CLEARLY AND SATISFACTORILY ANSWERED. 67
ver. 12. The way of pardon is by a translation of all our sins upon Christ, it is by charging them all upon Christ's score. That is a great expression of Nathan to David, * The Lord hath put away thy sin ;' but the original runs thus, ' The Lord hath made thy sins to pass over ;' that is, to pass over from thee to his Son ; he hath laid them to his charge.
Now Christ hath discharged all his people's debts and bonds. There is a twofold debt which lay upon us. One was the debt of obedience unto the law, and this Christ did pay by ' fulfilling all righteousness,' Mat. iii. 15. The other was the debt of punishment for our trans- gressions, and this debt Christ discharged by his death on the cross, Isa. liii. 4, 10, 12 ; ' And by being made a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse,' Gal. iii. 13. Hence it is that we are said to be ' bought with a price,' 1 Cor. vi. 20, and vii. 23 ; and that Christ is called our ' Ransom,' Xvrpov, Mat. xx. 28, and dvrlXvrpov, 1 Tim. ii. 6. The words do signify a valuable price laid down for another's ransom. The blood of Christ, the Son of God, was a valuable price, a suflficient price ; it was as much as would take off all enmities, and take away all sin, and to satisfy divine justice, and indeed so it did ; and therefore you read that ' in his blood we have redemption, even the forgiveness of our sins,' Eph. i. 7 ; Col. i. 14, 20 ; and his death was such a full compensation to divine justice, that the apostle makes a challenge to all : Rom. viii. 33, ' Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ?' and ver. 34, ' Who is he that condemneth ? it is Christ that died.' As if he had said, Christ hath satisfied and dis- charged all. The Greek word avriXxrrpov is of special emphasis. The Vulgar Latin renders it redemptionem, redemption; Beza, redempHonis 2yretium, a price of redemption ; but neither of them fully expressing the force of the word, which properly signifieth a counter-price, when one doth undergo in the room of another that which he should have undergone in his own person, as when one yields himself a captive for the redeeming of another out of captivity, or giveth his own life for the saving of another's. There were such sureties among the Greeks as gave life for life, body for body ; and in this sense the apostle is to be understood, when he saith that Christ gave himself dvriXvrpov, a ransom, a counter-price, pa}'ing a price for his people. Christ hath laid down a price for all believers, they are his ' dear bought ones,' they are his ' choice redeemed ones,' Isa. li. 11. Christ gave himself dvTiXvTpov, a counter-price, a i-ansom, submitting himself to the like punishrnent that his redeemed ones should have undergone. Christ, to deliver his elect from the curse of the law, did subject himself to that same curse of the law under which all mankind lay. Jesus Christ was a true surety, one that gave his life for the life of others. As the apostle saith of Castor and Pollux, that the one redeemed the other's life with his own death, i so did the Lord Jesus ; he became such a •surety for his elect, giving himself an dvriXvTpov, a ransom for them, John vi. 51; Tit. ii. 14; 1 Pet. i. 18; Rev. i. 51, and v. 9. Oh,
^ The only reference in the New Testament to Castor and Pollux is found in Acts xxviii. 11, so that for 'apostle,' we must here read ' the poet,' or the like. For the old Greek myth of Castor and Pollux, see any of the classical dictionaries, under Dioscori or Polydeuces. — G.
68 SERIOUS AND WEIGHTY QUESTIONS
what comfort is this unto us to have such a Jesus, who himself bare our sins, even all our sins, left not one unsatisfied for, laid down a full ransom, a full price, such an expiatory sacrifice as that now we are out of the hands of justice, and wrath, and death, and curse, and hell, and are reconciled and made near by the blood of the everlasting cove- nant ! The blood of Christ, as the Scripture speaks, is ' the blood of God,' Acts XX. 28, so that there is not only satisfaction, but merit in his blood. There is more in Christ's blood than mere payment or satis- faction. There was merit also in it, to acquire and procure and pur- chase all spiritual good, and all eternal good for the people of God ; not only immunities from sin, death, wrath, curse, hell, &c., but privileges and dignities of sons and heirs ; yea, all grace, and all love, and all peace, and all glory, even that glorious inheritance purchased by his blood, Eph, i. 14.
Kemember this once for all, that in justification our debts are charged upon Christ, they go upon his accounts. You know that in sin there is the vicious and staining quality of it, and there is the resulting guilt of it, which is the obligation of a sinner over to the judgment-seat of God to answer for it. Now this guilt, in which lies our debt, this is charged upon Christ. Therefore, saith the apostle, ' God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,' 2 Cor. v, 19 ; ' And hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,' ver. 21. You know in law the wife's debts are charged upon the husband ; and if the debtor be dis- abled, then the creditor sues the surety. Fide-jussor, or surety and debtor, in law are reputed as one person. Now Christ is our fide- jussor. ' He is made sin for us,' saith the apostle ; ' for us' — that is, in our stead — a surety for us, one who puts our scores on his accounts, our burden on his shoulders. So saith that princely prophet Isaiah : Isa. liii. 4, 5, ' He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.' How so ? 'He was wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our iniquities ; ' that is, he stood in our stead, be took upon him the answering of our sins, the satisfpng of our debts, the clearing of our guilt ; and therefore was it that he was so bruised, &c.