Our primary text for today is
Ephesians chapter 1, verses 1 through 7. And as you can see, the title
of my message is Bought, Paid for, Forgiven. And I want to
focus our attention on the scriptural truth that each of these three
aspects of salvation, as with every aspect of a sinner's salvation,
they are inseparable. That is, you don't have one without
the other. According to the Bible, see,
first, all who are saved, they have been bought, so to speak. God purchased His churches, we'll
see. That is, all those He determined to save and whom He chose unto
salvation in Christ. And secondly, that purchase came
at a dear cost. Their very salvation has been
paid for. Before the bar of divine justice,
the debt that's due unto each and every one of their sins has
been remitted. by the redeeming blood of Jesus
Christ, their substitute, their surety, their representative
in whom they were chosen. And lastly, all who are saved
are forgiven. That is, God does not charge
them with their sins, having charged or imputed them unto
their Savior who paid that debt in full. So I hope to show you
from Scripture today that if you believe God's Word, it's
undeniable that not one of the blessings that accompany the
salvation of sinners can be detached from the others. In fact, before
looking at our text, I want to show you that in a real clear
passage in Romans 8. There it says, beginning in verse
28, and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called. If you love God,
you are among the called, who are the called according to His
purpose. For whom he did foreknow, that
is the objects of his eternal electing love, he also. Now we're about to see four also's
in two verses here that show how all this is connected. You
don't have one without the other. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, or that could be read by true believers,
such as those to whom Paul was writing here, since God is for
us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, all those he foreknew, predestinated,
called, justified, and glorified, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? See, this passage alone makes
it clear that all things pertaining to the salvation of a sinner,
that is from their eternal election in Christ to their final glory
in heaven, it cannot be separated. And so, we know the same is true
of these three aspects of salvation that we're focusing on this morning.
See, in reference to God's election of a people. First, it cannot
be said that any one of them might fail to believe on Christ
in their successive generations because of their free will choice,
not if you believe the Bible and the passage that I just read.
All of God's elect see will choose God. They'll be among those,
as we just read, called ones who love him. They'll love this
God of election, the God of the Bible. Because, why will they
love Him? Because He first loved them.
1 John 4, 19. By nature, but none of us are
willing, the Bible teaches. We're born spiritually dead.
And as Psalm 110, 3 teaches, God makes His people willing
in the day of His power. Secondly, in reference to Christ's
death on the cross. It cannot be said that a single
one of them for whom he died might not be saved, might not
come to faith. The popular heresy that God loves
all without exception and that Christ died for all without exception,
that's exposed to be a lie if God's word is your standard for
all spiritual truth. So let's consider today what
God's word says about these things. And thirdly, each and every one
whom God chose unto salvation in Christ, and for whom Christ
died, they are all forgiven sinners. So, let's examine it from our
text, Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 1. Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints, that is,
it's written to the set-apart believers of like-minded faith,
to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus. This is written to saints everywhere. Grace be to you and
peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, Now, underline
in your minds those two words, in Christ, because all the blessings
that are mentioned here in this long sentence are all due to their union in
Christ. And that, verse 4, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
This is their election unto salvation in Christ. that we should be
holy and without blame before him. That is, that means not
guilty, righteous in his sight, in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, not your will, but according
to his will, to the praise of the glory. Excuse me, I've got
some catch in my throat this morning. To the praise of His
glory, that is, His favor, glory of His grace, that's His favor,
upon those who do nothing to merit or earn that favor, that's
grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the blood, in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of His grace, bought, paid for, and
forgiven. I want to share an illustration
that really presents a contrast, but I think it's one that might
help us focus on how these three aspects of salvation are sure,
and they're certain, and they're inseparable realities for all
who are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Consider
the simple transaction of purchasing something. Let's say you ordered
some merchandise on the internet, but the item you ordered was
temporarily out of stock. And even so, even though it was
out of stock, you entered the order. And so you bought it at that
point. You obligated yourself. You made
a commitment to pay for it. And if all goes according to
plan, once the item does come available, they're going to send
you a bill, or more likely a credit card will be debited, whatever
information you entered when you placed the order, and they'll
ship the items to you. If they send you a bill, you'll
receive it with information on where to send your payment, and
it will read, remit to, and then they'll list the vendor and the
address where you'd send the check. See, remission must be
made for this transaction to proceed successfully. And if
it were charged on a credit card, you'll receive that monthly statement,
and among your charges will be the one for this product. And
that bill, too, will remit to the credit card provider and
their address. And then once your check is cleared
the bank, the debt is then forgiven. It should be taken off the books.
It won't appear as one of the charges due on the next credit
card statement. So if it's successful, it can
be said that you bought something, you paid for it, and you owe
nothing more that that debt is forgiven. Well, if I attempt
to draw an analogy between such a scenario and the three aspects
of salvation which I've asserted this morning are sure and certain
and inseparable, can't happen. If one of them happens, they
all happen. then there's an obvious problem with the analogy, isn't
there? And the problem is due to where the responsibilities
lie for causing these things to occur. In my illustration,
fallible creatures like me and you bear the responsibility for
successfully completing the transaction. But in salvation, the responsibility
for making that a reality falls on one party, one who cannot
fail and does not fail. As Matthew 121 says, his name
shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins. Now, with this little simple
transaction I described, what could possibly go wrong? Well,
a lot, couldn't it? First, if you'll consider the
purchase. I've known a people, I've heard of women ordering
clothes, I'll blame it on women here, ordering clothes for a
special occasion. really committing to buy it,
but really planning to wear it once, send it back as if it were
the wrong size, get a refund. If I do it quick enough, you
never have any cash out of hand. Well, that's a little fraudulent.
But as you can see, the transaction fell apart in that case. But
let's say the purchase is well-intentioned. There's a sincere desire to buy
the product, but your credit card was stolen, so they froze
it. Or you maxed it out, so they denied it. You see, or you maybe
had identity theft in these days. Things completely out of your
control, and they froze your card. And then you got the seller
side of things, too. You hear about scam websites
that offer to sell items that are never delivered. You may
have wanted to buy it real bad. You committed to buy it, but
it's too bad in that case. And even well-intentioned and
reputable sellers, they can become insolvent. They can declare bankruptcy.
They can have a disaster in their factory, a recall, a safety recall. In short, all kinds of things
can go wrong that would keep them from delivering what you
bought. You wanted to buy it, but you
can't be sure you can make it a reality. And then you've got
to pay for it. When you place the order you
committed to, But what if financial disaster strikes by the time
the product becomes available and you can no longer pay for
it? By placing that order, you committed to do so. Well, the
seller, likewise, he may have gone out of business. There might
not be an account left open to receive your payment. And then
finally, let's say you did buy something and you paid for it,
but you continued to receive notices indicating you still
owe the debt. that the debt really hasn't been
forgiven. I've had occasions where I've had to send in a copy
of a council check to prove that there was a bookkeeping error,
that, in fact, they had received payments. Payments can get lost
in the mail. A fraudulent seller may continue
to bill you multiple times for one product, and if you're not
paying attention to your credit card, you may pay for it several
times. In other words, the debt wasn't
removed from the books. It wasn't forgiven. And then
lastly, not to beat this to death, but you could buy, let's say
you buy a vehicle, and you do so, you finance it. Well, you've
bought it, but the debt isn't forgiven. You may be using the
car, but whoever's financing it, they're keeping up with the
balance, and you don't receive the title until it's completely
paid off. There's no forgiveness of that
debt until it's been paid in full. And at any point you fail
to make a timely payment, the take back man may come and it
will repossess your vehicle. That transaction could fall completely
apart. Well, enough of this. Clearly
the point is lots of things can go wrong when it involves fallible
creatures like me and you. But God, when it comes to God's
purpose to save a people, nothing can go wrong. Salvation is truly
of the Lord, as the Bible proclaims, the whole kit and caboodle. Every
aspect, as we saw there in Romans 8, we're bought. And Acts 20, 28, saved sinners
are referred to the church of God, which he, God, hath purchased
with his, God's own blood. And saving sinners, see, God
provides that which he alone is able to provide, and which
he alone purchases with his own blood. So in saving sinners,
he bears the responsibility in full for making the salvation
of his people a reality. And he can't fail. Now, you know,
most often when we reflect on that verse in Acts, we think
of the redemptive work of Christ, and rightly so, on the cross,
where the purchase price was paid, the shedding of his own
blood, his death, whereby those for whom it was paid, they're
fully forgiven. But for our purposes today, I want you to consider
that when you determined to place that order for a product, you
essentially bought it at that time. You committed to the purchase. Well, likewise, as we read in
Ephesians 1, there in verses 3 and 4, God has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ according, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
So even from before the foundation of the world, God, from eternity
past, you could say entered the order. In that sense, he bought
us in eternity past. Christ willingly, from all eternity,
took on the responsibility to pay the debt as the surety of
His people. In His electing love, God the
Father put His people in God the Son and Christ chose them
in Him. So the reputation of the Godhead
was laid on the line as God obligated Himself really to Himself. Now, is there any possibility
that the triune God is, the all-powerful, the all-knowing, the all-wise,
the faithful God of the Bible. Is there any possibility that
He would or could default on His well-intentioned purpose? Well, God forbid. Consider what
God says of himself again in Isaiah chapter 46 beginning in
verse 9. He said, remember the former
things of old. For I'm God and there's none else. I am God and
there is none like me. And look at the distinction he
made. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel,
that's his purpose contrived by infinite wisdom. My counsel
shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far
country." Here he's citing the instance of God's use of even
a pagan king, King Cyrus, to deliver the Jews from their captivity,
to achieve his counsel. He says, "'Yea, I have spoken
it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it.'" And that's true of all that God purposes to do. or else
he would cease to be God. See, what God purposed from before
the foundation of the world, it shall come to pass. He bought
his people in electing love, and their sins and only their
sins did he obligate himself to pay for, to come in time and
make remission for all their sins, whereby they're eternally
forgiven of the debt that was due unto all of their sins. They're
paid for. The popular presentation of Christ's
death on the cross is simply an expression of his love, you
know, laying down his life, or as if it's some sort of token
offering that meets a prerequisite for salvation, or that makes
folks savable if they'll finish off the payment, if they'll do
their part, if they'll receive him, if they'll believe him,
if they'll walk him out, you name it, just fill in the blank,
something that proceeds from the center. That's contrary to
what the Bible teaches concerning his death and what it actually
accomplished. You know, it would be a lot more
honest if the multitudes, like yours truly in the past who believe
that, would look into the Bible and say, well, if I want to continue
to believe that, I'll just have to agree I don't believe the
Bible. I wasn't like that. I was determined. I believed
the Bible, but I was a walking contradiction. You see, the Bible
says he redeemed a people. We're told that in Galatians
4 verses 4 and 5. But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made
under the law, put under the same jurisdiction we're under.
Verse 5, to redeem them that were under the law. that we might
receive the adoption of sons. See, sins were paid for, and
we see this in our text. Paul enumerated the blessings
in our text in Ephesians 1, and he said as much in verse 7 when
he's speaking of Christ, he said, in whom we have redemption through
his blood. I mentioned earlier Acts 20,
28, where it speaks of the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood. Speaking, think about that, that's
the blood of God, God who is Christ, the God-man. You know,
the greatness of redemption is magnified by the greatness of
the Redeemer who died. 1 Peter 3.18 says, He died just
for the unjust. Hebrews 9.14 says, He offered
himself up without spot. This was a sinless, perfect substitute
and sacrifice. So you get some idea of the immensity
of these blessings by the immensity of the nature of the one who
alone could and who alone did accomplish redemption. God, man. Believers are told in 1 Corinthians
6.20, for ye are bought with a price. And what a price was
paid. The Greek word that's translated
redemption in Ephesians 1-7 and other places, it's a compound
of two other Greek words. And as combined, it means deliverance,
but not only deliverance, but it denotes the release, as in
the release of an obligation by a full payment of a ransom
price. No balance remaining due. That
word is borrowed from an ancient well-known custom of buying off
or redeeming what is pledged by one man to another by way
of security. When you mortgage a home, okay,
it's not redeemed, it's not paid off until the last payment's
made. So one could be said to redeem
something, say, when he buys it out or pays it off, and as
such, That is the case of those who have redemption in Christ.
They're bought out of the hands of God's own strict and inflexible
justice, so that he might achieve his great design in all things,
that he might get the glory, that he might be glorified, that
he might be worshiped. Worshiped not as we're prone
to think he is, but as he truly is, as is revealed in his word,
as both a just God and a merciful Savior. In our text, we see that
these saints are said to be accepted in the blood, that is, accepted
in Jesus Christ and that from all eternity, and this by virtue
of then the necessary God purpose and therefore certain redemption
that was to take place and has taken place in time. The buying
back before the justice of God of his own adopted children who
were chosen, as we read, to be holy and without blame, in order
to see that they could be so viewed, rightly viewed, justly
viewed that way. Me, a sinner, viewed as holy
and without blame, so as to be acceptable before God. See, and all that based on the
redemptive work of Christ at the cross. Those who are saved,
accepted in Christ, they have the entire merit of the perfect
satisfaction to God's law and justice that was rendered by
his sinless, perfect obedience unto death on the cross. His
righteousness and that imputed are accounted unto them. Paul
talked about it in Romans 4 when he mentions how David describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works, no work of his hand. Saying, blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. How can that
be? Well, he imputed them to their
surety, their substitute, their savior, who bore the penalty
due unto them. So redemption, see, it speaks
of a price that's paid, and it's paid to God, because it's God's
justice that is offended. It's His law that's broken. It's
God against whom all sins are committed. So it's the remission
or the payment due unto God's justice. It's the price paid
to a God who, the Bible says, He will not clear by any means
the guilty. In other words, what that's saying
is, He won't look over your sins. He doesn't forgive people just
because, since you're doing your best, I'm going to look over
and pretend like you didn't sin. No, the sins actually have to
be dealt with. They have to be paid for. And they must be to
be accepted before God, righteous in His sight, not guilty to be
cleared. Well, how can that be? 2 Corinthians
5.21. He made him to be sin who knew
no sin, Jesus Christ, that we might be made the righteousness
of God. How? In Him. See, it's His righteousness put
to our accounts. In Revelation 5.9, Christ is
said to redeem men unto God by His blood. And so we see from
there that redemption price is clearly, it's his death, his
shed blood. And then secondly, it's paid,
it's remitted unto God himself. God provided himself a sacrifice. And we know it was sufficient,
it paid the dead in full because Christ arose from the grave in
victory over death. We have that assurance where
he says he's given assurance unto all men and that he hath
raised him from the dead in Acts 1731. That proves that His justice
had been fully satisfied by that shed blood, by the everlasting
righteousness He rendered. For just as sin demanded He die,
sin imputed to Him. The wages of sin is death. Righteousness
demands life. And He came out of that grave.
And that demands spiritual life, certain and sure, and eternal
life for everyone for whom that was rendered. Well, in light
of that, dare any suggest, as I did, I used to, that the price
of his own precious blood was insufficient somehow, or only
partially effective, so as to have failed to save even one
soul for whom it was shed? See, sinners like us, we might
default, we might fail to pay something fully off, not so with
God. And yet, by nature, that is how
we come into this world, is blind, lost sinners, spiritually dead. We're prone to think God to be
more like ourselves. How many times have you talked
with someone and you're talking to them about some of these doctrines
and they'll say, well, that wouldn't be fair. Well, that's because
we're thinking this is how we would do it if we were God, right?
In Psalm 50, 21, God was speaking through the psalmist and he was
testifying against the people and he tells us where their thinking
was flawed in verse 21 when he says this, these things hast
thou done, the things he had, shortcomings he had pointed out.
And he said, and I kept silence. Look at this, thou thoughtest
that I was altogether such in one as thyself, but I will reprove
thee and set them in order before thine eyes. Man, it's a blessing
if God sets them in order before your eyes, isn't it? Much of
the heresy that's rampant in even what many call Christianity
today has in mind really an idol that they call God. But he's
an idol because he's altogether different from the one true and
living God as he's presented here in the Bible. It's a creation
of God as we would like him to be. Many preachers present and
their listeners believe in a God, and I say that with a little
g, because he's thought to be way too much like us creatures.
One who, according to their doctrine, you see, presumably could, and
in fact does. Now it wouldn't be put this way,
but the doctrine exposes it. They presumably could, and he
does fail to save many of the objects of supposedly his everlasting
love, whom they allege are included among all those for whose sins
Christ died. Now, as I say, we wouldn't put
it this way because we didn't recognize that we were worshiping
an idol, but the truth is that's to worship a God who tries to
save but fails for the most part. And despite the popular teaching
of the day, that's not what the Bible teaches. Christ did not
redeem any who will eternally perish. That's not redemption.
He said to the Father, think of this, this is what Christ,
this is God's word. John chapter 6, he says, all
that you've given me, they shall come to me, and I'll not lose
one of them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It can't
be much clearer. So when I reflect on that, I
think what a low opinion I once held, and sadly many still hold,
of what we call the redemptive work of Christ, in thinking that
even one for whom he died could possibly perish. A God, see,
that would take adequate payment, not, I hate to even use the word
adequate, the infinitely valuable blood of Jesus Christ as payment
for the sin of anyone and then send that sinner on to hell.
That would be an unjust monster, and that's not the God of the
Bible, no matter what we call it. That's not redemption. He redeemed all those for whom
he died, and they shall live forever with him in heaven's
glory. We're told in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 17 and 18,
of all who are included in God's everlasting covenant of grace,
and I'll look at that just a little bit more in a moment. He says
of them, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now
where remission, that's payment made, of these is, there is no
more offering for sin. See, Christ's death wasn't an
attempt made, it was a payment paid. Those who are saved, they're
bought. They're paid for, and then lastly,
they're forgiven. In verse seven of our text, again,
we read of Christ in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. The
sin debt was paid, whereby the sinners for whom it was paid
was fully forgiven. I want you to consider that by
that one act of redemption, by Christ's death on the cross,
the redeemed sinner is justified. And that means through redemption,
they're pronounced righteous before God, and that from all
eternity. And secondly, he or she is absolved
from all guilt. They're pardoned. They're forgiven.
So, while these blessings, you know, they can't be detached
from one another, we do recognize they are distinguished, as they
are in our passage, as distinct aspects of the one great eternal
salvation of the saints in Christ. Just to illustrate quickly how
these blessings are distinct and how we can see them as distinct
though inseparable, let me share an illustration I've used before.
Consider if a king or a ruler pardons a criminal, which can
be likened to forgiving him, such an action as that does not
entitle the pardoned criminal to inherit the king's estate
or his crown or his kingdom. But it does free him from punishment
to which he would otherwise be subjected. But now what if the
king not only forgave or pardoned the criminal, but legally adopted
him so as to make him his son, to make him an heir? Wow, now
what a double blessing, because the adopted child then is entitled
to the life of the kingdom and the happiness that such an inheritance
brings. Well, when it comes to salvation,
those two things can't be separated if we believe what we've read
this morning. See, that is exactly what the children of God have
adopted in Christ. Not only have their sins been
put away, but they have his perfect righteousness imputed. That means
they have the entire merit of his obedience unto death. Man,
when you think of the value of the sacrifice, it just makes
you rejoice, and I'm trying to imagine what that can buy for
you. They have the entire merit of
His obedience unto death, and as such, see, theirs is the kingdom
of God, the King of kings, and His is an eternal and incorruptible
inheritance. Their sins have been remitted,
they've been paid for. And though these blessings, as I say, they
describe different aspects, They're not presented in the Bible as
anything that can be detached from the other. Not according
to God's words. You know, and there's one more
reason I want to share with you while we know that any whose
sin debt was paid or remitted by his shed blood, that for them,
forgiveness of their sins is sure and certain. It cannot fail
to be. The Greek word aphesis is the
word that's translated as forgiveness here. in Ephesians 1-7 and in
six other places if I counted them correctly. That same word
is also translated as remission in nine New Testament passages.
Forgiveness and remission, there's the same Greek word. The translators
chose in places to translate it as remission and others as
forgiveness. It's a word that means deliverance,
pardon, release, and a complete forgiveness, meaning paid in
full. And it makes sense that they would use these translations,
they would translate that as one and the same from the one
Greek word. And if you think about it, it's just logical.
When you remit a payment, if it's a payment that pays them
off, you're released from the obligation. You're forgiven of
the debt. Remission means forgiveness.
but only if it's been paid in full. Well, today I hope you
can see how these eternal blessings in Christ are inseparable. They
can't be detached from one another. And we get that same sense from
the Hebrews 10 passage where the Lord was speaking through
Jeremiah. He was quoted regarding his everlasting
covenant of grace. So let's look back a little further
than we did a moment ago and start in verse 14. There, speaking
of Christ, one offering for sin on the cross, we read, for by
one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified,
whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that,"
in other words, based upon, he had said before, this is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord, I'll put my law into their hearts, and in their minds
will I write them. And as I read earlier, and their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more, now where remission,
same word translated forgiveness in Ephesians 1, 7, where remission
of these is, there's no more offering for sin. They're forgiven. If we continue reading in Ephesians
1, We discover how we might know if we're included among those
blessed with all these inseparable, eternal blessings in Christ.
We can see they belong to all who are so blessed by God-given
faith. And that's another inseparable,
sure and certain blessing that accompanies the salvation of
God's elect. Look at that. Beginning with
verse 7 again, speaking of Christ, "...in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence." And look at verse 9, "...having made known unto
us." That's by the revelation of God-given faith, the mystery
of His will. "...according to the good pleasure
which He hath purposed in Himself." that in the dispensation of the
fullness of time, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ," he's
referring to the Jewish believers there, in whom ye also trusted,
the Gentile believers, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation." The gospel that Paul wrote in
Romans is the power of God unto salvation, for therein is the
righteousness of God revealed. After that you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
This is assuring words if this describes you, which is that
Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest. That means it's
the sure guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession. That's speaking of being redeemed
into heaven's glory there. And that all unto the praise
of his glory. So rejoice with me if you too
have put all your trust in Jesus Christ and his finished obedience
unto death on the cross. That is, his righteousness imputed
to you. If you're trusting in that for
all your salvation, truly doing so, it's because you too have
been bought, paid for, and forgiven, and there's really nothing better.
Thank you.