Substitution 5

Christ Jesus Himself is the essence of Christianity.  In the fulness of time, He was born of a woman. He came into this world as the Substitute for sinners.  The vengeance of God against human sin was poured out upon Him; He suffered death, so that those who would trust in Him might not die in their sins.  The Lamb of God was slain in my place, that He might render satisfaction to the injured and broken Law of God for my sake.  God's love and wisdom thought out the wondrous plan of free Salvation, by which Jesus came to be our Substitute, and suffer in our place, so that divine justice could be satisfied fully.

Now understand the great plan of free Salvation by the sinless Substitute - He gave His back to the smiters, His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, and He hid not His face from the shame and spitting; He was nailed to the Cross, He suffered in body and was crushed in spirit, He was forsaken by God the Father, and died all alone, so I could be spared.  Believe now that all your sins were borne by Him, that He suffered what you ought to have suffered, as your Substitute; believe that He was wounded for your sins against God.

You are a real sinner, and you must have a real Atonement and real forgiveness of sins, or you shall really perish forever in the lake of fire.  Your chief need is the Substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ for guilty sinners. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  Jesus came to Earth on purpose just to save you from your sins.  Jesus has expunged my death sentence through His bloody death.  Jesus bore all my trespasses by nailing them to the Cross.  Jesus occupied the sinner's place, He bore the sinner's curse, and suffered the sinner's wrath.

Jesus stood up and answered the summons of the divine Law in my place, and appeared before God for me, so I could be redeemed and go free from my penalty.  Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.  Jesus who was rich in true Holiness, for my sake became poor in bearing and paying for my sins.  Most men will not come to Christ and trust Him, because they not receive the truth of Substitution.  They will not have free salvation; they kick at it.

Your heart, soul, and mind will never have rest and peace until you personally receive Christ Jesus and His soul-saving truth of Substitution.  Jesus took my sins upon Himself, and therefore He has removed them from me.  He has forgiven my sins, because He took them upon Himself.  My free salvation was very costly to Him.  You have nothing to do right now but to look to the great Substitute by Faith for all your Salvation.  Jesus gave Himself for you when He became a Jewish man; He gave Himself for you through a lonely life of toil and righteousness.  He gave Himself for you when He died in your place - the scourging, the shame, the spitting, the bloody sweat, the Cross - He loved you, and gave Himself for you.

If you are troubled and in despair over your sins today, you can obtain peace with God right now by trusting to the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God.  If your guilt is perplexing you, fall down immediately at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him for mercy through His atoning blood, and all your anxiety will disappear instantly.  His wounds will heal your sin-sick soul; His death will deliver you from eternal death.  Jesus bore the consequences of all human sin; He bore my guilt and punishment, and was unto God a Sacrifice instead of me.

This is the Great Truth of Substitution:  Suppose you had committed a heinous murder, and you were to be executed for that crime, and should justly deserve death.  And then suppose someone, if the Law would allow it, should come forth and consent to die in your place, so you could be set free.  This would be a very kind act towards you.  If you accepted this man's substitution, and he were executed instead of you, would the prison guards still take you to the death chamber for the murder you committed?  Oh no! They couldn't touch you, for someone was already executed for you, and you are now clear before the bar of justice.  Likewise, every sinner who believes in Jesus Christ, that is, trusts to Him as their personal Substitute, may know without a doubt that Christ has set Him free and cleared his guilty record before God.

Religious men will take Jesus as a Teacher or as a moral Example, but not as the Lamb of God, as the Sacrifice for human sin.  If you will not have the Lamb of God, He will not have you.  If you disown His Atoning Sacrifice, He will disown you.  God Incarnate who know no sin was made to be Sin for us, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Christ.  Christ Jesus the Lord has by Himself purged our sins, and has sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.   The man that says he cannot see this truth, that he cannot understand it:  what he really means is that he will not have it.  He will not be saved freely by the Atoning Sacrifice of God Incarnate, he would sooner trust in himself or some religious nonsense.