It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, for Lord, that could not be. You may obtain a copy of
this sermon by visiting our website at ysgracechurch.com. And now, here is Pastor Jeffrey
Thomas. I want to read to you from the
opening verses of Hebrews chapter 1. In the past God spoke to our
fathers through the prophets at many times and in various
ways. But in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things,
and through whom he made the universe. The sun is the radiance
of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior
to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to
theirs. I want to draw your attention
to this, the last phrase of the third verse, as we know in the
King James Version, when he had by himself purged our sins, he
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. This is
one of those great key verses central for all the Christian
religion and it's crucial for us then to be absolutely clear
in our understanding of it, to stand upon it and make it our
hope in life and death. Firstly to consider this one
who has made purification, who has purged us from our sins. Who is he? And you see the answer
in the context here in a number of ways. He's the one through
whom God has spoken to us. God speaks through creation.
The heavens declare his glory. The firmament reveals to us his
majesty. He speaks in your conscience. He constrains you to come on
his day to gather with his people. to worship Him. He has spoken
in times past by the prophets, summoning them into His presence,
opening His heart to them, and then sending them with that word
burning in their bones to speak to men and women. But in these
last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has a Son, His
only begotten Son. And that Son spoke When he was
sad, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth
and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. This Son has spoken. This Son
has prayed. This Son has claimed. I and my
Father are one. If you've seen me, you have seen
the Father. This is God then manifestly seen
and heard, heaven's beloved one, the incarnation of all the attributes
of God here on this earth. Or we could say he's the one
who made the universe. The end of verse 2. And the letter
to the Hebrews begins as John's gospel begins. All things were
made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Paul says he made all things
visible and invisible. Here is a society fascinated
with origin. with no certainty where this
world came from. But here is this staggering claim
that the one who was hungry and thirsted in Samaria and sat at
that well and asked water from a woman to drink The one who
held a baby in his arms and blessed that child. The one who was crucified
on Golgotha's hill. He is the creator of the rolling
spheres, the ineffably sublime maker of heaven and earth. The
vastness of space, he made it. The minuteness of the atom, he
made it. All things bright and beautiful,
he made it. so that there is nothing malicious
in the world. There are no booby traps in creation. It's benign. We can face it fearlessly. We can study it. Who is Einstein? Just the ruins of an atom. That's all. What's the most sophisticated
modern lab? It's just the rubbish of paradise. Christ made everything. Christ
is relevant to everything. He's relevant to the outdoors.
God put the first Adam in a garden. He's relevant to the indoors.
God put the last Adam in a workshop. This is the one who has purged
our sins. Oh, we are told he is the brightness
of God's glory and the express image of his person. He is God's
bright glory. He's not a flicker. He's not
a faint image of God. But to see God in all his glory,
one must look at his Son, Jesus Christ. If you've seen me, you
have seen the Father, he says. And the brightness of God's glory
is not his numinousness or his intimidatedness, but it is the
brightness of his grace and truth. And if you've seen that in Christ,
that is the very heartbeat of God himself. And he is the express
image of God. He is an exact transcript of
God. He is not like God. He is not
like God at all, because he is God himself. God is love. And when I see the Lord Christ
kneeling and taking a basin of water and a towel and washing
the feet of his disciples, I am seeing the grandeur and greatness
of God. He is as much God as the Father
is God himself. When Christ died on Calvary,
that is the most God-like thing that God ever did. Calvary and
the broken body of Jesus is where we see God's glory in all its
brightness. Now I'm saying to you, this is
the one of whom this verse is speaking, who by himself purged
our sins, God, the creator, the speaking God, the one who is
the brightness of God's glory and the transcript of his being. And then we are told what he
did. We are told by himself he purged our sins. Now, you will see the basic evaluation
it makes of mankind by that phrase. When you're When you've been
arranging some flowers and you come in for a meal, you say,
oh, let me just wash my hands. But when you've been working
on a car and changing the engine, then you know that there is a
grain deeply into the pores of your skin, oil and dirt that
needs to be purged out. And we are told here that man
has been so contaminated by the fall of his father Adam and his
own sins that they need to be purged, free, that sin has made
us dirty, that it has defiled us, not our bodies but our souls
and our spirits and our hearts and our affections and our conscience,
that behind the makeup, behind the Sunday best, There is a defiled
person. You lie and you've dirtied yourself. You steal and cheat. And you dirty your heart and
your life. You give in to temptation or
tempt others to sin. And you yourself then have become
defiled by sin. And what is there in this vast
world that can purge us from the guilt and defilement of our
sin? How can I stand before the Ancient
of Days? Or how can I, whose native sphere
is dark, whose mind is dim before the ineffable appear, and on
my naked spirit bear the uncreated beam? How can I, without someone
coming to purge our sins. And here we are told, he who
is God's brightness and God's glory, he has purged our sins. It is the most staggering claim.
It means to me that my sins are as though they never were. It
is a magnificent, it is an incredible concept. that our sins no longer
control or modify our relation to God today. It is as if they
were not there. But there is no defilement. He
has taken our sin, our past sin, our present sin, our future sin,
and he has put it away. He has provided purification
for it. So we are whiter than snow. I'm not sure my conscience believes
it. I'm not sure that there is not
in me that egotism that wants to cling in self-pity to some
remnants of guilt, so that I may feel sorry for myself this morning,
that if only I can let this truth be the whole truth about the
way things are between me and God, that there is no barrier
whatsoever, that there is no impediment It is all forgiven
that the only way I'm allowed to consider my past sins is that
they are forgiven sins. It may even be that sometimes
you use that vague assumption that all is not right between
yourself and God to justify a little less commitment, a little less
discipleship, a little less consecration, a little less purity. because
all is not forgiven, but I'm saying it is all forgiven, that
he has purged it away, he has borne it all, all the guilt,
every single sin has been imputed to him, there is absolutely nothing
left. Do you know the single determinant
of your relationship with God this morning is what happened
on that cross? Nothing else matters. Nothing
else is relevant. There are only two factors in
the equation. What Christ did and how God responded. and the way you struggle and
the way you feel and what you achieve and how you behave, that
is not relevant. The only thing relevant is what
Christ did upon the cross. And I do not for a moment believe
that the heart, who knows that, will take advantage of it and
will go from it to live a life without law because that cross,
that grace will not allow you I believe, on the contrary, that
a bad conscience and a feeling that God has something against
you often serves as the basis of an unconscious grudge against
God that somehow justifies us for being less than perfect,
that justifies this relapse, this coldness of heart, this
long winter in my relationship with the living God. And I want
to acknowledge in the depth of my own heart, that Jesus Christ
has made a good and decent and proper job of the work that God
gave him to do, that he has made a real purging of our sins. Consider who he is, God the Son. the brightness of his glory,
the express image of his person, the creator of the heavens and
the earth. Consider him setting his face
steadfastly to Jerusalem, the task, the vocation given by his
father for him to do, that father that sees him every step of the
way and says, son, I really love you. You are my beloved son. And there he is walking with
destiny, and his goal is Golgotha, there to deal with sin, there
to deal with its defilement, the way it corrupts, the way
it mars, the way God hates it, the way it has created this gulf
between me and him. And he comes, he who raised the
dead, he who spoke, and the winds and waves obeyed him. Jehovah
Jesus comes. One more thing He has to do before
He can say, it is finished. He has to purge our sins. He has to take the defilement
that corrupts every one of us and everything that we do. He
has to take the guilt of our failures. He has to take them
into the judgment of fire within. He has to take all that dirt
and foulness to Himself and purge it. all the way to leave us guiltless,
to leave us desinned, to leave us without spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, as sinless as God is sinless, as free from
any stain as God Himself, because He, Christ, has purged us from
our sins. And you see the consequence of
that, men and women, You see, there is no need then of a purgatory. Subsequently, because Golgotha
is the only place of purging in this world or the world to
come. Because there is absolutely nothing left for him to purge. When we see him, we shall be
like him. For we shall see him as he is. He is able to keep us from falling
and to present us faultless. before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy. He didn't do half a job on Calvary. He didn't do 90% of a job on
Calvary. He by himself has purged our
sins. And then I want to emphasize
that for a moment. He did it by himself. He was offering himself without
spot to God. Wasn't offering his sufferings
only. Wasn't offering his blood. Wasn't offering his obedience.
Wasn't offering his human nature. He was offering himself without
spot to God. He's the ransom price paid. And we are free. He's the propitiation. And God's anger is placated. He is the great satisfaction
rendered to God. He's the price of our liberty. There is nothing left undone
for us to know a reconciled God. He made a purging for sin. And
he did it not by enabling you to do something, not by inspiring
you to choose, not by encouraging you to repent, not by challenging
you to discipleship, not by exhorting you to faithfulness, not to command
you to live a holy life, not pleading with you for compassion. If my standing before God this
morning depends on my faith or my repentance or my holy living,
then before God I have no hope. But he did something absolutely
by himself. When he was tempted, angels came
and strengthened him. At his baptism, a voice of God
spoke to him. At his transfiguration, God says,
hear my son. But on Golgotha, he's by himself. No friend is there. No family
is there. No one to catch his eye and beam
through a glance, a look that says, we love you and we know
what you're doing there for us. They all forsook him and fled. No help to Jesus. He cries, my
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He's there alone and by himself
he purged our sins. What could be more glorious?
What could be more liberating than that? that there is a total
and a complete purging of sin which he accomplished, and he
did it by himself. And then we are told he sat down
at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He is a sitting Savior. And what do we do with that?
Well, it means he finished the work. He accomplished the work
and sat down. You'll remember in all the paraphernalia
of the Levitical covenant, of all the equipment that was there
in the tabernacle and in the temple, there was no chair. There
was nowhere for a priest to sit because there was constant activity. There were sacrifices to be made
day and night, all the years and centuries around. But now,
under the new covenant, there at the right hand of God is one
seated. He sat down. Now it means, just
as God the Father looked at the work of creation and said, very
good, so today God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
look at the whole travel of redemption, all the pain, the blood, the
service, the obedience, and they are completely and utterly satisfied. It is the most glorious thing
in the world today that Jesus Christ is completely satisfied
with his own work. That he looks at it and he says,
very good. And he sits down and he rests. And God the Father looks at the
obedience of his Son and he rests. And God the Holy Spirit looks
at the work of Christ and he rests. And all The innumerable
hosts of heaven look, and they can't believe their eyes, the
spirits of just men made perfect. And they are filled with wonder
and love and praise. The Father and the Spirit are
filled with delight. And the terrible thing is that
everybody is happy with it except you. And you feel you've got
to bring a little bit of yourself, that you've got to contribute
a little bit of Christian experience. You've got to give a few marks
of grace. You've got to give a little growth, and a little
progress, and a little suffering, and a little witnessing, and
a little pain in providence. And then it will be absolutely
perfect when you've added your contribution. And you won't sit
down, you see. And you won't rest in the work
of Christ. But that's what God the Son did.
He sits and is satisfied. And God the Father is thrilled.
And God the Holy Spirit is thrilled. And all the angels of heaven,
they're not looking for anything more than the spirits of just
men made perfect. They want nothing more than that. They're not thinking of what
they did, or what they felt, or the contribution they made. The Lamb is all the glory in
Emmanuel's land. He has made a complete purchase. And I'm saying to you, there
is nothing in the universe more glorious than that. And that
is why the Bible is such a magnificent book. And that's why you have
it here. That's why it's central to our
worship. It's the climactic aspect of
our worship. And you live by the words that
proceed from the mouth of Almighty God. And if you are a Bible Christian,
you sit before the work Jesus did in purging your sins and
you are satisfied. So what do I want you to do?
Well, I want you to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don't want
you to get out of your seats. Don't want you to come to the
front. Don't want you to be baptized. Don't want you to join the church.
Don't want you to make any resolutions. But from now on, it's going to
be different. You're going to be more religious.
You're going to be more holy. I don't want you to think for
a moment of what you are going to do. I want you to sit. I want you to be absolutely still. I don't want you to move. I don't
want you to plan. I don't want you to decide. I
want you passive. As passive as those bitten by
the serpents in the wilderness could only look Not that brazen
serpent that had been lifted up before the people. I've told
you of what Jesus has done. Has done all by himself. His
glorious eternal achievement for sinners. when He alone made
purgation for our sins. This great High Priest, who is
reigning at the right hand of God, and I have said He is absolutely
satisfied with that. And the question is, are you
satisfied with it? Are you totally satisfied? Are
you completely satisfied with that? When you feel your sins,
Do you say, but the Lord Jesus Christ made purgation for my
sins on Golgotha? When you fall again for the hundredth
time and the thousandth time into familiar sins of imagination
and word and deed and omission, Do you say, but Christ, my Savior,
purged my sins? Do you say that? Then you are
a Christian. Then it is settled. Once and
for all, you left it all with Jesus long ago. When a man is
drowning and a lifeguard goes out to him and swims alongside
him, he doesn't say to him, now this is what you've got to do.
There's the shoreline. That's the direction you've got
to swim in. And I'll exhort you to keep swimming. He doesn't say that. He gets
alongside him and he takes him. And he tells him not to move
and he saves him from drowning. And I'm saying, Once in the history of this earth,
on a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, where a degree of
latitude crosses a degree of longitude, 2,000 years ago, there
once the Son of God made a purging of our guilt and our sins. And I want you to be absolutely
satisfied with that. Don't want you to bat an eyelid. Don't want you to breathe. I
want to purge the word do from you. Never want you to think
in terms of what you've done. Till to Jesus' work you cling
by a simple faith. Doing is a deadly thing. Doing
ends in death. Sit and consider what Christ
has done. Be absolutely satisfied with
that. Let your conscience be satisfied
with that. Let your intellect be satisfied
with that. Let your past be satisfied with
that. If God is satisfied with it,
you can be satisfied with that. Don't move a muscle until you
settle on this. I, the chief of sinners, am. But Jesus died for me. The world is full of religions.
San Diego, Escondido, full of religions. And everywhere this
morning, people are gathering and they're saying, they're hearing
words saying, do, do this, do that, do, do, do, do, do. Christ says, sit, look at what
he has done. Be satisfied with that. That
is salvation. That is life. That is grace. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
amongst men whereby we must be saved. Look unto me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. Let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man his Be like the dying thief and look
to him and say, don't forget me. In the administration of
the universe and all the pressing claims upon you, Lord of Glory,
just don't forget me. He has by himself purged our
sins and has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high. Let us pray. We beseech thee,
merciful God, this day that thou wilt so work in our hearts as
to enable us at this hour to look away from the sadness and
the shame of our past and the confusion and questions of the
present and find our only hope In life and death, this faithful
savior, who by himself purged our sins on Calvary's cross,
grant that mercy to all here, we pray thee. Take glory for
thyself and honor for him who died, the just for the unjust,
to bring us to God, because it's in his name we pray. You have been listening to a
sermon by Jeffrey Thomas of Aberystwyth, Wales. This is Pastor Rick Warda
of Eubicetta Grace Church. If you would like a copy of the
sermon that you just heard, you may obtain one by visiting our
website at ysgracechurch.com.