“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:18).
What am I saying? What I am saying is . . . voluntarily . . . our Lord and Saviour gave Himself for us-voluntarily and the other part is, vicariously.
Everybody knows what vicarious means? In place of us? Do you know that there is a religious organization that has a head of that organization that believes he is the answer to mankind on earth-that he has been given vicariously to the world. They call him ‘papa’, the ‘pope.’ He has a throne that he sits on that they consider ‘ex cathedra’- when he sits on that throne, whatever he says is infallible. They write it on a piece of paper and they call it a Bull (and this preachers thinks it’s nothing but bull). My word, for a man to say that he is in place of God on the planet earth-that he is the holy father-that’s so devilish it stinks! That’s why they don’t want you to read the Bible. That’s why they like to change the Bible in every way they can so that they can try to trick people. Can’t trick people if they have the Word of God because they are going to check them out with the Book-and that is why it is important to know we have the Book to check them out with.
It’s pretty simple to anybody that is saved and you really think this thing through logically.
Oh, we’re sorry that we had the inquisition and we killed all you people, so please forgive us and let’s get back to business. What’s the business? We’re going to be the religious head of the world-that’s the business. God said so. No! You are not the rock, you are not even a stone-you are a puke. If you don’t get saved, you are going to burn in hell. There is no way there is any religious entity that is co-equal with God.
Only God is God, and Jesus Christ is God and He is the Head of His Church!
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
This passage is speaking about Jesus Christ.
- He was wounded for our transgressions - It wasn’t the pope.
- He was bruised for our iniquities - No way this is the pope.
- the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed - oh yeah, I know that verse . . . they use it all the time on TV. We ain’t got no diseases, we ain’t got no sickness, because Jeeesuuus healed us. Yea, and like this is heaven, dummy. Can Jesus heal? In a minute! Just like that! Those stripes healed us from the wrath of God-from the penalty of sin.
- the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all - ain’t no priest, ain’t no potentate, ain’t no preacher, ain’t nobody that died for your sins. Nobody bears the wounds except Jesus Christ.
Vicariously means that He did all that for you and I-personally!
When you received Him - His death is our death.
When you received Him - His resurrection is our resurrection.
When you received Him - You entered into the Body of Jesus Christ, we are co-laborers with Him.
When you received Him - We became joint-heirs with Him.
Wow! Because of what He did-not what anybody else did.
Only a great God can give, and only a great God can give Himself.
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:24).
You see the context? Healed from what? Healed from the penalty of sin! It goes with the stripes of Isaiah.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).
Think about that! This salvation is actual or experiential in all who believe. Somebody asks you, Are you saved. You say ‘yea!’ How do you know? “I know” How do you know? “Because I did what He told me to do, and He did what He told me He was going to do.” Well, how else do you know? “He’s living in here, remember, He lives, He lives, He’s in my heart today . . .” A lot of songs are written.
I’ve got books in there that explain this. I’ve got a book in there, that after I was done reading it, I was so messed up, it was pathetic. I mean, everything he said was like . . . true? He went into metaphysical stuff - like this is what happened inside your body when you got saved, I mean, I can do it plainly like spiritual circumcision-but he went into emotions, psychological stuff, deep! And I read half the book and I’m saying, “Wow! Thank God I didn’t have to know all this stuff to get saved!”
Well, how do you know you are saved? “Because I am!” How do you know? “I just know!” How can you just know? “Because I was there! He did something to me! He moved in!!!”
Now people have various and different experiences, but if you are saved you know that something happened to you. And it happened to you because of your works? No! It was because of your belief in your heart-exercising of your will to believe what God said about you. And when He told you about who you were-repentance happens-What do you mean? That means anything that you were trusting that made you somehow good, all of a sudden you put behind you and said, what? “None of this stuff can work. My cathecism, my baptism, my communion, my confirmation-none of this stuff saves me!”
All the old ladies across the street that I helped with money, none of that! You repented, you changed your complete mind because you see, in one direction you were trying to salve you conscience-doing good works, thinking that worked-but when God came, and that Holy Spirit convicted you of your sinful condition-you cried out to God for salvation. That means, simultaneously it was like a repentance and an exercise of your will.
Everybody arguing over this stuff-ridiculous! Alls it mean is that anything you were trusting in before, you chucked it, and you turned to God and God saved you. It’s a big deal!
God gave Himself for the church, and that’s why you know that, and you live it experientially every day-through the up and downs.