1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,320 Father in heaven, we give you praise for all that you've given 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,920 us already this day. Thank you for causing us to 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:11,640 rise, for the grace to breathe, for the grace to think and to 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,800 feel. Thank you for opening our ears 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,640 and our eyes. And we pray, Holy Spirit, that 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,360 you would continue to illuminate these words, that we would 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:26,240 receive them, be fed by them, be transformed by them all for your 8 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,720 glory. And by your grace, we pray in 9 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:30,960 the name of Jesus. Amen. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,760 This morning I'm going to continue preaching through the 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:39,440 early parts of Ephesians this very long, beautiful, majestic 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,360 sentence that Paul was carried along to write. 13 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,160 I'm going to begin at verse 5 and read through verse 7. 14 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,120 Paul writes in love. He predestined us for adoption 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:57,280 to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose 16 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,920 of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,440 has blessed us and the beloved in Him. 18 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,560 We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our 19 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,840 trespasses according to the riches of His grace. 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,520 This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 21 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:22,520 Please be seated if you have not been here the last couple of 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,480 weeks. We have been studying the 23 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,720 doctrine of Election, the doctrine of predestination, that 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:34,640 complex, beautiful, encouraging reality some of you were exposed 25 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,080 to for the first time. Others of you have been in this 26 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,520 a long time. There are many different 27 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,640 questions that come for just a couple of minutes. 28 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,800 I want to address some of them before we move into the meat of 29 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,120 this particular sermon. One of the questions that comes 30 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,000 from those who are having a hard time understanding the doctrine 31 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,640 of predestination and election is then, if that's true, if God 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,720 already knows, why would we do evangelism? 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,040 Why would we share our faith? Well, two reasons come to mind 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,480 quickly. Number one, we should always do 35 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,160 what God commands us to do, and he clearly commands us to do it. 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,120 The reason he commands us to do it is the God who ordains all 37 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:17,680 things. All things, the primary cause of 38 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,520 everything, also ordains the means by which they happen. 39 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:26,600 He ordains the secondary causes in God's normative way of having 40 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,080 his good news. His gospel extended is by using 41 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,280 his Saints in places of work and recreation, in our homes, in our 42 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,960 neighborhoods, in our schools, praying for those who we don't 43 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,440 think know the Lord, telling them the truth of Jesus, and 44 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:47,520 then the gospel goes forth. Those who really cling to these 45 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,640 truth, these biblical doctrines of election and predecessor, 46 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,200 should be the most zealous for evangelism and the most 47 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,760 confident. Another question is, if God 48 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,320 already knows and he's already chosen me, then why would I need 49 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,760 to live a certain way? If it doesn't really matter, why 50 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,440 don't I just live any way I want? 51 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,520 Well, if that's the way you're thinking and it's actually the 52 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:12,120 way you're living, I would not have great confidence that you 53 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,080 truly are one of his, at least not yet. 54 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,240 That hasn't been revealed because those who have been 55 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:22,080 saved, those whose names are in the book of life, those to whom 56 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,360 He's revealed His grace, and you've received Christ, your 57 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,400 heart was changed. That which you could not have 58 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,920 wanted to bring Him glory, that which you could not have desired 59 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,840 to bring Him play praise, that which you would never have 60 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,120 wanted to live a life of holiness for His glory wouldn't 61 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,600 be true. All who are in Christ this side 62 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:47,440 of heaven still fight the flesh, still have temptations like the 63 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,040 rest of the world, but our desire is to mortify the flesh, 64 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,000 to mortify sin, to live for his glory. 65 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,360 That's why Paul in Ephesians 5 is going to say, But among you, 66 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:01,760 those are the Saints, the followers of Christ. 67 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:06,920 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality 68 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:12,840 or of impurity or of greed, for these are improper for God's 69 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,440 holy people. We're going to talk about being 70 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,920 holy and blameless in a moment. Another one, which I addressed 71 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,760 last week is, are we not just puppets and pawns? 72 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,960 I'll encourage you to go back and listen to last week's sermon 73 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,960 and then one final one. We'll be answering more as we 74 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,400 move through the letter. It doesn't seem fair if God 75 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,480 chooses some and passes over others. 76 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,240 It just doesn't seem fair. I understand that. 77 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:39,560 I wrestled with that and felt that a long time. 78 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:46,840 Here's the truth. God showing grace to some 79 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,720 doesn't ever show grace or owe grace to all. 80 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,400 Grace is never to be something that's required of God. 81 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,160 It wouldn't be grace. And so God, in His wisdom and by 82 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:07,720 His design, when He chose to share grace with some, that was 83 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,720 not something He had to do. In fact, if we want to talk 84 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,600 about being fair, none of us would have received it. 85 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,360 We all would receive what we deserve. 86 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,160 That is to be separated from Him forever. 87 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,600 I know these questions are complex and they're real. 88 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:23,760 That's why we go back to the Word. 89 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,840 We stay in the Word, and we surrender to the Word. 90 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,480 The way we surrender is by actually listening to what Paul 91 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,360 says, particularly in verses 5 and 6. 92 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,160 Listen to this, the second part of verse 5. 93 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:44,160 He says according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of 94 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,720 His glorious grace. Every time we look at God's 95 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:56,000 Word, everything that God ever has done and is doing and will 96 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:03,400 do, it is always to the purpose of His will, it is always to the 97 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,200 purpose of His glory. We don't always understand it. 98 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:14,880 We don't always like it, but it's always to His glory and to 99 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,640 the praise of His glory, fulfilling the purpose of His 100 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,640 will. And the reason that matters is 101 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,720 because we're surrendering to the One who is far greater, 102 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,400 perfectly wise, who knows exactly what is happening. 103 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,480 All for His glory and our good this morning. 104 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,200 The way I would like to look at the verses before us is to 105 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,400 highlight these themes. First His will, His glory and 106 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,280 His grace. Then I want to talk once again 107 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:48,080 about adoption and then finally redemption as you see those 108 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,720 words in this passage. And here's the way I would like 109 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:55,040 to do it. Many years ago, in the mid 90s, 110 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,760 I became quite enamoured with studying the Civil War. 111 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,280 I read as many books as I could and then I decided to go to one 112 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:08,680 of the battlefields. The one I chose was Gettysburg, 113 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,480 and the reason I chose Gettysburg was because 114 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,800 Christina's dad, my wife's dad, lived about 45 minutes from 115 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:15,640 there. They had a farm. 116 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,880 And so the first time we went, Dave and I drove 45 minutes to 117 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,280 Gettysburg and we spent about 3 hours only going to the museum 118 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,840 and seeing some of the sights. We read the plaques, we read the 119 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,000 things that were written. A few years later we went back 120 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,400 again and this time we got a cassette or tuned to the radio, 121 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,480 I don't remember which one. It was the 90s though. 122 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,040 So the kiss that was possible. And we drove through this 123 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,680 enormous battlefield, stopping where the tape told us to stop 124 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:49,200 and listening to the narrator. It was a much better way to see 125 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,880 the field. We began to see the scope and 126 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,680 scan of the war, the strategies from both sides. 127 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:57,680 But we still knew we needed more. 128 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,560 And so the next time what we did was we hired a guide, and this 129 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,560 guide rode with us in the car. We took a little bit longer at 130 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,160 each place. And then the fourth time we 131 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:12,040 went, we hired a guide who specialized in one particular 132 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:17,640 part of the battle and one particular part of the war, and 133 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,280 that was the battle of Little Round Top. 134 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:25,880 For 8 hours we listened to this expert, one on two telling us 135 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:30,200 what happened and they're standing on that ground where 136 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:37,280 between July 1st and 3rd in 1860, three 50,000 men lost 137 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:42,360 their lives. 50,000 you just looked knowing that they were 138 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,640 here. I'm standing where there was 139 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,320 blood. This was amazing for us to see 140 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:53,520 the depth of which we dug into understanding it was profound. 141 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,120 Well, that's what we do with the Word of God. 142 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,040 We come to saving faith and we know a little bit about the big 143 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,720 picture, but then as we grow in our faith, we begin to 144 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:08,160 understand more of who He is. We actually began to realize 145 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,120 that the Bible's really not about us. 146 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,880 It's not about our having a book that just guides us through each 147 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,880 day. It's not the best motivational 148 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,360 book that's ever been written on its purpose. 149 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,360 Its purpose is about the glory of God in the glory of God and 150 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,120 redeeming his people. It's the history of redemption. 151 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,880 And as we read it, we begin to understand new things. 152 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:37,640 Just after the last hour, a woman in her late 70s or early 153 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,120 80s came up to me, a dear sister in Christ, and she said the last 154 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,520 three weeks I have never heard these things. 155 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,200 I did not know they were in the Bible. 156 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,400 Well, she's being exposed to a part of the Bible that is God's 157 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,600 Word and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and 158 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,360 training in righteousness. And in the season, we are 159 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,240 focused on one particular book and we're taking our time to 160 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,760 move through it. Some of you want to go deeper 161 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,240 and there's books available, resources available, and you 162 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,360 can. But it's all for one purpose. 163 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:21,320 And that one purpose is always ultimately the glory of God, the 164 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,040 glory of God, and the grace of God. 165 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,440 Let me share something about these things for a few minutes. 166 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:31,840 According to the purpose of His will. 167 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,400 Verse 5, verse 6, to the praise of His glorious grace. 168 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:42,440 God's grace and God's glory are two remarkable themes that 169 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,680 anchor us as His followers. But what do we mean when we 170 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:50,520 speak about God's glory? It's one of those words that you 171 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,360 hear all the time, much like the word redemption, which we'll get 172 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:59,360 to in a moment. Martin Lloyd Jones, speaking 173 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:05,800 about God's glory, said this. It is almost impossible to say 174 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:11,240 anything about the glory of God because our language, our 175 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:17,600 terminology, our words are quite inadequate to convey any true 176 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,680 sense of it. So how can we? 177 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,080 Well, we need to take God at his Word. 178 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,680 God's word reveals his attributes and character. 179 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,840 It reveals his work in creation and care. 180 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,480 It reveals his wisdom and his works. 181 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,120 God's Word tells us of God's beauty. 182 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:44,520 And as I list these words, every one of these words describe God 183 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,440 in perfection. What that means is when I say 184 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,080 God is beautiful, He's perfectly beautiful. 185 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,680 There is not one aspect of God that is not beautiful. 186 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,760 There's not one aspect of his radiance that isn't perfect. 187 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:06,160 He's brighter than the sun. Our God is majestic. 188 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:13,000 He is full of splendor. He is great, and the psalmist 189 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,160 says his greatness is unsearchable. 190 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:22,240 I will extol you, my God and King, and praise your name 191 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,640 forever and ever. For great is the Lord, and his 192 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,680 greatness is unsearchable. We can't say that about anyone 193 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:35,200 or anything else. His might, His power, His power 194 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,720 immeasurable. He's eternal. 195 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:44,080 The word glory means wait. When we think of God, we leave 196 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:51,880 an astonishment of who He is. When we come to the doctrines of 197 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:56,240 salvation presented here, the first and greatest truth 198 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:01,760 concerning salvation is that it is a revelation of the glory of 199 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,240 God to the praise of His glorious grace. 200 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:13,200 When we think of God's grace as Christians, we realize His Word 201 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:19,360 tells us it's all grace from the beginning to the end. 202 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:23,160 In the middle, it's always God's grace. 203 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,720 RC Sproul says it this way. He says, when I was studying 204 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,360 theology at the doctoral level in Europe at the Free University 205 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,080 of Amsterdam, our professor GC Burkhauer once made this 206 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,200 statement when we were studying systematic theology. 207 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:46,160 He said, gentlemen, the essence of theology is grace, Sproul 208 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:47,520 writes. I think he's right. 209 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,760 When we get to the very essence of what our study of theology 210 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:57,320 is, we are studying the grace of God because it's by God's grace 211 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,680 that we are Christians in the 1st place. 212 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,200 Now we say Amen to that, but do we really go and trace back the 213 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,800 depth of what that means? That it has nothing to do with 214 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,400 us? God did not look into the future 215 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,000 and say they're going to be better than someone else. 216 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,640 It's His grace from beginning to end. 217 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:22,040 It's by God's grace that we even draw a breath at this very 218 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,400 moment. And it's by God's grace that we 219 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:29,680 receive every benefit from His hand from the beginning to the 220 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,840 end. The whole Christian life is 221 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,400 grace. And that's why I say that the 222 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:40,000 more we study grace, the more we see grace and the more we see 223 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,240 the need for grace. I remember being in seminary, 224 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,760 and my closest friend now was the one I despise the most at 225 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,000 the beginning. You're not supposed to despise 226 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,560 people in seminary, but I got to be honest, I did. 227 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:56,640 I've said this before, his name's Daniel and it was because 228 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,840 during one of the lectures, maybe the 10th lecture on grace, 229 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,520 he literally with great confidence said professor, all 230 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:09,040 due respect, we get grace. Can we move on to something else 231 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:11,640 now? What's the professor thinking? 232 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,680 I think we let a non believer into the seminary, He doesn't 233 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,720 get grace. We are never going to fully get 234 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:26,520 grace, and grace is the thing that should refute the old idea 235 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,240 that those who believe in these doctrines of grace are the 236 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,600 frozen chosen. Friends, I hate that phrase. 237 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:38,160 It should never be true of us. Those who get grace knowing they 238 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:43,160 need more grace should be the most humble, the most sober, and 239 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:51,360 the most on fire for the Lord in their worship, in their work, in 240 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,960 their homes, in their recreation, constantly ready to 241 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:01,400 give the doxology to the praise of His glorious grace. 242 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:09,280 Our salvation, which is by grace alone, is also to God's glory 243 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,840 alone. We think it's all about us and 244 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:18,120 it's not. It's all about Him, but in his 245 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:23,400 plan to save us, he brings us by grace into this glorious 246 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,440 reality. Richard Phillips says it's not 247 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,680 primarily about us. God saved us with a higher 248 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:37,600 motive than just our blessing. God has so arranged salvation to 249 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:42,920 bring us the highest possible blessing and Himself the highest 250 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:49,840 possible praise, both of which result only through the glory of 251 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:55,960 His grace. Glory and grace are a big deal. 252 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,800 The essential nature of God is His glory. 253 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:10,760 It's that which makes God, God. So in this passage we come to 254 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:15,119 this phrase in verse 5. In love, He predestined us for 255 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,240 adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. 256 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,960 The verse before it, if you remember from last week, Paul 257 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:29,960 tells us that we were chosen before the foundation of the 258 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,640 world, that we should be holy and blameless. 259 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:36,440 I want to go back to these two words for a moment as we enter 260 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,160 into the theme of adoption again. 261 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:45,080 The word holy means to be set apart, and God alone is holy. 262 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:50,400 He's set apart and He is holy in every part of who He is. 263 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:56,360 He's holy in His grace and His mercy and His revelation. 264 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:03,720 He is holy in his wrath and His justice and His love, meaning 265 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,960 there's no imperfection. There's nothing that can be 266 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,880 added or taken away. He's holy. 267 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,440 He's set apart. Jesus, our Savior, God, true 268 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:19,960 God, is blameless. Paul, early in the letter, 269 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:25,560 speaking to this young church, says he chose us, and he tells 270 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:30,520 us why and for what purpose that we should be home, holy and 271 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,760 blameless before Him. How can we be holy and 272 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,880 blameless? Because we're not. 273 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,720 Something has to happen first. There has to be something that 274 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:47,680 is reduced, there has to be something that is taken away, 275 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,360 something that is not just reduced but entirely removed. 276 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:57,920 And that is our sin. The word blemish is really where 277 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:03,600 the word that we get blameless comes from and we are full of 278 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:09,600 blemishes. So God in his mercy takes that 279 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,760 account of our blemishes, every one of them, and he deletes it. 280 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,960 He empties it. He removes it so that if we were 281 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,840 looking at a statement, an accounting statement where it 282 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,160 said blemishes, where it said sins, they're removed. 283 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,480 But something is added. He doesn't just leave it at 284 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,760 neutral. And what is added and received 285 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:38,040 is the righteousness of Christ. Why does that matter? 286 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:44,360 Well, the only way we could become those who are holy and 287 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:48,920 blameless before Him is through Christ. 288 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,520 And this is where we move into the theme of adoption. 289 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:58,360 Last week in our profession of faith, we quoted from the 290 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,480 Westminster Confession, chapter 12. 291 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,920 What speaks of our adoption? It speaks of the privileges we 292 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,560 have. It speaks of the protection we 293 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,640 receive, the provision from the Lord, and that we're going to 294 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,920 never be cast off. Adoption is a big theme. 295 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,280 If you weren't here for Winter Grace, I would encourage you to 296 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,680 go onto our website and listen to David Gibson. 297 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,960 One of the themes of his message was be who you are. 298 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:33,080 But in order to be who you are, you have to know who you are. 299 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,000 Couple of weeks ago, my daughter was in a musical called Mary 300 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:39,680 Poppins. You've heard of it. 301 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,800 And she was Mary Poppins. And it was fantastic. 302 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,440 Six shows, watching your own daughter perform. 303 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,200 And she was remarkable. After the shows, as we would 304 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,880 greet her and the other cast members, people would come up to 305 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,560 give her encouragement. And then they would look at me 306 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,120 and say, are you her father sometimes? 307 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:04,040 Are you her grandfather? And I would simply say, yes, 308 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,040 that's my daughter. Where did she learn to sing? 309 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,520 Did she get that from you? What about her, her acting? 310 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,720 No, no, no, not from me. I peeked in 3rd grade, 3rd 311 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,040 grade. I was Santa Claus in the 312 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,400 Christmas play, and then in the spring play, I was an owl. 313 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:24,240 I have no idea what my lines were as Santa Claus, but I 314 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:32,040 remember my lines as the owl. Who, who, Who are you? 315 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,800 That was it, over and over again. 316 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,920 But you know what? That is the most important 317 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:48,560 question next to who is God? And who does God say you are in 318 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,000 Christ? And who does God say you are 319 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,720 apart from Christ? David Gibson said over and over 320 00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,440 again. Be who you are, but who are you? 321 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,640 Are you in Christ? Well, if you're in Christ, that 322 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:13,240 means you are his adopted child. The passage says in verse 5. 323 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:20,200 He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus 324 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,680 Christ. You are His. 325 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:29,800 That same year, third grade, I met for the first time, an 326 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,440 orphan. His name was Michael Garcia. 327 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,840 He was in foster care in Oklahoma City at that time. 328 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,640 On Wednesday night, the ABC affiliate, the news station had 329 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:42,280 something called Wednesday's Child. 330 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,760 And Wednesday's child was always a three to five minute video of 331 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,480 a boy or girl who was in the system who needed someone to 332 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,880 adopt them. Michael was my friend. 333 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,760 I begged my parents to adopt him. 334 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:03,640 We were one small house, 5 energetic children, three small 335 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:08,560 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and my parents had huge hearts, but 336 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,720 they also had wisdom. They knew it would not be good 337 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:12,800 for him. But I wanted my mom and dad to 338 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,960 adopt him so much. One day he was adopted. 339 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,440 I never knew what became of him, but that was my first exposure 340 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:25,640 to adoption. Friends, this adoption by God is 341 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,200 what establishes your primary and permanent identity. 342 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,240 It's the one identity that you have forever. 343 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,240 If you're in Christ, you're a beloved child. 344 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,680 You're adopted by him. And what that means is that when 345 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:48,120 the Father sees you, because you've been adopted and Christ 346 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:54,600 is in you and you are in Christ, you are seen the same way the 347 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,920 Father sees the Son. It's remarkable. 348 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,360 The Son is blameless. The Son is holy because you're 349 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:06,400 his adopted son. You're the same friends. 350 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,560 This is what God's word is teaching us. 351 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:17,080 In November, someone in some part of the country reached out 352 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,440 to one of my children, my oldest daughter, Kara, and said, I 353 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,760 think we might have a family connection. 354 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,280 This is an older man who said, I'm just trying to put things in 355 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,440 order and I want to understand where my relatives are. 356 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,800 Would your dad be willing to take the DNA test so we could 357 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,120 just see? So I did it. 358 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,720 I took the Q-tip. I swabbed each cheek and I sent 359 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:42,120 it in. Don't know what's going to 360 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:46,240 happen, but I know this much. It's not going to say I was 361 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:52,000 adopted and I was. All who are in Christ are 362 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,440 adopted. It's going to tell me wonderful 363 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,400 things about our history. I can't wait to see it, but it's 364 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,280 not going to go far back, not like this. 365 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:05,960 And whatever is on there is neat is it will be. 366 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,680 It's not going to be permanent and it's not going to be 367 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,360 primary. That's already been decided. 368 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:19,400 But the cost of being before him is blameless and holy. 369 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,800 The cost of being adopted as one of his children was that 370 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,240 redemption had to take place. So it's been the last remaining 371 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,040 time in this word redemption. The word redemption is a 372 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,520 biblical word that runs through Scripture, but it's also one of 373 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,240 those words like glory, that if we're not careful, it loses its 374 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,720 meaning. And significant, whenever we see 375 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,000 the word redemption, are we seeing the word redemption? 376 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:55,120 It always supposes that there is bondage, captivity and 377 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:58,840 enslavement present. So immediately in the Old 378 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,040 Testament you think of the people of God, the nation of 379 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,560 Israel. They're held by the nation of 380 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,320 Egypt as slaves. They are in bondage, they are 381 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:13,880 enslaved and they cannot get themselves out. 382 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:19,560 They cannot set themselves free. James Montgomery Boyce, Speaking 383 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:23,360 of how we are in bondage, made this parallel. 384 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:27,880 He said there's three ways for us to be in bondage, either born 385 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:33,000 into slavery, to have a military conquest where we're taken away 386 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:38,160 as slaves are to have debt so great that we can't pay it. 387 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,840 But the key reality is those who are in bondage, those who are 388 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,840 enslaved, those who are in captivity can't get themselves 389 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,840 out. So as it relates to sin, Boyce 390 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,960 says according to Psalm 51, we're all born in iniquity, 391 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,800 we're all born in sin. All of us have sinned and fallen 392 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,560 short of the glory of God in terms of a military conquest. 393 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:08,080 We are conquered by Satan and his power constantly as we serve 394 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,280 him and slave to sin. And to speak of debts, all of 395 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:16,440 us, so many debts that we could never repay them. 396 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:19,960 So how could someone be set free? 397 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,600 There was only one way, and that would be that a ransom would be 398 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,600 paid. And this ransom had to be 399 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,760 according to the law. So it is with God as well. 400 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,440 That's why Jesus says in Mark 10:45 and in the book of 401 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,840 Matthew, he says the Son of Man did not come to be served, but 402 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:46,040 to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 403 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,360 The ransom meant in the Old Testament sacrificial system 404 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,640 that there would be a spotless substitute. 405 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:59,480 The blood of this spotless perfect substitute would be cut 406 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,240 and spilled. When that substitute took place, 407 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:08,720 then the wrath of God which was holy, the justice of God which 408 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:13,080 was holy, would be turned away from the Sinner. 409 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,840 The results would be forgiveness. 410 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,920 Jesus Christ, from the Old Testament prophesied and the New 411 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:30,600 Testament fulfilled, became that one true and final perfect 412 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:36,040 spotless sacrifice, perfect spotless substitute. 413 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,360 Hebrews 9/12 He Jesus entered once for all into the holy 414 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,760 places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but 415 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:52,600 by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 416 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:59,720 And So what that means is that if you're in Christ, your ransom 417 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:04,880 was Christ. His blood was shed for you, that 418 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:10,560 you could be His adopted son, His adopted daughter, that you 419 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:17,120 could stand in Christ before the living God, blameless and holy. 420 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,400 A number of years ago, my family had the opportunity to go with a 421 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:31,080 few other families from this church to the Holy Land to see 422 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:36,120 the Sea of Galilee, to see many of the sites where Jesus was 423 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,440 known to walk and perform miracles In many places. 424 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:44,400 They don't know if this is the exact site, but one of them that 425 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,880 is the exact site is the Garden of Gethsemane. 426 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,920 When I walked into the Garden of Gethsemane, which isn't that 427 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,320 large, and my children were with me, and my dear bride was with 428 00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:00,760 me and other members from this church, we were standing there 429 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:06,640 on this ground and this was a ground that also received blood. 430 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:12,120 It was where somewhere in the proximity that we could see our 431 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:16,720 Savior 2000 years ago, knowing that it was the night for him to 432 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:21,240 become that ransom, knowing something of the cup that He was 433 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,240 being asked to drink, the cup of His Father's wrath because of 434 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:30,560 all your blemishes, all your sins and mine, He prayed to the 435 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,440 Father. Father, if you are willing, take 436 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,720 this cup from me. Yet not my will be done, but 437 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:43,160 yours. Isaiah tells us word for word 438 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,440 that it was the will of the Father to crush Him. 439 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:53,200 Why? For His glory, For the glory of 440 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:58,960 redemption. The only way His people could be 441 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:05,800 redeemed was if this perfect Lamb, His perfect righteous Son, 442 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,720 would drink the cup, which was the death that you and I deserve 443 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:15,000 to die. I want you to consider that 444 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:25,160 love, love so amazing, love so divine, demands my life, my 445 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:34,760 soul, my all. That's why the glory of God and 446 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:42,640 the grace of God anchor us and why He made us His own. 447 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,760 Think deeply this week on who you are. 448 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,320 Who are you? Are you in Christ? 449 00:31:54,760 --> 00:32:00,720 Then pray God never let's these beautiful doctrines become stale 450 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:06,640 or your worship to look like you're 1 that barely knows what 451 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:11,640 you've been saved from. He saved you by grace and 452 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:16,840 nothing else, for His glory and nothing else. 453 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:22,040 Jesus, thank you for that gift. Thank you for carrying Paul 454 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,480 along Holy Spirit, to write these words that would encourage 455 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,320 us with the truth thousands of years later. 456 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,800 Thank you above all that those of us who are in Christ. 457 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:37,520 You're giving us eyes to see, and it was all by grace. 458 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,680 Fill our hearts and minds with Your glory. 459 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,840 May we even leave this day, not just finishing a service, but 460 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:54,040 walking out rejoicing to the praise of your glorious grace, 461 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:59,960 with which even this day you have blessed us in the beloved 462 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:02,920 we pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 463 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:03,680 Please stand.