The day is Monday, May the 24th, 2010. And I have been meditating and thinking upon the things of the Lord this morning. And the question came to my mind, has Christ died in vain? Has Christ died in vain? wonderful and beautiful scriptures that we are given that build the Christian up in their faith. And we know as Christians beyond the shadow of a doubt that Christ most certainly has not died in vain. We know that he accomplished the purpose of his mission while he was here on this earth. We know that he completed the task that the Father gave him to accomplish. He shows us that in the 17th chapter of John in his prayer to his Father. We also know that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and lives of the believers to reaffirm to us on a daily basis that Christ has not died in vain. For we look at ourselves and we see our proneness to sin, our proneness to wonder from God, our proneness to go after the things of this world and the pride of life and so on, but yet we also as Christians find ourselves going back to the cross of Christ and seeing a perfect sacrifice hanging there and him crying out, it is finished. After such terrible suffering and pain and anguish of spirit, Christ said it is finished. His death on the cross was not in vain. His death on the cross secured everything that he was sent to secure. Now, when we look at the Bible and we look at those passages that remind us of the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ, It gives us great assurance. In the 130th Psalm, the psalmist says, Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thy and my peers be attending for the voice of my supplications. That thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all. is a Nicholas. Jesus Christ did not die in vain. While he was on this earth, he taught us some great precepts, wonderful counselor, prince of peace here walking on this earth. But we also know that Jesus Christ did more than just great teaching. He's a great Savior. And that's one of the reasons I love the book of Hebrews so much. Because we know that His death on the cross is what we look for. The faith is sacrificed on the cross towards all of our sins. And it gives us a rest in our spirits, our souls. And it gives us a hope that we can be recipients of God's grace, and we have been recipients of God's grace. And we know that His death on the cross was not in vain. He says, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Hebrews 8. He says that in the 9th chapter of Hebrews, the 28th verse, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto him that looked for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. How many times do we have a promise, and there are sins and iniquities, well I remember no more. realizing that he is the high priest, that he entered once in the holy place, and he made a sacrifice for our sins. He did not die in vain. Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, and the blood is strengthening, and speaketh better things than man of able. We look to Christ as our comfort for our souls and our spirits in times when Satan would plague us with doubt as to the occurrence of our faith. We have to go back to scripture and he opens the word of God to us. And he shows us that Jesus Christ did not die in vain. That being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. I'm reading in this third chapter of Romans, the twenty-fifth verse. When God is set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. Jesus Christ did not die in vain. We have been justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith unto this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. He realized this morning that we as Christians are justified by his blood. We were saved by his life. He gave his life. as a sacrifice, as a sin bearer. And that's why he came to suffer and die on the cross. For he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. And by his stripes we are healed. For the wages of sin is death. with the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. No, Jesus Christ did not die in vain. And his spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And that we have been recipients of his precious blood which avails for us. we see that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the single most important event in the history of the universe because it secured eternal salvation for us and many times we don't hear, we don't apply ourselves to the realities of the past, what Christ has accomplished for us. And sometimes we have to go back to the Word of God and be immersed in the realities of what Christ did for us. It says in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Well, you know, the resurrection is a beautiful thing, but the fact is that Christ had to die. Christ had to die. He had to suffer on the cross in our stead. And we realize that he has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has attained the victory for us. So we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus. You know, we must continue to stay in the words of God, build up ourselves in the most holy faith. And we must realize that our only trust should be in the merits of the blood of Christ. And we realize that being justified, you know, He says in Galatians 1, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father. Understand that Jesus Christ, for his elect, for his sheep, gave himself for our sins, and the purpose that he died was that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, knowing that all that the Father had given Him will come to Him, and all that shall come to Jesus Christ, He will in no wise cast out. But yet, the point is, He gave Himself for our sins. Did He mind deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God, Well, we see that we have been recipients of that precious sacrifice on the cross before his people and it says that I am crucified with Christ Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. It was very late in life, I think it was about 37 years old, when the Holy Spirit first revealed to me the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ for my sins. And when you see that, what Christ has done for us, realizing that he has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, the Lord has written, the curse is everyone, the hanging on a tree, Galatians 3.13. When we see that Christ did a wonderful, wonderful work for us, and when we see that His work is already finished. It's completed. It's not something yet to be done. It's already accomplished for us. And we have in Ephesians 1-7 it says, In whom we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Christ did not die in vain. Christ did not hang on the cross in vain. Christ did not suffer the torments of the lash of a whip in vain. Christ did not have the crown of thorns placed on his head in vain. Christ was not wounded in vain. But he says here that We have redemption through His blood. Do you believe that at this point? Do you have redemption through His blood? Do you believe that you have forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace? Well, what a beautiful thing to know that we have been forgiven. and that he has given us faith to believe that his blood avails for us, that he did not die then. Even when we were dead in our sins, he had put us together with Christ by grace. We are saved. There is a tremendous value in focusing on the forgiveness of sins through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is tremendous encouragement for the believer to realize that Christ has died for their sins. And it's the only thing that we can trust in is the merits of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so many times we look at all the other things in the world. We look at the evils around us. We look at the false prophets. We look at Satan and his kingdom. We look at the times that we're living in, that we must go back to the realities, that we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1 14, in whom we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins. Are we trusting in the merit of the blood of Jesus Christ. Are we trusting in his blood that has secured eternal redemption for us? There seems to be a lack of teaching about Jesus' blood and the fact that what he's done for us through his blood on the cross And we know that there is one God and one mediator between God and man and that is the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. And we know that the realities of the fact that Christ has secured eternal redemption for all of his people. And we must realize that the sufferings of Christ, the shed blood of Christ, has merit for us. has merit for us. And all of the writings in the New Testament after the death of Christ, especially those signifying with the surety that his blood is meritorious for all of the believer, especially found in the following epistles. We can take great comfort in knowing that Paul's scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, and righteousness. And I'm glad that we are given these great and wonderful promises in the Bible. I'm glad that we're given evidence that is beyond question of Jesus Christ. did not die in vain. Titus, second chapter, the thirteenth verse says, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifying himself of peculiar people, zealous of good works. I'm glad that we are not having to rely upon our own works to assure our eternal life. being justified by His grace, we should do many errors according to the hope of eternal life. And I'm glad that we can go back and we can see that when He talks, He calls us to obedience. Obedience is the belief and faith in the fact that He did not go to the cross in vain. In Hebrews 6 it says, verse 19, which hope we have an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which entereth into that within the veil. Jesus Christ is a great high priest. It says that In Hebrews 7 verse 25, He is able to save them to the uttermost by coming to God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Jesus Christ is interceding for us today. And He's able to save us to the uttermost when we come unto God by Him. We come unto God by Jesus Christ. For such a High Priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. He is not only our High Priest, but He is our sacrifice for our sins. He is the perfect sacrifice. Christ was offered to bear the sins of many, and their sins and iniquities will be remembered no more. Well, this faith that God has given us to believe in the work of Jesus Christ is a beautiful, wonderful consolation for God's life. And he says that in Hebrews 13 verse 20, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Well, I'm glad that we do have a great high priest. I'm glad that we do have the blood of Jesus Christ to depend and believe upon. I'm glad that Jesus Christ did not die in vain. I'm glad that his blood avails for us. And I'm glad that we can trust in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When we find ourselves being attacked by Satan and our whole spiritual house is shaken, we can go back to the scriptures and we can find that Jesus Christ is the one who died for our sins and the person, Peter, Chapter 2, it says here in verse 21, For even here unto where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us. And it says, When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, and commended himself to him that judged righteously. who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should live under righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. Well, what a beautiful two verses. He says, you were a sheep going astray, but are now returned as the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Well, I'm glad that he bore our own sins in his own body on the tree. I'm glad to know that Jesus Christ did not die in vain. And I'm glad to know that his precious blood avails for me. And that we can trust in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has given us exceeding great and precious promises. And realizing that these promises, we know that God cannot lie. He cannot lie. He is a truth teller. And that we can cling to the precious blood of Jesus Christ. And we have an advocate for the Father. He says, I write unto you little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. 1 John 1 12 I write unto you little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. 1 John 3 verse 5 and you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin. And when we do sin, we have an Advocate, Father, who confesses our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Well, I'm glad to know that Jesus Christ did not die in vain this morning. I'm glad that He is worthy. Worthy is the Lamb who received glory and honor and power and majesty in every name that is named in heaven. And that one day we will see our great Savior. And we'll see and we'll be able to praise Him and honor Him and glorify Him. we'll be able to worship him at his feet and we'll be able to sing worthy is the lamb that is slain to receive glory and honor and power and majesty and we'll be able to praise him throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity for dying on the cross and redeeming us from the power of sin and death. What a beautiful thing that would be. But while we're here in this body of clay, let us remember that Jesus Christ did not die in vain. laid down his life on the cruel rock across Calvary that we might be forgiven from all of our sins because of his precious blood. Father, we pray that you would take this message and use it for your glory. We pray in your name. Amen.