Christ\nJesus came into the world to save sinners<\/em>; of whom I am chief!” 1\nTimothy 1:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n“I will accept you with\nyour sweet savour.” \u2014 Ezekiel 20:41<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The merits of our great\nRedeemer are as sweet savour to the Most High. Whether we speak of the active <\/em>or passive <\/em>righteousness\nof Christ, there is an equal fragrance. There was a sweet savour in His active <\/em>life\nby which He honoured the law of God, and made every precept to glitter like a\nprecious jewel in the pure setting of His own person.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSuch, too, was His passive <\/em>obedience,\nwhen He endured with unmurmuring submission, hunger and thirst, cold and\nnakedness, sweat great drops of blood in Gethsemane, gave His back to the\nsmiters, and His cheeks to those who plucked out the hair, and was fastened to\nthe cruel wood\u2014that He might suffer the wrath of God in our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThese two things are sweet\nbefore the Most High; and for the sake of His doing and His dying, His\nsubstitutionary sufferings and His vicarious obedience\u2014the Lord our God accepts\nus. What a preciousness must there be in Him to overcome our want of preciousness!\nWhat a sweet savour\u2014to put away our ill savour! What a cleansing power in His\nblood\u2014to take away sin such as ours! and what glory in His righteousness\u2014to\nmake such unacceptable creatures to be accepted in the Beloved!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark, believer, how sure and\nunchanging must be our acceptance, since it is in Him! Take care that you never\ndoubt your acceptance in Jesus. You cannot be accepted without Christ; but,\nwhen you have received His merit, you cannot be unaccepted. Notwithstanding all\nyour doubts, and fears, and sins, Jehovah’s gracious eye never looks upon you\nin anger; though He sees sin in you, in yourself\u2014yet when He looks at you\nthrough Christ, He sees no sin. You are always accepted in Christ\u2014and always\nblessed and dear to the Father’s heart. Therefore lift up a song, and as you\nsee the smoking incense of the merit of the Saviour coming up, this evening,\nbefore the sapphire throne, let the incense of your praise go up also! “He\nhath made us accepted in the beloved!” Ephesians 1:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/strong>\u201cThe Scapegoat\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nLeviticus 16:8<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe scapegoat beautifully portrays our dear Saviour, the Lord\nJesus Christ. As the slain goat portrays him as the Lamb sacrificed for our\nsins, the scapegoat portrays him as the sacrifice accepted. The scapegoat is a\npicture of the complete removal of our sins by Christ. The first goat, the\nLord\u2019s goat, the slain victim, gave us a picture of the atonement. The second\ngoat, the scapegoat, gives us a picture of the result of the atonement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Fit Man<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWith all the sins of Israel made his, the scapegoat was taken\naway by a fit man. That fit man is the Judge of all the earth who must do\nright, the very justice of God. The scapegoat is borne beyond the camp\u2014beyond\nall sight\u2014beyond the track of man\u2014to the far borders of an uninhabited land.\nReleased, it disappears in rocks and thickets of an uninhabited desert. Unseen,\nunknown, forgotten, it departs from mortal view. It is now buried in oblivion’s\nland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full Pardon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThere is no brighter picture of the full pardon of all sin in\nChrist. Christ bore the accursed load of all my sin and guilt away, as far away\nas the east is from the west; and God’s all-seeing eye cannot find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, precious tidings! Oh,\nheart-cheering truth! Oh, wondrous grace! God the Spirit, by the testimony of\nthe gospel, proclaims this good news and confirms it in the soul by the gift of\nlife and faith in Christ. God has cast our sins, all our sins, behind his back\nand into the depth of the sea of infinite forgetfulness! As we watch that fit\nMan and the Scapegoat, Christ Jesus, the horizon recedes. Infinite separation\nhas infinitely separated our transgressions from us! Christ, our Scapegoat, has\nborne our iniquities away (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 38:17; Micah 7:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can we recover what the ocean\nburies? No line can reach to the unmeasured depths. It has sunk downward,\nnever to arise. Deep waters hide it; and it must be hidden. Such is the grave\nof sin. Our Scapegoat drowned it in a fathomless abyss. The word is sure.\n“Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea!<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\nCan that be seen to which the eye\nof omniscience is blind? Are objects visible which are behind your back? Our\nScapegoat has cast our sins behind God\u2019s back! He has blotted out, as a thick\ncloud, our transgressions (Isaiah 44:22), and can never find them (Jeremiah\n50:20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not Remembered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThat which Christ has taken away, blotted out, and removed by\nhis precious, sin-atoning blood, God cannot and will not remember. He promised,\n“I will remember their sin no more<\/em>” (Jeremiah 31:34). Do you\nneed comfort? Drink deeply from this stream of joy. Lay down in this green\npasture of delight. Your sins, so many, vile, and hateful, your Scapegoat has\ntaken away. All your blemishes, defects, iniquities, transgressions, and sins\nare forever gone! And God your Saviour. God, who cannot lie, says to you, \u201cThou\nart all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee<\/em>\u201d (Song of Solomon 4:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\nDon Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe taketh\naway the first, that he may establish the second.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nHebrews\n10:9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn this 10th<\/sup> chapter of Hebrews the Holy Spirit\nshows us the purpose of God in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He\ndeclares that the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, is the only\nsin-atoning High Priest there is. The whole chapter is a declaration of the\nfact that the Son of God has finished His work of redemption and has perfectly\nfulfilled all that portrayed Him and His work in the Old Testament. That is the\ndoctrine of Hebrews 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nFirst, God gave Israel the law, the priesthood, the tabernacle, the sacrifices,\nand the services of that carnal age, by which they might know and worship Him\nin type and imagery until Christ came. Then Christ came to do the will of God,\nto do what those things could only portray and typify, to accomplish the\nredemption and salvation of God\u2019s elect. Thus, He took away the first that he\nmight establish the second (Hebrews 10:9-22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOur blessed Redeemer took away the old ceremonies, sacrifices, priesthood, and\nordinances of carnal worship, when He came to do the will of God. While they\nlasted, those things were good. \u201cThe law is holy, and just, and good.<\/em>\u201d\nDuring that age of legal, ceremonial worship, those things were both useful and\ngood. But when Christ came, He took them away. He took them away\nbecause they were no longer needed. The types served their purpose; but\nnow Christ has come. Who needs a picture? The God-man Himself is here! The\nSaviour is present with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\nChrist took those things away because the observance of\nthose things now are forbidden. God destroyed the temple, the altar, the\npriesthood, the ark, the mercy-seat, every particle of law and the carnal\nworship of that age to keep us from returning to legality, and to keep us from\nritualism and idolatry. The destruction of every particle of the Old Testament\nlegal system is a declaration that redemption\u2019s work is done! Christ has\nfinished the work. If we still had those carnal implements of worship, they would\nonly take our minds off of our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians\n2:10-23). When our Lord Jesus took away the types, He brought in and\nestablished something far better. He brought in real, perfect, complete,\neverlasting atonement (Daniel 9:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHe took away the first that He might establish the second; and this is far, far\nbetter. The first was good; but God saved the best until last. Once we have\nseen Christ, we do not miss Aaron. Once we have experienced the simplicity of\nthe Gospel, we never pine for the complexity and bondage of the law. If ever a\nsinner enters into the holy place, he will not wish to re-hang the veil! No one\nwho has experienced the liberty and freedom of grace will ever return to the\nbondage and terror of the law (Galatians 5:1-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHere the Holy Spirit gives us both a word of assurance and a word of warning. \u2014\n\u201cHe taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.<\/em>\u201d The\nassurance is this. \u2014 Justice is satisfied! Redemption is accomplished! Sin is\npardoned! But, be sure you hear the warning. We dare not seek to re-establish\nany ordinance of the law, lest we build again that which God has cast down. We\ndare not seek to establish any ordinance of worship which God has not\nestablished in His Word, lest we be guilty of idolatry. We dare not tolerate\nany notion that the second can fail. \u2014 \u201cHe shall not fail!<\/em>\u201d His blood\nshall not fail to atone! His righteousness shall not fail to satisfy! His\nintercession shall not fail to prevail! His grace shall not fail to save!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, and here alone<\/strong>
\n
\nStanding then at the cross of our adorable Lord<\/strong>,
\nwe may see . . .<\/strong>
\n the law thoroughly fulfilled,
\n its curse fully endured,
\n its penalties wholly removed,
\n sin eternally put away,
\n the justice of God amply satisfied,
\n all His perfections gloriously harmonized,
\n reconciliation completely effected,
\n redemption graciously accomplished,
\n and the church everlastingly saved.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, we see sin<\/strong> in its blackest
\ncolors, and holiness<\/strong> in its most attractive beauties.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, we see the love of God<\/strong>
\nin its tenderest form, and the anger of God<\/strong> in
\nits deepest expression.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, we see the eternal and
\nunalterable displeasure of the Almighty against sin,
\nand the rigid demands of His inflexible justice, and
\nyet the tender compassion and boundless love of
\nHis heart to the election of grace.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, are obtained pardon and peace.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, penitential grief and
\ngodly sorrow flow from heart and eyes.
\n
\nHere, and here alone<\/strong>, is . . .
\n sin subdued and mortified,
\n holiness communicated,
\n death vanquished,
\n Satan put to flight, and
\n happiness and heaven begun in the soul.
\n
\nWhat a holy meeting-place<\/strong> for repenting sinners
\nand a sin-pardoning God! What a healing-place<\/strong>
\nfor guilty, yet repenting and returning backsliders!
\nWhat a door of hope<\/strong> in the valley of Achor for the
\nself-condemned and self-abhorred! What a safe
\nspot<\/strong> for seeking souls! And what a blessed
\nresorting-place<\/strong> for the whole family of grace
\nin this valley of grief and sorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\nJ.C.Philpot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
All error in theology comes from two sources. An attempt to make God less than He is or an attempt to make man more than he is. Henry Mahan God is well-pleased, and receives with pleasure, approbation, and delight\u2014all who approach His throne of grace, sensible of their needs\u2014in the name of Christ crucified. Hence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6768,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767\/revisions\/6768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}