We read God's holy and inspired word tonight from John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Tonight we'll read the first 30 verses of John chapter 10. This is the word of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 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." There was a division, therefore, again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, he hath a devil and is mad. Why hear ye him? Others said, these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." We read God's Word that far tonight, and the text for our sermon is verses 14 and 15. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, tonight we examine the second of the five points of Calvinism, what we refer to as limited atonement. It's important to state at the beginning that this second point, limited atonement, is inseparably connected with the other four points of Calvinism. It's important to say that because there are today people who refer to themselves as four-point Calvinists, a distinction from five-point Calvinists. And the point that they reject is this point, the doctrine of limited atonement. They say that they can hold to, and they do, all of the other points of Calvinism. Unconditional election, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the preservation of the saints, but they say they have a hang-up with limited atonement. They cannot believe that Jesus would die only for his elect. Instead, they say that Jesus died for all men to make salvation possible and available for all men. But the implication or even the explicit teaching then is that salvation ultimately depends upon man. Christ has made salvation available. Now it's up to each man to exercise his free will and accept that salvation. You cannot deny limited atonement without undermining and in some way distorting and rejecting the other points of Calvinism. They go hand-in-hand with each other. They're inseparable and especially can we see that with the connection between limited atonement and the other point that we considered last week, unconditional election. Those whom God chose unconditionally in eternity as his elect are the ones that God gave to Jesus Christ and it's for them and for them alone Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross. It's important that we proclaim that truth of the Word of God. It's important to proclaim that over against all of The errors and heresies that are taught today concerning the saving work of Christ on the cross. That was true of the Arminians at the time of the Synod of Dort. They denied the truth of limited atonement. They taught the same thing that others are today. That Christ died for all. He made salvation available and possible. Then it's up to a man to exercise his free will to accept and receive that salvation. That's the common way of understanding the cross of our Savior today. It's important that we, who confess love for Christ, love for the cross of Christ, rise to the defense of the gospel, the good news of our salvation. All of these truths undermine the work of Christ. All of these errors undermine the work of Christ. They undermine His power as our Savior. They don't honor Christ. It's important that we proclaim the truth and reject the lie for the sake of the honor of our Savior. It's important as well from a personal point of view. The cross of Jesus Christ is the heart of the gospel. It's at the very heart and center of the good news of our salvation without the cross. There's only misery and condemnation with the cross. There's salvation, there's joy, there's peace. cross of Jesus Christ is everything to us. And that's at the heart and the center of all faithful preaching of the gospel. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, but we preach Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God. And then again in 1 Corinthians 2, for I determine not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The preaching of the cross of Christ is the power of God to our salvation. So important for us personally in our own salvation. atoning work of Christ on the cross. Knowing that, we confess what the Apostle Paul does in Galatians 6. God forbid that I should glory in anything, in anything in myself, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider this passage tonight under the theme, I Lay Down My Life for the Sheep. First of all, take note of the atoning shepherd, secondly, particular sheep, and thirdly, intimate knowledge. This passage proclaims the truth of the atonement. We're not going to find in John chapter 10 the word atonement, but there's no doubt that what's being taught here is the truth of the atonement. Jesus says in our text, I lay down my life for the sheep. That's the atonement. One of the important truths that we have to know about the atoning work of Christ is that He died as our substitute Something that even the little children can understand. Children think about a substitute teacher. Every day you have the ordinary teacher that stands in the classroom and teaches you. But perhaps the teacher gets sick. They have to call in a substitute teacher. Someone that comes to stand in the place of that teacher to give the instruction. place of the regular teacher. Jesus Christ is our substitute. He came to stand in our place and to die in our behalf. That's why we refer to this truth as substitutionary atonement. Jesus has that in view when he says, I lay down my life for the sheep. That little word for can rightly be translated, in the place of or instead of. So that what Jesus says here is, I lay down my life instead of the sheep. I lay down my life in the place of the sheep as their substitute. That's necessary on account of our sins. Jesus describes us as sheep. Sheep are by nature foolish, stubborn, rebellion, and that's our nature spirituale. That's evident already from the beginning when Adam and Eve fell into sin as foolish, stubborn, rebellious sheep. And on account of their sins, our sins against God, guilty before Him, or deserving of punishment. And the punishment is death. God proclaimed that already in the beginning. The day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And in Romans chapter 6, the wages of sin is death. Punishment for our rebellion against God. is the giving up of our life. Death. And not just physical death, but spiritual and everlasting death. Death under the wrath of God and the agonies and the torments of hell. And in ourselves, we're unable to deliver ourselves. We're unable to pay for those sins and to make atonement. Even if We suffered everlastingly in hell under the wrath of God. We never atone for the sins that we've committed. We deserve infinite, endless suffering on account of our sins. Even then we're not able to make atonement for our sins and to pay. We need a substitute. We need our Lord Jesus Christ who came and stood in our place. Shepherd made himself a lamb led to the slaughter. He who is without any sin in himself took upon himself the guilt of our sins so that he was guilty before God. And guilty before God bore punishment. Punishment that we deserved. That's why it was necessary for him to give up his life. He had to experience the wages of sin, which is death, which he experienced on the cross. And when he went into the grave, he went through the full reality of death. And not just physical death, but everlasting death, the wrath of God in full. The agonies and the torments of hell that he endured while he was on the cross. Christ stood in our place as our substitute. What we deserve, Christ took upon Himself. Bore the punishment that we could never bear. And in so doing, Christ made atonement for us. He paid for all of the sins of all of His people. He satisfied in full the justice of God. And that's the truth of The atonement that Christ laid down His life for His sheep. The Bible uses many different words to describe this work of Jesus Christ. It speaks of atonement, propitiation, satisfaction, ransom, reconciliation, redemption. Many, many different words and all of those words have their own unique emphasis, emphasizing one aspect of what Christ did at the cross. The word atonement in the Bible, for example, means a covering for sin. Christ's death on the cross was a covering of our sins before the sight of God. And our English word, atonement, has the idea of at-one-ment, reconciling. Through the death of Christ, we're reconciled to God at one with Him. And all of the other words have their own unique emphasis, but all of these words together proclaim the same truth of the gospel. They emphasize different parts, but they all are saying the same thing. Christ atoned, Christ laid down his life for the sheep. Another important truth concerning the atonement that is necessary to understand is that Christ's death on the cross was powerful and efficacious. When we talk about His death being efficacious, we mean it has the intended and desired result. His death on the cross is the salvation of His people. It's important to understand that because that aspect of the atonement is rejected as well. In the minds of many, The atonement means simply that Christ made salvation possible. By his death on the cross Christ made salvation available. But it didn't actually bring about the intended result. His death is not actually, in reality, the guarantee of our salvation. It simply is there. It's possible. It's available. And now it's offered by God to all men. But the decisive part in salvation is left to man. Man must exercise his free will. He must desire and accept that offer of salvation. It seems like just a small little part, but it's the decisive part. And if a man does that, they say, well then he's saved. But if he doesn't, Christ died for that one in vain. It's closely related to the idea that Christ died not only for the elect, but more broadly than that. We'll see that, God willing, in just a little bit when we get to the second point of the sermon. We'll leave that for now. Understand there is a close connection there between those two ideas. To say that about the cross of Christ, that all it does is make salvation possible or available really rejects the saving work of Jesus Christ. It so undermines the cross. It strips the cross of any real meaning or power or value. And it strips Christ of His honor and glory as the Savior. It makes Christ a weak and a powerless Savior. He wants to save. He makes salvation possible and available. He's not powerful enough to actually bring about that salvation or to guarantee the salvation of His people. Christ and His cross are stripped of all their real meaning and power with that teaching. That teaching is contrary to the Word of God. The Word of God proclaims a Christ who is powerful and a cross which is efficacious. It's true of our text. Again, looking at that little word for. As we mentioned just a moment ago, it could rightly be translated instead of the sheep, but it could also be translated for the benefit of. I lay down my life for the benefit of the sheep. And not just this benefit to make salvation possible, it's really no benefit to the sheep yet. When it says, I lay down my life for the benefit of the sheep, that's the greatest benefit in actually carrying out their salvation. Jesus shows himself to be the good shepherd in this regard, providing for the deepest need of his people. Far different than any earthly shepherd. It may well be that some earthly shepherd has lost his life in defending the sheep. He was killed by the paw of a bear or a lion or a wolf in trying to protect the flock. That wasn't the shepherd's intention. And that is a detriment to the sheep to be without a shepherd. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. He is unique in this regard. He willingly laid down his life for his people for their benefit. His death isn't for their detriment. His death is for the greatest benefit and blessing to them in their salvation. He teaches that also in verse 10 of John 10. He says, I am come that they might have life. that they might have it more abundantly. He lays down His life so we have life, not just to make life available and possible, but actually to give us life. Another passage is of God's Word. Romans 5 verse 10, for if we, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. All of these different passages emphasize that this is a past completed work. Christ didn't die simply to make redemption possible. Christ hath redeemed us. He has reconciled us. The shedding of his blood and the giving of his life at the cross. It's true of all those biblical words that we mentioned earlier. Atoned, satisfied, ransomed, reconciled, propitiated, they all emphasize this is a completed, accomplished, finished work of Christ on the cross. This, and this alone, honors Christ and the cross of Jesus Christ. This alone reveals the real power of Christ in our salvation and the sovereignty of God in our salvation. Christ is no weak, powerless Savior who wants to save but is unable to do so. Christ is a powerful, efficacious Savior who truly saves His people from their sins by giving His life. That's the truth of the Word of God concerning the atonement. Christ laid down His life in the place of His sheep. He laid down His life powerfully to provide the greatest benefit for His sheep. That's our great comfort. Christ is something other. powerful and efficacious Savior. And there's no comfort for us. There's no assurance of our actually being saved. There's only salvation. There's only hope. There's only comfort. There's only peace and joy in knowing that our Savior is sovereign. That in the laying down of His life He fully satisfied for our sins. He paid in full. He made full and complete atonement at the cross. Now the important question that we have to face is this. For whom did Christ die? For whom did he make full and complete atonement and satisfaction? The answer of many, that Christ died for all men, head for head, who's ever lived on the face of the earth. It's the teaching of the Arminians. The time of the Synod of Dort, that's the teaching of Arminianism still today. Jesus Christ went to the cross to die for all men as an expression, supposedly, of the love of God for all men and a desire on God's part to save all men. With all men in view, Christ went to the cross to pay for their sins. That's the implied teaching of of the well-meant offer of the gospel. Many who teach the well-meant offer of the gospel will deny this implication. Nevertheless, the implication is there and cannot be avoided. Teaching of a well-meant offer of the gospel is that in the preaching God expresses a desire to save everyone who hears. But if that's true, if God desires this salvation, offers it to them to be accepted, there must be a basis for that. And the basis is the cross of Jesus Christ. Christ must have died for all who are there hearing. He must have paid for their sins so that there can be this supposed offer of salvation that they're called to accept. Teaching of a well-meant offer of the gospel is an implicit denial of the truth of limited atonement. And that's the clear teaching, the so-called federal vision today as well. None of the federal vision teach that Christ died for more than just the elect. He died for all of the children believing parents, every single baptized child of believing parents, Christ died for them. And they're united to Christ, they enjoy the blessings of salvation in Christ. But when they come to the years of discretion, when they get older, to continue to enjoy that is dependent upon them fulfilling some conditions, the conditions of faith and of good works. And if they don't meet those conditions, they fall away from Christ, they lose the salvation that they once had. So, Christ died for them, but ultimately they're lost. Christ died for them in vain. In all of these ways, teaching that Christ died for more than the elect, there's again a denial of the power and the efficacy of the cross. I said earlier these two are inseparably connected and we see that again here. If you say Christ died for more than just his elect, And the reality is only the elect in the end are saved. It means Christ's death is weak and powerless. It necessarily means that a person has to teach Christ only makes salvation available and possible. It's there for the taking. God offers it. He wants to save. But now it's up to you and me to exercise our free will to accept this well-meant offer of God. to choose salvation. Only then are we saved. The decisive part in salvation is man's then. Those two things go hand in hand. That was the issue at the time of the Synod of Dort. Our fathers were facing not only a denial of limited atonement, hand-in-hand with that a denial of the power and the efficacy of the cross of our Savior. That is gross dishonor of Christ. That's a despicable dishonoring of the cross of our Savior. That's a complete undermining But the good news of salvation, Christ alone. It's gross heresy and denial of the truth of God's Word. And hearing that ought to stir up the holy zeal of every child of God who loves Christ and loves the cross of Jesus Christ. With a holy righteous anger to oppose that denial of Christ and of His cross. The truth of the Word of God is that Christ died only for His elect and only to save them from their sins. We refer to as limited atonement or particular definite atonement. The Word of God is very clear in that regard. Our text teaches first of all, verse 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and have known of mine. My own sheep, Jesus says there. And the end of verse 15, I lay down my life for the sheep. And then in verse 26, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, but ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Jesus makes very plain there are some who are his sheep, and there are some who are not his sheep. There are reprobate and there are elect, and he laid down his life only for his sheep. Other passages of God's Word, Matthew 1 verse 21. She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Acts 20 verse 28, Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flot, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Ephesians 5 verse 25, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, gave himself for it. And we could go on and on and on with many different passages that teach the same thing. Christ died for the church. He died for his sheep. He died only for the elect. It's no surprise then that our Reformed fathers at the Synod of Dort Defending the truth of limited atonement over against universal atonement would condemn that false doctrine in the strongest possible terms. Second Head of the Canons of Dort, Rejection of Errors, Section Article 3. Synod denies the teaching of those who reject limited atonement. Here's the quote. For these adjudge too contemptuously of the death of Christ. Do in no way wise acknowledge the most important fruit or benefit thereby gained, and bring again out of hell the Pelagian heir. A Reformed father said this teaching shows contempt for the cross of Jesus Christ. Is there any more serious thing than that? And they drag up out of hell the Pelagian error. The error that the church had rejected hundreds of years before that taught the same thing. They're dragging this out of hell. This is the lie of the devil. They condemn that in no uncertain terms, but in the strongest language. And as the spiritual children of those forefathers, we don't hesitate to say the same thing. Denial of the truth of limited atonement shows contempt for Christ. It's the lie of the devil and it's dragging out of hell the Pelagian and the Arminian lie. The Word of God teaches limited atonement. It doesn't mean, as some charge, that the work of Christ was limited in what he had to suffer, or limited in some way that he didn't experience all of the wrath of God. Not limited in that way. When we say limited atonement, we mean he atoned fully for the sins of only His people, a definite number, His elect. That honors the cross of Christ. That upholds the power and the efficacy of the cross. If Christ died only for the elect, and only the elect in the end are saved, It means that they're saved sovereignly by God in Jesus Christ. His cross is powerful to save them. It fully atones and satisfies for the sins of His people. But some will ask, what about those passages of God's Word? That seemed to teach the opposite. Passages that talk about Christ dying for all men or for the world. How do we understand those passages? There certainly are some difficult passages of God's Word that are often quoted in this regard. John 3.16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 1 John 2 verse 2, and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 Timothy 2 verse 4 and following, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. They say, what about those passages? They say Christ died for the world. He died for all. How do we understand that in light of what we've just said about the truth of limited atonement? A way to understand those passages is to remember a couple of important truths about the interpretation of the Word of God. One of the rules that we follow in interpreting the Word of God is our belief that God's Word is one. Being one, there are no contradictions. This isn't a contradiction. Some will claim that this is a paradox. They say this is a mystery. We can't figure it out. But some passages teach Christ died only for the elect. Other passages teach Christ died for all men. It's not up to us to try and figure it out. We're just going to hold to these two opposite things, this paradox, and just leave it at that. The Word of God is not contradictory. It's one. The other important idea or rule to remember with regard to the interpretation of the Scripture is this, that the difficult passages must be interpreted in the light of the easier passages. We take the easier passages of God's Word to understand and we use them to help us understand the more difficult passages. So we apply that here. God's word is one. There's no contradiction here. We use the easier passages to interpret the more difficult. The easier passages are the whole host of passages that teach very clearly Christ died only for his elect. We use those passages to help us understand the more difficult passages, those few passages that say Christ died for all or for the world. We know then that those passages cannot be saying that Christ died for all men head for head. What those passages are teaching, without getting into the details of every one, A way to understand those passages is to understand that when the Word of God there speaks of all, or it speaks of the world, it's not talking about all men head for head. It's referring to all different kinds of men. Not just Jews, but Gentiles. Not just rich, but poor. Not just men, but women. Not just Dutch, but Filipinos. God has his elect people in all of the different nations of the world, in all the different social classes of society. Christ didn't die for all men that have ever lived. He died for his elect. They're found scattered throughout all the world, all the different nations under heaven. It's the only way to bring these passages together so that they're in agreement with each other. That teaching, again, honors Christ and honors His atoning death on the cross. We confess from the heart and with the mouth Truth of limited, particular, definite atonement. There's one other important element of the text that it's necessary for us to see in relation to what we've said so far. That's what Jesus says there about the intimate knowledge of shepherd for sheep and sheep for their shepherd. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. Jesus is speaking there of much more than had knowledge. He talks about his knowledge of his sheep, certainly includes that Christ knows who his sheep are. And he died only for those. The idea of knowledge here goes beyond that. He knows who are his own, given to him God's decree of the election. But that knowledge speaks of close personal fellowship. Speaks to the fact that our shepherd knows each one of his sheep by name. It means that he loves them. This is the knowledge of love that the shepherd has for his sheep. Proof of that is in the relationship between verse 14 and verse 15. Verse 15 makes it sound almost like that first phrase is something separate. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. The better translation of that shows the connection between that and verse 14. And it would be this. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine, just as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father. It's connecting the shepherd's knowledge of his sheep to the knowledge that Father and Son have of one another. The triune being of God. Father and Son know each other. That's more than just an intellectual head knowledge. That's the knowledge of warm, intimate fellowship and communion. That's the knowledge of love. Jesus goes on to say in verse 17, Therefore doth My Father love Me. Father and Son know one another in the knowledge of love. And Jesus says, is the model and the pattern for my relationship with my sheep. Just as father and son know one another in love, so as shepherd I know my sheep. I dwell with them. I love them. How does that connect to the atonement? That's the motivation. Our Lord Jesus Christ atoning for His sheep. Why would He lay down His life for a bunch of undeserving, stubborn, foolish sheep? Simply because He loves us. He knows us. from eternity. He loves us with a deep, abiding, sacrificial love. So much does He love us that He willingly gave up His life. Jesus goes on to say here, no man took it from me. I willingly laid down my life. This is a voluntary atonement. The only explanation for that is His love for us. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man give his life for his friends. Gave his life for his sheep, because he loves us. How great, how deep, how wonderful and precious is the love of Jesus Christ for us. Knowing us, he gave his life for us. What that means for us then, is that now we know our Shepherd. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross means that we dwell with Him. We dwell with the Triune God in close, intimate fellowship and communion. We live the life of the covenant with our Good Shepherd. It means that we have the blessed assurance the forgiveness of our sins. We belong to Him and that He died for us. Those who proclaim that Christ died for all men say, well, this alone is the way to have assurance and confidence. You can have confidence because Christ died for all men and it sounds really good, but the reality is there's no confidence and assurance there. If Christ died for all men, None of our salvation is sure. It's up to us ultimately to save ourself and then we're always in doubt. Assurance in proclaiming the truth of limited atonement. That is the will of God for us, His sheep. We know our shepherd. We know that our Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior. That He laid down His life for us personally and for our sins. Our response is the response of love for Him. Our Shepherd knows us, loves us, and gave Himself for us. Our response is that we know Him. The knowledge of love. Not that we first love Him. But He first loved us. And we love Him. Is there anything more lovely More wonderful, more precious, more beautiful than the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us. Is there anything more lovely, more wonderful, more precious, more dear to us? His atoning death on the cross. We love Him who laid down His life for us. Who saved us and who guaranteed that we'll live with Him forever and no man can pluck us out of His hand. In love for Him, we praise Him. We praise Him who sovereignly, powerfully, efficaciously saved us. God forbid that we, glory, save in this one thing. beautiful, wonderful cross, our Good Shepherd. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, that is our glory and our boast, not at all in self, not in anything we are or anything we've done, but in the sovereign work to Thee and Thy grace and the work of our Savior on the cross on our behalf. We love Thee, Father, who hath first loved us. We love the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us so much that He gave His life for us. Increase our gratitude, increase our love for Christ, Make us to know the assurance and the confidence that His work on the cross is the full and complete satisfaction for our sins. We pray this in Christ's name alone. Amen.