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Jabez Rutt

"Behold the Lamb of God"

John 1:29
Jabez Rutt June, 4 2023 Audio
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Jabez Rutt
Jabez Rutt June, 4 2023
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

Gadsby's Hymns 931, 150

In Jabez Rutt's sermon titled "Behold the Lamb of God," the primary theological focus is on the nature and significance of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who atones for the sins of the world. Rutt articulates the dual nature of Christ, emphasizing His full divinity and humanity, as expressed in John 1:29 where John the Baptist proclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The speaker explores the fulfillment of Old Testament sacrificial types in Christ, referencing Isaiah 53 to illustrate how Christ bore the iniquities of humanity, thus achieving redemption. He emphasizes the importance of understanding Christ’s sinlessness and His unique role as the perfect sacrifice needed for salvation, asserting that He lived a blameless life to satisfy divine justice. The sermon significantly highlights that assurance and peace of forgiveness can be found through faith in Christ alone, reinforcing core Reformed doctrines of grace and salvation.

Key Quotes

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

“The only person that has ever lived a perfect life is Jesus Christ.”

“He took our sins and he nailed them to his cross.”

“Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

Sermon Transcript

Auto-generated transcript • May contain errors

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Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 931 to the tune Westbourne
662. Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
loads of sin on thee will aid. By almighty love anointed, thou
hast full atonement made. All thy people are forgiven,
through the virtue of thy blood. Opened is the gate of heaven,
peace is made, t'wixt man and God. Hymn 931, Tune Westbourne 662. O Lamb of God, I come unto Thee,
that Thou shouldst save the weak and the weak. I, O Mighty God,
I come unto Thee, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? O bless the heavens on high,
each day, each breath, and all. ? Peace was now enthroned in glory
? ? And now I look to the light ? ? All the world in its glory ? O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? It is full of strength and mercy
? ? Thou art worthy to be saved ? ? Thou hast raised me up from
the dead ? ? All the bright and the perilous
? ? Wayward street that's love has made ? ? Hark the herald angels sing ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to John and chapter
1. John chapter 1, we will read
down to verse 34. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was
a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a
witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him
might believe. He was not that light, but was
sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was
in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew
him not. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. But as many as received him,
to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John
bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I
speak, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he
was before me. And of his fullness have all
we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God
at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. And this
is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed and
denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked
him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he says,
I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us?
What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one
crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees, And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptizest
thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that
prophet? John answered them, saying, I
baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom ye
know not. He it is who coming after me
is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptising. The next day John
seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom
I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me,
For he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should be
made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptising
with water. And John bear record saying,
I saw the spirit descended from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptise with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
is he which baptiseth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word. Grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty, to call upon
thy great and holy name. We do pray that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us as
we gather together around thy word. And as we gather together
around thy table, we pray that thou wouldst touch our hearts,
that thou wouldst lift the light of thy countenance upon us, that
thou wouldst draw us into the truth, that thou wouldst seal
the truth in our hearts by thy Spirit. Thou hast said in thy
word, and if ye know the truth, the truth shall make you free.
or we pray for that freedom and liberty that there is in Christ
Jesus. We pray to be delivered from
the power of sin and Satan. We come as poor sinners before
thee and we desire to confess our sins and our wanderings and
our backslidings. Pray to be washed in the precious
blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all our sin, from all our
unrighteousness. We pray, most gracious Lord,
to be led and guided and directed by thy spirit, and that thy word
may be open to our heart and to our understanding. We pray
for truly thankful hearts, for all thy tender mercies. Truly,
Lord, thy mercies to us are new every morning, and great is thy
faithfulness, and we desire a spirit of thanksgiving to be given unto
us for all thy goodness that has passed before us each in
the way. We thank thee above all for that
glorious covenant, ordered in all things and sure, that covenant
of salvation, of redemption, that has been sealed by the blood
of the everlasting covenant, even the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son. Oh, we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou would fill our hearts with gratitude for the
incarnation of the Son of God. He was made of a woman made under
the law, that he might redeem them that are under the law.
Lord, we thank thee for the law fulfilled and everlasting righteousness
brought him. We thank thee that our sins and
our iniquities were laid upon him, and that we thank thee for
Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where
divine justice was satisfied. O gracious God, we do thank thee. We cannot express ourselves sufficiently. High beyond imagination is the
love of God to man. Oh, and we cannot fathom the
depths of it. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification. And as bodily
ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Oh, we
do thank thee for the glory of thy gospel for free and sovereign
grace. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless us as a church and as a congregation,
and that thou wouldst work mightily, powerfully, and effectually among
us, and lift the light of thy countenance upon us. We do humbly
beseech of thee. But we pray, most gracious Lord,
for our brethren, the deacons, that help and grace may be given
them, and that thou wouldst uphold them, And we pray for our friends
who hope to go on holiday this coming week. We pray that they
may find rest and change and that their bodies may be refreshed
and strengthened and that they will dwell with them and be with
them. We seek thy blessing, O Lord, upon the little ones and the
children. Bless them indeed. Bring them into the fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Graciously bless and
undertake for the dear young friends. Bring them to living
faith in Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Show them thy ways. Lead them in thy paths. Remember
the prodigals that have wandered away from the sanctuary and be
gracious unto them and bless them for thy great namesake and
cause them to return. Lord, we watch for their souls
and we watch for thy appearing in this. We pray thy blessing
upon parents that they may be given wisdom and help to bring
up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. that
we pray for all in the midst of the journey of life that thou
would be gracious unto them and have mercy upon them for thy
great name's sake. We pray to be delivered from
the temptations of Satan. We pray to be delivered from
the allurements of this vain world and that the Lord Jesus
may be made so precious to us that we may become true followers
of him, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for all, each one
of us in the evening time of life journey. Undertake for each
one. As the outward man perishes,
may the inward man be renewed day by day. May we be made more
spiritually minded. May our heart and our affections
be set on things above and not on things of the earth. Draw
us unto thyself, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for a closer
walk with God, a calmer heavenly frame, a light to shine upon
the road that leads me to the Lamb. We pray, O Lord, that the
glory and light and power of the gospel may shine into this
village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Precious souls may
be gathered in, the strongholds of Satan pulled down, the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus set up in the hearts of sinners. Let thy work
appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children.
O Lord, we do beseech of thee. Come and open thy word to our
heart and to our understanding. Come and give us light and understanding
in thy word. we do humbly beseech them. Come
and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together Hymn
number 150. The tune is Norton, 810. The
sweet lamb of God comes forth to be slain and offers his blood
to purge off our stain. With bitterish anguish and groans
on the tree, the Savior did languish for sinners like me. Hymn 150. June Norton, 810. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? And grant over me a shelter from
the cold ? ? In my soul ? ? And in all his
laws ? ? This I take from God ? ? And as of my own ? ? His
word has set forth ? ? The Word of the Lord ? ? Is not
an instrument ? ? But a heavenly source ? ? Like the living tree
? He hears all my prayers, When
saints have called me, And rushed in the street. God made all men gracious, to
all shall never die. But you, O God gracious, ? O give us peace ? ? O give us
rest ? ? O give us rest ? ? Let us be at peace ? ? The Father provided this land
for our keep. ? ? The Savior was born in this land. ? ? The power of love in us ? ? Thy
spirit will tell ? ? Thy flesh shall detest ? ? Shaper than
the grave ? Thy blood ever flowing, Thy passion
flowing, Thy peace to us flowing, ? My God, my Lord ? ? Great Jesus,
my Lord ? ? My patience, dear Lord ? ? My Lord, my God, my Lord ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the first chapter in the gospel
according to John and we will read verse 29 for our text. John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse
29. The next day, John seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. How beautifully does John set
before us the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. John
had a very close walk with Christ. And this is seen so clearly in
his gospel and in his epistles. He had close fellowship. He's
actually called the disciple whom Jesus loved. Now we know
that the Lord Jesus loved all his disciples, but he had a very
special love to John. John, when he was called and
became a disciple of Christ, was probably only about 16 years
of age. And he had that very intimate,
close walk with Christ. he opens things in his gospel
and in his epistles which reflect that close walk that he had with
the Lord Jesus Christ. He understood and was able to
write very clearly concerning the divinity and the humanity
of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you look at the beginning
of this chapter in John, in the beginning was the Word, the word
is another term for the Son of God, the eternal word. He calls him also, which again
is almost peculiar to him, the only begotten Son. He had this
opening given to him by the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ and
of those two natures that he is the Son of God but He's also
the Son of Man. I think there are 72 times in
Scripture, most of them by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ
when He calls Himself the Son of Man. And in those expressions
we have set before us the uniqueness of the person of Christ, that
He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, but He was manifest
in the flesh. And John says here, in the beginning
was the Word, but what he means there, from all eternity, was
the Word. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. See how he
emphasizes, He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. The
same was in the beginning with God, all things were made by
him and without him wasn't anything made that was made in him was
life and the life was the light of men and the light shineth
in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not he is that
eternal light in verse 14 those beautiful well-known words and
the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He's full of grace and truth.
The Lord Jesus is always full of grace and truth. In him there
is an eternal fullness. We read in the epistle to the
Colossians that in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead,
bodily. There's a fullness that is in
Christ, an inexhaustible fullness of grace, of love, of mercy,
of peace. It's a fullness that will never
be exhausted. And the reason being, He's the
eternal Son of God, the Almighty. He says here in verse 18 that
no man has seen God at any time. the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. In John 14, Jesus said to the
disciples, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. We sing that lovely hymn, Jesus
is the way to God, Jesus is the way to bliss. In this way the
saints have trod, down from Adam's day to this. The next day, John seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and saith, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. John is the last of the Old Testament
prophets. He's known as the Herald of Salvation. He came before the Lord, six
months older than Jesus Christ. He went before him. As it's prophesied,
I will send my messenger before thee. And that was the office
of John the Baptist to go before Christ. You know, if, say, our
king or our late queen, if she went to a foreign country, they
would send ambassadors before and they would prepare the way
so they were ready to receive her. How much more for the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords? He sent a messenger before him.
That messenger was John the Baptist. and hear his message, his message
to us today. The next day, John seeth Jesus
coming unto him and saith, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. We notice here also how it was
revealed unto John so clearly But if we carry on in the reading,
verse 30, this is he of whom I said, after me cometh a man
which is preferred before me, for he was before me. He speaks
of the eternal nature of the Son of God. He was before me. After me cometh a man, the glorious
holy God man, the man Christ Jesus, which is preferred before
me, for he was before me. Over the centuries there have
been various errors or heresies that have crept into the church
concerning the person of Christ. Either a denial of his divinity
or a denial of his humanity. And both of those things are
fundamental doctrines of our most holy faith. The difference between an error
and a heresy is that you cannot be in heresy and be a child of
God. You can be in error. A heresy
is something to do with the Godhead. It's a wrong view of either the
Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost, or sometimes a denial
of their divinity. That is what a heresy is. And
the apostle, when he writes to the, I think it's the, Titus,
he says, he that is an heretic after the first and second admonition,
reject, for he is subverted. There's a great difference between
an error and a heresy. There really is. The Holy Spirit, when he reveals
Christ to a poor sinner, he reveals a Christ that has power to save.
He reveals a Christ that is the eternal Son of God. He reveals the eternal Son of
God who became flesh, who dwelt among us. The reality of his human nature.
I often draw your attention to those words in the first epistle
of John in chapter 4. And it says in the fourth chapter
there, verse two, hereby know ye the spirit of God, every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof we have heard that it should come and even now already
is it in the world. and then it goes on in that same
chapter in verse 15 whosoever shall confess that jesus is the
son of god god dwelleth in him and he in god and this is the
christ that is revealed by the holy ghost to a poor sinner a
christ who is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto
god by him seeing he ever liveth he ever liveth He has power to
say, power to redeem, power to deliver. The next day, John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith unto him, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Under the Levitical dispensation,
there was a lamb slain every day, in the Old Testament in
the Jewish church. Then once a year, on the day
of the Passover, there was a lamb slain in all the houses of the
children of Israel. Its blood was taken and they
used to paint it on the side posts and the lintels of the
doors of their houses. And the Lord sent his destroying
angel through the land of Egypt that night to destroy the firstborn
of man and beast. And he said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. When I see the blood, the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin when I see the
blood. I will pass over you. What a precious, sacred truth
that is. Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. Now, of course, an Arminian,
and many people that profess to be Calvinistic too, they would
say, well, when Christ died, he died for all men, everywhere. and they will quote this text
as a proof. But what it means is, is that
it doesn't matter where you live in the world, whatever nation
you're in, whatever tribe you belong to, it doesn't matter
where you are, there's only one saviour for the whole world,
and that is Jesus Christ. He's the only saviour of sins,
for the sins of the whole world, It's put in another way in the
Acts of the Apostles. There is none of the name given
under heaven whereby ye must be saved But the name of Jesus
Christ Behold the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of
the world is applicable that John should use these words He
was of course pointing his disciples to Christ and to speak of the uniqueness
and the connection that john being the last of the prophets
and when with the coming of christ it was the end of that levitical
dispensation the old testament and it brings in the new testament
of our lord and savior jesus christ and but all those all
those sacrifices and offerings in the Levitical dispensation,
they're all fulfilled in Christ. I think the hymn writer, he puts
it so beautifully, not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars
slain could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain,
but Christ the heavenly Lamb bears all our sins away, a sacrifice
of nobler name and richer blood than they. Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away. We have some wonderful promises
in the Old Testament of what is to be accomplished in the
New Testament. You think of those lovely words, their sins and
their iniquities will I remember no more. Why? Because they are taken away in
Christ. He's taken away the sin of the
world. He took away the sin of his people.
In Isaiah chapter 53, where it speaks so beautifully of the
sufferings of Christ. And we have those lovely words,
speaking of our eternal father, he laid upon him That is our
Eternal Father laid upon his only begotten Son manifest in
the flesh. He laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. And the Apostle says in the Epistles,
he took our sins and he nailed them to his cross. That's what
Christ did. He took our sins and he nailed
them to his cross. Divine justice demanded a perfect
sacrifice. The only person that has ever
lived a perfect life is Jesus Christ. It says clearly in scripture,
he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Not only
did he do no sin, but he was born without sin. You and I sin
because we're born in sin. We have the nature of our father
Adam. We're born in sin. We are shapen
in iniquity. But this man, the holy God man,
Jesus Christ, he did no sin and he had no sin. That is the fundamental
importance of the virgin birth. He wasn't stained with original
sin. The Holy Ghost overshadowed the
womb of the virgin. And the angel said, that holy
thing that shall be born of thee, mark that, that holy thing. He
was born without sin, he lived without sin. Think of the words of Jesus Christ,
I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's
exactly what Christ has done. He's fulfilled the law for his
people. He honored and magnified that
holy law that you have broken, that I have broken. And we still
break it. We're sinners by our very nature.
But this man, this holy God man, the man Christ Jesus, he did
no sin. You know, when the Israelite
went to get the lamb for a sacrifice, there was one thing that was
very emphatic. It had to be without blemish. It was an abomination if they,
say, had a lame or a blind sheep or something wrong with it, if
they were to sacrifice it, that's an abomination unto the Lord. Why? Because it typified, it
represented Jesus Christ, who was without sin and who did no
sin. That's why. So it was very important,
it had to be without blemish because it pointed to he that
was without blemish, is without blemish. He lived on this earth
for 33 years and he did not sin. He was pure and holy in his thought,
his word and in his deed. He fulfilled and honoured that
holy law that his people had broken. He lived for his people. He suffered for his people, he
died for his people. Behold the Lamb of God, which
take us away. You see, where it says there
in Isaiah, he laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Our eternal
father, he took the sin of the whole church and he laid it on
his son, Jesus Christ. We cannot even begin to comprehend
the tremendous weight of that sin that was laid on Christ in
the Garden of Gethsemane. And he took our sins and he nailed
them to his cross. He lived a life that was holy
and pure and righteous. There's a lovely word in Psalm
37 and verse 37. Mark the perfect man. That's
Christ. Mark the perfect man and behold
the upright for the end of that man And the end of that man that
is in Christ is peace. Behold, the Lamb of God, which
taketh away. Again, in Isaiah 53, it says
there, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised
for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. And with his stripes, we are
healed. It's in that precious saviour
that that word was, I believe, breathed into my heart. Not too far from this chapel,
before I was in the ministry, I was about my daily work, feeling
so defiled by sin, feeling the wretchedness of my sinful nature
and Those words were poured into my soul like a heavenly balm.
He was wounded for our transgressions. I had such a sight of Jesus suffering
for me. It was my sins that nailed him
to that cross. I was driving a vehicle, I'd
stopped the vehicle, I wept. Love and grief, my heart divided. Love to him, for suffering for
me, grief that was my sins that made him suffer. You see, there's
a mixture when we come to Calvary, when we have a sight by faith
of Jesus Christ on Calvary, suffering in our room place instead. There's a sense of joy and peace
in believing, but there's also a sense of our sins. When you
see that holy, lovely, glorious person suffering in your room
place instead, and you realize it was your sins, it will literally
break your heart. If you catch a sight of the Lamb
of God suffering in your room place instead, behold, the Lamb
of God which taketh away. He's taken them away. You know,
on the Day of Atonement, when them two kid goats were brought
into the tabernacle, one was sacrificed, its blood was taken
and sprinkled seven times before the golden mercy seat. The other
one, the high priest put his hands on its head, it's called
the scapegoat, and he confessed his sins and the sins of the
children of Israel. He ceremonially transferred the
sin of Israel and his own sin onto that scapegoat. And then
it was taken by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness, never
to be seen again. You see, what a beautiful shadowing
that is, or typical of Christ. He took our sins. He's taken
them away. They will never be remembered
again. Because payment, one of the hymn
writers says, doesn't he? Payment he cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding, shortest
hands, and then again at mine. The debt has been paid. Christ
has paid it. His precious blood was shed to
deliver his people from their sins. My mind, it just goes to
those lovely words in Micah chapter seven, who is a God like unto
thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth not his anger forever
because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have
compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities. and they will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea, never to be seen again, into
the depths of the sea. Oh, my beloved friends, this
is what we see in the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. It does. It's a very
sacred thing. when we feel by experience that
we're in Christ and that he lived for us, he suffered for us, he
died for us, he rose again for our justification. It's that word in Hebrews chapter
9 concerning the second coming of Christ when he comes a second
time without sin, unto salvation. A second time, when Christ comes
to judge the world in righteousness, the very first thing he will
do, it says in Matthew, that he will gather his elect from
the four corners of the earth, the second time. When he comes,
that was the first time, when he came to suffer, bleed and
die, the second time is when he comes to judge the world in
righteousness. but he will gather his church
without sin. Their sins were laid in the grave
of Christ. When Christ rose from the dead,
he left our sins there, never to be remembered again, never
to be seen again. Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. He takes it away. And he now
appears in heaven. You know, having lived a life
that was perfect, fulfilled the law for his people, having suffered
what they should have suffered in eternal damnation, he suffered
that on the cross of Calvary. Having died, he paid the ultimate
price. He died for our sins. It was
a voluntary act of the Son of God to do that. into thy hands
I commend my spirit. He commended his holy human soul
into the hands of his father and he entered into death. Why
did he do that? Well John tells us in his first
epistle to destroy death and him that had the power of death
that is the devil. We read in Hosea, O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
is swallowed up in Christ. Behold the Lamb of God as He
lives and suffers and bleeds and dies for the sins of His
people, but behold Him as He rises from the dead. He swallowed
up death in victory. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Death has been swallowed up.
When the believer dies, in the New Testament it is portrayed
as going to sleep. The believer sleeps in Christ. Why is it put in that way? Because
they will rise again. Just like you and I, when we
go to sleep, we wake up and we get up. Well, that is what death
is like to the believer. They shall arise when Christ
comes again. And they shall be forever with
the Lord. Think of those lovely words of
our Lord Jesus in John 14. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That
where I am, there, ye may be also. You know we can't hardly
conceive what heaven is like, can we? We're in a world of sin
and woe. How can we imagine a place without
sin? But that is what heaven is. I
love those verses based on Samuel Rutherford's last words and that
one particular verse speaking of the soul, the believer in
heaven, likened to the bride of Christ. The bride eyes not
her garments, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze on glory,
but on my king of grace. Not on the crown he giveth, but
on those pierced hands where glory, glory dwelleth. in Emmanuel's land. The next
day, John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. May the
Lord add his blessing to these few remarks.
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Joshua

Joshua

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