Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1918 — The Substitute [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Substitute

By REV. L.W. GOSNELL

AtewUnt Dm*. Moody Bibl® Institute. Chicago

TEXT—The Bon of Man cam® not to b® ministered unto but to minister, and to eiv® his Ilf® a ransom for many.—Matthew 20:28. A “ransom” Is a price paid to secure freedom for a slave or to set a

person free from liabilities or charges. Jesus Christ* proclaims himself the ransom for dinners. The text makes clear that it was not merely by living his life but by giving It, In death, that Christ redeemed us. Many, become confused at this point. Of course, Christ’s perfect life was essential to his worthiness as a

sacrifice, for the Lamb must be without blemish or spot. But even though he had lived his perfect life, there would have been no salvation for sinners had he not gone to the cross. In the strong words of Bishop Moule, “His life had to do with Ills being all-worthy. But it did not, in whole or in part, constitute the sacrifice.” The Apostle Peter sums up the matter thus: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious word of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” His life was given “for" us, that is, “Instead of” us, for so the word may be translated. The Idea of substitution cannot be removed from this expression. ’An Illustration of the thought is found in Exodus 30:12: “When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every mm a ransom for his soul unto the Lord.” The half-shekel given by each man was “atonement money,” “to make atonement for their souls” as the succeeding verses make clear. The people were considered not as doomed but as ransomed by the atonement money paid instead of their death. Just so, Christ’s death takes the place of ours. The reality and solemnity of the substitution of Christ for sinners is set forth in Galations 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the course of the law, having become a curse for us.” The old revival hymn well expresses the amazing and glorious fact:

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned he stood; Sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! The death of Christ cannot be understood save as the death of the sinbearer. This alone explains the agony and bloody sweat of Gethsemane and the plea, “Father, if willing, remove this cup from me.” Christ would not be worthy bf the respect paid even to Soldiers who have gone without flinching to death, or to martyrs who have sung at the stake, if his death were no different from theirs. But if we understand that he was entering into the shadow of the cross upon which he would bear the sins of the world, we can understand his shrinking horror of it all. As to what Christ suffered on the cross tve must speak with reverent reserve. But his Qry, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” must not be emptied of its awful content. Bishop Mouie points out that Christ could not suffer that personal remorse for sin which must be one awful element of the future woe of sinners; yet his cry on the cross “at least favors the belief that the all-blessed Sufferer willed to bear, and the Father to ordain, the personal experience of desertion such as enters into the final doom.” The bishop wisely adds, ‘"The reverent disciple will avoid all detailed speculation in such a matter.” But well may we sing: None of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed. Or how dark was the night the Lora went through. To find the sheep that was lost. What a price has been paid for our redemption! Surely we could ask for no more; God himself could ask for no more and Satan is silenced in view of the work done on the cross. Christ’s cry, “It is finished,” answers all the questions which could be asked in heaven, earth or helL We need only fall down and thankfully accept the deliverance bought by his precious blood. A Christian girl lay dying. With * much effort she moved one hand to the other and, after feeling the palm for a moment, whispered, “No nail; his hand was pierced with the nail.” With even more effort she raised her hand to her brow and, after feeling it, said, “No thorns; his brow was crowned with thorns,” Finally, her hand stole to her . side, and with triumph she cried, “No spear; his side vas pierced bjr ttie spear.”