“Our surety and our substitute” by J.C. Ryle
“Consider now: there were two things to be done before guilty man could be saved. The law was to be fulfilled, for we had all come short of it; justice was to be satisfied, for we had all deserved punishment.
And how was this effected? Hearken! The Lord Jesus Christ, pitying our lost estate, covenanted and engaged to become our surety and substitute; and when the fulness of time was come, He left the bosom of His Father and took upon Him the form of a servant here on earth, being born of the Virgin Mary.
In that form, by a sinless obedience to the whole law, He wrought out and brought in a perfect and everlasting righteousness, and this He is both willing and ready to bestow on all who will put their trust in Him.
And more than this: to complete the mighty work He consented to offer up Himself in our place as a victim to the wrath of God, to suffer instead of us, to bear that punishment which we had deserved,—and this He did by dying on the cross.
It was there He satisfied the claims of justice. It was there He paid the heavy debt written against our names.
It was there that God the Father laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, and made His soul a sacrifice for sin.
It was there that He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.
Here, then, you see the plan of salvation which is offered to all the world. The believing sinner’s guilt is taken away and laid upon Christ, for He has carried our transgressions, and all the merit of Christ’s life and death, and all the value of His sufferings, are then made over to the sinner.
But see how great and glorious is this exchange between Jesus and our souls: the Father sees us now as members of His dear Son, in whom He is well pleased.
He deals with us as if we had never sinned, as if we had ourselves fulfilled all righteousness.
He looks on us as one with Christ, and acknowledges us as dear children and heirs of eternal glory.
Do I say more than Scripture warrants? I think not. Listen to St. Paul: “God hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Are not these words strong? But so it is. Christ was accounted as a sinner, and therefore punished for us: we are accounted as righteous, and therefore glorified in Him. He was accounted as a sinner, and therefore He was condemned; we are accounted as righteous in Him, and therefore justified.
God’s law has been satisfied, and now we may be saved. Sin has been punished, and now sinners may go free. God has shown Himself a just God, and yet He can be the Saviour of guilty men.
Beloved, are not these things wonderful? Are not these glad tidings to the labouring and heavy laden? The Lord Himself is our RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Who is there among you that is groaning under the burden of sin, trembling under a sense of innumerable transgressions? Fear not, but come to Jesus; He has paid your debt in full; believe, and you shall be free.
Who is there among you that is tried with manifold temptations—slipping, stumbling, walking in darkness and seeing no light, and often ready to say with David, “I shall one day perish”?
Fear not, but look to Jesus; He has secured your entrance into heaven; He has fought and won the battle for you. The Lord is our righteousness.
This shall be our defence and plea, when earth and its works are burned up, and the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the Chief Shepherd shall appear to judge the sons of men.
Who shall lay anything then to the charge of those who have laid hold on Christ? Shall any one presume to say they have not done everything required? The Lord, we will answer, is our righteousness; He is our substitute; we have done nothing, but He hath done everything; He is our all in all.
And who is he that can condemn us? shall death or hell or Satan lay a finger on us, and dare to say that justice has not been satisfied? The Lord, we will answer, is our righteousness; we have indeed sinned, but Christ hath suffered; we have deserved wrath, but Jesus hath died and shed His blood to make atonement in our stead.
‘Blessed,’ says holy David, ‘is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.’ (Psalm 32:1-2)
‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,’ says Isaiah; ‘my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.’ (Isaiah 61:10)”
–J.C. Ryle, The Christian Race and Other Sermons (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2024), 78-80.
