Evening, June 21

Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands…  2 Timothy 2:19 NASB

The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that “… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men’s transgressions to their account.” The absolute truth on which genuine faith relies is, that “the Word became human and made his home among us,” and that “Christ also has suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God”; “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross”; “the punishment that made us whole was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.”

In one word, the great monument of the Christian’s hope is substitution. The punishment that made us whole was placed upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. The sacrifice of Christ taking the place of the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, Christ offering up a true and proper sacrifice for the cleansing of our sin and taking upon himself our death penalty through his sacrifice in the room, place, and role of as many as the Father gave him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in Jesus–this is the fundamental fact of the gospel.

If this foundation were removed, what could we do? But it stands just as firm as the throne of God. We know it; we rest on it; we rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to think continually upon it, and to proclaim it, while we desire to be motivated forward by gratitude for it in every part of our life and behavior. In these days, a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the atonement. Men cannot bear substitution, or even see their need for atonement. They reject and refute the thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by experience this invaluable truth, will proclaim it in defiance of them confidently and unceasingly. We will neither dilute it nor change it, nor squander it away in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a positive substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the place of men. We cannot, dare not, give it up, for it is our life, and despite all opposition we feel that “Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure.”