Last week on the broadcast I
quoted a passage of scripture from the book of 2 Corinthians
chapter 5 verse 21 goes like this, for he hath made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now that's going to be my text
today And I'm going to speak to you on the subject, The Way
or Road to Heaven. Jot that down. You may want to
write for this tape, The Road to Heaven. And the text, 2 Corinthians
5, 21. But these remarks, before I get
to the text and to the heart of the message. Ever since man
became a sinner, he's been self-righteous. He's a self-righteous sinner.
When man, Adam, had a perfect righteousness before God. And
Adam had a perfect righteousness. God made man upright. Upright
or righteous. But when he had that righteousness,
he didn't rejoice in it. He didn't cherish it. He didn't
keep it. But ever since man has fallen
and lost his righteousness, he has pretended to have one. Back when he had a righteousness,
He didn't glory in it and cherish it and rejoice in it. He lost
it. And ever since he lost his righteousness, he has pretended
to be righteous. They say, we'd be not sinners.
The old Pharisees said to our Lord, we'd be not born at fornication. We're not Gentiles. God is our
God. And we're his children. But you
know, it goes back to Adam. Immediately after he fell, immediately,
the first thing he did, was wrap himself, wrap himself in an apron
of his own makings to cover his sin. The second thing he did
was blame God for his troubles. He said, the woman you gave me,
my troubles are brought about by something that you did. You
gave me this woman and he blamed the woman. He said, she gave
me the tree. And all I did was eat. So he's
talking about his own righteousness. And as it is with Adam, so it
is with all mankind. We justify ourselves before God. Christ said that. He said, you
justify yourselves before God and before men. And those things
that you think, he said, he wrote this and he said this in Luke
16. You justify yourselves before God and those things which you
think are commendable, in which you rejoice, are abomination
to God. You know, a person can control,
to a degree, lies, murder, adultery, theft. He can, to a certain extent,
control those things. But our self-righteousness, we
can't control. It possesses us. It takes over. It will not allow a person to
own his sins. It won't allow a person to say,
I'm guilty. It won't allow a person to seek
mercy, to cry to God for help. It won't allow him to do it.
There are a whole lot of Pharisees and very few publicans. Remember
the story our Lord told about the two men that went down to
the temple to pray? One of them a Pharisee, very
religious, very moral man, very legalistic man. The other a publican,
a rank sinner. And the Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God I thank you I'm not like other men. I
tithe, I fast, I give good, do good deeds, give alms to the
poor. I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an extortioner, I'm not unjust,
I'm a pretty good fellow. But the publican, standing afar,
would not so much as lift his eyes or arms to heaven, but smote
upon his breast and cried, O God, O God, be merciful to me, the
sinner. Definite article, the sinner.
If there's not another one, I'm a sinner. Now our self-righteousness
just won't permit that. It just will not permit it. It
excuses sin, it justifies sin, it alibis out of sin, always
got an excuse, always got a reason. Millions of sermons, millions
of sermons have been preached against self-righteousness, and
yet it still remains the number one sin that keeps men away from
Christ and away from the mercy of God. The Lord said, you will
not come to me that you might have life. You will not come
to me. Let another come. He said in
his own name and him you will receive. But I've come in my
father's name with mercy for sinners, with grace for the guilty,
with salvation for lost people. But you won't come to me that
you might have life. Ah, so hard to find a guilty
man, even in the presence. I've had a prison ministry. I've
been to the prisons, I've preached to prisoners, and those men listening
to me know this is true. It's hard to find a guilty, self-confessed
sinner even in prison. I read one time about a great
old king that occasionally would go down to the prison, and he
would honor his visit by releasing somebody. In other words, he'd
go down to the prison and visit, and when he left, he'd turn somebody
loose. He'd select some person in the
prison and let them go free. And the men knew that. And he
started going around seeing the subjects that were in the prison
and all of them said, oh King, I've been wronged, I've been
falsely accused, I've been put in prison, I'm not guilty, I'm
a good man, I don't deserve to be here, set me free, set me
free, I don't deserve to be here, I'm been falsely accused, somebody
else did this, I never committed this crime. Every cell he went
to, that's the story he got. He finally came to a cell and
there sat a man over in the corner And he wouldn't even look up
when the king came by the door. And the king said, say there.
The man looked up and said, oh, your majesty, don't come near
me. I'm a wicked man. I'm a wicked
man. I've done wrong. I've sinned.
I've been found guilty. I've been sentenced to jail.
And I deserve to be here. It's like Peter said to the Lord
Jesus, Lord, Lord, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. It's like
this publican, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. Guilty, guilty,
guilty. And the king stopped and said,
what did you say? He said, I'm guilty, sir, guilty. I deserve to be here. The king
called the guards and says, set this man free. Open the door
and set him free. A man this sinful and wicked
shouldn't be here with all these good men. Let's let him go out
of here. Me Martin Luther Martin Luther
was a great preacher lived 400 years ago a Key figure in the
Reformation Martin Luther said this about self-righteousness
He said I scarcely ever preach a sermon without condemning self-righteousness
Because I know it's not our sins that keep us from Christ. It's
our self-righteousness the Lord came to save sinners to call
sinners, but not self-righteous people and And I never preach
a sermon without condemning self-righteousness, and yet I find I cannot preach
it down. I cannot preach it out of people.
Men boast of who they are. They boast of what they have
done. They even boast of what they've never done. They boast
of their service to God and men. And they mistake the path to
heaven to be a road paved by their own good works and their
own merit, rather than a road which is Christ himself, who
said, I'm the way, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. I'm the door. By me, if any man
enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture."
Yes, men are proud and self-righteous. Somebody said one time they're
proud of their race, people are proud of their place, they're
proud of their face, and God forbid, they're even proud of
their grace. But I'll tell you this, you listen
to me. While self-righteousness is found most everywhere, most
everywhere. And it is a damning, condemning,
and fatal sin. There's only one place where
self-righteousness does not live, cannot live, cannot survive. If it raises up its ugly head,
it's put down immediately. There's one place where self-righteousness
cannot thrive or survive. One place. And that's in the
heart of a believer. A true, redeemed child of God
does not, does not feel that he's righteous. He feels that
he's a great sinner. Paul said that. He said, I'm
not worthy to be called an apostle. I persecuted the church. I obtained
mercy. He said, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. He said on another occasion,
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I'm the
chief. If as a tribe of sinners, old Paul said, I'm the chief.
And in Philippians 3, he said, oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of
the law, but the righteousness of God. which is by the faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that I may know Him. No,
sir. No, sir. Self-righteousness cannot
live in the heart of a believer. It cannot survive. It cannot
thrive. It cannot. A believer is not
perfect. No, sir. Paul said, I'm not perfect. I haven't arrived yet. I haven't
laid hold upon that for which I've been laid hold of by Christ.
But I'll tell you this, a believer is not perfect and he has many
faults and many failures and many infirmities. But I'll tell
you this, he is not self-righteous. No, he is not. He cannot be.
He can't trust Christ and trust his works. It's impossible. He
can't rest in Christ and rest in his works. It's impossible.
He can't stand before God on the merit of Christ and on the
merit of his works. He cannot. It's impossible. And he cannot have the reward
himself and lay the crowns at Christ's feet. It can't be done. See, Christ is our reward. So
remember this, and you'll never forget it. While self-righteousness
permeates this whole world from Adam to this day, and is the
greatest enemy. Man's greatest enemy is his self-righteousness,
his pride. A proud spirit. God hates a proud
heart, a proud look, and a proud spirit. Pride goeth before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before the fall. God resisteth the proud,
gives grace to the humble. A man may be a believer, a child
of God, and know that he's still a sinner. But he cannot be a
child of God and think he's righteous. Could I say that again? You may
be filled with all kind of doubts and fears and mourning and grieving
over your sins and still be a child of God. Because a child of God
does grieve over his sins. Our Lord taught us to pray and
one of the statements in his prayer was forgive us of our
sins. Forgive us of our sins. And a man can have doubts and
fears Mourn and grieve over sin and be a child of God, but he
cannot be a child of God and think he's righteous and good
For our Lord said I'm not come to call the righteous but sinners
to repent us. Do you see that? Your sins won't
keep you from Christ. He delights to show mercy. He
died for sinners God commended his love for us in that why will
yet sinners Christ died for us Christ died for the ungodly But
I'll tell you what keeps a man from Christ is his self-righteousness. So it's not by works of righteousness
which we've done, it's according to his mercy he had saved us.
I want to read you something. Matthew 21, 31. Listen to this.
Matthew 21, 31. Our Lord is talking here to the
Pharisee, and I've mentioned them frequently, and you're familiar
with the Pharisees. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Saul
of Tarsus was a Pharisee. They were the teachers of the
Jews. They were the teachers of Scripture. They were the men
who took care of things at the synagogue and the temple, and
they were the teachers and preachers and rulers of the synagogue.
And these were very moral men. These were the men that brought
the woman found in adultery. and ask Christ whether he was
willing to stone her or not. You remember? Moses says, stone
her. What do you say? Remember, those
are the men. Well, one day Christ, our Lord, said this to those
men, to those religious men. Now, you listen to them. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you. Now, you just think about
this a moment. Here's the King of Glory, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, talking to the best religious
men on earth. And says to them, he says to
them, the publicans and the harlots will enter heaven before you.
For John the Baptist came preaching the way of righteousness. John
came preaching the way of righteousness and you didn't believe him. What
was this way of righteousness that John came preaching? Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Prepare
ye the way of the Lord. Make his path straight. Repent. Repent. Come to the baptism of
repentance. Own your sins. Own your sins. Own the fact that you deserve
death and judgment and condemnation. Come to the baptismal waters
and say, I'm a sinner. And our Lord said, you fellas,
you fellas, you're going to find the publicans and the harlots
are going to enter heaven, and you're going to be outside. Because
John the Baptist came preaching righteousness, the way of righteousness,
God's righteousness, through a substitute, through a lamb,
through a redeemer, through the blood, through the atonement,
and you didn't believe him. But, listen, the publicans and
harlots believed him. The publicans and harlots believed
him. And they came to the baptism of John, and they cried, what
must we do? And he said, you, you Pharisees,
you religious fellows, when you saw the way, when you saw it,
you repented not that you might believe. Ah, he said, you knew
what John preached. His way of righteousness, way
of repentance, you knew what he preached. You knew that way
of righteousness was not in yourself. It was in a substitute. You knew
that. And when you heard it, you didn't believe it. You turned
your back on it. But not the sinners, not the
publicans, not the harlots. They heard Him and heard Him
gladly and cried for mercy. And therefore, they enter heaven
and you're outside. Oh, I tell you, God's way to
heaven is stated in His words so plainly, in the plainest of
terms. But I'll tell you this, it's
for sinners. It's for sinners. Are you a sinner? That issue,
my friend, listen, that issue has to be settled before we get
on this road to heaven. Before we even get on the preaching
of this road. Look at my text. For He, God
the Father, hath made Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin
for us. We're the sinners. He took our
sins. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh. God made Him a man. Gave Him
a body. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh. He who knew no sin had no sin. And He did that that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. He became what He
was not that I might become what I'm not. He became a sinner,
that this sinner might become holy. He paid a debt he didn't
owe. I owed a debt I couldn't pay. That's it, that's the gospel,
that's the way to heaven. Let's look at this verse just
for a little while here, time we got left. It begins with the
heart of theology. It begins where everything has
to begin. It begins with God. The Bible begins with God, in
the beginning God. All proper theology begins with
God, not with man. It begins with God. It says,
for he. You see, all things are of God
in creation, providence, and salvation. He hath made him. He did. Salvation's of the Lord.
This thing of salvation in its covenant mercies, in its execution,
it pleased God to bruise him, in its application, God revealed
his son in me. In his sustaining power, we're
kept by the power of God. In his ultimate perfection, he
that hath begun a good work in you shall complete it. This whole
thing's of God. It starts with God and ends with
God. He's the author and finisher of our faith. He, for he, he. Salvation is by the will of God
and salvation's a gift of God. The wages of sin, that's my work. And the wages of sin is death.
Sin is my work and my wages are death. The wages of sin is death. But the gift, the free gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's where
it starts. It doesn't start with you and me. It starts with God.
For he hath made him to be seen. See that? First John 5 11 said
this is the record. God hath given us eternal life.
God did it. And this life's in his son. All
right, what's the second word? Equally important, for he hath
made him, him. Oh, precious, precious is this
him. He, the father, made him, the
son, to be sin for us. You see, it all begins with God,
and it's all vested in Christ. That's right. All that God has
for a sinner is in Christ. Ephesians 1 says this, we're
blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ,
according as he chose us in Christ. To the praise of his glory he
accepted us in Christ. In Christ we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sin. We are crucified with Christ,
risen with Christ, and seated with Christ. It's Him. For He,
the Father, in His covenant mercies, in His eternal love, in His unspeakable
grace, hath made Him. Him. Oh, I tell you, sometimes
when you have an opportunity, get the 53rd chapter of Isaiah
and read it. And watch the He, His, and Him.
Let me read you just a part of it. He hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken
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 by his stripes we're healed. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. Thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, and he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand." You want the way of life in one word? Him. Him. For he hath made him our Savior
to be sin for us. You want the hope of sinners
in one word? Him. He hath made Him. Him, who was
with God and was God and by whom all things were made. Him, who
came to this earth and laid in the arms of a virgin. Him, who
walked the streets of Jerusalem and the hillside of Galilee,
the shores of the sea. Him who died on that cross. Him
who was buried. Him who rose again. Him who ascended. Him who is seated at the right
hand of God. You want eternal life in one word? Him. You want
the road to heaven in one word? It's Him. My hope is built on
nothing less than Jesus' blood and His righteousness. I dare
not trust the sweetest frame. I wholly lean on Jesus' name. Thirdly, watch this, for he,
the father, hath made him, him, to be sin for us. To be sin for
whom? Us. Us. Us. That brings me back to where
I began. Are you a sinner? This is a fateful saying Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. God committed his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners. Are you a sinner? He
hath made him to be sin for us. For us. Now no self-righteous
person need apply. The gospel is for sinners. My
friends, grace is always for the guilty. Mercy is always for
the miserable. The robe of righteousness is
for the naked. The bread of life is for the
hungry. The water of life is for the thirsty. And rest is
for the weary. He made him, there's a transference
of guilt here. It's pictured when that old,
that scapegoat back in the Old Testament was brought before
Aaron and the high priest of God laid his hand on the head
of that scapegoat and confessed the sins of Israel and those
sins in type in picture were transferred to that scapegoat
and that's a picture of how our sins are transferred from us
to Christ he who knew no sin was made sin for us he who had
no sin became sin And he died under the burden of that sin.
And his holiness is transferred to us. You see, by one man's
disobedience, we were made sinners. By the obedience of Christ, we
were made righteous. We literally are righteous. We're
made righteous. Now when Adam sinned and we sinned
in him, we literally became sinners. We died. We were identified with
Him in the fall. We became sinners. Sin passed
from father to son. Real sin. Actual sin. Experience
of sin. When God put us in Christ, and
He paid our debt, and obeyed the law in our stead, and died
for our sin, His holiness actually, He didn't just robe us in it.
We were made righteous. Made righteous. You believe Christ
actually bore your sins? Then you actually bear His righteousness.
You believe he was actually a sinner when he died? Well, if he wasn't,
he wouldn't have died. God wouldn't have punished him.
He was actually a sinner. He became sin. Well, when he
saves you, you become righteous. Can you lay hold of that glorious
truth? Well, a sinner can. A sinner can. For he, the Father,
hath made him the Son to be sin for us. He knew no sin that we
might be made God's righteousness in him. That's the road to heaven.