Victorious Redemption in Christ JESUS, "The LORD our Righteousness"
We must never be vague or unclear about the substitutionary death of our Lord Jesus Christ. To merely say to this religious generation, “Christ died for sinners,” is to dodge the issue and not tell all the truth. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was a victorious death for a particular people. “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). “I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Let
me be as clear as I can be. It is blasphemous to say that Christ died
for those who will someday perish in their sins. How demeaning it is to
the Savior to insist that He suffered the infinite wrath of God for
some people who will themselves also suffer divine wrath. A just and
righteous Judge could not punish any sinner whose sin debt has already
been retired by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Scriptures teach that the design of the LORD from old eternity was THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE. In covenant grace, Christ assumed full
responsibility for the spiritual indebtedness of those given to Him by
the Father in the covenant of grace. According to the Word of God, the
purpose of the Savior in His death has been realized. His sheep have
been redeemed. “He obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).
Christ
bought His people with His blood and it is absurd to think that He
would purchase some and then not have them with Him for all eternity.
Universal redemption is a lie. It says that Christ died for all men
without exception, but His blood is only effectual if the sinner adds
his part, which is usually said to be faith.
Such
teaching makes salvation conditioned upon, not the bloody death of
Christ, but the belief of the sinner. Some who object to the truth of
particular redemption say, “According to what you are preaching, there
are some people in this world for whom the Lord Jesus did not die and
that really bothers me.” I will tell you something infinitely worse.
If
what the universalists say is true (and it isn’t!) then there are
myriads of people in hell whose sins have been made an end of, whose
transgressions are finished, for whom reconciliation has been made for
their iniquity, and everlasting righteousness has been brought in by
Messiah (see Daniel 9:24).
What
a travesty of divine justice that would be! Sinners perishing in hell
even though Christ redeemed them? There’s nothing righteous about
that! In fact, using today’s legal language, that would be double jeopardy!
Here
is the simple and glorious truth: Christ died in the stead of His
chosen people and fully satisfied divine justice for them. All that a
holy God demanded for their salvation, the Savior fully accomplished, as He said, “IT IS FINISHED” (John 19:30).
His was a victorious redemption that really redeemed; it was a reconciliation that actually reconciled; it was an atonement that fully atoned and a propitiation that completely satisfied divine justice.
-preacher Jim Byrd of Thirteenth Street Baptist church located in Ashland, Kentucky USA
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