Learning to Live by Faith

I will pick up from where we left off in Part 1 of Notes on Alexander MacLaren’s Sermon “The Cross the Proof” – Learning to Live by Faith and start writing notes about Alexander MacLaren’s sermon “The Cross the Proof.” Here is a link to the full sermon: The Cross the Proof by Alexander Maclaren | SermonIndex. The text he is preaching on is Romans 5:8 KJV in which the apostle Paul says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

MacLaren begins his sermon by explaining that the word “proves” conveys the full sense of what is being said in this verse rather than the word “commends.” He says that the word “commends” means to speak of persons or things with praise or confidence. Another definition for “commend” is to present something as suitable for approval or acceptance; to recommend something. MacLaren says that if the word “commend” is used in this verse, it would mean that the death of Christ sets forth the greatness, the excellence, the transcendency, of God’s love in a manner to win our hearts. The meaning of the verse would be: God recommends His love to us in the death of Christ; or God presents His love to us as suitable for approval or acceptance in the death of Christ. While those are true statements, MacLaren says there is more meaning than that in the words of this verse and that it would be more accurate to use the word “proves.”  MacLaren says, “The expression here employed strictly means ‘to set two things side by side,’ and it has two meanings in the New Testament, both derived from that original signification.” Sometimes it means to set two persons side by side, in order to introduce and recommend the one to the other. And sometimes it means to set two things side by side, in order to confirm or prove the one by the other. He says that the expression is used in the latter sense here of confirming/proving one thing by the other. When the expression is used this way, the meaning of the verse is not merely that God “commends” or recommends His love to us as praiseworthy, excellent, and transcendent, but actually “proves” His love for us in the death of Christ. MacLaren says, “[Christ’s death] is the one evidence which makes that often-doubted fact (of God’s love) certain. Through it alone is it possible to hold the conviction that, in spite of all that seems to contradict the belief, God is Love. And so I wish to take the words in this sermon.”

The Need for Proof That God Does Love

MacLaren says, “To hear some men speak, you would suppose that one of the simplest, clearest, and most indisputable of all convictions was the love of God.” But there are also “people found in plenty who reject the distinctive teaching of Christianity because they say that the sterner aspects of the evangelical faith seem to them to limit, or to contradict, the great fundamental truth of all religion, as they take it, that God is Love.” MacLaren says that he thinks that “instead of the love of God being a plain, self-evident axiom, there needs [to be] evidence to give it a secure lodging-place amongst our settled beliefs.” And that evidence is Jesus’ death on the cross.

MacLaren asks, “Do the world’s religions bear out the contention that it is so easy and natural for a man to believe in a loving God? I think not.” He makes an interesting point that if you look at the gods in mythology, the gods were not loving like God is towards us. He says, if you look at “all that assemblage of beings before whom mankind has bowed down. What would you find? Gods cruel, gods careless, gods capricious, gods lustful, gods mighty, gods mysterious, gods pitying — with a contempt mingled with the pity — their sorrows and follies of mankind. But in all the pantheons there is not a loving god.” So when MacLaren asked the question of if the world’s religions bear out the contention that it is so easy and natural for a man to believe in a loving God, the answer would be no. I think he is saying that throughout history, people have readily believed in gods that were not loving and people living today still have so many doubts about God’s love. Therefore, there needs to be evidence of God’s love given to people for them to have it as a settled belief in their hearts that God is love. MacLaren says, “It is Christ who has brought the fire of this conviction (that God is love), in the broken reed of His dying flesh, and lodged it in the heart of humanity. So I say the love of God, as is proved by men’s thoughts about Him, surely needs to be established on a basis of unmistakable evidence.”

Next, MacLaren says that all other evidences are insufficient. He then goes on to talk about the evidences of God in creation. He says they are insufficient to prove the love of God because people can still have doubts. He says, “you speak of the goodness of God around us. What about storms, earthquakes, disasters, contrivances of producing pain, the law of destruction by which the creatures live by the slaying of one another – what about all these things? ‘Nature, red in tooth and claw with rapine, shrieks against the creed,’ that God is Love. And if we have nothing but the evidence of nature, it seems to me that there are two voices speaking there: One says, ‘There is a good God;’ the other says, ‘Either His power is limited, or His goodness is partial’.”

We can talk about this more over time, but I will quickly say right now just to make a note of it that storms, earthquakes, and animals killing each other only started taking place after the fall. Life was completely peaceful and balanced for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall. Then when Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered the world and brought in destruction, death, decaying, and imbalances in the environment. So, life was completely peaceful before the fall of mankind and life will be completely peaceful again when we are in heaven. There are verses that indicate there will be animals in heaven and  that animals will not be fighting there. We will be at perfect peace and rest because sin and all of its effects will have been removed.

Returning to the point MacLaren is making, he is saying that the evidences of God in creation are insufficient to prove the love of God because people can still have doubts. We have talked before about how there are 2 types of revelation: general revelation and special revelation. Here are some quotes from an article about this topic on Biblehub.com:

What are General and Special Revelation?

Definition of Revelation

Revelation refers to the ways God makes Himself known. This includes both the broad evidence of His existence and nature, as well as the more specific, direct communications of His will and redemptive plan. The concept of revelation underscores that humanity does not discover God solely by human effort; rather, God graciously discloses Himself so that people can know Him.

General Revelation Explained

General Revelation refers to knowledge about God that is available to everyone through the created world, human conscience, and history. It encompasses all the ways God’s power, wisdom, and moral law are revealed to every individual, regardless of culture, time, or place.

Scriptural Support for General Revelation

… Paul writes here that the natural world testifies to God’s undeniable power and character, so that anyone willing to observe creation can perceive that a Creator must exist.

Limitations of General Revelation

While general revelation conveys God’s existence and attributes to all, it does not exhaustively unveil the fullness of His plan for humanity. Observing nature or feeling that “something larger” exists does not answer specific questions about salvation, grace, or the historical events crucial to faith. Thus, general revelation alone is not sufficient for a complete understanding of the gospel.

Special Revelation Defined

Special Revelation refers to God’s direct communication of truth to individuals, groups, or humanity as a whole. This category encompasses the Scriptures, the prophets, dreams and visions recorded in biblical events, and supremely, the person of Jesus Christ.

Scriptural Basis for Special Revelation

Throughout Scripture, God discloses specific information about His nature, purposes, and plan for redemption in a manner that surpasses what can be gleaned solely from nature…

The Incarnation and Its Centrality

Special revelation culminates in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). God’s eternal Son took on human nature, lived on earth, taught about God’s kingdom, died for sin, and rose again. These historical events are crucial because they provide the means of salvation – something that nature alone cannot convey.

Convergence of General and Special Revelation

While general revelation points to a divine Creator, special revelation clarifies specific truths of God’s nature, His holiness, the necessity of reconciliation with Him, and the way to eternal life. Both streams of revelation testify to the same God. Creation lays the groundwork for acknowledging His existence; Scripture and the person of Jesus provide the knowledge of His character, commands, and plan of salvation.

Conclusion

General revelation and special revelation are both vital expressions of how God makes Himself known. From nature’s testimony to the precise records contained in Scripture, these revelations unite to proclaim God’s reality, character, and redemptive plan. Their comprehensive harmony ensures that no sincere seeker is left without a witness that points to the Creator and His offer of salvation. What are General and Special Revelation?

MacLaren says, “The same ambiguous issue comes from the evidence of human life. Ah! brethren, we have only to look into our own lives and to look round upon the awful sights that fill the world to make the robustest faith in the goodness and love of God stagger, unless it can stay itself against the upright stem of the cross of Christ. Sentimentalists may talk, but the grim fact of human suffering, of wretched, hopeless lives, rises up to say that there is no evidence broad and deep and solid enough, outside of Christianity, to make it absolutely certain that God is Love.”

That is important imagery that we can use in our meditation time when he says that our faith in the goodness and love of God must stay itself against the upright stem of the cross of Christ. “Stay” means to secure upright with or as if with. So if our faith is staggering – wavering, or reeling from side to side – we must secure our faith with the upright cross of Christ. He will help us to stand strong in our faith in Him.

MacLaren says, “There is another thing that makes necessary some irrefutable proof far firmer and [better] than any of these that I have been referring to. That is, that conscience rises up and protests, when it is awake, against such a notion, apart from the cross. Everybody who honestly takes stock of himself and conceives of God in any measure aright, must feel that sin has come in to disturb all the relations between God and man. And when once a man comes to say, ‘I feel that I am a sinful man, and that God is a righteous God; how can I expect that His love will distill in blessings upon my head?’ there is only one answer – ‘Whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’

So, for all these reasons I venture to lay it down as a principle, in spite of [modern] teaching of another sort, that the love of God is not a self-evident axiom, but needs to be proved.”

I will stop here for today. In my next post we will keep going through MacLaren’s sermon where he will explain how Jesus’ death on the cross proves the love of God.

“Nothing held Christ to the Cross but His own desire to save us.” — Alexander MacLaren

We have been learning about God’s love for us…about how God’s “perfect love drives out fear.” After that fear/dread of punishment has been driven out, we can better feel God’s love for us. And, in return, love to Him springs up in our hearts. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) As we approach Easter this weekend, we can take time to meditate and remember that the reason we do not have to fear punishment for our sins is because Jesus took our punishment for us on the cross. He died in our place. Our sins are forgiven. We are reconciled to God through Christ. What Alexander MacLaren will be emphasizing in his sermon that I’m going to be writing about today called “Christ ‘Must’ Die,” is that God was motivated to provide a Redeemer for us because of His great love for us. As it says in a verse you have probably heard many times, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)

Here is the link to MacLaren’s sermon: Christ ‘Must’ Die by Alexander Maclaren | SermonIndex. It might actually be quotes from MacLaren’s “Expositions of Scripture” on the book of John rather than a sermon.

Necessary

You can see in the title that there are quotation marks around the word “Must.” Throughout these quotes MacLaren emphasizes that Jesus’ death was necessary…that is why it says, “Christ ‘Must’ Die.” The first quote of MacLaren’s explains what this means. He says:

“The work of Jesus Christ could not be done unless He died. He could not be the Savior of the world unless He was the sacrifice for the sins of the world.”

MacLaren is saying that it was necessary for our salvation for Jesus to die in our place as a sacrifice for our sins. He had to die in order to save us from our sins…in order to be the Savior of the world.

In John 12:27 Jesus says, “27‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!’

Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.”

The Berean Study Bible’s note on John 12:27 says:

“‘No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.’
This statement affirms Jesus’ understanding of His mission and His acceptance of the path laid before Him. The “hour” refers to the appointed time of His crucifixion, a central theme in the Gospel of John (John 2:4, 7:30, 8:20). It signifies the culmination of His earthly ministry and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah’s suffering and sacrifice (Isaiah 53). Jesus’ resolve here is a testament to His role as the Lamb of God, willingly laying down His life for the salvation of humanity (John 1:29).” John 12 Berean Study Bible

I want to share some quotes from John Gill’s book Doctrinal Divinity with you about how Jesus’ death saved us from our sins. In the section about redemption, Gill explains that the word redeem means “to buy” and that Jesus bought “His people out of the hands of justice, in which they are held for sin.” Gill says:

1. First, I shall settle the meaning of the word (redeem); and show what it supposes, includes, and is designed by it. Our English word Redemption, is from the Latin tongue, and signifies, buying again; and several words in the Greek language, of the New Testament, are used in the affair of our Redemption, which signify the obtaining of something by paying a proper price for it; sometimes the simple verb αγοραζω, to “buy”, is used: so the redeemed are said to be “bought unto God” by the blood of Christ; and to be “bought” from the earth; and to be “bought” from among men; and to be “bought” with a price; that is, with the price of Christ’s blood, (Rev. 5:9; 14:3, 4; 1 Cor. 6:20), hence the church of God is said to be purchased with it, (Acts 20:28). Sometimes the compound word εξαγοραζω, is used; which signifies, to buy again, or out of the hands of another; as the redeemed are bought out of the hands of justice; as in (Gal. 3:13; 4:5). In other places λυτροω, is used, or others derived from it; which signifies, the deliverance of a slave, or captive, from his thraldom, by paying a ransom price for him: so the saints are said to be redeemed, not with silver or gold, the usual price paid for a ransom; but with a far greater one, the blood and life of Christ, which he came into this world to give, as a ransom price for many; and even himself, which is αντιλυτρον, an answerable, adequate, and full price for them (1 Pet. 1:18; Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6). There are various typical redemptions, and that are of a civil nature, which may serve to illustrate our spiritual and eternal redemption by Christ. As,

1d. The delivery of a debtor from prison, by paying his debts for him, is an emblem of deliverance and redemption by Christ: a man that is in debt, is liable to be arrested, and cast into prison, as is often the case; where he must lie till the debt is discharged, by himself or another: sins are debts; and a sinner owes more than ten thousand talents, and has nothing to pay; he cannot answer to the justice of God for one debt of a thousand; nor can he, by paying a debt of obedience he owes to God, pay off one debt of sin, or obligation to punishment; and so is liable to a prison, and is in one; is concluded under sin, under the guilt of it, which exposes him to punishment; and he is held with the cords and fetters of it; which he cannot loose himself from; and he is shut up under the law, in which he is held, until delivered and released by Christ; who, as he has engaged to pay the debts of his people, has paid them, cleared the whole score, and blotted out the hand writing that was against them; in consequence of which is proclaimed, in the gospel, liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; and in the effectual calling Christ says “to the prisoners”, “Go forth”, opening the prison doors for them; and to them that sit in darkness, in the gloomy cells of the prison, “show yourselves”; all which is done in virtue of the redemption price paid by Christ for his people.

1e. The ransoming of persons out of slavery, by paying a ransom price for them … their deliverance from present bondage, and future ruin and destruction, is in consequence of a ransom found and given…

1e1. … redemption by Christ is nothing more nor less than buying his people out of the hands of justice, in which they are held for sin; and that is with the price of his blood; which is therefore paid into the hands of justice for them: hence they are said to be redeemed, or bought unto God by his blood (Rev. 5:9). 

1e2. …Redemption is a deliverance from the law, from the bondage of it, and from the curse and condemnation by it; so that there shall be no more curse; and from eternal death and wrath to come: life is forfeited into the hands of justice by sin; which life is redeemed from destruction by Christ, giving his life a ransom for it; he, by redeeming his people, has delivered them from wrath to come; being justified through the redemption that is in Christ, by his blood, they are, and shall be saved, from everlasting wrath, ruin, and destruction.

John Gill: Doctrinal Divinity – Christian Classics Ethereal Library

In the section about satisfaction, Gill explains that our sins are criminal debts that require punishment rather than monetary debts that require a payment of money. Gill says:

“But it should be observed, that sins are not pecuniary debts (monetary debts), and to be remitted as they are: they are not properly debts, only so called allusively: …but they are called debts, because as debts oblige to payment, these oblige to punishment; which debt of punishment must be paid, either by the debtor, the sinner, or by a surety for him; sins are criminal debts, and can be remitted no other way.”

So our sins are not monetary debts that could be paid with money. Rather, our sins are criminal debts that require punishment. And the punishment for breaking God’s laws one time was death. We have broken God’s laws many times. We were born in a sinful condition and then we commit sins throughout our lives. We are unable to save ourselves from the penalty of God’s law. But God sent Jesus to save us. In another section, Gill explains that Jesus is our surety. A surety is defined as a person who takes responsibility for another’s performance of an undertaking, for example their appearing in court or paying a debt. Jesus is our surety. He took the responsibility of our performance of satisfying God’s justice by dying in our place on the cross. As Gill said, “life is forfeited into the hands of justice by sin; which life is redeemed from destruction by Christ, giving his life a ransom for it.” Jesus gave His life in place of ours. He stood in our place as our substitute on the cross and took our punishment for us.

Gill says, “God, therefore, in this affair, is to be considered not merely as a creditor, but as the Judge of all the earth, who will do right; and as the Rector and Governor of the world; that great Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; who will secure his own authority as such, do justice to himself, and honour to his law, and show a proper concern for the good of the community, or universe, of which he is the moral Governor.” 

John Gill: Doctrinal Divinity – Christian Classics Ethereal Library

These quotes from Gill can help us see what MacLaren was talking about when he said, “The work of Jesus Christ could not be done unless He died. He could not be the Savior of the world unless He was the sacrifice for the sins of the world.” Jesus “must” die in order to pay our debt of punishment for us.

Voluntary

MacLaren’s next quote says: . . . “It was because of the requirements of the divine righteousness, and because of the necessities of sinful men. And so Christ’s was no martyr’s death, who had to die as the penalty of the faithful discharge of His duty. It was not the penalty that He paid for doing His work, but it was the work itself. . . He ‘came to give His life a ransom for many’.”

A martyr is defined as a person who is killed or made to suffer because of their religious or other beliefs. MacLaren is explaining that Jesus was not killed because of the work He did for God during His life on earth. Jesus’ death was His work. Jesus is the Son of God. His death was a substitutionary, atoning death. He came to earth to die for us…to die in our place. In John 10:14-18 (NIV) Jesus says:

14“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

So again, the main points are that Jesus’ death was necessary for our salvation and voluntary. He willingly laid down His life for us.

Motivated by Love

Next, MacLaren explains that Jesus’ death was motivated by His love for us. He says:

“. . . [Jesus] must die because He would save, and He would save because He did love. His filial obedience to God coincided with His pity for men. . .”

“Oh, brethren! Nothing held Christ to the Cross but His own desire to save us. Neither priests nor Romans carried Him thither. What fastened Him to it was not the nails driven by rude hands. And the reason why He did not, as the taunters bade Him do, come down from it, was neither a physical nor a moral necessity unwelcome to Himself, but the yielding of His own will to do all which was needed for man’s salvation.”

“This sacrifice was bound to the altar by the cords of love. . . Jesus Christ fastened Himself to the Cross and died because He would. . . . His purpose never faltered, think that each of us may say, ‘He must die because He would save me’.”

And these are the rest of MacLaren’s quotes:

“. . . It is guaranteed by the power of the Cross; it is certain, by the eternal life of the crucified Savior, that He will one day be the King of humanity, and must bring His wandering sheep to couch in peace, one flock round one Shepherd.”

“Glad obedience is true obedience. . . . Obedience is obedience, whether in large things or in small.”

“Joy and liberty and power and peace will fill our hearts when this is the law of our being: ‘All that the Lord has spoken, that must I do’ (Expositions of Holy Scripture, St. John, I-VIII, pp. 174-180).”

“The Philippian jailer cried out, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household’ (Acts 16:30-31).”

These are the Application Points and FAQs on sermonindex.net that go with this sermon that help to summarize the main points:

Application Points

• We must obey all that the Lord has spoken in order to follow Him.
• Our obedience is true obedience when it is done with joy and liberty.
• We can be certain of Christ’s return and the salvation of humanity because of the power of the Cross.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Jesus have to die?

Jesus had to die because it was the only way to fulfill the requirements of divine righteousness and to save sinful men.

Was Jesus’ death a penalty for His work?

No, Jesus’ death was the work itself, not a penalty for doing His work.

What held Jesus to the Cross?

Jesus was held to the Cross by His own desire to save humanity.

What is the law of our being?

The law of our being is to obey all that the Lord has spoken.

I’ll stop here for today. There is another sermon by MacLaren called “The Cross the Proof” where he talks again about how the cross is the proof of God’s love to us. I hope to write about it soon.