1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Well, good morning. It's good to see everyone today 2 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:14,280 give you a second to find your seat. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,920 We are in First Corinthians 15 today, so if you have your 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,800 Bible, please open the First Corinthians chapter 15. 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,520 It's good to be with you this morning worshipping together and 6 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:31,160 glad you're here. We are nearing the end of Paul's 7 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,000 letter to the Corinthians, so at least this first letter that 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,080 we've looked at. So just kind of as a brief 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:42,840 recap, in chapters 12 through 14, Paul has carefully addressed 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,000 the gifts of the Spirit, and he's also addressed how worship 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,360 in the church must be orderly and edifying. 12 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,080 So that's been the last few weeks together we've spent in 13 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:59,440 First Corinthians 12 through 14. Now in chapter 15, Paul turns 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,440 his attention to a doctrine that undergirds everything else in 15 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:08,960 the Christian life and it undergirds everything else in 16 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,440 hope, and that is the doctrine of the resurrection. 17 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,320 So we're going to look at in chapter 15, the doctrine of the 18 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,920 resurrection. But before he deals with the 19 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,800 confusion that the Corinthians are facing, remember the the 20 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,400 Corinthians are a confused people, right? 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:31,040 There are people who are, some of them, they would be newly 22 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,360 saved, some of them saved out of Pagan, previously Pagan 23 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:36,920 religions. And so the some of the same 24 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,360 practices have worked their way into the church. 25 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,640 They're not good at addressing sin. 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,240 They're not good at following their leaders in the right way. 27 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:47,880 They're holding some leaders in higher regard than others. 28 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,760 They're holding some gifts in higher regard than others. 29 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:55,680 They got the Lord's Table mixed up, seeing it more as as a party 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,000 and an opportunity for the flesh than for a spiritual meal. 31 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,920 And so there's a lot of disarray within the Corinthian church. 32 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,760 And so another one of those issues that they're facing is 33 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,960 this doctrine of the resurrection. 34 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,400 Now, before he deals with the confusion about the resurrection 35 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,920 of the dead, he reminds the Corinthians of the gospel 36 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,720 itself. This is a very, it's really an 37 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,720 important passage for us to examine today so that we can 38 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,760 even understand, begin to even try to understand the 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,040 resurrection. So where Paul begins is where we 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,160 must begin. It's, it's what we have to 41 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:36,240 understand this gospel message, because the gospel is the ground 42 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,760 of salvation, right? The gospel is the ground of 43 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,960 salvation. It's where salvation is founded. 44 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,520 It's in the Gospel message, The it's also the ground of the 45 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,720 unchanging message of the apostles. 46 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,480 No matter which apostle you pick up, right, no matter which book, 47 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,080 which letter they have written, you will find the same message, 48 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,840 Christ and him crucified, and then it's application to the 49 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,640 church in that time. It's also the gospel is the 50 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,680 ground of salvation, the unchanging message of the 51 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,080 apostles, and it's the only hope of eternal life. 52 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:13,800 The gospel brings us the only hope of eternal life. 53 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,920 And so with that in mind, let's read First Corinthians 15 one 54 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:18,560 through 11. If you would, would you please 55 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:26,040 stand and honor the reading of God's Word verse one? 56 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:29,680 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I 57 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,400 preached to you, which you received and which you stand, 58 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:35,560 and by which you are being saved. 59 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,640 If you hold fast to the Word, I preach to you, unless you 60 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,440 believed in vain, For I have delivered to you as of first 61 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:48,120 importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in 62 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,800 accordance with the Scriptures. That He was buried, and He was 63 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,280 raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 64 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,640 And then He appeared to Cephas into the 12. 65 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,960 Then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most 66 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,880 of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 67 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,240 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, last of 68 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,680 all, as to 1 untimely born, he appeared also to me. 69 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,200 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called 70 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,240 an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. 71 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:22,760 But by the grace of God I am what I am. 72 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,800 And His grace toward me was not in vain. 73 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,000 On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was 74 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,840 not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 75 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:38,360 Whether then it was I or they. So we preach, and so you 76 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,000 believed. Let's pray. 77 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,880 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and God, we thank 78 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:46,440 you for the opportunity we have to hear. 79 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,840 It's proclaimed this morning. Father, I pray that you would 80 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,640 just use me as a servant of Your word, a mouthpiece of Your 81 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,840 spirit today to speak to the hearts and minds of your people. 82 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,280 Father, may we love your words. May we be a people who are 83 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,720 undergirded by it, who are convicted by it, who are 84 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:10,440 convicted of its truth, and who order our lives in an obedient 85 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,040 way because of what we see in your Word. 86 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,640 But Father, these gospel truths that will proclaim this morning 87 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,360 are essential to our salvation. They're essential to the message 88 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,360 that we preach from this point forward. 89 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,080 And so, Father, we ask that you would help us to understand it 90 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,360 in the right ways. Protect us, Lord, from false 91 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,480 gospels. Protect us, Lord, from a false 92 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,280 understanding in which we would try to add to what your word 93 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:40,520 says or take away from what your word says because it's difficult 94 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,840 to understand or it's difficult to fathom or maybe just 95 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:48,280 difficult to follow. But Lord, help us to be faithful 96 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:51,360 to your word and all that we do. It's in Christ name, I pray, 97 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,640 Amen. I failed you a moment ago. 98 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,440 This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, You may be 99 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:03,440 seated. So think about having a 100 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,920 conversation with a friend about the gospel. 101 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,680 Or maybe you're talking to a group of people about the gospel 102 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,920 and you've taken time to explain who God is. 103 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,640 He's holy and right and just. He's the creator of all things 104 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,080 that he issued a command, a man. Man rebelled against the 105 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,000 command. And so men fell into an eternal 106 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,640 state of sin. And then God provides his own 107 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,440 Son as a substitutionary atonement for the sin of man 108 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,880 that they might be reconciled to him. 109 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,080 And so now there's a response on man's side. 110 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,480 Are we going to believe the word of God? 111 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:44,720 Are we going to continue to believe ourselves? 112 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,200 So say you've explained those things to a group of people and 113 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,240 someone raises their hand and you call on them, yes, what is 114 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,400 your question? And they say, why should I or 115 00:06:55,400 --> 00:07:00,680 why should we believe the Christian Gospel instead of any 116 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,760 of the other religions or philosophies in the world? 117 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:11,000 What would your response be? Your response should be 118 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,360 something along these lines because only one message in 119 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:21,520 history, only one message across all time, declares that the Son 120 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,320 of God died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose 121 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,080 again on the third day, witnessed by hundreds, and still 122 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,880 offers salvation today. All other gospels will leave you 123 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,960 empty. And this one alone saves, right? 124 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,000 This one alone saves. That's exactly what Paul is 125 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:44,680 doing here in First Corinthians 15. 126 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,080 That's what he's teaching to the Church of Corinth. 127 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,920 He says if you get the gospel wrong, or essentially he's 128 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,320 saying if you get the gospel wrong, then you'd lose 129 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,400 everything. You lose everything. 130 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,840 You can't depend on A resurrection is where he's going 131 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,640 to go. You can't understand the 132 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:01,960 resurrection. But so many other things that 133 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,840 he's addressed already, as I've tried to show as we walk through 134 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,720 the book, fall apart without the central truth of the gospel 135 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,440 message. So we've titled the series Grace 136 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,920 and the Christian Life. But if you get the gospel right, 137 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,200 if you understand it, you believe it, you get it right, 138 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,720 then you gain eternity. You haven't lost anything. 139 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,200 You've gained everything that's worth gaining. 140 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,080 As John Stott once wrote, he said at the heart of the gospel 141 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,640 is the cross. The essence of sin is man 142 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,640 substituting himself for God, meaning trying to have the place 143 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,760 of God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting 144 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,720 himself for man. Amen. 145 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,000 Charles Spurgeon declared this. He says Christ. 146 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:57,520 If Christ is not risen, then all our preaching is a lie and your 147 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,800 faith is a delusion. Strong words, right? 148 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:03,640 But it's true. If Christ is not risen, if we 149 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,760 don't have the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then all that we 150 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,440 preach, all that we believe is a lie and we are disillusioned as 151 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:13,360 the world would have us think we are. 152 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:17,760 So is it real? Is it true? 153 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,800 Well, yes, the Gospel is not one religious idea among many. 154 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,320 Again, this is kind of how the world treats Christianity. 155 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,760 It's one religious idea. At least they try to. 156 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,400 But then there's a lot more persecution of Christians going 157 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,840 on than persecution of any other religions. 158 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,960 All of the religions are tolerated, and Christianity is 159 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,080 constantly persecuted, right? Why? 160 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,160 Because it grates against humanity. 161 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,880 It grates against the rebellious heart of man. 162 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,560 So Christianity is not one religious idea among many. 163 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:52,920 It's the one true message of salvation as we carry the gospel 164 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,480 into the world. For taking notes, you can write 165 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,760 down this point. The unchanging gospel of 166 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:03,840 Christ's death and resurrection is our foundation and the 167 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:07,080 message we must hold fast and proclaim. 168 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,240 I'll give you a second, as I know I've been terribly wordy. 169 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:16,320 Again here. The unchanging gospel of 170 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:21,720 Christ's death and resurrection is our foundation and the 171 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,960 message we must hold fast and proclaim as we walk through the 172 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,280 text. We'll see it in this way. 173 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:29,360 You can continue writing that down. 174 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,040 I'm just going to reveal what kind of where we're headed, .1 175 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,720 we'll see the gospel received and held fast, .2 we'll see the 176 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:40,080 gospel delivered and grounded in Scripture, and .3 we'll see the 177 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,720 gospel verified to or by witnesses, and then .4 we'll see 178 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,680 the gospel transforms by grace. All right, so again, the main 179 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,440 point, the unchanging gospel of Christ's death and resurrection 180 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:56,440 is our foundation and the message we must hold fast and 181 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,200 proclaim. Point #1 the gospel received and 182 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,440 held fast. Verses one through 2. 183 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:04,920 The gospel received and held fast. 184 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,640 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I 185 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:11,280 preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 186 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,200 and by which you are being saved. 187 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:20,520 If you hold fast to the Word, I preach to you, unless you 188 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,320 believed in vain. So Paul begins the chapter not 189 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,320 by introducing something new, right? 190 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,680 Doesn't run straight to the problem of the resurrection. 191 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:34,280 It doesn't run straight to the issue that they have within the 192 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,160 Church of Corinth of the resurrection. 193 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,720 No, he wants to remind them of something that he's already told 194 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,760 them, something they've already believed, right? 195 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,960 It's not something new. He's reminding the Corinthians 196 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,920 of what they already know. I would remind you, brothers, of 197 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,360 the gospel I preach to you, which you received, in which you 198 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,080 standing by which you are being saved. 199 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,880 If you hold fast to the word, I preach to you, unless you 200 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,200 believed in vain. Now that verb remind. 201 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,640 Most of us know what this verb means, but it implies calling to 202 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:08,240 mind something foundational that must not be forgotten. 203 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,400 I'm reminding you of something that's so essential to your 204 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,840 salvation that you cannot forget it. 205 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:19,000 You must remember this before we get into this conversation of 206 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,160 the resurrection. The gospel is not merely the 207 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:28,600 starting line of Christianity. It's the path we walk and it's 208 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,400 the hope we die in. And it's not not just the 209 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,720 starting point. It's not, it's not just the 210 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,920 early things you learn maybe as a child or as a new believer. 211 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,880 No, it's, it's the path you walk in and it's the hope you die in 212 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,640 believing wholeheartedly the gospel. 213 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,200 You can notice the progression in Paul's verbs here after 214 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:55,760 remind, he mentions received, I remind you, brothers of the 215 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,280 gospel I preach to you, which you received, right? 216 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,640 This points to the historical moment of conversion, right? 217 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,640 They heard the gospel. They believed the gospel, they 218 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,520 took hold of it by faith. And salvation begins when a 219 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,600 Sinner receives Christ as their Lord and Savior according to 220 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:20,320 John 112, And then he gets the next verb we see in which you 221 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,080 stand, right? Well, this speaks of the 222 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,360 believer's present position, right? 223 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,360 You stand within the gospel. You first received it, you 224 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,040 believed it, now you stand in it, right? 225 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,120 The gospel isn't just what saved you, brother and sister, it's 226 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,520 what sustains you. It's what keeps you. 227 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,320 Romans 52 says through him we also, we have also obtained 228 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:50,680 access by faith into this grace in which we stand, right, in 229 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:55,480 which we stand the third verb we see by which you are being 230 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,200 saved. So salvation has a past, 231 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,800 present, and future dimension. When we think of salvation, we 232 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,120 need to think not only about a moment of conversion, right? 233 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,720 Which often we do because we'll say things like, when were you 234 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,720 saved, right? And so we kind of limit 235 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:18,720 salvation to this one momentary moment, right? 236 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,800 This one fleeting moment or this one quick moment in someone's 237 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,800 life where they came to believe. But salvation has past, present, 238 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,040 future, dimension, dimensions. This is what Paul is explaining. 239 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,480 We have been saved from the penalty of sin, meaning you have 240 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,760 been regenerated. You have been justified, right? 241 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:39,400 You've been saved from the penalty of sin. 242 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:44,840 You've been justified freely by the grace of God, and you are 243 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,520 being saved from the power of sin, which is your 244 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:53,120 sanctification, all right? The power of sin no longer has 245 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,280 dominion over you. Rather, you can now, today, take 246 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,840 dominion in Christ by the Spirit over your sin. 247 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:05,840 You don't have to do whatever your filthy flesh longs to do. 248 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,720 You don't have to follow all the desires of your heart. 249 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,440 You can say no to those things in the Spirit of God and walk 250 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,360 according to the Spirit of God. You're unsure of that. 251 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,200 Look at Romans 6-7 and eight very, very closely. 252 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,960 All right, great passages there on the idea of sanctification 253 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,120 and it goes on and we will be saved, right? 254 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,120 Being saved. If you hold fast, we will be 255 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,400 saved. Now this is will be saved from 256 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,280 the presence of sin, right? When you're glorified with 257 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,640 Christ in heaven, it says that you were brought to a place, a 258 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,120 new heaven, a new earth, where there is no more sin. 259 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:53,480 You're saved from the very presence of sin in your own 260 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,680 life, the presence of sin in the world around you. 261 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,000 You're brought into glorification with Christ where 262 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,720 all things are perfect and all things are redeemed, all things 263 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,280 are being made new, so the presence of sin is gone. 264 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:09,360 You've been glorified. So the gospel encompasses all of 265 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,000 that. That's the work of the gospel in 266 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,360 your life, Justification, sanctification, glorification. 267 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:22,640 Then Paul adds this vital condition here, right? 268 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,000 It's one of those things that you might read over quickly as 269 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,720 you're just trying to read through the text and by which 270 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,120 you are being saved and listen to the condition. 271 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:38,720 If you hold fast to the Word, I preach to you, unless you 272 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:43,560 believed in vain. Now that's one of those passes 273 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:45,560 that you ought to read with a lot of sobriety. 274 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,760 It ought to bring you to humility as you read that all 275 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,080 right. If you hold fast to the Word I 276 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,000 preach to you, that ought to cause a lot of questions. 277 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,880 I mean, alarm bells ought to go off in our mind of wait a 278 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,960 minute, am I holding fast to the message of the gospel? 279 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,560 Do I believe it with all my heart and with all my mind, with 280 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,280 all my strength, with all my soul? 281 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,400 Do I trust what God has revealed? 282 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,160 Does it order my life? Does it give me direction, right 283 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,000 purpose? Do I notice the fruit of the 284 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:24,400 Spirit at work in me right? Am I holding fast to the word 285 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:29,640 that has been preached? Or am I like one of the ones 286 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,800 that he warns about here? Unless you believed in vain. 287 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,680 I want you to understand, Paul's not suggesting that salvation 288 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,920 can be lost. He's not suggesting that it can 289 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,120 be lost. He's exposing the difference 290 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,480 between superficial and saving faith. 291 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:55,120 There is in a sense that there are people who superficially 292 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,600 believe in God, right? We'll get into some of those 293 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,840 examples here in a moment. But there are others whom God 294 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,480 has truly saved. And true believers, we know that 295 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,760 they're true believers because they persevere to the end, 296 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,760 right? True believers persevere because 297 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,400 the gospel truly possesses them. They are to hold fast to it. 298 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,040 But the reason they hold fast is because they are possessed by 299 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,920 the gospel. Faith that fizzles is never 300 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,680 genuine. Faith that fizzles is never 301 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:29,840 genuine. Listen to 1st John 219. 302 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:35,400 The apostle John here is writing and he's encouraging this group 303 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,440 of Christians who have had people that have left their 304 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,320 ranks and gone on to proclaim things that go against the 305 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,400 crucified and resurrected Christ. 306 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:46,240 And this is what he says of them. 307 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,080 He said they went out from us, but they were not of us. 308 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,440 So stark reality in the church is that people can appear like 309 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:01,360 they are with you, that they are of you, that they're of the same 310 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:05,720 material meaning, spiritually reborn for a season. 311 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,600 But then a time will come, whether it's a trial or 312 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,280 tribulation, whether it's a hard truth, whether it's a desire to 313 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,920 continue to seek their own way where that faith will be choked 314 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,800 out, so to speak, that superficial faith. 315 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,920 And you'll see who they truly are. 316 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,240 They went out from us, but they were not of us. 317 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,960 For if they had been of us, John writes, they would have 318 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,040 continued with us. And he's so sure of this, right? 319 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,120 He's so sure of the perseverance of the Saints that he says if 320 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,760 they had been of us, they would have continued with us. 321 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,080 Not if they had been of us, they might have continued with us. 322 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,920 Let me say, if they've been of us, they would have continued 323 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:50,880 with us. But they went out that it might 324 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:57,000 become plain that they all are not of us, right, that they all 325 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,440 are not of us. The 1689 London Baptist 326 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,400 Confession of Faith in chapter 17 on the perseverance of the 327 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:10,000 Saints affirms this beautifully. He says sorry the the confession 328 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,360 here says those whom God has accepted in the beloved, in 329 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,720 Christ. Effectually called and 330 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:20,040 sanctified by His Spirit can neither totally nor finally fall 331 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,720 away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere 332 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:28,040 therein to the end and be eternally saved. 333 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:33,080 Amen. What a great comfort, all right, 334 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,440 what a great comfort. Perseverance is not the ground 335 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,120 of salvation. Perseverance is the evidence of 336 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:45,680 salvation. It's what proves it's what 337 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,920 proves that faith is genuine. What we want to understand, 338 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,640 brothers and sisters, is this, that the same grace that saves A 339 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:58,080 Sinner sustains a St. That's the same grace, same 340 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,920 grace that saves A Sinner sustains a St. 341 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,240 I mentioned that we would get into some cross references and 342 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,280 supporting texts, so here's a here's a few. 343 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,760 In Matthew 1320 through 23 we have the parable of the soils 344 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:15,360 and Christ is telling the story of the varying soils. 345 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,080 And the point that he makes is only the seed that falls in the 346 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,880 good soil. Only the seed that falls in the 347 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:26,200 good soil bears lasting fruits. What he reveals also there is 348 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,400 that there is a temporary enthusiasm that is not saving 349 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,760 faith. There's a temporary appearance 350 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,520 like those who are saved, but then the cares of the world, the 351 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,840 trials of the world, will choke out those things and it'll be 352 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,640 seen that they're not genuine. All right, so that's Matthew 13. 353 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,600 Colossians 123 says this. If indeed this is Paul writing, 354 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,560 if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not 355 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:58,480 shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, alright, 356 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,920 Sounds very similar to the encouragement we have in First 357 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:02,400 Corinthians 15 this morning, right? 358 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,920 If you indeed continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not 359 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,240 shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, Hebrews 360 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,120 314 For we have come to share in Christ. 361 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:19,760 If indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end, all 362 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,160 right, we have come to share in Christ. 363 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,320 If we indeed hold our confidence, our original 364 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:26,960 confidence firm to the end, what's he saying? 365 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,920 We have come to share in Christ? If we indeed hold these truths 366 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,760 of the gospel firm to the end, persevere. 367 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,840 John 831 through 32. Jesus says, if you abide in my 368 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,760 word, you are truly my disciples. 369 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,200 Now how do we know a true disciple from a false disciple? 370 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,400 They're going to abide in the Word of God. 371 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,280 That's not to say there's not moments of sinfulness, right? 372 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:52,560 There's not moments of rebellion. 373 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,240 There's not moments where or even just the ignorance, right? 374 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,560 Those sins that are unbeknownst to a person, right? 375 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,440 Christ is saying, though, if you abide in my word, you were truly 376 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,600 my disciples, you will know the truth, and the truth will set 377 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,840 you free. So each of these passages 378 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:13,160 reinforces the continuing, that continuing in the gospel doesn't 379 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,480 earn salvation, rather it proves salvation. 380 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,000 That's the point we're trying to make. 381 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,640 It doesn't earn it, it proves it. 382 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:22,640 Now, another thing that we see in this verse is what 383 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:24,880 theologians call the doctrine of perseverance. 384 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:27,440 And that's what I'm laying out here, is this doctrine of 385 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,960 perseverance, but it's rooted in a deeper truth. 386 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,840 It's, it's rooted in the preservation of God. 387 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,320 It's not the perseverance of Saints in the sense that we're 388 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,320 able to somehow become really strong, pull ourselves up by our 389 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:47,120 bootstraps, become mighty and sanctified men and women of God, 390 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:52,120 all in our own efforts. No, you, you persevere because 391 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:57,480 God preserves you. You persevere because God holds 392 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,160 you in his grip. All right, you, you persevere 393 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,360 because God has restrained the effects of sin on you and he's 394 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:06,760 applied the blood of Christ to you. 395 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,680 And so he carries you through sanctification. 396 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,360 He carries you into glorification, right? 397 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,280 We hold fast to the gospel because God holds fast to us. 398 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,800 You might say, and you say, well, where is this doctrine of 399 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,960 perseverance? Look no further than John 400 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:31,440 chapter 10 verses 28 through 29 or our Lord Jesus Christ says I 401 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,600 give them eternal life and they will never perish. 402 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,600 I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no 403 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,400 one will snatch them out of my hand. 404 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,400 My brothers and sisters of the Almighty Lord, the King of 405 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:54,120 kings, the Lord of Lords, if he is saying I give them eternal 406 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:57,440 life, they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of 407 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,080 my hand. Can you trust what he says? 408 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,680 Of course you can. My Father who has given them to 409 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,160 me is greater than all. Christ continues, and no one is 410 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,960 able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. 411 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,480 So Christ is saying, look, you're held in the hand of my 412 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,720 Father, and you're held in my own hand. 413 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,000 I've given you eternal life. You will never perish. 414 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,160 Philippians 16. Paul writes there, we've seen 415 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,200 this in our Sunday night sermon series we've been doing and I'm 416 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,560 sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it 417 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,960 to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 418 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,240 Paul with Apostolic authority speaks here and says I am sure 419 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:52,600 of this Philippians, that the work that Jesus Christ, the work 420 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,080 that God has done in you, in Jesus Christ, he is faithful to 421 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,800 bring it to completion on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 422 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,600 What's he, what's he promising that that justification and that 423 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,560 process of sanctification that they're in now is going to one 424 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:13,680 day lead to their glorification. I didn't put it in my notes. 425 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:32,680 Flip over to Romans 8. Look at verse 28. 426 00:26:39,970 --> 00:26:42,050 This will be lengthy, but it's worth your time, OK. 427 00:26:43,770 --> 00:26:47,530 And we know that for those who sorry, we know that for those 428 00:26:47,530 --> 00:26:51,170 who love God, all things work together for gut, for good, for 429 00:26:51,170 --> 00:26:53,970 those who are called according to His purpose. 430 00:26:54,610 --> 00:26:58,530 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed 431 00:26:58,530 --> 00:27:02,090 to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the first 432 00:27:02,090 --> 00:27:06,400 born among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He 433 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,040 also called. And those whom He called He also 434 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,040 justified. And those whom He justified, He 435 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,360 also glorified all. Again. 436 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:18,640 What then should we say to these things? 437 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,560 If God is for us, who can be against us? 438 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:28,520 He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, 439 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,880 how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 440 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,000 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? 441 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,560 Now understand that God's elect stand under the blood of Christ. 442 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,240 They're only the elect of God because they have the blood of 443 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,160 Christ provided for them by the Father. 444 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,760 So charge cannot be brought against them. 445 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,160 Romans 81 confirms this right. There is therefore now no 446 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,960 condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 447 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:57,440 That was just several verses earlier. 448 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,920 So here he is saying, who shall bring any charge against God's 449 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:01,960 elect? It is God who justifies. 450 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:04,600 I'm just going to bring a charge against God. 451 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:10,400 Why would you justify that unruly man or woman? 452 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:15,320 And God says it's because of my gracious election. 453 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,400 All right, And what does man say to that? 454 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,480 That's not fair. Well, that's grace. 455 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,200 All right, I'm going to explain to you how God is able to do 456 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,600 this later in the sermon. Who shall bring any charge 457 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:30,680 against God's elect? It's God who justifies, who is 458 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,000 to condemn Christ. Jesus is the one who died more 459 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,800 than that, who was raised, who was at the right hand of God, 460 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,560 who indeed is interceding for us. 461 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,200 Well, the sisters, you have a great high priest in heaven who 462 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:50,120 intercedes for you, sympathizes with you, and every weakness was 463 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,600 tested and tried as you are, yet without sin. 464 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:58,600 And he stands before the Father, interceding for you, able to 465 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:03,160 save Hebrews 725 able to save to the uttermost all those who draw 466 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:08,560 near to the Father through him, right, who shall separate us 467 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:13,840 from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress. 468 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:15,800 Think about the seeds and the sower. 469 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,800 These are the things that cause them to fall away. 470 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,280 The the false converts show tribulation or distress or 471 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,160 persecution or famine or nakedness, or danger or sword, 472 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,680 as it is written for your sake. We are being killed all the day 473 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,480 long. We are regarded as sheep to be 474 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,440 slaughtered. No, and all these things we are 475 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,400 more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 476 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:46,000 For I'm sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 477 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,800 rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor 478 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,840 height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be 479 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:58,560 able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our 480 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:05,960 Lord. Praise God, He says a lot more 481 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:07,640 things about that. But then he gets to the 482 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,240 stocksology. Oh, the depth in Romans 11330, 483 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:13,840 the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. 484 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,320 How insearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable 485 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,280 His ways? For who has known the mind of 486 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,440 the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has given a 487 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,280 gift to him that he might be repaid? 488 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,640 For from him and through him and to Him are all things. 489 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,520 To him be the glory forever. Amen. 490 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:39,040 Amen. So I want you to know, salvation 491 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,920 in the Scriptures, the New Testament does not deal with 492 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:46,240 salvation as some fragile partnership between man's will 493 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:53,640 and God's grace, right? It's a sovereign work of mercy 494 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,560 that produces endurance. Right? 495 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:02,000 To stand in the gospel means to rest daily in the finished work 496 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,440 of Jesus Christ and whom crucified He's on the cross, Tay 497 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,640 Tay Lestar. It is finished. 498 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,200 What's finished? The story of redemption. 499 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:14,200 The plan of redemption planned from the beginning of time, 500 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:19,200 right before the foundation of the earth, Christ is crying out, 501 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,080 is there as he holds the weight of all our sin on himself, and 502 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,960 he's bearing the wrath of God for you. 503 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:32,200 And he says it is finished. It's not a fragile partnership 504 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,240 between your will, your ability to keep the commandments, or 505 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,480 your ability to do what God says and God's grace. 506 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,840 It's not a fragile partnership. God's grace empowers you. 507 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,480 It's a sovereign mercy. It's a work of sovereign mercy 508 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:50,680 that produces this sort of endurance and to stand. 509 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:53,160 And it means that you rest in his finished work rather than 510 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,920 your own efforts. That's why Paul says hold fast 511 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:03,520 unless you hold fast. It means clean to it with a 512 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:10,840 living faith, not not to an idea, not merely to a message, 513 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:16,320 but to a person. Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, 514 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:21,520 hold fast to him. Imagine a man who's crossing a 515 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,120 frozen lake. I don't know anybody would do 516 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,720 this, but this is the the illustration, right? 517 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,880 If he trusts the ice only halfway as he's walking across, 518 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,280 he's never going to make it right. 519 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:41,800 His his safety doesn't depend on the strength of his faith, but 520 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,640 on the strength of the ice beneath him. 521 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,040 Likewise, our security is not in the strength of our grip on 522 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:53,000 Christ, but in the strength of Christ's grip on us. 523 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,280 So maybe you're complacent in here today. 524 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:03,960 Maybe you have a complacent faith, a complacent belief. 525 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,040 It would be wrong for you to presume. 526 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,240 I'm encouraging you not to presume upon a momentary 527 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:20,360 profession of faith and baptism. Genuine faith endures, and part 528 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,960 of that endurance is growth. Genuine faith is a growing 529 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,320 faith. It's not because you're strong, 530 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:33,160 but because Christ holds you, and by his Spirit he's making 531 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:39,440 all things new in you. Maybe you're a weary believer. 532 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:45,680 You're tired, you're worn outs, trials, suffering, pain, 533 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:53,640 heartache, tragedy. When doubts arise about God. 534 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:58,840 When doubts arise about God or about his work, remember, 535 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,920 brother or sister, that you stand in the grace of God, 536 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:07,400 right? You were being saved not by your 537 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,440 ability to perform well, but by the power of God in you. 538 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:17,120 The same power of God, same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from 539 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,960 the dead, Ephesians, one tells us, resides in you. 540 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:25,400 You received it when you, when you received the message of the 541 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:31,520 gospel, you were born again and that power resides in you. 542 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,280 Another application for us as a church, right? 543 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,639 Just as we think about who we are and what we do and our 544 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:42,120 purpose for doing everything right. 545 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:48,280 We never, ever, ever, ever times a lot. 546 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:54,600 We never, ever move beyond the gospel. 547 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:59,640 It's not the AB CS of the Christian life. 548 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,160 It's the A-Z of the Christian life. 549 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,800 It encompasses everything. Everything we are and everything 550 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,440 that we do must flow from the gospel that we've received and 551 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:15,800 in that which we stand. I've heard a lot of the word 552 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,960 gospel. Paul explains it in the next 553 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:20,640 verses. The gospel delivered and 554 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:25,440 grounded in scripture #2 the gospel delivered and grounded in 555 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,240 Scripture. Look at verses 3 through 4 556 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:33,440 again. For I delivered to you as of 557 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:38,960 first importance what I also receive, that Christ died from 558 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:41,480 for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. 559 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,280 That he was buried, That he was raised on the third day in 560 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:50,200 accordance with the Scriptures. So the the Scriptures reveal, 561 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:51,960 I've tried to lay this out loosely, right? 562 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,320 But in the rebellion of man in the garden, Genesis chapter 3, 563 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,400 there's a curse pronounced on man, There's a curse pronounced 564 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:00,840 on woman, there's a curse pronounced on the serpent in 565 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,520 that rebellion. What we see and in Genesis 566 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:07,080 chapter 5 actually confirms this for us when it talks about the 567 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,680 lineage of Adam and how they were born in the likeness of 568 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,760 Adam, meaning they're born with Adam's transgression. 569 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:18,360 They're born sinners. Romans 5 confirms this for us, 570 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,480 that by one man's sin all have sinned. 571 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,400 Romans 323 says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of 572 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,880 God. So by one man's sin, we all 573 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:34,480 became sinners, right? The scriptures revealed that. 574 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:41,360 The Scriptures also revealed that God hates sin and that God 575 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:47,560 hates the Sinner, right? Contrary to popular belief that 576 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,640 we must hate sin and love the Sinner, no, God hates the 577 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:55,840 Sinner. Yet what we know about God is 578 00:36:55,840 --> 00:37:02,720 that God is loving, right? So think about what we've done 579 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:05,560 as humans. Think about the human race, what 580 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:09,320 mankind is. And much of this describes my 581 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:13,560 own heart. According to the Scriptures, we 582 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:17,040 have dismissed his authority, right? 583 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:21,520 We thought that God did not deserve to be an authoritative 584 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,360 position. We believe the lie of Satan in 585 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:27,800 the garden. No, if you eat of that fruit, 586 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:32,160 you'll be like God, and God's trying to keep you from that, 587 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:36,000 right? And so Eve takes the fruit, she 588 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:37,560 eats. She gives some to her husband, 589 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,720 who's standing there. So we've dismissed the authority 590 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,040 of God. We've also dishonored His 591 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,840 Holiness because we are utterly unholy. 592 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:55,320 All that we are of pre Christ, all that we are, are stained 593 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,240 sinners, righteousness as filthy rags as Isaiah describes. 594 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,360 We've also despised his righteousness. 595 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:10,120 We've disregarded his wrath. We thought that no, God is 596 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,920 loving. We don't care about the wrath of 597 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:15,960 God. We don't consider the wrath of 598 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,760 God as we pursue our sinfulness again in a sinful state apart 599 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,960 from Christ. And we've denied the love of 600 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:30,880 God. God has worked for God, so loved 601 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:32,320 the world that he gave his only Son. 602 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,640 Whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting 603 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:37,480 life. We've looked at the love of God 604 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,800 and we've said I don't need it, denied it. 605 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,720 So here lies the great question of redemption. 606 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,080 How can a just God save rebellious sinners who deserve 607 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:59,320 wrath? How can a just God save 608 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,160 rebellious sinners who deserve wrath? 609 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,200 Want you to consider and Dustin took us through this on 610 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:12,120 Wednesday as well. But so if you're in there, this 611 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:15,000 will sound familiar, but consider Proverbs 1715. 612 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,880 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous 613 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:21,480 are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 614 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:27,640 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous 615 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:35,200 are both alike an abomination to the Lord when it comes to the 616 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:39,160 character of God. According to Proverbs 1715, 617 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:43,560 God's forgiveness of our sin is a threat to His character. 618 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:50,000 Justifying the wicked, It's a threat to His character. 619 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:57,360 We cannot say that He's holy if He justifies sinners, all right. 620 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,640 We cannot say that He's righteous if he justifies 621 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:01,000 sinners. We certainly can't say that he's 622 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:06,160 just if he justifies sinners. So how can God express His 623 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:09,360 Holiness without consuming us in our sin? 624 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:14,520 Hebrew 6 reminds us that God's holiness is a consuming fire. 625 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,560 It burns up sinners. It's consuming fire. 626 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:24,680 Another question comes How can God express his love without 627 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:27,760 condoning us in our sin? All right. 628 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:33,520 He cannot hate sin and love the Sinner because he must be just. 629 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,960 It's not a just thing to hate sin and love the Sinner. 630 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:42,800 So then two really important questions come as a thought 631 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:45,360 process here. How can God judge sin and 632 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:47,720 justify sinners at the same time? 633 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:55,320 And then finally, one of the most important questions, how 634 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,280 can God satisfy himself and save us? 635 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:05,440 He has to satisfy His wrath and he also has to satisfy His 636 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:09,160 Holiness. He has to satisfy justice. 637 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,360 So if God in in essence, what we're saying is if God overlooks 638 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:22,680 sin, then he ceases to be just. He's not a just to God, right? 639 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,680 If he punishes every Sinner, then none are saved. 640 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:34,600 No, no one can be saved. So the cross becomes the answer, 641 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:40,320 the the cross the the message that Paul is teaching here I 642 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,720 delivered to you as of first importance. 643 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:46,200 This is the most important thing and I've delivered it to you 644 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,760 already as of first importance, what I also received, meaning 645 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:52,600 I've received this from the Lord. 646 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:57,480 He's going to explain that later that Christ died for our sins in 647 00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,680 accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and then he 648 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,720 was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 649 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,520 So he's, he's describing the cross. 650 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:10,360 The cross is the answer to this dilemma. 651 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:16,040 At the cross, God demonstrates the nature and the character of 652 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:22,400 himself, and he satisfies himself at the cross. 653 00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:27,120 Romans 324 through 26. After you read that all have 654 00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:28,880 sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 655 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:31,600 Paul writes this. He resolves the tension. 656 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:33,800 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 657 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:40,640 We are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption 658 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,480 that is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward. 659 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,480 So God put his own Son, the second member of the Trinity, 660 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:53,560 put him forward as a propitiation by his blood, as a 661 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:59,640 payment, as a satisfaction by his blood to be received by us, 662 00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:03,280 by faith. And this was to show God's 663 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:08,080 righteousness, Paul writes. Because in his divine 664 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:12,240 forbearance he had passed over former sins. 665 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:14,400 So you think about Old Testament Israel, you think about all 666 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,360 their sins, you think about all the sacrifices, the blood 667 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:18,840 sacrifices that had to be offered. 668 00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:21,080 You think about what it says, that even the priest who were 669 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:24,680 offering the sacrifices had to offer sacrifices for themselves. 670 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:32,240 There's this divine forbearance, for God takes all his wrath 671 00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:39,120 against man's sin, and he stores it up, and he puts Christ 672 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:45,720 forward on the cross, and he lays every bit of it on him. 673 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:49,040 And Paul writes, he continues there in Romans 324. 674 00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:55,080 It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He 675 00:43:55,080 --> 00:44:02,600 might be just and the justifier of the One who has faith in 676 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:07,920 Jesus. We must understand that before 677 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:13,280 the cross even benefits us or is for our sake, so to speak, the 678 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:18,960 cross is for the sake of God. The cross is so that He can 679 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:22,640 remain perfect and holiness, perfect and it's justice, and 680 00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:26,720 yet also perfect in mercy and in justifying sinners. 681 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:29,920 It's impossible without the cross. 682 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:35,520 Christ himself tells us that it was the glory of God that drove 683 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:39,280 him to the cross. John 12/27/28 Now is my soul 684 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,440 troubled? And what shall I say, Father, 685 00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:46,680 save me from this hour. But for this purpose I have come 686 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:51,360 to this hour. Father, glorify your name, and 687 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:54,480 that a voice comes from heaven, that's the Father. 688 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:58,840 And he speaks. He says, I have glorified it and 689 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:07,800 I will glorify it again at the cross, being for the sake of God 690 00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:13,440 primarily or firstly, God satisfied himself by sacrificing 691 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:18,200 his Son in the place of sinners. Second Corinthians 521, maybe 692 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:21,480 the greatest little summarizations of what we get in 693 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:23,320 the gospel, what we see at the cross. 694 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:29,680 Paul writes for our sake God made him Jesus to be sin, who 695 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:34,280 knew no sin, so that in him Jesus we might become the 696 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:40,360 righteousness of God. I'm not into adding things to 697 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:45,920 Scriptures, but when Paul says so that in him we might become, 698 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:52,360 he could have added so that in him we who knew no righteousness 699 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:55,160 might become the righteousness of God. 700 00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:58,680 We knew no righteousness of our own. 701 00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:08,920 And yet God satisfies himself at the cross and is able to cover 702 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:15,920 us with his own righteousness. The cross also shows us that sin 703 00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:20,640 is infinitely offensive. I've said it before at Good 704 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:24,120 Friday services, probably multiple times because I don't 705 00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:36,080 have a lot of new thoughts that on Good Friday God outed every 706 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:39,760 single one of us is not being good enough to save ourselves. 707 00:46:41,560 --> 00:46:46,120 Every one of us were revealed to be sinners. 708 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:54,520 If one man, if one man, if one man could have satisfied the law 709 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:59,240 of God, lived in perfect obedience, then Christ would 710 00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:03,120 have died in vain. But none could. 711 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:06,480 Paul's adamant about this as he quotes the Old Testament in 712 00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:08,880 Romans 3. There is none righteous, no, not 713 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:12,000 one. Everyone seeks his own way, 714 00:47:13,360 --> 00:47:16,760 turns his own direction, follows the desires of his own heart. 715 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:21,200 Jeremiah 79 The heart is deceitful and desperately 716 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:23,840 wicked. The heart is deceitful above all 717 00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:28,920 else and desperately wicked. Who can know it are you. 718 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:34,560 You're more depraved than you think you are You. 719 00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:36,680 You're as bad as the cross says you are. 720 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,600 Jesus died in the place of the disobedience. 721 00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:43,080 He died in the place of the arrogant. 722 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:44,720 He died in the place of the rebellious. 723 00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:49,560 He died in the place of the unrighteous, right? 724 00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:52,480 Romans 58 But God shows his love for us, and that while we were 725 00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:55,840 still sinners, Christ died for us first. 726 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:58,920 Peter 2/24. He himself bore our sins in his 727 00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:02,600 body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to 728 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:05,960 righteousness. By his wounds you have been 729 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:13,480 healed. That's a direct quote from 730 00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:20,200 Isaiah 53, which says that He bore our transgressions, endured 731 00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:23,760 our iniquities. By his stripes, by his wounds, 732 00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:28,120 you have been healed. Healed from what? 733 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:33,200 The curse of sin and death, transformed freely by His grace, 734 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:36,880 given new life in Christ, reborn by the Spirit of God. 735 00:48:38,160 --> 00:48:40,360 You see, Christ became the curse bearer. 736 00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:43,440 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. 737 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:48,200 The heart of the cross was the cup with which caught that 738 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:50,680 caused him to sweat great drops of blood. 739 00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:54,440 And that cup right you, you remember Christ praying in the 740 00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:59,520 garden. Father, if possible, take this 741 00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:05,400 cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but 742 00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:09,680 your will be done. I thought that cup that he holds 743 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:16,960 is it's a it's a cup full of the unleashed fury of Almighty God 744 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:21,680 against sin. All those things stored up, 745 00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:26,440 poured into a cup and Christ now holds it in your place. 746 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:34,440 You see, God charged Jesus with our sin and He crucified Him for 747 00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:41,080 it. Isaiah 53 again says it was the 748 00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:42,960 will of the Lord to put him to death. 749 00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,600 So this is how the divine dilemma is solved. 750 00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:53,280 It's solved in the cross. All of God's characters 751 00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:57,000 expressed at the cross. God expresses His judgment on 752 00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:01,080 sin in the cross, and God enables merciful salvation for 753 00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:05,240 sinners in the cross. Does God hates sinners? 754 00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:10,560 Does His righteousness demand the destruction of sin? 755 00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:18,840 Yes, yes it does. Look at the cross their Christ 756 00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:24,680 for God's glory in their sorry, their God expresses His judgment 757 00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:27,440 on sin by putting His own Son to death. 758 00:50:29,680 --> 00:50:34,280 Does God love sinners that Does His mercy reach to the lowest 759 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:36,280 Sinner? Yes. 760 00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:39,200 Look at the cross. Right there. 761 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:43,280 Christ, for God's glory, endured God's holy justice on sin. 762 00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:47,520 There at the cross, God enabled salvation for sinners. 763 00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:53,120 This is why salvation can only be achieved through God's Son 764 00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:57,240 who was the Lamb of God. That takes away the sin of the 765 00:50:57,240 --> 00:50:59,920 world, as John the Baptist exclaims. 766 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:07,400 But the essence of sin is this man substitutes himself for God. 767 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,480 That's what John Stott was revealing earlier. 768 00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:15,360 The essence of sin is this man asserts himself against God and 769 00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:17,720 puts himself where only God deserves to be. 770 00:51:20,240 --> 00:51:25,800 And the essence of salvation is this God substitutes himself for 771 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:30,560 man. Our triune God puts his Son 772 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,640 forward. Our triune God, sorry, the 773 00:51:33,640 --> 00:51:38,240 Father in our triune God the Father puts his Son forward as a 774 00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:44,760 substitute for man. And so God is sacrificing 775 00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:47,840 himself for man. He's putting himself where only 776 00:51:47,840 --> 00:51:52,920 man deserves to be, so that he can put man where only God 777 00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:57,960 deserves to be, which is covered by the righteousness of himself. 778 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:04,880 You see, the death of Jesus is the only means of justification 779 00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:08,440 and reconciliation with God. It's the only way it can happen. 780 00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:12,720 Our acceptance of Jesus's death appropriates to us the 781 00:52:12,720 --> 00:52:16,320 righteousness of Christ and fits us in such a way that we are no 782 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:20,200 longer estranged from God, nor are we at enmity with him. 783 00:52:20,200 --> 00:52:23,080 We don't hate God. We're brought into fellowship 784 00:52:23,080 --> 00:52:28,600 with him now. And all of this clearly teaches 785 00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:32,440 that man is the one who needs reconciliation, not God. 786 00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:41,120 God doesn't need reconciling. Men become the objects of his 787 00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:45,880 reconciliation. The only means of 788 00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:50,920 reconciliation, which is the blood of Christ, requires that 789 00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:56,680 men hear about that remedy. If we know that the only means 790 00:52:56,680 --> 00:53:00,320 of reconciliation is the blood of Christ applied to them, then 791 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:05,200 that requires that other men hear about the remedy, right? 792 00:53:05,200 --> 00:53:08,480 We must become carriers of the good news. 793 00:53:09,200 --> 00:53:13,520 We must preach and teach and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. 794 00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:17,000 We must literally make it our lives calling because God has. 795 00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:20,720 This doesn't mean that all of you will become pastors, or all 796 00:53:20,720 --> 00:53:22,680 of you will become teachers, or all of you will become 797 00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:25,240 missionaries. That's not what that means, all 798 00:53:25,240 --> 00:53:27,040 right. Those are special calls reserved 799 00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:35,940 for special men and women. In the 2nd Corinthians 518 800 00:53:35,940 --> 00:53:39,820 through 21, we're told that we have become new creations in 801 00:53:39,820 --> 00:53:43,340 Christ Jesus. All things have passed away. 802 00:53:43,340 --> 00:53:46,380 All things have become new. We've been reconciled to the 803 00:53:46,380 --> 00:53:49,300 Father by Christ. And so we have received the 804 00:53:49,300 --> 00:53:53,820 message of reconciliation, and we are now to be ambassadors of 805 00:53:53,820 --> 00:53:57,480 the message, to carry the message. 806 00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:02,120 What does an ambassador do? He carries the message of the 807 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:05,360 king. He carries the message of the 808 00:54:05,360 --> 00:54:08,560 one who sent him. It's not his own message. 809 00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:14,600 He teaches that which he's been sent to teach. 810 00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:17,880 He tells of that which he's been sent to tell of. 811 00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:23,160 This is what Paul is doing in these verses of first 812 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:27,960 importance. The gospel is the core truth on 813 00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:34,000 which everything else rest. Christ died for our sins, Paul 814 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:37,080 says. This is the idea of penal 815 00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:42,960 substitutionary atonement. Christ bore the penalty for our 816 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:48,560 sins in our place. He endured God's just wrath so 817 00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:51,160 that we might receive mercy again. 818 00:54:51,160 --> 00:54:54,880 Man is totally depraved in a sin, yet Christ bore the penalty 819 00:54:55,040 --> 00:54:59,640 of sin in the place of man. Now man, through faith and 820 00:54:59,640 --> 00:55:03,400 repentance, can accept Christ's substitution as payment for his 821 00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:07,160 sins. Man could not suffer death for 822 00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:13,200 himself, for he could not eternally take the penalty of 823 00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:18,960 sin for himself. Paul says of that of first 824 00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:21,000 importance. He was buried. 825 00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:27,480 Paul confirms his death. He confirms a real final burial 826 00:55:27,480 --> 00:55:31,320 of his body. It's not an illusion, It's not 827 00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:34,200 something magicians worked up. It's not some scam. 828 00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:37,160 It's not just a symbol of something. 829 00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:42,240 No, Christ died for you. He was literally buried. 830 00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:49,440 Of first importance, he was raised on the third day. 831 00:55:49,440 --> 00:55:53,040 In accordance with the Scriptures, the resurrection 832 00:55:53,240 --> 00:55:56,080 vindicates Christ's person and work. 833 00:55:56,680 --> 00:56:00,120 The penalty has been paid. The debt has been canceled. 834 00:56:00,120 --> 00:56:04,240 The justice of God has been satisfied in Jesus Christ. 835 00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:09,560 For some clarity on this, the London Baptist Confession of 836 00:56:09,560 --> 00:56:16,200 Faith chapter Section 8, chapter 5 or chapter 8 paragraph 5. 837 00:56:16,200 --> 00:56:19,040 Technically the Lord Jesus by his perfect obedience and 838 00:56:19,040 --> 00:56:23,440 sacrifice of Himself, has fully satisfied the justice of God. 839 00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:27,480 He's procured reconciliation and purchased an everlasting 840 00:56:27,480 --> 00:56:30,600 inheritance in the Kingdom of heaven for all those whom the 841 00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:37,200 Father has given to him. Christ's death satisfied divine 842 00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:39,560 justice. Christ's death reconciled 843 00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:42,600 sinners to God. Christ's death secured eternal 844 00:56:42,600 --> 00:56:45,120 life for His people. Amen. 845 00:56:46,280 --> 00:56:48,360 The Scriptures bear witness to this elsewhere. 846 00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:51,520 Isaiah 53536. The Lord has laid on him the 847 00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:54,120 iniquity of us all. Psalm 1610. 848 00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:58,080 You will not abandon my soul to shield, or let your holy one see 849 00:56:58,080 --> 00:57:00,000 corruption. Hosea 6. 850 00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:02,560 Two. After two days he will revive 851 00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:04,480 us. On the third day He will raise 852 00:57:04,480 --> 00:57:07,280 us up. Luke 2446. 853 00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:11,040 Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the 854 00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:16,920 third day rise from the dead. So imagine you're in a 855 00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:18,840 courtroom, right? You've heard this illustration 856 00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:20,720 probably 1000 times, but it lands. 857 00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:22,920 It's good. Imagine you're in a courtroom. 858 00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:26,600 The judge pronounces a guilty verdict on you. 859 00:57:27,240 --> 00:57:31,960 You're sentenced to death. And right after he slams the 860 00:57:31,960 --> 00:57:37,960 gavel down and pronounces the judgments, he steps down off his 861 00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:44,680 podium. He removes his robe and he 862 00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:48,120 stands in your place, taking his sentence of death on himself. 863 00:57:50,960 --> 00:57:53,000 That's the gospel, brothers and sisters. 864 00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:59,720 Justice upheld, mercy displayed. Then we must think of the 865 00:57:59,720 --> 00:58:05,280 resurrection as God's stamped receipt. 866 00:58:06,480 --> 00:58:09,280 It's proof that the payment was accepted. 867 00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:13,360 God raises his son from the dead. 868 00:58:13,480 --> 00:58:17,040 It's proof that the payment for sins has been accepted. 869 00:58:19,720 --> 00:58:20,760 Jr. Packer said this. 870 00:58:20,760 --> 00:58:24,400 He said God loved guilty sinners so much that he gave his son to 871 00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:26,600 be their substitute in punishment. 872 00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:35,320 So if you're guilty and self reliant, in other words, you're 873 00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:39,840 an unbeliever. I want you to know this today, 874 00:58:39,840 --> 00:58:48,200 that Christ bore your penalty. There's no no wrath left for 875 00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:51,080 those who are in him. There is therefore no 876 00:58:51,080 --> 00:58:54,160 condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 877 00:58:54,760 --> 00:58:57,480 Your works can't satisfy God's justice. 878 00:58:57,840 --> 00:59:02,600 Only Christ's perfect obedience has Even the best things that 879 00:59:02,600 --> 00:59:07,720 you do as an unbeliever have something in them that needs to 880 00:59:07,720 --> 00:59:13,000 be pardoned, Dustin said this Wednesday. 881 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:14,640 I thought it was good. So cheer up. 882 00:59:16,320 --> 00:59:21,200 You're a lot worse than you think you are, but in Jesus 883 00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:23,440 you're far more loved than you could ever know. 884 00:59:26,200 --> 00:59:28,320 So surely you can't see all of this. 885 00:59:28,320 --> 00:59:31,280 You can't hear all of this and think that God's going to 886 00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:34,400 somehow overlook your sin on Judgement Day. 887 00:59:37,200 --> 00:59:39,840 Surely you can't think that God will be all right with your 888 00:59:39,840 --> 00:59:44,760 rejection of His Son. Surely you can see that the 889 00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:49,440 sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and in that you can recognize the 890 00:59:49,440 --> 00:59:51,800 love and mercy that is offered to you. 891 00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:58,360 His burial has proven His death and His resurrection proves your 892 00:59:58,440 --> 01:00:08,840 life application to the Church. To those who believe, we must 893 01:00:09,120 --> 01:00:13,440 guard the gospel. We must hold it near to our 894 01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:17,400 hearts, proclaim it to ourselves, remember it daily. 895 01:00:20,320 --> 01:00:22,920 I was asked just this week by a brother who's been visiting the 896 01:00:22,920 --> 01:00:26,960 church. Why do you guys practice the 897 01:00:26,960 --> 01:00:33,200 Lord's Supper weekly? And I told him in essence, so 898 01:00:33,200 --> 01:00:38,360 that we can guard the gospel, we can remind ourselves of the 899 01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:42,280 truth of God's grace and mercy for sinners. 900 01:00:44,600 --> 01:00:47,960 Christ drink the wrath, the cup of wrath that was prepared for 901 01:00:47,960 --> 01:00:50,800 us, and he offers us a cup of grace. 902 01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:59,080 We must guard the gospel. If we abandoned the penal 903 01:00:59,080 --> 01:01:02,240 substitutionary atonement, then we abandoned Christianity 904 01:01:02,240 --> 01:01:10,880 itself. As you can tell, .2 was the most 905 01:01:10,880 --> 01:01:16,000 important point of the sermon. Let's look at .3, the Gospel 906 01:01:16,000 --> 01:01:18,600 verified by witnesses, verses 5 through 8. 907 01:01:19,240 --> 01:01:22,680 Things will speed up from here. And then he appeared to Cephas, 908 01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:25,680 who is Peter, then to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 909 01:01:25,680 --> 01:01:29,480 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive. 910 01:01:30,480 --> 01:01:34,720 The some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James and to 911 01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:39,000 all the apostles. Last of all, as to 1 untimely 912 01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:45,280 born, he appeared also to me. Paul shifts from theology here 913 01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:49,240 to testimony. Christianity is not built on 914 01:01:49,440 --> 01:01:52,240 myth and Paul wants to remind them of this. 915 01:01:53,840 --> 01:01:57,360 It's built on eyewitness evidence. 916 01:01:58,280 --> 01:02:04,800 Peter in the 12 those first Apostolic witnesses, the 500, 917 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:08,120 many of whom were likely still alive when Paul wrote this. 918 01:02:08,120 --> 01:02:11,960 He invites their verification. They saw him also. 919 01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:18,520 James, once the skeptical half brother of Jesus, now a leader 920 01:02:18,520 --> 01:02:22,880 of the Jerusalem church. Evidence of genuine 921 01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:27,840 transformation. Paul the least deserving, he 922 01:02:27,840 --> 01:02:32,760 says, yet personally confronted by the risen Christ as he's on 923 01:02:32,760 --> 01:02:36,280 his way to persecute more Christians. 924 01:02:37,480 --> 01:02:41,160 The resurrection appearances confirm the historical reality 925 01:02:41,360 --> 01:02:45,160 of Christ's victory. They show that salvation is not 926 01:02:45,160 --> 01:02:49,800 founded on private experience or some mystical reflection. 927 01:02:49,800 --> 01:02:53,320 No, no, no, no. It's founded on verifiable 928 01:02:53,440 --> 01:03:00,640 historical events. Our faith is anchored not on 929 01:03:00,640 --> 01:03:04,200 ideas, brothers and sisters, though there are a lot of great 930 01:03:04,200 --> 01:03:09,480 ideas in it. It's founded in a living Savior 931 01:03:09,480 --> 01:03:12,800 who has conquered the grave. Acts 232. 932 01:03:12,800 --> 01:03:18,080 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. 933 01:03:18,840 --> 01:03:23,720 Acts 2626. This crucifixion, this work of 934 01:03:23,720 --> 01:03:28,160 his death and resurrection, Luke writes there. 935 01:03:28,160 --> 01:03:30,480 This has not been done in a corner. 936 01:03:31,720 --> 01:03:34,560 It's not some obscure thing. It's not hidden away in the 937 01:03:34,560 --> 01:03:36,760 corner of a house, tucked away for no one to say no. 938 01:03:36,760 --> 01:03:39,800 It's been done right in front of the watching world. 939 01:03:42,480 --> 01:03:45,720 Luke 1 Luke establishes why he's writing his gospel. 940 01:03:45,720 --> 01:03:50,000 He writes his gospel based on eyewitness accounts that you may 941 01:03:50,000 --> 01:03:55,120 have certainty. She may know for certain that 942 01:03:55,120 --> 01:03:58,480 Jesus is the Christ, He's the Messiah. 943 01:04:00,640 --> 01:04:03,240 So what can we take from eyewitness evidence? 944 01:04:03,240 --> 01:04:07,080 For one, we can have confidence. Brothers and sisters, the 945 01:04:07,080 --> 01:04:09,280 resurrection is not wishful thinking. 946 01:04:10,040 --> 01:04:11,960 It's not the workings of a madman. 947 01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:20,680 It's historical reality. You can take boldness from this 948 01:04:20,680 --> 01:04:23,640 as well. When you share the gospel, 949 01:04:24,120 --> 01:04:27,240 you're not offering up speculation, but you're offering 950 01:04:27,240 --> 01:04:30,120 up truth that's BeenVerified by history. 951 01:04:32,520 --> 01:04:36,000 And you can be encouraged, Brother and sister, Christ 952 01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:43,200 appeared to the undeserving. Paul saves him out of his sins, 953 01:04:43,640 --> 01:04:48,480 gives him a new purpose, and you can know that grace still 954 01:04:48,480 --> 01:04:52,880 reaches sinners today, still reaches them today. 955 01:04:54,280 --> 01:04:56,920 Point #4 the gospel transforms by grace. 956 01:04:59,280 --> 01:05:02,680 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called 957 01:05:02,680 --> 01:05:06,360 an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. 958 01:05:07,520 --> 01:05:09,880 But by the grace of God, I am what I am. 959 01:05:09,880 --> 01:05:12,800 And His grace toward me was not in vain. 960 01:05:13,080 --> 01:05:16,400 On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was 961 01:05:16,400 --> 01:05:21,200 not I, but the grace of God that is with me, whether then it was 962 01:05:21,200 --> 01:05:24,960 I or they. So we preach and so you 963 01:05:25,520 --> 01:05:28,720 believed. This is a bit of a harkening 964 01:05:28,720 --> 01:05:32,920 back to earlier in First Corinthians chapter 1 where 965 01:05:32,920 --> 01:05:36,800 there's this argument going on. Some follow Peter or Cephas, 966 01:05:36,800 --> 01:05:40,520 some follow Paul, some follow Jesus or some follow Apollo. 967 01:05:40,520 --> 01:05:43,800 Some follow Jesus, right? He's saying, look, whether it 968 01:05:43,800 --> 01:05:50,000 was I or they, so we preach this gospel that you've received, and 969 01:05:50,000 --> 01:05:55,440 so you have believed, right? One of us plants, one of us 970 01:05:55,440 --> 01:05:58,200 waters, but God gives the increase. 971 01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:03,040 Paul's testimony here is the gospel in miniature. 972 01:06:03,880 --> 01:06:06,920 It's a rebel that's been transformed by grace. 973 01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:12,800 By the grace of God, I am what I am. 974 01:06:14,840 --> 01:06:16,680 I was the worst of these. I was persecuting the church. 975 01:06:16,680 --> 01:06:19,120 By the grace of God, I am what I am. 976 01:06:19,120 --> 01:06:22,840 I was a rebel that's been transformed by the grace of God. 977 01:06:24,040 --> 01:06:28,040 Once I was hunting Christians. It was a sport for me. 978 01:06:28,040 --> 01:06:30,360 I thought I was glorifying God in what I was doing. 979 01:06:31,200 --> 01:06:35,480 And now I've become a herald of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 980 01:06:36,760 --> 01:06:40,440 You see, grace didn't just forgive Paul, it redirected him. 981 01:06:40,440 --> 01:06:43,040 It gave him a new purpose. It gave him a new identity. 982 01:06:43,160 --> 01:06:45,520 He became a new creature in Christ. 983 01:06:45,520 --> 01:06:47,720 He had a new nature. Amen. 984 01:06:51,360 --> 01:06:53,720 And so he adds, I worked harder than any of them, though it was 985 01:06:53,720 --> 01:06:57,120 not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 986 01:06:58,720 --> 01:07:01,600 Well, this is what I want you to understand is that grace is not 987 01:07:01,840 --> 01:07:05,760 passive in you. Grace is active. 988 01:07:06,360 --> 01:07:11,000 Grace is powerful, right? True grace doesn't make us idle. 989 01:07:11,000 --> 01:07:13,720 No, no, no, no. True grace makes us active in 990 01:07:13,720 --> 01:07:16,800 our pursuit of God. True grace makes us active in 991 01:07:16,800 --> 01:07:20,200 our desire to want to obey Him and to honor Him with all of our 992 01:07:20,200 --> 01:07:24,800 life. It's not a passive thing. 993 01:07:25,760 --> 01:07:30,000 Grace does not only justify you, it energizes you. 994 01:07:31,600 --> 01:07:36,880 It gives you purpose, and you see the fruit of your labor, for 995 01:07:36,880 --> 01:07:41,200 the Lord pleasures forevermore at his right hand. 996 01:07:45,240 --> 01:07:47,520 Well on about his confession of faith again is helpful. 997 01:07:48,200 --> 01:07:51,720 Chapter 11, paragraph one. Those whom God effectually calls 998 01:07:51,920 --> 01:07:56,160 he also freely justifies, not for anything wrought in them, 999 01:07:56,480 --> 01:08:03,160 but for Christ's sake alone. See, Paul embodies that. 1000 01:08:04,760 --> 01:08:14,560 He's unworthy, yet chosen. He's guilty before God, yet 1001 01:08:14,560 --> 01:08:22,399 justified. He's weak, yet he's empowered. 1002 01:08:24,359 --> 01:08:29,880 We don't know what the thorn and the side of Paul that he dealt 1003 01:08:29,880 --> 01:08:34,279 with was. The point there is that my is 1004 01:08:34,279 --> 01:08:38,000 that he learned that the grace of God is sufficient in every 1005 01:08:38,000 --> 01:08:42,720 way in his time of need. My speculation against 1006 01:08:42,720 --> 01:08:50,680 speculation is that the thorn was this remembrance of the 1007 01:08:51,200 --> 01:08:57,880 terror that he was to the Church, standing over giving 1008 01:08:57,880 --> 01:09:01,560 approval to the death of Stephen, the Church's first 1009 01:09:01,560 --> 01:09:03,040 martyr that we have in Scripture. 1010 01:09:04,000 --> 01:09:07,279 This young man, who loved the Lord God above all else, 1011 01:09:07,920 --> 01:09:11,200 proclaiming the mysteries of the gospel with all boldness and 1012 01:09:11,200 --> 01:09:15,640 courage, stands in the face of men who are literally gnashing 1013 01:09:15,640 --> 01:09:21,200 their teeth at him, becomes so enraged that they pick up stones 1014 01:09:21,920 --> 01:09:32,479 and take his life. Paul felt weak, but he knew that 1015 01:09:32,479 --> 01:09:36,520 grace empowered him. First Timothy 115 through 16. 1016 01:09:36,520 --> 01:09:40,120 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Paul writes, of 1017 01:09:40,120 --> 01:09:44,040 whom I am foremost. Galatians 220. 1018 01:09:44,040 --> 01:09:47,200 Paul writes, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives 1019 01:09:47,479 --> 01:09:51,560 in me. He continues there the life I 1020 01:09:51,560 --> 01:09:54,360 now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of 1021 01:09:54,360 --> 01:09:57,320 God who loved me and gave Himself for me. 1022 01:09:59,080 --> 01:10:02,880 Ephesians 2, eight through 10 shows us that grace saves us, 1023 01:10:03,440 --> 01:10:06,920 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of 1024 01:10:06,920 --> 01:10:09,600 yourselves. It is a gift of God so that no 1025 01:10:09,600 --> 01:10:13,200 one may boast. In verse 10 we read we are His 1026 01:10:13,200 --> 01:10:18,240 workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God 1027 01:10:18,240 --> 01:10:23,560 has prepared beforehand. Grace saves and grace sins. 1028 01:10:29,560 --> 01:10:33,840 So if you're in here today and you and you just think I'm so 1029 01:10:33,840 --> 01:10:40,640 ashamed of my sin, I, I don't deserve, I'm unworthy, I don't 1030 01:10:40,640 --> 01:10:43,720 deserve salvation. I I get that salvation can be 1031 01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:54,400 for everyone around me, but for me, there's no way will you see 1032 01:10:54,400 --> 01:10:57,480 that Paul redeem or that God redeems Paul. 1033 01:11:01,680 --> 01:11:04,800 We see that if God can redeem Paul, he can redeem you. 1034 01:11:07,480 --> 01:11:11,600 If God can redeem any of us, he can redeem you. 1035 01:11:17,480 --> 01:11:18,720 Maybe you're not the ashamed one. 1036 01:11:18,720 --> 01:11:26,200 Maybe you're the proud one. You think, man, I'm, I'm worthy 1037 01:11:27,200 --> 01:11:32,560 of this. I've got my handful of good 1038 01:11:32,560 --> 01:11:35,360 works here. I'm going to take these things 1039 01:11:35,360 --> 01:11:39,080 into heaven, and I'm going to show God just how good I've 1040 01:11:39,080 --> 01:11:46,800 been. Well, you see that grace leaves 1041 01:11:46,800 --> 01:11:52,320 no room for boasting. Hopefully you've seen today that 1042 01:11:52,320 --> 01:11:55,080 your good works are insufficient for your salvation. 1043 01:11:55,840 --> 01:11:57,560 The only thing we bring to Christ. 1044 01:11:57,680 --> 01:11:58,920 It was Jonathan Edwards who said this. 1045 01:11:58,920 --> 01:12:02,280 The only thing that we bring to Christ in our salvation is the 1046 01:12:02,280 --> 01:12:04,920 sin that made his crucifixion necessary. 1047 01:12:10,440 --> 01:12:16,720 And for the church, those of you who believe, will you see that 1048 01:12:16,720 --> 01:12:21,120 every act of service, every ounce of endurance along the 1049 01:12:21,120 --> 01:12:25,920 way, that all of that flows from grace that the Lord has given 1050 01:12:25,920 --> 01:12:28,800 you? By God's grace, I am what I am. 1051 01:12:28,960 --> 01:12:35,000 And that is not in vain. Brothers and sisters, He's doing 1052 01:12:35,000 --> 01:12:36,800 a good work in you. He's faithful to bring it to 1053 01:12:36,800 --> 01:12:39,560 completion on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1054 01:12:40,280 --> 01:12:43,640 You see this gospel that Paul received, the gospel that he 1055 01:12:43,640 --> 01:12:45,840 stood in, the gospel that he's proclaiming here to the 1056 01:12:45,840 --> 01:12:49,720 Corinthians and encouraging them to stand in is the same gospel 1057 01:12:49,720 --> 01:12:53,120 that we hold today. It's our gospel, right? 1058 01:12:53,640 --> 01:12:56,760 It's it's our belief, it's our foundation. 1059 01:12:58,120 --> 01:13:01,400 And what it does is it saves us from sins, penalty through 1060 01:13:01,400 --> 01:13:06,880 Christ, substitutionary death. It secures us and standing grace 1061 01:13:07,120 --> 01:13:12,560 through his resurrection, and it strengthens us for his service 1062 01:13:12,720 --> 01:13:18,840 by transforming grace. Remember, brothers and sisters, 1063 01:13:19,400 --> 01:13:22,560 that the unchanging gospel of Christ's death and resurrection 1064 01:13:22,760 --> 01:13:25,840 is our foundation. It's the message that we hold 1065 01:13:25,840 --> 01:13:29,520 fast, and it's the message that we proclaim. 1066 01:13:30,560 --> 01:13:35,160 So my call to you today, Church, is to hold fast to this gospel, 1067 01:13:37,880 --> 01:13:43,440 to cling to it, to trust in it, to fix your gaze on Christ, and 1068 01:13:43,440 --> 01:13:48,440 to be transformed from 1° of glory to the next as you do. 1069 01:13:50,360 --> 01:13:54,880 My call to you today is to trust in the gospel, to live in the 1070 01:13:54,880 --> 01:14:05,720 gospel, to proclaim the gospel, and not to settle for anything 1071 01:14:05,720 --> 01:14:11,640 less. Do not believe lesser gospels, 1072 01:14:14,240 --> 01:14:17,040 trust in Christ. Let's pray. 1073 01:14:19,280 --> 01:14:26,240 Heavenly Father, we we see with Paul that your ways are 1074 01:14:26,240 --> 01:14:30,320 inscrutable. We can't look upon what you've 1075 01:14:30,320 --> 01:14:34,160 done and find fault. We can't look up on what you've 1076 01:14:34,160 --> 01:14:40,800 done and say we deserve that. Now we look up on what you've 1077 01:14:40,800 --> 01:14:46,240 done and we say grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. 1078 01:14:48,920 --> 01:14:52,040 Would you fill our hearts with gladness today at this gospel 1079 01:14:52,040 --> 01:14:56,520 message that we've received? Would you help us to believe it, 1080 01:14:56,520 --> 01:15:00,520 to be convict, convinced of it and convicted of it deep to our 1081 01:15:00,520 --> 01:15:07,920 core, that we might hold fast to it and not prove to be those who 1082 01:15:07,920 --> 01:15:14,400 have believed in vain? God, we thank You that you hold 1083 01:15:14,400 --> 01:15:23,120 us, that you sustain us, that you empower us, that you guide 1084 01:15:23,120 --> 01:15:26,720 us and train us, that you rebuke us and exhort us. 1085 01:15:26,720 --> 01:15:32,040 You correct us. We thank you for such grace, 1086 01:15:32,280 --> 01:15:40,880 such love, such mercy, and I ask that you fill us with gratitude 1087 01:15:42,880 --> 01:15:45,680 as we leave this place today. It's with a smile on her face 1088 01:15:45,680 --> 01:15:50,720 and knowing that Jesus Christ saves sinners and He has saved 1089 01:15:50,960 --> 01:15:57,960 me. Help us to go live this out in 1090 01:15:57,960 --> 01:16:01,440 our lives. Help us to be ambassadors of 1091 01:16:01,440 --> 01:16:06,800 this message in our homes and our workplaces, in the public 1092 01:16:06,800 --> 01:16:15,840 square, in our church. Father, I pray for anyone here 1093 01:16:15,840 --> 01:16:19,360 who doesn't know you, who's not surrendered their life to you. 1094 01:16:19,360 --> 01:16:22,280 May they see the gospel clearly today. 1095 01:16:22,840 --> 01:16:25,840 May they see their sin, their deceit. 1096 01:16:27,400 --> 01:16:29,600 Would you reveal it to them by the power of your spirit? 1097 01:16:29,600 --> 01:16:32,320 Would you draw them to yourself? Would you make them a people of 1098 01:16:32,320 --> 01:16:34,000 your for your very own possession? 1099 01:16:34,000 --> 01:16:37,960 Would you give them a new name? Would you give them a new 1100 01:16:37,960 --> 01:16:39,840 nature? Would you give them a new 1101 01:16:39,840 --> 01:16:46,680 spirit, a new heart? God, would you save them from 1102 01:16:46,680 --> 01:16:50,040 their sins? Enable them to walk with you. 1103 01:16:50,040 --> 01:16:55,760 I'm going to give you a moment now to pray there in your seats. 1104 01:16:55,760 --> 01:16:58,040 For what? Just based on what you've heard 1105 01:16:58,040 --> 01:17:01,400 this morning, what you've seen in the Scriptures, would you 1106 01:17:01,400 --> 01:17:04,640 seek the Lord? However, the Spirit is leading 1107 01:17:04,640 --> 01:17:39,040 you now. Lord, we're thankful for the way 1108 01:17:39,040 --> 01:17:44,640 you call us, for the way your Spirit moves in US. 1109 01:17:45,000 --> 01:17:51,000 Will Your Spirit moves us. God, I pray that you help us to 1110 01:17:51,000 --> 01:17:54,680 be obedient to you. You would help us to follow. 1111 01:17:54,680 --> 01:17:58,880 You are right to honor and glorify your great name. 1112 01:18:02,040 --> 01:18:03,480 It's in the name of Christ I pray. 1113 01:18:04,000 --> 01:18:04,440 Amen.