1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,240 All right. Before I get into today's 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,960 sermon, I just want to give a heads up about next week as 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:10,920 we're working through Genesis. We are, we are approaching and 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,840 we'll be there next week the story of the destruction of 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,760 Sodom and Gomorrah. And I'm going to be preaching 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,600 next week. I'm going to spend two weeks on 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,240 that particular topic. The first week is on the sin of 8 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,480 Sodom and the second week will be on how Abraham was pleading 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,800 for Sodom and God to have mercy on Sodom. 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,360 Next I'm going to do a kind of next week is the sin of Sodom. 11 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,840 And, and I'm going to just say today that it's if you know that 12 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,680 story and you think when I say the sin of Sodom that you, that 13 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,040 you know what I'm talking about, you probably don't because the 14 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,600 sin of Sodom is probably not what you've been taught or is is 15 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:51,760 not what you have probably been taught. 16 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,000 It was the Bible is very clear about what the sin of Sodom was 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,320 and why God destroyed Sodom. And it's probably not the reason 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:01,800 you've been taught over the years. 19 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,879 I don't want to get any more into it today than that because 20 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:08,280 it's a different sermon today. I am saying all of that to say 21 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,440 this in order to talk about that in an authentic way. 22 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,760 Next week is going to be APG 13 Sunday. 23 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,480 Just so you know, from the sermon perspective, I'm not 24 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,480 going to get graphic, but I'm going to be talking about topics 25 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:28,360 that might be challenging or difficult for younger children. 26 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:30,960 And again, I'm, I'm not going to be graphic. 27 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,040 I'm not going to do any. But I just want to give you a 28 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,960 heads up so that if if you have kids or grandkids in here with 29 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:40,560 you next week, you might get some questions about what did 30 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,040 the pastor mean when he said that? 31 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,320 And, and I want to just prepare you for that. 32 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,400 OK, fair enough. I always like to give PG13 33 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:49,840 warnings when they are appropriate. 34 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,640 I don't want to surprise anyone with APG 13 sermon. 35 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:59,320 OK, sure, absolutely. Who knows, we might get a few 36 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,600 extra folks stopping in, you know, wait till we do the R 37 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,400 rated sermon. We'll get even more. 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,000 So this week, however, is about the cost of the covenant. 39 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,360 There are several covenants that we see God making with humanity 40 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,240 throughout the scripture. We see a covenant with God and 41 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,240 Adam and Eve. We saw a covenant with God and 42 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:21,960 Noah. There was a covenant with God 43 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,560 and Cain, a covenant with God and Noah and and we have seen 44 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:32,280 God make multiple promises. Covenants not it's all the same 45 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:37,360 promise phrased differently with Abram, who is now Abraham. 46 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,360 But but today we get the sealing of that covenant between Abraham 47 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,840 and God. And then we have a covenant made 48 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,000 with the people of Israel, the nation of Israel through Moses 49 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,080 as the mediator. And then finally the the 50 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,000 covenant that that we know of as the new covenant. 51 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,040 And that's why we call the the portion of the Scripture about 52 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:06,760 Jesus and after as the New Testament, that covenant is, is 53 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,160 what we think of and we believe to be the final and ultimate 54 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,680 covenant that God has made with humanity. 55 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,720 There is a cost to the covenant. There's a cost to the covenant 56 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,840 that God made with Abraham, and we're going to look at that 57 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:23,840 today. But there are costs to all of 58 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,480 these covenants. We're not going to look at all 59 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:26,920 of them. We're going to look at we're 60 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:30,360 going to look at the covenant God made with Abraham and the 61 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,640 new covenant that has come to us in and through Jesus's life, 62 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:38,000 death, and resurrection. There is a cost to the covenant, 63 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,800 God said to Abraham, As for you, you must keep my covenant, you 64 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,360 and your descendants after you. So we're going to walk through 65 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,840 that and we're going to walk through each of those covenants 66 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,600 and see what the cost was on each of them, how those costs 67 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:57,080 are similar and how those costs are different on on the most 68 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,160 obvious level, the cost of the covenant with Abraham is 69 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,560 circumcision. Arguably this is APG 13 sermon 70 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:09,400 that I didn't warn you about. Circumcision is is a cost, 71 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,480 certainly, particularly Abraham, 99 years old. 72 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,840 Ishmael at 13 probably was even less. 73 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,920 I mean, think about that conversation with your 13 year 74 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,959 old son. Hey, by the way, this is 75 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,680 happening today. That's a real cost. 76 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,520 And they're different elements to that cost. 77 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,200 It's a bodily cost. The cost of the covenant with 78 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:37,760 Abram, which endures to this day among the Jewish people, is a 79 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,840 bodily cost. You can't buy your way out of 80 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:43,680 the cost. You can't say, well, instead of 81 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,560 that, can I make an extra donation? 82 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,880 Can I give some land? Can I give some livestock? 83 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:54,000 Can I, can I provide some quality service to the cause? 84 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,840 The cost is a bodily cost to pay. 85 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:04,760 That is a bodily sacrifice, this cost of circumcision, and it's a 86 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,520 bloody cost. There is no way to pay this 87 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,040 cost. There is no way to participate 88 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:17,080 in this covenant as a male child of Abraham without a sacrifice 89 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,400 of blood. It's a bodily cost, it's a 90 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:27,040 bloody cost, and it's a permanent or ongoing cost. 91 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,160 Once it's done, it's not you. It can't be undone. 92 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:37,000 Once it's there, it's there. It is a sign for inappropriate 93 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,640 situations, whoever to see, conceive. 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,200 It can't be hidden or concealed in those situations, and it 95 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,280 cannot be covered up. Other than buy clothing, of 96 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:52,080 course. But it's permanent. 97 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,400 It's ongoing. Once that price is paid, once 98 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:00,960 that cost is paid, there's no real backing out in terms of 99 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,400 that cost. And this cost comes with a new 100 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,720 identity. It is no accident that is at the 101 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,760 moment of the sealing of the covenant with Abraham that God 102 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,480 changes Abraham's name and Sarah's name. 103 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:17,760 Well, he didn't change changed Abraham's name. 104 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,880 And Sarai's name and names meant something then. 105 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,600 They were a statement of identity, of character and, and, 106 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:32,760 and I and, and purpose and, and that identity and purpose are 107 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:34,960 the key things I want us to look at here today. 108 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,720 Abram, the word, the name Abram meant honored father. 109 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,360 The name Abraham is father of nations. 110 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,720 The name Sarai meant my Princess. 111 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,360 The name Sarah just means Princess. 112 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:00,560 God is taking their identities that were up until this point 113 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,320 very personal. This is my Princess. 114 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:10,800 I am an honored father or my husband is an honored father and 115 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,960 I'm his Princess and expanding them. 116 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,280 I'm not just his Princess, I'm the Princess. 117 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,720 I am the mother of Princess and princesses for generations to 118 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:32,160 come. I'm not just an honored father, 119 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:39,640 I'm the Father of nations. God is confirming in them His 120 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:44,600 covenant by changing their identity to confirm and signify 121 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,600 what it who they really are. Not just people who are honored, 122 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,640 not just people who have a position of respect and esteem 123 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:56,000 within their own family, but people from whom nations and 124 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,960 kings and Queens and princesses will come. 125 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,480 A new identity comes with this covenant. 126 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,600 This covenant could only be paid for by males. 127 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,880 Among the descendants of Abraham, only men can be 128 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,000 circumcised. Only men could pay the price of 129 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,720 the covenant. And so in a very real sense, 130 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,440 only men could fully participate within the covenant. 131 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:35,000 It is not possible for slightly over half the population to 132 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,760 fully participate in this covenant. 133 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,840 The sign of the covenant was the same as the cost of the 134 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,560 covenant. The sign of the covenant was 135 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:49,600 circumcision. Now with the covenant with Moses 136 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,360 that came later, given to the children of Israel, the children 137 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,120 of Abraham through Moses. Later there were other visible 138 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,200 signs, but at this point the sign of the covenant is the 139 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,560 circumcision. It is the cost, it is the sign, 140 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:06,920 it is the symbol, it is the evidence that the price has been 141 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,200 paid and that a person is participating in this covenant. 142 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,480 All right, all right, That's the covenant that God made with 143 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:21,920 Abram, now Abraham and Sarah. Let's talk about the cost of the 144 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:26,320 new covenant. The cost of the New Covenant was 145 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:33,400 and is death, specifically the death of Jesus, God's Son. 146 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:39,240 Cost of the New Covenant was and is the death of Jesus. 147 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:47,000 This was a bodily cost. There was no money that Jesus 148 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,080 could pay. There was no gift that God could 149 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,960 give. There was no active service that 150 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:59,040 could be done to circumvent this cost. 151 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:05,600 The only way to establish this covenant, the only way to make 152 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:10,560 it real, was for Jesus to die. Now at this point, I want to 153 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:15,720 pause and talk about the word covenant because it's, it's one 154 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,320 thing to talk about the historical and even ongoing 155 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,840 reality of the covenant God made with Abraham, which doesn't 156 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,440 really directly affect us. But this new covenant, this new 157 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:30,000 covenant is a covenant that God offers every human being on the 158 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,720 face of the earth to participate in. 159 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,200 And and that begs the question, what's a covenant? 160 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:41,080 Let's talk about that. A covenant is similar to, but 161 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:46,000 not identical with a contract. A contract is when two or more 162 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,640 people reach an agreement about a course of action and they each 163 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:55,360 put some, and this terminology is not accidental, it comes out 164 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:56,920 of what we just been talking about. 165 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:01,960 Each put some skin in the game. There's a cost to the contract 166 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,560 and, and, and then in technical terms, that cost is 167 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:09,720 consideration called consideration in legal terms. 168 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,720 And if there's no consideration, if the contract costs one of the 169 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,320 parties nothing, there's no contract. 170 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,480 If there's no skin in the game, if there's no cost to it, if 171 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,840 there's nothing they're obligated to pay or do, then 172 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:28,680 there's no contract. In a contract, whether it's 173 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:32,000 between two people as individuals or one person in a 174 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,240 group or two different groups in a contract, if one party breaks 175 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:41,160 the contract, the other parties to the contract are no longer 176 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:50,000 held to the contract. So Brandon and I enter into a 177 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,240 contract and I'm going to buy a pig from Do you have pigs still? 178 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,880 Not at the moment, but I wanted to, I thought, man, those 179 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,160 Buckley pigs are some nice pigs. I want to cut. 180 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,080 I want to, I want to buy a Buckley pig. 181 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,920 They're winning pigs over at the Buckley Ranch and, and I'm going 182 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:13,960 to get me some of that bacon. And, and so I say, Brandon, I'm 183 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:20,960 going to give you $50,000 to be able to buy your pig every year 184 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:25,240 for the next 20 years. Get some, get some pigs for 185 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,480 that, OK. And, and I'm going to give you 186 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,080 half of that money upfront. And then after what, 10 years 187 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,600 and I've got all my pigs, I'll give you the other half of the 188 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:41,040 money. And then and then first year 189 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:46,440 goes around and, and, and I take the pig, but I said, Brian, I'm 190 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,120 sorry, I don't have that money right now. 191 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,240 I'll give it to you next year. I was like, he's a good guy, 192 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,360 He's a trusting guy. He says, OK, next year comes and 193 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,800 I get the second pig and Brandon, I still don't have the 194 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,680 money at this point. If Brandon's got sense, he's a 195 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:02,080 nice guy, but he's got some sense, he's going to say, Scott, 196 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,880 this is very nice, but we had in a contract and you haven't given 197 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,880 me year end. So no more pigs until I get my 198 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,520 money. And that's fair, right? 199 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,760 I think all of us would agree that that's fair. 200 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,720 And they would probably say anyone, most reasonable people 201 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,560 would say in Blevins, you need to pay for the pigs you've 202 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:20,720 already got if you really want this to be fair. 203 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,200 But if there's a covenant, a covenant, again, it can be 204 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,600 between individuals, it can be between two groups, it can be 205 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,320 between an individual and a group. 206 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,320 It can involve multiple parties. One of the differences between a 207 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,000 covenant and a contract is that in a covenant, if one party 208 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,560 breaks the covenant, the other party is still obligated to keep 209 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:50,320 it. And and the covenant that God 210 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,760 made with Abraham was. I will make you and your 211 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:00,360 descendants into a great nation. Made that comment with Abraham 212 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:05,960 and with Sarah. So it's a child born from them, 213 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,360 not Ishmael. He made a separate promise to 214 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,480 Hagar. It was a similar promise. 215 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,200 But this is a covenant between Abraham, between Abraham and 216 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:19,520 Sarah and God. Abraham and Sarah did not always 217 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,920 keep the covenant. Their descendants did not always 218 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:30,320 keep the covenant. God always kept the covenant all 219 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,080 the way through. A lot of folks will say after 220 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,400 reading the Old Testament that man, the Old Testament is really 221 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:41,680 God, is an angry God in the Old Testament, then I can understand 222 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,560 how you get there because there's a lot of pain and 223 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:47,640 there's a lot of suffering. There's a lot of punishment. 224 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,840 There's a lot of consequence that comes to Abraham's 225 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,120 descendants because they didn't keep the covenant. 226 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,080 Next time you read through it though, rather than thinking we 227 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,680 get this is about an angry God, consider instead this is about a 228 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:12,480 patient God. Because the span of time in the 229 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,880 Old Testament, the Old Covenant, is hundreds and hundreds of 230 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,240 years, and it's generations and generations and generations of 231 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,000 God saying to his people, you are not keeping my covenant. 232 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,760 And bad things are going to come to you eventually if you don't 233 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:33,080 start keeping my covenant. And God is tremendously patient. 234 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:38,520 But even when the bad things come, God still insists on 235 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,920 keeping His covenant. He will not allow His people to 236 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:46,560 be wiped out, even though the political and military forces 237 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,760 around them and lined up against them are far superior to their 238 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:52,720 own. From the Assyrian Empire to the 239 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,960 Babylonian Empire to the Roman Empire. 240 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,320 God does not allow His people to be destroyed. 241 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:04,040 God preserves sometimes only a remnant, but God always 242 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:09,720 preserves at least that remnant to keep his covenant, even when 243 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,520 his people have seemingly utterly abandoned him. 244 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,040 So when God makes this new covenant with the world, with 245 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:25,800 Jesus, and in and through Jesus, he's making promises as well. 246 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,760 If you will be my you, I will be my God. 247 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,240 Let me try. I can really say this. 248 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,200 I will be your God. You will be my people. 249 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:43,640 I will pay the penalty of sin and death so that you might have 250 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:49,280 life everlasting. I will bear the cost of the 251 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,360 eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so 252 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,800 that you might eat of the tree of life. 253 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,760 And there is a cost to that covenant, this promise that God 254 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,319 makes with us. And that cost is a bodily cost. 255 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:11,200 It cost God his body, his Son's body. 256 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:17,000 Jesus saying it, God, Jesus is both God and human. 257 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:21,440 And so there is a real, very real sense in which we say that 258 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:26,160 that God himself paid this cost, the death of himself, the death 259 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,000 of his Son, a bodily cost on the cross. 260 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:34,520 And it was a bloody cost. His blood was shed, far more 261 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,200 bloodshed than was shed in the covenant of circumcision, 262 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,520 spilled out on the ground through the beating with the 263 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,640 whips, through the the beating of the crown of thorns upon his 264 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,640 head, through the nails and his side and his hands, and in his 265 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,640 feet and the spear and his side. It was a bloody cost that Jesus 266 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:55,520 paid for this covenant, and it was a permanent and ongoing 267 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,960 cost. It is important to remember that 268 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:04,400 in his resurrection, Jesus still bears the scars of his 269 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,640 crucifixion, that our perfect Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 270 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,880 lives now and forever in a scarred body, a body permanently 271 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,920 and forever changed by the crucifixion. 272 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,360 Some theologians have said, I think it's no way to prove it. 273 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,640 I believe it. It's a fascinating idea. 274 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:32,280 I think it, and it makes sense to me that since Jesus is God, 275 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,760 Jesus is eternal, Jesus is outside time and space. 276 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,960 That there is a sense that Jesus lives not in a past, present and 277 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:41,880 in future, but in an eternal present. 278 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,600 That Jesus then in that scenario always has been and always will 279 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:54,960 be hanging on the cross. A permanent and ongoing cost for 280 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,640 this covenant. And rather than a new identity, 281 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,640 it was a confirmed identity. It was as he was dying that that 282 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,880 Roman soldier looked up at Jesus on the cross and said, surely 283 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:12,400 this man is the Son of God, demonstrated to him not by Jesus 284 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,160 miraculously bringing himself down from the cross and striking 285 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,080 his enemies dead with the Word, but because he submitted to the 286 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:24,280 crucifixion with grace and humility and compassion and 287 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,720 forgiveness. And in his death, when God 288 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:33,400 darkened the sun and shook the earth, that soldier, that Pagan 289 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,880 Roman soldier who as far as we knew, knew nothing of the 290 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,120 teachings of Jesus, was able to look at him and say, surely this 291 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:45,800 man was the Son of God. And in his resurrection his 292 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:51,840 disciples said the same thing. Surely this man is the Son of 293 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,880 God, Jesus's identity confirmed through his death and then his 294 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,400 resurrection. And it was a price that could 295 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:05,000 only be paid by Jesus. None of us could have bankrolled 296 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,960 that. Not with all of our resources 297 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,440 combined. Not with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, 298 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,600 and whoever all the other billionaires are out there 299 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,520 pitching in to help. The only one who could pay this 300 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:23,640 price was Jesus was God himself coming to us in the flesh, and 301 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:29,360 he paid that, the price that we could never pay for this new 302 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:34,440 covenant through which we are giving, we are given access to 303 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:42,160 eternal life in God's Kingdom. All of that, Scripture tells us, 304 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:46,080 is available us to us by grace through faith. 305 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,600 It's a gift from God, not based on anything we do to earn it, so 306 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:58,640 that none of us can boast. And yet it is equally true that 307 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,600 in this new covenant, well before that, the sign of the 308 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,920 covenant, the sign of this covenant from the side of God 309 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:14,840 and in front of us is the cross. Not circumcision, but the cross, 310 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,800 an ever present reminder to us of the price that God paid so 311 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,320 that He could be in relationship with us, we could be in 312 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,200 relationship with Him, and we could be in loving, faithful 313 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,840 relationship with each other and other human beings in this world 314 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,440 and with the world itself. The sign of that covenant is the 315 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:41,880 cross. And unlike circumcision, which 316 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:47,760 only the males could bear that cost, we can all take up our 317 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:54,040 cross and follow Jesus, Jesus. Only Jesus could pay the price. 318 00:21:54,240 --> 00:22:00,080 But we can all take up a cross. Male, female, young, old, rich, 319 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,440 poor, educated, uneducated, athletic, not athletic. 320 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:12,640 Even people with hair can pay. That's how gracious God is. 321 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:19,400 Even people with hair can bear that sign, the sign of the 322 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:24,480 cross. All of that is true. 323 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,600 It is also true that there is a cost to us in the New Covenant. 324 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:33,600 This is a part and it's tough and it gets hard to do this 325 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:38,640 because it it's so easy to slip. And on the one side we can fall 326 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,800 off the road and get off the way into work's righteousness, into 327 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,240 this notion of I have to work really hard to get Jesus to love 328 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,880 me, to get Jesus to forgive me, to earn what he did for me on 329 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,040 the cross. No, all of that is a gift, a 330 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,800 gift of God's grace. The other side of the road, the 331 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,840 other ditch, which is equally fatal if we fall into it, is 332 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,320 that Jesus did all of that for me. 333 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,760 I'm glad that's over. That's the side that Dietrich 334 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:13,440 Bonhoeffer called cheap grace that that I like to sin. 335 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,040 God likes to forgive. This is a great arrangement. 336 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:20,120 Let's just go on with things as they are and, and I'll, I'll 337 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:23,600 pray my prayer, get my get out of hell free card and it'll all 338 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,400 be good. Cheap grace is what Dietrich 339 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,800 Bonhoeffer called that. You know who Bonhoeffer is? 340 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:31,080 Is that a name that's familiar to you? 341 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,120 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian. 342 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,200 In Germany at the time Hitler and the Nazi Party were rising 343 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,480 to power. And as Hitler and the Nazi Party 344 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,520 gained more and more power, many Christians, many theologians 345 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:51,880 left because they knew that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was 346 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,480 antagonistic to the ideology and philosophies of Hitler and his 347 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,960 followers. And, and everyone knew that 348 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:03,280 Hitler was not afraid of dealing brutally with his, with his 349 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,760 opponents that opposed him, whether politically, militarily 350 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,040 or theologically. And so many theologians left and 351 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,520 they got out of the country before things, before everything 352 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:17,520 got too bad. Bonhoeffer refused to leave. 353 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,960 He said, I have a church here, I have a ministry here. 354 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,520 I'm responsible to people here to preach the gospel and share 355 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,000 the gospel no matter what it costs me. 356 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:38,680 He he was in his own life, embodied both ends of Abram's 357 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:43,920 faithfulness, humbly staying in that land when he could have 358 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,760 chosen better land to go to. A lot of those theologians left. 359 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,200 They went maybe to Switzerland, some to the States, some to 360 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,360 England. They went to places where where 361 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,120 peace and prosperity were more likely than they were going to 362 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:59,760 be in Nazi Germany. But Bonhoeffer stayed in the 363 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:05,240 less desirable land, humbly like Abram did when he allowed Lot to 364 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,960 choose the more desirable land. Bonhoeffer also actively 365 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,720 participated in a plot to assassinate Hitler. 366 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,240 The plot failed. The bomb went off when Hitler 367 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,120 wasn't in the room, or actually I think he was in the room, but 368 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:21,560 he wasn't close enough to the bomb. 369 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:27,000 Anyway, Hitler survived. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and 370 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,240 eventually executed for his resistance to Hitler. 371 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,160 And he wrote a number of books. One is called Life Together, 372 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,080 which is an amazing book. Another that's more well known 373 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,200 is a book that he wrote called The Cost of Discipleship, and I 374 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,040 want to read just a short excerpt from that book. 375 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,760 When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. 376 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,680 That but some, and I'm paraphrasing well, that he 377 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,720 speaks more about what he calls cheap grace, and now he's 378 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,520 getting to. And so another part of the 379 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,160 quotation, that is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which 380 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,880 amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of 381 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,600 the repentant Sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin 382 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,680 departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of 383 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,920 forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. 384 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:24,040 Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. 385 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,400 Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring 386 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,400 repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion 387 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,480 without confession, absolution without personal confession. 388 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,960 Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the 389 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:44,160 cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and Incarnate. 390 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,440 Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, 391 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:54,000 the gift which which must be asked for, the door at which a 392 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,640 man must knock. Such grace is costly because it 393 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,120 calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to 394 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:04,960 follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a 395 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,600 man his life. It is grace because it gives a 396 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:12,000 man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns 397 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,560 sin. It is grace because it justifies 398 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,600 the Sinner. Above all, it is costly because 399 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:22,080 it cost God the life of His Son. You were bought with a price, 400 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:26,480 and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. 401 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:31,240 Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon His Son too 402 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:35,040 dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered Him up for 403 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,840 us. Costly grace is the incarnation 404 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:44,960 of God. There is a cost to following 405 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,960 Jesus. There is a cost for us of this 406 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,280 new covenant and that cost is nothing less than our lives. 407 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,760 CS Lewis put it this way. He said most of us when we come 408 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,040 to God and we come to Jesus, we invite him into our life. 409 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,440 We feel like, you know what if our life is a house, it's like 410 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,120 we got a rumor too that needs some work, that needs some re 411 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:04,200 cleaning out, that we need some remodeling. 412 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,080 But God comes in as the general contractor and says, no, I want 413 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,200 the whole thing down and we're going to build new. 414 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,760 The cost is our life. It's a bodily cost. 415 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:22,480 This is not metaphorical. This is not fancy imagery. 416 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:29,720 This is not allegory. God wants our lives and expects 417 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:35,840 our lives, our lives to be given to God in service, to be placed 418 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:40,560 before God and placed at God's service so that when God says 419 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,480 go, we go. When God says say stay, we stay. 420 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,000 When God says speak, we speak. When God says shut up, we shut 421 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,760 up. When God says be still, we're 422 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,800 still. When God says get busy, we get 423 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:58,720 busy. It's a bodily cost and it's a 424 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:05,160 bloody cost. To follow Jesus in this way is 425 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,360 to follow Jesus sacrificially and for all of us. 426 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,560 That doesn't mean a literal bloody cost, but for many it 427 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,480 does. Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary 428 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:23,520 to India, who who left behind identity and culture and adapted 429 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,360 herself as completely as she could to the culture in which 430 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:31,920 she was living. And her poetry measured 431 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,920 faithfulness of followers of Jesus Christ to by whether or 432 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,800 not they had scars. How can you have followed far, 433 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,520 she writes, if you have no scars? 434 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,640 When we follow Jesus in this way and a life of loving sacrificial 435 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:55,560 service and a life of resisting evil, injustice and oppression, 436 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,720 whatever forms they present themselves, we will be scarred, 437 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:02,720 we will be hurt. There is sacrifice that comes 438 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,240 along with it and it's a permanent and ongoing cost. 439 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,920 We don't get to retire. I can tell you Amy is looking 440 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,040 forward to retirement. I am not sure I have seen seen 441 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,960 her look forward to anything in her life other than giving 442 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,000 birth. She had nine months of of severe 443 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,000 morning sickness, so she was eager to give birth when the 444 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,760 time came. I think she's more eager to 445 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:37,200 retire, to be honest. There is no retiring from being 446 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,920 a follower of Jesus. Heaven is not now my work is 447 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:42,800 done. Let's even that is not let's go 448 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:48,280 on for eternal vacation. It is a permanent and ongoing 449 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:53,600 cost that we are servants, always at the disposal of our 450 00:30:53,600 --> 00:31:00,080 Lord and our King, that we are sisters and brothers, always at 451 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,240 the pleasure of our brother and our Father. 452 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:09,000 A permanent and ongoing cost. And for us, like Abraham and 453 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:14,760 Sarah, it is a new identity that the names we've been called, the 454 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,600 labels we've been given, whether they've been given to us by 455 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,560 others with good intention or bad, whether we've placed them 456 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,360 on ourselves, in wisdom or in foolishness. 457 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,520 God says you are who I say you are. 458 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,800 You are my child, you are my daughter, you are my son. 459 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,680 I give you a name. I give you an identity that is 460 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:41,520 full of life and love and hope and joy, and we may not even 461 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:45,160 really see that until we stand before Jesus face to face. 462 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,680 But we are not what the haters call us. 463 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,360 We are not what those who despise us name us. 464 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,960 We are woo and what God calls us. 465 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:04,280 And God calls us his children, people of sacred and eternal 466 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:08,360 worth, a new identity we receive in Jesus. 467 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:15,160 And this price can only be paid by you, nobody else. 468 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,800 Nobody can pay it for you. I don't know who first said it. 469 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,600 I wish I did. I'd like to be able to give him 470 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,680 credit. But I heard someone somewhere 471 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:29,400 along the way say God has no grandchildren, no one's a 472 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,680 follower of Jesus. Because mom and dad were. 473 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:37,760 Now, they might have been the influence along the way, but you 474 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,800 have to pay the price. I have to pay the price for me. 475 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:42,640 You have to pay the price for you. 476 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,800 You can't pay the price for your kids. 477 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,800 You can't pay the price for your grandkids, for your husband, for 478 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,960 your wife, for your friends, for your sisters, brothers, cousins. 479 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,520 You can't. Everyone has to pay this price 480 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:59,400 themselves. And it's so much more than 481 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,120 walking down an aisle and praying a prayer and then going 482 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:08,760 about business as usual. It is an ongoing daily Lord, my 483 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,920 life is yours. Your will not mine. 484 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:16,840 Be done today. Whatever you want, God help me 485 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,920 to do, and if you can help me to want to do it. 486 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:27,120 But it can only be paid by you. The sign of the new Covenant on 487 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:32,400 our end is baptism. What a beautiful sign. 488 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:42,080 Unlike circumcision and like bearing a cross, anyone can be 489 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,360 baptized. Old, young, rich, poor, male, 490 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,680 female, even the people with hair. 491 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:57,160 It's harder for y'all. I've baptized teenagers who who 492 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,920 wanted to wear a hair thing into the water. 493 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,000 I'm like, you're not quite getting it here. 494 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,960 If you want to keep the water off of you when you're getting 495 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,040 in the water, a baptism. They had really nice hair 496 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,920 though, so I get where they're coming from. 497 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:19,159 I got no problems with that. This sign is for all, and it's 498 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:26,960 so much more than just a ritual. For those baptized by immersion, 499 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:33,159 it is a reenactment of the death and erection of death and 500 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:37,440 resurrection of Jesus Christ as he was placed in the tomb and 501 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,639 rises up again. For those sprinkled or poured, 502 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:50,040 it's a reenactment of the blood sprinkled on the doorposts of 503 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,239 the Passover of the slaves in Egypt. 504 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,760 When God says this one belongs to me and the Angel of death 505 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:06,360 passes over, it's a reenactment of the washing of the Holy 506 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:11,360 Spirit washing us clean inside and out, sanctifying us. 507 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:16,480 And it is permanent and ongoing. Because none of all this happens 508 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,760 instantaneously. The baptism happens pretty 509 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:22,640 quick, but all of that washing, all of that cleaning, all of 510 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:26,640 that, dying to ourselves and rising again, that is a lifelong 511 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:33,280 process. At least someone once said, I 512 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:34,400 don't know who said this one either. 513 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,720 This is another good one. The, you know, Paul talks about 514 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,880 present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable 515 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,920 to the Lord. And someone quipped somewhere 516 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,480 along the way, the problem with the living sacrifice is it keeps 517 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:48,880 crawling off the altar. And and that's our challenge to 518 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,320 stay on the altar, to not crawl off the altar. 519 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,920 And it's a daily challenge. It's a daily challenge. 520 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,720 And that's the cost. That's the cost of the covenant. 521 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,400 There is no covenant, There is no relationship with God without 522 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,240 cost. God has paid with the life of 523 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:13,800 himself, the life of his Son and he asks us to do the same in 524 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,200 Jesus name, Amen. Amen.