Efficaciousness of Christ's Sacrifice

The Appalling Confusion Regarding Saving Faith

0:01 The Word of God declares, with the simplicity that a child may understand, and with the sobriety that ought to cause the most serious adult to take note, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And in this text, the Scripture clearly reveals that the issues involved in true belief or in unbelief are the issues of life and death, the favor of God or the wrath of God,

0:43 heaven or hell, judgment or acquittal. And it's the deep, earnest desire of my heart that if we're clear on anything, in our understanding of biblical truth, that we should be clear on what the Bible means when it says, He that believeth. For in this most basic area, the confusion abroad in the professing church of Jesus Christ is absolutely appalling. If I could this morning take a little census from those of you right here, some of whom have even heard the previous eight messages in which I have every morning defined saving faith two, three, four, a half a dozen times in a message, and ask you what does it mean to believe in Christ,

1:26 it would be terribly humbling to me as a preacher to say, and I fear terribly devastating to you, who would obviously give definitions of saving faith that would reflect a total ignorance of what the Bible means when it says, He that believeth. And so this is an issue that is basic, all-important, all-encompassing, and I trust that we shall once again stir up our minds to take hold of the truth of the Word as we continue in this general theme, of saving faith. What is it? Its nature and its object.

2:06 We have defined saving faith as self-commitment to Christ in all the glory of His person and the perfection of His work as He is offered to us in the Gospel. And if under God, I could be the instrument to see a little group of people who understood that that's what faith meant and experienced it, I would feel that I had not lived in faith. I would feel that I had not lived in faith. I would feel that I had not lived in vain in this generation.

2:32 I am so weary of these unbiblical terms. Decision for Christ. He doesn't need your decision or mine.

2:42 The whole essence of faith is conceived of some kind of a knob to Jesus. Who He is, not too important. What He's done, less important, just so long as you've favored Him by making a decision for Him. Oh, how impoverished is this concept.

2:57 In the light of the biblical concept that saving faith is self-commitment, the commitment of God, the commitment of my entire being to Jesus Christ in all the glory of His person, the unique God-man, and in all the perfection of His work, His incarnation, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His ascension in heavenly session at the right hand of the Father, His intercession, and His mighty coming manifestation in glory and in power. What does it mean to believe? It means to commit yourself to that person in terms of those things. That's what saving faith is.

Considering Christ Our High Priest and His Sacrifice

3:32 And so, we are seeking to consider the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus as our great prophet who teaches His people, our priest who forgives His people and intercedes for them, and our great King who rules over His people. In our studies this morning, up till this morning, for several mornings, we have been looking at the Lord Jesus as our high priest in His work of sacrifice. Subsequently, we'll study Him in His work of intercession. But this morning, we want to conclude our studies in this area, the Lord Jesus as our priest, the glory of His person and the perfection of His work in terms of His priestly ministry and specifically,

4:15 His sacrifice upon the cross. Now, it's scriptural to do this because we read in Hebrews 3, 1, Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider, and the word consider there is a strong word. It means to think with deep, intense earnestness. Consider the apostle and the high priest of our confession.

4:40 So as we seek to consider the high priest, who he is and what he's done, this is not just some kind of doctrinal nonsense or non-essential peripheral truth. This is obedience to the command of God. Consider the high priest of our confession. And so we're considering him and the sacrifice, which he made as our high priest.

5:06 Thus far, we have seen that he is the divinely appointed and uniquely qualified high priest. And last time we studied together, we saw that the sacrifice that he offered was voluntary. What he did, he did willingly. It was objective.

5:21 What he did, he did with reference to the Father. The meaning of the cross is not found looking out this way, but looking up this way. What he did voluntarily, willingly, with reference to God, he did, the Scripture declares, in the room instead of others. It was a vicarious, a vicar, a representative.

5:41 He died in our room instead. And what he did was to bear the wrath of God against human sin. Now this morning we come to the last word that I want us to consider in terms of the sacrifice of our high priest. Not only was his sacrifice voluntary, he did it willingly.

6:01 Objective, he did it with reference to God the Father. Vicarious, he did it on behalf of sinners. Penal, he bore the wrath of God against the sin of men. But we want to see his sacrifice as efficacious.

Defining Efficaciousness: Attaining the Desired Result

6:19 Now I'm going to define what I mean by efficacious, and I've chosen the word purposefully because it sets forth in a beautiful way the truth of the Word of God. When something's efficacious, we mean that it attains the desired or intended result. My child runs out into the road, and I say, now, son or daughter, I don't want you to run into the road. You may get hurt.

6:48 If you do it again, Daddy will spank. So the child does it again, so Daddy spanks, and the child does not do it a third time. My spanking has been what? Efficacious.

6:57 It has attained the desired result. I spank the child in order that the child may learn the lesson and not destroy itself. You go home outside today, and you crank up your car, and you've gone halfway down Mountain Avenue, and you see the needle there in the temperature thing going all the way over. The car is boiling over.

7:15 You go out. Sure enough, there's a leak in the radiator. So the fellow comes out from the gas station, and he puts in some stop leak and fills it up with water, and you run your car, and the leak stops. What's happened?

7:26 Well, the material, the chemical you put in there to stop the leak has been efficacious. It has attained the desired result. Or you may go home today, and you've got a splitting headache, so you take a couple Emprim or aspirin, and in a half an hour, you feel better. The medicine has been what?

7:43 Efficacious. You see, when something is efficacious, it attains and secures the desired result. Now, if you spank your child, and he still runs out on the road, your spanking hasn't been efficacious. If you put in the stop leak, and your car boils over by the time you hit Bloomfield Avenue, it hasn't been efficacious.

8:03 And if you've still got your headache at 3 o'clock, the aspirin hasn't been efficacious. Now, when we view the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, that sacrifice that he offered voluntarily, uncoerced, I lay down my life, that sacrifice by which he offered himself up to God, that sacrifice in which he stood in the place of sinners, in which he bared his breast to the wrath of God against human sin, against the terror, against Idealism, against all the evil that will befall him, against all the wickedness andmayınings. And when we think of the sacrifice, and look at that sacrifice, there's the question before us, did that sacrifice secure its intended end? There's the whole issue.

Christ's Sacrifice is Efficacious: He Shall Be Satisfied

8:44 Did Jesus Christ have a purpose in that sacrifice? And was that purpose secured? I'm absolutely convinced that the Scripture answers that question with such clarity that only a man who wills to be blind can fail to see the answer. For the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ declared to be efficacious in many places, but the basic text that I want us to consider as the general framework within which we work, and then we're going to bring a number of texts to light upon it, is that classic text in Isaiah chapter 53, setting forth the sufferings

9:25 of the servant of Jehovah in such clear form.

9:33 We read of his sufferings, of his sorrows in the first part of the chapter. Here, several times over, we read that he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him. It pleased the Lord to put him to grief. And what will the end of all this be?

9:50 Will you notice carefully verse 11?

9:54 He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. For he...

10:08 He shall bear their iniquities. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and that includes all that the prophet has been depicting, bearing himself to the wrath of the Father, taking upon him the iniquity and sin of men, going into those agonies of Gethsemane and Calvary, the travail of his soul. And it says he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. In other words, he is going to attain and secure the desired end of his sufferings.

10:46 What he died for, he shall realize. What he purchased, he shall possess.

10:54 The purpose for which he groaned and hung his head in death will be realized. He shall be satisfied. Now, why is this true? This morning, I want us to bring into focus one tremendous thought that is just...

11:10 Well, it's revolutionary. It revolutionized my Bible in terms of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

11:17 The reason why his death was efficacious, the reason why it secured that for which he died and shall secure it, for some of that which he died is not yet his in actual experience, but it shall be his as surely as though it were his now. The reason why the prophet could say, he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied is found in this basic issue. Because his sacrifice was related, inseparably related to the unchanging, unfailing plan and purpose of God.

The Cross in Context: God's Eternal Plan

11:56 The reason why his death was efficacious is because of its relationship to the unchanging and unfailing plan and purpose of God. To view the cross in isolation is to misunderstand the cross. Understand the cross. If you try to understand...

12:13 cross simply by picking up the story as we find it in the Gospels from that point where he groaned in Gethsemane and bowed his head in death upon Calvary. You'll never understand the cross. To walk into an operating room having never seen drastic surgery, having never heard of it before, and to watch the surgeon. You know nothing else of the patient.

12:36 You know nothing else of the history of surgery. Just to come on the scene and see a surgeon take a sharp instrument and strike it across the chest of a man and see the blood spurt and those there blotting it, and to see them pull open his chest cavity and then begin to cut around and take out part of a man's lung. To view that act in isolation is to look upon that man as a cruel sadist who likes to butcher people's bodies and dissect them for the sheer sadistic joy of seeing blood. But you don't do that. If you were to watch

13:14 a man die, you wouldn't be able to see that. You wouldn't be able to see that. You wouldn't be able to see that. You wouldn't be able to see that. You wouldn't be able to see that.

13:14 If you were to watch an operation upon a man who had cancer of the lung, you would view the activity of the surgeon in the light of the whole purpose of the surgeon and the need of the patient, right? And what is absolutely senseless and cruel when viewed in isolation becomes a tremendous act of mercy when viewed in perspective of what preceded and what will follow. For you know that the cancer in that lung may lead the man to a premature death, taking out of that cancer the cancer of the lung. The cancerous growth may lead to years of life and happiness and health. And so as you

13:49 view that act, not in isolation, but in reference to what preceded and followed and the overall plan and purpose of the surgeon, then it begins to make sense. You see, if you were to come and see me right at the point where I've pulled down the trousers of one of my children and whopping their bottom good, and I don't do it just enough to make them think this is something maybe you ought to avoid once in a while. I try to do it in such a way that they realize this ought to be avoided at all costs under all circumstances in the future. In other words, you've got to put some meaning in it. Now, if you were

14:26 to view me simply there, big guy, 200 pounds, little 20 pound, 30 pound child, putting it over its knee and spank, you'd say that's the height of brutality and cruelty. If that's all you did was view the act of discipline in isolation. But now, if you understand my purpose, that I love that child, and I know that if that child is going to learn submission to God, it must learn submission to God. And I know that if that child is going to learn submission to God, it must learn submission to God. And I know that if that child is going

14:48 to learn submission to God, it must learn submission to me, that if that child is going to have the hedging influence of common grace, I as a parent must teach it discipline and obedience, that my purpose is to teach that child how to be well adjusted to his family and to his environment and society. Then the act of discipline becomes a wonderful act of mercy when you view it in terms of the whole purpose. Now, I've used these two illustrations to try to give us a background to make us think. Have you ever viewed the cross as the whole eternal plan of God? I confess, though I was reared in a Christian home, brought

15:27 up in churches where the gospel was preached, it was not until several years ago that it even occurred to me that the true meaning of the cross is never truly understood unless it is viewed in the light of the unchanging eternal plan of God. Now let's establish, first of all, the fact that Christ's sacrifice is related to the plan of God. Secondly, the focus of that plan in relationship to the sacrifice. And then last of all, the unfailing nature of that plan as it touches the sacrifice of Christ.

Christ's Sacrifice Related to God's Plan

16:01 Now, was Christ's sacrifice related to the plan of God? Well, listen to his own confession as given to us in Hebrews chapter 10, or the confession of the Scriptures. In Hebrews chapter 10, the chapter begins by stating, The inadequacy of the sacrifices of the old covenant. Those sacrifices can never make the worshippers perfect, so they had to be repeated year after year after year. But we

16:40 read in verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, speaking of Christ, he said, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offering and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Now get the connection of thought. The sacrifices of the old covenant were inadequate to take

17:12 away sin. All they could do was act like a little picture of how sin is taken away, namely by the blood of the sacrifice of an innocent victim. Now the Lord Jesus is going to be the perfect sacrifice. He is going to be the one who will put away sin forever.

17:30 But how does he do it? Only in keeping with the plan and purpose of God. So he says, Lo, verse 7, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God. Therefore, his sacrifice cannot be understood apart from the will of the God who ordained that sacrifice, the purpose of that God who instituted that sacrifice.

17:54 And so the confession of Scripture is very clear here that Christ's sacrifice was inseparably joined to the eternal, immutable plan of God. What we have stated here, coming from the lips of our Lord himself by the inspired writers, we find stated in retrospect as the apostles look back and they think of the sacrifice of Christ, they do not view it isolated from the eternal plan of God. Listen to the confession of Peter in Acts chapter 2 and then in Acts chapter 4. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 23.

18:38 Or we could back up to verse 22. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know. Him, being delivered, delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

19:06 But notice what Peter does. He says, prior to your wicked deed of slaying him and crucifying him, he was delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. His death was inseparably linked to the eternal, immutable plan of God. And we find precisely the same thing in chapter 4, verses 27 and 28.

19:33 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

19:54 As they begin to pray in terms of this first persecution that they are facing, they recognize they recognize that the God to whom they pray is the God who has an eternal purpose and plan and the sufferings of Christ, the death of Christ, was part of that eternal plan. Then, of course, our Lord's words in Gethsemane as He is about to enter in to that terrible, terrible period when He would actually bear the sins of His people, the cry in Gethsemane was what? In Matthew 26, 39, 9, Not my will but thine be done. He recognized as He entered into this period when He's about to offer up the sacrifice

20:38 that it was part of the unfolding of the will and purpose of His Father. It was not viewed as an isolated event, but as part of that plan. Just as the fact of Christ's death was conceived and founded in eternity, so the purpose of that death was set in eternity, and will be realized in eternity.

21:06 The fact of His death purposed in eternity, yes, and also the purpose and the end of that death purposed from eternity, and it will be realized and finalized in eternity. So that we must never view the death of Christ in isolation, but first of all, see the fact that His sacrifice is related to the plan of God. All right, seeing that fact, the next issue we want to see from the Scriptures is this. What is the focus of that plan in relation to the sacrifice of Christ?

The Focus of God's Plan: Actual Salvation

21:40 We've seen that that sacrifice is not something that just happened unrelated to the plan of God. Well, then what was the focus of God's purpose in giving up His Son to death? Some would answer the question by saying, well, it's obvious. God gave His Son up to death so that in some nebulous way His dying would provide a basis upon which God could offer forgiveness to the world.

22:03 His death did not actually procure the forgiveness of anybody. It didn't assure the salvation of anybody. It just made it possible for God to offer salvation to everybody and anybody, and it may or may not be successful in its attainments. Is this the answer of the Scripture?

22:22 Let's look to the Scripture. First of all, let's look at the testimony given at the birth of Jesus Christ or the conception of Jesus Christ, not His birth, His conception. In Matthew chapter...

22:33 In Matthew chapter 1 in verse 21, a wonderful Christmas text,

22:40 the plan of God is going to give the Son up to death. Now in the unfolding of that plan, the purpose of God, in the fullness of time, Christ is conceived of the Holy Ghost. Now at His very conception, an announcement is made as to why He's being conceived, why He's going to be a priest to offer up a sacrifice. Notice verse 21.

23:05 And she shall bring forth the Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall make salvation possible for everybody in general and nobody in particular.

23:21 Ah, beloved, I dishonored my Lord by reading that verse that way for years.

23:28 Why is this young woman probably in her late teens? Why is she chosen to be the vehicle through which Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king shall come? Here's the express answer of God. She shall bring forth the Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save.

23:51 He'll actually accomplish a work of salvation.

23:56 People, four particular people, from their sins, deliver them from a specific problem.

24:07 That's what He's going to do. Jesus shall save. There will be an actual salvation procured by this One. Amen.

24:16 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

24:16 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

24:16 Amen. Amen. Amen. On behalf of distinct, particular individuals called His people, and it will be a salvation that will actually save.

24:25 He'll save them not in their sins, or merely from the penalty of their sins, but from their sins, hallelujah, from its penalty, from its polluting influence, and one day from its presence. That's what He came to do. Now, if I view the cross in the light of that purpose, the focus of that purpose then was to do what? To actually save.

Christ's Own Testimony: Saving His People

24:47 saved, to actually save some people, and to actually save them from their sins. That's the confession at his conception. Now what about his own testimony? As the Lord Jesus walked amongst men, as he thought of that hour coming when he would die, was he conscious of what his real purpose was? Well, let's listen to his own testimony. Will you turn, please, to the Gospel

25:10 according to John chapter 6. We shall see our Lord's consciousness, that his sacrifice was related to the unchanging plan of God, and that the focus of that plan was very distinct, very specific. John chapter 6 and verse 38. Go back up to verse 37. All that the Father giveth me

25:46 shall come to me, and him that cometh to me shall come to me. I will in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. He said, all that I do is in keeping with the Father's purpose. Now what is the Father's purpose? He's going to tell us in distinct, unmistakable terms. Look at verse 39.

26:08 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me. I've come to do his will. Well, Lord, what is your will? That of all that he hath given me, I will do it. I will do it. I will do it. I will do it.

26:20 I should lose nothing but raise it up at the last day. What could be clearer, dear ones, than this? He said, I've come to do my Father's will, and the Father's will is the salvation of his people. And so all that I do in life, in death, in resurrection, is that I shall bring to the Father, redeemed and glorified, all that he gave to me as my responsibility and my place as a mediator. Oh!

26:53 That he's given me, I should lose nothing but raise it up at the last day. And this is the will, verse 40, of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. There's the wonderful free offer of mercy. He that believes shall be saved. But, oh, beloved, trace it back to its source. Those who

27:18 believe are those who've been given, and those who've been given are the ones that he says, I have purchased with my blood and have purpose to save. Listen to the confession of our Lord in John chapter 10. Was he conscious of why he was about to offer up his sacrifice? What was the focus of God's plan in giving up his Son to death? Notice the confession of our Lord in John 10,

27:46 and I shall read with very little comment verses 7 and following.

27:54 The door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. Notice who the subject of this whole passage is, the sheep. I am the door. By me,

28:07 if any man enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes not, but for to steal and kill and to destroy. I am come that they, the sheep, might have life, not just have it offered, but have it and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He that is in hireling and not the shepherd whose

28:29 own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he's in hireling and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and have known of mine. And as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. Now notice, and other sheep I

28:53 have. Not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life for whom? For the sheep. To what end? That he'll gather his sheep from all the nations, that there shall be one

29:13 fold and one shepherd. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I've power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. Now notice the next phrase.

29:23 This commandment have I received of my Father. What commandment did he receive of the Father? To lay down his life for his sheep, to secure the salvation of his sheep, to secure the gathering together of his sheep under all the nations until there is one shepherd and one fold. Beloved, our Lord was conscious, not only of the plan of God and his relationship to it, but specifically of his death. He was conscious of the plan of God and his relationship to it, but specifically of his death.

29:54 In relationship to the plan of God. And that purpose, the focus of it, stated by our Lord himself, was that he should lay down his life for his sheep and thereby procure the salvation of his sheep of that great multitude of all the nations. And then when you begin to read some of these familiar gospel texts in that light, they begin to take on a new meaning. Their true meaning.

New Testament Testimony: Delivering and Purifying a People

30:21 The Son of Man is come to seek and to what? Save. To actually save. He's come to save that which is lost. This is a faithful saying and

30:34 worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world simply to provide salvation. No. To do what? To save sinners. So there's the testimony of our Lord at his inception made by

30:46 the angel, by his own confession. And then listen to the testimony of the writers of the New Testament. It was so hard to be selective here. There's so many passages. But let's look at just

30:56 several to see what was the focus of the Father's purpose in the death of Christ. Turn, if you will, please, first of all, to the book of Galatians. We'll try to move from right to left or left to right so we don't have to do too much flipping. Galatians chapter 1. Notice what we're trying to

31:15 discover now. What is the focus of the Father's purpose in the death of Christ? We can't look at that death apart from the purpose of God. Now what is the focus of that purpose? Here it is.

31:26 Verse 4. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might make us deliverable. No. But that he might what? Deliver us from this present evil world according to the

31:44 will of God our Father to whom be glory forever. He gave himself for our sins. His death had as its purpose to deliver a people from this present evil world in keeping with the will of the Father. So his death had as its goal the delivering of a people from this world, its system, its condemnation unto his own eternal kingdom. Listen to the testimony in Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians

32:16 chapter 5 and verse 25. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that he might make us deliverable. Now what is the focus of the book of Galatians? Make it sanctifiable and cleansable. You see? No. Christ's death did not just bring about the

32:42 potential sanctification and the potential salvation of his church. It says he died for the church in order to sanctify it and to cleanse it and to present it to himself a glorious church. In other words, when he went to the cross, he had on his heart his church. He loved his church, his sheep. He gave himself for his church that by that death he might secure

33:11 everything that was necessary to bring them out of a state of nature into a state of grace and ultimately into a state of glory. Oh, what love that drew salvation's plan. Oh, the grace that brought it down to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. This is the testimony

33:34 of the inspired writer. Turn, if you will, please, to the book of Titus, chapter 2, 1st and 2nd Timothy, then Titus, chapter 2. Still now trying to discover what is the focus of God's plan in giving up his son to death? Was it simply to do something in a nebulous way that would make salvation possible for everybody but secure to nobody? Or did he die to actually accomplish the

34:04 salvation? Of someone. Notice Titus, chapter 2, verses 13 and 14. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might make us redeemable? No, that he might actually redeem us and actually purify unto himself a

34:29 peculiar people zealous of good works. Why did he die? He died to have a redeemed, purified, zealous people. And that's what he's going to have as the fruit of his death. For he shall see of the

34:43 travail of his soul and be what? Satisfied. If he died to have a redeemed, purified, zealous people and he doesn't have a redeemed, zealous, purified people, then he cannot see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. He's died in vain. If he died to make some zealous and holy and redeemed

35:04 who are not ultimately redeemed and holy and zealous, he has died to have a redeemed, purified, in vain. He has spilt his blood for naught. The testimony of the book of Hebrews is perhaps the clearest of all in this area. Let's look at just several texts very quickly. Hebrews, chapter 2,

35:27 verses 14 and 15. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also likewise took part of the same that he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and actually deliver. Notice, he took part of flesh and blood that he might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. He became man and died as man that he might deliver fearful men.

36:04 Hebrews 9 and verse 26. For then he must often have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath appeared to put away sin. Not to make it possible for sin to be put away. Not to make it possible for sin to be put away. Not to make it possible for sin to be put away.

36:20 You see, this is the preaching of the gospel in our day. Christ has made possible the putting away of sin. The writer to the Hebrews says he actually put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Sin was put away on behalf of those for whom he died. All the demands of the law have been

36:39 satisfied. So do you see then that the focus of God's plan in relationship to the sacrifice of Christ was not simply to make salvation possible for all, but it was to actually secure the salvation of his sheep, of his church, of that people who'll be redeemed and purified and ultimately glorified. So having looked at the fact of Christ's sacrifice related to God's plan, the focus of that plan being the redemption of his people, in closing this morning let us consider the unfailing nature of that plan. Will that plan be realized? The scripture tells us as we started earlier this morning that he shall see of the

The Unfailing Nature of God's Plan: Christ's Satisfaction

37:20 travail of his soul and be satisfied. Some of you have gone through the travail of physical birth. Can you possibly imagine a woman who's carried that child next to her heart for all of those months and going down into the travail of birth and bringing forth a stillborn child and rejoicing?

37:44 Could she look upon her travail and be satisfied if she brought forth a stillborn child?

37:51 Impossible. Be the deepest grief to her heart. It's utterly unthinkable that our Lord should have gone down into a travail of soul that makes the deep travail of a woman in childbirth look like child's play when he, as it were, travailed for the salvation of a people. And it says he'll look upon that travail and he'll be satisfied. And the reason he'll be satisfied is because that for which he died was secured by the

38:23 purchase of his blood. And he'll realize it. He will realize it. All that the Father had in his heart from eternity, Christ had in his heart when he went to the cross.

38:35 And all that were in his heart upon the cross will ultimately be with him in glory. That's why the scripture says in Hebrews 12, to who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Despising its shame. What joy? I ask you this morning, what joy could there be in a death

38:55 that possibly would not save anyone? What joy? What could there be for the Son of God to enter into the jaws and the vice-like grip of the powers of darkness and death itself and be pressed down to the depths of hell if he had no assurance that that for which he died would be applied to anyone at all? But the fact that he went to the cross with his sheep upon his heart, conscious that the will of the Father was that he should give his life for his sheep and that all that the Father giveth him should come to him and he should lose nothing, the joy set before him.

39:30 The joy set before him was this, the joy of seeing that great multitude whom no man can number out of every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation redeemed, washed, sanctified, glorified, standing in his presence and be able to say, here I am, Father, I and the children whom thou hast given me. That was the joy set before him. And for that joy he was willing to go down into the bowels and the jaws of death and agony and hell itself. Dear dying lamb, thy precious blood.

40:03 It shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.

Every Obstacle Removed, Every Need Met

40:17 In that death, he purposed to remove every obstacle in the way of bringing many sons into glory. And when he bowed his head upon that cross and said, it is finished, he meant what he said. Every obstacle removed to bring many sons to glory. That great multitude whom no man can number.

40:36 We come to them and say, did you not break the holy law of God? And they confess, yes. Does not the scripture say, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them? And they say, yes, the curse of God was upon us.

40:51 Then we ask them, pray tell, how are you then in the presence of a holy God? And they point to the lamb in the midst of the throne and they quote Galatians 3.13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us.

41:05 We're here free of the curse of a broken law. Because he became a curse. He became a curse for us. We come to that great multitude and say, were you not like sheep who had gone astray?

41:16 Did not the prophet say, oh, we like sheep have gone astray? We've turned to our own way. Were you not sheep who went astray? And they say, yes, we were sheep who went astray.

41:26 And then they ask, how then are you in his presence? And they would point to that one and quote 1 Peter 3.18. He died for us, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.

41:38 We were as sheep going astray. But we are now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of our souls. We come to that multitude and say, did you not sell yourself to the devil to serve him? Doesn't the Bible say, who so committed sin is the servant of sin?

41:55 Did not Christ himself say, ye of your father the devil? How then are you as free men in the presence of Christ instead of in the servitude of the devil? And they would point to Hebrews 9.12 and say, The scripture declares, Christ obtained eternal redemption for us.

42:15 He put up the redemption price and brought us back from the service of the devil into his own loving service. We ask that great multitude, were you not enmeshed in sin and lust? Does not the scripture say that by nature we all walk according to the course of this world? How then are you in the presence of a holy God in a holy heaven with a holy Savior?

42:39 And they would say, because. He died for us that he might sanctify us. He gave himself for us that he might purify us. Every need was met.

42:51 We would ask that multitude, were you not exposed to hell because of your sin? Doesn't the scripture say the wages of sin is death? They would say, yes, but the lamb in the midst of the throne tasted death for us. So you see, dear ones, every single need, every single obstacle that would stand in the way of bringing that company to heaven, was met in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

An Atonement That Atones: Sufficient and Applied

43:18 You see, some people say, well, doesn't that limit the death of Christ? I ask you to think this morning. Is it limiting a death that actually saves men? Is it limiting the death of Christ to say that it secured everything necessary to take the slaves of the devil, the enemies, the rebels of God, and reconcile them to God in one day?

43:43 Bring them safely home to his presence? Beloved, that's an atonement that atones.

43:50 That's a sacrifice that attains its end. And wonder of wonders, that very sacrifice is offered to men freely, for it is sufficient for all men. It is suited to all men. It is urged upon all men for their acceptance.

44:07 God excludes none but those who will exclude themselves. He says, come, look, and live.

44:15 And by that death, he not only removed every obstacle to the sinner's salvation, but by that death, he secured everything necessary to actually apply that salvation. You see, it's one thing for redemption to be provided and accomplished, but now it needs to be applied. What assurance is there that what he purchased will be applied?

44:36 This is where you begin to see the marvelous interworkings of the triune God. Jesus said all that he was purchasing, he was purchasing. He was purchasing in accordance with the Father's purpose. The Father purposing, the Son purchasing.

44:52 And now Peter says in Acts 2.33, Christ exalted by the right hand of the Father hath shed forth this which ye see and hear, the Holy Spirit coming to apply with power that which was purchased by the Son in fulfillment of the Father's purpose. So the scripture pictures Christ as exalted at the right hand of the Father, giving repentance and remission. The redemption of sins by his Spirit.

45:19 The beautiful statement in our catechism that we're studying Sunday mornings in Sunday school. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by the Holy Spirit. How does the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?

45:41 The Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us. And thereby, by uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

45:52 His death was efficacious. It secured the desired end in that it formed the basis of the Spirit's mighty work in the hearts of those that are reconciled to God. Salvation is of the Lord, is the testimony of the prophet of the Lord. Father purposing, Son purchasing, Spirit applying.

Pastoral Application: To Unbelievers and Believers

46:14 And my closing word to each of you this morning is this. If you're here, a stranger to sanctification, if you don't know what it is to have a heart that's been bent toward holiness in thought and in motive, if you don't know what it is to have a heart bent toward doing the will of God from the heart, don't lay claim to being a partaker of the sacrifice of Christ. He died. He died to have a holy people.

46:43 A people who love Him. And He's going to have what He died for. Many of you believe in the objective fact that Christ died on the cross, but you've never viewed that fact in terms of the purpose of the Father. And how can you claim to be a benefactor of those facts while your life bears loud witness that you're a stranger to the purpose for which He died?

47:07 You're outside of the ark of safety. You're not in the state of grace. And yet it's my holy and awesome privilege and delight to urge upon you today to flee to Christ, to plead an interest in that mighty atoning work, which actually saves. Fall down before Him and ask Him to break your hardened, sin-loving heart.

47:30 You say, I can't repent. The scripture says He's exalted to give repentance. You say, I can't believe. It's called His gift.

47:37 And He's urged us to ask, to seek, to knock. And He's promised that He shall seek me and find me when you search me with all your heart. And so I urge you to seek the Lord in a way of repentance and faith. Call upon Him.

47:52 And I say to you who are His children, stand back and marvel and wonder this morning. If you stand here this morning under the canopy of the precious blood of Christ, it's not because He did something for nobody in particular and you just happen to be smart enough to say, I think I'll take a little bit of that. The only reason you stand under the canopy of His blood this morning, consciously forgiven, is because He had you on His heart when He died. And the reason He had you on His heart when He died was because He had you on His heart when He died.

48:25 And the reason He had you on His heart when He died the Father had you in his heart from eternity.

48:29 Oh, what place for awe and wonder for the children of God, worshiping and adoring him. And then what an incentive to give him all that he purchased. He purchased us that we might be holy, that we might be zealous of good works. And our prayer should be, Lord Jesus, receive the full reward of your sufferings in my life.

48:53 How we should hate that which put him to death, our sins. How we should long to proclaim a mighty Savior who actually saves, a sacrifice that actually secures the salvation of men. How we should plead it as the basis of forgiveness, as the fountain of all grace, and as the foundation of our hopes for glory.

49:15 Is this to limit the atonement? No, my dear ones. It's simply to set it forth in all of its glory as an atonement that actually atones, as a Savior who actually saves. And he excludes none from this canopy of blessing but those that exclude themselves.

49:32 For he says, come. The scripture says, look. The scripture says, live. I plead with you to turn to Jesus Christ, God's anointed high priest.

49:44 He that believeth shall be saved. What is belief in Christ? As our high priest, it means to throw the weight of the soul upon him, pleading no access to God but that which he procures. Cured upon the cross, looking away from your guilt to the one who bore the guilt of sinners and promises that those that come he'll in no wise cast out.

50:09 I plead with you to flee to Christ, to rest the weight of your soul upon him as he's offered in the gospel. My friend, don't take your sin lightly. God didn't take human sin lightly. And if you die without the canopy of the protection of his blood, you die to face the curse and wrath of a holy God.

50:28 May you flee to Christ. Embrace him as your only hope of mercy. Confess him as your high priest as well as your prophet and your king. The death of Christ was voluntary.

50:41 What he did, he did willingly. Objective, he did with reference to God. He did on behalf of sinners. He did in bearing the wrath of God against sin.

50:51 And what he did will attain its end. It was an efficacious death. And that blood shall never lose its power. Till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.

51:04 And I'm sure there's some of you who perhaps have enough understanding of some of the areas of controversy perhaps that have arisen around some of the issues I've touched this morning. I plead with you this morning, throw aside prejudice, throw aside preconceived notions and go down on your knees and open your Bible and ask God to show you whether or not the sacrifice of Christ, Christ secured something for somebody or simply made something possible for nobody. That's the issue at stake. And I would not want to proclaim a savior who did less than save his people.

51:45 May God grant that we shall trust him, love him, adore him, serve him, proclaim him. Let us pray.