“THE REMEDY FOR SIN”
ISAIAH 53:1-12
INTRO: Our world is full of problems. We see violence, civil unrest, war,
poverty, disease, economic distress, and prejudice. What is the
cause of all these problems? One word—SIN. In fact 1 John 5:19
tells us--”The whole world lieth in wickedness.” Friends, our
world is in trouble. God's people must keep their eyes wide open
becausethe whole world “lies in the lap” of the wicked one. Satan
is the god of this world and the prince of darkness. He has blinded
millions of people spiritually and has kept them in bondage (Warren W.
Wiersbe. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on The New Testament. pp. 778-779).
Friends, there must be a solution. There has to be a remedy.
Praisethe Lord there is and His name is JESUS! The angel told
Joseph in Matthew 1:21--”Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall savehis people from their sins.” The hymn writer Philip P.
Bliss wrote:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in.
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Come to the light, 'tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Verse 3
Ye dwellers in darkness with sin blinded eyes,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Go, wash, at His bidding, and light will arise.
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Come to the light, 'tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
(www. Jesus-is-the-bridg.org/Hymns/light_of_the_world_is_jesus.htm)
In Isaiah 53:4-6 we read--”Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have goneastray; we have turned every one of his own way; and
the LORD hathlaid on him the iniquity of us all.” I want you to
note that verse 6 says--”ALL we like sheep have gone astray, we
have turned EVERY ONE to his own way, and the LORDhath laid
on him the iniquity of us ALL.” I like what Alexander Maclaren
said about this passage, he said, “You thought He was afflicted
because you were good. No, He was afflicted because you were
bad, and you were spared because He was afflicted.” Then he
adds, “The transgressions are done by us, and the wounds and
bruisesfell on Him. Can the idea of vicarious suffering be more
plainly set forth?...It says emphatically as words can say, that we
have by our sinsdeserved stripes, but the Servant bears the
stripes which we deserved, and that therefore we do not bear
them.”
He was a marked man. God singled Him out for our punishment.
These verses speak of the tremendous price Our Saviour paid to
redeem us. The Bible clearly states:
- HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS.
- HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES.
These verses speak of our spiritual condition. Our problem,
friends, is spiritual. We are trangressors and lawbreakers. The
words trangressions and iniquities are proof positive that we have
broken God’s law. Isaiah does not take it easy on us. He piles it
on thick and heavy concerning our spiritual condition.
- IN VV. 5-6 HE SPEAKS OF OUR TRANSGRESSION.
- IN VV. 5-6, 11 HE SPEAKS OF OUR INIQUITIES.
- IN V9 HE SPEAKS OF OUR WICKEDNESS.
- IN V12 HE SPEAKS OF OUR SINS.
Mankind is spiritually in bad shape. Man needs spiritual healing.
As we consider this passage of Scripture this morning we are
given THE REMEDY FOR SIN. Let us focus on attention this
morning on the Words—“With his stripes we are healed.” This
wonderful passage of Scripture shows us that…
(1) THESE ARE SERIOUS WORDS
A. THE INTENT OF THESE WORDS. Our lives revolve around words
each day. Some of these words need to be taken seriously and others do
not. But to live wisely we must weigh the things we hear and evaluate
all we hear to take note of the serious and not neglect it. Neglecting
serious words can cost us dearly.
ILLUS: Some scientists at NASA built a gun specifically designed to launch
dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets, and the
space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea was to
simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl, to
test the strength of the windshields. British engineers heard about
the gun and asked if they could use it to test some windshields of
their new highspeed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun
was sent to theBritish engineers. When the gun was fired, the
engineers stood shocked as the chicken shot out of the barrel at
unbelievable speed, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed
it to smithereens, blastedthrough the control console, snapped the
engineer’s backrest in two and embedded itself in the back wall of
the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow. The horrified British
engineers sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment,
along with the designs of the windshield, andbegged the US
scientists for suggestions. NASA responded with this memo:
“Read the instructions again. If you had read the instructions
better, you would have noticed that you forgot to thaw the
chicken.”
Friends, words mean something. The intent of these words are two-
fold:
- TO INSTILL A PROPER AWARENESS. It is by His stripes and His stripes alone that we are healed. He took our place. He paid our debt. He secured our redemption. It is only by His bruising that we have justification (vv. 10-11).
- TO INSPIRE A PERMANENT ASSURANCE. Friend, if you are saved today it is because He willing took the stripes that rightly belonged to you. Now because we what He has done for us we enjoy a permanent assurance! (1 John 5:11-13).
Words mean something and THESE ARE SOME VERY SERIOUS WORDS!
B. THE IMPORT OF THESE WORDS. Before you have healing, you have
to suffer illness. The Bible here says—“…we are healed.” These words
speak of disease. Every person who lives, has lived, or will ever live has
been plaguedwith this spiritual disease called sin. Sin is:
- SIN IS AN EPIDEMIC DISEASE. The AIDS epidemic is a cause of great concern to many in our world today. Millions are dying because of this deadly disease. It seems to be spreading across this world like a wildfire out of control. But as deadly as the AIDS epidemic is there is one even more deadly. It is called SIN. It began with Adam and has been passed down to every person who is a descendant of Adam and Eve with the exception of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Romans 5:12 tells us—“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Every child that is born has a sin nature, and is conceived in sin. David wrote in Psalm51:5—“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
- SIN IS AN EXCRUCIATING DISEASE. One of the devil’s specialities is deception. And one of the biggest deceptions on this earth is the lie that sin brings happiness. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:15 says—“…The way of trangressors is hard.” God told Paul at his conversion in Acts 9:5—“…I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” If you are lost, friend, you are traveling down a HARD ROAD. That is what the dreadful disease called sin does to a person. It brings excruciating pain and misery to that person’s life. Many today are suffering today because of sin. They turn to all kinds of things to try and relieve their pain:
Alcohol.
Drugs.
Sex.
Sports.
Television.
Sin is AN EPIDEMIC DISEASE that is out of control and no man on
earth can help us. NO ONE! The ONLY ONE who can help us is the
Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered for our sin. He was stricken for us!
(v4). The Bible tells us in Matthew 27:26—“Then release he
Barabbas unto them:And when he had SCOURGED Jesus, he
delivered him to be crucified.” The Passion of Christ depicted what
Christ endured for you and I but there is no possible way that
Hollywood can depict how much suffering He truly endured for us!
“With his stripes we are healed,” THESE ARE SERIOUS WORDS but also…
(2) THESE ARE SWEET WORDS
A. THEY SPEAK OF HEALING. Friends, when Christ died, we were
healed in HIM! Thank the Lord today that 1 John 1:7 tells us—“…the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” There is only
one cure for sin, and that cure is found in the Lord Jesus Christ! The
healing Isaiah 53:5 speaks of is spiritual healing, the healing from sin.
And the cure is found through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans
10:9-10, 13). Men have tried to mix together other concoctions to cure
the sinproblem:
MEN HAVE MIXED TOGETHER THE REMEDY OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.
MEN HAVE MIXED TOGETHER THE REMEDY OF CEREMONIES AND RITUALS.
MEN HAVE MIXED TOGETHER FLOWERY WORDS.
MEN HAVE MIXED TOGETHER LAWS AND ORDINANCES.
But friends, none of these man-made cures can rid us of our sin problem. The only cure is found in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world! (Acts 4:12).
B. THEY SPEAK OF HONOR. Christ is honored for HE HAS HEALED
US. The stripes He bore he bore proudly. His stripes bring healing that
nothing else can bring! His stripes healed our EVERY SIN!
PAST SINS.
PRESENT SINS.
FUTURE SIN.
Praise the Lord we are healed! What a joy to know that when Jesus died for our sins, He died for ALL OUR SINS!
ILLUS: Erwin W. Lutzer said it this way, “Christ’s death on the cross
included a sacrifice for all our sins, past, present, and future.
Every sin that you will ever commit has already been paid for. All
of our sins were future when Christ died two thousand years ago.
There is no sin that you will ever commit that has not already been
included in Christ’s death.” (Erwin Lutzer (1941-)).
“With his stripes we are healed,” THESE ARE SERIOUS WORDS, THESE ARE SWEET WORD, and lastly…
(3) THESE ARE SATISFYING WORDS
ISAIAH 53:10-11—“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath
put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for
sin, heshall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of theLORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of
the travail of hissoul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge
shall my righteousservant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities.”
A. THEY SPEAK OF SIN’S REMOVAL. God’s remedy brought man’s
redemption. Look what v10 says—“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, heshall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the LORDshall prosper in his hand.” The Lord was ‘pleased’ with
his sufferings, not because he has delight in the sufferings of innocence;
not because the sufferer was in any sense guilty or ill-deserving; and not
because he was at any time displeased or dissatisfied with what the
Mediator did, or taught. But it was:
- Because the Messiah had voluntarily submitted himself to those sorrows which were necessary to show the evil of sin; and in view of the great object to be gained, the eternal redemption of his people, he was pleased that he would subject himself to so great sorrows to save them. He was pleased with the end in view, and with all that was necessary in order that the end might be secured.
- Because these sufferings would tend to illustrate the divine perfections, and show the justice and mercy of God. The gift of a Saviour, such as he was, evinced boundless benevolence; his sufferings in behalf of the guilty showed the holiness of his nature and law; and all demonstrated that he was at the same time disposed to save, and yet resolved that no one should be saved by dishonoring his law, or without expiation for the evil which had been done by sin.
- Because these sorrows would result in the pardon and recovery of an innumerable multitude of lost sinners, and in their eternal happiness and salvation. The whole work was one of benevolence, and Yahweh was pleased with it as a work of pure and disinterested love.(Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’ Notes on The Bible. e-Sword. Version 8.0.5. Copyright 2000-2008. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide).
B. THEY SPEAK OF SOVEREIGN APPROVAL. “He shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied…”. Who shall be satisfied? God
the Father! God the Son! God the Holy Spirit! He shall see the fruit, or the result of his
sufferings, and shall be satisfied. He shall see so much good resulting from his great
sorrows; so much happiness,and so many saved, that the benefit shallbe an ample
compensation for allthat he endured.(Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’Notes on The Bible. e-Sword. Version 8.0.5.
Copyright 2000-2008. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide).
CLOSING: “With his stripes we were healed,” THESE ARE SERIOUS
WORDS, THESE ARE SWEET WORDS, and THESE ARE
SATISFYING WORDS.
Friend, the question this morning is, “have you by faith
received His healing?” He is the ONLY cure for sin. Without
HIM you cannot be saved. Without HIM you cannot go to
Heaven.
PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONTBAPTISTCHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 30, 2008.