"The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that "God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them." The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that "the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and that "Christ also hath
suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God"; "Who himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree"; "For the
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are
healed."
In one word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is
substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ
being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary
sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave
him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own
hearts by their trusting in Jesus--this is the cardinal fact of the
gospel.
If this foundation were removed, what could we do?
But it
standeth firm as the throne of God.
We know it; we rest on it; we
rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to meditate upon it, and
to proclaim it, while we desire to be actuated and moved by gratitude
for it in every part of our life and conversation. In these days a
direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the atonement. Men cannot
bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the thought of the Lamb of
God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by experience the
preciousness of this truth, will proclaim it in defiance of them
confidently and unceasingly. We will neither dilute it nor change it,
nor fritter it away in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a
positive substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the stead of
men. We cannot, dare not, give it up, for it is our life, and despite
every controversy we feel that "Nevertheless the foundation of God
standeth sure."-Charles Spurgeon
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