I want to talk with you a few
moments this morning about working. The title of my message is A
Work in Progress. And as we progress with this
message, you will be able to see why I chose that title for
my message this morning. Let me begin by saying this,
that the followers of Jesus asked this question in John chapter
6 and verse 28. What shall we do that we might
work? the works of God. Now this is
not an unusual question because every one of us have asked that
question before at some time or other in our Christian experience. The flipping jailer asked it.
You remember? When the jail was open and he
thought all the prisoners escaped, he would take his life and Paul
said, don't do that. And Paul preached the gospel
to him and his question was, what shall I do that I might
be saved? What must I do to be saved? Jesus raised this question himself
in Mark chapter 8 and verse 37 with these words, what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul? Well, to most of us and
all dedicated religionists, the answer to this question is already
settled in our mind. Every one of us is confident
that we're okay, that we've made the right, done the right things
and made the right choices. I remember listening one time
to an interview of Billy Graham and someone asked him this question,
are you sure that you'll go to heaven when you die? He says,
something to the effect, I certainly hope so. I hope I've done enough
that my Lord will accept me into his presence. These were his
words. The preacher of preachers, prince of preachers for this
age, he believed that he'd done enough. We believe that we've
done enough, whatever that is. For you, it's this. For me, it's
that. For somebody else, it's something
else. But every one of us are so sure that we have done the
right thing or believe the right thing or quit doing the wrong
things that we're willing to go to the judgment with what
God calls works of iniquity. Now, you may think that's hard
and unloving and unkind and too judgmental, but what does God's
word say about it? Look with me at Matthew chapter
seven in verse 21. Now, these are harsh words unless
we understand what they mean and have governed our Christian
experience by these words. He says, not everyone that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. but he that doeth the will of
my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? In thy name have
cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. Now,
these works are not insignificant. These are good works. These are
what we would call great works, to cast out devils. But they're
substantial works. And then I will profess unto
these who claim this, or are trusting in these good works.
I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity." Now, you talk about hard, judgmental. That is judgmental. That's final
judgment right there. Look at the question again. What
shall we do to do God's work? That's basically what they're
saying. God, what can I do for you? The height of self-righteous
pride is to think that God needs me to do his work. heard the expression. We've used
it. Some of us have used it. God has no hands but my hands.
God has no mouth but mine. God has no feet but mine. If
I don't go do it for God, it won't get done. Isn't that a
little bit boastful, thinking that we can do God's work? Well, God asked this question
to a prophet one time, Isaiah. He said, who will go for us?
Who can we send? And Isaiah said, here, my Lord,
send me. But God only asked that after
he had taken a coal from the altar and touched the lips and
tongue of Isaiah. In other words, he was baptized
with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And what was Isaiah's message?
Listen to this. Our sinful nation, a people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors.
So this message is confrontational. It's hard sometimes, but it's
God's word and we need to heed it. So the question is, what
shall I do that I might work the works of God? Well, Jesus
answered this question and his answer should set the record
straight on this subject. Look at John chapter six in verse
29. Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God.
Remember the question, what can I do that I might work the works
of God? Christ answered, this is the
work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent. Paul's
answer to the Philippian jailer was, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. To believe on
Him whom He has sent is to do the Father's will, and this is
the work of God alone. God does His own work. His will
will be completely satisfied. He will execute it to perfection.
In other words, God's will is a done deal, as it were. Sinners can't do God's work.
We can't even do the works God's assigned us to do, let alone
do His work. And all the works that we do
by nature are mix our works with his grace. And of course, God's
not going to have that, we know. Think with me just a minute about
a working God. It seems that this is a paradox
that the God who said, let there be, and the worlds were created,
and creation was finished, needed to rest, work. And yet in Genesis chapter two
and verse two, it gives an account of God resting from his labor.
It says this, and on the seventh day, God ended his work, which
he had made. And he rested on the seventh
day, which he had made from all his work, which he had made.
God needed to rest, an omnipotent sovereign God needs to rest.
Well, we know that that doesn't mean physical rest that he was
talking about here. The word rest means to cease
from labor based on a satisfaction to the work completed. God completed
his creation in six days and on the seventh day, he finished
it, he ended it. That's the rest he's talking
about. And in those six days, God created the heavens and the
earth and all that was in them and he rested on the seventh
day. Then he gave the responsibility
to man to subdue and to have dominion over his creation. But
you know how we are. Man wants more. We want more
than dominion over the creation. We want dominion over God. And
most in religion today, if you think about it, have dominion
over their God. How do I know this? Because I'm
guilty myself. For many years, I worshiped and
served a God that couldn't do anything unless I let him. He
couldn't save me unless I let him. My preacher told me, God
will save you if you'll let him. That's no God at all. A just
God and a savior has already saved his people. What we're
doing is revealing to our hearers what God and Christ has already
accomplished. So how did we get so ignorant? How did we get so prideful? Well, Adam, our federal head
and representative, Satan said, you will be as God if you will
do this. So seeking to be as God by one act of disobedience
alienated the whole human race from God and initiated us into
idolatry. And God marked us all servants
of sin. He put a stamp on our forehead
or wherever, servants of sin. That's what we are. We are like
the lepers in the days of Christ. They were not allowed into the
town. They had to live out in a colony
on the edge of town. And when someone came near, what
did they do? They cried, unclean, unclean. Well, that's what we
are by nature. Every one of us are idolaters.
and we're unclean, we're incapable of doing anything but works of
iniquity. We can't do anything by nature
that's not works of iniquity. Well, it's to such people as
these, such as we are, were by nature, or still are, it's to
this that God, through the Apostle Paul, gives assurance in Philippians
1 and verse 6 of a work, a work that has taken place. Look with me at Philippians 1
verse 6. Being confident, Paul writes to the church at Philippi
of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Out of this
sea of fallen humanity, God has a people and he has either begun
or he will begin sometime in your life this work that will
culminate in final glory when Christ comes again for his people.
And that's why I've taken the title of my message today, A
Work in Progress, from Philippians 1.6, being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
continue it, complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ. Well,
you know, work is a good thing. It's good for a man to work.
The old saying, idle hands are the devil's workshop, might not
be wholly writ, but it has merit. An old Scottish proverb says,
if the devil finds an idle man with idle hands, he'll put him
to work. And nowhere is that more prevalent or true than in
spiritual things. Lost religionists are zealous
for work. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. And we know what that means, that they're quick to
offer a sacrifice of some sort to appease God. God says, be
still and know that I am God. So we are created to work. God
placed Adam in the garden and he said, till the garden and
take care of it, Adam. The scripture says that we are
his creation, created in Christ Jesus unto good work, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And then
God commands us to work in 2 Thessalonians 3.10. Paul writes, for even when
we were with you, we commanded you this, that if anyone will
not work, neither shall he eat. And you know the devil wants
us to work. And religious people love their work. But there is
a work beyond our capability to perform. There is a work that
we can't do. Any work necessary to gain or
maintain salvation in any way to any degree is beyond human
capacity. There's nothing you can do to
gain or maintain your salvation. That's all of God. Why is this
so? Why can't we do what we need
to do and should do? Because we're sinners and God
is a holy God and nothing we do can add to the gaining or
maintaining of our salvation. Every work necessary to that
end has already been met. We don't need to work for our
salvation because Christ is already accomplished. He's already accomplished
the salvation of his people. There's not one condition left
undone for me to meet. There's not one obedience I can
render that will satisfy God's law and justice. Conversely,
there's not one sin God can charge to me, because he's already charged
my sin to Christ. And Christ put them away on that
cross 2,000 years ago. He even put my sins away before
I committed them personally. Think about that. My sin was
paid for, my sin debt, 2,000 years ago by Christ on that cross.
And I wasn't even born. He paid for my sin that I'll
commit this afternoon and tomorrow or whenever. That's an awesome
thought to think, but look what a great salvation we have in
the Lord Jesus Christ. I can render, there's nothing
that I can do or say that will render or that will satisfy God's
justice. Those in Christ have always been
justified, always been sanctified and made holy and righteous in
God's sight based on the work Christ accomplished on the cross
2,000 years ago. God has affectionately saved
his people. Look with me at Romans chapter
six, verse 17 and 18. Paul writing to the church at
Rome here, he says, but God be thanked. When have you thanked
God for anything, especially for your salvation?
He said, but God be thanked that you were the servants of sin.
When were you the servants of sin? When you didn't obey from
the heart that form of the gospel, that form of doctrine. He said,
but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine,
which would deliver you being then made free from sin. You
became the servants of righteousness. You were a servant of sin. Now
you're a servant of righteousness. How is this so? Servants of sin
and servants of righteousness are diametrically opposed to
each other. They are at opposite ends of
the Christian experience. A servant of sin is what I am
by nature. A servant of righteousness is
what I am by grace. We can change our conduct, but
we can't change our heart. That's the work of God. That
label rightly became ours of servant of sin. by representation
and imputation in Adam. When Adam fell, we fell in him. Scripture says in 1 Corinthians
15, 22, for as in Adam all die, how is that so? Sinners without
a righteousness die. The ungodly shall perish without
that righteousness. So by representation and imputation
in Adam, we were made servants of sin. Secondly, by nature,
the Psalmist wrote this in Psalm 51, behold, I was shapen in iniquity
and in sin did my mother conceive me. I have a sin nature that
was imparted to me from my federal head and representative Adam. And then I'm that by nature,
but I'm also by practice. The Psalmist wrote again, the
wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon
as they be born. speaking lies. So any who seek
by their obedience to the law of God to be reconciled to God
are servants of sin. But you might argue, well, I
never did that. I never did what I did to gain
or maintain my salvation. Well, my advice to you would
be don't let Satan rob you of that heavenly gift that God has
for his people by his subtlety. Will you just believe what God's
word says? When I say that all of us, by
nature, went about trying to establish our own righteousness
and rejected the righteousness of God. We are all guilty of
that. Look at what Paul says in Romans
chapter 10 and verse 1. He says, Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. Now you can take the word Israel
out and put my name or your name or anybody's name in there because
we're all here at one time or other. He says, my heart's desire
and prayer for the lost is that they might be saved. I'm praying
for lost people. Those who don't have this righteousness
are lost. They are servants of sin. Those
who don't have this righteousness. How so? For I bear them record,
Paul says, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. And this knowledge is important. We're going to
see it a little bit later on as we develop this message. He
says, this knowledge is that they're ignorant of God's righteousness
and going about to establish their own righteousness, and
they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believe it. So the question is, were you
not ever ignorant of that righteousness? Were you ever ignorant of God's
righteousness? The question is, were you ever
not submitted to that righteousness? The question is, were you not
ever a servant of sin? And the answer to these questions
is a resounding yes. This is God's testimony. This
is not my accusation. This is what God said. Romans
10, 3 and verse 10, he says, there is none righteous. No,
not one. That includes us all. And unrighteousness
equals lost. The scripture is proved positive
that every son and daughter of Adam It's guilty. We're guilty
of either being ignorant of or not submitted to the righteousness
of God. Sinners are idolaters until they
repent of idolatry, which is exposed by the truth. When God
said in Romans 3, 10, there is none righteous, no, not one. He didn't say that there was
none moral. He didn't say there's none sincere and dedicated. He
said there's none that doeth righteousness. All by nature
are servants of sin. And until God exposes our servitude
to sin, we cannot do righteousness. Jesus told a parable of a bad
tree. He said, a bad tree cannot bring
forth good fruit. But one that looks bad can. If
that tree, after it's been fertilized, it's been watered, it's been
taken care of, if it produces fruit, then it's a good tree.
And we all look bad by nature because We are that good tree
in disguise, but God, through the preaching of the gospel,
works his grace upon the heart of that bad-looking tree, and
it turns out to be one of his good trees. And that's what we
are, those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So that bad
tree cannot bring forth good fruit, but the one that looks
bad can. And what is that fruit? It's
faith, repentance, perseverance, love of the gospel, support of
the church and the brethren. I think that's what Christ meant
here in John chapter 15 in verse 2 when he said, I am the true
vine. What he's saying here is there's a counterfeit vine. There's
the true vine, but there's a counterfeit vine also. He said, I'm the true
vine and my father's the husband. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away. What's he talking about here?
Every branch in me. Christ is talking about the elect
who are yet unregenerated. They're in Christ, but they haven't
yet heard the gospel, have not believed. But they will, because
he says, he taketh away. That word literally means he
quickens, he taketh up, he raises up. He quickens them from the
dead. You know, every sinner for whom
Christ died must be born again. That's what Jesus told Nicodemus.
Nicodemus, you're one of mine. We know that to be true because
Nicodemus sought the body of Christ after his death, he and
some of the others. And Jesus told Nicodemus, Nicodemus,
you must be born again. Every elect son and daughter
of God must be born again. And that's what Christ does.
He takes them up, he quickens them. and every branch in him
must bear fruit. And every branch that bears fruit,
he purges that it may bear more. So before regeneration and conversion,
character and conduct expose us as servants of sin, going
about, seeking to establish a righteousness of our own. The new birth revealed
us to be servants of righteousness, pleading Christ's righteousness
alone for all of our salvation. And it's on this foundation that
Paul's letter to the church at Philippi speaks of a work already
in progress. Let me read it to you again.
He says, being confident of this very thing that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus
Christ. Well, what is this work? Well,
it's the work of God. It's a work already in progress.
He that hath begun a work in you It's a work already in progress. The triune Godhead, though unique
in offices, are one in essence of deity. One God with three
distinct offices for the purposes of redemption. And though there
are works peculiar to each of the Godhead, they are all the
works of God. God the Father's works are necessary
and peculiar to him. His election, and God did the
electing, is unto salvation. His creation is under his redemptive
glory and salvation. It was God the Father who gave
his only begotten son. It was God the Father who laid
in Zion the only true cornerstone. It is God who has mercy on whom
he will with a work of grace upon the heart. But look at John
chapter five and verse 17. The Father worked, but Christ
said, I must work also. But Jesus answered them, my Father
worketh hitherto. In other words, up to this time.
Hitherto means up to now. And I work. My father works and
I must work while it is day, Christ said, for the night cometh
when no man can work. There are works peculiar to God
the Son. Think about this. Christ created
the world. Christ He is the creator by whom all
things were made. This Christ, this God, took into
union with his deity, true sinless humanity, body and soul. And
that's what qualified him to be the savior of his people.
That's what qualified him to put away the sins of those he
represented by his death. God essentially is considered
cannot die. But this man who is God did die. And of course, this is attributed
to his humanity. The scripture says that such
a one became us. In other words, it was necessary
that God, that deity, be united with humanity because the shedding
of animal blood could not take away sin. It took the death of
the Son of God to do that for us. So in the scripture that
we're going to look at now, we're going to look at the summary
of the work that Christ did for his people. Christ and his Father's
work, and it will be the focus of the work done in us by the
Holy Spirit. God the Father works, God the
Son works, and the Holy Spirit works in regeneration, conversion,
and conformity. And what he does is reveal to
our understanding and acceptance the accomplished work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And he does this for every one
of his sheep. Christ promised he would not lose a single one,
so that we must be taught what God in Christ has done for us,
and that's the work of the Holy Spirit. So look again at Philippians
1.6, being confident, Paul says, of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day
of Jesus Christ. Said in John 16 in verse 7, he
says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It's expedient for
you that I go away. For if I don't go away, the spirit
won't come. But if I go, I'll send him. And when he's come,
he'll reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment.
Of sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness,
because I go to my father and you see me no more. Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged. Now look with me at
John 16 and verse 15. This is what the Spirit will
do when he comes. Jesus said this, all things that
the Father hath are mine. Therefore saith I that he, the
Holy Spirit, shall take of mine and shall show it unto you. He
will reveal what already is ours based on the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. So let's look at Luke for these
few verses in Luke here. And we have a summary the work
that Christ did on behalf of his church, his sheep. Let me
just give you a little background here before we get into the scripture. If you remember, Zechariah was
a priest in the temple, and he was performing his daily duties
when the Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, appeared to him and
said, Zechariah, you're going to have a son. Zachariah was
an old man, and his wife was, well, stricken with age, well
beyond childbearing age. And Zachariah questioned Gabriel. He said, how can this be? I'm
an old man. What sign would you give me?
And the angel said, I'm going to strike you dumb. You can't
speak until this child is born. So when this child was born, Gabriel the Holy Spirit filled
Zachariah and he made this prophecy in Luke chapter 1 and verse 76.
Let's read that. This is the prophecy that Zachariah
made concerning his son. He says, And thou, child, shalt
be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before
the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. John the Baptist was
six months older than Jesus. And he was in the desert, the
scripture says, until the time that the word of the Lord came
to him. And he went into all the country
about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins. What is that baptism of repentance?
It is that repentance required of John before he would baptize
any of his heroes. John's doctrine was in no way
indicating that repentance is the condition for salvation.
Baptism means to submerge. Repentance means to change one's
mind, and that's what John was preaching, was to bury our former
belief in ignorance that our works justifies. The Jews of
John's day thought that their heritage with Abraham made them
God's children, and John came preaching another message. John's baptism was with water.
His baptism was after a public confession and repentance. But
he spoke of another baptism in Matthew chapter three in verse
11. Let's read that. He says, I indeed
baptize you with water unto or upon your repentance. But he
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and with fire. This is that same baptism that
Isaiah experienced that I mentioned a little bit ago. This is that
good work that Paul spoke of in Philippians 1, 6, of the Holy
Spirit. And it's experienced by every
sinner for whom Christ died. It is that radical change of
mind wrought as the first fruits of regeneration and conversion
and is tied in separately to the remission of sin. In other
words, apart from an understanding of how sins are remitted, there
is no true faith or godly repentance. Look with me at Luke chapter
3 in verse 8. This is John's message to his
hearers. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy, in other words,
fruits that evidence repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves,
we have Abraham to our fathers, while saying to you that God
is able of these stones to raise up children. under Abraham. What he's saying basically is
lineage with Abraham has nothing to do with salvation. You remember the confession of
Paul in Philippians 3, he said, I was Hebrew of Hebrews, touching
the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church.
He said, but none of these things that I thought were gain were
worth anything. It's not of blood. It's not of
the will of the flesh. It's not of the will of man,
but of God. Salvation, totally. Well, the
question is for us, for me, has God begun that good work in me?
If so, how? How can I tell? Well, let me
read John 16 and verse 15 again. All things that the Father hath
are mine, therefore saith he, saith I, that he, the Holy Spirit,
shall take of mine and will show it unto you. Well, as he showed
the things of God unto me, as he showed them unto you. In Luke
chapter one, in verse 77 through 79, we see these things that
he has shown unto his people. Look at, Verse 77, what is the it of Christ
shown to us by the Holy Spirit? To give knowledge of the salvation
unto his people by the remission of their sins. It's what John the Baptist preached. The
it that he's speaking of here is Christ's whole work of mediation,
beginning with the election, calling, justification and sanctification,
up to and including final glory in heaven, based on the accomplished
work of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Look at, let's read verse 77. To give knowledge of salvation
unto his people by the remission of the sin. This gift, he says
to give knowledge. This gift is more than just intelligence
gained. It is a transformation from death
unto life through the power of the Holy Spirit in the gospel.
In other words, to give this knowledge is to quicken from
the dead. It is to know God's salvation experientially through
regeneration and conversion. And let me be quick to say this,
though knowledge is not the ground of salvation or the base of it,
it is the evidence and the fruit thereof. So the question is,
how are sins remitted? To give knowledge of salvation
based on the remission of sin. How can a holy God be just and
forgive me my sin? That's the question of the ages. That's the question asked in
Job, the first book of the Bible, so many scholars believe. How
can God, how can he be clean that's born of a woman? Well,
there is a way. His sins have to be remitted.
The Greek word remitted means complete pardon and forgiveness
by just satisfaction. God cannot forgive sins arbitrarily. He must be just when he does
so. Well, the gospel reveals how
he accomplishes this miracle. Christ was appointed our surety
in the everlasting covenant of grace. and there he assumed the
responsibility of the sins of all he represented. They were
their charge to him, and he would in time put them away when he
died on that cross. Look with me at 2 Corinthians
chapter five and verse 21, very familiar scripture for us that
we all know by heart. Scripture says here, for he hath
made him to be sin, who knew no sin. God the Father made God
the Son, who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. God the Father charged
my sin to his son and charged his righteousness to me. Where
sin is imputed, charge death is certain. Where righteousness
is imputed, life is given. Christ remitted our sins when
he died, the just for the unjust. This is that knowledge given,
that regeneration and conversion. This is where that good work
begins in our understanding of it, when it affects us. Look
at verse 78 of Luke chapter one. What is the motive behind this?
Through the tender mercies of God, because God loved the people. He sent his son to be the propitiation,
that tender mercy is propitiation. He says, whereby the dayspring
from on high has visited us. Salvation is by grace. That word,
dayspring, means branch. And Christ is identified in scriptures
as that branch. Many scriptures talk about it,
but our chosen one, Isaiah chapter 11, verse one, says this. And
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and
a branch shall grow out of his roots. He's speaking of Christ.
Christ is our dayspring from on high. He is that first light
of dawn that follows the night of darkness. He's the first thing
we see in regeneration and conversion. We see God in Christ as he is. For what did he come? For what
does he shine? Look at verse 79. To give light
to them that sit in darkness, that in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. If you ever tried to
run in the dark, your feet won't hardly move.
Let alone run, you don't even want to walk in the dark. But
it's impossible to make your feet move almost running in the
dark. Well, no man will run to the
way of peace until the darkness is dispelled. We don't run to
dispel it. It's dispelled. We run because
it has been dispelled. God's elect, though safe in Christ
and that forever, nevertheless sit in darkness by nature. We're
all born in darkness. We don't know this truth that
Paul and Christ are talking about here. We sit in that shadow of
death. What is that shadow of death?
Well, I looked up that phrase and 20-something times in the
Old Testament is the word, the phrase shadow of death mentioned,
but not once after the death of Christ. So obviously it has
something to do with Christ and his work. I believe this shadow
of death is referring to the Mosaic economy and Israel's responsibility
under the law. There is no salvation in the
law, only death to its transgressor. Israel's temporal blessing under
the Mosaic law was conditioned on their obedience to that law.
But their eternal blessings are the result of the obedience of
another, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look with me at Hebrews 10, verses
one through three. I think Paul is referring to
that here, that shadow of death. He says, for the law having a
shadow of good things to come. Now, what's he talking about
here? He says that the law of Moses had a shadow of good things
to come. That shadow is the, sacrifices
that were offered, which typified Christ. But he says the law had
a shadow and not the very image. That shadow, those sacrifices,
were only types of Christ. They were not Christ himself. They typified Christ. He says
they, not the very image of the things, of the things, can never
with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually,
make the comer therefore unto perfect. In other words, the
shedding of animal blood can never take away sin. He says
in verse two, for then would they not have ceased to be offered.
In other words, if man could have been forgiven by the offering
of animal blood, one time would have been enough. And yet they
did it year after year, which was a continual reminder in the
conscience that sin had not been taken care of by those shedding
of animal blood. He said, but in those sacrifices,
there is a remembrance made again of sins every year. Every year
when they offered those sacrifices, the Israelites were reminded
of their sinnerhood. Well, those animal sacrifices
were a shatter, but they were not the substance. They were
the anti-type of the type who is Christ, and the types The
types could not make the sinner perfect, only the blood of Christ,
typified with these animal sacrifices, could remit sin. Paul wrote this
in Romans chapter eight, for what the law could not do. What
is it the law can't do? It can't pronounce me just or
righteous or holy based on my character and conduct. But Christ
can and did all based on the righteousness that he established,
which is imputed to everyone for whom he died for. And that
is in essence of the law and justice of God being satisfied.
So the shadow of death was the sacrifices that Israel was commanded
to give, which in and of themselves couldn't take away the sins of
the people, but they were a picture and a type of him who would,
could and did at the cross. And you know that shadow of death
is a reality today to anybody who think that they are justified
by the works of the law. They're still under that law.
Paul wrote this in Galatians 4.21. Tell me, you that desire
to be under the law, do you not hear the law? And in Galatians
chapter five and verse three, Paul writes, for I testify again
to every man that is circumcised. that he is a debtor to do the
whole law. You can take that word circumcised out and put
any condition that you want to, anything required of the sinner. If you think anything's required
of you, then you're a debtor to do the whole law. But the
scripture says that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believe it. So look at the last verse, Luke
179. All this Christ accomplished
for his people in order to give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way
of peace. This is that work begun in us
when the day spring from on high visits each individual with the
gospel. The Holy Spirit shines in our
heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. It is this light that enables
us to see a salvation already complete in Christ. We see peace
established between the holy God and sinners, but we also
see and experience the grace of God that passes on the peace
of God that passes understanding when that day spring on high
visits us and shows us the things of Christ and what he's done
already for his people. Things already accomplished in
him. and sure to be accomplished in each of his people. Well,
has he begun a good work in you? I hope he has. If he has, be
confident of this very thing, that he which began a good work
in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Mark,
come and lead us in the closing now.