Christ Gave His Life for the sheep

 The Lord Jesus Christ stated specifically, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). Who are His sheep? They are the ones whom the Father gave Him and made Him to be their Surety before the world began (John 6:37; 2 Tim. 1:9). Yes! Jesus Christ appeared in this world as a Representative, Surety, and Substitute of a people given to Him by the Father before the world began. Both His life and His death were vicarious. (Vicarious according to the dictionary means something performed or endured by one person substituting for another or appearing in the place of another.) In Romans 8:33 His sheep are identified as “God’s elect.” It says, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth.” 

All of Gods elect have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (see Ephesians 1:3-7). And this insures that all His sheep will HEAR HIS VOICE in the preaching of the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and they will be preserved by God unto glory (John 10:27-30). To view the death of Christ in any other way is to view His death as a vain attempt by an impotent god, who sacrificed his son for nothing. To view His death in any other way destroys the wisdom of God, violates the justice of God, and turns the love of God into a mere empty passion. Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, and according to the scriptures, His death was vicarious for His sheep. 

-copied