Subject Forty-seven

THE SAVIOR’S BEARING OF OUR SINS

Scripture: Isa. 53:5-6, 10, 12

1. Man has gone astray. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.”
   1. All men in the world are sheep in the hand of God.
   2. But man has turned to his own way. Use examples to show that men live on this earth and do things according to their own will.
   3. Because man has turned to his own way, he has committed all kinds of transgressions and iniquities in the sight of God.
2. God’s judgment
   1. God’s righteousness requires God to judge man.
   2. God’s love causes God to save man.
   3. Therefore, God caused the Savior to bear our sins and to be judged in our stead.
   4. The way God judged the Savior on the cross was to put the Savior to death; He wounded and bruised the Savior so that He tasted death for us.
3. The Savior’s bearing of our sins
   1. Not only was the Savior who was nailed on the cross persecuted by men, but moreover, He was chastised and punished by God.
   2. The fact that the Savior was persecuted by men is a proof that men are against God. The fact that the Savior was punished by God proves that God saves man.
   3. The reason God punished the Savior was that God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Therefore, during the latter part of His crucifixion, God had to forsake Him. He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” God had forsaken Him because of sin. The Savior had no sin, so God ought not to forsake Him. But He was bearing the sins of men; therefore God did forsake Him. If the Lord were only suffering the persecution of men, then God should be with Him all the more, just as in the case of a martyr like Stephen, who was full of the presence of God during the time of martyrdom. Therefore, the fact that the Savior was forsaken proves that He was not a martyr but a sin-bearing One.
4. How to accept the Savior
   1. Return from the path of error. You must confess that you are a lost sheep, and turn back from the way of error.
   2. Repent. To turn back is an outward action, but to repent is an inward change. To turn back is to say that my way is wrong. But to repent is to say that my being is wrong. To turn back is to say that the direction of my life is wrong, but to repent is to say that my living is wrong.
   3. Confess your sins. Since God has laid your sins upon the Savior and let Him bear them for you, therefore you must confess all your sins.
   4. Believe in the Savior, receive the Savior into your heart, and take Him as your Savior.
      This message could be very powerful, if inspired. It is practical and sound in truth as well.