Sermon
#553 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: Plenteous Redemption
Text: Psalm 130:7
Subject: The Infinite Fullness And
Efficacy Of Our Lord’s Redemptive Work.
Date: Sunday Morning –
Tape #
Introduction:
My heavenly Father has given me a solemn charge to
preach the gospel of his free grace in Christ. In loyal obedience to him it is
my responsibility and intention to stay right here. “I determined not to
know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.” “Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!” I realize
that the gospel which I preach, the gospel that we believe, runs in direct
opposition to the religious world in which we live. The gospel of God’s free
and sovereign grace in Christ is contrary to the natural religious sentiments
of men. To the natural man, the cross of Christ is offensive. It is not
possible to faithfully and truthfully preach the gospel without offending those
who reject it and deny it. But I have made up my mind. I have crossed my
bridges and burned them behind me. There is not turning back. I am committed to
the message, the gospel of the grace of God. God helping me, I intend to preach
the gospel as often as I have opportunity, as plainly and clearly as I am able.
I know that the religious leaders of our day are opposed to the gospel of the
grace of God. I know that, as surely as I preach this message, natural men,
both religious professors and profane unbelievers, will become vehemently enraged
by it. But those things do not deter me. They rather inspire my commitment. The
gospel of God’s pure, free, sovereign grace, which I have preached for the past
sixteen years, I fully intend to go on preaching, with even more emphatic
boldness than ever before.
As the Lord God gives me grace, I intend to stay
right here, re-establishing, rebuilding, reemphasizing those pillars of gospel
truth, which are being eroded in our day. Faithfulness to my Redeemer, loyalty
to your souls, and honesty with Holy Scripture demand
it of me. I intend to spend my life, my time, and my energy laying again those
old foundations – Ruin by the Fall, Redemption by the
Blood, and Regeneration by the Holy Spirit. It is my purpose as a gospel
preacher to set forth as clearly as I can – The sinfulness of man, the
sovereign character of God, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, and
salvation by the efficacious grace and irresistible power of God the Holy
Spirit.
NOTE: In this place we do not ascribe salvation in any
measure, at any point, or in anytime to man. We attribute nothing to man but
sin. Salvation is by grace alone, “not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Salvation is not accomplished by man’s works, but by God’s works.
Today, I want to return to the sweetest, the plainest,
the most important aspect of gospel truth revealed in
Holy Scripture. I am going to talk to you who are sinners, like me, about
redemption. Oh, what sweet music there is in that word “redemption”! We have
sold ourselves for nought. We are by nature, debtors without ability to pay,
slaves without hope of liberty, prisoners without hope of pardon, condemned
felons without hope of life. But here is a word that brings hope to our hearts,
it sounds like music in my ears – “Let
This Psalm is a prophecy of the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ and that sure, effectual redemption which he accomplished for
sinners at
I want to make this subject as plain and clear as I
possibly can, so we will divide the subject into four questions. May God the
Holy Spirit take my plain, simple speech and anoint it with heavenly power.
1. What is
redemption?
2. What has
Christ redeemed?
3. How did the
Lord Jesus Christ accomplish redemption?
4. How may we
say that the Lord’s redemption is plenteous?
The word redemption literally means, “to buy again.” In the New Testament, there are three Greek
words, which are translated “redemption.” As they are used, in reference to our
redemption by Christ they simply imply the purchase of a commodity by paying a
lawful price. The commodity, which the Lord purchased, was his people; and the
price, which he paid, was his own life’s blood (Matt. 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-20).
To redeem something implies that by some means you
have lost its lawful possession. It was once yours, but you lost it. To redeem
a person implies that that person has been brought into bondage, slavery, or
imprisonment. It implies that, by some means or other, that person has incurred
a debt he cannot pay, broken a law he cannot mend, and like a guilty prisoner
has lost all rights, all freedom, and all ability to restore himself to his
former state. This is what happened to us all in the fall of our father Adam
(Rom.
A. All of our race was helplessly lost by the
fall, ruined by sin.
God created man upright,
without sin, without any bias or inclination toward sin. But by deliberate,
willful choice man sinned against God, and the race of
man was ruined, lost, and plunged into sin.
1. In the fall we lost our
fellowship and peace with God.
2. We lost our righteousness.
3. We lost our innocence.
4. We lost our access to God.
5. We lost the image of God in
which we were created.
6. We lost all true moral
integrity.
7. We were sold into the
bondage of sin.
8. We became debtors to an
infinitely Holy God.
a. We owe him perfect
righteousness. But we have no ability to pay.
b. We owe full satisfaction to
justice. But we have no ability to satisfy.
c. The law held us in bondage,
as helpless debtors.
NOTE: Redemption has to do with satisfaction of justice.
9.
In a word, in the fall of Adam we lost all life toward God and all
claims to life. We died spiritually and were sentenced to an eternal death.
B. The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to redeem helplessly lost
sinners.
He came to restore, to buy
again, that which his people lost in Adam, and more. He came to lawfully
purchase to himself, from among the fallen ruins of humanity, a people to honor
his name.
C. There are many pictures of our redemption by Christ in the Old
Testament Scriptures.
1. The deliverance of
·
By the price of blood.
·
By the power of grace.
2. The ransom of the children
of
The atonement money was the same for the rich and
for the poor – a half shekel.
3. The ransom of a poor
Israelite who had sold himself into slavery (Lev. 25:47-49). Christ, our
Kinsman Redeemer.
4. The deliverance of a debtor
from prison (Isa. 61:1).
What is redemption? Redemption is the lawful and
just purchase and deliverance of God’s elect from the bondage of sin and the
curse of the law by the blood of Christ. It is that act of atonement by which
the Son of God has purchased for us a lawful peace, access to, and fellowship
with God.
I want to be very plain and clear. I hold it to be
an authoritative doctrine, consistent with all common sense, and plainly
revealed in Holy Scripture, that whatever Christ has redeemed, Christ will
have. This simple foundation truth must be well established in our hearts. Whatever
Christ has redeemed, Christ must have. Otherwise, his work of redemption would
be a failure, and his blood would be shed in vain.
Spurgeon said this – “I hold it to be repugnant to
reason, and much more to revelation, that Christ should die to purchase what he
never shall obtain; and I hold it to be little less than blasphemy to assert
that the intention of our Savior’s death can ever be frustrated…I think that
everyone who will weigh the matter, and truly consider it, must see it to be
so, that Christ’s intention in his death must be fulfilled, and that the design
of God, whatever that may be, must certainly be carried out…I believe that the
efficacy of Christ’s blood holds no other limit than the purpose of God. I
believe that the efficacy of Christ’s atonement is just as great as God meant
it should be, and that what Christ redeemed is precisely what he meant to
redeem, and exactly what the Father had decreed he should redeem. Therefore, I
cannot for one moment give any credence whatever to that doctrine which tells
us that all men are redeemed.”
Now, I want to tell you what I believe, according to
sound doctrine and Holy Scripture, Christ as redeemed. The redemption of Christ
comprehends many things. As I read the Bible, I find four things specifically
mentioned as the objects of Christ’s redeeming work.
The Bible nowhere states, nor does it anywhere imply
that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood to redeem from eternal damnation all
the souls of men in this world.
I do not believe the doctrine that says, “Judas was
redeemed by Christ.” It is not possible that our Lord bore the wrath of God for
Judas. If you believe such a thing, you must make one of two absurd
conclusions. Either Judas is in heaven today, or else the justice of God has
fallen to the ground!
The Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed unto himself a
people. He did not simply make redemption a possibility for all men, leaving it
in the hands of man’s free-will to comply with his work and make it effectual.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has actually redeemed all his elect. All those who
ultimately are saved, and only those, were redeemed by the blood of Christ.
·
All who are regenerated by his Spirit.
·
All who are called by his grace.
·
All who truly repent and believe in Christ.
·
All who come to Christ.
·
All who die in infancy.
·
All whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
1.Christ has redeemed us from the
guilt of sin (
2.Christ has redeemed us from the
punishment of sin (
When we cease to be guilty, we cease to be the
objects of punishment altogether. Take away guilt, and punishment must be
removed. The law cannot condemn and punish an innocent man. None of those who
are redeemed by Christ can ever be damned. They can never be punished on
account of sin. Justice will not allow it.
Payment God cannot twice
demand,
First at my bleeding
Surety’s hand,
Then again at mine!
3. Christ has redeemed us from the dominion of sin
(Rom.
The reigning power of sin is broken. Sin is not
eradicated from the believer, and his old nature is not made less evil by the
grace of God; but the reigning dominion of sin is broken in the heart of every
true believer by the grace of God.
Christ has redeemed his elect, and only his elect.
No one else was redeemed, or shall ever be redeemed by the blood of Christ,
except those who in actuality are saved by him. “He shall not fail.”
Soon, death shall be made to give back its prey.
Jesus Christ has purchased my body as well as my soul; and what he has
purchased, he shall have! Death shall not have one bone of the righteous. The
grave shall not have one particle of our dust. Not even one hair of our heads
shall be lost.
Think of it! Let this thought thrill your soul and
fill your heart with joy. These bodies are the purchased possession of the Son
of God!
·
This will comfort you when you take your friends to the grave.
·
This will comfort you when you go to the grave.
I have a controversy with my father, Adam. In him I
suffered a mighty loss. But the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, my covenant
Head and Representative has bought back all that I lost and more.
·
Righteousness
·
Peace with God
·
Divine approval
·
Fellowship with God
·
The image of God
·
Life!
Christ has restored both the crown and the mitre to
manhood. He has made us kings and priests to God.
Understand what I mean. I do not mean that the Son
of God has redeemed every man in this world. Such absurd an
pretention I have never made. But I do mean this –
1. Christ has
purchased the right to rule this world as the mediator King (John 17:2; Isa.
53:10-12; 2 Pet. 2:1).
2. Christ has
redeemed God’s creation from the curse of sin (2 Pet.
As a result of our Savior’s redemption work this
world shall be purged of all sin and restored to its prestine beauty. Not so
much as a blade of grass shall be allowed to bear the curse brought upon it by
sin. And when all things are created new, righteousness shall again flourish in
the earth!
What has Christ redeemed? He has redeemed the souls
of his elect, the bodies of his elect, that which was lost by the fall, and the
creation of God.
Be sure that you understand what the Bible teaches.
Redemption is not something that Christ has made possible, or even provided.
Redemption is something that the Son of God has accomplished, and he has
accomplished for a specific people (Heb.
A. He voluntarily agreed to become our Redeemer.
B. In the fullness of time the Son of God assumed our nature.
C. As our Representative he lived the full age of a man, establishing
perfect righteousness for us.
D. He voluntarily poured out his life’s blood unto death as our
Substitute, bearing our sin.
E. He arose from the dead and ascended into heaven as our High Priest.
When the Son of God took his seat in heaven at the
right hand of the majesty on High, his work of redemption was done, his errand
of mercy was completed (Heb. 10:9-14).
Now, as the Mediator King, as the Lord of heaven and
earth, he sends forth his Spirit to apply that redemption which he has
accomplished to the hearts of his elect, his redeemed ones, with the
irresistible power of his grace (Psa. 110:3). (The
Snow-Bird).
Here are four words that characterize and summarize
the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption. May God the Holy Spirit seal
them to your heart and cause you to rejoice in his “Plenteous Redemption”.
·
Sovereignty!
·
Substitution!
·
Satisfaction!
·
Success!
It is surely plenteous enough if you only remember
what we have already seen. But it is even more plenteous. It is true, the Word of God limits the scope of Christ’s
redemption to the elect. I can find no reason for anyone to deny that. It would
be of no use to me to be told that Christ died for me, if after all I still
sank into the flames of hell. I fail to see how it would glorify Christ for me
to stand here and tell you, that he redeemed those multitudes in hell, but he
was not able to save them. What possible comfort can any sinner find in a
Redeemer who has failed to save many of those whom he has redeemed? Surely, it
is more honoring to Christ and gives a better hope to those sinners who have
laid their souls upon the merits of his blood, for me to plainly declare the
truth as it is revealed in Holy Scripture. God Almighty, in his infinite
wisdom, eternal purpose, and immutable grace has an all-sufficient and
effectual redemption, which guarantees the salvation of his elect, a redemption
that guarantees the salvation of every poor, helpless, trembling sinner who
believes on Christ, trusting him alone for redemption and salvation. For all of
God’s elect, the redemption, which he has accomplished, is a “Plenteous
Redemption”! It is a limited atonement. Its benefits are limited to the elect
of God. But for those who are the objects of his grace, for his elect, it is a
“Plenteous Redemption”.
A. It is
plenteous redemption, for by it untold millions have been saved.
B. It is
plenteous redemption, because it has put away the innumerable sins of his
elect.
C. It is
plenteous redemption, because it has fully satisfied infinite justice.
D. It is
plenteous redemption, because it has secured and guaranteed all the blessings
of grace and glory for all of God’s elect.
Child of God, what do you need? What does your heart
desire? It was purchased by the blood of Christ for you and as surely as he is
God, you shall have what he has purchased in your name.
·
Righteousness
·
Peace
·
Forgiveness
·
Eternal glory.
I send you home to mediate upon and rejoice in these
two immutable facts revealed in the gospel.
1. Every
sinner who believes on Christ shall be saved by him, through the merits of his
redeeming blood.
2. Every
sinner who was purchased by Christ shall believe on Christ.
“He shall see
of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” What he redeemed, he shall
have. What he purchased, he shall possess. All of those for whom the Son of God
died at