Our Lord's Substitution
(No. 2790)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, AUGUST 3, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JUNE
23, 1878.
"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:24.
PETER had almost incidentally mentioned his Master's name and, having
done so, he felt that he must enlarge upon that theme, for the name of
Christ was very dear to him. He seems to again hear that
thrice-repeated question ringing in his ears, "Simon, son of Jonas, do
you love Me?" and he can still answer, "Lord, You know all things; You
know that I love You." So, having mentioned his Master's name, he feels
that he must say something about Him. Oh, that we, also, may have such
love for Christ that a touch of His hand, or a glance of His eyes may
suffice to detain us! May we never be weary of hearing about Him! May
His name exercise a sacred fascination upon us! May it cheer us in life
and in death and be the theme of our song throughout eternity!
There is, perhaps, a special reason why Peter wrote, in this place,
concerning the vicariousness of Christ's death. He had just been
alluding to another aspect of that death. In the 21st verse, he had
said, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you
should follow His steps." "Ah," thought Peter, "they may, from my
mentioning His death by way of example, draw the inference that Christ
only died as our Exemplar." They may say–as, alas, so many in modern
times have done–"that the death of Christ was merely the completion of
His life and that He is simply the Savior of men by setting before them
a higher ideal of what men should be than they would otherwise have
been." The Holy Spirit forewarned Peter of this danger and taught him
how to avert it, in the best possible way, by adding this most
significant sentence, "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the
tree." It is quite true that Christ is our Exemplar, but no man can
ever follow Christ's example until he has first believed in Him as his
Substitute and Savior. Christ did not come merely to be an
example–when we are dead in trespasses and sins, of what use can His
example be to us? It is life that dead men need and Christ came to
bring us life! In our natural state, we are already condemned because
we have not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. Of
what use would an example of perfect innocence be to those who are
already condemned? None whatever. But Jesus comes to bring us pardon
bought with His own precious blood, that then, through gratitude to
Him, we might begin a new life–and then His example might be of
service to us. It behooves us, first and foremost, to view Christ as
the Sin-Bearer, for, if we do not receive Him in that capacity, we have
missed eternal life altogether and all our professed imitation of
Christ will be but mere empty formality–which will fall far short of
the righteous requirements of God.
We are going, therefore, to meditate upon the great central doctrine of
our Lord's Substitution. I shall have nothing new to say upon it, for I
find that "the old, old story" has an endless charm for Believers and I
wish to tell it again in such a way that if it should have been, up to
now, unknown to any hearer, he may give heed to it and, this very hour,
find peace and pardon through believing in Jesus Christ our Lord and
Savior!
First, I shall speak upon the blessedfactmentioned in our text–"Who
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree." And then, secondly,
I shall call your attention to some points of practical instruction
which may be found in this blessed fact.
I. First, then, let us think about THE BLESSED FACT ITSELF.
That fact is that Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the
tree. This fact is the sum and substance, the pith and marrow of the
whole Gospel, so, lay hold of it, feed upon it and live by it. God, of
old, in Infinite Justice, determined that sin must be punished, but He
also determined to save His people, whom He had given to His Son by the
Everlasting Covenant. How could both these results come to pass? Divine
Wisdom devised the plan of substitution and Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, became Man, that He might be able to be the Substitute for
sinners. It was fitting that He should take that position, for He had,
by His Covenant with the Father, assumed the place of Head of the race
of mankind–the second Adam, the Lord from Heaven. The people, whom He
had chosen as His own, were all represented in Him and, therefore, He
was fully qualified to stand in their place and to serve and suffer in
their place.
And He did so, first, because the sins of God's people were laid upon
Him. What says Isaiah? "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us
all." If you carefully read through that 53rd Chapter of Isaiah, you
will notice that, several times, in so many distinct words, the sin of
Christ's people is said to have been transferred to Him and borne by
Him. I remember, once, hearing a certain Divine assert that sin could
not be transferred–but it was, for Holy Scripture again and again
declares that it was. "Blessed is the man," says David, "unto whom the
Lord imputes not iniquity." The man has committed iniquity, but it is
not imputed to him because it has been imputed to Christ Jesus, his
Substitute, who stood in that sinner's place and took upon Himself that
sinner's sin. In vision, I can see the Christ of God coming forth from
the Father, bearing upon His shoulders the enormous load of His
people's guilt. It well near crushes Him with its awful weight, but He
presses on. He is Himself perfectly innocent, but sins not His own are
reckoned to Him, for "He was numbered with the transgressors; and He
bore the sin of many."
In due time, in consequence of this imputation, our blessed Master bore
our sins in another sense, namely, by answering for them at the bar of
God. As Joseph Hart sings–
"CCaame at length the dreadful night– Vengeance with its iron rod
Stood, and with collected might Bruised the harmless Lamb of God"
–because He was the Sin-Bearer. Christ then appeared with His people's
sin upon Him–so, when Divine Justice came to punish sin and found it
upon Christ, it arrested Him and bruised Him so sorely that He sweat,
as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground. Justice took
Him off, like a malefactor, to the Hall of Judgment and there was no
one to declare His innocence or to plead for His release. He was
brutally scourged and given over to the Roman soldiers, that they might
treat Him as they would–for nothing was thought of Him, even as He had
made Himself of no reputation. In the hall of the Praetorian guards,
all manner of insults were heaped upon Him.
Then they took Him out to the hill of doom–they nailed Him to the
transverse wood, they lifted Him up on high, they fixed His Cross in
the earth and there they let Him die, hanging by His hands and feet.
Thus was He, "Himself," bearing, "in His own body on the tree," the
sins of all His people and, all the while, His soul was being tortured
with sufferings that cannot be described in human language! We must be
perfectly pure, as He was, before we can even begin to understand how
sin must have affected Him. We must be perfectly happy, as He was,
before we can comprehend how He suffered when He was enduring the wrath
of God for our sakes and was forced to cry, "My God, My God, why have
You forsaken Me?" That was because He was bearing the consequences of
our sin. He took the sin upon Him and, therefore, He also took the
sorrow which resulted from the sin. He took the place of the guilty, so
He must suffer the penalty which they had incurred. And the text tells
us, as a matter of fact, that He, Himself, bore our sins in His own
body on the tree.
Before we pass on, let us draw the right inference from this blessed
fact–namely, that if Christ bore our sins, we need not bear them–no,
we do not bear them. If, as a believer in Jesus, I know that He bore my
sin, it cannot be on my back and also on His! It cannot be that He took
the sin upon Himself, yet left it upon me. A thing cannot be in two
places at one time, so, if He bore my sin, I am clear! Again is
verified the text I quoted to you just now–"Blessed is the man unto
whom the Lord imputes not iniquity." How can He impute it to him when
He has already imputed it to Christ and caused Christ to suffer in that
man's place? So there, again, I say, is the very core of salvation, the
heart of the Gospel– Christ suffering in the place of all who believe
in Him!
Note carefully the words of the text. It says not only that Christ bore
our sins, but, from the full, unqualified expression that is used, it
is implied that He bore them all–"Who Himself bore our sins." That is
to say, whatever sins a Believer has ever committed, or ever
willcommit, Christ bore them on the Cross! Sins original and sins
natural. Sins actual
and practical. Sins of thought, word and deed. Heinous
sin–blasphemies, uncleanness. Those that are thought to be the minor
sins–evil imaginations, hasty words. I will not go on with the list,
for time would fail me to get to the end of it! But when you have
mentioned all the sins you can think of, I can still say that the text
covers them all–"Who Himself bore our sins"–not some of them, not the
greater ones, not the lesser ones to the exclusion of the greater, but
allour sins–in His own body on the tree"–
"Coveredis our unrighteousness, From condemnation we are free."
And the text, from its unguardedness, teaches us that Christ bore all
our sins completely–"Who Himself bore our sins." They were all laid
upon Him and He did effectually carry them away and make an end of
them. He bore them "to the tree," says the margin, and crucified them
there. He carried them upon His shoulders, up to the Cross and there,
once and for all, annihilated them, so that they have ceased to be. O
my Soul, rejoice as you look upon the Sin-Bearer who made a full,
complete and absolutely acceptable Atonement, finished transgression,
made an end of sins, made reconciliation for iniquity and brought in
everlasting righteousness, as it was foretold that the Messiah would
do! In this, we do rejoice–yes, and will rejoice!
The text also implies, from its being free from any kind of limitation,
that Christ alone bore them–"Who Himself bore our sins." There was no
Peter, or James, or John to help Him in His hour of deepest need. Nor
did an angel tread that winepress side by side with Him. Alone and
singlehanded, our great Champion entered the arena and won the victory
for us! Let this be one of the chief articles in our creed henceforth
and forevermore. I say to the man who calls himself a priest, "No, Sir,
I do not need any absolution from you, even though you may be a lineal
descendant of the Apostles– through Judas Iscariot–for I am perfectly
satisfied with the forgiveness which I have obtained by faith in Christ
Jesus! You say that you can offer for me the unbloody sacrifice of the
"mass" in order to help in the putting away of my sin, but I need
nothing of the kind, for Christ, Himself, bore our sins in His own body
on the tree." On that tree, He Himself said of His atoning Sacrifice,
"It is finished." "This man, after He had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God; from henceforth
expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering
He has perfected forever them that are sanctified." Let these words
roll out like a thunder peal and let all men know that there is no need
of any addition to that Sacrifice–either of penance, or "purgatory,"
or human merit, or priestly power–nor can there be any repetition of
it! Love's redeeming work was done by Christ, alone, and in Him we rest
and in Him, alone!
The sweetness, however, of this passage lies in the fact that Christ
bore our sins. Come, Brothers and Sisters, can we all say that–"Christ
bore our sins"? I am not now talking of the general aspect of the work
of Christ, for it had a special aspect to Believers and the full
blessings of the Atonement only comes to them. "Christ loved the
church, and gave Himself for it." Can we say, then, "Who Himself bore
our sins"? Let me put it in the singular, and pass it round to each one
here–can yousay, my Friend, "Who Himself bore mysins in His own body
on the tree"? My sins, so many and so heavy, and once so terrible to
me–He bore them, bore them all and I am clear and free from every
charge because He bore them! This is being saved. I trust Christ and
know, in consequence, that He bore my sins–then I am saved! How many
of you are thus saved? May the heart-searching Spirit of God go from
soul to soul and constrain you to give a true answer! And if you cannot
reply in the way we wish, give the other answer and say, "I do not know
that Christ bore my sins."
When you get home, write that down, and look at it–"I am not trusting
in Christ. I have no part nor lot in Him. My sin is pressing upon me,
but I have no saving interest in Christ." I think that if you were to
write that down legibly with pen and ink–and then sit down a little
while and think it over–it might be much more useful to you than any
word of mine. "No, Sir," you say, "I would not like to write that."
But, surely, you may write what is true! A man ought not to be afraid
to know the truth about his spiritual state, nor yet to write it for
his own eyes to see. I do not ask you to print it in the newspaper or
in a book, but just to put it down for your own information–"I am
without Christ. I am an unbeliever. I am still in my sins. If I die as
I am, I shall be lost." Oh, may God grant that you may see your true
condition and feel it and not rest until you can say, "Now I have
believed, and I know that Christ, Himself, bore my sins in His own body
on the tree." If you are trusting Him, you know that He did so. Your
faith is the evidence of your election and the proof of your
redemption–and if you do but simply and completely trust Him, He has
saved you and you may rejoice in the fact that, in the sight of God,
you are fully and freely forgiven!
II. Now, secondly, I am to call your attention to SOME POINTS OF
PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION which may be found in the blessed fact mentioned
in our text. I always like to be as practical as possible in my
preaching and I think there are, in this great Truth of our Lord's
Substitution, some practical lessons which we shall do well to learn.
The first is this. See the self-sacrifice of Christ and imitate it.
Jesus Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He was not
forced to do it. He might still have remained in Heaven, sharing in all
His Father's Glory, forever, but, out of love and pity for us, He
descended from His Divine eminence, veiled His Godhead in our humanity
and came to earth among the sons of men that He might bear His people's
sins up to the tree and away from the tree. Can anybody measure the
self-denial of the Savior in acting thus? Is it possible for us to
estimate the stoop of love and the amazing suffering which He endured
for us? Then, let us learn from Him what self-sacrifice means. I do not
believe in our service for Christ always being pleasant. If we are
truly His servants, there will sometimes be a galling of the shoulders
by the yoke of our servitude and we shall delight to be thus galled for
His sake. Has any Christian ever given what he ought to give until he
reaches the pinching point when he has to deny himself in order that he
may give to God's cause? Has any Christian ever done for his Savior
what he ought to do if he has not come to the point of real self-denial
in it? To go to the Sunday school class when it is a pleasing duty, is
all very well, but, in the service of our Master, we ought to keep on
at such work even if the brain should be weary and if, in such trying
weather as we often have, it should seem to be almost impossible to get
through it.
I have sometimes heard it said, "Oh, but the Lord cannot expect us to
do that!" There are two ways of looking at that expression. I do not
expect much from some people, but from those for whom Christ died, from
those whose sins He bore, we ought to expect anything and everything of
which they are capable if they act up to the measure of their sacred
obligations! Many servants of our Lord Jesus Christ have been content
to be poor, or have been satisfied to abide in a very lowly station in
life, or have been willing to go to distant lands and suffer great
privations and hardships. And the secret of their willingness to deny
themselves has been that each of them could truly say, "Christ denied
Himself for my sake. He bore my sin on Calvary's Cross and if His
blessed and perfect shoulders could bear the load of my sin, shall I
not bear the far lighter load of His service? Shall I not take His yoke
upon me and learn of Him, as He has bid me do?"
Are you worried by the little troubles of the family? Are you getting
tired of trying to bear a testimony for Christ in the workshop? Are you
becoming weary, my Brother, or my Sister? Then remember what Paul wrote
to the Hebrews, "Consider Him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds."
Think how He bore your sins and from this moment feel, "I will count
self-denial to be a luxury if I may but exhibit to Him my love and let
Him see that I am not altogether oblivious of that which He endured for
me." Come, Beloved, can you not be stirred up to some nobler form of
love than you have ever before known? Is there not something more that
you could do, or something more that you could suffer by way of proving
your love to Him who, Himself, bore your sins in His own body on the
tree?
In the next place, see what abasement there was in Jesus Christ bearing
our sins. Up, up, up, our soaring thoughts may fly, but we can never
reach the height of His magnificence in the eternal world with the
Father! Yet down, down, down He comes, till He is a poor Man–no,
more–a despised Man, a suffering Man, a condemned Man, a crucified
Man, a dead Man lying in a borrowed tomb! That is a wondrous stoop, but
the greatest condescension of all is indicated by that expression in
our text "Who Himself bore our sins." Well, then, what say we
concerning this abasement of our Lord? Why, surely, that we ought to be
ready to be despised and reproached for Christ's name's sake! I think
we get off wonderfully easy, in these days, compared with what some
Christians have had to bear for Christ's sake and the Gospel's. Yet, in
days gone by, some of us have known what it was to have all manner of
evil spoken against us falsely and to be reviled again and again for
Christ's sake. It is a good thing when a Christian minister feels that
he has given up his character and everything else to Christ, so that,
if men choose to slander and abuse him, he will bear it all so long as
he may thereby but honor Christ and keep his conscience clean.
If you are a Christian, you must expect to be dragged through all the
muddy pools that your persecutors can find. If you do even a little
wrong, they will magnify it a thousand times–and if you do no wrong at
all, the most blameless life will not enable you to escape from the
envenomed tongue of slander! If that is your lot, just bear it. Be
willing to be Christ's servant, to be, as the Apostle Paul was,
Christ's branded slave, bearing in your body the marks of the Lord
Jesus. Say, to your Lord, as Thomas Haweis wrote–
"If on my face, for Your dear name, Shame and reproaches be, All hail
reproaches and welcome shame, If You remember me."
I know that some of you young people get dreadfully frightened at the
ugly epithets which have been applied to you. Perhaps you say that you
do not like to be ridiculed because you are a Christian. Why, you ought
to be proud of such treatment! Just adopt the very nickname that they
give you and let it be to you what the stars and garters are to the
nobility of England–bear it as the insignia of a Knight Companion of
the Cross of Christ. The Lord grant you Grace, in this matter, to
account the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than all the
treasures of Egypt!
Those two things are, I think, clearly enough set forth in the
text–our Savior's self-sacrifice and self-abasement. And it is equally
clear that those who would be His followers should imitate Him, as far
as they can, in both these respects.
Notice, next, our Savior's willingness, as it is set forth in the text.
"Who Himself bore our sins." There was, in His self-sacrifice and
self-abasement, the utmost spontaneity, freeness, voluntariness. Nobody
pressed Him to it. He Himself did it and He did it of Himself,
unprompted, unsolicited. No sinners followed at His heels, crying,
"Blessed Savior, bear our sins for us!" No necessity, except the
wondrous love of His own great heart, constrained Him to be a
Sin-Bearer. He could truly say, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book
it is written of Me, I delight to do Your will, O My God." He told His
disciples that He had a baptism to be baptized with and that He was
straitened until it was accomplished. He loved us so much that He could
not be content without dying for us. Now, mark, this is the way in
which we ought to serve God–freely, cheerfully, gladly. I dislike,
above all things, that kind of holiness into which a man has to be
flogged, for it could only be a mockery of holiness! I loathe that
generosity which only flows through much pumping and that work for
Christ which results from such a remark as this, "You must do it.
Somebody will think ill of you if you don't." Bear your fruit to Christ
freely–do not need to have it forced, like hothouse grapes. Grow on
the wall and bear your fruit freely. The best juice that comes from the
grape is that which leaps from it on the first pressing–and the best
piety in the world, the best virtue, the best service is that which a
man freely yields to Christ and His cause.
We say that one volunteer is worth five pressed men in the defense of
one's country and I am sure that he is. The mercenary is but a poor
tool compared with the noble citizen who grasps his sword to defend his
hearth and home. And, in the service of Christ, troops of slaves may be
urged forward, but they never do anything for Him. It was said of the
Persians that whenever they went to battle, you could hear the sticks
of the captains who were beating the soldiers to make them fight–and
they won no victories. Look, on the other hand, at the brave
Spartan–he was glad at the very thought of fighting, he lived in it.
He was a born lion and he rushed to the fray, delighted to be in the
fiercest conflict! He was the man to win battles and so is it with the
Christian to whom the service of God is his holiday–his holy day. To
serve the Lord Christ in any way that is possible to him, is his
highest ambition. He does not wish to be excused. He desires to be
invited. As the eagles gather to the place where the carcass is, so do
men of this stamp gather to the spot where the service of God can best
be carried on! Leap to the front, Christians! Leap to the front and let
no one hold you back, for, if Christ willingly suffered for us, we
ought willingly and gladly to serve Him!
I ask you, next, to notice the reality of our Lord's Substitution. "Who
Himself–what? Proposedto bear our sins? Oh, no! That rendering will
not do! We must try again. "Who Himself promised to bear our sins"? No,
no! That is not correct. "Who Himself began to bear our sins and then
became tired of the task"? No! Yet I have read, in somebody's book,
something very much like that. "Who Himself talkedabout bearing our
sins"? "Who Himself had a good word to say in commendation of somebody
else who would bear our sins"? No! None of these are correct readings,
for our Lord's Substitution is something actual and real! He bore our
sins and bore them, not according to fiction or imagination, but, "in
His own body"–in His own hands, His own feet, His own side–"Himself
bore our sins in His own body on the tree." The bearing of our sins was
as real as our sins were! Well, then, let us take care that we render
to the Lord Jesus whatever actual service we can in return for His
actual Sacrifice for us!
Did you ever hear a thrilling sermon or a very stirring speech about
serving the Lord and, as you listened to it, did you keep on saying to
yourself, "Yes, I will do that! I will excel others in earnestness! I
will make great sacrifices for the cause of God! I will be very
prayerful! I will be one of the most devoted Christians who ever
lived"? So you talked and
patted yourself on the back and said, "Well done!" But you never did
anything, yet you gave yourself the credit for doing it.
I have heard of a man who owed a great deal of money and when a bill
became due, he got it renewed–and then he came away and said, "There,
that is all right now." And when the bill became due again, he did the
same, yet he never paid sixpence of the debt–but he always walked away
and seemed as pleased as if it had been paid! We have far too many
professing Christians of that kind–they are great at moving and
seconding resolutions and making fine speeches–but nothing ever comes
of them!
Now, in our Lord's case, there was actual, solid service and suffering
for us! So do not try to put Him off, Brother, Sister, with good
intentions and with the repetition of those intentions again and again!
Come, now, for the love we bear His name–let us really get at actual
service for Him. If it is only the teaching of one poor little boy to
read his Bible, it will be far better than talking about what we mean
to do, even if we utter it with commanding eloquence which might move
the nations!
To drop two-pence into the offering box will be better than writing a
fine essay on generosity and never giving anything! To breathe one real
fervent prayer to God will be better than a long parade of your own
excellencies, or a doleful talk about the sad declension of the Church
and I know not what besides! There is nothing that can take the place
of real service for Christ! We have a great deal of talk from some
people who do very little work.
I sometimes wish that those who write me long epistles about various
plans and schemes and who draw out elaborate details of what could be
done if everybody gave so much, would only give their share and not
make any plans at all! We can all make plans when we need them, but a
more important thing is to take our share and to do our part in the
actual work. If we all do that, some of us will be following our Lord
better than we are now doing.
My last observation is this–Notice the strong personality of our
Lord's Substitution–"Who Himselfbore our sins in His own body on the
tree." He did not employ anybody else to accomplish the great work of
our redemption, but He did it Himself, in His own proper Person. You
and I do not believe in sponsors, but, assuredly, one of the worst
forms of sponsorship is that of a man getting somebody else to do his
work for Christ. I sometimes admire the way in which certain persons,
who have no special gifts, will try to get others to do what they
cannot do. A friend said to me, "I have often wished to preach the
Gospel, but I am slow of speech and I have come to years at which I
cannot expect to ever become fluent. So I want to find somebody who has
a ready tongue and who can speak well for my Master. I wish you could
tell me of such a man." I said that I thought I knew several, but what
would be the good of them? "Because," he said, "I will sponsor one–I
will find the means for his support so long as he will go about and
preach Jesus Christ."
That seemed to me to be a right thing, especially when the gentleman
said, "I do speak for Christ as much as I can." Many Christian people
say, "We are doing a great deal at our church. We have an excellent
Sunday school. We have an admirable Tract Society. We have a capital
Young Men's Institute." Wait a moment, Friend, and let us sit down and
figure it all out. What class do you take in the Sunday school? "Oh,
ahem! Ahem! I don't take any." I thought so, but what part do you take
in the tract-distribution? Oh, there are 50 or 60 distributors, Sir!"
Yes, but what part do you take in it? None at all, I can see. "Well,
our church does a great deal for home missions." But what do you do for
home missions? I see that some of you smile at this personal question.
I wonder whether that is because you would not like to be pushed into a
corner in that way! But I want to push you into that corner! I want to
get you to answer–without any personal questioning from me–by taking
stock of yourself! An owl is a fine bird to look at, but he is a very
small bird when he is plucked–he is nearly all feathers–and I think
that a great many Christian professors are very much like owls. They
are fine birds to look at, but it is mostly feathers–is it mostly
feathers with you?
Let me remind you of our text–"Who Himselfbore our sins in His own
body on the tree." There is a poor Christian woman lying bedridden. She
very seldom has a visitor–do you know her? "Yes, I know her, and I got
a city missionary to call upon her." But the text says, "Who
Himselfbore our sins." Poor Mary is in great need. "Yes, I know, Sir,
and I asked somebody to give me something to give to her." Listen–"Who
Himselfbore our sins in His own body on the tree." There is your
sister, who is unconverted. "Yes, Sir, I know it, and I-I-I have asked
Mrs. So-and-So to speak to her." "Who Himselfbore our sins." Can you
not get to that point and do something yourself? "But I might do it
badly." Have you ever tried to do it at all? I believe that personal
service for Christ, even when it is far from perfect, is generally much
more efficient than that sort of substituted service which so many
prefer. Oh, if we could but get all those who are
members of our churches to personally serve the Lord Jesus Christ, what
a powerful church we would have! Would not the whole South of London
soon feel the power of this church of more than 5,000 members if you
all went to this holy war–each man, each woman–by himself or herself?
But it is not so. Many of you just talk about it, or propose to do
something, or try to get other people to do something.
"Well, but really, Sir," one says, "what could I do?" My dear Friend, I
do not know exactly what you could do, but I know that you could do
something. "Oh, but I have no abilities! I could not do anything!" Now,
suppose I were to call to see you and, meeting you in your parlor, I
were to say, "Now, my dear Friend, you are no good to us. You have no
abilities–you cannot do anything." I am afraid that you would be
offended with me–do you not think that you would? Now, it is not true,
is it? You can do something–there never yet was a Christian who had
not some niche to occupy–at least one talent to lay out in his
Master's service! You young people who have lately joined the
church–little more than boys and girls–begin personally to serve
Christ while you are yet young, or else I am afraid that we shall not
be able to get you into harness in later life. And even those who are
encumbered with large families and great businesses, or with old age
and infirmities, yet say, nevertheless, "We must not sit still. We must
not be idle, we must do something for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We must serve Him who, Himself, bore our sins in His own body on the
tree."
In the spirit of this text, go forth and, even before you go to bed, do
something to prove your love to Jesus–and unto His name be glory
forever and ever! Amen and Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 PETER 2.
Verses 1-3. Therefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby: if,
indeed, you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. If you have once had
that sweet taste in your mouths, you will wish to have it always and
you may do so if you continue to drink the unadulterated milk of the
Word of God and do not sour that good milk through tempests of malice,
envy and evil speaking.
4. To whom coming. We should always be coming to Christ. We have come
to Him, we are coming to Him and we will keep on coming to Him–"To
whom coming."
4. As unto a living stone. Sinking down, settling, resting on that
Stone–always pressing closely upon Christ. "To whom coming, as unto a
living stone."
4, 5. Disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, you
also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ. All of you who are in Christ Jesus are the living stones
in this spiritual temple! And you are also priests who offer up
spiritual sacrifices. You need no material temple, for you are
yourselves the temple. You need no other priest save the Great High
Priest who has gone into the heavenly, for you are, yourselves, priests
unto the Most High God.
6-8. Therefore also is it contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in
Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believes on Him
shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe, He is
precious: but unto them which are disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble
at the word, being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. God
grant that we may not be found among that unholy company who, rejecting
Christ as a foundation, stumble over Him and, in consequence, find
themselves broken to pieces!
9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,
a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of Him who has
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light Oh, the dignity
which Christ has put upon the meanest Believer! What a high office and,
consequently, what a solemn responsibility is ours!
10. Which in timespast were not a people, but are now thepeople ofGod:
which hadnot obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Look back to
what you were before your conversion. Whenever you are tempted to be
proud of your present standing, remember the horrible pit and the miry
clay out of which Sovereign Grace, alone, has plucked you! When you are
on the throne, recollect the dungeon from which the Grace of God lifted
you up. When you are in full
possession of your spiritual faculties and are rejoicing in the Lord,
do not forget the time when you lay sick, even unto death, until the
Great Physician passed that way and healed you.
11-17. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts which war against the soul; having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as
evildoers, they may, by your good works, which they shall behold,
glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every
ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as
supreme or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well For so
is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men; as free, and not using your liberty for a
cloak ofmaliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Honor
even the poorest of men. Remember that they are men. Even though they
are sunken in vice or crime, honor the manhood that is in them, however
much you may detest their crimes. "Honor all men."
17-20. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be
subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle,
but also to the harsh. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience
toward God endures grief suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if
when you are buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently but
if, when you do well, and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is
acceptable with God. This is a correction of what we often hear a
slandered person say. "So-and-So has been spreading an evil report
against me and I am depicted in a bad way. I would not have minded it
if it had been true, but I cannot bear the slander, as it is false." My
dear Friend, you ought not to mind it if it is not true! But, "when you
do well, and suffer for it," there is then an acceptableness with God
if you take it patiently.
21-23. For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: who
did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was
reviled, reviled not again: when He suffered, He threatened not; but
committed Himself to Him that judges righteously, who Himself bore our
sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. For you were
as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and
Bishop of your souls. The Lord make this true of all of us, for
Christ's sake! Amen.