Sermon Tone Analysis

2008-06-29pm Lord’s Day 15 Atonement

 

          Tonight we’re looking at the atonement.

Atonement is necessary because of what it says in Romans 6.23.

The wages of sin is death.

This is true.

This is reality.

Sin equals death.

God designed the universe in that way.

The penalty of sin, the penalty for disobeying God, is death.

But the most remarkable thing is this.

In making that decree, in making that judgement, by having His justice demand that the consequence of sin is death, God was in fact signing his own Son’s death warrant.

Think of it!

It blows your mind!

Usually, when we think of the wages of sin equalling death, we think only in terms of the cost to humanity.

But the cost of humanity’s sin is much greater than human death.

The cost of humanity’s sin is the death of God’s very own Son.

And the most remarkable thing in the world is that God not only knew that that would happen, He designed the world to work that way.

A huge debate in philosophy concerns this question: “Could God have created a world without sin?”

It remains a big debate because, since we’re not God, we can’t really answer that question.

Besides, it reminds me of what Pastor John said to the graduates last night.

It is kind of question that gets people to buy lottery tickets.

Imagine what you could do if you had such and such.

I won’t try to sing the song, “If I Had a Million Dollars” but the question, “Could God have created a world without sin” is a fruitless question.

It doesn’t deal with reality.

The reality is that God created the world we live in.

The world we live in has been torn by sin.

God cursed it.

But when God pronounced his curse on Adam and Eve and the earth, God knew that He was also placing a curse on his Son.

And that is the most amazing graciousness the world has ever seen.

For in suffering unto death, Christ atoned for our sin that “he might set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God's grace, righteousness, and eternal life.”

The Christian rock band, Newsboys, have a song that hits this on the head.

The lyrics go like this, “When we get what we don’t deserve, it’s a real good thing.

When we don’t get what we deserve, it’s a real good thing.”

Did you catch it?

When we get what we don’t deserve, that is, everlasting life, freedom from eternal condemnation, grace and righteousness, it is a very good thing.

When we don’t get what we deserve, that is eternal condemnation, that’s a very good thing.

That’s what the atonement is all about.

It is Christ suffering in our place, taking our sin upon himself, dying, paying for our sin, and then, having justified all of us, He grants us grace, righteousness, freedom and everlasting life.

God did not spare His own Son, his wrath against sin.

Look at our passage from Isaiah.

It’s familiar, we know it well.

But concentrate on the message: verse 4, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.”

This is wild.

Christ placed upon himself, all the suffering we deserved.

Then, we have the gall to look at him, see him suffering under our sin, bearing the wrath of God that was due us, and we brush it off as, “God is smiting him.

God is afflicting him.

He’s getting what he deserves!”

No he isn’t!

He’s getting what we deserve!

Verse 5.  God wounded him for our sins.

God crushed him because we sinned against God.

God’s discipline fell on him, and bought us peace.

His whippings brought us healing.

Every time the whip came down and tore a strip of flesh from his body, we gained healing.

          Oh, there is some truth within a so-called health and wealth gospel.

But if that gospel doesn’t mention the suffering of Christ, it is not really a gospel.

It is works righteousness, or it is a mockery of God’s true grace and God’s true blessing.

They say, “God desires to bless us.”

Yes, that is true, but God’s blessing comes at the cost of the pain and suffering and death of his Son.

This is why, when we celebrate communion with God, we do not remember John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Rather, we remember John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

We remember the Lord’s death until He comes again.

We don’t remember the Lord’s love, as a lovey, dovey, touchy, feely, indistinct, indescribable, emotional something, we remember the Lord’s love as when he gave up His life for His friends, you and me, and all whom the Father has given him.

The Lord God, laid upon Christ, all our iniquity, all our sin, all our suffering, everything we deserved in punishment, God put everything upon Christ.

Christ willingly suffered though he was innocent.

There were no threats, no plots of revenge, and no cries for the injustice of it all.

He simply allowed the sins to be heaped upon him.

*7*     Verse seven.

It was God’s will to crush him.

To put him to grief, so that his soul makes an offering for guilt.

That’s the cost of sin.

Not only that we die, that we suffer in this life, but that God himself suffered, bore the curse, paid the price and set us free.

This gets further explanation in Romans, so let’s turn to chapter 3.

          Verse 21: the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

The law is not the path of righteousness.

The law and the prophets point to the path of righteousness, so that when righteousness came, we would recognise it.

Righteousness is Christ.

Christ was manifested, that is revealed, identified, shown, made known.

By living, breathing, walking, eating, having fellowship with people, like you and me, in Israel.

He is real.

He lived on earth.

He is alive in Heaven.

He is who he said he is.

He is the image of the invisible God!

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

In order to receive this righteousness, Christ’s righteousness, we have to believe in Christ.

Yes, it is that simple.

We believe that Jesus is who he said he is, God’s Son, our saviour.

Verse 23: there is no distinction: everyone on earth is in the same boat.

All have sinned.

All have fallen short of God’s glory.

There is not one single person who is alive, who ever lived, or who will ever live who can live up to Christ’s standards, God’s standards.

Every single person, by his own merit, still sins, still falls short, still deserves eternal punishment.

Verse 24: those who are justified, are justified by God’s grace, as a gift.

A gift cannot be earned.

A gift is given graciously and freely given, usually because the person giving the gift loves the receiver.

They want to bless the person receiving the gift with the gift.

No repayment is required or expected.

And if someone were to insist on giving something in return, it would be refused.

We are justified by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.