God the Father put His dear Son into the sinner’s place. Voluntarily the divine Savior took upon Himself human flesh, and came under the law, and by an almighty act, JEHOVAH laid upon Jesus the iniquity of us all. Christ bore our sins and carried them away. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. His five wounds, striped back, thorn-crowned brow, and marred face tell what He suffered. He was the Substitute, the Sin Bearer, and Sacrifice. The Just for the unjust, God made Christ to be sin for us, Jesus was made a Curse for us. Man was offensive to God, and God must punish him. But Christ stepped in, and bore the consequences due to man's sin. Behold the dear Son of God who took the offender’s place. The Judge stands where the criminal should stand and is numbered with the transgressors.
The wrath of God fell upon the well-beloved Son of God, Jesus suffers that He may reconcile God to sinful man. He healed the breach which sin had caused. The deed is done. The redeemed sinner is no more offensive to heaven. His merits, ours demerits; His beauty, ours foulness. By His obedience unto death the divine Law is vindicated, divine justice is satisfied, and grace is glorified.
The main truth – Christ in the sinner’s place, Christ bearing the sinner’s sin, Christ smitten with the sinner’s stripes, and by His stripes He heals sinners and puts away their sin. Make this precious truth plain to all. Unveil the mystery of the Incarnate God bleeding in the sinner’s place. Sound it in the sinner's ears over and over again, the Precious Blood – spend all your strength, direct their attention to the Lamb of God. He left His heavenly throne and majestic crown, He came to earth especially for you, but in Bethlehem He found no room, the heavenly host sang His praise, He came to earth as a Jewish baby in great humility. He was born in a lowly cattle shed, a manger was His bed, He came down from heaven to earth, He was Lord of all, His shelter was a stable, His cradle was a stall, His whole childhood He honored and obeyed, He was little and weak and helpless, tears and smiles both He knew, He felt sadness and gladness. He had no where to lay His head, His bed was the ground in the deserts of Galilee. With mocking scorn and crown of thorns, they led Him to Calvary. Now His Cross is my only plea.
Faith believes what God has revealed concerning Christ, and trusts in Christ alone. Believe that Jesus was God’s Son, that God sent Him into the world to save sinners. He became the Substitute to divine justice for all. Jesus is my Substitute and I am clear before God. Jesus died for me, now God’s justice cannot put me to eternal death. God’s truth cannot demand a second payment for a debt, which has already been fully paid. Whosoever will trust in Jesus shall be saved, saved the moment He trusts, in Jesus. Those sinners that refuse to trust in Jesus are condemned already, because He hath not believed on the Son of God. Trusting in Jesus, believing in Jesus, that is the root of the matter. To believe in the Son of God is the main point, nothing else.
The plan of Salvation is so very simple: It consists in the Substitution of Christ in the place of the sinner, Christ being treated as if He was the sinner, and the sinner being treated as if He were the Righteous one. God Incarnate bled in the sinner’s place. It is a change of persons, Christ became the sinner, He stands in the sinner’s place and stead, He was numbered with the transgressors; the sinner becomes righteous He stands in Christ’s place, and is numbered with the righteous ones. Christ has no sin of His own, but He takes human guilt, and is punished for human sin. We have no righteousness of our own but we take His divine Righteousness. We are rewarded for His merits, and stand accepted before God as though His Righteousness had been lived out by ourselves. The Innocent Substitute suffered for guilty sinners. God became Incarnate in Christ Jesus, the Incarnate God bore the sin of all sinners and suffered in our place, that God’s justice might be avenged and repaid. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven. Now pardon free and full is available to every sinner who will simply come and trust in the sufferings of Jesus.
To believe is to trust, to trust Jesus with your whole heart. He who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ with his whole heart has the promise of eternal life. He laid aside His eternal majesty. God the Just One must punish sin, therefore He must punish you; but Jesus Christ became a man and stood and smarted in the sinner’s place, that whosoever trusteth in Him should not suffer and perish, because God punished Christ in the place of every sinner. Now, you must come and trust Christ, rest upon Him alone.
Christ stepped into the sinner’s place, and God didn’t spare Him. If God finds you without Christ, He will not spare you. Jesus was led away by His enemies; if you die rejecting Christ, you shall be dragged away by hellish demons to the place appointed for you – everlasting hell fire. Deliver Him to the tormentors, depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Jesus was deserted by God – if you reject Christ, you shall be deserted. If God hid His face from Christ, how much less will He spare you.
Christ smarted for your sin. You will think differently of your sin when you realize Christ suffered for your foolishness. Hate the sin that fastened him to the Cross. Good didn’t spare His Son the stripes. Self-righteous sinner, Christ was spit upon in shame for you. If you die in your sins, the whole universe shall hiss at you, and oceans of wrath will roll over your soul in hell. I beseech you by the love of Christ, by His wounds and blood. Do not reject Christ and bring upon your soul the curse and wrath to come.
