25-1221sc Transcript

(0:04) Okay, we’re going to be looking at Lesson 9. (0:08) And from the title, you can see that we’re going to be focusing in on Jesus being our (0:15) propitiation, our sacrifice, and how that worked out. Let’s have a word of prayer, (0:21) and then we’ll get started. Heavenly Father, we come to you at this time, (0:25) thanking you for the opportunity we have to be able to come here safely, and weather permitting, (0:31) we have been able to.

We thank you for the measure of safety and health that we enjoy (0:39) that enables us to come together as brothers and sisters in Christ, to glorify you, (0:44) and to worship you, and to study your word. We know that you are jealous of your word, (0:51) and you would like for us to be in it as often as we can, and understand it, and be able to (0:56) have the understanding and insight that Paul asks that you bless the congregation with. (1:03) We continue to study about the redemption, and how that you have worked out our redemption, (1:12) and the forgiveness of our sins, to be able to provide us with the righteousness that we need (1:18) to be in your presence.

We thank you so much for Jesus' role that he played in our salvation, (1:24) and we’re so grateful and thankful for his willingness to do that. We know that it is (1:30) because of his grace towards us that this is possible. We know, according to the Hebrew (1:38) letter, that when given the opportunity to do so, he willingly did it, and he looked forward (1:45) to doing it.

We thank you for this, and all the blessings we have in our salvation. (1:52) Pray these things in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

I don’t have any words of wisdom to start us out (2:04) with today. We’ll just get right into it, and then if there’s anything that comes up that I (2:11) would like to expound on, I shall. So he starts out with the title, Victorious Conquest Through (2:20) Our Sin Offering, and of course he’s referring to Jesus, and the role that Jesus played in being (2:27) our sin offering.

And he’s also going to point out, and I think we’ve already emphasized this, (2:37) and that is that man cannot know what he has to do in order to be right beside God. He has to be God. (2:55) He shares that with us, and it has to be his initiative, and it is his initiative.

He (3:05) planned it before the creation of the world. We see that in Ephesians, the first chapter. (3:12) And we can see that we do need salvation because it is impossible for us to live in (3:20) our lives daily without altering and sinning, and so we need to have the (3:27) continual forgiveness of our sins.

And that point is going to be given in this lesson, (3:34) how that Jesus continues to forgive us of our sins from the day that we’re baptized (3:43) to the day he comes to redeem us. He continues to be the sin offering, and so there is therefore (3:54) now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. I said I didn’t have any foreword, but I (4:01) did.

So any questions or comments or observations? Okay, very good. So let’s get into it then. (4:14) We have studied that redemption through the bootstraps method is impossible.

In other words, (4:21) we ourselves cannot say to ourselves, I’m going to live sinfully or sinlessly. (4:29) Sinful flesh simply does not have enough power to be righteous through self-effort. (4:38) If God does not provide to save man, man will remain without hope and without God in the world.

(4:50) There’s the aim of the following three lessons, to study the person and work of Christ as the (4:57) ground of our justification, which God has provided. First, we must see Christ’s work (5:06) at Calvary as sufficient to provide that justification, and then see that Christ Jesus (5:13) is himself the object of our faith, the law of sin and death. And we know that Genesis 2 (5:25) is when God put into effect the law of sin and death.

And so when he said to Adam, (5:32) in the day that you should eat of this tree, you shall die. So he gave him the law, (5:38) don’t eat of the tree, through the knowledge of good and evil. And he said that if you do, (5:45) you sin, you die, the law of sin and death.

So our biggest (5:53) thing is keeping ourselves from sin, because that is the power that Satan has (6:00) as a hold over us, is our sin. And so the main thing is, what we need to realize is that (6:09) God is taking the initiative to remove us from the law of sin and death. And that’s the reason why (6:17) there is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, (6:20) because we’re going to be removed from the law of sin and death.

And where there is no law, (6:26) there is no sin, because law makes us aware that we have fallen short ourselves. (6:37) God told the man and the woman in the Paradise Garden that sin would bring their death, (6:43) and this is 2.17, their transgression ushered in the law of sin and death, which is yet operative (6:52) in the earth. In effect, that law says if you sin, you must die.

In relation to this subject, (7:01) consider what death is. So the thought just went through my head, but it just passed by and I (7:11) didn’t catch it. So it may come back to me here.

Oh, what it is. The reason why the law of sin and (7:21) death is continually operated today, because the only way you can get out of the law of sin and (7:28) death is to come to God through Jesus, because that’s when we die to sin. That’s when we die (7:35) to the law.

There’s no law, because we’re removed from the law when we become a Christian. We’re no (7:42) longer under the law. If we quit being a Christian, and if we should decide that we don’t want to have (7:50) anything to do with Christ, we’re back into the law of sin and death.

It’s just a default. I can’t (7:57) remember that word when I want to remember it. It’s a default.

It’s computer terminology. It’s a default. (8:06) And default is the law of sin and death.

So what death is. Isaiah said that your iniquities have (8:16) separated between you and your God. Isaiah 59 verse 2. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, and you did (8:25) he make alive when you were dead through your transgressions and sins.

Ephesians 2 verse 1. (8:34) Sin brings death to the lawbreaker by separating him from the life of God. (8:41) Inasmuch as we are alive physically prior to the time of our salvation, being made alive must (8:50) necessarily speak of another quality of life. That quality of life which God gives to the sinner (8:58) is eternal life.

1 John chapter 1. This is what is lost through sin and what is regained at the (9:09) point of justification. Consequently, the death which sin brings is separation from the eternal (9:17) life which every man possesses at birth. And so I always want to remember that when a child dies, (9:25) he doesn’t need to be baptized like the Catholics baptize.

He doesn’t need to have that priest (9:33) doing whatever he does over the placenta and all that good stuff if they have a (9:41) miscarriage or whatever. When we’re born into the world, we are without sin, we are perfect, (9:48) and we have eternal life. And should we die before we become of age and know that we have sinned, (9:57) we’re going to be with God eternally in heaven because sin has not separated us and we haven’t (10:03) sinned.

So the writer, Satan’s power, and of course we’re wanting to recognize the fact that (10:13) Satan has power over us when we’re sinned because he’s able to say sin and God will not allow sin (10:22) in the heaven. God cannot tolerate sin. God doesn’t want sin anywhere.

So if Satan can accuse us of (10:32) sin and the law verifies the fact that we have sin, that’s his power. And so he can keep us from (10:42) going to heaven. He can keep us from getting the enter thou in judgment, enter in thou faithful (10:52) servant.

So Satan’s power, the writer of Hebrews speaks of him that half the power of death, (11:01) that is the devil. He has the power of death. The word for power means dominion.

(11:09) Thus, when one sins, he is held in the dominion of Satan. Satan’s power to dominate men, (11:18) to reign over their destiny, is sin. Sin is what gives him the power to reign over our destiny.

(11:28) Romans 6, verse 23, and 1 Corinthians 15. Since men are themselves powerless to break free from (11:38) that dominance and gain their life back, that death hold must be broken by one stronger than (11:47) the devil. In other words, Satan’s death hold on us is strong and must be broken by someone who (11:56) is stronger, and that obviously is going to be Jesus, Christ, our sin offering.

At the cross, (12:05) Christ paid the price for sin and broke the power of the adversary. In this great act lies the very (12:14) heart of Christianity. For the death of Jesus not only gave us a new and better covenant, (12:22) but made for us a provision unto salvation without which the new covenant would be worthless.

That (12:32) provision was Christ’s own sacrifice of himself to God. So what we want to recognize is God wants (12:41) to establish this new covenant that he predicted through Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31, 31. He wanted to (12:48) establish this covenant, but he can’t establish it without creating a new priesthood (12:56) and the right sacrifice.

This covenant has to have the righteous blood of Jesus in order to put it (13:08) into effect. And so even though God has it in his mind that he wants to establish this new covenant (13:16) which provides forgiveness of sins and the erasing of remembrance of sin, because God is (13:28) the only one who can erase remembrance, that power cannot go into effect until the right sacrifice (13:37) and the right blood is offered as a sacrifice for that new covenant. So that’s what he’s (13:46) trying to point out to us.

At the cross, Christ paid the price for sin and broke the power of (13:53) the adversary. In this great act lies the very heart of Christianity. For the death of Jesus not (13:59) only gave us a new and better covenant, and he’s talking about that covenant that God wanted to put (14:06) into effect, better covenant, but made for us a provision unto salvation without which the new (14:13) covenant would be worthless.

And later on down the road he’s going to be talking about how that (14:22) this covenant is like that of a will. You have a will for your family when you pass away, (14:30) and that will stipulates what you want done for your family, how you want to disperse things, (14:39) and so on. But that will does not go into effect until that person dies, or the right (14:48) is done.

So the only way that this new covenant is going to go into effect is when Jesus dies, (14:56) and his blood is offered as a sacrifice for us. So then God can initiate the new covenant, (15:05) and only then. Any questions? Comments? Okay.

Jesus’s death was substitutionary. He died the (15:16) death we should have died, and paid the penalty for our law-breaking. God’s love for us caused him (15:27) to substitute Jesus at Calvary for the death we sinners should die.

Isaiah said, (15:35) he was cut off of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke (15:43) was due. Isaiah 53. Humanity committed the crime, but Jesus took the wrath.

(15:52) Now he’s going to point out here that the word for means in behalf. The word for, (16:01) in each of the following passages, is the Greek word huper, which is a word of substitution. (16:11) The word huper means in behalf of.

Thus, Paul taught that while we were yet sinners, Christ (16:20) died for us, in behalf of. Romans 5. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for (16:31) us all, in behalf of. Romans 8 32.

Christ died for our sins, for our sins, in behalf. One died (16:42) for all, therefore all died. Second Corinthians.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins. (16:55) The Son of God gave himself up for me. Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, (17:05) an offering and a sacrifice to God.

So he’s emphasizing the fact that every time this word (17:13) for shows up, it means in behalf of us. The real meaning of Christ and him crucified (17:22) clearly emerges when these passages, when we understand that Christ’s death took the place (17:30) of our death. Therefore, we who are in Christ do not have to pay the price of our sins.

(17:39) He died in our stead for—that’s the word for is italicized, emphasized—he died in our stead (17:50) for us. He is—and he wants us to stress the present tense—he is our substitutionary sacrifice. (18:04) Continues to be.

Christ himself becomes sin for us. At the cross, Jesus died the death (18:13) which unsaved sinners must experience. Notice carefully what happened.

What he’s pointing out (18:21) there is we’re unsaved sinners until we become Christians. And if we continue to be unsaved (18:28) sinners, we’re subject to the death penalty—go to hell. And that’s the death penalty—separation (18:35) from God, being eternally in hell.

So Jesus was separated from God for our sakes, Isaiah prophesies. (18:46) And so he wants us to realize that when Christ was on the cross, he is saying, (18:53) my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And so he wants us to realize that Jesus was (19:00) separated from God for our sake. And he quotes Isaiah 53.

He was wounded for our transgressions. (19:11) He was bruised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, (19:18) and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone (19:26) his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on Jesus the inequity of us all. So that’s Isaiah 53.

(19:40) Isaiah continues to teach that God would make his soul an offering for sin, his being Jesus. (19:51) That Jesus shall bear their inequities. (19:56) And that Jesus will bear the sin of many and make intercession for the transgressors.

(20:04) The language is unmistakable that Christ is our sin offering. This is just what the Apostle Paul (20:13) taught in 2 Corinthians 5 21. Quote, him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf.

(20:24) Christ at the cross died the death of a sinner. And we know that because he was hanging on the (20:33) cross. And being on the cross is a no-no in the Jewish faith.

Because what is it recognized? (20:44) It recognizes the fact that the person who’s hanging on the cross is a sinner. Period. So (20:50) God put Jesus on the cross to be the symbol of sin.

And so he’s dying the death of a sinner. (21:00) And he’s dying that death for you and me. For all mankind who wants to come to him through Jesus.

(21:06) Any questions? Comments? Yes. I heard one (21:15) man, he was preaching on this. He was denying that Jesus died for us.

But these scriptures are (21:27) showing that he did. That’s exactly right. And he sure needs to read those scriptures.

That’s (21:36) one of the reasons why I think this man wrote this book, is to help us to appreciate the fact (21:49) that that observation is wrong. And that the observation that Jesus died for us is the correct (21:57) way. So this is just what the Apostle Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5 21.

Him who knew no sin, (22:10) he made to be sin on our behalf. Christ at the cross died the death of a sinner. (22:20) God viewed him as he views a sinner in his sin separated from God.

(22:27) This explains quite easily the otherwise difficult statement from the cross. My God, (22:35) my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And that’s the reason why he’s hanging there on the cross. He’s (22:41) become sin, and sin has separated him from God, and he’s dying for us.

So my God, my God, (22:51) why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus said this because God had forsaken him for our sakes, (22:59) thus fulfilling Isaiah’s Jehovah. Jehovah laid on him the iniquity of us all. And that’s Edward’s (23:11) understanding about that passage in that scripture.

Any questions about that? (23:18) How that God put him in our place, and Jesus is really laden with our sins, and so God (23:30) is recognizing the fact that Jesus is dying for our sins. And so he’s forsaken him, just like he (23:39) would us. And so he’s dying for us, and he’s becoming us.

That’s the best I can say. (23:55) Notice carefully that the agony of the cross was not merely physical. The physical agony of Christ (24:04) on the cross was surely the same as the physical suffering of ten thousands of crucifixions (24:12) by the Romans.

In other words, Jesus' suffering really was real, and he had to undergo that (24:23) discomfort that we would have. His suffering is best described by Isaiah when he says of God, (24:31) he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. In other words, God is looking at (24:40) this, and the sacrifice is being offered.

God is being pacified. God is satisfied. There is the (24:52) agony of Calvary, agony of soul.

Actually, separated from his God, he travailed in his (25:01) separation from God so that we would not have to be separated. The price of our indebtedness (25:10) has been paid by another at Calvary. Thank God for his unspeakable gift.

And you know, that’s a (25:20) difficult comprehension. It is difficult to comprehend that particular application. (25:31) I marvel at people like Ed Wharton and the way that they logic and the way they have (25:39) this intuition and understanding.

I don’t know if you’ve ever read his obituary because he passed (25:48) away last month or something, and I read his obituary. The man was phenomenal. He was just (25:59) immersed in the Word, period.

So, God erased the record of our sins, or Jesus rather, erased the (26:10) record of our sins by his own death. He quotes Colossians 2. Having blotted out the bond written (26:23) in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, he hath taken it out of the way, (26:31) nailing it to the cross. And I like to think in those terms how the law is written in the book.

(26:47) We have them on the register. We have laws here in Cleveland. We have laws in Loraine.

We have (26:54) laws in Versailles. But they have to be endorsed, and they have to be on the book. And in order for (27:01) a policeman to be able to stop you and enforce that law, he has to be able to appeal to the (27:07) regulation that’s on the record.

And if he can’t appeal to that regulation on the record, he can’t (27:14) stop you. He doesn’t have any power. So Satan has power, but it’s only because the law gives him (27:22) that power.

The law says, thou shalt not covet. So if he catches you coveting, he can arrest you (27:29) and convict you. So what he’s pointing out here is that when Jesus went on the cross, (27:38) he removed the law.

He took us out of the law. And so therefore, those of us who die with him (27:48) in baptism, we are raised in a newness of life. We are out of the law, and Satan has no power over us.

(27:59) So what Jesus has done is he’s taken and removed Satan’s power over us, because the only power (28:08) that Satan has over us is the law. And if he can prove that we violated the law, (28:17) then he has power. And he can say to God, you can’t justify him.

He broke this law. (28:24) And God has to yield to him, because it is the law. But Jesus erased that and nailed the law to (28:33) the cross.

And so where there is no law, there is no sin. And so there’s no law. (28:43) Satan don’t have any power over us, because his power is sin.

And sin is the only thing that he (28:53) has to hold against us. So he’s removed it. Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances, (29:04) that’s the law, that was against us, which was contrary to us, he has taken it out of the way, (29:14) nailing it to the cross.

In other words, the Old Testament, the Mosaic law, the law of sin and death, (29:25) has been eliminated for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. And that’s the reason why Paul (29:32) was able to say, there is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. (29:37) Because where does the condemnation come from? It comes from the law.

(29:42) And without the law, there’s no condemnation. Here’s the concept that I have, and that is (29:52) that Satan thinks he’s got Jesus where he is because of his sin. But he has been wrongly convicted, (30:03) and God is able to say to Satan, Jesus is not subject to the law.

He did not sin, and he is not (30:15) to be condemned, and therefore I can raise him from the grave and reverse the verdict. So that’s (30:22) the reason why he was on the cross, because they thought that he committed blasphemy. Thank you.

(30:33) Because he committed blasphemy. And that’s the reason why they put him on the cross, (30:37) is because they thought for sure that he was blaspheming when he said he was equal to God, (30:44) and that God was his father. So that’s the reason why that was the tool that got him on the cross, (30:51) is they thought that he committed sins.

But God, as the final judge, says, no, he is my son. (31:02) And because he is my son, he did not lie, he did not sin, he did not commit blasphemy. He is my son, (31:11) and that gave him the right to bring him up from the grave, and to put him in the right position (31:19) of being our high priest at the right hand side of God.

And so you are right, absolutely. And with that (31:29) closing off, I agree with that. As a result of the law, the purpose of the command was, (31:42) it all goes back to the covenant.

They had one choice to follow God. (31:53) And they broke that one commandment, one law, and they were living under (32:03) God’s wonderful grace. They were as if they were children.

(32:08) They grew up, so to speak, and made the choice to be autonomous from God, from what he said. (32:18) By them breaking the law, it was man who broke the law, made him guilty. That’s why he got punished, (32:28) man got punished, Satan got punished, and it ushered in a whole period now where man has (32:38) the knowledge of good and evil.

Therefore God added all the laws that show good and evil. (32:47) That’s why he added to the law of Moses, so many laws. Hey, you want to be autonomous? (32:54) Now you have to follow all these laws.

And he knew man couldn’t do it. And the whole purpose was (33:02) for Christ to come and undo all the evil that Satan did. First John, his letter says, (33:10) the reason Jesus came was to destroy the works of Satan, and put him back to the garden.

(33:18) And Satan being the murderer from the beginning, the father of all lives, and the liar, (33:23) and to eat food, and to die, and to die, and to eat the food, and to be like God. Okay, (33:32) now that you’ve sinned, you’re more like God. Now you know God was a good and evil, (33:38) and every time you break that law, you’re a sinner and good, (33:44) free from death.

I mean, Paul tells us that’s why there were so many laws added to, you know, (33:52) the Old Testament, the law of Moses, to make it impossible to live by that law. The law itself (34:02) wasn’t wrong. It was man who thought he could be autonomous from God, and make his own decisions.

(34:11) But the whole point is, man needs to be dependent on God. Therefore, Jesus had to come (34:17) and establish this new law, this new covenant that goes away with the old law, that makes us guilty. (34:25) It wasn’t law that we were the flawed ones, yet we thought we could be like God.

Now that wasn’t (34:32) that hard to say, you think? No, God doesn’t want you to eat that food. He doesn’t like you. (34:38) And, you know, so now we live under grace, and that continuity, or when we accept God, (34:46) the law is taken away, nailed to the cross, and we continuously have this blood (34:53) rinsing us clean, and no law, you know, we’re no longer under the law of sin and death.

(35:03) And God is expected to enforce the law, but He hasn’t been, because He forgave men along the way. (35:14) Under what basis did He forgive them of their sins? He didn’t have the right to forgive them (35:21) of their sins. And so He’s being condemned.

He’s being, God is being condemned. (35:33) Exactly, exactly, because God wanted to put into effect a law that enabled Him to forgive us of (35:42) our sins. Up until then, He was not able to forgive us of our sins.

The question was, (35:49) why is God forgiving these men, like David and Abraham and the others that He forgave men? (36:00) Well, it’s 20 after, so we’ll stop here.