The Condescension of Christ

This sermon was first preached on September 13, 1857, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. The text for this morning comes from the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9. Listen as I read. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

The apostle in this chapter was endeavoring to stir up the Corinthians to liberality. He desired for them to contribute something for those who were poor in the plot. that he might be able to minister to their necessities. He tells them that the churches of Macedonia, though much poorer than the church at Corinth, had given even beyond their means for the relief of the Lord's family, and he exhorts the Corinthians to do the same.

But suddenly remembering that examples taken from inferiors seldom have a powerful effect He lays aside his argument drawn from the Church of Macedonia and holds before them a reason for generosity which the hardest heart can scarcely resist once that reason is applied by the Holy Spirit.

My brethren, he says, there is one above in whom is your hope of salvation, one whom you call Master and Lord. Now if you will just imitate him, then you cannot be ungenerous or tight-fisted. For my brethren, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Let this compel you to compassion and generosity.

O dear Christian, whenever you are inclined to a greedy withholding of your money from the Church of the Living God, think of your Savior giving up all that He had to serve you. Can you then, when you behold such noble self-denial, be selfish? and esteem yourself when the claims of the poor of the flock are pressed upon you. Remember Jesus. Think of Him looking at you directly in the face and saying to you, I gave myself for you, and do you now withhold yourself from me? For if you do, you do not know my love in all its heights and depths and lengths and breaths.

And now, dear friends, the argument of the Apostle will be our subject today. It divides itself in an extremely simple manner. We have first the pristine condition of our Savior. He was rich. Next we have his condescension. He became poor. And then we have the effect and result of his poverty that we might become rich We will then close by giving you a doctrine, a question, and an exhortation. May God bless all of these and help us to correctly share them.

1. Our text tells us that Jesus Christ was rich. Do not think that our Savior began to live when he was born of the Virgin Mary. Do not imagine that he dates his existence from the manger at Bethlehem. Remember, he is the Eternal. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. There was never a time in which God did not exist, and therefore there was never a period of time in which Jesus Christ our Lord did not exist. Jesus is self-existent, without beginning of days or end of life. He is the immortal, invisible, the only wise God, our Savior.

Now, in eternity past, which has elapsed before His mission into this world, we are told that Jesus Christ was rich. And to those of us who believe His glories and trust in His divinity, it is not hard to see how this could be. Jesus was rich in his possessions. Lift up your eyes, believer, and for a moment review the riches of our Lord Jesus before he condescended to become poor for you. See Jesus. See him sitting on his throne and declaring his own all-sufficiency. He says, If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. I own all the hidden treasures of gold. I own all the pearls that the divers cannot reach. I own every precious thing on and in the earth.

The Lord Jesus might have said, I can stretch my scepter from the east even to the west, and everything is mine, the whole world and all the worlds that glitter far off in outer space. They are all mine. Fly upward and you cannot reach the peak of the hill of my dominions. Dive down deep and you cannot enter into the innermost depths of my influence and power. From the highest throne in glory to the lowest pit of hell, everything, everything is mine without exception. I can put my mark of ownership on everything that I have made.

but he had more than just riches. Jesus had something which makes men even more richer. We have heard of kings in olden times who were fabulously rich, and when their riches were summed up we read in the old books of fiction, and this man was possessed of the philosopher's stone whereby he turned all things into gold. Surely all the treasures that he had before were as nothing compared with this precious stone. Now, whatever the wealth of Christ might be in the things he has created, he had the power and has the power of creation, and in that lay his boundless wealth. If he pleased, he could have spoken worlds into existence. He had only to lift his finger and a new universe as boundless as the present one would have leaped into existence. At the will of his mind, millions of angels would have stood before him. Legions of bright spirits would have flashed into being. He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it instantly stood before him. He who said, Light be, and light was. also had the power to say to all things, Be, and they would be. Here then lay his riches. This creating power was one of the brightest jewels of his crown.

We call men rich, too, who have honor. And though men may have tremendous wealth, yet if they are living in disgrace and shame, then they must not consider themselves among the rich. But our Lord Jesus Christ had honor, honor such as no one but a divine being could receive. When He sat upon His throne, before He relinquished the glorious robe of His sovereignty to become a man, all the earth was filled with His glory. He could look both beneath Him and all around Him, and the inscription, Glory be to God, was written all over everything. Day and night the smoking incense of praise ascended before him from golden violins held by spirits who bowed in reverence. The harps of multitudes of cherubim and seraphim continually thrilled with his praise, and the voices of all those mighty hosts were always eloquent in adoration. It may be that on certain days, the mightiest angels from the far off realms came to the court of Christ and each brought his annual revenue. Oh, who can tell? Who can tell but that in the vast eternity at certain grand eras, the great bell was rung and all the mighty host of angels that were created gathered together in solemn review before his throne. who can tell the high holiday that was kept in the court of heaven, when these bright spirits bowed before his throne in joy and gladness, and all united raised their voices and shouts and hallelujahs that no mortal ear has ever heard. Oh, can you tell the depths of the rivers of praise that flowed intensely in the city of God? Can you imagine the sweetness of that harmony that perpetually poured into the ear of Jesus, into the ear of the Messiah, the King, Eternal, equal with God, His Father? No, at the very thought of the glory of His kingdom and the riches and majesty of His power, our souls become exhausted within us. Our words fail. We cannot utter a tenth of His glories. nor was he poor in any other sense. He that has wealth on earth and honor too is poor if he does not have love. Jesus was not poor in any other sense, but he that has wealth on earth and honor too is poor if he does not have love. I would rather be a pauper, dependent on charity, and have love. then I would be the prince despised and hated, whose death is looked upon as a benefit. Without love, man is poor. You can give him all the diamonds and pearls and gold that mortal has conceived, yet without love, man is poor. But Jesus was not poor in love. When Jesus came to the earth, he did not come to get our love because his soul was lonely. Oh no, his Father had a full delight in him from all eternity. The heart of Jehovah, the first person of the Sacred Trinity, was divinely, unchangeably linked to Jesus. Jesus was dearly loved by the Father and by the Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Trinity had a sacred contentment and delight in each other. Jesus was loved by those bright spirits who had not fallen into sin. These holy angels loved our Savior. They stood day and night with wings outstretched, waiting for His commands, listening to the voice of His Word. When He commanded them to fly, there was love on their faces and joy in their hearts. They loved to serve Jesus. And it is not all fiction that when there was war in heaven, and when God threw out the devil and the demons, then the elect angels showed their love to Him, being fearless in fight and strong in power." No, Jesus did not need our love to make Him happy. He was rich enough in love without us. Even if an angel from heaven would come to tell you of the riches of Jesus, he could not do it. Gabriel, in your flights you have climbed higher than my imagination dares to imagine, but you have never flown to the pinnacle of the throne of God. O Jesus, who is he that could look on the summit of your majesty? Who is he that could comprehend the strength of your mighty arm? Jesus, you are God, you are infinite, and we are four finite creatures who are lost in you. We bow before you, Jesus. We adore you, Jesus. Jesus, you are the Almighty God, blessed forever. But as for the comprehension of your boundless riches, As for being able to tell the abundance of your treasures or to calculate your wealth, that would be utterly impossible. All we know is that your wealth, Jesus, that the treasures of the infinite, that the riches of eternity, all belong to you and that you are rich beyond all possible comprehension. The Lord Jesus Christ was rich before the Incarnation. We all believe that, though none of us can truly speak of its magnitude. Oh, how surprised the angels were when they were first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Light and Majesty, intended to shroud himself in clay and become a baby and live and die. We do not know how and when it was first mentioned to the angels, but when the rumor first began to fly among the sacred host, you can imagine what strange astonishment there was. What? Was it true that he whose crown was arrayed with stars would lay that crown aside? What? Was it certain that he about whose shoulders was draped the majestic purple robe of the universe would soon become a man dressed in a peasant's garment? Could it be true that he who was everlasting and immortal would one day be nailed to a cross? Oh, how their astonishment increased! They desired to look into it, to understand it. And when Jesus descended from on high, they followed Him. For Jesus was seen of angels, and seen in a special sense. For they looked on him in blissful amazement, wondering what it all could mean. For our sakes he became poor." Try to picture that day when there was an eclipse in heaven, when Jesus, the King of Kings, removed the robes of His Majesty, Oh, can you conceive the increasing wonder of the heavenly angels when the deed was actually done, when they saw Jesus take the crown off of his head, when they saw him untie his belt of stars and take off his pure gold sandals? Can you conceive it? When he said to them, I do not scorn the womb of the virgin, I am going down to earth to become a man. Can you picture the angels as they declared they would follow him? Yes, they followed him as near as he would permit them. And when they came to earth, they began to sing, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to men. Nor would they go away until they had made the shepherds wonder. and until heaven had hung out a new star in honor of the newborn king. And the angels, as they looked at the baby Jesus, marveled that the infinite had become an infant. The infinite had become an infant. He upon whose shoulders the universe hangs, hangs on his mother's breast. He who created all things and holds up the pillars of creation has now become so weak that he must be carried by a woman. And oh, the holy angels stared with even more wonder and amazement, because they knew Jesus in his riches, but now they marvel, marvel at his poverty. Where does the newborn king sleep? Does he rest in the best room in Caesar's palace? Does he have a cradle of gold prepared for him and down pillows on which to rest his head? No. Where the ox fed, in the run-down stable, in the manger, there the Savior lies, wrapped in cloths like children of poverty. Nor does Jesus rest there for long. All of a sudden his mother must carry him to Egypt. He goes there and becomes a stranger in a strange land. When he comes back, he that made the universe now holds the hammer and the nails, assisting his father in the trade of a carpenter. Note that he who has put the stars in the heavens and made them glisten in the night Note that he does not have one little star of glory on his head. He is a simple child like other children. Yet let us leave for a while the scenes of his childhood and his earlier life. See him when he now becomes a man. And now you may say, indeed, that for our sakes he became poor. Never was there a poorer man than Christ. He was the prince of poverty. He was the absolute reverse of Solomon. Solomon sat on top of the hill of riches. Christ stood in the lowest part of the valley of poverty. Look at the clothing of Christ. It is the garment of the poor. As for his food, he oftentimes went hungry. and was always dependent on the charity of others to meet his needs. He who scattered the harvest over the broad acres of the world had to sometimes endure the pangs of hunger. He who created the springs of the ocean sat down beside a well and said to a Samaritan woman, will you give me a drink? He did not ride in a chariot, but walked on his weary way his feet becoming sore because of the many sharp rocks in Galilee. He had no place to lay his head. He looked at the fox as it hurried into its burrow and the birds as they went to their nest. And he said, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. He who once had been waited on by angels becomes the servant of servants, wraps a towel around his waist, and washes his disciples' feet. He who once was honored with the hallelujahs of the ages is now spit upon and despised. He who was loved by his Father with an eternal abundance of affection could say, My close friend, whom I trusted, He who shared my bread has lifted up his heel against me." Oh, for words to picture the humiliation of Christ! What vast distance exists between Him that sat on the throne and Him that died on the cross? Oh, who can tell the mighty chasm between the heavenly heights of glory and the cross of deepest woe? Follow Him. Christian, follow Him. He has left you His manger to show you how God came down to man. He has given you His cross to show you how man can ascend to God. Follow Him. Follow Him all through His journey. Begin with Him in the wilderness of temptation. See Him fasting there and hungering. with the wild beast all around him. Follow him along his weary way as the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He is the laughing stock of the drunkard. He is the song of the scorner and he is hissed at by the wicked. See him as they point their finger at him and call him a glutton and a drunkard. Follow him along his Via Dolorosa until finally you meet him among the olives of Gethsemane. See him sweating great drops of blood. Follow him to the stone pavement where he stands before Pilate. See him pouring out rivers of blood beneath the cruel whips of the Roman soldiers. With weeping eyes follow him to the cross of Calvary. See him nailed there. Note his poverty, so poor that they have stripped him naked from head to foot and exposed him to the face of the sun, so poor that when he asked them for water they gave him vinegar to drink, so poor that he who had no place to lay his head now wears a crown of thorns in his death. O Son of God, I don't know which to admire most, your height of glory or your depths of misery. Oh, man slain for us, will we not exalt you? God over all blessed forever. Will we not sing to you the precious truth? He was rich, yet for our sakes, he became poor. If I had a story to tell you this day of some king who, out of love to some rather poor young woman, left his kingdom and became a peasant like her, you would stand in wonder and would listen to the charming story. But when I tell you of God, God concealing His dignity to become our Savior, our hearts are scarcely touched. We know the story so well. We have heard it so often. And sadly, some of us tell it so badly that we cannot expect that you would be as interested in it as the subject demands. But surely, as it is said of some great works of architecture, that though they are seen every morning, there is always something fresh to wonder at. So we might also say of Christ, Though we see him every day, we should always see fresh reasons to love and wonder and adore him.

He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. I have often thought that there is something notable about the poverty of Christ that ought not to be forgotten by us. Those who were nursed on the lap of poverty feel less of the misery of their condition But I have met with others whose poverty I could pity. They were once rich. Their very dress, which now hangs about them in shreds, tells you that they once stood foremost in the ranks of life. You meet them among the poorest of the poor. You pity them more than those who have been born and bred to poverty, because they have known something better. Among all those who are poor, I have always found the greatest amount of suffering in those who had seen better days.

I can remember even now the look of some who have said to me when they have received assistance, and I have given it as delicately as I could, lest it should look like charity, they have looked at me and said, Oh sir, I have known better days. And the tears stood in their eye, and the heart ached at bitter memories. The least insult to such a person, or even to expose a kindness, becomes like a knife cutting their heart. I have known better days becomes a mournful sound muffling their joys. Truly our Lord Jesus might have said in all of his sorrows, I have known better days than these.

" I think when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, it must have been hard for him to have restrained himself from smashing the devil into pieces. If I had been the Son of God, I think, feeling as I do now, if that devil had tempted me, I would have instantly thrown him into the deepest hell. and then conceive the patience our Lord must have had when the devil took him to a very high mountain and said to him, Bow down and worship me. Jesus would not even touch him, the vile deceiver, but let him do what he pleased. Oh, what amount of misery and love there must have been in the Savior's heart when he was spit on, spit on by the men that he had created, when the eyes he himself had filled with sight looked on him with scorn, and when the tongues which he himself had given the ability to speak hissed and blasphemed him.

O my friends, if the Savior had felt as we do, and I do not doubt he did feel in some measure as we do, but only by great patience did he curb himself, I think he might have swept them all away And as they taunted Him, He could have come down from the cross and delivered Himself and utterly destroyed them all. It was immense patience that could walk and live in this world and yet not to crush it, when it so wickedly treated its Redeemer. We marvel at the patience which restrained Him. We also marvel at the poverty He must have felt. the poverty of spirit, when they rebuked him, and he did not curse them, when they mocked him, and yet he said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. He had seen brighter days. That made his misery more bitter and his poverty more poor.

" Well, we now come to our third point. Why did the Savior come to die and be poor? Why did the Savior come to die and be poor? Listen to this, you children of Adam. Listen. The Scripture says, For your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. For your sakes.

Now, when I addressed you as a great congregation, You will not feel the beauty of this expression for your sake. Husband and wife, walking in the fear of God, let me take you by the hand and look you in the face. Let me repeat those words. For your sakes he became poor. Young man, let a brother of your own age look at you and repeat these words. Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor. Gray-headed believer, let me look on you and say the same. For your sake he became poor.

Friends, take the word home and see if it doesn't melt your heart. Though he was rich, yet for my sake he became poor. Beg that the Holy Spirit would deeply impress that truth to you so that it will make your heart devout and your spirit loving. I am the worst of sinners, yet for my sake Christ died and became poor. Come, let me hear you speak. Let us bring the sinner here and let him speak out loud. I cursed him. I blasphemed. And yet for my sake he became poor. I scoffed at his ministers. I ignored his Sundays. Yet for my sake he became poor.

What? Jesus, could you die for one who was not worth having? Could you shed your blood for one who would have shed your blood if he had it in his power? What? Could you die for one so worthless, so vile? Yes, yes, says Jesus, I shed that blood for you. Now let the saint speak. Ah, he may say, I have professed to love him, but how cold was my love. How little have I served him. How far have I lived from him. I have not had sweet communion with him as I ought to have had. When have I been spending and spent in his service? And yet, my Lord, you say to me, for your sake I became poor.

Yes, says Jesus, see me in my miseries, see me in my agonies, see me in my death. I suffered all these for your sake. Won't you love him who loved you so much and became poor for your sake? That, my friends, however, is not the point to which we wish to bring you just now. The point is this. The reason why Christ died was that through his poverty we might become rich. The reason why Christ died was that through his poverty we might become rich. He became poor from his riches, that our poverty might become rich out of his poverty.

Brethren, we now have a joyful theme before us. Those who are partakers of the Savior's blood are rich. All those for whom the Savior died, having believed in his name and given themselves to him, are today rich. And yet, I have some of you here today who cannot call a foot of land your own. You have nothing to call your own today, and you don't know how you will be supported through another week. You are poor. And yet, if you are a child of God, I positively know that Christ's end is answered in you. You are rich.

No, I am not mocking you when I say you are rich. I do not taunt you. You are. You are really rich. You are rich in possessions. You are really rich. You are rich in possessions. You now have in your possession things more costly than gems, more valuable than gold and silver. You may say, I do not have any gold or silver. But if you can afterwards say, Christ is my everything, then you have outspoken all that men can say, who had piles of gold and silver. But you say, I have nothing. Oh no, you have everything. Don't you know what Paul said? He declares that the present and the future and this world and life and death, all are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. All the wheels of the great machinery of providence revolve for you. All the wheels of the great machinery of providence revolve for you. The great provision of grace with all its fullness is yours. Remember that adoption, justification, sanctification, all are yours. You have every spiritual thing that the heart can wish for and you have everything that is necessary for this life. For you know who has said, having food and clothing, we will be content with that. You are rich, rich with true riches and not with the riches of a dream. You are rich, rich with true riches and not with the riches of a dream.

There are times when men dream at night that they gather up gold and silver like shells on the seashore and when they wake up in the morning they find themselves penniless. But you have eternal treasures, you have true and genuine riches When the sun of eternity will have melted the rich man's gold away, yours will endure. A rich man has a container full of riches, but a poor saint has got a fountain of mercy, and the one with the fountain is the richest.

Now if my neighbor is a rich man, he may have as much wealth as he pleases, but it is only a container that is full of riches It will someday be exhausted. But a Christian has a fountain that forever flows. And let him draw, draw from it forever. The fountain will still keep on flowing. However large a stagnant pool of water is, it is still stagnant. It is only of little worth. But the flowing stream, though it seems to be very small, only needs time. and it will have produced an immense volume of precious water. You are never just to have a limited pool of riches. Rather, your riches always keep on flowing to you. The Bible says your bread will be given you and your water will be pure.

As old William Huntington says, the Christian has a handbasket portion Many a man, when his daughter marries, does not give her much, but he says to her, I will send you a sack of flour one day, and something else the next day, and now and then a sum of gold, and as long as I live, I will always send you something. He says, she will get a great deal more than her sister, who had only received one lump sum payment of money. That is how my God deals with me. He gives to the rich man all at once, but to me day by day. Ah, Egypt, you were rich when your granaries were full, but those granaries might be emptied. Israel was far richer when they did not have any granaries, but only saw the manna drop from heaven day by day.

Now Christian, that is your portion, the portion of the fountain always flowing and not like the full container that is soon to be emptied. But remember, dear saint, remember that your wealth does not all lie in your present possessions. Remember you are rich in promises. Remember, dear saint, that your wealth does not all lie in your present possessions. Remember, you are rich in promises. Let a man never count his wealth in the amount of money he presently has. Let him have in his possession promissory notes from rich and true men. And he says, I may have no gold, but here is a note for a rather large sum of money. I know the signature. I can trust the man. I am rich, though I have no money in my hand. Likewise, the Christian can say, if I possess no riches, yet I have the promise of them, my God has said, no good thing will I withhold from those whose walk is blameless. That is a promise that makes me rich. He has told me my food will be given to me and my water will not run out. I cannot doubt his signature. I know his word to be authentic, and as for his faithfulness, I would not so dishonor him as to think he would break his promise. No, the promise from God is as good as the thing itself. If it is God's promise, it is just as sure that I will have it as if I had it." But then, the Christian is also very rich in inheritance. The Christian is also very rich in inheritance. When a certain old man dies that I know of, I believe that I will be so immensely rich that I will dwell in a place that is paved with pure gold, the walls of which are built with precious stones. But, my friends, you also have an old man that needs to die, and when he is dead, If you are followers of Jesus, then you will receive your inheritance. You know who that man is. He is very often spoken of in Scripture. May the old man in you die daily, and may the new man be strengthened in you. When that old man of corruption, your old nature, totters to its grave, then you will receive your inheritance. Christians are like heirs. They do not have much when they are only minors, but when they come of age, they will receive all of their estate. I meet a miner. He says to me, that is my property. But I remind him, yes, but you cannot sell it, sir. You cannot do anything with it. No, he says, I know I cannot, but it is mine when I am 21. I will then have complete control over it, but at the same time it is as much really mine right now as it will ever be. I have a legal right to it, and though my guardians take care of it for me, it is mine, not theirs. And now, dear Christian, in heaven there is a crown of gold which is yours today. It will be no more yours when you have it on your head than it is right now." I remember hearing it reported that I once commanded Christians to look up and see all the crowns hanging in rows in heaven. Very likely I did say it. But if not, I will say it now. Look up, Christian. See the crowns already and note your own crown hanging there. Stare and wonder at it. See how it is decorated with precious stones and pearls, and how it is made with pure gold. And that it is for your head, your poor aching head, your poor tortured brain, will yet have that crown to wear. And see that robe next to it? It is adorned with gems and white like snow, and that is also for you. When you have worn your earthly work clothes for the last time, then this heavenly robe will be the clothing of your everlasting rest. We know that when the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands. Climb up to the summit, Christian. Climb up and survey your inheritance. When you have surveyed it all, When you have seen your present possessions, your promised possessions, your eternal possessions, then remember that all these were purchased by the poverty of your Savior. Look at all that you have and say, Christ bought them for me. Look on every promise and see the bloodstains on them. Yes, look too on the harps and crowns of heaven for they too were purchased with his blood. Remember, you would have never been anything but a damned sinner unless Christ had bought you. Remember, if Christ had remained in heaven, you would have remained in hell forever. Unless he had covered and concealed his own honor, you would have never had a ray of light shine upon you. Therefore, bless his dear name. extol Him, trace every stream to the fountain, and bless Him who is the source and the fountain of everything you have.

Brothers and sisters, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you, through His poverty, might become rich.

I am not done yet. I have three more things to say and I will say them as briefly as possible.

The first is a doctrine. The doctrine is this. If Christ in his poverty made us rich, what will he do now that he is glorified? If Christ in his poverty made us rich, what will he do now that he is glorified? If the man of sorrows saved my soul, will the man who is now exalted allow it to perish? If the dying Savior purchased our salvation, would not the living, interceding Savior abundantly secure it? He lives and sits above, forever interceding there. What will divide us from his love, or what will sink us in despair? O sweet Jesus, if when the nail was in your hand you defeated Satan, the demons and death itself, then can you be defeated now that you have taken hold of the scepter? If when the crown of thorns was put on your head you caused Satan to bow before you, can you be overcome and conquered now that the praise of angels are rising up to you?

No, my brothers and sisters, we can trust the glorified Jesus. We can rest in his arms. If he was so strong in poverty, what must he be like in his riches?

The next thing is a question. That question is a simple one. My friend, have you ever been made rich by Christ's poverty? Have you ever been made rich by Christ's poverty? You say, I am good enough without Christ, I do not need a Savior. Oh, you are like her of old who said, I am rich, I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But the Lord said to her, you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Oh, you that live by your good works, and think that you will go to heaven because you are as good as others. All the merit you can ever earn yourselves are good for nothing. All that human nature ever made results in disgrace and a curse. Those are your riches, you are no saints.

But can you say this morning, my friends, I am by nature nothing, And God has, by the power of His Spirit, taught me my nothingness. My brother, my sister, have you taken Christ to be your all in all? Can you say this day with an unfaltering tongue, My Lord, my God, I have nothing, but you are my everything? Come, I beg you, do not shirk the question You that have been careless and neglectful of Christ, answer it then in the negative. But when you have answered it, I beg you to beware of what you have said. You are sinful and you feel it. Come, I beg you, come and lay hold of Jesus.

Remember, Christ came to make those rich that have nothing of their own. My Savior is a physician. If you can heal yourself, he will have nothing to do with you. Remember, my Savior came to clothe the naked. He will clothe you if you will strip yourself of all the rags of self-righteousness. But unless you let him do it from head to foot, he will have nothing to do with you. Christ says he will never have a partner. He will do all of it or none of it. Come then, have you given up everything to Christ? Have you no reliance and trust except in the cross of Jesus? Then you have answered the question well. Be happy, be joyous. If death should surprise you in the next hour, you are secure. Go on your way and rejoice in the hope and glory of our God.

And now I close with the third thing, which is an exhortation. An exhortation.

Sinner, do you this morning feel your poverty? Then look to Christ's poverty. Sinner, do you this morning feel your poverty? Then look to Christ's poverty. O you that are troubled today on account of sin, and there are many of you here, God has not left you alone. He has been working in your heart with a sharp conviction of the Holy Spirit. You are this very day saying, what must I do to be saved? You would give everything you have to have salvation in Jesus Christ. Your soul is this day aching, broken, and tormented.

O sinner, if you would find salvation, you must find it in the veins of Jesus. Now wipe that tear from your eye and look here. Do you see Jesus high and lifted up where the cross raises its terrible form? There he is. Do you see him? Note his head. See the crown of thorns and the beads of blood still standing on his temples. Note his eyes. They are just closing in death. Can you see the lines of agony, so desperate in anguish? Do you see his hands? See the small streams of blood flowing down them? Listen, he is about to speak.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Did you hear that sinner? Pause a moment longer. Take another look at him, how bruised and beaten his body is and how sick his spirit is. Look at him, but listen, he is about to speak again.

It is finished.

What does he mean by that? He means that he has finished your salvation. Look to Jesus and find salvation there. Remember, to be saved, all that God wants of a repentant sinner is to look to Jesus.

my life for his. If you will risk everything you have on Christ, you will be saved. He has said, turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. It is not your hands that will save you, it must be your eyes. Look away from those good works through which you hope to be saved. No longer strive to sew a garment that will not hide your sin. Throw away that needle and thread, Your needle is bent and rusted and your thread is nothing but cobwebs. What garment can you sew with that? Look to Christ and you are saved. No sinner has ever looked to Christ and was lost. One glance will save you. One glimpse will set you free.

Do you say, I am a guilty sinner? Your guilt is the reason why I tell you to look. Do you say, I cannot look? Oh, may God help you to look now. Remember, Christ will not reject you. You may reject him. Remember now there is a cup of mercy put to your lip by the hand of Jesus. I know if you feel your need of a Savior, then Satan may tempt you not to drink, but he will not prevail. You will put your lip, feebly and weakly, perhaps to it. but oh, just sip it, and the first sip will give you bliss, and the more you drink, the more heaven you will know.

Sinner, believe on Jesus Christ. Listen to the whole gospel preached to you. It is written in God's holy word. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Listen to me, listen to me translated into the actual Greek. Whoever believes and is immersed will be saved. If you believe, trust yourself to the Savior. Make a profession of your faith in baptism, and then you may rejoice in Jesus that he has saved you.

But remember, remember not to make a profession until you have believed. Remember, baptism is nothing until you have faith. Remember, baptism is nothing but a farce and a lie until you have first believed, and afterwards it is nothing but the profession of your faith. Oh, believe that. Cast yourself upon Christ and you are saved forever.

May the Lord add his blessing, for the Savior's sake. Amen.