The Witness of the Son of God

Q: What does the Bible say about the Son of God as our substitute?

The Bible teaches that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is our substitute who takes our place in death and sin. The theme of John's Gospel centers on the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our substitute. This substitution is vividly illustrated in the sermon, particularly through the story of Sid Horn, who inherited a new identity through the sacrifice of another. Just as Horn's name was placed on a grave while he escaped, so too did Christ take our place on the cross, allowing us to become children of God. In John 1:12, it states, 'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.' Furthermore, the concept of substitution is essential for understanding the atonement and grace offered through Christ, as He fulfilled the law and took upon Himself the penalty for our sins.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

We know Jesus is the Son of God through Scripture, which affirms His divinity and role in creation. The conviction that Jesus is the Son of God is rooted in the Scriptures, particularly in the opening verses of John's Gospel. It states, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God' (John 1:1). This clearly expresses the pre-existent nature of Christ as divine, emphasizing His unity with God the Father. Additionally, Jesus demonstrated His deity through His miracles and teachings, which fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. The Apostles' testimonies, as seen in Acts, further affirm that He is the Son of God, providing witnesses to His resurrection and His identity as the Messiah.

Q: Why is the concept of substitution important for Christians?

The concept of substitution is crucial for Christians as it underscores Christ's role in our salvation and atonement for sin. The notion of substitution is of paramount importance in Christian theology because it encapsulates the essence of the gospel: that Jesus Christ willingly took upon Himself the sins of humanity. This substitution is vividly illustrated in the sermon analogy of Sid Horn, who took on a new identity after the sacrifice of another. Christ's substitution ensures that believers are no longer under condemnation; instead, they are granted new life and identity as sons and daughters of God. Romans 8:1 states, 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,' affirming the profound impact of Christ’s substitutionary atonement. This understanding fosters assurance and confidence in one's salvation, as it is not rooted in personal merit but entirely in Christ’s sacrificial love.

Now this morning, I want you
to open your Bibles with me to the book of John. The Lord willing, I'm going to
speak this morning from the first 14 verses of John
chapter 1. My subject is the Son of God,
our substitute. The Son of God, our substitute. Now tonight, I'm going to speak,
the Lord willing, from verse 15 through verse 29 on the subject,
the witness of the Son of God. The witness
of the Son of God. This morning, the Son of God,
my substitute, our substitute. the witness of the Son of God.
I want to introduce my message this morning with a story. Last Lord's Day, I was preaching
Sunday morning in Ball, Louisiana, and then Sunday night, I drove
down to Lake Charles, Louisiana, and preached Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday to a congregation and with a pastor whom I've known
for twenty some odd years and I know the people quite well. There's a couple who sit every
service on the front row in the church They're both Jewish. He and his wife both are full-blooded
Jews. They're Jews. But they have come
to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They know and love the
gospel of God's grace. Love it dearly and are faithful
to it. Support it faithfully. And they're
there every service, right on the front row. They're in their
early fifties. He's a highly successful man. He's an attorney and owns a mortgage
loan company in Lake Charles, Louisiana, at one time held mortgage
on a hundred businesses and homes. He's a very successful man. He invited me to go to lunch
with him last Tuesday. I went down to his office with
the pastor and he and the pastor and I went to lunch. And we were
sitting at the table talking about the gospel that we believe
and the gospel I preach. And he was telling me that some
of the religious people with whom he comes in contact have
a a carnal presumption. They know they're saved. He said
the reason they know they're saved is because they saved themselves. And he said, I tell them, I have
many fears and many doubts. My soul is troubled. I want to
know Christ. I want to be found in Christ. But he said, I don't have that
kind of assurance. He said, brother man, do you
know you're saved? I said, well, I know I'm saved
by the Word of God, by the promise of God. That's how Abraham knew
he was saved, is because he believed God. He believed God. He didn't believe in himself.
He didn't believe in his profession. He didn't believe in his faith.
He believed God. God cannot lie. God, I said,
say it. The Lord said, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. I believe on the Son. I have
everlasting life. He said, you come to me and I'll
give you rest. I come to him. I got nowhere
else to go. That's what the disciples said.
Our Lord said, will you go away? And they said, to whom? We believe
and assure that thou art the Son of God and you have the words
of life. We come to you. That's my confidence. That's my hope in Him. Well,
we had a good talk about that. But his name is Horn, Sid Horn,
and I, after a while, I'd heard a little rumors from the pastor. He's Jewish, and his name's Horn,
Sid Horn. And I looked at him, I said,
how'd you get the name Horn, being a Jew? Well, he said, my family name is Bernstein. He said, my grandfather lived
in Germany. He was a German Jew named Bernstein,
my grandfather. And back in World War I, And he said that my grandfather
was in his late teens, 17, 18, somewhere in there, and World
War I was winding down. The Germans were losing, losing
badly, a lot of people being killed, a lot of men losing their
lives. And they were trying to reinforce
their lines. get as many of me as they could,
just shove them up there into the trenches, into the face of
the enemy, into the battle, into the mouth of the cannon. And
they sent my grandfather, this young man, 17, 18, a notice that
he was to report for duty in the German army, and he ran away. Bernstein ran away. He wasn't
going to die for the German cause at that time, World War I. He
ran away on foot, and he crossed Germany, fleeing from the authorities. They were after him, on his tail,
on his heels. And he got to the border, exhausted,
and he saw a farmhouse. He could go no further. And he
saw a farmhouse. And he knocked on the door. He
just cast himself on those people. He knocked on the door, and there
was a couple greeted him. They seemed to come in. They
fed him, refreshed him. And he told them, Bernstein told
them his problem, his story, and touched their hearts. And
they said, We just buried our son. Our son died. in a farming
accident, and we just buried him. The grave is out there in
the family cemetery. It's still fresh. Just a few
days ago we buried our son. We're going to let you take his
place. We'll go out there and put your name on the grave, Bernstein,
and we'll give you our son's place and give you his papers
and his name. And when the authorities come
looking for you, we'll tell them you got killed in the farm accident
and we buried you, you're dead, and you can leave." And after
he was refreshed and got the papers and the new name, Horn
was their name, changed his name to Horn, and
he came to America with seven dollars in his pocket. And he
said, that's my stove. I'm a whore because Bernstein's
buried. He's dead. He no longer lives. And I sat there and I thought,
that's the gospel. That's my story. The Son of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ, came down here. See, I'm running away. The authorities are on my tail,
on my trail. They have a warrant for my arrest.
I'm a lawbreaker. I'm fleeing. I'm a traitor. But
the Lord Jesus Christ died, and my name's on the grave. And he
took my place, and I took his place. And I got the papers here
to prove it. I'm a son of God. And I got a
new name. I'm no longer Bernstein. I'm
a horn. I'm going to toot it, too, and
tell you about him. who lies buried over there with
my name on the grave. Isn't that the gospel? Son of
God. The son of horn took Bernstein's
place. And Bernstein took his place.
And he's horn now. And I'm Christian, Christian
now. I belong to him. And my name's on the grave. And
that's what this is all about. Now, every book of the Bible
Every book of the Bible has a prominent theme and a dominant theme. And
that's true. Just take my word for it. I don't
have time to give them all to you, but I know what the theme
of John's gospel is. The theme of John's gospel is
the Son of God, our substitute. That's the theme of this book.
The Son of God, our substitute. He is the Son of God. And here
in John's gospel, tonight, today, this morning, and tonight, we're
going to see more than anywhere else in the scripture, the Son
of God, our substitute, held forward. Now, it says here in
verse 1, let's just go down through here, in the beginning was the
Word. Who is this Word? Who is this
Word? Well, turn to Revelation chapter
19. In the beginning was the Word. Who is this Word? Well,
I'll show you who the Word is in Revelation chapter 19. He's
the God-man. It says here in Revelation 19,
verse 11, I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. And his eyes were as a flame
of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name
written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word
of God. So he is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word.
In beginning. In beginning. He's before all
things. That's what Paul said to the
Colossians. He's before all things. By him all things consist. In
beginning was the Word of God, the Son of God. Glorify me with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Then it says next, and the Word
was with God. My friends, I can't understand
the Trinity. I have no way of explaining to
you the Trinity. I don't understand the Trinity
myself. I know there are men who try
to make an effort to explain it, but just don't try it. Just
believe the Word of God. Our Lord said, you believe in
God, believe in me. Believe in me. You believe in
God, believe in me. And one of the disciples said,
well, show us the Father. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. I and my Father are one. And he said,
I will pray the Father, and he'll send you another Comforter, the
Holy Spirit, who will abide with you forever. John said, in heaven
there are three that bear record, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Spirit, and these three are one. So in the beginning
was the Son of God, and he was with God, and watch this, he
was God. Years ago I had a friend who
was pastor up in Ohio. This thing occurred to me stronger
at this time years ago. It's been 30 some odd years ago. And he was pastor up in Ohio
and he preached the grace of God. He was a member of a denomination. And he called me one day and
he said, pray for me. He said, the denominational authorities
and preachers have asked me to come before them that they want
to discuss some things that I'm preaching. And I said, well, they're going
to work you over about grace, sovereignty, and election, and
particular redemption, irresistible grace. And I said, if I was you,
I'd bone up on it. I'd read the Scriptures. Don't
read books. Read the Scriptures and be able
to just hit them with the Word of God. Hit them with the Word
of God. When they talk about sovereignty, you hit them with
the Word about election, about covenant and mercy. Just have
the Scripture in your mind and heart and just quote Scripture.
Well, the day came, and I called him that night. I said, how'd
it go? He said, you'll never believe it. You'll never believe
it. I said, I'll never believe what?
You'll never believe why they wanted to talk to me. I said, didn't they want to challenge
your sovereign grace preaching? No. They didn't even care what
I preached about that. He said, they called me on the
carpet and this was the charge. It's been reported to us that you're preaching that Jesus
of Nazareth is God. I said, really? He said, that
was the charge. I was preaching that Jesus of
Nazareth is God. I said, don't they believe he's
God? He said, no. They told him, well, say he's
a son of God. Don't say he's God. How can he be God? Well, my friend,
I'm not here to explain God or the Trinity, but I'm here to
declare that Jesus Christ is God. In the beginning, before
all things, is God, the Word. And he was with God, and he was
God. He is God. He is God Almighty. And verse 2 says, "...the same
was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by him." All things were made by him.
Did he not demonstrate that when he was here on this earth, when
he took five loaves and two fishes and fed five thousand people?
He created things. He created food. Like Brother
Scott said, he created everything from nothing, and when he ran
out of nothing, he created some more nothings. But he made everything. And they gathered up twelve baskets
full of fragments that were left over from his creation. All things
were made by him, verse 3, and without him was not anything
made that was made. And verse 4 says, in him was
life. The life was the light of men.
I'm talking about Jesus of Nazareth. He is God. All things were made
by him, and when he stood here on this earth in the flesh, he
demonstrated that. He held in his hands two fish
and five loaves, and he began to multiply it. He began to create. And he fed 5,000 people. Men,
not counting the women and children, gathered up 12 baskets full.
And in him was life. And he showed that he has life,
that he gives life because he stood before the grave of a dead
man who had been dead four days. And he said, Lazarus, live. And Lazarus came forth. He's
God. He's life. And he's light. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. And here's the sad thing. Here's
the result of Adam's fall. And the light shineth in our
darkness. The light came down to this earth,
and the darkness comprehended it not. Having eyes, they didn't
see. Having ears, they didn't hear.
Neither did they understand. That's the result of Adam's fall.
God, light, life walked on this earth. And they received him not, comprehended
him not. But look at this. Here's good
news. God Almighty didn't leave himself without a witness. It
says here in verse 6, And there was a man sent from God. God
sent a man, one to talk their language, whose name was John. He was sent of God. God sends
witnesses. He says here in verse 7, that
man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, the witness
of Christ. That's what God sends us to do,
to bear witness of Christ. A witness is one who tells what
he's Look over here at 1 John, chapter 1. This is what John
says in 1 John, chapter 1, in the epistle general of John.
He says in verse 1, that which was from the beginning, which
we heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life,
for the life was manifested, and we've seen it. And we bear
witness. There was a man sent from God
to bear witness. That's what John came to do.
That's what he sends us to do. And show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That which we've seen. You can't
tell what you don't know. That which we've seen and heard
declare we unto you. Now watch verse 8. It emphatically
says that John was not that light. The witness is not the light.
The witness is not the issue. Too many men make him the issue,
but he's not the issue. He's only a witness. Only a witness. In the beginning was Christ,
and he came into the world. in him life and the light of
men, but the darkness comprehended it not." But God sent a witness,
sent several witnesses, and they're sent to bear witness of him, that all men through him might
believe. But these witnesses, they're not the light. They're
sent to bear witness of the light. Turn to 1 Corinthians 3. Don't
get the witness out of his place. The witness has got to remember
his place himself, and we've got to remember it.
He's not the issue, no matter how powerful a witness
he is. You know, it was said of John,
John did no miracle. John did no miracle, never performed
a miracle, but the things he said about Christ were true. John did no miracle. He never
called attention to himself. I'm going to show you tonight.
He said, I'm not the Christ. I'm not the light. I'm not the
prophet. Well, who are you? Just a voice. And you hear a voice and it's
gone. Just a voice. A voice just, it
can be in the air and you hear it. You don't even have to see
it. See the person. Just hear the voice. And here in 1 Corinthians 3,
Paul talked to this church at Corinth, and he says in verse
1 of 1 Corinthians 3, Brethren, I, brethren, could not speak
to you as spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as to babies. I fed you with milk and not with
meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear meat, nor now are
you able, for you are carnal. Like carnal people, for where
is this among you? Envy and strife and divisions.
Are you not carnal? Walk as men. What were they divided
over? They were divided over the witnesses.
Isn't that carnal? Isn't that sad? They were divided
over the men sent of God. God sent men. There was a man
sent of God. Christ who ascended, when he
ascended, He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the maturity of his people. But they're not to worship the
men or elevate them or be divided over them. Sectarianism. These people were divided over
their preachers. Verse 4 says, 1 says, I'm a Paul. I like Paul. He's my favorite.
I can follow Paul. I can believe in Paul. I love
to hear him preach. I don't care for John or Peter,
I like Paul. And there it says I'm of Apollos.
Apollos was the orator. He had the golden tongue and
the golden vocal cords. I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos.
Some said I'm of Cephas. Some said, well, I don't care
for any of them, I'm of Christ. Just carnal. Who is Paul? Now watch it. And who is Apollos? They're just ministers, that's
all, by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man.
I planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase, so then neither
is he that planteth anything. He's not anything. He that watereth,
he's not anything, he's nothing. It's God that giveth the increase.
Go back to my text. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. The same came for a witness.
That's what God sent him for, as a witness. To bear witness of that light,
capital L-I-G-H-T, that light, Christ. John was not that light. John was on the scene a very
short time and God took him away. He was sent to bear witness of
that light. Now listen, that was the true light. The true light. That's Christ. He's called the true light. He's called the true vine. He's
called the true bread, isn't he? Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven. My father gave you the bread.
That bread you ate in the wilderness was a picture. You can't live
on a picture. Christ is the true light, which lighteth every man that
came into the world. He's the true light. I want you
to turn to another scripture, 2 Corinthians 4. Let's never lose sight of this. And it's tragic. Could it be proven differently
here? Charles Spurgeon died just a
few years. That congregation was scattered,
that work was finished. I could go on naming things like
that. What's the problem? I'll tell you one of the problems.
There's somebody, either the witness himself or the ones who
hear the witness, got this thing backwards. The witness, John,
is a witness. He's to tell what he's seen and
heard. He's not the liar. He's not the
light. Christ is the light. Listen to
this, verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 4. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord, ourselves your servants for Christ's sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God. Where? In the face of Christ Jesus.
Christ. Oh, how important that is. He
is not that light. He is sent to bear witness of
that light. That's the true light, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Now watch this. All of this being true. He is God. He was in the
world. The world was made by Him. He
was in the world, verse 10, and the world was made by Him, and
the world knew Him not. They knew Him not. Think of it.
They saw Him. They heard Him. They knew him
not. He said to the woman at the well, if you knew the gift
of God and who's speaking to you, well, I'd give you living
water. You'd never thirst again if you
knew. It says in 1 Corinthians 2, if the leaders of this world
had known who he was, they would have never crucified the Lord
of glory. They would never have crucified him if they knew who
he was. But the world knew him not. The world knows Him not
today. He came unto His own. Who is
this? This is Israel. This is Israel. He came unto His own. And they
received Him not. Listen to what Peter said over
here in Acts 2. Turn over there a minute to Acts
2, verse 22. Acts 2.22, you men of Israel,
hear these words now. Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a man,
the God-man, approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by him in the midst of you as you yourselves
know. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel of God and foreknowledge of God, you taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. Look at verse 36. Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you crucified, Lord and Christ. And here's the
sad thing. Look at Acts chapter 13. Acts
13. And don't you be guilty of this.
Turn to Acts 13, 26. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God. by miracles and wonders which
you yourselves know, delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you rejected, you spit upon Him, you crucified
Him. And it says here in Acts 13,
26, Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and
whosoever among you feareth God, to you is this word of salvation
sent. for they that dwell at Jerusalem,
and their rulers, because they knew him not. He was in the world,
and the world knew him not. He came in his own, his own received
him not. And they didn't know, nor yet
the voice of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day. Do
you and I? They're read every Lord's Day
here. They have fulfilled these prophecies
in condemning him. And though they found no cause
of death in him, yet they desired Pilate that he should be slain.
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they
took him down from the tree and laid him in a grave. God raised
him from the dead. Isn't that something? In the
beginning was the Word, and he came into this world. And the
world was made by him, and the world knew him not. And he came
to his own, and his own received him not. And these were the people
who read about his coming and the prophets. I hear from Genesis
to Malachi, every Sabbath day they read them. And in rejecting
him, and in crucifying him, they were fulfilling what was written
of him. And when they'd fulfilled everything
that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and
shoved him in a grave and put a stone in front of it and put
the Roman seal on it and put guards out there to keep him
there. What a terrible condemnation. Blindness, darkness. That's the
world to which we preach. The true light, the true vine,
the true bread, the true God, the true Redeemer. And they knew Him not. Light
shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Blind, deaf, without understanding. That's
not the end of the story though. Look at verse 12. But, but, as many as. received him. I like those three words, as
many as. No name there, no heritage, no
background. I told you the story of Bernstein,
the Jew, but you don't have to be a Bernstein or a Jew. See,
there's no name there. It says, as many as. No merit. no merit, no race or class or
color, as many as, but as many as recognize Him for who He is,
for who sent Him, for the mission on which He came, for the work
which He did, for the salvation which He accomplished, as many
as. Well, who are they? There are as many as the Lord
our God doth call. That's what Peter said. He said,
this promise is to you and your children, and as many as the
Lord our God shall call. Well, who are they? Well, Paul
spoke about them in Acts 13 when it says, as many as were ordained
to life, believed. As many as. And then he spoke about them
again in Romans, As many as are led by the Spirit, they're the
sons of God, led by the Spirit to Christ, led by the Spirit
to the fountain. Revelation 3, 19, God talks about
them, He says, as many as I love, I chase them. As many as received Him, received
Him. To them gave He the privilege,
the right, the power, the understanding, to become sons of God. My friends,
you listen to me now. Hang on. Old Brother Mule said
don't move a hand or a hair. Listen. It took just as great
a miracle for you to become a son of God
as for the Son of God to become a man. Don't ever forget that. You didn't
become a son of God by walking down a church aisle. You didn't
become a son of God by shaking a preacher's hand. You didn't become a son of God
by turning over a new leaf. I'll tell you how you became
a son of God. I'll tell you in the next verse. These people
were born. And they were born not of blood,
that is, not of human descent. They check a man's blood to see
if he's the father of a child. But that's not the way God's
children are born, by human genealogy, natural descent, not by blood.
And you weren't born by the will of the flesh, that is your will.
The will of the flesh is your will. And you were not born by
the will of man, by anybody else's will. I told my class this morning,
you can't will your sons and daughters to be Christians. You can't make them Christians.
You can't make them sons of God. You pray for them. You teach
them. Witness to them. Set an example for them. But
we're born of God. See that? But of God. But of God. He was in the world. The world
didn't know Him. Came into His own. They received Him not. Crucify
Him. We have no king but Caesar. Let
His blood be on us and our children. We will not have this man reign
over us. Away with him. But as many as... I'm glad to take that title,
as many as. I'm one of those as many as.
Received Him for who He is, what He did, why He did it, where
He is now. To them gave He the right, the privilege, the power,
to become sons of God. Sons of God by adoption, sons
of God by regeneration, sons of God by His Spirit who dwells
within. Now one other verse. And the Word was made flesh. Look back there at verse 1 again.
Read that first sentence, first phrase. In the beginning was
the Word before all things. Now verse 14, the first phrase.
and the Word was made flesh. This same One who is in the beginning
was made flesh. Go back to verse 1, and the Word
was with God. Verse 14, He dwelt among us,
bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. Back at verse 1, and the
Word was God. And let me tell you, verse 14
says, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and full of truth. Oh, what a
story! What good news! The Son of God
has died. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has died. And my name's on that grave.
I died with Him, and He gave me His name and His papers, and
I'm set free. His Son took my place, and I'm
a son of God. As many as believe Him, receive
Him, look to Him, sons of God. Got a new name. That fellow said,
my grandfather stood by the grave of that horn and watched them
write his name on there. And he turned and walked off
a free man. Isn't that something? And I'm a free man because the
Son of God took my place. Dead and buried. Death hath no
more sting. It hath no more designs on me
or reign over me. I'm buried. My name is on the
grave. I'm buried. I got new papers
and a new name. I believe that. Do you believe
that? That substitution, the Son of God is my substitution. The Son of God is my substitution.

The Witness of the Son of God

What does the Bible say about the Son of God as our substitute?

How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

Why is the concept of substitution important for Christians?

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The Witness of the Son of God

What does the Bible say about the Son of God as our substitute?

How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

Why is the concept of substitution important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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