
of God's wrath. The apostle tells us here particularly
that the propitiation was provided by God himself, whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation. The God who was angered, the
God who was offended by our sin has provided the propitiation
for our sin. the act of God's amazing infinite
love. We sinned against God with a
willing heart, but God found a way to be gracious to us. That's
how our Lord speaks. He says, for God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son. And he gave his son as this
end for his object, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Now when Paul tells us that Christ
was set forth to be the propitiation for our sins, he's telling us
several things. Let me give them to you. First
of all, the Lord Jesus Christ was set forth to be the propitiation
for our sins in the purpose and the decree of God. Notice your
marginal translation. If you have a marginal reference
in the center of your Bibles, that word set forth should be
translated or could be translated for ordained. whom God foreordained. God foreordained his son to be
the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. He was
the ransom price and the perpetuatory sacrifice even before the sin
was committed. The Apostle Peter tells us that
we're redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold
from our vain conversation received by tradition from our fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb who verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world. The Apostle John
tells us that Christ Jesus is the lamb of God slain from the
foundation of the world. Now what he's telling us is just
this. Before we ever transgressed God's law, the propitiation was
provided. Before we ever sinned against
God, Christ was the propitiatory sacrifice. Before ever Adam fell,
the Lord Jesus Christ stood before God as the propitiation for his
covenant people. The Apostle is also telling us
that Christ was set forth in the promises and prophecies of
the Old Testament Scriptures. He is that one who was promised
the seat of the woman. He is that one who was described
in Psalm 22 as the suffering substitute. He is the one that
you read about in the office a little bit ago, Merle and Isaiah
53, the redeeming Savior. And he is that one who Daniel
describes as the reconciling Messiah. Let's look at Daniel's
prophecy in Daniel chapter 9. Most of the others are more familiar
to you than Daniel. So I want you to look at what
Daniel says concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In
the prophecy of Daniel chapter nine and verse 24. When you read the scriptures,
don't let Satan turn you aside with his many subtle crafty devices. He's been in the business of
deceiving folks for 6,000 years, and he's good at it. He knows
it's easy to get our minds intrigued with the prophetic mysteries,
and men want to study out and determine what every image signifies,
and what every toe on the image signifies, and they want to understand
exactly what the 70 weeks were, and all of those things. Don't
let Satan deceive you. Don't let him turn you aside.
The essence of Daniel's prophecy is right here in verse 24. Seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city. Now this is what's going to take
place. To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, and to
make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. the vision and prophecy and to
anoint the most holy. This is done by Messiah the Prince. The Apostle is telling us then
that Christ was set forth in the Old Testament Scriptures,
the book of God. That that word beginning in Genesis
and going through Malachi, that word that came in the old covenant,
that word of the prophets was designed, written, and given
by God to show us that Christ is coming to be a propitiation,
to appease, to put away sin, to make an atonement for our
transgression. The Apostle is also showing us
that Christ Jesus was set forth to be our propitiation in the
types and shadows of the law, particularly in the mercy seat
as I've described. In the fullness of time, Christ
Jesus was openly and publicly set forth, publicly manifested
as the propitiatory sin atoning sacrifice by his death upon the
cursed tree. The Apostle Paul tells us that
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. And the Lord God made a public
declaration to all men that the sacrifice was accepted. When
our Lord Jesus hung upon that tree and he finally cried, it
is finished. The scripture tells us that the
veil of the temple, that is that veil which separated the Holy
of Holies, the covenant, the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol
of God's presence, that thick veil which separated God from
the people because of their sins and their transgressions. The
scripture tells us it was rent from the top to the bottom, specifically
from the top lest anyone should say it just got worn out with
much use. It was rent from the top to the bottom, so that the
way into the holiest of all, that is the way into God's presence,
accessibility to God, freedom to approach God without fear,
has been made good. There's a new and living way.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, which is the propitiation
for our sins. God publicly demonstrated that
all the prophets were fulfilled, all the types were fulfilled.
Now the propitiation has been made and the Lord Jesus Christ
is still set forth as our sin-bearing, sin-atoning, perpetuatory sacrifice
in the preaching of the gospel. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians
3 in verse 1, that Christ Jesus is now evidently set forth, crucified
among you. As we preach the gospel with
divine authority, we proclaim to men, behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. Now Paul lays stress
upon the fact that Christ made propitiation for our sins by
pouring out his life's blood unto death. Read the text again. Whom God had set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood. I realize that
there are many squeamish folks today who do not like to hear
about the blood. They say it's crude. distasteful. They tell us talk about the birth
of Christ, talk about the life of Christ, tell us about the
teachings of Christ, and if you must, even tell us about the
death of Christ, but don't talk about the blood of Christ. That's
distasteful. That's repugnance. Well, to the
natural man, it is repugnance. To the natural man, it is offensive. To the natural man, it is something
that he despises. But to them who believe, the
blood of Jesus Christ is precious. Let me tell you what God says
about the blood. God says that it is the blood which shall make
atonement for the soul in Leviticus 17 11. God says without the shedding
of blood is no remission in Hebrews 9 22. God said in Exodus 12,
13, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Our Lord's incarnation
was necessary. His life of righteousness is
vital to our souls. His intercession in heaven, we
must have. I rejoice in and give thanks
to God for anything that has to do with my Savior. But let
me tell you, now I wouldn't minimize Our Lord's life. I wouldn't minimize
his birth. I wouldn't minimize his intercession
or anything in the world. But I tell you plainly that without
the violent spilling of Emmanuel's blood under the wrath of God
as he hung on that cursed tree, all else would be useless to
us. Utterly useless. His birth would
mean nothing. His life would be of no value. His intercession would have no
power with God were it not for the spilling of his blood when
he died as our substitute. You might have said, well, that's
slaughterhouse religion. Let men say what they will. It
is the gory, bleeding, agonizing, ignominious death of the Lamb
of God which takes away our sins. God is appeased and pacified
toward us because his dear son died the violent, bloody death
of the cross. What is it about the blood that
makes it so precious to God's people? What is his blood? It's not the blood of just a
man. Not the blood of just a good man. It's the blood of that man
who is God. That one who died is himself
God. Our hymn writers have changed
the words to the song because they can't understand the doctrines
of Scripture. But Isaac Watts wrote that hymn,
Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut his glories in. And this is the way Watts wrote
it. When God, the mighty maker, died for man, the preacher said,
Yes, God died for us. The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian
elders to feed the church of God, which he had purchased with
his own blood. The Apostle John says, hereby
proceed we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.
Well, it's impossible for God to die. Yes, it is. But it's
not impossible for the God-man to die. He did. He did. Were he not God, his blood would
be of no value. But because he is God over all
and blessed forever, Immanuel, God in our nature, therefore
his blood is of infinite merit to be the perpetuation of our
sins. Not only is it the blood of God
our Savior, but it's effectual blood. The blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ has effectually accomplished the redemption Only
the blood of Christ could satisfy God's law and justice, and it
did. Only the blood of Christ could
wash away our sins, and it did. When I see my sin in the light
of God's word, in the light of God's law, in the light of everything
I know about God, my conscience can find no peace. There is no way under God's heaven
for my conscience to be honest before God and find peace until
I see his son bleeding. God's law said that's enough
and my conscience says that's enough. That's enough. God's
Son, His life, that's enough to take away my sin. When He
gave out His life by pouring out His blood, my sin was gone,
and my conscience finds peace there. It is the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ which has effectually made an atonement for sin. And
this blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, is eternal
blood. I know the blood itself is not
eternal, not literally. That blood was created by God
the Holy Spirit in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ when he
created that body in the womb of the Virgin by his marvelous
overshadowing power. He formed the Lord Jesus Christ
a body in which he would suffer and die in our stead and in that
body he created the blood. But the merit of the blood is
eternal. God Almighty, before the world
was, looked upon the blood and accepted us. When Adam sinned
in the garden, God looked on the blood and accepted us. When we came forth from the womb
speaking lies, God looked on the blood and accepted us. When
we believed, God looked on the blood and accepted us. And today,
God looks on the blood and accepts us. And tomorrow and forever,
God's eye is on the blood and he says, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. He accepts us because of the
eternal merit of the blood of his son. Only the blood of Christ
could satisfy God's law and his justice. Only the blood of Christ
could wash away our sins. Only the blood of Christ could
make God to be appeased towards sinful man. And only the blood
of Christ can comfort my sin, troubled sin, blackened soul. I come to God today like I so
often come to God, with nothing but sin, nothing
but sin. My reading, my studying, my praying,
my preaching, my painting. It's all sin. It's all sin. And that's just the good part. It's the cold part. Sometimes I think that piece
of wood must have more life. Pastor, where on earth can you
find any comfort when you know that you're so sinful and when
you know you've got no righteousness and when your heart seems so
lifeless? for God, not myself, not my cold
heart, but the blood of Jesus Christ. That's enough. Do you see that? That's enough.
That's what God accepts. The blood, the blood, the blood,
the blood. When I see the blood, I'll pass
it. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, makes propitiation. And this propitiation Paul tells
us comes to centers through faith in the blood of Christ. He tells
us that Christ was set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood. Now let me stress what I would
not stress were it not for the heresy of our age. Most men today,
fundamentalist religion, folks make a big spiel because they
elected Adrian Rogers be president of Southern Baptist Convention
again. I wouldn't give you the flip of a nickel's difference
between conservative fundamentalist Southern Baptist and liberal
neo-Orthodox Southern Baptist. Don't either one of them believe
anything. Fundamentalism in this day made propitiation possible, that
he made redemption possible, that he made justification possible,
that he made redemption possible, but that man by faith gives merit
and power to the blood of Christ to justify himself, to redeem
himself, to make propitiation for himself. So I never heard
anybody say that, but it's got better sense to say it that way.
But they say that Christ died for all men and did the same
thing for Judas that he did for Peter. The difference is that
Peter exercised his free will and believed. Then they're saying
that Peter saved himself. You say that faith is the grounds
and the cause of God's justification and propitiation. You're saying
man's his own savior, and that's blasphemy. The propitiation was
made when the propitiatory sacrifice was offered and accepted at Calvary.
But it had no effect upon us until we believe, until we have
faith in the blood. Let me illustrate it for you
again. Abraham, our Abraham, is going
back into the Holy Ghost on the Day of Atonement. And he's taking
the blood of that lamb And he covered that person's seat in
blood. You see pictures of it, and it's
all painted up nice and pretty, you know, in Abram's office,
George's rooms. When Abram came out of that place that day, the
whole inside of that place was a glowing mess. It was covered
in blood. Everything was covered in blood!
Everything was covered in blood! But God had made it. It was done when the blood was
offered. Now those people standing out
there didn't know. They listened for the sound of
the bells on the bottom of Aaron's Road. And if ever they stopped
hearing those bells, they were in terror because they felt certain
that God had refused the sacrifice. and killed Aaron and they were
next. The propitiation was made, the atonement was made when Aaron
was inside that holy place, when the blood was splattered on the
mercy seat. But they didn't know a thing
about it until Aaron stepped out, his garments all dyed in
blood, raised his hands and said, the Lord bless thee. The Lord
lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. had come to them. Even so, I
cannot know that propitiation is made and that God has blotted
out my sins until the Holy Spirit, under the commission of Jesus
Christ, the High Priest, comes and makes the blood effectual
to my heart and gives me faith. And now, My faith would lay her hand on
that dear head of thine, while like a penitent I stand and there
confess my sin. My soul looks back to see the
burdens Christ did bear when hanging on the cursed tree and
trust her guiltful there. We receive the propitiation through
faith. This is what I want you to see.
you and I and every believer upon the earth are as clear before
God of every sin as if we had never seen. Now that's phenomenal. That's astounding. That's amazing. As clear before God of every
sin as if we had never seen. We are as accepted before God
as if we had lived all the days of our lives in perfect obedience
to Him with pure hearts. We are as completely free of
all sin and completely free of all guilt. of the crucified now glorified
Redeemer as if Adam had never transgressed in the garden. That's
how accepted we are and more. If I could, if it were possible,
I believe I'm telling you the truth my inmost soul. if it were possible right now,
for me to have perfect righteousness of my own. If God Almighty could and would,
he can't and he won't, but if he could and would, say to me,
Don Fortner, I'll forget about all your sins and I'll forget
about Adam's transgression. And I'll allow you and help you
to live on this earth now from this day forward in perfect righteousness. And I will give you the strength
to overcome every temptation and trial. And now you can have
a pure heart before me. Now if I could have it, if I
could have it just that way, I would reject it. and take the
righteousness of Christ. I'd reject it. I'll tell you
why. You see, if I had my own righteousness,
it would only be the righteousness of a man. And there is no guarantee
that I would not do the same thing that Adam did. Adam was
in better shape than I am. man who is God and His righteousness
can never change. His righteousness is of infinite
value. His righteousness is of infinite
merit for my soul. It overflows with merit. His
righteousness, His immaculate, complete, infinite righteousness
overflows with infinite merit for all His When I come to him, like that wandering prodigal,
and he runs and falls on my neck and kisses me in his mercy and
grace. He says to his servant, bring
hither the best robe. Put it on. Put that robe on. Boy, look at that. Get size 52
extra long. Bring the shoe to the monastery. Perfect fit. Size 12 fit. Bring the ring. Symbol of everlasting
love. Unchanging, immaculate, infinite,
immutable love. Put it on his finger. in a corner, perfect, because
it was what He, from Old Eternity, prepared for me. I, in His Son,
am accepted, have perfect propitiation. Oh, thank God, He's given me
faith in the blood. wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace." Well, why? Why have we been justified freely
by the grace of God through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus?
Why was Christ set forth to be a propitiation for our sins? the Apostle Paul tells us right
here in verse 25, to declare God's righteousness. Now here the Apostle is giving
us the declaration of divine righteousness, the great object
of redemption by the blood of Christ, the great object of justification,
of propitiation, and of preaching the gospel is to declare the
righteousness of God, to show how that God is just and yet
the justifier of all who believe. Turn over to the book of Psalms. Psalm 106, I believe it is. I want you to see this. Psalm
106. This is why God does everything
he does. And particularly, this is why
God saves sinners. He does it for the glory of his
own great name. God saved you and me. God planned
from eternity to save you and me. God gave his son to redeem
us so that he might declare his greatness in us. Look here in
Psalm 106 verse 8. Nevertheless, in spite of all
their sin, He saved them for His namesake. Do you see that? Do you see it? This is why God gave His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins, to declare His righteousness. So everybody would know, God
in heaven, just and true. The Apostle shows
us first that the death of Christ declared God's righteousness
in the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. For 4,000 years before the Lord
Jesus Christ came into this world, God was merciful and God forgave
the sins of all who Even before Christ died, Abel, and Noah,
and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and David, and all
the other believers were fully, completely, perfectly justified
and accepted with God. Now how? Through faith in his blood. That's
how. They were saved exactly like
you and I are saved. Exactly the same way. preach all kinds of heresy concerning
the way men are saved in the Old Testament. Men in the Old
Testament were saved the same way men in the New Testament
are, the only way God ever saved sinners. And that's through faith
in the blood of God's Son, Abraham. Our Lord said, rejoice to see
my day. He saw me. Now I don't know what
Abraham knew. I don't have any idea how much
of the gospel he had. I expect he had a whole lot more
than most people think, but I know he had enough faith. He had enough
knowledge to have this kind of faith. He trusted the blood of
him who is God who was coming to be man. He trusted. Abel trusted the blood of a lamb
who was to be himself God in human flesh. Abraham told his
son Isaac, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. Now, I don't think Abraham said
that by mistake. I don't think he just kindly
blurted out something he didn't know what he was talking about. Isaac said,
my father, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham
said, my son, God will provide not for himself, not that he
will provide a lamb here on this occasion, though he did. He said,
God will provide himself a lamb. What he was saying is, son, there's
a lamb coming who is God, who shall take away our sins. David brought the ark of God
up out of the house of old David, and he leaped and he danced and
he sang before that ark. Because he wasn't looking at
that ark. That ark was no more than that piece of wood. That's
all. That oak may be prettier than that. It's overlaid with
gold, but it's just a piece of wood. David wasn't idolatrous. He didn't worship that piece
of wood. He saw in that ark, Jesus Christ, the mercy seed. the man to whom the Lord will
not have you. See, blessed is that man whose
sins are forgiven, whose iniquities are taken away. They're lifted
up off of him, and they're put on another, and by that one,
they're removed. Yes, they look to the blood of
Christ. And God Almighty himself looked to the blood. Somebody said, And the Old Testament
sins were just rolled forward. Year after year after year. It
ain't so. Ain't so. God knew what was coming before
it came. Because God in eternity determined it to come. And God
looked on the blood not only as that which was to be shed,
but that blood which was already shed in his mind and purpose
before the world was, and in justice, he remitted their sin. He blotted out. people gave their
sermons. Moses and Elijah were seen on
the Mount of Transfiguration talking with Christ. And Luke
tells us that they talked to him about the death which he
must accomplish at Jerusalem. Reckon how they knew? Reckon
how they knew? Moses was the one to whom God
gave the pattern of the tabernacle. after which Moses built Tabernacle
the pattern was Jesus Christ God said now Moses here's my
son he's going to come take on him a tent of human flesh just
a temporary dwelling upon the earth make a tent Moses here's
my son he's going to come and fulfill the law And he's going
to die as a perpetuatory sacrifice, make a mercy seat, put it over
an arch. Do you see what I'm talking about? Moses saw the
pattern. Christ was the pattern after
which the tabernacle was made. Moses and Elijah talked to the
Lord about the death he should accomplish. I don't know what they said,
but I imagine it was something like this. I don't think I'm
being intrusive to say so. Moses and Elijah said, O Lamb
of God, it's going to be a glorious day, a glorious day in heaven
from the earth, when God's righteousness is declared, when all the world
shall see that God in just or gave our sin. Then in verse 26, Paul shows
us that the other half of this great truth is the same. He says
to declare, I say at this time, right now, today, June 17, 1986,
right now, To declare, I say, at this present
moment, God's righteousness, that he might still be just and
the justifier of him which believes. Christ Jesus died at Calvary
as a sin atoning propitiation. To declare God's righteousness,
saying that God in heaven exercises strict justice in forgiving the
sins of all who believe. That's the reason we can sing
with old Calper, dear dying lamb, thy precious blood shall never
lose its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin
no more. All the sins of God's elect past,
present, and future were laid on Christ. The whole horrible
mass of all the sins of all who ever have or ever shall believe
were transferred to Christ and they became His. Oh God give me understanding
in that. They became His. Turn over to Psalm 40. I'm not just talking off the
cuff here. I've been studying this thing for a little while.
In Psalm 40, verse 6, sacrifice an offering thou didst not desire.
Verse 7, lo I come to do thy will, O God. Now Paul tells us
plainly in Hebrews 10, that's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking,
doesn't he? That's Christ speaking. Verse 10, I have not hid thy
righteousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving
kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. That's the
Lord Jesus Christ. I look in verse 12. For innumerable evils have compassed
me. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me. so that I am not able to look
up. They are more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart
faileth me. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Turn over to Psalm 69. Psalm 69. Look at verse 7. For thy sake
I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face. Verse
8. I am become a stranger to my
brethren, an alien to my mother's children. Verse 9. The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that
reproach thee are fallen upon me. Look in verse 20. Reproach hath broken mine heart.
I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to help and
some to take pity, but there was none, or comforters, but
I found none. They gave me also gall for my
meat, and vinegar, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to
drink. Now that's the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? You have any
question about that? That's Christ. Look in verse five. Verse four,
he said, then I restored that which I took not away. That's
Christ. Look at verse five. O God, thou
knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. Pastor, what are you saying?
I'm saying that when Jesus Christ that in his own estimation, and
in the eyes of God his Father, and before the law of God, Don
Portner's sin became his sin. My guilt became
his guilt. And not only is it true of me,
but it's true of every sinner in this world who believes on
him. Your sin became his sin. Your guilt became his guilt and
he died under the wrath of God for sin. Now that's the doctrine of Holy
Scripture. Everything stands above, I hear. Christ by his one propitiatory
sacrifice being made to be sin for us has put away our sin. He, his own self, bear our sins
and his own body on the tree. And now, now it is a righteous
thing for God to justify all who believe. Indeed, the righteousness
and the justice of God demand that everyone whose sins he bore
be justified as he was made to be sin. without any goodness of my own, without any merit of my own. My Father, my God, I stand before
thee with perfect righteousness. My righteousness. my consciousness, because you have made me the
very righteousness of God in Christ. Do you see that? Do you
see what I'm talking about? Has to be that way. Has to be
that way. Because you see, justice has
been satisfied for There's therefore then no conjugation. Once justice
is satisfied, it will allow punishment. It will not allow punishment.
Not justice. Injustice, yes, but not justice.
Justice, once satisfied, can require no more. Sin, once put
away, cannot be punished. Righteousness, completely maintained,
demands the reward of righteousness. By purchasing redemption for
us, The Lord Jesus Christ has done
two things. I'll give you this and we'll
go home. First of all, he has made satisfaction. Secondly,
he's given merit. By his satisfaction, Christ paid
the debt we owed to God's holy law and thus redeemed us from
all misery. He's made it impossible, impossible
for any of those whose sin debt he paid to suffer the misery
of the damned in hell. He made it impossible. But second,
by the merit of his blood and righteousness, the Lord Jesus
Christ has procured and purchased for us a righteous and just title
to heaven's eternal heavens. Nobody will go to heaven but
by merit. Not your merit, his merit. The
merit of his righteousness and the merit of his blood cling
wide open to the doors of heaven for every setting. whom he suffered
and died. That's God's declaration of his
righteousness. I want you to believe. Oh, I want you to rest your soul
on the atonement which Christ accomplished in Calvary. If you believe, That's indisputable evidence
that Christ is your substitute and he put away your sins. That's indisputable evidence. And if you believe, you're justified
freely by the grace of God. Mr. Spurgeon said, no sin of
yours shall ever ruin you if you believe. Never. What happens when a believer
sins? Well, a lot happens to me. A
lot happens to you when we sin. But insofar as our relationship
with God Almighty is concerned, nothing happens. Nothing happens. Nothing happens. God will not
remember sin against His heart. But if you believe not, no righteousness
of yours will ever save you. God has set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness in justifying our sins. Amen.