Sermon
#1465[1] Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: Plenteous Redemption
Text: Psalm 130:7
Subject: The Infinite Fullness And Efficacy
Of Our Lord’s
Redemptive Work
Date: Friday Evening –
First
Baptist
Tape # W-51a
Introduction:
Psalm 130 – “A Song of Degrees” – This is called “a
psalm of degrees” because like the other Psalms of this title David moves
from one degree to another in the experience of grace. Here he begins the psalm
crying out to God from the depths of desperate need and rises to the height of
confident assurance. How I pray that some of you may experience the same this
hour by the grace of God!
1. Out of the depths have I
cried unto thee, O LORD. – Out of the depths of…
·
Sin and Guilt
·
Condemnation and Fear
·
Contrition and Repentance
·
Trial and Heartache
·
Helplessness
2. Lord, hear my voice: let
thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. – Then all is well. I
want no more. I need no more.
3. If thou, LORD, shouldest
mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? – If in the books of God there is a mark, a
single mark of iniquity against me, I must perish forever, under the wrath of
God almighty. O sinner, did you hear that? Tremble for your soul! If God marks
sin against you, you must forever die.
4. But there is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared. – Oh, what a blessed word of grace! There is
forgiveness with God. God Almighty forgives sin and in forgiving sin teaches
sinners forgiven to fear and worship him.
5. I wait for the LORD, my soul
doth wait, and in his word do I hope. – Wait for God himself to speak forgiveness to
your soul. No one else can. Hope in his Word, for there is no hope anywhere to
be found but in his Word.
6. My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for
the morning.
– This waiting for God and his salvation is not a passive, inactive,
fatalistic thing, but the anxious, needy soul seeking the Lord with all his
heart. He promises, “Then shall you find me, when you seek me with all your
heart.”
7. Let
8. And he shall redeem
“Plenteous
Redemption” – That will be our subject. We are going 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
Did you catch those two words? “Plenteous
redemption!” My heart begins to dance when I think of it – “With
him is plenteous redemption.” That is my subject– “Plenteous Redemption.” It is
indescribably too big for me; but I’ll give another run at it.
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 here translated “redemption” means
“deliverance by ransom.” As it is commonly used both in Holy
Scripture and in our everyday language, the word “redemption” means, “to
buy again.”
There are three different Greek words, which are
translated “redemption” in the New Testament. 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 one means or another, 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 the sin of that one man.
God created man upright,
without sin, without any bias or inclination toward sin. But by deliberate,
willful choice Adam sinned against God, and all the
human race 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.
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 be
his own peculiar treasure, for the honor of his own great and glorious 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.” – The price of atonement was the same
for all and was easily available to all.
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.
Let me be crystal clear here. -- I hold it to be a
vital, plainly revealed doctrine of Holy Scripture, and consistent with all
common sense, 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 Christ has redeemed.
This is the doctrine of Holy Scripture. 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.
[John 10:11] "I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
[John 10:15-16] "As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the
sheep. [16] And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and
one shepherd."
[John 10:26] "But ye
believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you."
[Galatians 3:13] "Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
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 are
ultimately 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.
[Exodus
23:7] "Keep thee far from a false
matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify
the wicked."
[Proverbs 17:15] "He that
justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the
just, even they both are abomination to the LORD." – 1 Peter
3:18
[Isaiah 5:23] "Which
justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous
from him!"
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.
He
breaks the power of cancelled sin.
He
sits the prisoner free!
His
blood can male the foulest clean.
His
blood avails for me!
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 power and 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.”
[Ephesians 1:13-14] "In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed (having believed),
ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory."
[Job 19:25-27] "For I know that
my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth: [26] And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: [27]
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though
my reins be consumed within me."
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.
Illustration: -- Steve Seifert
[Psalms 69:4] "They that
hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of
mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully,
are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away."
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 bought back all that I lost and more.
·
Righteousness
·
Peace with God
·
Divine approval
·
Fellowship with God
·
The image of God
·
Life! – Eternal Life!
Christ has restored both the crown and the miter 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 an absurd pretense I have
never made. But I do mean this –
1. Christ
has purchased the right to rule this world as the mediator King for
the salvation of his elect (John 17:2; Isa. 53:10-12; 2 Pet. 2:1).
[Matthew 13:44] "Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man
hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath,
and buyeth that field."
[Isaiah 53:10-12] "Yet it
pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand. [11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities. [12] Therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he
was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors."
[John 17:2] "As thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as
thou hast given him."
[Romans 14:9] "For to this
end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the
dead and living."
[2 Peter 2:1] "But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
2. Christ
has redeemed God’s creation from the curse of sin (2 Pet.
[Romans 8:18-23] "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God. [20] For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope, [21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. [22]
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now. [23] And not only they, but ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body."
[2 Peter 3:11-13] "Seeing
then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, [12] Looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? [13]
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
As a result of our Savior’s redemption work
this world shall be purged of all sin and restored to its pristine 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! The
slime of the serpent’s trail shall not be found in God’s creation.
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).
[Hebrews 10:5-14]
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast
had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book
it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. [8] Above when he said,
Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou
wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the
law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By
the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11] And every priest standeth
daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never
take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; [13] From
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. [14] For by
one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
Now, as our Mediator-King, as the Lord of heaven and
earth, the Lord Jesus Christ sends forth his Spirit to apply that redemption
which he has accomplished to the hearts of God’s elect, his redeemed ones, with
the irresistible power of his grace (Psa. 110:3).
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. Yet, our Lord’s redemption 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
[1]
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