I'd like for you to pull up a
chair and pay close and careful attention to my message today. I want us to study a subject. Now here's the subject. Here's
my subject, the title for the message. Why did Christ Jesus
die on the cross? Now everybody knows that Jesus
Christ was born into this world about 2,000 years ago. He lived
on this earth. And everybody knows that he died
on the cross at Calvary almost 2,000 years ago. But here's the
question. Why was it necessary for the
Son of God to die on the cross? Now, I could give you several
passages of Scripture answering that question, but I'm going
to use just one. I want you to open your Bibles
to 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3, verse 18. And Peter, in this verse of Scripture,
in this general epistle to all believers, gives us an answer
to this question, why did Jesus Christ die on the cross? And
here's the text, 1 Peter 3, 18. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Holy Spirit. Now here's the gospel of redemption
declared in plain words, which cannot be misunderstood, why
Jesus Christ our Lord died on the cross. Here are five answers
to that question. in answering five parts. First
of all, Peter says this, Christ had suffered for sins. Christ had suffered for sins. He died for sins. But He didn't
die for His own sins. He had none. He died for our
sins. Our sins were laid upon Him.
He had no sins, but He suffered for our sins. Isaiah, writing
about His death, said this, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was laid upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Now,
quote that verse over again and put your name in place of those
personal pronouns. It says, He was wounded for my
transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of My peace
was upon him, and by his stripes I'm healed." Put your name in
that place. Now, that's why he died. He suffered for sins, not
for his sins. He suffered for our sins. Paul,
in writing I Corinthians chapter 15, said this, "'Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
you have received, wherein you stand, and by which you are saved. if you keep in memory what I
preached unto you, how that Jesus Christ died for our sins. He died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. That's why He died. He suffered
for our sins. You know, when the Passover lamb
was slain, when God was going to use Moses to lead Israel out
of Egypt to the Promised Land, and He said, I'll pass through
at midnight, and the firstborn in every home will die, except
in the homes where the blood is on the door. And he told the
Israelites, take a lamb, the firstling of the flock without
spot or blemish, a lamb for a house, a lamb for a house, and slay
that lamb, offer it as a sacrifice, and put the blood on the door.
And when I passed through at midnight in judgment upon the
whole land of Egypt, And I smite the firstborn in every home.
When I see the blood, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you.
And someone preaching on that subject said there was death
in every home, in every home in Egypt, except in the home
of the Israelites where the blood was on the door. And I say this,
there was death in every home. There was not any home where
there was not death. The Egyptians and the Israelites,
But the Egyptians, the firstborn died. In the home of the Israelites,
the lamb died. But there was death. When God
passed through in judgment, there was death in every home. But
the death of the substitute spared the firstborn. And that's what
I'm saying to you right now. When the Lord Jesus Christ died
on the cross, He died for sins. He died for our sins. and he
paid the debt, and we don't die because he died, but there's
death. Sin demands death. And he suffered for our sin.
Now watch this word here. He suffered for, F-O-R, Christ
also suffered for our sins. In the stead of, in the place
of the sinner, he died. He reconciled us unto God. The
scripture says this, he put our sins away. Put them away. Where did He put them? He separated
them from us as far as the east is from the west. Scripture says
He cast them into the depths of the sea. He remembers them
no more. This is a beautiful verse. He made an end of sin. He suffered for our sins. He made an end of sin. And notice
this word. It says He suffered. He suffered
for sins. You know, we're not only talking
about physical suffering. When I hear people preach about
the death of Christ, they invariably talk about the crown of thorns,
and the crown of thorns was terrible, pressing into his brow, the scourging,
whipping of his back, and the nails, the awful nails in his
hands and feet. But these physical sufferings,
though terrible as they were, are not to be compared with his
spiritual sufferings. The scripture said he made his
soul an offering for sin. Christ's suffering for our sins
was from the cradle to the grave. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. Our Lord suffered soul agony
when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. And the scripture said that he
sweat as it were, great drops of blood. And he cried unto the
Father. This is before Calvary. This
is before the crown of thorns, before the whip, before the nails,
before the spirit. He cried unto the Father, My
soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Christ suffered,
suffered. And that's what suffering for
sin is. It's soul agony. It's soul suffering. Christ made His soul. an offering
for sin. He actually bore our hair. Why did He die? He suffered for
sins. Far in the place of, in the stead
of, He reconciled us to God and He suffered. Oh, how He suffered
for our sins and we don't have to suffer because He did. And
then here's another word that's most important. Christ also once
suffered for sins. once Christ that's where it's
the Son of God who suffered and he suffered soul agony and he
suffered for our sins our transgression but suffered once Christ also
hath once suffered for sin Hebrews 9 28 says this for Christ was
once offered to bear the sin of many once offered Hebrews
10 14 says this by one offering He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Why did He die? In this one verse
here, I Peter 3, 18. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins. He bore our sins in His body
on the tree. All right, look at the next statement.
He died the just for the unjust. He suffered for sins and He died
the just for the unjust. Now, you who are familiar with
the Word of God, you've studied the Bible, you know that the
Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible in several places, our Savior
is called the Just One, capital J-U-S-T, the Just One. That's what He's called, the
Just One. You know, when Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus
met God and the Lord blinded him, And the Lord told him to
go into Damascus to a street called Straight, and he would
send someone to him to preach to him and tell him what to do.
And he went to Damascus, and he was there some time, and a
man called Ananias came to him, and this was the message. This
was the message that Ananias brought to Saul of Tarsus. He
said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. That's the first order
of business, receive thy sight. Then here's the message that
he delivered. He said, Brother Saul, the God
of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest see the just
one, the just one. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ is
called the just one. In Isaiah 45, 21, he said, I
am a just God. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Our God is a just God. a righteous
God, a holy God, a God of justice, justice. Ecclesiastes 7.20 says
this, listen to this. Have you seen this in the scripture?
Ecclesiastes 7.20, there is not a just man on the earth, not
one, not a just, J-U-S-T, holy, righteous, honest, just man of
integrity on the earth. There's not one on the earth.
that doeth good and sinneth not." No, there isn't. Never has been. Not among the sons of Adam. From
the time that Adam fell to this present day, there's not a just
man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. But there was
one. And he's called the Just One. And that's the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's perfectly holy in His nature,
born without sin, conceived of the Holy Ghost. born without
a human father, did not partake of Adam's sin. He was holy in
His life. The Heavenly Father said, This
is My Son in whom I'm well pleased. He was holy in His deeds. He
went about doing good. He was holy, harmless, undefiled. God called Him My righteous servant. He died the just one for the
unjust. Why did He die on the cross?
He was the just one dying for the unjust one. He died the just
one for the unjust that he might satisfy God's law in their stead
and room and place. Romans 3.26, listen. He died
the just for the unjust that God may be just and justify the
ungodly and all who believe on Christ. In simple terms, And
I go over it on this telecast and have for 20 years over and
over again, over and over again. Will you hear me? Will you hear
me again? I'll say it again in simple terms. The law of God
has been broken. We have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. The law of God has been broken.
The justice of God says sin must be punished. The soul that sinneth
shall surely die. Almighty God cannot be just.
He cannot be holy. He cannot be righteous and set
us free without our sins being paid for, without our sins being
punished. But if one can be found among
the sons of men, if one can be found who can be called the just
one, the holy righteous one, if one can be found who can offer
a ransom, if one can be found who can obey the law perfectly,
and satisfy God's justice. If one can be found, then God
can be just and justify. If that one will take our place
in our room and our stand and meet that awful law and obey
it and meet that awful justice and satisfy it. And that's what
he says in Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. Christ hath redeemed
us, delivered us, set us free from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us. When Abraham was told by God
to take his son up on the Mount Moriah and sacrifice him, he
did just that. He took his son up there and
he bound him and put him on the altar. And he was about to slay
him and God spoke and said, do the child no harm. looked behind
you and Abraham looked behind him there was a ram caught in
the thicket and he took Isaac from off the altar and put the
ram in his place and the ram was slain and shed its blood
as an offering for sin we're the guilty ones but God took
us from off the altar of justice and holiness and righteousness
and the law and put Christ there in our stead the perfect one
who had no sins of his own he suffered for sin not his but
ours He died the just one, the holy one, for the unjust. And now God can be just and justifier,
substitution, satisfaction. All right, the third reason why
Christ died on the cross. He suffered for sins, our sins.
He took our place. He died the just one for the
unjust, that God may be just and justify folks like you and
me. The price has been paid. The law's been kept. Justice
has been honored. The law's been satisfied. The
debt's been paid in our room instead by the just one who had
no sin. Thirdly, it says here in I Peter
3, 18, he died that he might bring us to God. He might bring
us to God. You know, back in the Old Testament,
when God pictured sinners coming before the Lord, coming before
God. There was a tabernacle. And in
that tabernacle, there was two sections. There was called the
Holy Place. And in the Holy Place, there
was a candlestick that gave light in the Holy Place. There was
a showbread, 12 loaves of bread, one for each tribe of Israel.
And there was the burning incense. And then there was a second veil,
a thick, heavy veil, four or five inches thick from ceiling
to floor, from wall to wall, a veil. And behind that veil
was the Holy of Holies. That's what it was called, the
Holy of Holies. And in that Holy of Holies was an ark. And in
that ark was the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses, the
law of God, which we've broken, against which we've sinned. And
over that broken law, over that ark was a mercy seat. And the
scripture says, into that holy of holies went the high priest
alone once a year. The high priest, a man God selected
to represent God to the people and the people to God. He'd go
in once a year alone, not without blood, which he offered for himself
and for the people. And that went on for years and
years and years until Christ came. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's our High Priest. And He's
the Lamb slain. And when He died on the cross,
the veil in the temple was torn in two. The Holy of Holies was
opened. And Christ, the Scripture said,
Christ being a High Priest of good things to come, not by the
blood of lambs, but by His own blood, He entered once into the
holy place, not the holy place made with hands, not the temple
in Jerusalem, but into heaven itself in the presence of God.
He went into the presence of God and obtained for us eternal
redemption. You see, every time back in Old
Testament days for millenniums, for decades and centuries, that
old high priest went once a year, different ones of them went once
a year into that holy place. The Shekinah glory of God dwelt
over the mercy seat and made an atonement, a sacrifice over
that broken law once a year until Christ came. And by one offering,
He perfected forever them that are sanctified. He's our mercy
seat. He's our sacrifice. He's our
high priest. He's our advocate. And He went
into the very presence of God and took us with Him. He said,
I'm the good shepherd, other sheep I have which are not of
this fold, them I must bring. Bring where? Bring to God. He
suffered for sin, the just for the unjust to bring us to God. And therefore, having a high
priest over the house of God, let us draw near. Having boldness,
let us enter into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus.
That's clear from the scripture. Isn't that clear? Our sins have
separated us from God. There's no way back to God. Sin
is dealt with by Christ, put away by Christ. Law is satisfied,
honor, justice is satisfied, and our perfect Lord takes us
to the Father. How does He take us? Well, now
unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and able, and
is able, He's able to keep you from falling, and He's able to
present you faultless. Faultless. before the presence
of His glory, with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our
Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power now and forever."
Why did He die? To bring us to God, holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in Him, faultless. He presents us, He brings us
faultless before the presence of That's the only way a man
can come before God is faultless. And the only way he can be faultless
is not in himself, but in Christ. And that's because Christ suffered
for sin, the just for the unjust to bring us to God. Now I want
you to watch this. His death had to do with our
sins. He saved his people from their
sins. His death had to do with God's justice. He enabled God
to be just and justifier. His death had to do with the
holiness of God, the holy Shekinah glory of God. We're able to come
before God's presence now in Christ. But His death had to
do with our death. It says here He was put to death
in the flesh. Jesus Christ died on that cross
as a man. He was a man. He thought it not
robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. He died in the
flesh. In the flesh he died. All right,
listen to me now. Listen carefully. One word that's always associated
with the flesh is what? You say, well, sin. Well, that's
true. But I'm thinking of another, death. It's appointed unto men,
wants to die. As in Adam, all die. By one man, sin entered this
world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men. So I'll
tell you this, if you're a human being, you're gonna die. And
I'm gonna die. That's one word that's associated
with the flesh. It's got to die. God said, you're
flesh, you're made from the dust, and you're going back to the
dust. All flesh will die. What's another word that is associated
with the flesh? Sin, death, fear. Fear. The fear of death. The fear of death. Most older
people especially know something about this. I'm afraid to die. That's what people tell me. I'm
afraid to die. I'm afraid of what's out yonder
and who's out yonder. I'm afraid to die. What's another
word associated with flesh? Sin, death, judgment. It's appointed unto men once
to die after this judgment. So here we are in the flesh. I in the flesh, you. Gotta die. We're afraid to die. We're afraid
to die. After death is judgment. But
what are we gonna do about it? Nothing we can do about it, but
the Lord did something about it. He died in the flesh, and
when He died in the flesh, He took away the sting of death.
My people, He said, don't die. They sleep. Their souls don't
die. Their soul goes to God. When
this tabernacle is laid aside, our body goes to the ground,
but our soul's to God who gave it. He took away the sting of
death. He took away the fear of death. We don't fear death. Paul said to die is gain. I HAVE
A DESIRE TO DEPART AND BE WITH CHRIST, WHICH IS FAR BETTER.
HE TOOK AWAY THE JUDGMENT. THERE IS NO JUDGMENT TO THEM
WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. THEREFORE, BEING JUSTIFIED BY
FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD AND THERE IS NO JUDGMENT. SO
I TELL YOU, WHY DID HE DIE? TO PUT AWAY OUR SINS, TO ENABLE
GOD TO BE JUST AND JUSTIFYING, TO LITERALLY BRING US, SINNERS,
HOLY, FAULTLESS AND PRESENT US before the holy matchless throne
of God and to take away, annihilate, obliterate the sting of death,
the fear of death, and judgment after death. No judgment. Now
last, why did he die? It says in the last line of this
verse, but he was quickened. What's quickened? Made alive
by the Spirit. Our Lord arose from the grave.
He had to die to put away our sins. He had to die to satisfy
justice. He had to die to conquer death
and bring us to God. And He had to die that He might
rise. The only people that rise from
the dead are those who've died. The only people who walk out
of the grave are those who've been in the grave. And so our
Lord Jesus Christ died that He might be risen. And because He
lives, we live. Preacher, what proof do you have
that the dead will rise. What proof do you have that dead
men will rise? There isn't but one proof. There
isn't any way in this world to prove that the graves will open
and men will come forward but one way. You cannot come up with
secularly, politically, religiously, socially, any way but one proof
that men will rise from the grave. Christ arose. There's no other proof. If you're
going to die, which you are, and you hope to arise, you've
got to believe on Christ. That's the only proof in the
universe that men rise from the dead. Christ arose. If he arose
not, the dead rise not. If he did not come forth, we're
false witnesses of God. If he does not live, no one's
going to live. If he's not the Son of God who
died on a cross and arose from the grave, we are false witnesses
of God, and you are yet in your sins. and of all men, most miserable."
He lives, and because He lives, we live. He died for our sins
according to the scriptures, and He rose again according to
the scriptures. Now I have this message on a
cassette tape. It's called, Why Christ Died
on the Cross. It's the gospel, I Peter 3.18. If you'd like to have it, you
write to us. The address will be given to you on the screen.
Send $2. That's what it cost us to make
them and mail them. And we'll send it to you. And
on the other side of this tape, there's another message that
I'll bring next week. And you write for it if you want
it. Till next week, God bless you.