ENDS OF CHRIST'S DEATH. 139 Just One; Ye slew the Prince of Life, ye crucified the Lord of Glory." III. Why did Christ thus die? What ends did He accomplish by humiliating Himself unto death? Answer. First. He fulfilled the Father's purpose, and finished the work and mission on which He was sent into this world. He came from the glory of eternity which He had with the Father before the world was-from the bosom of his Father to do His will-to reveal His love to us, and to die that God might be just and yet the justifier of them that believe in Jesus. It pleased Jehovah to bruise him for us. This command to lay his life down, says He, I received of my Father. And the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? No one taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again. The blood which I shed is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many. Secondly. By dying He illustrated the perfections of God in harmony and manifested the Divine Glory. On the cross we have a demonstration of His righteousness (Rom. iii. 25). Thirdly. Hereby Christ also acquired a right to universal dominion and eternal glory. For to this end Christ died, that He might be Lord of the dead and living. The Prince of our Salvation was made perfect through suffering. For the joy that was set before Him He endured the Cross; He was obedient unto death-therefore God hath highly exalted him, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. ii. Fourthly. He died on the Cross to redeem us by being made a curse for us. "Being justified by His blood, we shall be saved by Him from wrath. For if, being enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more shall we be saved by His life." But now once in the end of the world, as the Apostle in the Hebrews saith, hath He, Christ, appeared-that is, in the end of the old Dispensation, He hath appeared to the putting away, the expiating, the abolishing of sin, the procuring of pardon for sin by the sacrifice of himself. "For the blood of Christ the Son of God cleanseth us from all sin." "He gave himself for us that He might deliver us from this present evil world, and redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. He loved us, and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood.” I have but little time left for practical inferences from this great and awful theme. But surely you are already prepared to admit-I. that we should love Him who hath loved us, and given himself for us. And surely we should exercise repentance toward God and faith in His Son, seeing that He did not spare His own Son, but delivered him up to death for us all-and having done this, made the greatest possible gift: how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? II. Christ's death is to be regarded as the death of Death. Heb. ii. 14, 15. When the sorrows of death compassed, Him and the sorrows of hell, as the Psalmist expresses it, compassed Him about, then Death came upon Him to swallow him up; but Death himself was swallowed up by the dying LUTHER'S WILLINGNESS TO DIE. 141 CHRIST Redeemer in a perfect and complete victory. abolished death-rendered it feeble and without effect; so that the believer's death is not to be regarded as the punishment of sin, but as the termination of sin, and the end of all his sorrows, and the entrance into life eternal. "Since, then, Christ died for us, why must we also die?" "Ans. Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins; but only an abolishing of sin and a passage to eternal life." Heidelberg Catechism. "Death, we confess, retains its name; Its fatal sting it cannot claim. I have selected from one of Luther's letters a few striking sentences on this subject, in his own peculiar style. "Our enemies often threaten us with death. But if they were as much distinguished for wisdom as they surpass every one in folly, they ought really to threaten us with life. A truly ridiculous sort of terror, as if they could deter Christ and His people from their purpose by the fear of death; for Christians are the conquerors of death through Christ, who vanquished and triumphed over the King of Terrors, and showed himself alive as a trophy of his victory to his disciples. Those men, in reality, discover the same egregious madness, as if I should intend to intimidate a person by bringing forth his horse saddled and bridled, that he might take a ride." Rather, since the world and sorrow and sin and Satan press us so hardly, we would say, Make haste, O death, and let my last day on earth soon come to end my sins, and usher me to my home with Jesus. Nor, III. is it improper for us to make the death of Jesus an example, for from Him we learn, 1. To do with all our might the work given us to do by our Heavenly Father, and not be impatient to rest from toil, or to win the prize, till our work is all done, and done successfully. 2. Like our Lord, as the decisive hour approaches we should endeavor so to disengage ourselves from domestic concerns and secular affairs, that we may be ready to depart promptly and go willingly whenever Jesus calls. 3. We may humbly imitate Him, committing our departing soul to God. Stephen did this under a shower of stones. This may be done even when there is not left power to utter words. And, 4. We should die believing that He is the resurrection and the life-in the hope of a blessed resurrection at the last day. O my beloved brethren, what a sight is a dead Christ! The amazement of heaven, the terror of hellthe wonder of the beholding universe! Dead from suffering the wrath of God due to us-upon both his body and his soul,—the death-punishment which in fact makes the hell of the lost in the world of woe, except a feeling of conscious personal guilt. When He bowed His head and said, “It is finished," He bore the pang of the curse and drank the cup of wrath, and the Father accepted His atonement for His people. If, then, Jesus our Lord, who thus gave himself for us, is with us in the toils, sorrows, and temptations of life, we need not fear that He will forsake us when the last enemy approaches. Through the whole way of the dark valley, in the fearful mystery of death, He will be with us, and comfort us. CHRIST OFFERED TO US. 143 "Jesus can make a dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are, And breathe my life out sweetly there." But, my dear hearers, let me beg you not to forget that the precious benefits of Christ's death are offered to you upon the condition that you accept them. They are not absolute and without conditions. Our Lord established a covenant and fulfilled His engagements with His Father for all that will come to God through Him. He invites, He draws, He calls, and whosoever will may come. Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. We must accept salvation as it is offered to us in the Gospel, or we have no share in it. |