I Cannot be Punished, for Christ was Punished

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the Lord has laid on himthe iniquity of us all.

This is an excerpt from a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon on June 10' 1866 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The sermon was entitled, Sin Laid on Jesus. You can find the entire sermon here. I chose this portion of the sermon because of the great comfort it should bring to God’s elect. If Christ was punished, how can I be punished? Atonement is just that. It is atonement for every sin, past, present and future. If Christ bore all then there's nothing left to bear. I cannot be punished again for what Christ was punished for. I pray this helps you worship our Savior this Sunday Morning.

We cannot close the exposition of this verse without just remarking upon the "us" here intended. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." It is usually conceded by us who hold the doctrine of particular redemption that there was in the death of Christ very much of generality and universality. We believe that the atonement of Christ was infinite in value, and that if Christ had decreed to save every man of woman born, he need not have suffered another pang; there was sufficient in his atonement if he had so willed it to have redeemed the entire race. We believe also that by the death of Christ there is a general and honest invitation given to every creature under heaven in terms like these:—"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." We are not prepared, however, to go an inch beyond that. We hold that from the very nature of the satisfaction of Christ it could not have been made for any but for his elect; for Christ either did pay the debts of all men or he did not; if he did pay the debts of all men they are paid, and no man can be called to account for them. If Christ was the surety of every man living, then how in the name of common justice is Christ to be punished, and man punished too? If it be replied that the man would not accept the atonement, then I ask again, Was there a satisfaction given, for if so it was given whether the man accepts it or not, or else satisfaction by itself is powerless until man puts efficacy in it, which is preposterous to suppose. If you take away from us the fact that Christ did really satisfy for those for whom he stood, we cry like Jacob, "If I am bereaved I am bereaved;" you have taken away all that is worth having, and what have you given us in its place? You have given us a redemption, which confessedly does not redeem; you have given us an atonement, which is made equally for the lost in hell and for the saved in heaven; and what is the intrinsic value of such an atonement? If you tell us that Christ made a satisfactory atonement for every one of the human race, we ask you how it was that he made an atonement for those that must have been in the flames of hell thousands of years before he came into this world? My brethren, ours has the advantage of universality in its proclamation and in its bona fide offer, for there is no man living who shall believe in Jesus who shall not be saved by Christ; but it has a greater advantage than this; namely, that those who do believe are saved by it, and they know that Christ made such an atonement for them that for them to be punished for sin would be as much a violation of justice as it would of mercy. O my soul! thou knowest this day that all thy sins were made to meet on Christ, and that he bore the punishment for them all.

"He bore that we might never bear,
His Father's righteous ire."
Here is a rock to stand on, a safe resting-place for those who trust in Jesus. As for you who trust him not, your blood be upon your own heads! If ye trust him not, ye have no part nor lot in this matter, ye shall go down to your own punishment to bear it yourselves; the wrath of God abideth on you; you shall find that the blood of Jesus has made no atonement for your sins. You have rejected the invitation that was given, and put far from you the cross of Christ, and upon your heads the pardoning blood shall never drop, and for you it shall never plead, but you must perish under the law, seeing you refuse to be saved under the gospel.

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What is True Worship?

Emotion should be experienced in worship. Worship without emotion is not pleasing to God-Matthew 15:8 "‘This people honors me with their lips,but their heart is far from me; However, the Word of God should drive our worship.

Two elements of true worship

Worship without truth is not true worship. Jesus made it clear that the Word of God is what sanctifies us, not an emotional experience-John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. When speaking with the woman at the well Jesus told us what the true elements of worship are, spirit (emotion) and truth-John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." So,no truth, no genuine worship. No spirit, no genuine worship.

The average worship experience

Yet in many churches, especially Seeker Driven and Charismatic churches, there is a much greater emphasis on experiencing God through music and ecstatic praise rather than through the preaching of the Word. The music and praise supposedly brings the presence of God so His people can experience Him. One of the phrases you might hear in these churches is "Lord, send your presence!" or, "Lord, we want to feel your presence in this place tonight!" This is said usually by the Worship Leader as the praise band begins to play a song that's void of any deep theological substance. Now don't get me wrong. I have no problem with contemporary worship, or raising hands in worship, as long as long as the music itself is not the main focus of service. The preaching of the Word is to be the whole reason we come to Church.

What did Jesus and the apostles think?

Jesus and the Apostles had a high view of Scripture. They taught the importance of sound doctrine:

John 8:31-32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

What shows that one is a true disciple? Abiding in the Word.

John 8:51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Sanctification comes through knowing "truth," (doctrine) rather than experience.

Acts 2:42 The Fellowship of the Believers And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The early church "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching" (doctrine). Nothing here about ecstatic worship experiences.

Titus 1:9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Titus 2:1​ But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

1 Timothy 6:3-4 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

None of the apostles or early church fathers would have ever elevated experience over the teaching and preaching of the Word. Yet as time draws nearer and nearer to the return of Christ, the Word of God will become less and less important to "Christians" and personal experience will reign. I truly believe we are in the midst of a famine. Not a famine of food, but a famine of hearing the Word. Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord God,"when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,but of hearing the words of the Lord. When asking today's average Christian about Church, rarely will you hear them emphasize the preaching and teaching of the Word. This is because worship has become more about experience than hearing from God through the preaching of His Word.

Here is a short video by John MacArthur on what constitute true worship.

 

 

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