to 15, briefly going over verses
14 and 15 in this general epistle written by the Apostle John,
where we saw that the message brought forth by our Lord is
that we should love one another. And the believer does, for they
are born again of the Holy Spirit of God. And we can only love
the brethren, love one another in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it's in Him we do love the
brethren. Because again, we all have the same Father, we have
the same Redeemer, and we have the same Spirit within us, the
Holy Spirit of God. And so we see that God's grace
is truly amazing. We also looked at how we should
not marvel if the world hates us, because it hated our Master. It hated our King. And we just
keep looking to our master, we just keep looking to Christ again
as we pilgrimage through this world. And we await our eternal
rest, don't we? Are you waiting for your eternal
rest? For when we see our King face
to face, I am. What a glorious day that'll be,
I know you are too. And it'll be glorious, won't
it? It'll be wondrous. No more sin,
no more sorrow, no more sickness, and we get to spend eternity
gazing upon the one who redeemed us with his precious blood. And we're there with the blood-washed
saints of God. Oh, it'll be truly wondrous.
So tonight I'd like us to look at verses 14 to 16 where we see
a declaration of the fact that the believer has passed from
death, which is spiritual death, to life, which is eternal life,
and we know that this is in Christ alone. Verse 14, we know that
we have passed from death into life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of
God, and that word perceive there in the Greek is ginoska, which
is no, translated no. When the Lord says, I never knew
you, that's the same word, ginoska. He never knew those folks that
were saying, Lord, look at all the things we've done for you.
But he knows his people intimately, and his people know him intimately
too, that's what this is saying. That we ginoska our Lord, we
know him intimately. Hereby perceive we the love of
God because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren. So these are the verses that
we're going to look at tonight, and the believer knows that we
have passed from death to life. Why? Because we love the brethren.
Because we love our Lord and we believe the truth. We believe
the scriptures. There was a time when we didn't
believe the scriptures. There's a time when we didn't love the
brother, and there was a time when we didn't love our Savior.
But oh, now we love Him. We believe the Word of God from
cover to cover. We don't understand it all, but
we believe it. We believe what it says. We believe
what it says, what it proclaims, and we know who it proclaims,
don't we? We know from the Old Testament to the New, from the
very first page of the Scripture to the last page of the Scripture,
it's a book all about Christ. It's a hymn book, H-I-M. It's
a hymn book, it's all about Christ. Brother Henry used to say that
all the time, and it's so true. It's all about him. And it's
authored, too, by the Holy Spirit of God. He moved on holy men,
which were righteous men who were made righteous by Christ.
He inspired them to write the words that they wrote. But he
is the author, the Holy Spirit's the author. God is the author.
Now note in verse 14, the believer knows that they have passed from
death to life. And we know some things, don't
we, as believers? We know, we know that Christ
loves us. We know that God's loved us from eternity. We know
that Christ has redeemed our eternal souls. We know these
things. We know we've been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. We
know these things. We know some scriptures. We're
scratching the surface, aren't we? But we know some scriptures
and all that truth has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit of God. We know that we know that we're
saved because God says it's so. Because God says it's so. And we know he who is the truth,
the Lord Jesus Christ. We know he who the scriptures
proclaim, the Lord Jesus Christ. And note in verse 14, the believer
knows that they've passed from death to life. We know this. We've been taught of God, the
Holy Spirit. We're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. We
know that we have passed from death, spiritual death, unto
life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. So we know these things to be
so, don't we? We know these things to be so. Why do we know them
to be so? Because God says so. And if God says it, it's true,
isn't it? It's true. Our assurance comes from our
God. It comes from Him. And we know the truth, and this
truth gives us assurance. We know we've been born again.
We know we've passed from death to life. And it assures us. And
we marvel that He's had such mercy upon us. And take note
of how John brings forth this truth as a statement of fact.
He says, we know, idol. It's a different word than, than
no. Later on, when we look at verse 16, it's idle and it's,
we know this, we have an understanding and we've been given that understanding.
Haven't we? We know that we passed from death
into life. We know this. Now the word no
in this verse is not an exhortation for us to discover if this is
so. No, it's a contrast, but forth
is something that is so. Look at the verse. Look at the
verse here. It says, we know that we have
passed from death into life because we love the brethren. He that
loveth not his brother abideth in death. Well, we know. This is a fact that's brought
forth. In verse 13, John has declared the words of our master,
the Lord Jesus Christ, when he says these words right here.
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you. And so note the contrast between
those who have passed from death to life, they're born again by
the Holy Spirit of God, they love the brethren, and those
who still reside in spiritual death at the end of the verse
and do not love the brethren. We know that we, remember John's
writing to believers, we know that we have passed from death
unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not
his brother abideth in death. So there's a contrast brought
forth there. One is in Christ and one is not. And we know, we know this world
walks in darkness because we once walked with it. We once
walked with them. We drank sin like water, like
baby. We know we were dead in trespasses
and sins. We know that we were in the same
state as everyone out there. We know we were. We were dead
to the light of God. We were dead to the things of
Christ. We were dead to the scriptures. But praise be to God, we're regenerated
by the Holy Spirit of God. We've been granted faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and rest in Him alone.
And as a result, now this is the key, as a result of that
mighty work of regeneration being done in our hearts, we love the
brethren. We didn't before. Now we do. That's a work of God, beloved.
That's nothing anyone can muster up. Donny Bell says the one thing
that Satan can't counterfeit is the love that the believer
has for one another. You can't counterfeit that. Not
at all. So we pass from death to life
all through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a result of the mighty
work of God that we love the brethren. It's a fruit of the
Spirit, beloved. Fruit of the Spirit. We pass
from death to life Again, all through the Lord Jesus Christ
and what he's done, and we know that's not of ourselves at all.
We know we can't save ourselves. We can't save ourselves, let
alone anyone else. We can't regenerate ourselves,
can we? But God's done it all. That which
is impossible for man, it's impossible for us to save ourselves. It's
impossible for us to regenerate ourselves. It's possible with
God. It's possible with God. And He's
done the mighty work, hasn't He? He's raised us from our spiritual
deadness, the state of deadness that we were in. We were graveyard
dead spiritually. And now we're alive. We passed
from death to life in Christ. In Christ. And we're passive in this situation,
beloved. We're passive in this situation.
It's God who's done this wondrous work. It's God, it's all his work.
He's the one who's made us alive. We were dead in trespasses and
sins. And he's made us alive. We passed
from death to life. It's wondrous. And it's all by
his almighty power, beloved. All by his almighty power. We
know the scripture says we've been translated from the kingdom
of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Translated from the kingdom of
darkness to the kingdom of light. Kingdom of his dear son. And
the kingdom of God is a state of light and life in Christ.
In Christ. It's He who is the resurrection
and the life. It is He who is the author of
the resurrection from the dead, or the death of sin, to a life
of grace by the Spirit of life from Christ. This is a truth
that's known by the regenerate man or woman. This is a truth
that we know. We were once blind, right? Were
you blind at one time? Were you totally blind? Amen. Amen. And now we see. Now we see Christ. That's the
power of God. That's the work of God, the Holy
Spirit. Oh, my. We were once blind, but now we
see. We were lost, but now we're saved. We were once dead to the things
of God. Now we have an understanding. We have them revealed to us.
That's a miracle of grace. That's a miracle of grace. And
we who are the beloved of God, the divinely loved ones, we rejoice,
don't we? We rejoice because we know we've
passed from death to life. I was talking to someone this
week and I said, my old life, it seems like someone else's
life. I look back at my life and think,
that was me, but it doesn't, it's a whole different person.
Now I still carry around this body of death, this sin, sinful
flesh, but I don't desire what I used to desire. That's the
work of God, beloved. That's a miracle of grace. And
it's absolutely incredible. It's absolutely incredible. So
we know that we pass from death to life all by the wondrous,
amazing power of our great God. It's all Him. It's all Him. It's God and Him alone who's
made us to differ from anyone out there. It's only God. But praise be to God that These
scriptures do not stand alone. This is why we always have to
read the context of the verses, because so many people pull verses
out of context and build whole doctrines around one verse without
reading the context, without seeing who it was written to,
without looking at the context. We looked at 2 Peter 3, 9. It's
a verse that people just absolutely tear out of context. We saw the
difference between the scoffers and the believer. And the us
word there is God's elect. It's so clear when you read the
context. And who the letter's written to, who the first letter's
written to, it's clear as day. But it's gotta be revealed, doesn't
it? It's gotta be revealed. And he teaches us. John continues
in this verse, because we love the brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death. Now take note of the words, because
we love the brethren. Again, this is not the cause
of our passing from death to life. Because we love the brethren,
no, this is by the power of God alone. This is an effect of being
passed from death to life. This is one of the effects of
it. Again, it's a fruit of the Spirit, beloved. When I was in religion, I used
to think, oh, I gotta love people more, oh, I gotta love people
more, oh, I gotta love people more. My goodness. It just like chains
all over you. God's people love people. We
love the brethren. It's not work. Religion's work. Grace isn't. And this is an effect,
this loving the brethren is an effect of having passed from
death to life. Being born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. It's incredible. It's absolutely
incredible. And this love here is spoken
of as a spiritual love. It's not natural love. Did you
love the brethren before you were saved? No, we didn't. We
wanted nothing to do with the believer then. You may have tolerated
being around them. You didn't want to be around
them for too long. Yeah, we know, hey, yeah, yeah. But my, oh, my. Now, the only folks who want
to be around is God's people. We're family. We're family. So this love spoken of here is
a spiritual love, one that's given to us by God. Again, it's
a fruit of the Spirit of God, it comes from God. And no one can love Christ or
the brethren except they be born again, right? We just have to
look to our natural state to see that. No man or woman can do this,
can love the brethren unless they've received the grace of
God. And this is evidence of a mighty work of God. Could you imagine if we had to
spend our days trying to discern if we really love the brethren?
Could you imagine if we really love the brethren enough for
this to be true? As I said last week, our love
is fickle. Sometimes it's based upon circumstances. And if this
love was based upon our doing, we'd always be trying to discern
if we're loving the brethren enough. We'd be trying to measure, oh,
how much do I love the brethren? And you know what we'd have?
We'd have no assurance at all, would we? We'd have absolutely
no assurance at all. No. But look at this, it's a fact.
We know that we have passed from death into life because we love
the brethren. It's a statement. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death. There's the contrast. One has
life, one has death. And again, the love spoken of
in verse 14 here is a result of regeneration, being born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. Life in Christ. Turn, if you
would, to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. This love is
a result of God working mightily in us.
And it's the love of God in us. Look at this, Romans 5.5. maketh not ashamed because the
what? The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts. It's the love of God shed abroad
in our hearts. By who? The Holy Ghost, which
is given unto us. It's a work of God. It's a work
of God. So if the love of God, the manner
of it and the existence of it is in us, it will act in a singular
manner toward the one loved, which in our text is the brethren. Let's go back to chapter three.
The love we have is a result again of regeneration, of being
born again. We are assured of this because
God has given us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
because God has simply said that it's so. Right? God says it's
so here. We believe it. God says this
is so. And again, we know that the only
one who's made us to differ again is God and God alone. We see
that very clearly in the latter part of verse 14. Those who do
not love the brethren are still dead in trespasses and sins.
They're not born again. They still abide in spiritual
death. Dead in trespasses and sins. And we see in verse 15 that he
who hates his brother has no eternal life. Look at verse 15. They're still dead in trespasses
and sins. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him. They're dead. They're dead in
trespasses and sins. Now let's read verse 16. Oh, look at this. A great truth
is bought forth in this verse. Before the believer. Look at this. It's the substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hereby perceive we the love of
God. Because he laid down his life
for us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now
the word again perceived there in the Greek is ginosko. It's
translated know in other portions of scripture. It means to know
in a beginning sense, that is to come to know, come to know. The truth's been revealed to
us, hasn't it? We didn't know before. Now we know. To gain or receive a knowledge
of. It's a revelation. It's a revelation
from God, beloved. Hereby know, instead of perceive,
hereby know we the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us. Notice of God is in italics there, so it's not in the original
Greek. It's not in the original Greek,
it's hereby perceived we love, because he laid down his life
for us, that we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,
and love there is agape. It's not philio or eros, it's
agape, because it's speaking of the love of God. Speaking of the love of God. And one Greek guy says this isn't
a perfect, active, indicative, beloved. It implies a completed
action. It implies a completed action.
Hereby know we the love of God because he laid down his life
for us. It speaks of something which
has been revealed to us and now we know it. We know this to be
true. We know this to be true. Robertson,
a Greek scholar, brings forth this, of this word, we have come
to know and still know intimately. We have come to know and we still
know it intimately. We didn't know it before. But
oh, we know it now, don't we? And it's intimate to us, isn't
it? It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. We
know that we know. About the love of God. We know
the fact that our mighty Savior laid down His life for us. We
know this. And who's revealed this to us?
God revealed this to us. God and God alone. And what do
we say? Praise His mighty name. What a Savior. What a redeemer,
what a great God. And this verse is also a death
blow to self-centeredness. This verse here is a death blow
to self-centeredness. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
gave his life willingly for us. Willingly. And we perceive or
we know intimately the love of God. His love in us. And we love the brethren. And
we know that the love of God is sacrificial and substitutionary.
We see it in our text here. So to perceive is to know by
understanding. And again, God alone must reveal
this to us, this mighty truth of who Christ is and what he's
done for us. What we are, sinners. Or we'll never ever understand
it. Did you, I ask you a question,
did you understand the love of God The love that God has for
his people, for you who are God's sheep, before the Lord saved
you, did you know about that? I had no clue. I had no clue at all. I talked to several people who
were raised in this church, and the Lord saved them, and they
said, we came and we heard, but we didn't know. All the time the truth was being
proclaimed to us and we had no clue. But when the time of love
came, then you knew. Then Christ was
revealed to you. But we didn't know at all, did
we? We didn't have any idea about God's love towards us, towards
his sheep, before the Lord saved us. But now we know. Now we who are born again know,
we know now. Oh, and it brings us great joy.
And we know because the Holy Spirit of God has revealed it
to us. And do we not rejoice with joy
unspeakable? Oh my. And we know that we pass
from death to life because our great God has revealed this truth
to us. We know the love of God We know
the fact that our great God became a man. He bled and died in our
place on Calvary. We know this. And this love of
God which is in us causes us to love the brethren. Marvel at these words which the
Holy Spirit had John write in this verse here. Marvel at these
words right here. He laid down his life for us.
Look at that, seven one-syllable words. Seven one-syllable words. He
laid down his life for us. Simple to understand. And yet,
they bring forth one of the most glorious doctrines in all of
Scripture. The doctrine of the atonement
of Christ the doctrine of the sacrificial substitutionary death
of the Lord Jesus Christ for his people. He laid down his
life for us. This is a fact. This is a statement. You know, large doors swing on
small hinges, don't they? Right there before us, a grand
truth, swinging on seven one-syllable words. He laid down His life for us. And this speaks of the great
work, the great atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ which
He fully accomplished for His people on Calvary's cross. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
10. John chapter 10, and let's consider
the words of the Master in light of these words. He laid down
His life for us. Marvelous words. And remember, this book is written
to believers. He laid down His life for us. Look at this in John chapter
10, verses 11 to 15. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. He laid down His life
for us. Goes on, but he that is in hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf
catches them, and scattereth the sheep. The hiring fleeth,
because he is in hireling, and careth not for the sheep. Verse
14, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, hegenoskesos.
And I'm known of mine, we know him, don't we? We know him, Gnoska,
too, we know him in an intimate manner. He knows us in an intimate
manner, but now we know him in an intimate manner. And I'm known
of mine, as the Father knoweth me, even so I, the Father, and
I lay down my life for the sheep. Again, he laid down his life
for us. And look at a few verses down,
verses 17 and 18. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. Now
we know He laid it down for the sheep. No man taketh it from
me, but I lay it down of myself freely and willingly. See, God
cannot die, can He? So Christ becomes a man. God incarnate in the flesh and
dies in the room and place of his people. Spurgeon said, and
yet he's fully God, still upon the throne. Marvel at that truth. It's absolutely
incredible. And he was raised for our justification. He laid down his life for us.
It says there, no man take it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down.
He's got all power, beloved. I have power to take it again.
He's got power to lay down his life, and he's got power to take
it again. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
This commandment have I received of my Father. Have you ever considered
that, and I think I've mentioned this multiple times, I'm gonna
say it again, because it's worth saying. that before Christ died
on the cross, that he could have called six legions of angels,
I think I even mentioned this on Sunday, I don't know if I
did, forgive me, but he could have called six legions of angels.
One angel destroyed 100,000 men. Six legions of angels. 36,000 angels. Do you know what that
means? He's saying, I could destroy the world right now. We know
he could just destroy it by the word of his power, but he could
call legions of angels and wipe everybody out. But he didn't.
He must die on the cross, right? He must lay down his life for
the sheep. He must. He must. He laid down his life
for us. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thy will be done, he said. He's here to do the Father's
will. And it's the Father's will that Christ redeems his people
from their sins. And he did it. He laid down his
life for us. The sinless one, the perfect,
spotless lamb of God, lays down his life for sinners. There's no love that even matches
this. None. Go over, if you would, to Romans
chapter five. Romans chapter five. Look at
this, in light of this again, I'll read this, I'll read our
text again. He laid down his life for us. Romans chapter five,
look at this. Verses six to 10. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good
man, some would even dare to die. But God commandeth his love,
and remember that's his eternal love, commandeth his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
When were all our sins when Christ died on Calvary's cross? They
were all in the future, weren't they? Marvel at that. That God commanded
His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood. It's all about, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him, because He bore the wrath that we deserved. For if, when we were enemies,
we were enemies. We were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son. Much more being reconciled, we
shall be saved by His life. We were enemies in our minds
with God. Now turn, if you would, to Galatians
2.20. And keep in mind again, keep in mind again, he laid down
his life for us. He laid down his life for us.
Look at this in Galatians 2.20. Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet, not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I, the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Who loved me. and gave himself for me. I wasn't even born yet and neither
were any of you. He loved me and gave himself
for me. Let's go back to 1 John. First John, let's read that verse
again. Verse 16, hereby perceive we
the love of God because he laid down his life for us. The believer cries with Paul
and with Peter, he bore my sins and his body on the tree. He
destroyed and made an end to them. You made an end of our
sins, beloved. And marvel at this fact. Marvel
at this fact. That our sins have no damning
or condemning power. Because we are fully and freely
forgiven in Christ. We have been fully pardoned.
Fully pardoned. And as a result of that, there
is now, therefore now, no condemnation. No judgment to those in Christ
Jesus. Absolutely none. And the believer proclaims with
Paul, the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
And what does the believers desire? We desire to walk with Christ
in newness of life, don't we? And the law of God is written
on our hearts, beloved. It's written on our hearts, not
on tables of stone, but on our hearts. And we now live a life
of looking to Christ, looking to our Savior. Because we know
from studying the scripture, without him we can do nothing.
It's Him alone we have all pardon of all our sins. It's Him alone
who is our righteousness. It's Him alone who is our peace.
It's Him alone who is our joy. It's in Him alone we find comfort. And the supply of every grace
for the believer is in Him. Because in Christ alone is all
spiritual blessings. Did Christ lay down His life
for us? For His sheep? Then how great
our sins are. Because if they could not be
atoned for by any other means, then God Himself must become
a man. The perfect, spotless Lamb of
God. must suffer and bleed and die
in the place of his people and pay the debt that we could never
pay. He washed his people clean, his
own precious blood, and rose again for our justification,
all because he, Christ, laid down his life for us. And each born-again blood-washed
saint marvels in the fact that Christ did this for me. For me. Willingly. Did he lay down his life for
us? Then, beloved, marvel at this wondrous love. Marvel at this wondrous love. Marvel at how great God's love
is for His people. The fact that He, the Word of
God, the second person of the Trinity, came here to save His
people from their sins. Marvel at the love of God for
you. And marvel that He accomplished
this perfect atoning work by His death on Calvary's cross.
Look back to eternity, beloved. Look back to eternity and see
the everlasting love of God, and the everlasting covenant,
and the fact that God chose you in Christ, that His love was
set upon you, in Christ in eternity. Marvel how He decreed that you
were one of God's sheep, were one that He would give to the
Father. Marvel at that. Marvel at the love that He's
had for you from eternity. Marvel that you're one of God's
sheep for whom Christ would lay down His life for. Is there any love that comes
close to this? No, not at all. This is eternal love. And you know, when this eternal
love was manifested. When Christ laid down his life
for you. And for me. It was manifested there at Calvary's
cross. was manifested right there. Just as our text proclaims, he
laid down his life for us. Marvel at this. Marvel how that
God decreed that it would be so. Marvel that he decreed this for
you and for me. And marvel at this. He decreed and arranged all things
so that the salvation of his people would come to pass. That we would be where we were
when our time of love was at hand. That we would be under the sound
of the Gospel. Just as we saw what happened
with Lydie in the Philippian jail on Sunday. Sunday morning. We saw that, didn't we? That
was decreed by God. And your salvation was decreed
by Him also. Marvel. Marvel at this truth. Marvel
how the love of God was manifested when you first heard the Gospel. When you first looked to Him. And marvel how that love grows for Him. The more we learn about
Him. And why did Christ lay down,
well He laid down His life for us, didn't He? to redeem us from
all our sins. And did Christ lay down His life
for us? And what joy can be found in
this precious truth? If Christ laid down His life
for His people, and He did, then how safe are we? How safe are
we? Christ is God incarnate in the
flesh. If God the Father is perfectly
satisfied, perfectly satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ
in the place of His people, and we know He is, oh how secure
we are. Marvel at it. And we are pacifists. We are
receivers of this grace and mercy. All because it pleased God that
it would be so. Who can condemn those who are
being bought with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Who can condemn them? Well, we know Satan is an accuser
of the brethren. We know sometimes our own conscience
condemns the same. But you know what puts a gag
on our conscious? The precious blood of Christ.
It silences the conscience. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. How I love to proclaim it. Why? Because I'm free. And all my
sins are bought and paid for. Is it so for you? Rejoice. Rejoice, beloved. No one can
bring a charge against God's elect because it's God who justifies
us. In Christ, we again have a full
pardon. All our sins are forgiven. We
have a perfect righteousness. And you know what else? The justice
of God is absolutely satisfied against us. The wrath of God
Against us has been appeased. It fell on Christ instead of
us. He laid down his life for us. Let these words ring in your
ears. Turn, if you would, to Romans chapter 8, verse 1. Here's a wonderful verse to memorize,
to write to your hearts. Absolute wonderful verse to write
to your heart. Or just read it. It's absolutely
wonderful. I've mentioned it many times.
I'm just going to keep mentioning it. Because it's wonderful. And
remember the fact that He laid down His life for us, right?
for his people. There is therefore now no condemnation.
None. Not a drop of the wrath of God
will fall on his people because it fell on Christ. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk
not after the flesh but after the spirit. Some may ask, how can the believer
proclaim this? Well, because he, Christ, laid
down his life for us. That's how a believer can proclaim
it. He did it all. And yes, there
is God's people, his elect. Did he die for you? Then how
shall you be punished? if the Lord endured the punishment
for you? Did He die for you? Is He your substitute? If He
suffered as your surety, in your place, then marvel at these words,
who is He that condemned? Who is He that condemned? Christ
hath died, yea, rather, hath risen again, and sitteth at the
right hand of God, and maketh intercession for us. Glory be
to God. Christ laid down His life for
us. And if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, how much
more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. Oh, what
a Savior. So you think of this, the agonies
of our Savior on the cross put our sins away. Put them away. The eternal salvation which He
wrought out for us will preserve His people, beloved. Because
it's eternal salvation. And it's not based upon us. It's
based upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is He who keeps us from
falling. And it is He who will one day present us faultless
before the throne with exceeding joy. So marvel at this, that
there is not one sin that God holds against those who are washed
in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not one. Not
one. Not one. Our sins were imputed to Christ.
And He paid for them all. And there's not one sin that
ever a believer did commit or will commit that has any power
to damn them. Again, this doesn't give us a
license to go out and go crazy and sin, not at all. I'll keep
saying this because the love of Christ constrains us from
sin. But beloved, the believer's sins
are bought and paid for in full. at Calvary's Cross. Past, present,
and future. Again, all our sins were future
at Calvary's Cross. He cried, it is finished. Look and see the scapegoat taken
into the wilderness. Taken into the wilderness. And
remember that God has said, your sins and iniquities I'll remember
no more. Christ is both the sacrifice
and the scapegoat. He's carried our sins away, beloved.
He's carried them away. They were atoned for by his precious
blood. And marvel at this wonderful
truth, they're gone. Shout for joy. Shout for joy. You who are the people of God
and marvel at this wondrous truth this week. And give God all the
glory for the great things that he's done for you and for us.
For me, it's wonderful. The master cried on Calvary,
it is finished. All our sins are pardoned. All
our sins are pardoned because he laid down his life for us.
That's the reason why. Praise his mighty name. Heavenly
Father, we thank you for letting us look in the scriptures tonight
and see this wondrous truth in these one-syllable words, seven
one-syllable words, O Lord. He, you, laid down your life
for us. Wonder of wonders. You, the Word
of God, became man to redeem us from all our sins. Glory to
you, Lord. Glory to you for this wondrous
work which you've done. And we know that one day we're
seeing it face to face with thee. And oh, what a glorious day that'll
be. We love you because you first loved us, in Jesus' name. Amen.