 I just was in Germany about a week or two ago, but I didn't get to go to Verden, Germany, and I wish I could have gone because there is a church there. And high up on the church building, there's a lamb carved. And if you'd ask a person, how did that lamb carving get up there? They would tell you about a worker who was working on the structure and was going to move over to do some more work, slipped and fell, and would surely get killed if he landed on the stones below. But miraculously, he was unhurt because there was a tiny little lamb, a real lamb, nibbling on some of the tufts of grass at the bottom of the church entrance. And he fell on the lamb and crushed the lamb to death, and he lived. And so in gratitude, he carved a memorial to the lamb to celebrate his deliverance and the ultimate suggestion of deliverance by the lamb of God, saved by a lamb crushed. And we have a lamb who is exalted high to the throne of God who was sacrificed for us, and we want to worship him in light of that. There's lots of theories of the atonement. How can a sinful man or woman be accepted by a holy God? So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to give you a few atonement theories, and then we'll look at substitutionary atonement in the Bible. Cheap grace doesn't need substitutionary atonement. Cheap grace needs maybe Jesus dying on the cross as a good example. Maybe an act of love will do. But when we realize how bad we are, we need someone to die in our place as a penalty substitute, penal substitution. And so I'm going to give you some theories of the atonement, and then we'll drive ourselves to the scriptures and look at substitutionary atonement as a theme in the Bible. The first theory of the atonement, trying to figure out how do we take sin seriously and be reconciled to God, it's called the ransom theory. Sometimes called the classical theory with another theory called Christus Victor. And the church fathers, along with Irenaeus, had this ransom theory, Jesus liberates people from slavery to sin and Satan. By ransom, Jesus defeats Satan in a spiritual battle, Adam and Eve's sin. They're enslaved to sin and to Satan. And sometimes this is called the bait theory. And God kind of switches things around and Satan's tricked into taking the bait. It's called a mousetrap theory sometimes as well. Certainly Jesus was a ransom for us, Mark 10.45, giving his life as a ransom for many. But never does the Bible say the ransom was paid to Jesus, excuse me, was paid to Satan. Jesus' death was a ransom, but never paid to Satan. Jesus' death did conquer Satan at the cross, destroying the works of the devil. But it wasn't paying a ransom to Satan. There's another theory, number two. It's called the satisfaction theory. And Anselm had this. And you say, well, this is kind of all boring, let's get to the Bible. We'll get there. I wouldn't probably do this on a Sunday morning, but it is a conference. And I'm testing you to see if you're worshiping God by listening here early on. So I'm going to try. By the way, sometimes, you know, if I'm training men to preach and I'll say when you're preaching to a kind of a tough crowd that's about ready to sleep, then you start walking back and forth because then I can get your eyes to follow me or you can start raising your voice a little bit. So then you'll listen. And if nothing else works, then just slam the pulpit. Weak point. Shout. Anselm had in the satisfaction theory at least the right concept that man sinned in the garden, therefore man has to be redeemed as man. A man has to redeem even. The necessity of God then becoming man because only God man could redeem. What man should pay only God could pay. And so Jesus Christ did pay. It talked too much about honor of God and not holiness of God. And so that wasn't quite right either. Substitute atonement still is not being developed yet. There's another one, number three called moral influence. And this is the big one today. Moral influence. Jesus died on the cross as an example of love. And was that an act of love, by the way? Absolutely. That was an act of love. But that doesn't deal with the penalty of sin. The church fathers taught this a lot. Emanuel Kant taught this, Paul Tillich taught this. Subjective effects of Jesus dying on the cross. Moving my heart to accept his atonement because it was such a gracious act of love. Matter of fact, a song that I actually like is all about this. When I survey the wondrous cross. That's a view that captures this Jesus as example only. Now Jesus did conquer Satan. He did show himself an example of love, but he did more than that. I love the story by D.M. Stearns, a gospel preacher. Guy came up after a sermon and said something to the pastor. Now most of the time people come up afterwards and Mark and I were talking about this earlier. People say that was a great sermon and what they really mean is thank you for being faithful. I love you. We don't really need to hear that was a great sermon because Satan already told us that about 20 times from here to there. It's a great sermon I preached. And so I've had people tell me all kinds of things at the door. I got one person that said to me about six weeks ago, a member of our church. I preached a sermon and this person raised their cane up to me and looked at me at the door, first person at the door and she said to me, Chuck Swindoll preaches that passage better than you do. Welcome to New England I guess. I said I'm sure he does. But you know in my flesh I wanted to say, Chuck Swindoll lasted two years in New England and this is my 16th. But I didn't say it. One person said, you know what? You were saying today that the gift of speaking in tongues doesn't exist today like it did in the New Testament and you're sweating and all liars sweat. Therefore you were lying for what you said in the pulpit because you're sweating when you said it. I said welcome to Bethlehem Bible Church. This guy walked up to Mr. Stearns and says, I don't like your preaching. I don't care for the cross. It's far better to preach Jesus as example than substitutionary sin bearer. And the pastor said, would you be willing then to follow him if I preached Christ as example? I would. I will follow in his steps. Mr. Stearns said, well then let us take the first step and the first step is the clause immediately after the fact that we are following in his steps the man who did no sin. Can you take that step? No. I do sin and acknowledge it the man said. Well then the gospel preacher said, you first need Christ not as example then but as savior. Another view of the atonement, only just one more before the real view, the governmental theory of the atonement. God has to uphold laws and he can't relax his laws and therefore he upholds government of the universe by having Jesus suffer. It doesn't really bear our punishment but sinners sin and the soul that sins shall surely die. It was a public example. You've got to maintain public order. Different views of the atonement. But the one that's at the center, the one that's attacked today with cheap grace, isn't Jesus was victorious over Satan. It isn't there's a high holy order that needs to be held up. It isn't that Jesus is an example of love, it's substitutionary atonement, penalty substitution, penalty substitution. People don't like it for lots of reasons and we're going to find out today why they don't. Jesus died in our place as a vicarious substitute. And I think you're going to be glad to find this out. To be reminded, Sinclair Ferguson said Christ's death was substitutionary, Jesus was taking our place. That is why the charges brought against him were blasphemy and treason for these are the very charges we face before the judgment seat of God. 1 Peter chapter 2 says he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. 1 Peter chapter 3, Christ also died for sins once for all the righteous for the unrighteous. Substitutionary atonement. Just imagine if God and His counsel says I will accept no substitute. I don't want any substitute. I'll never accept a substitute. But it's divine grace that says I will accept a substitute. And that's why there are so many songs about substitutionary atonement. Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my pardon with his blood, and what's the response? Hallelujah, what a savior. O sacred head, now wounded, what thou my Lord has suffered was all for sinners' gain. Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain. Substitutionary atonement. Was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree. The response to substitutionary atonement is thankfulness. And can it be that I should gain an entrance in the Savior's blood? Died he for me? Substitutionary atonement. If Christ is not your substitute, he's nothing for the sinner. And it's being attacked today. Do you know the hymn in Christ alone? In Christ alone do you like the song? I like it. Some of you that are sleeping don't look like you like it, but we're going to make you wake up right now. There you go, look! I'm not kidding. I know sleep is a blessing and I'm here to bless, but come on, let's pay attention now. In Christ alone, no more theories, now let's talk about a song. Everybody loves songs, don't they? In Christ alone, do you know it's being attacked in the Presbyterian USA? That's the liberal version of Presbyterians. We're not talking about R.C. Sproul Presbyterians or Carl Truman Presbyterians or Machen Presbyterians. And they said they don't like this lyric. On that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied. Cheap Grace hates the wrath of God because they don't want a God who's angry with the wicked every day. That's not nurturing, that's not therapeutic, that just actually doesn't feel very good. So they didn't like the wrath of God was satisfied, so the Presbyterian committee on congregational song, one more reason not to have any committees, wanted to substitute the words, the love of God was magnified. And on that cross when Jesus died. But the writers, Stuart Townan and Keith Getty said no. They wanted to get rid of the wrath and the hymnals. Reverend Chris Joyner of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Massachusetts, of all things, of all places. He said, you know, quote, that lyric comes close to saying that God killed Jesus. The cross he said is not an instrument of God's wrath. But when you believe in substitutionary atonement, that's exactly what it is. God does have wrath because he's holy and wrathful. Goes beyond my mind 2010 Union Theological Seminary Sprunt Lectures. This used to be a reform school decades ago. Feminist speaker comes, Presbyterian USA Seminary. Her name is Margaret Miles and she talked about God's love mother's milk. And she said the cross doesn't symbolize the love of God because it's too wicked. She said, quote, although theologians may have claimed that crucifixion scenes exhibited the extremity of God's love for humans. It was scenes of the child sucking at the breast that spoke to people on the basis of their earliest experiences. The cross is not going to be a symbol of God's love because, quote, it presents a violent act as salvific. She said, the equation of love with violence and suffering is a typically male-centered perspective. A nursing virgin can perhaps communicate God's love to people in a way that a violent image, the image of one more sacrificial victim, cannot. Today you have it with Mary worship as well. Jesus, this man who dies a substitutionary death as the God-man, are kind Mary. Rosemary Radford Ruther said from the same podium that the resurrection of Jesus was a myth created by males to assuage their own fear of death. And instead why don't you embrace the great womb within all things gods and humans, skies and earth, humans and non-humans are generated. I don't know what to say to that except pass me the Ipaqac, that's about it for me. They have the Ipaqac here? Every time I see a coexist bumper sticker I said I got some coexist for you, it's Ipaqac. Co-exist. Of course Christ's death was an example of love. Of course he demonstrated a high view of the law at Calvary. Of course he had victory over all the cosmic agents, but if you gut substitutionary atonement from the cross you lose it all. And so today I want to make sure we understand from scripture that in fact Jesus did receive a javelin into his heart thrown by God to use some language. That you have to see blood sacrifice as central to understanding the atonement. And once that's gone, here's what happens. Norman Vincent Peale comes in and says just be good. Followed by who? Robert Shuler, just be good. Moralistic things, followed by Osteen, followed by Rick Warren and the list goes on. Now ask yourself the question if God wants to forgive us why doesn't he just do it? Let there be forgiveness. How do you forgive people? If someone sends against you and they said please forgive me, you say I forgive you. Why can't God just do that? Let there be light. Let there be forgiveness. Substitutionary atonement is attacked today by every corner of people who are trying to justify their own lifestyles. Stephen Chalky said though the sheer bluntness of my imagery shocks some, I contend that Christ's substitutionary death is nothing more than divine child abuse. There's an awesome book you ought to read called Pierce for Our Transgressions. You've got guys like NT Wright saying it's an oversimplistic story of an angry God and a loving Jesus. Chalky said just as a lightning conductor soaks up powerful and destructive bolts of electricity, so Jesus as he hung on that cross soaked up all the forces of hate, rejection, pain and alienation all around him. Really? He said I claim that penal substitution is tantamount to child abuse. A vengeful father punishing his son for an offense he has not committed. Well what does the Bible say? Let's open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 2 and we're going to go through a little survey of substitutionary penalty satisfaction. And it's going to be wonderful because we're going to see the theme of scripture and how God forgives. Does he just let a sin go? Does he just overlook it? Does he just say okay that's alright, it's an indulgent father. My grandmother raised me when my mom was working, my father was working and she said if you disobey, see that yardstick over there? Remember those yardsticks she used to get at the hardware stores? She said that yardstick over there, that's going to go on your rear end if you disobey me again. And then I disobeyed again, she never gave me a spanking. I disobeyed again, she never gave me a spanking. I disobeyed again, she never gave me a spanking. I walked over there, got the yardstick, broke it over my leg and handed it to her and she still didn't give me a spanking. Oh, if I'm a grandpa, that happens. Is that our view of God? Just this indulgent George Burns, oh God, grandpa, let bygones be bygones. The wages of sin is what? Death. And without the shedding of blood there is what? No remission. This is a bloody religion because sin costs. God doesn't just say let there be light, let there be forgiveness. There's penalty substitution, so we're going to go through about five or six Old Testament and New Testament examples so it's locked in your mind forever. The crown of the jewel of atonement is substitutionary atonement. Genesis chapter 2 verse 17 is our first account. I know you know all these but I just want to walk through these with you. Genesis chapter 2, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. And we know what they did and they needed a substitute and God gave them one right away. Instead of Adam and Eve immediately physically dying, although they died spiritually. Look at chapter 3 verse 21. There had to be the shedding of blood, there had to be blood shed unto death. And the Lord God made for Adam, Genesis 321, and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. So something had to die in place of Adam and Eve. Number two, let's go to Exodus chapter 12, the Passover. The Passover, now remember we're dealing with these issues of sacrifice and killing and slaying and we can't even butch our own animals. We just go to the store for that. There's a lot of blood and a lot of sharp knives and a lot of jugular veins cut and it is bloody and it is gruesome. And the Passover in Exodus 12 shows a substitutionary atonement. Second illustration. I'm not picking every one but just highlighting some key ones. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats and you shall keep it until the 14th day of the month when the whole assembly of congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door posts. The pagans used to put weird images and icons on top of their door posts for protection. For you Israel though, I want you to take some of the blood and put it on there and of the little of the houses in which they eat it. For verse 12 says I will pass through the land of Egypt. This passing through is in judgment. That night and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. Verse 13, the blood shall be assigned for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, something else has died in your place. I will pass not through you but over you and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. You just imagine telling the kids our sins cause death and either you have to die kids or we're going to have to kill the lamb. I don't know about you and I make jokes about dogs and about cats and stuff like that but just imagine taking a dog into your life for about a year and raising up that dog and then at the very end of that year saying alright kids it's either you or the dog and that dog just wilting down as the blood comes out of its neck and it costs blood. Number three, Leviticus 16, Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, blood, sacrifice, penalty, substitution. Our sins are against God and they are of an infinite nature because God is infinitely holy therefore someone has to die when we sin. Either we die or we have a substitute and you see substitution and atonement all over the New Testament and old. The garden, Passover and now the day of atonement. Leviticus 16, 14, and he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Verse 18 says then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar all around. These weren't for the sins of all the pagan countries but for Israel it's either Israel or it's the sacrifices instead of in place of in behalf of Isaiah 53 please for number four in our illustrations. We've got about seven of them to work through to see clearly that penalty substitution is essential to understanding the Gospel. Isaiah 53 we can work through the whole passage of course and it's a wonderful passage I might say more about it later. Isaiah 53.6 all of us like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. Substitutionary atonement. The Lamb of God prefigured there in Isaiah 53. Now we're going to go through a different one a kind of a strange one. Number five Matthew 27. So go with me if you would to Matthew 27 and I want to show you an illustration of substitutionary atonement that might catch you off guard. If I was going to teach this to young people substitutionary atonement this is the passage I teach the story of Barabbas. This is the only man Jesus ever died for. Some of you put your head up. This is the only man Jesus ever died for physically right we're going to find out boy this is captivating I had one passage to preach around the world it just might be this one. Matthew 27 11 now Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him by the way who's the governor pilot why is he called the governor here a couple times because it's ironic we've got a governor who doesn't govern pilot is the governor who doesn't govern are you the king of the Jews Jesus said you say I mean one look at the guy he's not some insurrectionist he's not some some freedom fighter you I mean really you're the king of the Jews you Jesus says you say if Jesus said no I'm not the king of the Jews that would be a lie if he says I am the king of the Jews pilot might take that as yes I am the freedom fighter so he says you say but when he's accused by the chief priests and the elders he gave no answer when the government officials Romans 13 ask you a question you give them an answer because they're God ordained but when the false preachers and the false priests and the false elders who are in a works righteousness system ask you questions you don't have to give them any answers I don't owe you any answers I owe the governor an answer I don't owe you one answer you lying hypocrite dogs then Pilate said to him do you not hear how many things they testify against you they're trying to put the net so wide something'll stick just making up all kinds of things because they're hoping one thing will condemn you and I don't know if you met many people who've been in trouble from the law but they usually have a lot of reasons to tell them how innocent they are and here Jesus is the opposite but he gave him no answer not even a single charge so that the governor was greatly amazed he was dumbstruck this is an unusual prisoner and he thinks he's got his way out now at the feast verse 15 the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd anyone prisoner whom they wanted and you know it's kind of like Passover maybe something goes free Israel's out of Egypt bondage celebration for freedom and maybe we'll have that around this time by the way if you're going to let somebody go you don't let a freedom fighter go you let somebody like Jesus go he's not going to cause any real trouble to roam and they had been a notorious prisoner a marked man a notable person notable for his notoriety a notable prisoner called Barabbas bar Abba son of the father probably a rabbis kid if the name's that he's son of the father we've got son of the father here bar Abbas so when they had gathered Pilate said to them whom do you want me to release for you Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ some of the manuscripts here say Jesus Barabbas thinking that Jesus Barabbas was this guy's name but we don't want to call Barabbas Jesus Barabbas because Jesus is reserved for just our Jesus who do you want to have released Jesus son of the father or Jesus son of the father who do you want released for he knew verse 18 he was savvy he was a politician that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up besides while he was sitting on the Bema the judgment seat his wife sent word to him have nothing to do with that righteous man for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream I've been taking a nap I just woke up from the nap and in my dream dreams are big back in those days dreams are big with the Magi and early on in Matthew I had this dream and the dream says don't mess with what who that righteous man a Gentile woman knows that Jesus is innocent and she's trying to resolve the steal of Pilate and even that's not going to work I had a dream I've suffered much of him today in a dream now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus the governor didn't govern again asked them and said to them which of the two do you want me to release and they said Barabbas Pilate said to them then what shall I do with Jesus who was called Christ and six times you'll see it in this chapter alone and they said let him be crucified let him be crucified let him be crucified let him be crucified let him be crucified let him be crucified what evil has he done but they shouted all the more let him be crucified Pilate knew this was all wrong verse 24 so when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing but rather a riot was beginning he did what they did back in the Old Testament symbolically he took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying I am innocent of this man's blood see to it yourselves did Pilate really think washing his hands with water would relieve the guilt of condemning the son of man was there anything that could wash his hands and then people say something that pretty amazing and all the people answered his blood beyond us okay I get that but I have four kids here's a decision we're going to make and we're so sure of ourselves that his blood beyond us and if it's up to you and if it's up to God and if it's all wrong then you damn our children too not just who I am but my children too let his blood be on us and our children and then they released for them Barabbas son of the father and having scourged Jesus delivered him to be crucified now I've heard that if you're on death row and you know you're going to get hung the next day you begin to involuntarily playing with your neck because the rope's going to go around you and you you know that's the point I've heard that if you're going to die by gas that some of the prisoners on death row will learn how to hold their breath for one minute two minutes sometimes even passing out because they know I've got to hold my breath and can I win out on this thing Barabbas is in jail I don't know if he was in cahoots with thief one and thief two on the cross but my guess is he was Barabbas a murderer an insurrectionist a robber and his one account gives us and it's just a story but you can imagine it happening they're in jail and the jailer comes walking down the hallway key in the door time to be crucified and out goes thief one walks up to Golgotha Barabbas looking out the window crucified thief one jailer comes back down the prisoner hallway and the jail key goes in the door opens it up thief two he carries his cross the rest of the way up crucified watches the jailer come back down through the prison to his door Barabbas's the key goes into the key hole turns it the door comes open and now the jailer becomes an evangelist Barabbas you're free Barabbas you're free someone else is going to pay for you the innocent is condemned and the condemned is innocent this is a great picture of substitution it's not a picture of penalty substitution but that's coming in the next chapter Barabbas the guilty goes free based on Christ the innocent who pays substitution it's amazing to think about the innocent Jesus counted as a sinner punished as a sinner and Barabbas the real criminal is acquitted and goes free by the way the same man who talked about that story he said notice what happened with Barabbas Barabbas didn't say well I just want to be a little bit better than I could leave I just need to be baptized first and then I could leave no believe what the jailer said you're free take it by faith what an illustration here Jesus takes our place and bears the full weight of the punishment we deserve Jesus changed places with Barabbas dies literally in Barabbas's place I don't know if Barabbas had a sins paid for by Jesus or not we're not told I guess you could watch the Hollywood movie Barabbas they say he did I don't know but an innocent man goes to the cross and the guilty man is free substitution Matthew 27 verse 45 example number six example number six it says in verse 45 now from the sixth hour Matthew 27 verse 45 from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour so from noon to three it's dark what's this mean I don't know how does it get dark in the middle of the day maybe it's a dust storm that came maybe it was some kind of sarako that comes flying up from north africa maybe the sun is eclipsed but if you study the Old Testament what will you see darkness mean often judgment the sun is being judged for us in our place Jesus is the sinless spotless lamb never sinned always obeyed and here at 12 noon Jesus is dying on the cross three hours dark and here's what's happening and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Eli Eli Lama Sabakhtini my god my god why have you forsaken me we have some lesbian neighbors and she asked one of the ladies said could you come and visit in the hospital when I have a knee surgery I said well we'd love to come and visit you Kim and I would love to come and but I want you to know I'm a pastor and I'd want to read the bible to you and also pray oh she said I'd like that so we went into the room and the other lady partner she doesn't really want to talk religion even though she's kind to us and she gave her a kiss on the lips and then walked out said goodbye and and so then we're sitting talking and finally the lady said to me well aren't you going to read the bible said yes she said what's your favorite passage she said I think I really love Psalm 22 the Lord is my shepherd I said you know that's Psalm 23 but now that you're talking about Psalm 22 let me just tell you the first verse of Psalm 22 and I don't need my bible my god my god why have you forsaken me and can you imagine our sins were so bad at Calvary that the father turns his back as it were on the Son and punishes the Son like he was a sinner even though he wasn't judging the Son now when you think about this cry of Christ Jesus think earlier listen to John 16 behold an hour is coming Jesus says and has already come for you to be scattered each to his own home and to leave me alone yet I'm not alone because the father is with me think about John 8 I and my father are one he that seeeth me seeeth the father also the father does not leave me alone and from all eternity Jesus never experienced any silence from the father now when I hear stories about people just drive up to hospitals and just abandon a baby in the bathroom I think abandoning babies in bathrooms abandonment child abandonment I can't think of anything so bad better than aborting the baby certainly and here is the abandoned cry of Jesus suffering the unfathomable depths of sin in our place not from physical agonies although I'm sure it hurt a lot not from inner mental distress and look at the passage my god my god this repetition no longer my father but now he's god judging sin why for what end trying to understand this he's fully human it was like all of hell's punishments condensed into three hours and then just dumped on jesus god was doing the forsaking silent a pilot sentenced but it was really the sentence of god on different grounds forsaken god why have you left me destitute why why have you deserted me one man said this is the most tragic speech in all the human language men can be forsaken by friends a wife by her husband a child by its parents but the father forsaking the object of his love from all eternity for 33 years the son had unbroken and perfect communion and think about eternity past as well with his father now forsaken this cry is understood in light of mark 14 father all things are possible for you but remove this cup for me yet not what i will but what you will this is substitutionary atonement god is light and in him is no darkness at all and he has to judge sin bliss said bearing shame and scoffing rude in my place condemned he stood sealed my blood with a pardon one man called this god's holy revulsion against sin if you ever want to know what god thinks of sin you just look at the cross propitiation is being done god the sun diverting by absorption and finally number seven revelation five our last passage for this session i don't know our timing but we'll just finish this one revelation chapter five verse six i want to tell you all about revelation one through four in the first few verses but we're just going to go straight to verse six buckle up revelation five six and between the throne of course we've got a view here of heaven and the four living creatures and among the elders i saw a lamb standing just learned about a lion but now we got a lamb standing as though it had been slain seven horns with seven eyes which are the seven spirits of god sent out all to all the world the lamb standing the lamb's alive but it looks like it's been slain the word is it's been butchered somebody's taken a knife like a butcher does and carves it up it's talking about of course the crucifixion and this word lamb is used in the new testament book of revelation over and over and over i think 28 times the lamb more than any other name of jesus in revelation the lamb because everything has to do with substitution atonement and this lamb standing as it's been slain true or false there are man-made things in heaven true the two hands the two feet in the side five man-made scars in heaven that you'll see on jesus forever as you worship him the lamb standing as if slain now when you hear the word lamb john wants you to just go back to genesis two and three and exodus 12 and ex and leviticus 16 and isaiah 53 and think no wonder when john the baptist saw jesus he said behold the vulture of god did he say that behold the turkey of god behold the ostrich of god see because this is all tied together god is the author and when john the baptist sees jesus it's behold the lamb of god why because he's white and fluffy that's what i would say to my kids and they're like no dad don't you know lamb means substitutionary sacrifice that's right that's why i said to my little gracey about a year ago what's the most important concept in all the bible that if you don't believe you can't go to heaven and you can't say god or jesus right kids go to sunny school what'd you learn about today god jesus i know that because if if the people at sunny school don't teach you about god and jesus they're fired and they tell you how don't put elbows on the table manners how to shake look people in the eye pagans know how to do that i want our kids to be taught about jesus christ you need a savior people always like well what do i teach the kids for sunny school it's the same message every week you're a sinner and you need a savior just pick a different passage i'm like if you don't know this topic if you don't understand this concept you can't go to heaven it's the most important theological concept in all the bible i had her attention then she said dad i don't know and i said substitution you've got to have a substitute and i said little gracey one day you're gonna die and you'll either have to pay for your sins or jesus the lamb will have already paid for them substitutionary atonement the lamb here has been standing no wonder revelation one says i'm the living one i died and behold i'm alive forever more i have the keys of death and hades i've been slaughtered mortally wounded slain the lamb bears marks of his death forever one lexicon said of this word slain perfect passive participle it's used of animals especially when killed as a sacrifice slaughter to slay metaphorically of jesus' atoning death as the lamb of god jesus is not only the lion of the tribe of juda but he's the lamb of god who perches redemption through substitutionary atonement behold the lamb of god no wonder acts eight with philip the man's reading like a sheep he was led to slaughter and like a lamb before its share is silent charles spurgeon said if ever there should come a wretched day when our pulpits shall be full of modern thought and the old doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice should be exploded there'll be no remaining of no remaining word of comfort for the guilty our hope for the despairing hushed will be forever those silver notes which now console the living and share the dying a dumb spirit will possess this sullen world and no voice of joy will break the blank silence of despair the gospel speaks through the propitiation for sin and if that be denied it speaketh no more and now look down in verse nine look at the song we need to wrap up and they sang a new song saying worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals i don't think we're going to change these lyrics in heaven either no matter how much the presbyterian committee wants to do it for you were slain and by your blood unto death you ransom people for god from every tribe and nation and people and tongue and i could add all the rest and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our god and they shall reign on earth jesus christ dies the just for the unjust Galatians 3 having become a curse for us Hebrews 9 to bear the sins of many one last passage we're going to just make this super fast i can't bear to do it my flight's a little bit delayed so i have pastoral privilege first john chapter 4 i just got an email just not that long ago first john chapter 4 let me quickly help you understand that you cannot understand god's love apart from substation atonement propitiation a love would then only be sentimental emotional sexual something else but you cannot understand god's love apart from the death of christ i'll say it again you cannot understand god's love apart from the death of christ and john the gospel writer john the epistle writer the writer of a revelation he's the the apostle of love how would he define love god is love how many times have you heard that we have a little hermeneutical principle in our world here's a principle how do i understand this passage pastor the hermeneutical principle is keep reading simple so let's find out beloved first john 4 7 let us love one another for god for love rather is from god and whoever loves has been born of god and knows god anyone who does not love does not know god because god is love keep reading the world wants to say god is only love we say god is love but he manifests that love through propitiation you gotta keep going in this the love of god was made manifest among us that god sent his only son in the world that we might live through him in this is love look at how he gives it a description of what it is he further describes it in this is love not that we love god but that he loved us and and and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins beloved if god so loved us we ought to love one another when when john speaks about love he speaks about propitiation because they go together he defines propitiation by its relationship to love and he defines love by its relationship to propitiation that's the explanation of divine love james then he said so true if you could just get one thing one thing is christians from me i want it to be this that's pretty big for a pastor to say for the apostle to say god is love is exactly the same as to say god has in his son made propitiation for our sins that is what love is that's why when people say you guys try to have so much wrath and penalty substitution we're for the love here's what we say it's only by god's love that he gave us jesus as a substitute i'm not minimizing love i'm upholding love through propitiation if you don't think there's a tack on substitution atonement you'll soon find out there is because people want to make themselves good enough so jesus doesn't have to die such a vicious death let's pray father in heaven we just would ask again that you would seal these bible verses to our heart in this is love not that we love god but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins father i think about all the pagans and they try to do something to be a have you assuaged of of wrath and they offer you up good works and sacraments and baptisms and pagans offer up to their false gods sweets and vegetables and animals and virgins and babies and father we could never satisfy your wrath so you did by sending your son in love for us thank you for that even though holy even though loving even though wrathful you're gracious and father we would admit that there's nothing cheap about that and christ's name