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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

July 30, 2017

The greatest blessing God can ever bestow upon an individual, a family, a local church, or a community in this world is to send them a faithful gospel preacher. The greatest curse he can bring upon them is to remove him from them, silence his voice, or remove them from him.

Daily Readings for the Week of July 30-August 6, 2017

Sunday Jeremiah 1-3 Thursday Jeremiah 12-14

Monday Jeremiah 4-5 Friday Jeremiah 15-17

Tuesday Jeremiah 6-8 Saturday Jeremiah 18-21

Wednesday Jeremiah 9-11 Sunday Jeremiah 22-24

· Conference Offering Today — Please mark your gifts (Check or Offering Envelope) for our Bible conference “Conference.” Give generously, as the Lord directs you, and all needs will be supplied.

· I am scheduled to preach Friday-Sunday for Bethel Baptist Church in Spring Lake, NC, where Bro. John Chapman is pastor.

· I am scheduled to preach August 7-9 for Covenant of Grace Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro, NC, where Bro. Linwood Campbell is pastor.

Happy Birthday! Brittany Torson-31^st Carol Brown-4^th

Church Cleaning in August: Shante’ Birchum and Betty Burge

Nursery Duty This Week

Nicole Abell (AM) — Elizabeth Peterson (PM) Tuesday: Shelby Fortner

Jehovah’s Love — Don Fortner

(Tune: #46— O For A Thousand Tongues —CM)

1. What sacred theme inspires the hearts

Of God’s elect with songs?

What is the song of saints above,

The ransomed, blood-bought throng?

2. Jehovah’s love swells every note,

And sounds from every chord,

Throughout the nations of the earth,

And echoes back to God!

3. He loved His saints ere time began,

And gave them to His Son;

Yea, love contrived His cov’nant and

The cov’nant work was done!

4. He loved His chosen when they lay

Beneath sin’s cruel yoke;

‘Twas love that stooped our debt to pay,

And love our fetters broke.

5. Unchanging love, alone, could bear

With sinners vile and base.

It gives us heav’n, it takes us there,

And tunes our harps for praise!

“Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.”

Isaiah 53:10

I understand the biblical doctrine of the atonement. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission,” not because God is vengeful and cruel, but because he is good, righteous, and holy. I understand something of the agony of our Savior’s tormented body. I can even understand the torments of his broken heart to some degree. But here, the prophet of God speaks about something I simply cannot comprehend: the sufferings of our Savior’s holy soul.

“Much we talk of Jesus’ blood,

But how little’s understood!

Of his sufferings so intense

Angels have no perfect sense.

Who can rightly comprehend

Their beginning or their end?

`Tis to God and God alone

That their weight is fully known.

See the suffering Son of God-

Panting, groaning, sweating blood!

Boundless depths of love Divine!

Jesus, what a love was thine!”

The Son of God was made sin for us! I am certain that there is more to the sufferings of our Lord for us than the mere legal, or forensic term “imputation” implies. His heart was not broken simply because he was made to be legally responsible for the debt of our sins. Our sins were not pasted on him, or merely placed to his account. The Lord Jesus Christ was “made sin for us!”

When he was made to be sin for us, the Lord God made his soul an offering for sin! Those words, “when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,” imply much more than “a sin-atoning sacrifice.” They carry the idea of fault, guilt, guiltiness. In fact, the words would be better translated “when thou shalt make his soul sin,” or “when thou shalt make his soul a trespass,” or “when thou shalt make his soul guilt, or guiltiness!”

When our dear Savior was most perfectly obedient to his God and Father and our God and Father, as our Representative, his Father forsook him! On one occasion, after reading, studying, and praying over our Savior’s cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” for hours, Martin Luther slammed his hand on his desk and cried, “God forsaken of God, my God, no man can understand that!”

When the Lord Jesus was made sin for us, when he was forsaken of God as our Substitute, the sun was turned into darkness! There was three hours of darkness over the earth and all the light Israel had enjoyed for 2,000 years was turned into darkness to them. The moon turned into blood! All the law of God, the moral law and the ceremonial law was fulfilled by the blood-letting of God’s sword of justice! At last, the Sun of Righteousness was buried in the dark, dark tomb of death. Then, on the third day, he arose with healing in his wings! — “With his stripes we are healed!”

What is Not Said

“He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

In order to understand what the Holy Ghost here teaches us, let me show you what this text does not say.

Not a Sin Offering

It is not stated, as it is most commonly suggested, that God the Father made his Son “a sin-offering.” The Scriptures do declare, “thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” Our all-glorious Christ is our sin-offering. We have no offering for sin but him. But that is not what this text says. Here the Holy Spirit declares, “He hath made him sin for us.”

Not a Sacrifice for Sin

The Apostle does here tell us that Christ was made “a sacrifice for sin.” He is that. We rejoice to declare that when our blessed Savior died as our Substitute, he offered himself “one sacrifice for sins” and “sat down on the right hand of God.” Because of his one sacrifice, “there remaineth therefore no more sacrifice for sin!” But here the Spirit of God tells us, “He hath made him sin for us.”

Not Reckoned to be Sin

Again, the Holy Spirit does not tell us here that Christ was “reckoned to be sin” by his Father. That is the way we might read the text, if we followed the implications of our translators in adding those words “to be.” Yes, he was reckoned to be sin and punished as such for us. But here we read, “He hath made him sin for us.” He was reckoned to be sin because “He hath made him sin for us.”

Not Imputed

In the same line of thought, it must be pointed out that our Lord Jesus is not here said to have sin imputed to him. Sin was, indeed, imputed to our Substitute; it was laid to his charge. That is because “He hath made him sin for us.” But as far as the words of Holy Scripture are concerned, it is nowhere stated in the Book of God that sin was imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is not a single passage in the Bible that speaks of our sins being imputed to our Savior. In Romans 4 the word “imputation” or its equivalent (accounting or reckoning) is used seven times. It is mentioned again in chapter 5 (v. 13). But in those places God the Holy Ghost speaks of sin not being imputed to us and of righteousness being imputed to us. Yes, our sins were imputed to Christ when he was made sin for us, and because “He hath made him sin for us.” But the Word of God never uses the word impute, or any word like it, to speak of sin being imputed to Christ.

Made Sin

God, who made his Son sin for us, inspired the apostle Paul to state the matter in plain words that cannot be misunderstood, except by men who choose to misrepresent what God has written in the Sacred Volume. — “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The Grace Bulletin

July 30, 2017

Grace Baptist Church of Danville

2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Telephone (859) 576-3400 — E-Mail don@donfortner.com

Donald S. Fortner, Pastor

Schedule of Regular Services

Sunday

10:00 A.M. Bible Classes

10:30 A.M. Morning Worship Service

6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service

Tuesday