This is my fourth message on
Sunday evenings that I have introduced by considering several truths
of the gospel as ancient landmarks and old paths in which we are
to walk. Our texts have been Proverbs
chapter 22 and verse 28, remove not the ancient landmark which
thy fathers have set. And also in Jeremiah chapter
six and verse 16, stand ye in the waves and sea, and ask for
the old pass, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye
shall find rest for your soul. I have pointed out that the landmarks
were those stones that were used to mark out the inheritance of
the children of Israel in the land of promise. And that inheritance
was given unto each one by God. It didn't come accidentally.
A man received this portion of ground that was ordained of God
from before the foundation of the world, even though they cast
lots. The whole lot is cast into the
lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. And that
inheritance for each of the tribes was to be, to sustain them, to
give them health and strength and assurance there in the land.
And these truths that we are looking at, these truths of the
gospel that are marked off are given unto us to give us assurance,
to feed our souls. And as we walk in them, we find
rest. Last Sunday evening, we looked
at the Bible truth of unconditional election and also the preservation
of the saints. Tonight, the subject is what
men have come to call the limited atonement. I have never especially
liked that word limited because many people misunderstand it. And the fact that Jesus Christ
is God, we know that his atonement is beyond limit as far as efficacy
is concerned. I've always liked the term specific
or effectual atonement. It comes down to this. It comes
down to this question tonight. And I wish everyone who calls
himself a Christian would look at this question and honestly
deal with it. Did the Lord Jesus Christ, by
His death, save? Did the Lord Jesus Christ, by
His death, save those people who were given unto Him by the
Father? Did he simply make salvation
possible? To me, that's the question. Did
he, by his one offering, perfect those who were given unto him,
or did he just make salvation possible? That's what is taught
in so many places that call themselves Christian places, that Christ
has done something, and now if you will do your part, then you
will have your sins put away. And looking at this subject, I want us to do so in these three
ways. I want us, first of all, to look
at the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And second, I
want us to look at the words of an holy angel. And then third,
I want us to look at the words of a inspired, divinely inspired
apostle of Jesus Christ. First, if you will, turn to Matthew
chapter 20 and verse 28. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did he say? What did he
say about this all important matter? Verse 28, Even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life
a ransom for many. He came not to be ministered
unto, but to give his life a ransom for many. Three truths here about
this death of the Lord Jesus Christ in this verse. First of all, he gave his life. He gave himself. He gave his
life. In John chapter 10, verses 17
and 18, he said, This is not what some church
council said. This is not what some group of
theologians said. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ
said. We're looking at His words. What
did He say? Well, these are his words in
John 10. Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my
life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. The first thing that we see in
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ are that He gave Himself. He gave His life. The second
thing that we see is He gave His life as a ransom. Notice
the text again. Even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life
a ransom, for many. You know, in the scriptures,
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as a redemption
price. It is referred to as an atonement. And here, in his own words, he
calls it a ransom. A ransom price is paid for the
deliverance of captives. That's what a ransom is. A ransom
price is paid for the deliverance of captives. I want you to look
back in the Old Testament with me to Job chapter 33 and see
what we hear read in this text about a ransom. Job chapter 33. And verse number 24, then he is gracious unto him
and saith, deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found
a ransom. God is gracious in Christ, taking
our nature and becoming himself the ransom. The ransom that delivers
those who are captives. By nature, we are captives to
sin, to Satan, to the law of God, to death, and to hell. But the Lord Jesus Christ here
is presented as the ransom that God has found, that God has provided. Deliver him from going down to
the pit. That pit, of course, is everlasting
destruction. Deliver him from going down to
the pit. I have found a ransom. And the third thing about the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ is, first, he gave his life.
The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give his life a ransom. He gave his life, he gave his
life a ransom, and he gave his life a ransom for many. For many. These are his words. He did not say that he gave his
life a ransom for all in the sense of every solid, every single
person who has come into this world. Think about the fact that
when the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life, there were many
already in hell. There were many who had lived
and died and gone out into eternity without Christ. Are we to believe
that he died for those who were already in hell? I cannot bring myself to believe
that. I just cannot do that. No, he
gave himself a ransom for many. And I challenge you to take your
concordance and look up these three words when they're connected
together. If you have a Bible program on
your computer, you know you can do this. You punch in as many
as. and look for those words only,
not just the word as and the word many, but where these three
words are connected together, as many as, and you will find
out who is meant by the many, the many. The first time we see
that, I believe, is in John chapter one. Let's look over here to
John chapter one. I'm not going to go through all
of these tonight, but you know them. Verse 11 of chapter 1, the scripture
says, He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but
as many as. Who are the many for whom Christ
gave himself a ransom? As many as as this verse of scripture declares,
received him, as many as received him. Here's a man, he says, I
have no interest whatsoever in the gospel. I believe that's
just a bunch of hooey. There's no God to begin with.
There are people like that in this world. Well, they haven't
received Christ. They've rejected Christ. The
very idea, the very thought of Christ. No, He gave Himself a
ransom for as many as received Him. And then we're told in the
next verse, which we're born. As many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name. That's what it is to
receive Him. You see that, don't you? You
say, how do you receive Christ? Do you receive Christ when you
take this bread and you take this cup and drink it? No, no.
No. These are symbols of His broken
body and His poured out blood. No, a person receives Christ
when he believes. Believes. As many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name. Do you believe in Christ? When it says believe on his name,
that refers to his person, doesn't it? His person, who he is. As many as received him, even
to them which believe on his name. And notice, which were
born. It's a new birth, isn't it? It's
a new birth. Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. And there are many, or several
other places, I think in John chapter 17, the Lord Jesus Christ
prayed for as many as the Father had given him. He gives eternal
life to as many as the Father has given him. And I think about
that word of Peter on the day of Pentecost when he said, the
promise is unto you and to your children, and to as many as the
Lord our God shall call. He gave himself a ransom for
many. I want you to look in Luke chapter
22 with me. Our Lord in this place is instituting
the Lord's Supper, Luke chapter 22. And I find this interesting. In Luke chapter 22, in verse
19, we read, and he took bread, gave thanks, break it, and gave
it unto them. Four things, you see that? He
took the bread, he broke it, and he gave it to them. He took
the bread, he gave thanks, he broke it, and he gave it unto
them. Now, think about those four things. First of all, he
took the bread in just a few hours. In just a few hours from
when this happened, he would be taken. We read about that
in Isaiah. He's taken from prison and from
judgment. He was taken by the hands of
sinful men. The second thing we see is that
Not only was He taken, He blessed. He blessed the bread. In just
a few hours, He Himself would be made a curse. Just the opposite
of blessing, right? Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. And the third thing,
He was broken. He took the bread. He gave thanks.
He broke the bread. His body would soon be broken. Not a bone of his body was broken.
We know that. But his flesh, with the beating
that he sustained and being nailed to the cross, his body was broken. And the last thing is for you. You see that? For you. He took
the bread and gave thanks and broke it and gave unto them saying,
this is my body which is given for you, for you. His life is a ransom for many. The nature of a ransom is such
that when paid, when a ransom is paid and accepted, It automatically
frees the captives, those for whom it was paid. John chapter 10, again, our Lord
said, I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and mine own
know me, even as the Father knoweth me. And I know the Father, and
I lay down my life for the sheep. And it's interesting, in that
same chapter, he told some, you are not of my sheep. He laid
down his life for his sheep. So, first of all, the words of
the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now second, I want us to look
at the words of a holy angel. Look here in Matthew chapter
one. And these are the words of an
angel spoken to Joseph to whom Mary was espoused in Matthew
chapter one and verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. When as his mother, Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. And Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him. I
assume this maybe was Gabriel who had announced to Mary that
she was going to have a son. And remember, her question was,
how can these things be, seeing that I know not a man? Well,
here is how it's going to be. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee. Therefore, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God. The angel, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. Now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet
Isaiah, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. which being interpreted is God
with us. The angel, speaking to Joseph,
told him that what was happening, Mary, his espoused wife, the
child that she was bringing forth, was a fulfillment of this prophecy. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. His name being
interpreted, that word, that name Immanuel means God with
us. God with us. God with us in our
nature. The same nature which had sinned. That is a human nature. The same
nature which had sinned. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared. God with us in our nature. Not our fallen nature. Because
you see, he's the seed of the woman. Not the seed of the man. But in our nature, the same nature
which sinned, which offended God, would be the sacrifice to
pay the debt of his people. The seed of the woman promised
in Genesis chapter 3. That's a very interesting word,
the seed. To Abraham it was promised, in
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. And
the apostle Paul tells us his seed was Christ. His seed. In thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. That just reminds us that his
people are scattered out through all the nations. You read about
that in Revelation chapter five. They're singing and praising
him who hath redeemed them by his blood out of every kindred
and tribe and people and language. His seed. He is the promised
seed who would come and crush the head of the serpent. But I want us to notice especially
the words of this angel to Joseph was, thou shalt call his name
Jesus. You see in your Bible that each
letter is capitalized, which tells us this is Jehovah, Jehovah
who is born in this world. A very unique person, the most
unique person, who is both God and man, God with us. But especially notice his words,
he shall save his people from their sins. His people, his seed, are guilty
of sin against God. And it will require an infinite
sacrifice to save them. The angel didn't say, now he's
going to try to save his people. He's going to give it his best
shot to save his people. He's going to give it a big,
great attempt to save his people. No, this holy angel told Joseph,
he shall. He shall save his people from
their sins. He could not save any sinner
without a sacrifice to propitiate God the Father. Now, if his sacrifice,
think with me, you know this, let's think about
it. For him to save one person or
a million people, the sacrifice would have to be the same. It
would have to be an infinite sacrifice that would satisfy
an infinite God against whom we have sinned. It would have
to be a sacrifice to please God the Father. Now, if His sacrifice
was given for all people without exception, every person who is
born in this world, Then what would be the result? Every person
would be saved. Every person would be saved. Why? Because of who he is. He's God. And it was foretold
of him in Isaiah, as a servant of the Lord, he shall not fail.
He shall not fail. Whatever God intended for the
Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish, He did not fail. He accomplished
whatever that purpose was. In that passage there in Isaiah
42 where it speaks about the fact He shall not fail nor be
discouraged. Nor be discouraged till he hath
set judgment in the earth. That is, he set judgment in the
earth. He satisfied the justice of God
for the sins of his people for whom he came to save. Charles Spurgeon said, and I
quote, I know you probably recognize this. A lot of people like to
quote Charles Spurgeon, but they sure don't like what he had to
say on this subject. They sure don't like what he
had to say concerning God's unconditional election, or total depravity,
or the perseverance of the saints, or irresistible grace. But they
like to quote him. But here's a quote from Charles
Spurgeon. If Christ died for you, you can
never be lost. God will not punish twice for
one thing. If God punished Christ for your
sins, he will not punish you. Payment, God's justice cannot
twice demand. First, at the bleeding surety's
hand, and then again at mine. How can God be just if he punished
Christ, the substitute, and then man himself afterwards? The words of a holy angel. He
shall save his people from their sins. Now, thirdly, the words
of an inspired apostle, the apostle Paul. Look with me in Acts chapter
20. That's the reason, listen, that's
the reason this saying that you hear quite often today, God loves
you and Christ died for you, is false. And it gives false
assurance to people. If Christ died for you, he saved
you by his death. Now you will experience salvation.
All of those for whom Christ died, they will experience salvation,
no doubt, conversion, regeneration, and conversion. But as far as
the dead is concerned, as far as what God requires is concerned,
that's been settled a long time ago. Long time ago. Here in Acts chapter 20 and verse
28. Paul speaking to the elders of
the church at Ephesus for the last time, he said, take heed
therefore unto yourselves and all the flock over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church
of God. which he hath purchased." Who
did he purchase? The church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood. And he says as much in Ephesians
5, Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Someone
might ask them, well, preacher, you believe this, don't you?
I sure do. I sure do. How then can you preach
the gospel? How then can you preach the gospel
when you believe and know in your heart that Christ died not
for all men, but for those who were given unto Him? I would
answer that by saying this. I do so by declaring, first of
all, who He is and what He has done and for whom He did it. He died for sinners. He died
for sinners. Can you take your place? Can
you take your place as a sinner? Oh, no. Oh, no. Surely you must
be talking about somebody else. No. Christ died for sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, Paul said, of whom I am chief. I do so, I preach the gospel
by obeying his command. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall be saved. I think it's a great disservice
for men to tell sinners indiscriminately that Christ died for you. If Christ died for you, he paid the price. No, he died for sinners. If you
take your place tonight as a sinner, then I can say to you, according
to his word, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. I pray that the Lord would bless
this word to all of us here this evening.
Now, we're going to observe the Lord's table. And this time,
Mike is going to allow, he's going to be in charge.