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The Book of First Peter: Message Thirty
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
The atonement for sin is the heart
and hub of the Bible. Apart from the atonement that the Savior
wrought on the cross, man is hopelessly lost in sin and helplessly
doomed to separation from the Savior throughout time and eternity.
Let's turn to 1st Peter 2:24 and get a glimpse of the
Sin-Bearer and His atonement.
Mark the demand. The Bible says,
"Who His own self bare our sins." There was a time when
there was no sin. But sin, which had its origin in Lucifer, who
later became Satan; sin, which entered this world through Adam; sin,
which breaks the body and soils the soul, now extends throughout the
race and touches every being. That's why we must confess with the
Psalmist, "In sin did my mother conceive me." This doesn't
mean that conception is a sin, but that we're conceived by sinful
parents, and we come into this world with a sinful nature. A young
mother said, "Do you mean to tell me that my darling has a
sinful nature? Why, look at her, she's precious." Just then,
because she couldn't have her way, "little precious"
kicked her mother in the shins. In a burst of anger she slapped her,
and said, "You little dickens." "Little
precious" had quickly become "little dickens." Not
only are we sinners by birth, but also by behavior. And the Bible
says, "All have sinned." All is all, and that includes you
and me. For you can't add anything to all, nor can you take anything
away from all. You and I are sinners, and the Bible says, "The
wages of sin is death." There you have the demand for the
atonement.
Mark the designation. The Bible
says, "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the
tree." It would have been enough for the sinless Savior to bear
one sin, but what it must have meant to bear the world's sins. Think
of the sins of one life. The sins of childhood, of youth, of
manhood, of old age. They're as high as the highest mountain. But
multiply such by the lives of us all, and then, if you can, realize
the terrible and tremendous load Christ carried. No wonder it
crushed Him. Years ago a traveler, on visiting a little town, was
attracted by a spire that adorned a building. Halfway up the spire
he saw a lamb, and he asked the meaning. One of the citizens said,
"When the men had reached that part of the spire marked by the
lamb, a workman lost his balance, and, falling off the scaffolding,
was hurled below. His workmates rushed down, expecting to find his
mangled body on the pavement beneath. To their surprise, however, it
was found he was little the worse for his fall. As he fell, a flock
of sheep was passing by, and instead of the mason being crushed to
death, he dropped with tremendous force upon a lamb. Its broken body
was there, but the man's life was saved. So, to commemorate the
deliverance a stone lamb was worked into that part of the
spire." Thus it was a Calvary. Jesus, the Lamb of God,
voluntarily died "for our sins." He bore the full weight
of our sins, dying in our room and our stead. "Christ suffered
all agonies deserved by unpardoned sinners," says Dr. R.G. Lee,
"and the weight of all the punishment for all the sins of all
time. All the cups of gall ever pressed to human lips, condensed
into one cup, couldn't measure the bitterness He tasted when He
poured out His soul to death. All darkness ever known, gathered into
one black pall, couldn't equal that 'hour of the power of darkness.'
All the loneliness of all hearts, merged into one desert of
solitude, couldn't compare to His isolation when 'of the people
there were none with Him,' and He cried, 'My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me?' The concentrated martyrdom of all ages couldn't
measure the vicarious expiation of His who died as a felon when He
bore the sins of all sinners." Substitutionary, vicarious
atonement: that's what the Bible teaches.
Mark the design. It's written in 1st
Peter 2:24, "That we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness." God gave His Son, not only to carry away our
sins, but to change our lives. That's why He "died to
sin." Here's a man, let's say, awaiting the electric chair, to
expiate the crime of murder. But once he dies for it, the crime can
never bring him into judgment. He's dead to it forever. So
"Christ died for our sins," as our representative and
substitute. And when He died, the believer also died in Him. Since
sin can't bring the Substitute into the place of penalty, neither
can it bring the one for whom He died. This means there's no guilt
and no penalty to them that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
why He calls you and me that believe on Him to live unto
righteousness, that is, to live from now on for all that's good. He
came from a broken home, and he was a bad boy, even though he was
only seven. But my brother, a counselor in that home, led him to the
Lord. After receiving Christ as his Savior he got victory over a bad
temper and stealing, and he said to my brother, "Don't you
think the people will now see Jesus in me since I don't get mad any
more and steal?" He's now living for the Redeemer and
righteousness. Are you?
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
