This morning for our Bible study,
let's turn in our Bible to Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53. Let's begin reading at verse
1, and we'll read down through verse 6. Isaiah 53. Who hath
believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root
out of dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we shall see him, There is no beauty that we should desire
him. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were,
our faces from him. He was despised and rejected.
He was despised and rejected of men. We esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet
did we esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was
wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned every one to his own way. And the Lord laid on
him the iniquity of us all." Now, this chapter, along with
all Old Testament scripture, tells us of our substitute, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now clearly this chapter sets
forth that Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our God, came and
died as a sinner's substitute, as a believer's substitute. Everyone
knows what a substitute is. A substitute is one who stands
in the place of another. Your child may have sometimes
a substitute teacher, a teacher who stands in the place of the
regular teacher. The ball team uses a substitute
player, a player who takes the place of another on the playing
surface. The Lord Jesus Christ is a sinner's
substitute, the believer's substitute. He stands in the place of God's
elect. Everywhere in the scriptures,
the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ is set forth as
a work of a substitute. Substitution is the great foundational
doctrine of the Gospel and of the Bible. The man who understands
the Gospel doctrine of substitution understands the message of the
Bible. The man who has no clear knowledge
of substitution is ignorant of the message of the Scripture,
ignorant of the message of salvation by the grace of God. This is
the gospel doctrine of substitution. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, stood in the place of sinners, so that all who trust
Him, all that look to Him, all that believe Him, might stand
accepted in the Beloved in Christ before God through all eternity. Since I do fully trust my soul
upon the merits of Christ and Him alone, resting upon His obedience
for my righteousness, We say with Paul that we might win Christ
and be found in him, not having our own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness of
Christ. You see, he is the believer's righteousness, resting in his
obedience as my righteousness, resting in his blood for my atonement,
in whom we have redemption from our sin through his blood, I
have good reason to believe that Jesus Christ is my substitute."
Now, here are several thoughts I want you to think about. When
we think about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, remember
that the Lord Jesus Christ stood as a believer's substitute. Now
listen to these thoughts. The Lord Jesus Christ stood as
the believer's substitute in eternity past. He was my surety
in the everlasting covenant of grace. He's called that in the
book of Hebrews. He's called the surety of a better
covenant, a better testimony. Before I'd sinned, before Adam
fell, the Lord Jesus Christ stood as a believer's redemption, the
believer's ransom, the believer's payment for sin. Before I ever
broke God's law, the Lord Jesus Christ stood as my righteousness.
God gave the Father, my soul, along with the host of all of
his elect, into the hands of Christ as a surety of the covenant. Before the world began, Christ
stood as the believer's substitute. And he gave all his elect, all
grace and all salvation in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Now, we read that clearly in Scripture in 2 Timothy 1,
9 and other places, God saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and His own grace. which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. Our Lord said in John 6, 37 and
following, All that the Father hath given me will come to me,
and those that come to me I will in no wise cast out. So you see,
the first thought on this glorious doctrine of substitution, the
Lord Jesus Christ stood as a believer's substitute in eternity past. Secondly, the Lord Jesus Christ
stood in my place as my substitute, as my federal head, as my representative
man while he lived in this world. In the fullness of time, God
sent for his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
us that were under the law. The sinless life of Christ was
as necessary for my redemption as his death. In his life, the
Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the holy law of God, establishing
perfect righteousness for God's elect, without which I could
never be accepted before God. You see, his righteous life,
what was he doing here? As the believer's substitute,
he was perfecting righteousness, not for himself, he is righteous,
but he is perfecting righteousness, honoring God's law, and establishing
perfect righteousness for his elect. And this righteousness
is freely, sovereignly imputed to those Believers by the grace
of God by his perfect life by his obedience he brought in an
everlasting Righteousness for his people now. We read this
in Scripture. He is called the Lord our righteousness
righteousness in Jeremiah 23 6 in 1st Corinthians 130 we read
up the Lord He's made to his people wisdom righteousness sanctification
and redemption Paul, when he wrote in Romans 5, chapter 5,
verse 19, he said, We see by one man's disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. You see, in Adam we sinned, in
Adam we fell, in Christ we were made righteous. Now here's my
third thought. about Christ the substitute.
You see, my friend, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the
gospel of substitution and satisfaction. Here's the third thought. The
Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, stood in my place as my substitute
at Calvary. He died under the penalty of
God's law, bearing my sin. We read that just a moment ago,
the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all, that is, all his elect,
all his sheep, He said, I lay down my life for the sheep, he
bearing my sin in his own body on the tree. He died under the
penalty of God's law, bearing my sin, my shame, my guilt, and
the wrath due unto me. God made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. We read in Isaiah 53, with his
stripes we are healed. We read again in Isaiah 53, it
pleased the Lord to bruise him. He put him to grief, when thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquity. You see, he died as a sinner's
substitute. He died in my place, so that
I would never bear the wrath of God or the judgment of God.
God satisfied his law and justice for me in Christ, my substitute. The just died for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God. Now, you got the first three
points. Christ stood as my substitute in eternity. Secondly, Christ
stood As my substitute and representative man while he lived in this world
in Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ stood in my place as my substitute
at Calvary, accomplishing my salvation, my redemption, my
righteousness. Now here's my fourth thought.
Jesus Christ, the righteous, stands in my place today, right
now, as my advocate. as my mediator, as my substitute
in heaven." We read of that in many places. 1 Timothy 2, 5 says
there's one God and one mediator between God and men, that is
the man, Christ Jesus. We read in 1 John chapter 2,
John says, my little children, these things I write unto you
that you sin not, But when you do, we have an advocate with
the Father who is Jesus Christ the righteous. He stands in the
sinner's place right now in the believer's room instead as my
advocate, as my righteousness before God. His precious wounds
and the merit of his blood sacrifice secure before me the eternal
favor of God. God will not charge me with sin,
and the law cannot require punishment upon me because the Lord Jesus
Christ has paid my debt, redeemed me from the law, from the curse
of the law. My substitute today stands as
my advocate with the Father." Romans 8, that there is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You
see, He is my substitute today, my advocate today, presenting
us, the believer before God, without blemish, without blame,
holy and spotless. Now here's my last thought. The
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Not another. The Lord Jesus Christ
himself shall stand in my place as my substitute before God in
the day of judgment. When God examines me, he will
hold no spot or blemish, or he will find no spot or blemish
in me because of the Lord Jesus Christ performed and placed and
imputed to God's people, all those who believe, perfect righteousness
and obedience. thoroughly washing away our sin
and satisfying God's justice, putting away our sin by His bloody
sacrifice. Trusting Christ as my substitute,
I fully expect to hear Him say, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant. You listen to this scripture
in closing in Jude 24, Now unto him that is able, to keep you
from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy. Through the only wise God our
Savior, be glory and majesty and dominion and power both now
and forever." Now, my question to you this morning, is the Lord
Jesus Christ your substitute? Do you see your need of a substitute
to put away your sin? Do you see your need of a substitute
to satisfy God's law and justice for you? Well, I hope you do.
And I hope God would give you faith in your heart to look to
Christ as the believer's substitute.