Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. I'm glad that the Lord has providentially
opened this opportunity for me to speak to you concerning the
scriptures, the Bible, and the gospel of God's free and sovereign
grace in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you'd like to
follow along in your Bibles today, I'm going to be preaching from
the book of Colossians. I've had a couple of messages
prior to this out of this book. And I want to continue on through
some of these precious truths of God's word, gospel truths,
comforting truths to the people of God. And I have two messages
that I'm entitling Complete in Christ. This is the first one,
and then I'll do the next one after this. But Complete in Christ. And it's based upon two verses
in Colossians 2. I mentioned these last time.
It says in verse 9 of Colossians chapter 2, For in him, in Christ,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Verse 10,
And you are complete in him. Complete in Christ. which is
the head, Christ who is the head of all principality and power."
Now those are the two verses that I derived the title of these
messages, but I want to look at the verses around it because
I want you to see some things here that I believe are vital
for the salvation, the preservation, the eternal welfare, spiritual
welfare of God's people. And let me preface it this way.
One of Satan's most subtle deceptions, and especially in the last days,
we talk about the last days. Somebody said, well, we're living
in the last days, and we are. But now the last days last from
the resurrection and ascension of Christ all the way to his
second coming. We could say, well, we're living
in the last of the last days, and that's fine. But as we near
the impending return of Christ, His second coming, which we know
is scriptural and know is going to happen, one of Satan's most
subtle deceptions is to get people thinking that they're okay, that
they're saved. even to get people thinking that
they are Christians when they are not. And that's one of His
greatest deceptions. The Lord Himself said as we approach
the time, as we near the time of His second coming, that Satan
would be out sowing his tares. That's false Christianity, false
churches. He would be bringing about false
believers. And so therefore, we're living
in a day in which it's vital, it's necessary that we take these
things seriously and that we examine ourselves whether we
be in the faith. And that's a great theme of this
whole program, these messages that I preach. I want you, and
I do myself, And as Paul commanded us, as the Holy Spirit commanded
us through Paul in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 13, to
examine ourselves whether we be in the faith. And basically
when you do self-examination, you've got to have a standard
by which you examine yourself. And the standard now is the Bible. What does the Bible say? It's
not picking out various passages of Scripture here and there,
but it's looking at the Scriptures. Studying the Scriptures. Study
to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not
be ashamed. It's what Paul told Timothy.
The Scriptures that are able to make us wise unto salvation. And we know that it takes the
work of God to open up the scriptures to our understanding. But we're to study it, we're
to read it, we're to believe it. Even those things that we
can't wrap our minds around. I get confronted all the time
by people who don't like, for example, the doctrine of God's
electing grace. Well, my friend, if it weren't
for the doctrine of God's electing grace, none of us would be saved.
Nobody would be. And you say, well, I don't like
that God chooses this one and not that one. Well, that's God's
business. That's not your business. You're
not God, and I'm not God. We make choices all the time.
We pick this one, leave that one, all that, but we don't say
that's unfair for us. Now, understand these things.
This is God's word. Now, when we examine ourselves,
And we talk about, well, I'm a Christian, or I believe in
Christ. The two things that we need to
know there is number one, is the Christ I believe in, the
Christ I'm trusting, is he the true Christ of the Bible? Now, you may think that's strange,
but it's not. Because Christ Himself, the Lord
Himself told His disciples that in the last days there would
be false Christ preached. False Jesuses. And how do we
know the true Christ? Well, we know Him by what the
Bible says in doctrine concerning His person, who He is. He is
God in human flesh. God with us. The Word made flesh. God and man. every bit God, in
every bit of the nature of His deity, and every bit human being,
man, without sin. When you look upon Him as God-man,
don't look upon Him as a sinful man. He's not a sinful man. Never
was, never will be. The perfect man. That's His person. And then we know Him by the work
that He accomplished in His death on the cross. Millions of people
today, they say, well, His death was a blanket pardon of everybody. You just have to accept it. But
that is not what the Bible teaches. Read the Bible. The Bible teaches
His death as a propitiation for our sins. That's a sin-bearing
sacrifice that brings satisfaction to God's justice. His death is
the putting away, the purging, the washing away, if you will,
of all the sins of all His sheep, His church. That means He paid
their debt. He drank damnation dry as their
surety and substitute. The Bible says His death is the
establishment of righteousness. And that righteousness, which
is imputed, charged, accounted to His people, demands their
salvation. All for whom Christ died shall
be saved. He said in John 6 37, all that
the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to
me, I will in no wise cast out. Now come to Christ. We're gonna
talk about that. The Bible talks about his accomplished
work in his death, burial and resurrection, which means he
got the job done. It means he successfully accomplished
what he set out to do. There'll be no one in who perishes
forever for whom Christ died. He must have them because he
died for them. He satisfied justice. Righteousness
has been imputed to them and righteousness demands salvation. Righteousness demands life. Sin
demands death. Well, he put away my sins. Righteousness
demands life. Now somebody says, well, it's
a free gift, but you have to receive the gift. Well, the problem
is the Bible teaches that man is so sinful and depraved as
fallen in Adam, ruined by the fall, that we will not receive
him on our own. In other words, it's a gift and
we have to receive it, but it's a gift that none of us want.
And the reason we don't want it is because we have nothing. In that gift, we don't have any
room to glory, to boast. to brag about what we did or
what we chose or what we decided. You see, it's a free gift. And
so the Bible speaks of His intercession. Christ is at the right hand of
the Father, ever living to make intercession for those for whom
He died. They cannot be lost. And He's
coming again. So all of these things, they're
in the scripture. And that's the key. But let's
look back here at Colossians chapter two. I'm gonna take my
time going through this, but look at verse six of Colossians
chapter two. It reads, as you have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. As you've received him, walk
in him, he says. Now what is it to receive Christ
Jesus the Lord? Well, we've already talked about
who Christ Jesus the Lord is. Christ, that's His title, that's
the Messiah, that's the Anointed One, Jesus, that's salvation,
the Anointed One, the Lord of salvation, the Lord who saves,
Jehovah, they say, and that's fine. His name shall be called
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And the
Lord, the Sovereign, and you receive Him." How do sinners
receive Christ? They receive Him by faith. And
that faith is God-given. Over in the book of John, chapter
1, John spoke of this right off in the gospel that the Holy Spirit
inspired John to write. And he talks about Christ coming
into the world and he says, this is John 1.11, he came unto his
own and his own received him not. Now remember what Paul wrote
in Colossians 2 there in verse 6, as you have therefore received
Christ. Now Paul is talking about a people
who have received Christ and they received him by faith. Well,
over here it says this, John 1 11, he came unto his own and
his own received him not. Now what's the difference between
those who received him and those who received him not? Well, the
false Christian world, and I emphasize the false Christian world, The
false Christian world would tell you, well, those who received
him were in essence, now they won't put it this way, but this
is the implication. Those who received him in essence
are a better class of people than those who received him not.
They were less stubborn, less obstinate, less rebellious. They
cooperated, but these guys didn't. Now my question to you is this,
now even though they may not put it that way, and that may
sound good to you, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible
teaches that man is so depraved naturally, spiritually dead in
trespasses and sins, that there's none that seek after God. None
that doeth good, no not one. Romans chapter three, and you
can find those verses in verses 10 through 12. I've referred
to them so often. The Bible says you will not receive
Christ. I will not receive Christ of
my own free will. My will's not free, it's subject
to my sinful nature. And we're spiritually dead. We
don't have spiritual eyes to see the glory of God. We don't
have spiritual ears to hear the truth of God that glorifies him
in a way that we're receptive to it. So back over here in John
1, 11, now look at it. He says, he came unto his own,
and his own received him not. But look at verse 12. He says,
but as many as received him, His own received Him not, but
as many as received Him. Now there's a distinct line drawn
here between those who received Him not and those who received
Him. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name. Now that word power there is
not speaking of ability. The word power there speaks of
right. In other words, what he's saying
is this. If you claim to be a Christian,
if you claim to be a child of God, if you claim to be saved,
what right do you have to make that claim? That's what he's
talking about. Well, he's saying the only right
that anyone has to make that claim And it says, to become
the sons of God, that means to be called the sons of God, is
even to them that believe on his name. I believe on his name. That's my right. His name is
my right. His name is that which identifies
and distinguishes him from all counterfeits, who he is, what
he did, why he did it, where he is now, and he's coming again. Now, What made the difference
between those who received him not and those who received him?
You say, well, they're free will choice. Well, that's not what
the scripture teaches. Now you may not like what I'm
telling you today. It may offend you highly, but
I'm telling you that is not what the scripture teaches. Look at
verse 13 of John one, which were even to them that believe on
his name, which were born, All right, there's a birth here that
made the difference. And he says, not of blood. It
wasn't physical birth. Has nothing to do with physical
pedigree. This is not passed down from
one generation to another, nor of the will of the flesh. Now
that's the works of the flesh. They weren't born into it physically.
They didn't work for it to gain it. And look at the last one.
nor of the will of man." It wasn't by their will. They didn't will
themselves into this, this new birth, but they were born of
God. Christ said, you must be born
again. I had a fellow write me about prerequisites. He talked about how repentance
is the prerequisite, the precondition. the pre-requirement for a sinner
to enter salvation. My friend, that's just not true.
If my entering salvation is conditioned on my repenting, then I would
never enter salvation. Man will not repent on his own.
Now, does man have to repent? Is repentance required? Yes,
but not as a prerequisite. Not as a pre-requirement. Repentance,
like faith, is a God-given gift and means by which God brings
His people into salvation. I hope you understand that. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, For by
grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You
see, faith and repentance come together. Before we see the glory
of Christ, after we're given spiritual eyes to see, we don't
even know what to repent of. Oh, we know that we're to repent
of our immorality. But you see, the sins that deceive
us, there's a deceptive sin, self-righteousness. What are
the prerequisites to enter the kingdom of God? Well, maybe I'll
preach a message on that sometime. But the first prerequisite is
God has to choose a people and give them to Christ. That's before
the foundation of the world. You can't get any more pre than
that. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9 speaks of salvation which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Christ
was made the surety of his people. And he came in time and took
into union with himself a sinless humanity and became our substitute
to take our place under the wrath of God for our sins, the sins
of his people imputed to him. Second prerequisite is righteousness
has to be established by redemption. Christ had to die. If he didn't
die, there's no new birth. If he didn't die and be buried
and raised again the third day, there'd be no resurrection life.
There'd be no new birth. There'd be no spiritual life.
There'd be no salvation. Sin demands death. Righteousness
demands life. So that's the second prerequisite.
Christ had to perform the work of assurity. He had to pay my
debt in full. He had to establish righteousness
whereby God could be just to justify me. And you know what
the third prerequisite is? You must be born again or you
cannot see or enter the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven,
John chapter three. Sinners will not believe and
repent until they're born again. And the new birth comes by a
sovereign act of God through the Holy Spirit from Christ to
give life to dead sinners, to literally raise us from the dead.
And when we're born again, we'll see Him and we'll receive Christ
Jesus the Lord." Now, go back to Colossians 2 and verse 6.
As you therefore receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in
him. Now, how do we walk in Christ?
Well, look at verse 7. He says, rooted and built up
in him, and established in the faith as you have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. That little verse there is like
a summation of the whole Christian life. First of all, rooted in
Christ. He's my foundation. He's the
vine. We're the branches. Life is in
Him, and the life of His people comes from Him. They stand before
God, rooted in Christ, justified based on His righteousness imputed,
charged, accounted to them, They stand in Christ, upon the rock
Christ Jesus. He's the chief cornerstone of
the building and the foundation of the whole church. My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus'
name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sin,
rooted in Him. In other words, we're so ensconced
into Christ, that we cannot be taken out. We cannot leave. And that's by His power of preservation. He's the root. He's the vine. We're the branches. And then
He says, built up, built up in Him. That refers to our perseverance
and our growth in grace and in knowledge of Christ. In other
words, the more I learn, the more I see the glory of Christ. The more I grow, the more I see
my own sinfulness and weakness, and that I am totally dependent
upon Christ for all salvation, all forgiveness, all righteousness,
all eternal life, all glory. I never come to a point in my
life, in my growth, in my warfare of the Spirit against the flesh, Then I come to the point where
I say, well, now I've made it and I'm okay on my own. No, it's
all Jesus Christ, His blood, His righteousness. I know that
if He were to remove His hand of grace and power from me one
minute of my life, I would sink, like Peter. when he saw the Lord
walking on the water, and he jumped out of the boat, and he
was walking on the water towards Christ, and then he, you know
what he did? He looked at the storm, he looked
away from Christ, and what happened? He sank. And that's what I would
do, that's what any believer would do. They'll tell you, you
take your eyes off Christ, you'll sink. But believers don't do
that because of the power of God. Looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith, that's how we live our life,
And then he says, established in the faith, the faith, the
doctrine of Christ, the truth of Christ, which shows me God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross, that my life is
in Christ. Later on in chapter three, he
talks about that, how believers are dead and our life is hid
with Christ in God. Dead how? Dead to the law, the
law cannot condemn us. Dead how? Dead to sin, sin cannot
condemn us. Doesn't mean we're not sinners,
we are. Sinners saved by grace. But our
sins cannot be charged or accounted to us. Christ took our sins. They were charged to him and
he went under the wrath of God and paid the debt in full, propitiation. And we stand before God righteous
in him. And so we're established in the
faith, the faith of the gospel. And he says, as you have been
taught and abounding therein with thanksgiving. The motive
for the obedience of a believer is not legalism, fear of legal
punishment or loss of rewards. That's legalism. The motive of
believers is not being a mercenary. That is like a hireling, serving
God because of what you can earn from Him. No, that's legalism
too, another form. The motive of believers to obey
God, to fight sin, to seek to serve God, is grace, love, and
thanksgiving. Serving the Lord, not to be saved,
but because we already are by His grace in Christ. And therefore,
this is where he comes to here. He says in verse eight, Beware,
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. Any religion or philosophy. You
know the word philosophy means love of wisdom. There are people
who think they love wisdom, but what they really love is foolishness.
Because any philosophy, any religion, any tradition of men, or any rudiment of the world
or element of the world that takes your eyes off of Christ
as the Lord our righteousness, takes your eyes off of Him as
our whole salvation, my friend, all it is is deception, vain
deceit, a deception that will fizzle out in the end. And I
don't care how good it looks to men, So beware of that. And here's how we're to be aware
of it. Look at it, verse nine, for in
Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. If you
want to see the glory of God in its fullness, you can see
the glory of God in nature, in the world. Psalm 19 speaks of that. You
can see it other places, but if you want to see the glory
of God in its fullness, look to Christ, the glory of His person,
the power and success of His finished work, His righteousness
that shows us how God can be just and justify the ungodly. And that's the completeness of
a believer in Christ. I'm complete in Him, who is the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
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today and may the Lord be with you.