1, verse 28, Christ whom we preach,
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that
we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Draw your attention to this verse. In the first chapter in Colossians
that we've considered recently, Paul's intention in writing and
presenting the believer's position in Christ is to demonstrate to
his hearers, to demonstrate to those at Colossians just where
they are, where they are in Christ, what God has done for them in
saving them, in delivering them from everything which is earthly,
everything which is temporal, everything which is passing,
everything which is of the flesh, which is of the here and the
now, and that God has brought them in Christ, he's brought
them into Christ, into that which is heavenly, that which is eternal,
that which is everlasting of the spirit, that which is in
that world which has no end, that which is in the heavens.
So he opens his epistle to the Colossians in order to counter
that which has come in at Colossae by pointing the hearers to their
position in Christ, just where they are in Him in the heavens.
And in so doing He declares unto them the all-sufficiency of Christ,
the preeminence of Christ, the completeness of Christ, that
they have everything in Christ and that outside of Christ they
need nothing, that they lack nothing, that Christ is everything
to the child of God. that they need look in no other
place for anything. No other place for any wisdom,
strength, guidance, teaching. All is in Christ, all begins
in Christ, continues in Christ, ends in Christ. The child of
God is in Christ and remains in Christ. Christ is all-sufficient. So Paul opens this epistle by
reminding the hearers of this. And he does this in order to
counter those problems that had come in amongst the Colossians. For here was a church, here was
an assembly, a company of people who sadly, as with many, and
as with many in our own day, and as we can so easily be, these
people had been sadly deceived and spoilt by philosophy, by
vain deceit, by the traditions of men and the rudiments of the
world. They drifted away from Christ,
and only Christ, towards other things. They'd begun to act to
Christ. They'd begun to think that Christ
was not entirely sufficient. Yes, they believed they needed
Christ and his salvation. Yes, but they thought that they
should also have this, or they thought that they should also
not have the other. They thought that they should
also do this, or not do the other. And so they had become beguiled.
They were beguiled. And their gaze had dropped from
heaven. It had dropped from looking upon Christ alone. And it had
dropped down to the earth beneath, to the flesh, and the things
of the flesh, and the things of time. And it is this fact,
this fact that the people had become beguiled, and had turned
from knowing that everything they needed and everything they
were is in Christ. It is this fact that lies behind
Paul's introduction to the epistle. It lies behind what he writes
in chapter 1 and what he goes on to write in chapter 2. For
Paul will have things otherwise. The Spirit of God will have things
otherwise. And indeed we would have things
otherwise. We would have it otherwise than
turning aside from Christ. Paul would have his heroes to
be in Christ, and to find that Christ is all. So here in verse
28, Paul emphasizes three things with regards to every man to
whom he preaches. He preaches Christ, warning every
man. And he teaches every man in all
wisdom, in order that he may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus. As he preaches Christ, warning
every man, teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus. And how does he do this? Does
he do it in his own strength? Is his preaching of Christ in
his own strength? No, he gives the basis upon which
he does this in verse 29, whereunto I also labour, striving according
to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Paul was the
preacher, perhaps. Paul was him whom many heard
preach the gospel. Paul was the one who writes to
the Colossians here. But he's just the messenger.
He's just the labourer. He strives, yes, but it's according
to Christ's working, God's working, who worked in Paul and by his
epistle mightily. So let's briefly look at Paul's
upcoming arguments in chapters two and three as he continues
this epistle. By which he warns, by which he
teaches, and through which ultimately he presents every believer perfect
in Christ Jesus. by which all who are outside
of Christ, even those who think they are in Christ, yet aren't,
ultimately resting on their own wills, efforts, or works for
salvation, by which all who are outside of Christ are warned
of the danger therein. But here Paul preaches warning
every man. He preaches warning every man. and were sent to preach, to warn
every man, that except you are found in Christ, you are lost. You are in great
danger. You are in great peril. You may
think that you live, and yet really you live a life that is
dead. And you may think that your life will go on forever,
but your life is finite. you are mortal the days of your
life are numbered man lives but 70 years or a little more if
god is pleased to give him endurance and then he's taken he's cut
off he's taken out of time out of this world out of those things
in the flesh which he can see and taste and handle and he's
taken into another world taken into eternity and then whether
he is heeded the warning or turned from it he will have to stand
before his maker and give an account. Yes outside of Christ
you're in great danger and Paul was sent to warn every man by
preaching Christ and preaching the consequence of being out
of Christ of the danger that every man is found in if he's
not in Christ and if he knows nothing of Christ's salvation.
And I warn you this day, if you do not know Christ and what it
is to be in Christ and to be washed in his blood and saved
by his salvation, to be redeemed by him upon the cross, to be
washed by his blood from your sins, that you remain yet in
your sins, that you remain yet in the deadness of sins and trespasses
and sins. that ye remain yet under condemnation,
and the wrath of God abides upon you, and eternity in hell awaits. For either you are in Christ
and saved by him alone, or you are not. Now be warned, for Paul
preached this warning to every man, and this warning applies
to every man. but there is no perfection outside
of Christ and if we are to stand before God on that day of judgment
when we come before him when our life is taken away and we
come to stand before him on the brink of eternity we must have
perfection we must be righteous we must be spotless without sin
that our deeds and our works might be judged And there might
not be one work or one deed which we have ever committed in our
lifetime by which we might be judged. We must have a clean
copy book. We must have a clean record.
There must be not a single blemish which God in perfect justice
can point to and declare that thou art guilty. And yet the
sad reality is that outside of Christ, By nature, we are all
guilty. We're all entirely guilty. Not
only is there a blemish, but there is not a spot that is without
blemish. Not only are we guilty, but we
are guilty through and through. Not only do we have sins in our
record, but we are entirely sinful. We have a multitude of sins with
which we can understand before our maker. Not only are we not
right in our hearts, but we are sin itself. We are corrupt in
our very being. And we come before our Maker
on that day, if we are not in Christ, if we know nothing of
His saving grace, we come before our Maker on that day, utterly
condemned, entirely guilty, in complete condemnation. and the
pronouncement of judgment upon us in that state will be guilty. Guilty. Take him away. Bind him up, hands and feet,
and cast him into everlasting fire. And send him away into
outer torment, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yes, that's where we are by nature.
Abide in under condemnation. Abide in under the wrath of God. For outside of Christ, outside
of him and his life, there is nothing but eternal death and
eternal judgment. Outside of the one who is eternal
life, there is nothing but death. And so Paul preached, and so
Paul warned every man of their state before God, outside of
Christ. Be warned this day, hear this
day, be warned. You need Christ or else you die. For except God in the power of
the gospel preach the gospel to you this day. except God come
in the gospel and reveal Christ the saviour of sinners unto you
and in you and except he make you a partaker of his life of
his salvation of his righteousness then that's where you remain
dead outside lost forever but God in grace has a people whom
he warns, people to whom he sends the gospel, a people to whom
he sends a preacher of the gospel, a preacher of Christ. God has
a people to whom he is pleased to send the sound of his gospel,
to send the sound of Christ and him crucified, a people to whom
he sends a preacher who warns that people and warns them of
their condition, and of their state by nature. A people to
whom he sends a preacher to warn and to point away from condemnation,
away from judgment, away from the wrath to come, to point a
people to him in whom is life, to him in whom is salvation,
to him in whom there is peace and reconciliation. He sends
a preacher to warn and to teach teach every man to whom that
preacher is sent, to teach them of Christ, to teach them of Him
in whom there is salvation, not just for the present, but for
eternity, not just for now, but forevermore, not just salvation
from the trials and the troubles that we find in this world, not
just salvation from temporary things, from poverty, from illness,
from troubles, but salvation from those things which are eternal,
those things which matter, which concern the soul, those things
which last forever. Salvation from sin, salvation
from death, salvation from judgment, salvation from our sins, from
our judgment, salvation. so he sends a preacher like Paul
who warns and who teaches and in teaching of Christ he brings
those who are given an ear to hear he brings those who are
found in Christ who are taught in Christ they are brought to
know that they are perfect in Christ and that there is perfection
to be found there really is perfection to be found There is righteousness
to be found. There is salvation to be found.
And that it is found in a person. It's not found in us. It's not
found in our efforts. It's not found in our reasoning
or in our wisdom. But it is found in Christ, and
in Christ alone. And so Paul preaches Christ,
and he preaches Christ alone. that every man who is found in
Christ might be found perfect in Christ Jesus. Have you heard? Do you know? Are you in Him? For this must be experienced.
It must be a reality. It must be a reality of which
you are certain, of which I am certain. It is one thing to be
warned with the outer ear, It is one thing to be taught of
Christ with the natural mind and the natural understanding.
It is one thing to hear the gospel with the ear by nature. But it is another thing to have
the heart opened and to have the understanding opened that
we really understand who Christ is and we really hear with the
heart and we really are given faith to see and to hear. And
we really know what it is to be found in Christ, and to be
in Christ, and to know who he is, and what he has done for
us. Not just what he's done for sinners,
but what he's done for this sinner. What he's done for this sinner.
What he's done for me. What has he done for you? What
do you know of what Christ has done for you? Do you know whether
He came to die in your place, for you? Yes, our profession must be real.
We must experience Christ, we must know Him. We must be taught
in all wisdom that we may be perfect in Christ. A mere profession
of Christ won't do. A mere profession with our lips
and our tongues won't do. It's not good enough. It won't
do now and it won't do on that day when we come to stand before
our Maker, before Christ. Merely standing before Him and
saying, Lord, Lord, I've done this and I've said this. I've
gone here and I've gone there. I went to church every Sunday
morning. I heard these things said, I
read the Bible. I did these good things for others.
And me profession won't do. Lord, Lord won't do. Me, me won't do. We must know
that he is ours and that his grace has been shown unto us
and that his blood was shed for us. and that His blood has washed
us, and that our sins have been washed, and that He is our Saviour,
and that we have been taught of Him not just with the ear,
but in all wisdom, not in man's wisdom, not in the wisdom of
this world, but in God's wisdom, in all wisdom which comes from
above. We must have faith, we must have Christ, We must have
Christ. We must be in Christ. He must be in us. He must be
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Are you in Christ this day? Is
he your hope? Is he your perfection? Is he
your salvation? Are you in Christ? Are you? for only those in Christ will
receive such a warning. Paul preached, he warned every
man, he warned them of their state by nature. He warned them
that they were dead before God, that they were guilty sinners
who needed an answer for their sins, who left to themselves
would stand before God in filthy rags, that their works and righteousnesses
just would not do. that they needed an answer outside
of themselves to make them just before God, that they needed
to be washed from their sins, that they needed to be righteous,
that they needed to be perfect. He warned every man of that need
and he taught every man of what God had done in Christ to make
a people perfect. to wash a people from their sins,
to make them righteous before God, to make them just. But there's only one people who
will heed such a warning. There's only one people who will
receive such teaching. Many hear it with the outer ear. Many will reject it. Many will
go away. Some will take it in an outer
profession. Some will think it applies to
them when really there's been no change in the heart and when
they still have a stony and a cold heart. They think on the things
of God when they come into the meeting. They think perhaps of
the things of God for five minutes every day when they utter a prayer
or read a few verses in the Bible. But the rest of their affections,
the rest of their thoughts, and their affections, and their passions,
and their strength, is spent on the things which concern the
flesh. The things which their flesh seeks after. The lust and
the desires of this world. And they have a mere profession.
And it won't do. But there are those who do receive
the warning. Have you been warned? Do you
hear? For there are those who do. There
are those who have been warned and who heed the warning. And
on hearing where they are by nature they fall to the ground. They fall before the Lord and
they cry out. It matters to them. It matters
to them where they are before God. It's not a mere thing that
they turn on on a Sunday. It's not a mere thing that they
may speak about in the company of other professing believers. It's not just a subject and interest
which they turn to at times, and then they turn to their other
interests at other times. It's not a mere interest that
they talk about when they are, as it were, in the club that
they attend on a Sunday, and then they go to their golf club
on a Monday, and their football club on a Tuesday, and on whatever
other interests and clubs and things that take up their thoughts
and attentions on other days. It's not something that they
merely talk about with great interest when they're in the
company of the religious. But those who are warned of God,
of the state of their soul before God, take the warning, not just
in the mind, but in the heart. I say unto you again, has this
warning penetrated not just your head, but your heart? Have you
fallen on your knees before God, knowing that you need him, knowing
that you need your sins to be washed, knowing that if they're
not, you are in peril and you are in danger? Oh my friend,
heed the warning, for unless you have that blood washing you,
Unless you are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Not just
that you claim it. Not just that you think it's
yours. But unless the Spirit of God
has taken that blood. Unless He's come unto you in
power and He's opened your ears to hear. And He's opened that
hard heart of yours. And He's taken that blood and
He's sprinkled it upon your heart and in your conscience. And you
can say that you know that Christ is your Saviour. You can say
that you know that He died in your place. You can say that
you know that your troubled conscience has been soothed and that blood
has brought peace. Unless you can say that, then
you remain in a lost condition. And the warning is still sounded.
But there are those who hear. There are those who know what
it is to be warned, and they come before their Maker, and
they cry out for mercy, and they hear an answer, and they hear
the teaching, and they gladly receive the teaching, and they
gladly hear of Christ the Saviour, and they gladly hear of what
He did to save, and they gladly embrace Him who loved them and
gave Himself for them. Yes there are those who receive
the warning, there are those who receive the teaching and
these are those who Paul and any preacher of the gospel may
present perfect before God and Christ Jesus. So Paul warns,
he teaches that he may present and to this end in chapter two
and as he goes on in the epistle He goes on to emphasize again
a number of the truths which he set before us in chapter one.
He reminds us again that the fullness of God is found in Christ. In verses three and verse nine
of chapter two, he says, in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. Verse nine, for in him in Christ
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He reminds
his hearers again that he preaches unto them, that having therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and
built up in him, established in the faith as he hath been
taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. And he brings these
reminders again of the same things he set before them in chapter
one, in order for this cause, in order to address those things
of which he will bring before them of the dangers in which
they stand if they turn from Christ, and only Christ, and
the sufficiency of Christ. For in verse 8 he warns them,
he says, Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit. After the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Beware, lest
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men and after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For here was the people who had
begun in Christ. Here was the people who'd heard
the warnings of the gospel, who'd heard the teaching of Christ
and his salvation. who'd fled from the wrath to
come and fled into that refuge which is Christ's, fled into
the arms of the one who died for them, the ones who died for
his own, the one who gave his life that his people might not
die, but have everlasting life in him. And yet in the meeting
at Colossae, there are those who would come into Begawa and
who would spoilt them. through philosophy, through vain
deceit, the traditions of man and the rudiments of the world.
And they turn them from Christ into something else. So Paul
writes to warn them of the dangers they face. Elsewhere in chapter
2 he says other things, he warns them. Verse 18, let no man beguile
you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels.
intruding into those things which ye have not seen. If ye be dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world,
are ye subject to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines
of men? He warns them of the results
of turning from Christ, and after the deceptions which they are
led into. And this is why, in verse 28,
this is the reason why he preaches why he preaches Christ, why he
warns, teaches, in all wisdom, that he may present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus. For the way that they would be
kept from such deceit, from such philosophy, from such deceptions,
is to be reminded of where they are in Christ, only in Christ,
always in Christ, sufficient in Christ. Hence Paul's warnings. And in
so doing, with Paul preaching such a message, we also are warned. We also are warned of the danger
of being both outside of Christ and of the danger of turning
from Christ in any way, in any shape, or in any form. For everything
is in Christ. So Paul has warned all men. Now He teaches every man in all
wisdom. Having so warned them, He then
strengthens His argument by teaching us clearly where we are in Christ,
where we are in Him as a result of His work, how complete this
work is, how finished the work of Christ is. Here we see the
wisdom of God presented to us, the wisdom of Christ. Paul teaches
every man in all wisdom. As it says in 1 Corinthians 1
verse 30 of Christ, that Christ has made unto us wisdom. Christ
is the wisdom of God. And to teach every man in all
wisdom is to teach every man Christ, to preach Christ, to
preach the wisdom of God in Christ. The wisdom of God. As 1 Corinthians
1.30 teaches us that He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption. Here's the wisdom of God in Christ. Righteousness, sanctification,
redemption. All God's people's righteousness
is found in Christ and nowhere else. All their sanctification
is found in Christ, and nowhere else. And all their redemption
is found in Christ, and nowhere else. So in chapter two, Paul reminds
them of these things. To counter these deceptions which
have come in. To counter the temptations to
turn away from this wisdom in Christ, from this completeness.
to turn away in some way from his righteousness, to turn away
in some way from his sanctification, to turn away from his redemption.
He reminds them of various facts. In verses 11, verses 10 and 11,
he tells them that they are complete in him who is the head of all
principality and power. They are complete in Christ,
for in Him also ye are circumcised, with the circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body of the sin to the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ. They are buried with Him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And being
dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, have ye quickened
to gather with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotted out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. Here Paul teaches
that his hearers, that all those who are found in Christ, all
those who are believers, all those who are in Christ, he teaches
them the wisdom which is in Christ. He teaches them that He alone
is their righteousness, their sanctification and redemption.
And He does this by reminding them that in Christ they have
been circumcised with the circumcision without hands, that circumcision
of the flesh, that taking off the body of sins in Christ in
His death. That they died with Christ, that
they were buried with Christ, that they rose with Christ, And
in so doing that they have been delivered from all that was against
them, for not only did they die in Christ and rise in Him, but
Christ blotted out the handwriting of ordinances which was against
them, which was contrary to them, and He took it out of the way,
nailing it to His cross. And in so doing He spoiled principalities
and powers, and He made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. When Christ died, He died completely
and He did everything to save His people. His people died in
Him. They were buried with Him. They
rose in Him. And they were delivered by Him
from all that was against them. From all that was against them.
Their sins were taken away through that circumcision of the flesh.
Their sin was cut off. And the handwriting of ordinances,
that law which condemned them, was taken out of the way. It
was satisfied completely. There was not a single charge
which could be laid against them, which could ever be brought back
against them. It was nailed to his cross and
taken away. And in so doing, rising from
the dead, triumphant in his salvation of his own. Christ spoiled principalities
and powers. He took away everything that
Satan and his army, his legions of devils, of spirits could lay
against the child of God. He spoiled every principality
and power which was set against his people, Christ's people.
He made a show of these powers openly. He triumphed over them. For not only did he take these
people out of their sight, out of their clutches, but that law
which Satan, the accuser, knew inside out, which he was happy
to bring in condemnation against every child of God, which he
would bring with his accusations against them, to bring them down,
to bring them low, to seek to crush them and to take their
strength and their confidence away. Christ made a show of them
openly. He triumphed over the accuser. He triumphed over him because
he took that very law which the accuser would take and he nailed
it to his cross and he took the law itself out of sight. And
not only have Christ's people died in Christ, not only did
their sins be condemned by God in Christ, Not only were their
sins washed away by his blood when he shed his blood upon the
tree, not only were they buried with him when he was laid in
the grave, not only did they rise in him when he rose triumphant
on the third day, but that law which once condemned them, that
law which would once have laid them in the grave and kept them
in the grave had been taken away, and there was nothing to keep
them in the grave. And so they rose, and they rose in Christ,
their mighty conqueror, their mighty victor, their mighty Saviour. They rose victorious, and He
triumphed over principalities and powers, and they triumph
in Him. For there's nothing to condemn,
and there's nothing to add. They died, they were circumcised,
died, buried, rose again and delivered. all who are in Christ,
if you are in Christ, then you, we, died, rose, died, buried,
rose, and have been delivered, all in Christ, and none other. Christ did this for his own.
But outside of Christ, outside of Christ, that burial, that
death still remains. Outside of Christ, that condemnation
of that law still hangs over your head. Outside of Christ,
be warned, there's still the condemnation. But Christ died
for his own. And they died in Christ. They
died in him and they rose in him. This is what God did for his
own, it's what God does to save. You can't make this happen, it's
what God did. He died, and he rose again. We died when he died, and we
rise when he rose. This is what he did. And note
that Paul connects the two things. The same people who died in Christ,
rose in Christ. The same who died rose, then
all who died in him, all rise in him. All who died with him
are all saved by him. Then how can you say that Christ
died for all men when all men do not rise? If Christ died for
all, if his blood was shed for all, then all will rise in him
and all will be saved by him. But we know that not all rise
and not all are saved. but those who are Christ's, those
who were given faith to believe. And yet here Paul reminds us
that all who died also rose. Then he died for his own and
his own alone. And he died for everyone whom
he would save. And everyone for whom he died,
everyone whom he would save, did die. And they did rise. And they have been delivered.
Was that you? Was that you? For all God's people have been
circumcised in Him. They have died in Him. And they
have been risen in Him. They have risen in Him. They
have been delivered by Him. Was that you? Then how on earth,
if that's you, if that's what He did for you, if that's how
complete His salvation is, how on earth can you return to carnal
things and carnal ways? To add in something? to these
ways that the Colossians turned to. So Paul teaches them of these
things, he teaches them to this end, that he might present his
hearers perfect in Christ Jesus, perfect. This is the end of this
teaching. What is the end? Chapter three
is the end. Chapter three is the end, that
if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
where Christ did live on the right hand of God. Set your affections
on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God. Your life is hid with
Christ in God. This is the end of this teaching,
that we might be brought to see that we are risen in Christ. If he is our saviour, if we died
in him, that we are risen in him, that he is our all, in all. Paul preaches, he warns, he teaches
that he may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To bring
them to see in ever greater clarity, ever more perfectly, what they
already are. What they already are. That they
already are perfect in Christ Jesus. Not that they need to
do something to become perfect, but that they already are perfect
in Christ Jesus. Paul here isn't trying to perfect
his hearers, but to perfect their knowledge of what God has already
done for them in Christ, and to have them walk in the light
of that. To demonstrate to them, to teach them with all heavenly
wisdom, that they are perfect in Him, that they are alive in
Him, risen in Him. that they are perfect in Christ
Jesus, that he is their all in all, that he is perfect and so
are they. That this one who was conceived
in Mary, that holy thing, that perfect thing, that was born
a babe in Bethlehem, perfect, that never sinned, that was separate
from sinners, holy, that man who lived on earth, that never
once sinned, that perfect Lamb of God, who died, who took upon
Him the sins of His own, that He might take away their sins,
that He might swallow up the wrath of God against those sins,
and put their sins away, and then rise in having taken those
sins away, that He might present that people perfect, that not
only is He perfect, but so are they. For he took their sins
away, and they are found in him. And he is their righteousness,
he is their perfection. And they are perfect in him,
not one day, but now, now. So Paul writes, so Paul teaches,
so he warns, he teaches in all wisdom that he may present every
man perfect. For if we're risen in Christ,
if we're without sin, that sin which brings death, If we're
without sin, if we are risen, then we cannot be with sin. For
sin brings death and sin keeps us dead. But those who are risen
from the dead are no longer dead. Then if no longer dead, they
must be without sin. And if without sin, then they
must be righteous. And if they are righteous, then
they are in Christ, for he is righteousness. And if they are
in Christ and they are perfect, for he is perfection. and He
is their righteousness and their perfection. Do you hear that? All you who believe in Christ,
do you really hear that who are in Christ? That all those in
Him are perfect, perfect, perfect in Christ Jesus. Then what can
you add to such perfection? How can it be bettered? How can
you add anything to the fullness of God? How can you add anything
to that which is already full? How can you add anything to that
which is already complete? What of our prophetic works,
our efforts, our strivings, thoughts, wills, opinions, judgments? What
of anything of our doing can be added to, can improve upon
that which is already complete and already full? What can we
do? What can we turn to? What can
we add to Christ who is complete? who is perfect, what can we add
to his complete and his perfect work? Oh friends, hear this wisdom,
hear this warning, hear this wisdom, nothing can be added
to Christ, nothing can be added to grace. If you add anything,
God will leave you to yourself without anything. You either
have Christ this day and only Christ or you have nothing. Whatever
the appearance, whatever the appearance of will-worship, whatever
the appearance of many in the flesh, many who are religious,
who touch not, taste not, handle not, many who turn to this way
and to that way, whatever the appearance, anything which is
not Christ and Christ alone is nothing. It is less than nothing. And it will damn, it will damn
you and yourself for eternity. But Christ is all. He's complete. He's all sufficient. He's all
our needs. Christ is life. He alone is righteousness. He alone is perfection. He is
all our needs. He is all. He is all in all. Do you hear me? He is all. Yes, that's the gospel. That's
the gospel. And that gospel today, this morning,
this hour, that gospel, warns and teaches every man in all
wisdom that Christ alone is our salvation, that Christ alone
is the only Saviour and all who are in Him, every man who is
in Christ Jesus is perfect, in Christ Jesus, perfect. Praise God.