The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1913, Page 17

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

A. MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

rt Ome

PubLisuep BY THE EYANGenicaL Luruenan SyNxopica. Conrenence or Norrit America.

REV. F. J. LANKENAU, EpITor.,

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.,

Vol. XXXV.

as second-class matter.

No. 3.

Jesus Liveth That Was Dead.

Christ has the ransom paid;

The glorious work is done;

On Him our help is laid,

The victory is won:

Captivity is captive led,

Since Jesus liveth that was dead.

Who to our charge shall lay
Iniquity and guilt?

All sin is done away,

Since His rich blood was spilt;
Captivity is captive led,

Since Jesus liveth that was dead.

Hail the triumphant Lord!

The Resurrection Thou!

We bless the sacred word,

Before Thy throne we bow;

Captivity is captive led,

Since Jesus liveth that was dead.
Thomas Haweis, 1802.

>

Christ Our Substitute.

As we Christians during this holy season of Lent
meditate upon the sufferings of our Lord Jesus
Christ; as we accompany Him upon that sad jour-
ney on which Judas betrayed, Peter denied, and all
His disciples forsook Him; as we see how diabolical
hatred -persecutes and indescribable brutality mal-
treats Him; as we see how He suffers the agonies
of hell, and finally breathes out His soul on the cross
of Calvary in untold. agony, let us remember,
“Christ was delivered for our offenses.”

What does that mean? It means that we by
. our sins have brought upon our dear Savior all
this pain and suffering, all this shame and mockery.
Our disobedience was the cause of His stripes, our

ST. LOUIS, MO., MARCH, 1913.

pride brought Him shame. He took’our place, He
became our substitute, and bore for us the punish-
ment of our sins, and thus He redeemed us from
sin, death, devil, and hell.

To free us from the slavery of sin, He takes
upon Himself the burden of our sins; to redeem
us from the curse of the Law, He is made a curse
for us; to protect us from the bitterness of death,
He drinks the bitter cup to the very dregs; to pre-
serve us from hell, He endures the tortures of the
damned. He, the Lamb of God, takes our place,
takes on Himself the wrath of God and the punish-
ment we deserved to gain for us a perfect red¢mp-
tion. In short, He dies for us.

The enemy rejoices. The devils in hell hold a
jubilee. For has not the Savior become the victim
of sin? Has not Satan bruised the heel of the
Woman’s Seed? Is not the Prince of Life lying
in the bonds of death? Have not the powers of
hell seemingly vanquished the Lord of heaven? —
But see, what happens? The taunts and jeers of
hell cease, the shouts of the foe are turned into
weeping and wailing! What is the cause of this
great change? Hear what the heavenly messenger
proclaims: “Be not affrighted! Ye seek Jesus of
Nazareth which was crucified: He ts risen.” Jesus
has cast away the burden of sin, He has torn the
bonds of death, He comes forth from the grave as
the conqueror of all His foes. ‘The grave is opened,
and Christ comes forth by the glory of His Father.

But here again let us remember that Christ is
our surety and substitute, and that, therefore, His
victory is our victory. As He was delivered for
our offenses, so was He “raised again for our justifi-
cation.” By raising Christ from the dead, God
has openly declared that He has accepted the sacri-
fice of His Son for us. Christ’s resurrection is the