Turn with me to Matthew 1.21. Matthew 1.21, this is the angelic announcement concerning the birth of Christ, concerning His purpose of coming to the earth. He didn't come here just to check things out and see how things are going. He came here on a purpose. Matthew 1.21, and she shall bear a son. This is the angel making the angelic announcement. So we know it's going to be a male. We know he's going to have a name. What is the name? You shall call His name Jesus, not Sam, not Bill, Jesus. For it is He, not someone else, not Mohammed, not some guru, He, Christ. Who will do what? Who will save His people? Interesting. Save them, dear people, from their sins. Now many have been taught or tend to believe that Christ came here on earth to save people from the penalty of their sins. That's partly true. And the angel didn't say that. He didn't say, he will save his people from the guilt of their sins. He didn't say that. He will save his people from the sorrow of sin. He didn't say that either. The angel said, For it is He who will save His people. Now we have to take in consideration a certain people, His people. And the thing that I want us to be aware of this morning in this series of lessons is the fact that Christ came here as a substitute. for those whom He came to save. He didn't say here that He's going to save every individual from their sins. He didn't say that. Read it carefully. He will save His people. His people. Now that enters in Part of the equation, the fact that he's going to be a substitute for his people in order to save them from their sins. From the guilt of sin. From the power of sin. And one day we will be saved from the presence of sin. when we're with Him. Anything less than that is not salvation. Anything less than that is not what Christ had in mind when He came to die on the cross. He didn't come to die on the cross so that you might make some sort of decision and live like the devil on the way to heaven. That's not what our Lord had in mind. when he agreed with the Father to leave the glories of heaven and come to earth, be born in a manger, grow up living a sinless life, that he might die as a substitute for the sins of others, his people. His people. Turn with me to John chapter 17. John chapter 17, verse 1. I'm sorry. Yeah, verse 1 and 2. These things Jesus spoke, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee. Even as thou gavest him authority over all mankind, notice very carefully that to all whom thou hast given him he may give eternal life. Do you see that? God the Father has given the Son a people, a specific people. He shall save His people from their sins. What do we have here? That to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. Some of them? Most of them? All of them? Without exception? God the Father is not sitting up in heaven wringing his hands and worrying about, oh, I do hope so-and-so comes. Oh, I do hope so-and-so will come. Christ died as a substitute for a specific people, those whom the Father had given him. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 in verse 21. And he made him, God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin, three little words, on our behalf. Three little words, but what a message on our behalf. That's the same His people from their sins. That's the same group. Look at those words, on our behalf. Do you know what you could write across the top of those three little words in big bold capital letters? 12, 14 point print. Substitute. Substitute. Now either he was a substitute or he wasn't a substitute. If he was a substitute, then in every sense of the word he was a substitute. He took the place of those whom he came to save. He took the place of those who are described as he shall save his people from their sins. But I hope we will see now and in the future sermons. the far-reaching implications of the substitutionary death of Christ. You see, the truth of the substitutionary nature of the death of Christ is usually set before us as it has to do with our own personal guilt of sin. Amen. And rightly so. Christ died for those whom he came to save. This means that he actually and he really took upon himself the sins of those whom he came to save. And in their place, he suffered the full penalty. And what happens? You know what happens? In time, the Holy Spirit seeks out those persons. And not only seeks them out, but applies the work of redemption which was accomplished for them on the cross. Over the years, I've had the opportunity of being quite involved in jail ministry, prison ministry. One time living in a little town called Rocky Mountain, North Carolina, we had a jail ministry. Every Monday night, we preached in the jail. Myself and my deacons. And one night, we were leaving. And one of my deacons handed me a piece of paper. He said, this guy wrote his name down on a piece of paper. I don't know why. I don't know what he wants. I looked at it. It was a Hispanic name, Jose Medrano. I said, well, I guess I better go check it out since I speak Spanish as well. And I went back and here was the guy sitting in the cell. I said, why did you write your name on this paper? He says, because I need help. I said, what kind of help do you need? I said, if you're talking about money, we don't do it. He says, I need spiritual help. That was 30 some odd years ago. That man was sentenced to two life sentences plus 99 years. He's been in prison. I believe 39 years. Let me tell you something about him. He knows the Lord. He loves the Lord. He is serving the Lord. We interchange communication now on the tablets that are available. He loves Matthew Henry's commentary. He reads it. He copies it in the tablet, sends it to me. I read it. He makes comments. I make comments. And you would be astounded at the level of spiritual growth that this man has in the Lord. Where is he from? He's from Mexico. He and his cousin left Mexico when they were about 13 years old. Hitchhiking. Stealing everything they could get their hands on. made their way through Texas on a cross, ended up in North Carolina. Do you know what? Jose was one of our Lord's people. And every footstep he made, from way down in southern Mexico all the way to Little Rocky Mountain, North Carolina, was directed by God. And on that Monday night, God moved upon him to write his name on a piece of paper and give it to our deacon. You know why? Because of what the scripture says, he shall save his people. wherever they are, whatever the situation is, God will save His people. In time, the Holy Spirit seeks out those people that God has purposed to save and brings them into a saving relationship with Christ. a relationship freed from the guilt of sin, freed from the penalty of sin, and being freed, notice the tense, being freed from the power of sin, day by day by day, and that's what this whole series is about, dealing biblically with sin. And you know what? One day, Jose will be with the Lord, saved from the very presence of sin for all eternity. And he will be able to love and serve the Lord with a sinless heart. Dear ones, the thing I am trying to help you understand and grasp as very, very basic to this whole series on dealing biblically with sin is and joins sin separably to the fact and to the truth that the death of Christ on the cross was a substitutionary death, not just for Barabbas. It was for him, and he walked out of prison that day a free man because there was a substitute. And the only way that any of us sitting here this morning will ever walk around on this earth as a free man or woman from the penalty of sin, and from the power of sin, and one day from the presence of sin, is that there was a substitute who died and rose again on your behalf. And I'm going to use some vernacular language. Anything less than that, friend, ain't going to cut it. It won't happen. Now, turn with me to Romans 8-1. Romans 8-1. There is therefore now no condemnation. Really? No condemnation? Oh, there's some more here. For those who are in Christ Jesus. What about everybody else? Condemnation. Living under condemnation. Dying under condemnation. Now, I want you to listen very carefully. I've been talking about the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, and I'm here to tell you what I've listed for you and described for you up to this point is not all that was accomplished. There's more. There is more. Turn with me to Romans 6, Romans chapter 6 and verse 6, because this is where I want you to focus your attention. Look at it carefully. Paul writing to the Romans says, knowing this, Paul the apostle is saying, you know this, you must know it, that our old self was crucified. Look at the next two words, folks, with him. with Him, Christ. Why? That our body or being of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. That's the whole point of the substitutionary death of Christ. Yes, to get us out of hell and into heaven. But there's more. to provide a biblical and effective way of dealing with remaining sin in your own life on your way to heaven and not live like the devil on the way up there. That's not what Christ died on the cross for. The words body of sin, that's figurative description It literally means the old self. I want to read to you a quote, and I ask you to please listen carefully. The quote is from James Frazier. He has written a masterpiece on Romans chapter 6. He says, The body of sin does not mean the human body. Really? But, he goes on to say, listen carefully, that whole system of corrupt principles, propensities, lusts, and passions which have since the fall of man, when Adam sinned, has possessed man's nature and is coextended and commensurate to all human powers and faculties. That is what we call remaining sin. And if you don't know that it's a battle or you haven't experienced it as a battle, You need to wake up to reality. What the author here, James Fraser, is saying is that, let me put it in just very simple language here. You were born a sinner. Mothers will tell you. And I've verified this more than once, that even little infants become deceptive in their crying. That they can put on an act like they really are needing help when it isn't true, just to get mama. to come and check. Often, yes, there's a problem, there's a wet diaper, there's a who knows what, but not every time. And mothers who are smart enough have got it figured out that even little infants know how to be deceptive. Do you have to teach a little toddler, a little child even, to lose its temper? Why? Because they're sinners. Do you have to teach a child to tell a lie? Hey, junior, come over here. Dad's going to teach you how to lie. You don't have to do that because you're permeated with remaining sin. Adam sinned. And you know where you were when Adam sinned? You were in Adam. And you know when you were born, you were born a sinner. Yes, you can come to Christ and you can put your faith and confidence in Him and experience the work of regeneration that only He can bring about in your heart and life. But at that very moment, there is still a battle going on in your life, and it's with remaining sin. Carl Menninger, the well-known psychiatrist, in one of his writings asked the question, whatever happened to sin? I don't know how he answered that question. I can tell you, it's still a problem going on in your life. And we need to get biblical data. And we need to find out and apply the benefits that have come to us through Christ the Substitute, not only for the guilt of our sin. Look at Romans 6 and verse 6 again. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin, you can translate that, old self, might be done away with. Why? For what purpose? That we should no longer be slaves of sin. Well, that's where we're going to stop. We will, Lord willing, continue next Lord's Day. What's our purpose? What's our concern? Dealing biblically with sin. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you will use your truth to accomplish your purpose in our lives, especially as it has to do with our day-by-day life. We pray, Father, that we may know how to apply this to our heart and eye, that we can live a life of pursuing holiness for our good, for your glory. We pray and we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.