The hallmark of the Protestant Reformation, sola gratia, is a glorious truth about God's absolute freedom in saving a people for Himself. This foundational truth can be found throughout the pages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and this "sola" proved to be the key issue of the sixteenth century Reformation. The following sermon was delivered in Nigeria earlier this month in which the truth of God's saving grace was proclaimed. Part 1 of this series pointed out the universal condemnation of all men. That is to say that the heavenly verdict is rendered. "Guilty as charged!" And the sentence is awarded, eternal separation from the face of God. The prisoner is to be taken away...

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But wait. There is a word to be said from the Defense Attorney, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. If the court pleases, a proposition is to be made. "Will the Divine Lawgiver of the universe allow the sentence imposed on the guilty prisoners to be executed or carried out in a Substitute?"

The answer is an emphatic, yes. The court of Heaven will allow someone to take the place of the condemned and pay the penalty the justice of the court demands. And so Jesus Christ went to Calvary as a substitute for sinners. Jesus died in your place and mine. And the wrath of the Father was poured out on Him.

See Him now suspended between heaven and earth suffering the fury of Divine wrath against sin in the act of crucifixion. Shall I tell you about a crucifixion? Crucifixion was a form of Roman torture, reserved for slaves and rebels, combining the height of disgrace with the extremity of suffering. The agonies were so excruciating that men died in blasphemy and despair. Seneca, the Roman Stoic, says that men cursed heaven and earth, all mankind, the hour of their birth, their judges and executioners, and that they spat in fury at those who looked on. Sometimes the screaming horror was so great the victims had their tongues cut out, or their mouths gagged, to silence the desperate torment of their cries.

On these occasions there were always those who, sadistically inclined, gathered to see the "fun." They maliciously taunted and tormented the helpless victims, exacerbating and aggravating their pain. Certainly the religious rulers of Israel were of this nature. The scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians were not content with having engineered the crucifixion of Jesus. They came to watch the end of the man from Galilee who had spoken against them. "He saved other," they sneered, "let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God" (Luke 23:35). The hardened soldiers, brutalized and callous, took up the cry, "If thou be the king of the Jews, save they self" (Luke 23:37). The malefactors who had been crucified with Jesus began to rail on Him casting the same in His teeth: "If thou be Christ," they cried derisively, "save thyself and us" (Matt 27:44; Luke 23:39).

The irony is that what the unbelieving people uttered in jest was actually taking place. Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). Jesus was doing what was proposed. He was saving Himself and He was saving others through gospel obedience to the known will of God the Father.

In the strange and mysterious economy of God, the cross is not simply the symbol but the instrument of our salvation. It is the means by which we are reconciled to God. The cross is the place of justification whereby souls are legally declared righteous by faith and it is all on the basis of grace, that is, underserved favor.

In the act of justification comes peace with God. Writing in his Foundations of Faith, J. C. Ryle explains: "Without justification it is impossible to have real peace. Conscience forbids it. Sin is a mountain between a man and God, and must be taken away. The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart and must be removed. Unpardoned sin will murder peace. The true Christian knows all this well. His peace arises from a consciousness of his sins being forgiven, and his guilt being put away…He has peace with God, because he is justified."

to be continued...