Christ the Substitute
by Horatius Bonar

If Christ is not the Substitute, He is nothing to the sinner. If He did not die as the Sin-bearer, He has died in vain. Let us not be deceived on this point nor mislead by those who, when they announce Christ as the Deliverer, think they have preached the gospel. If I throw a rope to a drowning man, I am a deliverer. But is Christ no more than that? If I cast myself into the sea and risk myself to save another, I am a deliverer. But is Christ no more? Did He risk His life? The very essence of Christ's deliverance is THE SUBSTITUTION OF HIMSELF FOR US--HIS LIFE FOR OURS! He did not come. to risk His life; He came to die! He did not redeem. us by a little loss, a little sacrifice, a little labor, a little suffering; "He redeemed us to God by His blood" (I Peter 1:18,19). He gave all He had, even His life, for us. This is the kind of deliverance that awakens the happy song, "To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Rev. l:5).