Christ Our Unique Sacrifice

Christ Our Unique Sacrifice CHRIST, OUR UNIQUE SACRIFICE
By ROY H. LANIER

‘'But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that' believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of sins done afore time, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of his rigliteousftess at this.present season; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:21-26). From the foregoing passage of Scripture, from the pen of the apostle Paul, it is clearly seen:

1. That the entire human family, Jew and Gentile, had become guilty of sin before God.
2. That God, because of the great love he had for his fallen creation, sent his Son into the world to redeem man, and to be a propitiation for his sin.
3. That in order for man to be justified, and God remain just, man must have faith in Jesus. In order for us to realize the depth to which man fell, it is necessary for us to view the heights from which he descended. In the description which Moses gives of man’s first home, we read: "And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed, And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” And it was here that man knew no toil, no weariness, no care, no pain, no anxiety, no sickness, no sorrow.

Sickness did not enter nor death spread its dark pall over this paradise of God; hut perennial youth, drinking fresh vigor from life-giving fountains and inhaling exhilarating breezes, was man’s heritage. With God’s Spirit brooding over all and pervading every breeze, no fierce passions raged within, no evil desires or envious spirits found place in human heart, no venomous serpents hissed, no beasts of prey prowled through his garden of love, no pitiless storms beat, no fierce tornadoes desolated this home of joy and peace. This home in which man lived was no less than the outer court of the heaven of heavens, the home of God the Father of man and the creator of the universe. This was man’s to dress and to keep. In this realm man was ruler for God gave him dominion over everything that creepeth on the earth. His was a service of love to a kind Maker, until one sad day he betrayed this trust which God had so graciously given him, and transferred his allegiance and service, and, with these, the allegiance and dominion of the world, from God to the devil. And because of this transfer, Satan, when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, said: “For it hath been delivered unto me; and to whosoever I will give it. ’ ’ What a crime! Man, intrusted with the power and the glory of the world, be-traying it into the hands of the enemy of God! And because of this treason and transfer, the Spirit of God, re-fusing to live in a defiled temple, returned to the home of God in heaven. Then Satan took up his abode here as the god of this world, and infused the poison of death into every breeze that floated over land and sea. This old earth was changed from a seedbed of life into a charnel house of death. Thorns and thistles grew in the paradise of God. Toil, pain, sickness, anxiety, care, sorrow, mortality, and death became the heritage of hu-manity. This being man’s heritage, man wandered from God, and the farther he wandered, the weaker his moral and spiritual nature became, Brother Lipscomb said: “No truth in the world’s history has been established by an induction from so large a number of facts, under so varied circumstances, with so universal and uniform, result, as that man, cut loose from God and his word, gropes in ignorance and grovels in degradation with a continually accelerating descent to still lower depths.” And the fearful depths to which man finally fell are vividly deeribed in the first chapter of the Roman letter. Beginning with the 21st verse and closing with verse 32, we read: “Because that, knowing God, they glorified him lot as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds; and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God gave them up the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves; for that they exchange the truth of God for a lie, and Worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions; for their women changed their natural use into that which is against na-ture; and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust on toward another, men with -working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due. And even as they refused to have God in the knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful ; who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practice them.” This is a picture of the condition of the Gentiles, and truly it can be said they were, “separate from Christ having no hope and without God in the world.” It is not possible, with the human language, to give a more complete catalogue of crimes than this one given of the Gentiles. Surely, if there was ever a people who needed a Savior, a redeemer, it was the Gentile race.

While the Jew had much advantage in every way, he had not profited by it. They had not used the oracles of God, which had been intrusted to them, in such a way as to get the benefit from them that God had intended they should get, for some were without faith. The law, in which the Jews so confidently relied, had no voice hut condemnation, seeing that “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” But since it brought rather the knowledge of sin, revealing the imperfections of those under its yoke, it is evident that the Jews were in need of a Savior as well as the Gentiles. The Jewish catalogue of sin is found in Romans 3:10-18. In verses 10 to 12, the general state of sin is given thus: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seek- eth after God; they have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one.” Their practice of sin in word and deed is given in verses 13 to 17. “Their throat is an opep sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit ^ the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known. ” And the source of all their sin is found in the last verse of this quotation from the old scriptures: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Consider the Jews! A chosen people of God; a people whom God had loved in a peculiar way for two thousand years; those to whom the word of God had been given; a people who experienced a mighty deliverance at the hands of God; who trembled under the mighty voice of God when he spoke to them from the cloud. And yet, there was no fear of God before their eyes. Surely they too needed a Savior.

Thus we see that the Gentile and the Jew stand alike, condemned together. “There is no distinction; for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The world is in need of a Savior. By their shameful conduct they have brought condemnation and eternal ruin upon themselves. But in order that we may see their needs better, let us analyze this shameful condition they are in and see what sin has done for the human family.

First, it has wounded the affections of a loving heav-enly Father. In Psalms 95:10, God speaks of being “grieved” with those very people because of their way-wardness.

Second, sin alienated their hearts from God. In Isaiah 59:1-2, God said to Israel: “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Their sins, were as a wedge which drove them farther and farther away from God.

Third, sin oppressed their conscience with fear and dread. An excellent illustration of this is seen hy the rivers of Babylon. “There we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps.” There with sorrow and regret they looked back to Jerusalem, their city of freedom; while with fear and dread they looked forward to Babylon, the city of their slavery. Sin was the cause of it all.

Fourth, sin severs from society by its morbid selfish-ness and disregard for man. It was said of the Jews, by the prophet Isaiah, that there was no justice in their doings. The dark catalogue given above is enough to show us that sin severs from all pure society.

Fifth, sin induces to new infractions and habitual vio-lations of right. Sin is enticing and finally it sears the conscience^ and the heart is hardened through the de- eeitfulness of sin, until the result is a sinful character.

Sixth, sin takes away hope. The wise man said: ‘ ‘ The hope of the unjust man pertsheth. ” Where there is no hope, there is no striving. Man will not strive to be pure if he does not hope to be rewarded for it. There-fore when sin trjies away hope, there is no more incen-tive to strive for things higher and nobler, thus man hecomes debased.

Seventh, sin subjects man to shame and contempt— his body to the dust, and his soul to eternal night. “And the dust returneth to the earth as it was.” “For the wages of sin is death.” “The soul that sinnctli it shall die.” And, “these shall go away into everlasting punishment.” From the foregoing it is evident that the world was in need of a Savior. If sin was so exceedingly sinful, and if they were all guilty of sin, the world was in dire need of some one to redeem them from the terrible conse-quences of their sin. That man was utterly unable to extricate or to redeem himself from this terrible condition, goes without say-ing. But Micah raises the question for our considera-tion. In chapter six he asks: “Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself down before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a yehr old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first.born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” It is evident that Micah realizes that none of these things will avail anything. And surely no man can do more than to be willing to sacrifice the fruit of his body, his first born, for the sin of his soul. But that has no power to wash away the stain of sin. A man might repent of his sin, hut that would not bring back the murdered dead, nor wash the blood from the guilty hands; neither would it cover up the crime in the sight of God. But if a man offer a thousand rams; it is impossible that the blood of animals should take away sin. And still man is left helpless and dependent upon some higher power to devise a way, which, when put in operation will take away all stains and make the soul as white as snow. But man can not demand that God bring about such a method. He must wait the good pleasure of God, knowing that all things are good and very good when done by the Maker of the universe which moves in such perfect harmony.

It was while man was in this weak and shameful con-dition that God, moved with pity and love supreme, set forth his Son to be a propitiation. Paul calls it a “due season”, saying: “For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly.” Scriptural proof for the fact that Christ died for the ungodly in order to save them from eternal ruin abounds in the New Testament. For convenience they are here classified with reference to their relation to Ins sacrifice.

First, those which speak of Christ’s death as a means of salvation from sin. “'Who died for us, that,- whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10). “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4). “Who was delivered up for our trespasses” (Romans 4:25). “God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and fou sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Second, those which express the idea of redemption or deliverance as by purchase. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13) ; “God sent forth his Son...that he might redeem those under the law”
(Galatians 4:4); “In whom we have our redemption, the for-giveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7); “Ye are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20); “Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, ...
but with precious blood, as a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Third, those passages which speak of the death of Christ as bringing about a reconciliation between God and man. “ While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). “But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18). “And you hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death” (Colossians 1:22). From these and many other passages, it is clear that Christ was a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Man was lost, separated from God, and wholly unable to bring himself back. He was guilty of a crime, the penalty of which was death. And it is evident that he could not pay that penalty and still enjoy life with God. There was only one way to solve the problem, and God sent his Son to die for man, the just for the unjust, the sinless for the sinful, the holy for the unholy, that he might redeem man from his fallen condition, and rescue the world from the rule and dominion of Satan and bring it back to its original relations with God and the universe, so that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Brother D. Lipscomb so beautifully states: “The mission of Christ is to root up all briers, thorns, and thistles that grow in the material, moral, and spiritual world, and to restore this home of man to its primitive and pristine relations to God, its Maker and rightful Ruler. In order for this to be done, it was necessary for Jesus' to come, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And though he existed in the form of God, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and being in the likeness of man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the death on the cross. If it took the blood of the Son of God to restore man and the world to their primitive state, surely must be terrible. There is an idea prevalent in the world today that when man sinned, he incurred a great debt which he was unable to pay, and that Christ died to pay that debt. If it be true that man iwed a great debt and Jesus paid that debt, then man is free, from it and owes nothing to God; the debt, would have been transferred to Christ. iBitf there is no.' mercy no grace, on the part. of God if thjat be the ease. But Paul said': “Being justified freely BY HIS GRACE” therefore it can not be that sin was a great debt which Jesus paid for God exercised grace. When man sins he commits a CRIME against the God of. heaven. Sin is a transgression; and not a DEBT. Man was doomed to suffer the penalty for sin, and that is death, for “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” That being the ease, Jesus offered to suffer the penalty in man s place. But, says one, where is God’s mercy manifested in this plan? If I were to violate the laws of my state and murder a man and be condemned to die, and one, or even ten men, should offer to die in my place, I would still be as guilty as ever. The fact that they died for me would not necessarily render me guiltless before the law. But if the law should be so gracious to me as to extend me pardon provided one die in my place, then his death would avail something, but otherwise it would accomplish nothing. Though God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for its redemption, his offended justice must be dealt with. The fact that Jesus died in man’s place could not have accomplished our pardon if God had not been gracious enough to extend his pardon. Thus we see that it was through the grace of God that Christ was permitted to suffer the penally for man. The uniqueness of the sacrifice of Christ is seen in the fact that, first, it counteracts the effect of the one sin of Adam, and second, it is sufficient to atone for every sin of every individual that has ever lived or ever shall live.

Paul writes the Corinthians that “Since by man came death, by man came also the reyurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” And to the Romans: “For if, by thfe tres-pass of one, death reigned through the one: much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ.” Thus we see that, though the sin of Adam involved the whole human family in death, with-out any hope of a resurrection, the sacrifice of Christ, consummated by his victory over the grave, assures the resurrection of every body which returns to the silent dust from whence it came. Thus what man lost in Adam, he gajns in Christ. But if that were all the benefits which come down from the death and sacrifice of Christ, it would not be sufficient. It could not be called unique, for it would fall far short of meeting every need of man. The uniqueness is seen more fully in this • second thought, viz., that it is sufficient to atone for every sin of every individual that'ever lived or ever shall live in the world. With this thought in mind, Paul said: “And not as through one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification.” And in commenting on this passage, Brother McGarvey says: “Who then can estimate the justifying power of the sac-rifice of Christ, since it nullifies, for believers, the accu-mulative power of the incalculable numbers of sins committed by innumerable sinDers, in all the untold moments of human lives, each sin of which carries a destructive force which no lapse of ages can exhaust?” Thus it is evident that the benefits to be received from the death of Christ are more far reaching in their effects, than the evil which came from the sin of Adam. For as the Son of God is a greater personage than Adam; so is the positive power of his righteousness greater than the negative power of Adam’s sin. And if the sin of Adam insures the reign of life in that world that shall never end.

It will be recalled here that in the first part of this discourse, the condition of the world was partially ana-lyzed, thus enabling us to see better the real needs of the world. Now if the sacrifice of Jesus Christ does not meet those needs and better those conditions, even though it insures a resurrection of the body, it will in
the end avail nothing. For if there be no power to cleanse from individual sins, it were better that the body never be resurrected. Adam closed the door of life by bringing natural death upon the race, and Christ opened that door by giving a resurrection to life. But every responsible being closes the door of eternal life to himself by his own sins, and Christ opens that door to him on the condition of faith. And it is at this point that man receives the greatest benefits from the sacrifice of Christ. For:

First, though sin wounds the love of God, the blood of Jesus Christ soothes the wounded love of our heav-enly Father by bringing many sons to glory. God delights in seeing the prodigal return.

Second, though sin alienates from God, this sacrifice reconciles our hearts to God as seen in Colossians 1:21-22, "And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death.”

Third, though sin oppresses our conscience with fear and dread, the sacrifice of Christ "purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God”, and gives us a peace and joy "unspeakable and full of glory.”

Fourth, while sin severs from society, and' causes ,, strife and contention, the blood of Christ makes us one great brotherhood;, makes us one in faith, in hope; in joy, and joint heirs of eternal life.

Fifth, where sin induces to habitual violations of right, the sacrifice of Christ is a most effectual guard against infractions of the divine law in that it makes manifest the sinfulness of sin .and the terrible consequences which follow it.

Sixth, though sin takes away hope, the sacrifice of Christ breaks the bars of death’s prison and gives us the hope that though a man die he shall live again. And not only so, but he plants deep within our very souls a hope that is “sure and steadfast entering into that which is within the vail.”

Seventh, though sin subjects the soul to eternal night, the blood of Christ can and does atone to that extent that: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” And John was permitted to see that host in heaven who had “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb.”

Thus we see that the sacrifice of Christ is indeed unique. There is not a need nor longing of the human soul that the sacrifice of Jesus does not thoroughly rheet. It is also clear than no other being in the universe could have met the needs as did Jesus of Nazareth. The first benefit of this sacrifice, the resurrection, comes to saint and sinner alike and without any condition what-ever. But the benefits just mentioned, eternal salvation from personal sins, come only to those responsible beings who accept that sacrifice and appropriate the blood to their souls. For “God is just and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.” God’s character is involved in the justification of sinners. Since the sin of Adam, God had hot fully punished sin, they had been passed OVer in the forbearance of God. As proof of the fact that God had not fully punished sin, I have but to call to your mind the passage in Isaiah 53:4-5 : “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” And Paul said that the times of this ignorance God winked at, or overlooked. It is also significant that God only re-quired a partial sacrifice looking forward to the time when this unique sacrifice should be offered which would completely atone for all those sins he was then passing over in his forbearance. But now that the complete sacrifice has been offered and all sins have been suffered for, God can not be just and justify a man who does not have faith in the Christ who was sacrificed. And thus in this way Paul teaches that the sacrifices of the Old Testament were types, and because of them God showed forbearance, looking forward to Christ, the unique propitiatory sacrifice, in whose suffering on the cross God punished sin, that he might show mercy and grant pardon to the sinner who would exercise faith in Jesus.

“Therefore”, says Paul, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is by this rule that the moral man, with all his boasted self-righteousness, goes down with all those who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, and they shall be punished with an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. God does not expect impossibilities of man. He only asks that we give our lives in service to him; and this we ought to be willing to do since he gave his only Son to die for us. Thus the apostle Paul says: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, Which is your spiritual service,” The word which is here translated “spiritual” is better translated to mean “rational,” or “logical.” In other words, since God has given his Son for us, it is not unreasonable that he should ask us to give our bodies a living sacrifice to him. The poet has beautifully expressed it in these words:

“Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
“See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”