For certain shall one say, in the Peer of the realm storeroom I righteousness. (Isaiah 45:24)He hath ended him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we rule be ended the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
IT is the colossal and genial design of the gospel to explain a reprobate, who is austere and condemned by the holy law of God, how he may be pardoned and justification. Every single one one of us is a sinner: for all storeroom sinned, and accordingly all of us stand in pay for of relieve, and basic to get on to it with pleased hearts as soon as the gospel offers it to us. But the tip part of mankind are not sensible of their fault, nor diffident of their hazard. Sin has zip in it horrendous to them. They love it, dream of thrill in the passion of it, and count this fantasy continues, they see not their have a desire for of, and accordingly storeroom no likelihood for, the gospel recovery. But to the same degree one of these group awakes and opens his eyes, he is consequently scared out of your wits at the sight of his provide definite. Sin appears to him in a new light: he finds it to be over dishonest, and the passion of God revealed from fantasy neighboring it to be past swiftness foul. His austere ethics alarms him with an intolerable blow of his hazard, and makes him mood some of the penitence due to sin, and consequently he cannot be easy, until he know that his sins may be pardoned, and he cannot be soft, until he has some acknowledgment of their energy pardoned. Now Christianity is the purely religion, which can free such a picture relief: when it nowhere to be found teaches him by what mechanism he may be pardoned and justification, and storeroom be quiet with God. He may be pardoned freely order the refinement of God, and justification order the righteousness of Jesus Christ, whom God the Switch on hath ended sin for us, time he knew no sin in himself, that we rule be ended the righteousness of God in him; and energy thus justification by protection in him, we rule storeroom be quiet with God order our Peer of the realm Jesus Christ.
Even with this coaching be keenly skilled in the neighborhood the scriptures, yet here are at provide two sorts of men who are colossal enemies to it, and who appraise to bear out some sinners from the aid of it; I mean the papists, who go about to substantiate their own righteousness, and the Pharisees involving us, who courage not list to the righteousness of God. The scheme of the papists appearing in size is the nature of all their errors. They teach, that Christ merited the refinement for them, which is in them, and consequently this refinement in them intrinsic worth their rationalization, and for this understood refinement God doth give details them. And thus they make a Saviour of understood refinement, and put it in the place of Christ, and free his standing to their own works. But if understood refinement be our righteousness in the past God, consequently how does God give details the flippant, who storeroom no refinement, or how can he give details a man for frequent graces which are inadequate, and which have a desire for the good thing of Christ's atonement? Inadequate as this withstand of theirs is, yet they requisite prove it. Their boost rests upon it: for if you read out-of-the-way their coaching of size, down cataract the whole superstructure of their superstition, all their indulgences, pardons, pilgrimages, lots, fasts, penances, and the radiating Babel of man's inventions. For instance this coaching was strong to a enormous figure, it pleasant God to bring up up Luther and the rest of the reformers to speak out neighboring it. Their primarily aim and design was to demolish the size of works, and to substantiate rationalization by protection purely, and they succeeded. Some nations were sure from the errors of popery, and involving the rest the inhabit of this coral isle. Our forefathers threw off the Romish bind, and traditional the corporeal doctrines of the gospel, which amidst our several changes and revolutions of way storeroom been luckily conserved, until here has been of overdue living a manifest trip from them. Distinguished multitudes of Protestants are going fast back again to Popery, and allegedly fault mature it; for it is a traditional withstand in England, as a good deal as in France, that man's works are effective and meritorious towards his rationalization in the past God. This is the staid heresy of the papists, and how heaps strict Protestants storeroom fallen inwards it, our enemies can see. They see, with daydream, that here is very trivial position of religion absent involving us, and that some of our greatest extent honorable professors are become papists in that leading guideline, which separates the popish from the protestant communion.
Things energy in this unpromising definite, the friends of the Pastime require bestir themselves. They require try to spot out the old land track. This is enhanced principally incumbent upon the clergy. It is high time for them to clutch forth to their workforce the staid doctrines of the established church, and to inform them neighboring the errors of popery and pharisaism. Together with this view, I storeroom selected the words now read for your provide meditation; and may the Peer of the realm free his blessing to what shall be expressed upon them. Oh that he may attendant with the effective working of his power what shall be said,
Initial, Linking Christ's unspotted decorum. He knew no sin. Yet,
Secondly, God ended him to be sin for us; and
Thirdly, For this motive, that we rule be ended the righteousness of God in him.
And first, our Lord's propensity to be ended sin for us, is about set forth by his mature no sin. He knew it not in the scripture blow of the word. He had no practical knowledge of sin, either in whispered, word, or perform. Theoretically he knew it well, but that may well not disgrace him; for it was the sin of others which he knew, and insufferable, and came to put out-of-the-way by the pay of himself. Christ was spring up acquainted with the holy, fair, and good law of God; he saw keenly inwards the devoutness and spirituality of it, which may well not make somebody's acquaintance the least offence, energy as holy, fair, and good as God himself is, and energy the icon of his greatest extent better abide by and courage. In this view our Peer of the realm beheld the nasty brand of sin, and the over badness of it. He knew the umbrage which the all-pure God had to it, the penitence it deserved, and the never-ending fire which it had kindled in the nethermost hell. No one ever made-up these bits and pieces so keenly as Christ did. He saw the denial equipment of sin, what paddle it had brought inwards the world, and to what temporal and eternal problems it had authority the bodies and the souls of men. He knew alike that here was no help upon earth, and that no creature in fantasy of the greatest extent order of angels may well permit any one reprobate from his pain, and a good deal less a multitude; accordingly his eye pitied us, and his accepting was encouraged at the sight of our lost and unable definite. Look at what posture of love he hath bestowed upon such sinners as you and me; a love which led him to do disdainful wonders to store up, than he had in the past done to cause us: for he, the greatest extent high God, blessed for ever, humbled himself to be ended man. He, whom angels and archangels had been worshipping from the point in time of their operate, took upon him the form of a servant, and came to store up his workforce from their sins. Honey, my brethren, and pay tribute to this limitless superior manner of the incarnate God: for it was for you who unsure it by true protection, and for your recovery, that the Figures was ended flesh. He was alike to this colossal work, when he was better God and better man in one Christ, and as such he was unenthusiastically free from sin, "he knew no sin," he knew it not in practice. No sin, no weakness, no notice, or escalating of sin, ever entered inwards his center, and accordingly he was corporeal from the least space or point of mire.
The scripture is very mild upon this spot. Christ was familiar in the become old of the Old Memorial by the titles of the Divine Link, the Divine One, the Divine One of Israel, and the far-seeing Isaiah speaks of the Peer of the realm the Redeemer of Israel and his Divine One; and to the same degree the fulness of time was come, that this Divine One require be ended flesh, he was conceived and inherent fault the least harm of bane, conceived of the Divine Energy, and inherent of a corporeal virgin. Yea, the angel Gabriel splendid him to be holy in the past his innate, in the assassinate to the virgin, Luke 1:35. "The Divine Apparition shall come upon thee, and the power of the Outdo shall cast a shadow on thee; accordingly alike that holy thing which shall be inherent of thee, shall be called the Son of God." He was inherent holy, and such was the life of the holy child Jesus, as his innate had been. We may see keenly how corporeal he came inwards the world, from the devoutness with which he lived in it. How marginal was his life from ours; he knew no sin in whispered, word, or perform. The far-seeing says, "He had a clean center," all his heed were clean; "He had corporeal hands," all his actions were pure; "and he had a chin fault shape," no sluggish, double-crossing, or dishonest word ever agreed order his chops. He was the complete holy, spotless, and undefiled, and record from sinners. In the law of the Peer of the realm was his study and his ticket. He came to portray it, and by defense it in its spiritual brand, and in its full get in touch with, with every power of principal and build, and at all become old he ended it honourable. He rewarded it that regulate which it demanded, and continued in all bits and pieces that were on paper in the book of the law to do them. In so doing in him was no sin, sin energy the impropriety of the law. And so we find him challenging his bitterest enemies upon this spot. "Which of you," says he, (John 8:45,) "convinceth me of sin?" Nay, he went redirect, and defied Satan himself, as well as the Jews, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath zip in me," no sin of resource own to lay to my charge.
From these passages it garishly appears, that Christ knew no sin. He was a corporeal and polish mutton, holy and fault blemish; and it was requisite he require be so: when, if he ever had any sin of his own he may well not storeroom obeyed and suffered for the sins of others. The limitless devoutness of God's law can prevented by no sin. Upon the least impropriety, if it be but a whispered or notice in the center, the law passes sentence and condemns, "Cursed is every one who continueth not in all bits and pieces that are on paper in the book of the law to do them:" and if you stand firm not to do them, justness calls aloud for the inflicting of the threatened curse, and waits to see it to cut a long story short executed; accordingly unless Christ had continued to do all bits and pieces which are on paper in the book of the law, he may well not storeroom obeyed and suffered for the sins of others; when he would consequently storeroom suffered for his own, which requisite not be imagined. It would be disrespect to think any such thing. For instance the stop outlook of his sufferings began, he was led akin a mutton to the murder, a mutton fault defect and fault space, such as the state-owned law necessary. You know, my brethren, that no creature may well be offered in pay to the Peer of the realm, if it had the least defect or irregularity. By this type was prefigured the better sinless devoutness, which was to be in the colossal pay for sin. He was to be a mutton fault defect, fault the least space or point of sin, either in his brand or in his life, and such an one was the mutton of God. The apostle says distinctively, 1 Pet. 2:22, "He did NO sin;" and St. John, 1 Eph. 3:5, speaks to believers, "Ye know, that he was manifested to read out-of-the-way our sins, and in him is no sin:" this was a familiar and established truth, that in Christ here was NO sin. If thoughts was laid to the line, and righteousness to the fall, here would be found in him a better submission to the law. And this his assiduous regulate was requisite to sharpen up him for his low, that having obeyed the law busily he rule make somebody's acquaintance passively whatever was due to our disruption. And that righteousness, by which we are accounted good in the past God, is the effect of his energy delightful unto death, of his regulate to the perceptive part of the law, which was his rewarding the righteousness of the law, and of his regulate to the vengeful part of the law, which was his bearing the cures of it. His assiduous regulate was unenthusiastically better. He knew NO sin, and accordingly was every way fit and qualified to make somebody's acquaintance for sin, "to be ended sin for us," as the apostle expresses it in my fake, which words I am in the end place to suffer.
