Sermon
#10 Hebrews
Notes
Title: “For
The Suffering Of Death”
Text: Hebrews 2:9-10
Readings: Office: Buddy Daugherty Auditorium: Bob Poncer
Subject: The Necessity of
Christ’s Satisfaction
Date: Tuesday Evening – January 11, 2000
Tape # V-65a
Introduction:
I
want us to read Hebrews 2:9-10 together. We will look at these two verses line
by line. But I want us to focus our attention on five words in verse nine.
These five words are, perhaps, the most profound words in all human language.
See if you can pick them out, as I read the text.
Hebrews
2:9-10 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings."
Did
you spot the five words? I am sure many of you did, immediately. I am equally
sure that when I point them out, some of you will be puzzled by the fact that I
said these just might be the most profound words in all human language. – “for
the suffering of death.”
Proposition: The Son of God became the
Son of man “for the suffering of death.” Amazing!
Without
question, the most wondrous of all God’s works is the work of redemption. When
we attempt to contemplate what that work involved, we are lost in astonishment.
When we think of the unutterable depths of shame and sorrow into which the Lord
of glory entered to save us, we are awed and staggered.
“That the eternal Son of God should lay aside the
robes of His ineffable glory and take upon Him the form of a servant, that the
Ruler of heaven and earth should be ‘made
under the law’ (Gal. 4:4), that the Creator of the universe should
tabernacle in this world and ‘have not
where to lay His head’ (Matt. 8:20), is something which no finite mind can
comprehend; but where carnal reason fails us, God-given faith believes and
worships.”
-- A.
W. Pink
As we
trace the path of our Savior from the throne of life to the tomb of death and
behold him who was rich, for our sakes, becoming poor, that we through his
poverty might be made rich, we cannot fathom the depths of the wonders before
us. We know that every step in the
path of our Redeemer’s humiliation was ordained in the eternal purpose of God.
Yet, it was a path of
immeasurable sorrow, unutterable anguish, ceaseless ignominy, bitter hatred,
and relentless persecution that, at last, brought the Beloved Son of God, the
Darling of heaven, to suffer the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross!
Who could ever have imagined such things as these?
Standing at the foot of the
cross, as I behold the Holy One nailed to the cursed tree, covered with his own
blood and the spit of an enraged mob, made to be sin, forsaken and cursed of
God his Father, yet, realizing that this is the work of God’s own hand, I am
lost in astonishment! I am filled with reverence and awe (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal.
3:13).
Yonder - amazing
sight! - I see
The incarnate Son of God
Expiring on the cursed tree,
And weltering in His blood.
Behold, a purple
torrent run
Down from his hands and
head,
The crimson tide puts out
the sun;
His groans awake the dead.
The trembling earth, the
darkened sky,
Proclaim the truth aloud;
And with the amazed
centurion, cry,
“This is the Son of God!”
2
Corinthians 5:21 "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."
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:"
Awed
as I am with reverence for my crucified Lord, still there is a question that I
cannot suppress, a question that reason and sound judgment cannot fail to ask.
The question is, Why? Why did
the Son of God suffer such a death? Why did God so torment his beloved Son and
kill him in such a horribly ignominious way?
·
Was it to save my soul? I
know that he did so that I might live. He suffered, the Just for the unjust,
that he might bring me to God. But was there no other way for the omnipotent
God to save me?
·
Was all this done to
demonstrate the greatness of God’s love to me? Indeed
it was (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10).
“Could we with ink the
oceans fill,
And were the skies of
parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a
quill,
And every man a scribe by
trade, --
To write the love of God
above
Would drain the oceans dry,
Nor could the scroll contain
the whole,
Though stretched from sky to
sky!”
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren."
1 John
4:9-10 "In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we
might live through him. (10) Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins."
“Jesus, who left His throne
on high,
Left the bright realms of
bliss,
And came to earth to bleed
and die,
Was ever love like this?”
But, surely, God could have
revealed his love to me in some other way. Why did he slay his Son? What necessity was there for the Son of
God to suffer and die upon the cursed tree?
Only
one answer can be found to that question - The
justice of God had to be satisfied. There was no necessity for God to
save anyone. Salvation is altogether the free gift of his grace. But, having
determined to save his elect from the ruins of fallen humanity, the only way
God could save his people and forgive their sins was by the death of Christ. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb.
9:22).
The justice of God had to be
satisfied in order for God to save his people; and the only thing that could
ever satisfy the justice of God is the blood of Christ.
My
subject is The Necessity of Christ’s Satisfaction. I want to
show you from the Word of God both the necessity and the blessedness of
Christ’s satisfaction of divine justice by his death on the cross.
This is a doctrine of utmost importance. It is the glory of the
gospel and the glory of the Christian religion. It is the satisfaction of
divine justice by the death of Christ the distinguishes Christianity from all
other religions. Take the cross out of Christianity, take away the satisfaction
of Christ by his death upon the cross, and Christianity is of no more value and
benefit to the souls of men than Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism. This is a matter of paramount importance
because without satisfaction for sin, there could be no salvation from it.
We
are often warned in Holy Scripture to beware of “damnable heresies” brought in by false prophets. Among those
damnable heresies, none is more common and none more destructive to the souls
of men than the denial of Christ’s satisfaction (Heb. 10:26-29).
Hebrews
10:26-29 "For if we sin wilfully[1]
after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins, (27) But a
certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall
devour the adversaries. (28) He that
despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of
God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified,
an unholy[2]
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
Perhaps
Hebrews 2:9-10 more clearly states the necessity of Christ’s satisfaction for
sin than any other single text - (Read those two verses with me.)
1. “We see Jesus.”
We see him with the eye of
faith. We see him because he has been revealed to us by the Spirit of God. We
see that he is Jesus, our Savior, the Christ of God. We see in him…
·
The Fulness Of The Godhead (Col. 2:9).
Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily."
·
The Fulness Of Grace (John 1:14; Col. 1:19).
John 1:14 "And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Colossians 1:18-19 "And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell."
·
The Fulness Of Redemption (Eph. 1:7).
Ephesians
1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
We see him as Christ, our
Redeemer, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Lord our Righteousness. We see
him as our all (1 Cor. 1:30-31).
1
Corinthians 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption: (31) That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Do you see him? If you do,
flesh and blood has not revealed him to you, but my Father in heaven. “We see Jesus,…
2. Who was made a little lower
than the angels.”
He who made the angels
was made a little lower than the angels.
He was made of the seed of woman, made to be a man, “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law” (Gal.
4:4-5). This is the reason for the incarnation. This is why Christ was made a
little lower than the angels…
3. “For the suffering of death.”
The Son of God came into
this world for the purpose of suffering death! He did not come to be an earthly
monarch in Jerusalem. He did not come to establish a new religion. He did not
come to be a reformer, an example of morality and virtue. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a man so that he might
die in the place of men and redeem them. He came here to die because
there was no other way for his people to be saved and live.
We see this next thing, too.
Since he suffered and died in the place of his people, the Lord Jesus Christ is
now…
4. “Crowned with glory and
honor!” (Phil. 2:8-11).
Philippians
2:8-11 "And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."
Christ is exalted! That Man
who died for us at Calvary is now crowned with glory, given all honor, as the
Lord of all. The God-man, the Man-God, who died for us now rules the world to
save those people for whom he died (John 17:2). Yonder, on heaven’s lofty
throne, sits the God of glory in human flesh; and the pleasure of the Lord is
prospering in his hand!
Now, look at the next line.
Christ “was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death…
5. “That he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man.”
This statement, like all
others, must be interpreted within its context and in the light of the entire
Word of God. Is this a declaration that Christ died even for those for whom he
refused to pray (John 17:9), for those who are not his sheep (John 10:11), for
those who are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction (Rom. 9:22), for those
from whom he has hidden both his works and his grace (Matt. 11:20-25)? Of
course not! Does this statement mean that Christ died for those who suffer the
wrath of God in hell? No! That would be a declaration that there are some for
whom Christ shed his blood in vain. Such doctrine is a denial of the efficacy
of his atonement, a denial of our Savior’s very divinity, and a denial of the
gospel. What, then, is the meaning of this statement? “That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
Christ
died not merely as good example, or merely for the good of men, but as the
Surety, in the room and place of men. However, the word “men” was added by our
translators with no apparent reason, except to make the sentence read more
easily. In the Greek text there simply is no word in this verse that should be
translated “man.” The sentence literally should be translated, “That he by the
grace of God should taste death for every,” or “for all,” or “for every one.”
·
For every one of the sons he would bring to glory (v. 10).
·
For every one of the brethren he is not ashamed to own (v. 11).
·
For every member of the church, in the midst of which he will sing
praise (v. 12).
·
For every one of the children God the Father gave him to save, for
whose sake he assumed flesh and blood (v. 13).
·
For every one of Abraham’s seed, God’s elect, whom he took hold of to
save (v. 16).
Why was the Son of God made so humble as to suffer and die
for his people? What necessity was there for his humiliation and death in the
room and stead of his people? Look at verse 10…
6 “For it became him.”
It was necessary, if God
would save sinners and bring them to glory, that the Son of God must suffer in
their room and stead all that the law and justice of God could demand. The
Scriptures plainly declare that there was a necessity for the death of Christ
(Matt. 16:21; 26:29; John 3:14).
Matthew 16:21
"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how
that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."
John 3:14-16
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."
According to Holy Scripture,
our Savior’s death under the wrath of God, upon the cursed tree was
necessitated by…
·
The Decree Of God (Acts 2:23).
Acts 2:23 "Him,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
·
Christ’s Covenant Engagements (John 10:17-18).
John 10:14-18
"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
(15) 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. (17) Therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (18) 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 Prophecies Of The Old Testament (Matt. 26:54).
·
The Election Of Grace.
I repeat, God did not have
to save anyone; but since he has chosen to save some, the only way he could
save them was by the satisfaction of justice through the sacrifice of his own
dear Son.
When the Holy Spirit says, “it became him,” that it was necessary
for God to slay his Son to save his people, lest we begin to think that this
implies some weakness in God, he immediately describes our God with these
words…
7. “For whom are all things and
by whom are all things.”
Here the Lord God is
described as that One who is both the ultimate end and first cause of all
things (Rom. 11:36).
All things are for him. -- He
made all things for himself, for the glorifying of all the perfections of his
nature (Pro. 16:4; 2 Cor. 5:18).
All things are by him. -- All
things in nature, all things in providence, all things in redemption, and all
things in grace are the work of God.
Look at the next
line
8. “In bringing many sons unto
glory.”
This is an intimation of
God’s gracious designs toward his elect. Those whom Christ came to save are
many, and they were already the sons of God by eternal adoption and divine
predestination long before Christ came to redeem them (Gal. 4:4-6). In the
covenant of grace, our God declared, “I
will be their Father, and they shall be my sons and daughters.”
·
We were chosen to be the children of God from eternity.
·
We were given power and authority to become the sons of God and given
the nature of God’s sons in regeneration (John 1:12-13).
·
We were openly and manifestly declared to be the sons of God when we
believed by faith in Christ.
Note: Faith does not make us God’s
sons. Adoption did that. Faith receives the adoption of sons and looks upon God
through Christ as our Father (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15-16).
·
The sons of God are many, a great multitude which no man can number,
ten thousand times ten thousand!
¨ The Many Chosen Of God!
¨ The Many For Whom Christ
Gave His Life A Ransom!
¨ The Many For Whom His Blood
Was Shed For The Remission Of Sins!
¨ The Many Made Righteous By
His Obedience!
¨ The Many For Whom Many
Mansions Are Prepared In The Father’s House!
“God has chosen them ‘through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth’, to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ! Christ died for them, and by means of his death, they receive the
promise of eternal inheritance, and the inheritance itself. God calls them by
his grace to eternal glory, and makes them ‘meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.’”
-- John
Gill
9. The Person by whom God’s
elect are brought to glory is Christ, “the Captain of their salvation.”
He is called “the Captain”
of our salvation because he is the One in charge of it, the One responsible for
it, the One whose arm alone has accomplished it.
10. As the Captain of our
salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ was “made perfect through sufferings.”
That is to say, the way, the
means by which our great Savior saved us and perfected, or completed his work
as the Captain of our salvation, was his perfect sufferings and death as our
Substitute. Apart from his sufferings for the satisfaction of justice there
could have been no salvation. It is
written, “Though he were a Son,
yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered: And being made
perfect, he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”
(Heb. 5:8-9).
It
was necessary for Christ to suffer and die on the cross under the wrath of God
to save his people. He did not have to save us. But if he saved us he could not
save in any other way. Justice demanded it (Pro. 16:6; 17:15; 1 Pet. 3:18).
Proverbs
16:6 "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged:
and by the fear of the LORD men depart
from evil."
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 "For Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"
This
is what the Spirit of God teaches us in Hebrews 2:9-10: Since it was the
design, purpose, and pleasure of the Almighty to bring some of the sons of men
into eternal glory and happiness as the sons of God by Christ, it was necessary
for Christ, the Son of God, to suffer all that the law and justice of God
required for the punishment of sin, dying under the wrath of God as our
Substitute.
I do
not say that the satisfaction of Christ procures the love of God for us. It
does not. The death of Christ is the fruit of God’s love, not the cause of it.
But I am saying, it is the death of Christ and the satisfaction of justice by
his death that opens the way into the embraces of God’s arms. We could never
have been reconciled to God without the shedding of Christ’s blood.
“Let me observe to you something relating to experience, which
you would do well to lay up in your minds. It may be of use to you hereafter,
when you may be tempted to doubt of your interest in Christ’s satisfaction.
Have you any reason to believe that you have, at any time, had communion with
God, in private or in public, in your closet, or in the family, or in the house
of God, under any ordinance, either the ministry of the Word, or prayer, or the
Supper of the Lord? Then you may be assured Christ has made satisfaction for
you; or you would never have enjoyed such communion.”
-- John
Gill
Let
me draw this message to a close by making these six statements. Here are six
statements that simply cannot be refuted and must not be ignored.
I. All men and women by
nature, since the fall of our father Adam, are sinners, alienated from God.
“All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). As sinners, we are alienated
from the life of God and have become enemies unto God. The wages of our sin and
enmity to God is death.
Every
transgression must receive its just recompense of reward (Heb. 2:2). All sin
must be punished, either in the sinner or in the sinner’s Substitute. The law,
being broken, accuses of sin, condemns the sinner, and demands death. Unless
satisfaction is made, the sentence of the law must be executed. The sanction of
the law is death. It can never be abrogated, changed, altered, or abated. God
will never relax his justice! “The soul
that sinneth, it shall die!” (Ezek. 18:2). But…
II. It is the will of God to
save sinners. “He delighteth in mercy!”
God has decreed the salvation of some. Christ
came to save some. There are some people in this world who must be saved
because it is the will of God to save them; and God’s will cannot be frustrated
(John 10:16).
A. Every chosen sinner must be
saved (2 Thess. 2:13-14).
2
Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give
thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth: (14) Whereunto
he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
B. Every predestined son must
be saved (Rom. 8:29-30).
Romans
8:28-30 "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. (29) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified."
C. Every heir of the covenant
must be saved (Eph. 1:3-7).
Ephesians
1:3-7 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ: (4) According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love:
(5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. (7) In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of his grace."
D. Every child of Adam whose
name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world
must be saved (Rev. 13:8).
Revelation
13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world."
There
is no possibility that even one of God’s elect will perish! However…
III. It is impossible for a holy
and just God to save any sinner apart from the satisfaction of justice (Heb.
9:22).
Hebrews
9:22 "And almost all things are by the law
purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
God
declares, “I will by no means clear the
guilty” (Ex. 34:7). I know that God is omnipotent, almighty, and sovereign.
He does what he will! Nobody on this earth declares that glorious truth more
fully, more frequently, or more forcibly than I do. But God cannot do that
which is contrary to his nature and character. We do not rob God of his
sovereignty when we repeat the declaration of Scripture and say, “God cannot lie.” He who is the Truth
cannot lie! Neither do we rob God of his sovereignty when we assert this truth
of Holy Scripture -- God cannot forgive sin without the satisfaction of
justice. The just, holy, and true God must punish sin.
Illustration: Darius’
Dilemma (Dan. 6:7-14).
IV. The only way the justice of
God could ever be satisfied is by the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ (Job 33:24; Rom. 3:24-26).
Job 33:24 "Then he is gracious unto him, and
saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom."
Romans
3:24-26 "Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and
the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
God
could not die, and man could not satisfy; but the God-man both died and
satisfied.
Two
facts demonstrate clearly that there was no other way for justice to be
satisfied. Only the death of Christ upon the cross could do it…
A. The love of god the Father for his Son proves it. Would
God almighty slay his darling Son, if there were any other way to save his
people consistent with his justice?
B. The prayer of Christ in Gethsemane proves it (Matt.
26:39). If the salvation of his people could be accomplished by any means other
than his death upon the cross, would not God the Father have granted his
tormented Son the desire of his soul?
What can justice
satisfy?
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus!
What can God’s law magnify?
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus!
Oh, precious is the flow,
That makes me white as snow!
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus!
V. It is impossible for God,
in his holiness, to punish any sinner for whose sins justice has been satisfied
by the blood of Christ (Isa. 53:11 Romans 7:1-4) -
The law has no claim upon an executed felon!
Payment God cannot twice
demand,
First at my bleeding
Surety’s hand,
And then again at mine!
Isaiah 53:10-11 "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."
Romans 7:1-4 "Know ye not,
brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath
dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
(2) For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if
the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (3) So then
if, while her husband liveth, she be
married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband
be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be
married to another man. (4) Wherefore,
my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye
should be married to another, even to
him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God."
VI. Every sinner who trusts the
Lord Jesus Christ has been chosen, redeemed, and called, and must be forever
saved!
Application:
1. What a horrible evil sin is
- Nothing but the blood of Christ could make satisfaction for it.
2. God almighty will punish sin
- The death of Christ as the sinner’s Substitute demonstrates the strictness of
God’s holy law.
3. Yet, there is a way open for
sinners to come to God. Christ is the Way. He has made satisfaction for sin. If
you trust him, if you come to God by faith in him, the Lord Jesus Christ has,
by the shedding of his life’s blood at Calvary, as the sinner’s Substitute,
made satisfaction for your sin!
4. Admire and adore the
perfections of our God (Psa. 85:10-11).
Psalms
85:10-11 "Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each
other. (11) Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall
look down from heaven."
·
Admire his love!
·
Adore his mercy!
·
Rejoice in his grace!
·
Stand in awe of his wisdom, holiness, justice, and truth!
All shine forth gloriously
in the satisfaction of Christ - “For it
became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.”
·
Wisdom found a ransom.
·
Holiness approved of it.
·
Justice is satisfied with it.
·
Truth proclaims it.
Amen.
[1] In this context, those who “sin wilfully” are those who, for whatever reason, abandon the worship of God and the gospel of his grace.
[2] “Unholy” in Hebrews 10:29 means “common”. Those who make the blood of Christ a common thing, without efficacy, without merit, are without hope! There is no other sacrifice for sin.