T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S lifted up upon th e cross, dying fo r our sins, yours and mine. Who is He who is seen dying th ere? Jesu s Christ th e righteous, th e Lord from heaven, th e Son of th e H ighest, H imself th e m ighty God, who has be come man for th is very end, th a t He may be capable of dying. And who are they who inflict on th is high and holy One th e doom of His death? Not Herod and Pontius P ilate, th e Gentiles, and the people of Israel; bu t our sins, O ye Corinthians, yours and mine. But if our sins slew Him, is it not th e worse for us? No; He prays for His m ur derers th a t they may be forgiven. He bears our sins, th a t He may relieve us of th eir burden. Looking to Him, we are lightened. He died for our sins, th a t we m ight not die in our sins. He consented to th e ir slaying Him, th a t they m ight no t slay us. It Was a Penal Death Christ died for our sins; by reason of them ; on account of them . His death therefore was penal. It was th e 'd e a th which is th e wages of sin. It was th e death which we for our sins deserved to die. I t was death by th e sentence of law; of th e holy, unchangeable, righteous law of God. To die for our sins is to be subjected to th e ir penalty, th e ir punishment. I t is to be subjected to th e curse, th a t is, th e condemnation
613 of th e law. It is to bear th e w rath of the lawgiver and judge. It is to suffer w hat Christ suffered when He uttered th a t exceeding b itter cry, ‘‘My God, my God, why h ast thou forsaken m e!" Shall we still choose to die for our sins; to endure, and th a t for ever, what Christ endured when He died for our sins? Nay, ra th e r let His death save us from thu s dying. He died for our sins; for the canceling of th e ir guilt, for th e annulling of th e ir crim inality. His death, being penal, is expiating and atoning. It is a real sacrifice of sub stitution. He takes th è place of sinners. He dies for our sins instead of us. His dying for our sins is instead of our dy ing for them ourselves. No wonder, therefore, th a t He says so emphatically, “Whosoever believeth in me shall never die.” According to th e Scriptures And all this, th e apostle observes, secondly, is “ according to th e Scrip tu res.” P au l was always careful to Identify his own statem en t concerning Christ, th a t He died for our sins, w ith all form er revelations from th e be ginning. And he did so, not merely th a t he m ight confirm what he said him self by th e au tho rity of holy men of old who “ spake as they were moved by th e Holy G host;” nor th a t his teaching m ight add weight to theirs, or th eirs to his; nor even th a t th eir thorough agree ment m ight prove the tru th of both. In
What Shall I Do 9 With Jesus I
My Answer to thç Great Question.
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