Turn with me back to Colossians
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Look again at verse 11. Paul writes, where there is neither
Greek nor Jew, Circumcision nor uncircumcision. Barbarian, scythian,
bond or free. But Christ is all. Christ is all and in all. That's the title of the message
this evening. Christ is all. Has the Lord revealed that truth
to you? that Christ is all? Who's Paul talking to here in
this passage of Scripture? Well, if you look at Colossians
1, Colossians 1, verse 1, we read Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, by the will of God, and Timotheus, our brother. Who are
they writing to here? Read on. To the saints and faithful
brethren in Christ, which are at Colossae, grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He's writing, he's writing to
the church. These words are for the church. Now there are some, there are
some, sadly, to whom Christ is nothing. He means nothing to them. They have no need. They have no need of a savior. You know when the Lord was pleased
to save that Gadarean man, there were folks that come out
after that and they asked him to depart. To depart from their coast. They
had no need of him. He's nothing to them. Luke 8.37, it says, the whole
multitude of the country, all of them, the whole multitude
of the country, they came out of the gatherings there, round
about, and they besought Him, not to stay, not to heal others,
not to be with them, but to depart. to depart from them for they
were taken up with great fear. And you know when they asked
him to leave, when they asked him to depart, he did just what they asked him.
He went down and he got into the ship and he returned back
again. There were another group of folks
in Luke 4. Lord spoke of particular redemption. You remember that
when he was speaking to those folks and he said there were
many widows. Many widows were in Israel in
the days of Elias when the heaven was shut up for three years and
six months. Great famine was throughout all
the land, but to none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta,
a city of Sidon. unto a woman that was a widow. He was sent there for just one. And he said many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, but none of them
was cleansed save one, save Naaman the Syrian, Naaman the leper. He was telling the people the
Lord's going to have mercy on whom he'll have mercy. He's going
to be gracious to whom he'll be gracious. I ask you, did those
folks think Christ was all? What was their response to him? It says, all they in the synagogue. All of them. When they heard
these things, they were filled with wrath. And they rose up,
and they thrust him out of the city. And they led him to the
brow of a hill whereon their city was built, that they might
cast him down headlong." What about at Calvary? What about
at Calvary, when the Lord would be crucified and slain? What was it to those folks? We read the chief priests, they
moved the people that they should release Barabbas. And Pilate answered again, and
he said to the people, he said, what will you that I would do?
with him whom you call the king of the Jews. And they cried out. Did they have any need for him?
They cried out, crucify him. And Pilate, he said, why? What evil hath he done? And they
cried out the more exceedingly, crucify him. The Lord Jesus Christ was nothing
to those folks. Lamentations 112 says, is it
nothing? Is it nothing to you? All ye
that pass by, behold and see if there's any sorrow. Only the
Lord Jesus Christ could speak these words. Is there any sorrow
like unto my sorrow? which is done unto me, wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
To some, Christ is nothing. To others, there are some that
he is something, but he's not everything. He makes up for their shortcomings,
right? Where they come up short, He
takes care of the rest. Those that someday they're going
to say, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? And in
your name, cast out devils. And in your name, do many wonderful
works. And he said, then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you. Oh, I don't ever want to hear those
words. I never knew you. Depart from
me, ye that work iniquity. Those that have little regard
for Him. Those that have no honor for
Him. Those that think He did, they
have something to do with their salvation, that they share an
equal part with Him. Scripture says, He trod the winepress
alone. Of the people, how many were
there to help? Who jumped in there and did?
There was none. None to help. Of the people,
there was none with Him. In the work of salvation, the
Lord Jesus Christ stands alone. It's all of Him. God's Word. How many times do we hear that
in the Scripture? Salvation is of the Lord. Another way to say that is Christ
is all. He's all. And listen, if He's
not all to you, if He's not all, then He's nothing to you. Aren't we thankful that there
are some that he's pleased to show mercy to? His elect, his
sheep, his bride, his church, and to them, Christ is all. He's everything. He's all. He's all in regeneration. Turn
with me to John 1, verse 12. John 1, verse 12. Here we read, as many as received
him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name. Now, we use this word from time
to time, regeneration. What does that mean? It means this, that you must
be born again, that you must have a new life. We're spiritually dead. And if we're going to have life, he must give it to me. That's not entering again. Nicodemus
said, does that mean I enter again into my mother's womb and
I'm born again? No, not a natural birth. but
born from above, born of the Spirit of God, born
by the power of God, by the will of God, by the Word of God. He must enter in and give us
life through His Word. How is it that Two people can hear the same
words and one can go away rejoicing and the other hears nothing. A dead man can't hear anything.
We must have life, life from above. God's word says this, if any
man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are Passed
away. Behold, all things are become
new. If you have spiritual life, you've
been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. And listen, if that's
the case, there should be some evidence of that. Evidence of life. Abby and I,
we planted some trees last fall. And we watched them all winter
long. And we thought that we planted
three of them. We thought they were dead. We went out there
in the spring and looked at them. Well, they looked dead. Looked
a little closer. One had some little blooms coming
out of it. Well, that one had, that's obvious,
it has life, right? Well, the other one, There were
no blooms on it. And we went over there and we
tried to break that limb. And you know what? It wouldn't
break. There's life in it. That third one, we went over
there and it just snapped in two. Why is that? Because it's
dead. There's no life. There's no life
in it. And that one was plucked up and
thrown up in the woods. There's evidence. If there's
light, you can tell when there's life in something, can't you? A man that has been regenerated
has life. And there's fruit there, right?
There's love, there's joy, there's peace, there's long-suffering.
There's gentleness, there's goodness. There's faith, meekness, temperance. We read of those in God's Word,
the fruits of the Spirit. A man that's been born again
knows something of his sin. I'm confident many of us went
a long time and had no idea we were sinners. A man that's been born again
knows something of his sin. He knows something of his unrighteousness,
his inability before God. something of the person and work
of Christ. I need Him. I must have Him. That man or woman, they'll grow
in grace. They'll grow in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And a man or woman that's been
given life, they'll continue in the faith. I ask you, who gets the glory
in that? The Lord, right? Christ is all
in regeneration. He's all in righteousness. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, look at verse
20. He's all in righteousness. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall there no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there
is no difference." Man has this thing of righteousness
all messed up. Religion has these things all
messed up. Listen, it's not the outward
works of the flesh. that makes a man righteous. It's
not our religion. It's not our morality. It's not
our sincerity. There's a lot of sincere people
out there, but that does not make them righteous. Remember that Pharisee? Remember
how he prayed? He was sincere, wasn't he? He
said, I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. He said, I fast. I give tithes
of everything I possess. You know, everything he said
in that prayer was about who? It was about himself, what he
was doing, what he wasn't doing. But that publican, he wasn't looking to himself,
was he? He was looking to Christ. His
dependence was on Christ. He said this, he said, God, be
merciful to me. The thief on the cross. Who'd
he look to? He said, Lord, remember me. Blind Bartimaeus, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. That importune widow. Who was
she looking to? She said, Lord, help me. Peter, as he began to sink, he
said, Lord, save me. My righteousness has nothing
to do with me. Nothing to do with anything other
than Him. He's my righteousness. It's not
me doing anything for Him, it's what He has done for me. It's the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ, that one that was made sin. He was made sin for us, who knew
no sin, that we might be made, what? The righteousness of God. in Him. Christ is all in righteousness. He's all in sanctification. Sanctification is God's work
of grace making something that's common and sinful to be holy. 1 Corinthians 1.30 But of Him are
you in Christ Jesus, who is of God, made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption." Think about that. How can a sinful
man, a woman, be made holy? Made holy is God's Son. In Jude verse 1, God's Word declares
we are sanctified by God the Father. First Corinthians 1,
2 says we're sanctified in Christ Jesus by God the Father. In 1 Peter 1, 2, it says we read
of the sanctification of the Spirit, sanctified by God the Father,
sanctified by God the Son, sanctified by God the Spirit, set apart,
made holy, without spot or wrinkle, a holy
nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, holy unto the Lord. The believer is sanctified by
the Father. We're set apart by Him. We're
sanctified in Christ. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ
that our sin and guilt is put away. Paul writing, we're sanctified
by the Spirit. That's a heart work. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus and two good works that we should walk in
them. A divine work, a heart work,
whereby a sinner is made holy, made righteous, Made like the Lord Jesus Christ. In attitude, in conversation,
in conduct, in behavior. Listen, that's not a lie. These
things aren't a license to sin. They're not an excuse to be sinful. We're set apart. We're made holy. That's an inward work, huh? A work in us. It's a work God
does in us and a work God does for us. The believer is sanctified
and Christ is all in sanctification. He's all in acceptance. Turn
with me to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter one. Look at verse six. Ephesians one, verse six. To
the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us
accepted. accepted in the Beloved, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace. God the Father has accepted
us in Christ. He looks upon us and in He looks upon us in Christ
and he's well pleased. What does he see? It's a frightening thing to think
what the Lord would see when he looks at me. God who sees
all things, who knows all things, what does he see? The old hymn writer said it best,
when he sees me, he sees the blood of the lamb. He sees me as worthy and not
as I am. He sees me in garments as white
as the snow. That's what he sees. He sees
us in Christ. The lamb of God, he's worthy. and he washed me, this I know. Christ is all in acceptance. He's all in love, all in love. Turn to Romans chapter eight,
verse 38. Romans eight, beginning with verse 38. all in love. Here we read, for
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I'm persuaded that nothing, nothing
in this world, no matter what, good or bad, nothing which is,
nothing that someday might be, nothing can separate us from
the love of God. And the key to that, the key
to that love is found in these last five words. I've heard men
quote this passage and they somehow forget these last five words. Nothing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, what's the rest of it? Which is in Christ
Jesus. Christ is all in love. He's all in redemption. Christ's
all in redemption. Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. Scripture says you're not your
own. You're bought. You're purchased. You're redeemed with a price. Turn to the book of Ruth. I was thinking this thing of
redemption. This book of Ruth, many read
it and they walk away with it, with this one verse. When Ruth
was saying about her mother-in-law, whether you go, I'll go. And
wherever you lodge, I'll lodge. Thy people be my people. Thy
God, my God. Where you die, I'll die. That's
where I'll be buried. And if that's all we get out
of the book of Ruth, we've missed it. In this book is the story of
redemption. There was a man named Elimelech,
and he had a wife named Naomi. And they had two sons, Malon
and Chilion. And they left Bethlehem, and
they went down to a place called Moab. And in a little bit of
time, Elimelech, he died. And those two boys married. One married a lady named Orpha,
and the other one married a girl named Ruth. And after 10 years, both of those
fellas died. And Naomi told her daughter-in-law,
she said, you go home to your own mothers. And the first said, she went
along with it. She said, I'll go. But Orpha
left and went home. But Ruth, she would not leave
her mother-in-law. And the two of them went back
to Bethlehem. And when they got back there, the people just couldn't
believe what they saw. Couldn't believe it was the same
person. Naomi was no longer rich and
prosperous. She's now poor. She has nothing. Isn't that a picture of us by
nature? Adam. After the fall, Adam was
created in the image of God. He fell. He's poor. He's sinful. He's dead in trespasses and sin.
Well, they came back and it was the beginning of the barley harvest
and it was a custom for those that had those farms is they
went through and gleaned the fields Whatever was left, the
poor could come through and there were no handouts. They'd go through
and they'd gather that to themselves. They'd pick up what was left
behind. And Ruth went out to glean the fields. And by the providence of God,
I wonder how many farms there were. As far as she's concerned, there's
just one, isn't there? She ends up gleaning in a field
that belonged to a man named Boaz. That's a near kinsman. Look at Ruth, look at chapter
2, verse 3. Her hap was to lie on a part
of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. And Boaz saw her out in the field,
took notice of her, took notice of her. And he had compassion
on her. And he told her, he said, you go glean in my field. And
then he told his reapers, you be kind to her. You watch out
for her. And you let some, I just love
this word, you let some handfuls of purpose for her. Isn't that a beautiful picture
of God's mercy to us? That field belongs to Boaz. This world belongs to the Lord. It's his. Scripture says the
earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. And the Lord Jesus Christ
and mercy and grace and love. He's taken notice of some of Adam's race. Ruth didn't know Boaz, but he
took notice of her. We didn't know him, did we? But
he knows his sheep. We didn't love him. But he loves
his people. He loved us. And by his grace,
he's led us and provided for us some handfuls of purpose. And Ruth came home with it. That sack must have just been
stuffed full of grain, because Naomi took notice of it. And
she said, where have you gleaned? Who has been so generous with
you? And she heard it was Boaz. It
was Boaz. And she said, blessed be the
Lord who has not left off his kindness. Boaz, he's a near kinsman. He has the right to redeem you. the one who's lost their inheritance,
who sold their inheritance, the kinsman, he has the right to
redeem. And listen, he's able and he's
willing to redeem. He can buy back that which was
lost. In Leviticus 25, verse 25, it
says, if thy brother be waxen poor and hath sold away some
of his possession, If any of his kin come to redeem it, then
he shall redeem that which his brother sold. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
kinsman. And he willingly took upon himself
to redeem all that which was lost in Adam. And he's able. He's able to redeem. He's a man,
and yet he's God. And by his perfect obedience,
he's given us a righteousness before God's holy law. By his
death, he has satisfied God's divine justice, enabling him
to be both just and justifier to all that believe. You take some time and read through
this book of Ruth. There's so much here. Ruth humbled
herself at the feet of Boaz, seeking mercy. Look at Ruth 4
verse 9. Skipping through a lot here,
but you look at Ruth 4 verse 9. It says, Boaz said unto the
elders, And to all the people, your witnesses this day, I have
bought all that was Alimelech's, and all that was Chileon's and
Melon's of the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of Melon, have I purchased to be my wife. to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance that the name of the dead be
not cut off from among his brethren. And from the gate of this place,
your witnesses this day." Boaz married Ruth. He purchased her. He redeemed
her to himself. And he married her. And you know, when he married
her, everything that he had It's now hers. Does that sound familiar? The
believer, the believer is married to Christ. We're joint heirs
with Him. And we that are His, we now bear
His name. All that He has, we have. He bought us, He redeemed us. You weren't redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers. We weren't redeemed by anything
that we've done or that we ever will do. But how are we redeemed? Redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Scripture says, by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Christ is all. He's all in regeneration. He's all in righteousness. He's all in sanctification, He's
all in acceptance, He's all in love, He's all in redemption. May He be pleased to cause us
to see this truth, to rest in this truth, to take comfort in
this truth that Christ is all.