The Heart of the Gospel

“My times are in Thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.” -Psalm 31:15 [KJV]

 

In 1825 A.D., Wm. Freeman Lloyd wrote the following words based on this verse of scripture.


My times are in Thy hands; my God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave entirely to Thy care.
My times are in Thy hands, whatever they may be;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem to Thee.


My times are in Thy hands; why should I doubt or fear?
A Father’s hand will never cause His child a needless tear.
My times are in Thy hands, Jesus the crucified;
Those hands my sins had pierced are now my guardian and my guide.
 

My times are in Thy hands, grant faith to trust in Thee;
For after death at Thy right hand, I shall forever be.

----------------- 

 I read an article by a preacher where he took great pains to try to prove that Christ was not “made sin for His people” by imputation but by some other “mysterious way” that we cannot explain. I wanted to remind this preacher that in God’s Word, our Lord is called “the Surety of a better testament” (Hebrews 7:22). I would like to ask this preacher, “Do you know what a surety is?" 

A surety is one who has become legally liable for the debt, default, or failure in duty of another. Before the foundation of the world Christ was willingly responsible for the sin-debt of His people, chosen and given to Him by His Father. He was legally accountable to pay their debt to God’s justice as their Substitute by His obedience unto death for their sins imputed (charged, accounted) to Him – “Wherefore in all things it behoved (Greek word for debt) Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). 


How could Christ, the innocent and spotless Lamb Who knew know sin and did no sin, legally and justly die in our place for our sins unless those sins were legally and justly made to be His? And how could our sin-debt become His sin-debt unless that sin-debt was legally and justly charged to His account, and which sin-debt He willingly took upon Himself in covenant with His Father. 
This is how He was “made sin” and how we who believe are “made the righteousness of God in Him.” 

The mechanism that makes all of this possible, legal, just, and honoring to God is imputation. This involves God, the righteous Judge, NOT charging our sins to us (Romans 8:33-34), charging our sins to Christ our Surety, Substitute, and Redeemer, and charging His righteousness to us (Romans 4:6-8; II Corinthians 5:21). This is the heart of the Gospel!


-preacher Bill Parker 

 

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