The Spiral Gospel Hymns Hymnal
number 38. 38. Let's all stand together. Come every sinner saved by grace,
you who by faith God's Son embrace. Tell all who hear your voice
below, the debt of love to Christ you owe. ? Dear Lord, I lift
my praise to Thee ? All that I am or hope to be ? I owe alone,
O Christ, to Thee ? And came to earth on wings of
love ? ? For us he lived the perfect man ? ? And so fulfilled
the law's demand ? ? Dear Lord, I lift my praise to thee ? ?
All that I am or hope to be ? ? I owe alone, O Christ, to thee ? Jesus
endured His Father's iron, and died at the appointed hour. What He endured, no tongue can
tell, to save our souls from death and hell. ? Dear Lord,
I lift my praise to Thee ? All that I am or hope to be ? I owe
alone, O Christ, to Thee From death's dark grave our King arose,
And triumphed over all our foes. Up through the skies the victor
rode, And reigns on high our Savior God. ? Dear Lord, I lift
my praise to Thee ? All that I am or hope to be ? I owe alone,
O Christ, to Thee ? From Heaven Christ will quickly come ? And
bring His ransomed people home There we shall see his lovely
face and chant the praises of his praise. Dear Lord, I lift
my praise to thee. All that I am or hope to be,
I owe alone, O Christ, to thee. Please be seated. We're going to read from Psalm
46 this morning, if you'd like to turn with me there in your
Bible, Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear,
though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried
into the depths of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof? With God with us, we have no
fear of our circumstances, knowing that he brings them. He's ordained them, He's purposed
them, He's caused them. And we have no fear of the shaking
of that Mount Sinai. The Lord Jesus came and fulfilled
all the requirements of the God's law. The law has no claim on
God's people. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High. This is that river that John
saw in heaven, clear as crystal, flowing from the Lamb and from
the throne of God. God is in the midst of her. She
shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that,
right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice and the
earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the
Lord. What desolations he hath made
in the earth. The Lord Jesus, when he went
to Calvary's cross, the scripture says, destroyed the works of
the devil. He accomplished the salvation of his people. He conquered
death and hell. He maketh wars to cease. Those who he by his grace brings
to trust him, he causes them to put down all the weapons of
their warfare against him. Unto the ends of the earth he
breaketh the bow, he cutteth the spear in sunder, and he burneth
the chariots in the fire. Be still, and know that I am
God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father, what great comfort and hope. Your word speaks to our hearts,
assuring us of your presence, your power, your grace, your
mercy, your love. Lord, we know that in this world
we shall have tribulation, but we're to be of good cheer for
the Lord Jesus overcame the world. That he reigns sovereign in the
heavens, among the inhabitants of the earth. Lord, we're greatly comforted
in knowing that our sin has been put away. and that by your sovereign grace,
you have made your elect perfect in thy sight. They're found in
thy dear son, our Lord and Savior. Lord, we pray that he would be
lifted up here today, that our hearts would be drawn to him,
that we would be caused to set our affections on things above
where Christ is seated at thy right hand. Lord, we confess
to you that so much of our time and thoughts and affections are
set on the things of the earth. Lord, thank you for the forgiveness
of that sin and cause us now, Lord, to be able to worship thee
in the power of your spirit and according to the truth of thy
word. we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Todd Niebuhr needs no introduction
here among our folks and I think with most of the other visitors
that are here with us. Todd's been a dear friend of
this church for, well, since its beginning. The Lord used
Todd Niebuhr to bring the gospel to Orlando and very Love you,
brother. I don't know what else to say.
You've been such a dear, dear friend to me. I think Elizabeth? No, Rebecca. Rebecca. Rebecca's going to come
and do a special. And Todd, when Rebecca's finished,
you come. Break thou the bread of life,
dear Lord, to me, as thou didst break the loaves beside the sea. Beyond the sacred page, I seek
Thee, Lord. My spirit pents for Thee, O living
Word. Bless thou the truth, dear Lord,
to me, to me. As thou didst bless the Word, Then shall all bondage cease,
all fetters fall, and I shall find my peace, my all is Thou art the bread of life, O
Lord, to me. Thy holy word, the truth that
saveth me. Give me to eat and live, Teach me to love thy truth for
thou art love. Oh, send thy spirit that he may touch my eyes and
make me see. Show me the truth concealed within
thy words. And in thy book revealed I see
the Lord. Break thou the bread of life,
Lord, unto me. Would you turn to Matthew chapter
11? Verse 16. But where into shall I liken
this generation? It is like unto children sitting
in the markets and calling unto their fellows and saying, we've
piped unto you, played joyous music unto you, and you've not
danced. We've mourned unto you, and you've
not lamented. For John, speaking of John the
Baptist, came neither eating nor drinking. And they say he
hath a devil. The son of man came eating and
drinking. And they say, behold, a man gluttonous
and a winebibber, a friend. of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified for children. I've entitled this message, Jesus,
the Sinner's Friend. Jesus, the sinner's friend. Now this was meant as a harsh
criticism and not a compliment. He's the friend of publicans
and sinners. This man is affirming a sinful
lifestyle. He is putting his stamp of approval
on their conduct. He's saying the way they live
is acceptable. That's what he's doing in being
the sinner's friend. Jesus, the friend of sinners. You know one of the great blessings
there is in this life is having a true friend. What a blessing. Someone who
has your back. Someone who really has your best
interests at heart. You're not manipulated by this
person. They're not trying to get something
out of you. They love you. They're for you. I love the scripture that says
a friend loveth at all times. There is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. to have the Lord Jesus Christ
as your friend. That's an incredible thought,
isn't it? To have the Lord Jesus Christ,
the son of God, the creator of the universe, the one who is
the brightness of his father's glory and the express image of
his person, to have him, the God-man, Count you as his friend. That's an incredible concept,
isn't it? Jesus, the friend of sinners. They meant it as a criticism,
but what a glorious statement with regard to the Son of God,
the friend, the friend of sinners. sinners. He doesn't hold you
at arm's length, he makes himself known to you,
a true friend, the friend, the friend of sinners. Now I read this somewhere and
as soon as I read it, it immediately resonated with me and here's
the statement, the gospel is essentially and fundamentally
a sinner's religion. How's that sound to you? Let
me repeat it. The gospel is essentially and
fundamentally a sinner's religion. There is no other religion like
that. All false religion, whether it
goes under the name of Christianity or one of the world's great religions,
as they call them, has your relationship with God ultimately dependent
upon what you do. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the friend of sinners, makes your salvation ultimately
dependent. completely predicated on what
he has done. Do or done. It is that simple. Do or done. I love the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ from the cross. It is finished. It is done. It's already done. There's absolutely nothing I
need to bring to the table. It's already done. That's the only hope that a sinner
has. That it already accomplished. Now before we go on it's very
critical that we understand the biblical meaning of the word
sinner and there are a lot of six, seven textbook definitions
of sin, the sinner. I love the scripture the plowing
of the wicked is sin. Plowing seems to be a wholesome
activity but if a wicked man does it that makes it sin. I
think the The definition that's most easy for us to get hold
of is what John said in 1 John 3, verse 4, sin is the transgression
of the law. And that's talking about the
law that's written on every man's heart. Born into this world with the
law written on our heart. I think this is a legitimate
statement. People say, teach us how to live.
We already know how to live. We know we ought not lie. We
know we ought not murder anybody. We know we ought not covet. The
law is written on the heart of every man, woman, on this planet. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Thou shall have no other gods
before me. Small g. Every time we sin, we
put something before God, don't we? The Lord said, all that ever
came before me are thieves and robbers. You see, Christ is before
all things. If my salvation begins with something
in me, it's coming before Christ. And it's nothing more than a
thief and a robber. If I'm saved because of an act
of my will or something I do, I'm putting it before Christ.
The same as a thief and a robber. The commandment with regard to
idolatry. making an image of God, and that
is something you and I have been very guilty of, creating a God
in our own image, not the God of the Bible. The commandment
with regard to not taking his name in vain. God is so glorious
that even to take his name in vain is worthy of eternal hell. And every time I take his name
in my mouth, There's some wincing that goes on inside because I
know I'm not practicing the proper reverence for his name. Resting. The commandment of the
Sabbath. Oh, do I know anything of rest? It doesn't come natural, does
it? The commandment with regard to honoring your father and mother,
that respect for authority. What disrespect? I've had for
authority because of my own high opinion of myself, so ugly. Thou
shalt not kill. I've never murdered anybody physically,
but I've murdered a lot of people by innuendo, by saying things
I shouldn't say, maybe by what I didn't say when I should have
said, murdering their characters. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Commandment with regard to sexual
sin in every form. In your mind, what did the Lord
say? Whoso looketh on a woman to lust
after in his heart hath already committed adultery. The commandment with regard to
being, not taking what's yours, not taking what's not yours,
stealing. Are you a thief? Have you taken credit where it
shouldn't have been given to you? Have you sought to rob God
of glory? Are you a thief? A liar now shall
not bear false witness. I am conscious of the fact that
even when I tell the truth, I'm a liar. I'm presenting it in
such a way to project some kind of image of myself to impress
you and look good. Thou shalt not covet, be envious,
jealous, desiring that which is not yours. Why isn't that
what was going on in the garden of Eden? Eve, Adam coveting that which
belonged to God. There's an element of covetousness
in every sin. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Would that be an accurate description
of you right now? No? You put yourself in a very precarious
position because Christ Jesus only came into the world to save
who? Sinners. Jesus is the friend of sinners. What is a sinner? A sinner is
one who has only broken the law. He has not kept one commandment,
one time. That's a sinner, a transgressor
of the law. This man can't look down his
nose in moral superiority to anyone, no one. Therefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art, that Excuses yourself. The judge is
somebody you look, you're inexcusable because you, the judge do the
same things. Somebody says, no, I don't. Well,
God says you do. God says I do. A sinner, a transgressor
of God's holy law. He has no claims on God. The transgressor. guilty as charged. Now, I want to be honest. I don't want to project an image. I want to be vulnerable. Preachers
a lot of times have a hard time with that, don't they? I don't
want to project an image. But the best way I can be honest
is just by reading the Bible. Turn to Romans 7 for a moment. Remember a sinner is a transgressor
of the law. Verse seven, what should we say
then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except
the law had said thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion
by the commandment, using the commandment as a base of operation,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscent evil desire, covetousness. For without the law, sin was
dead. I wasn't aware of it. For I was
alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin
revived and I died. And the commandment which was
ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore, the law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and just and good. Was then that which
is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it
might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good that
sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful for we
know." Paul is speaking as the spokesman
of all of the elect. We know. This is not something
that we are unsure of. We know. that the law is spiritual
but I am carnal. Not I was carnal. As a matter
of fact, he thought he was pretty good shape before God saved him.
This is what he found out when God saved him. We know that the
law is spiritual but I am carnal, sold under sin, sold under sin. What's wrong with you, Paul? I'm telling the truth. For that which I do, I allow
not for what I would, that do I not, for what I hate, that
do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it's good. Now then, it's no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, for I know that
in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. to will is present with me but
how to perform that which is good I find not for the good
that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I
do now if I do that I would not it's no more I that do it but
sin that dwelleth in me I find then a law that when I would
do good evil is present with me." Right there, I'm feeling
breathing, for I delight to the law of God after the inward man,
but I see another law in my members, in my body, warring against the
law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I used
to be before God saved me. Doesn't say that at all, does
it? Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord,
so then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, and with
the flesh the law of sin. My old man has not become better. It's just as bad as it ever was. That's the truth. When you hear this, you're either
going to criticize and judge me or you're going to say, me
too. Now, if you do criticize and
judge me for making a statement like that, what's wrong with
him? I thought he was saved. Why would he speak that way?
Is there no difference in his life? Why would he speak that
way? If you criticize me and judge me, you just don't see yourself like
that, do you? That's the only reason you would. You do not
see yourself in that light. But if you see yourself in that
light, you say, I understand. That is me. Did you know that you can only
and I can only hear the gospel as a sinner? And if I'm not hearing as a sinner,
I do not hear Now let me show you that from the scripture.
Turn to Luke chapter 15. I want to read the last sentence
of chapter 14. He that hath ears to hear. What a gift of God's grace that
is. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for
to hear him. Who are the only ones who drew
near to hear? All, A-double-L all, the publicans
and sinners. You can only hear the gospel
as a sinner. And you can only preach the gospel
as a sinner preaching to other sinners. If you preach any other
way, it's not gospel preaching. I don't care what it is. It's
not gospel preaching. Do you remember when Peter found
out who the Lord was for the first time and he said, depart
from me, Lord. You don't want to have anything
to do with me. I am a sinful man, a man full of sin. That's when the Lord said, fear
not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. He's not gonna be a preacher
until he sees this with regard to himself, a sinful man. Now, Jesus. I wish I could describe him the
way he ought to be described, the son of God. The altogether
glorious God, the Son, the man Christ Jesus, the creator of
the universe, the Lord of heaven and earth, the one who's called
wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father,
the prince of peace, the one who has the government upon his
shoulders, the one who controls everything, Lord of lords, King
of kings, Lord of creation, Lord of salvation, Lord of providence,
the first cause, the cause, is the friend, the friend that sticketh closer
than a brother, the friend that loveth at all times, the one
who makes himself known to you. He doesn't hold you back. If
you confessed what was really going on in your heart to me,
I'd be such a hypocrite. I'd say, what's wrong with that
person? And if I did that to you, you'd do the same thing.
But thee is the one who doesn't hold off the sinner, but embraces
him and brings him into his presence and saves him by his grace. Jesus,
the sinner's friend. Do you know he's always been
the sinner's friend? Before time began. He was the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. Before there was ever a sinner,
there was the sinner's friend. Now, why was he slain? There's
only one reason for death. Sin. Sin. Now, all this took place before
the foundation of the world. All the works, the writer of
the Hebrews said in Hebrews 4, 3, were finished from the foundation
of the world. From the foundation of the world,
Jesus Christ was the sinner's friend. As the lamb slain, he
said to his father in that great covenant of grace with regard
to every sinner, everyone he represented, all those the father
gave him, whatever you require of them, look to me for. How's that resonate with you?
Whatever you require of them, I take full responsibility. The friend of sinners. He came into this world. First
Timothy one 15, why Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am so thankful that there is
not an adjective place before sinners. It does not say he came
to save elect sinners. It does not say he came to save
believing sinners. It does not say he came to save
repentant sinners. It does not say he came to save
sinners who had evidence in their life that God had done something
for them. It just says sinners. The friend of sinners came into
the world to save sinners. Are you a sinner? His life He lived as the friend
of sinners. Now, think about this. John the
Baptist is baptizing. The Lord Jesus comes to him to
be baptized. John says, I have need to be
baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? This seems inappropriate. Why did he say that? Because
he knew he was a sinner. He's standing before the Son
of God, and the Son of God says, baptize me? I don't have any
business doing anything like that. And the Lord said, suffer
to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."
At this time, the friend of sinners fulfilled all righteousness for
every sinner he represented as the sinner's friend. He said,
I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. He was the friend of sinners
by association with them. And John the Baptist, he kind
of hung out in the desert. He lived under the stars at night,
ate locusts and wild honey, was girded with a leather girdle,
John the Baptist, just like Elijah. And he didn't really hang out
with these people, but the Lord He came eating and drinking with
them. He didn't stay away from them.
Now he was accused, why he's a drunk, he's a gluttonous man,
a wine beaver. Criticized, he has no, he don't
watch out, his first testimony hanging around with people like
that. But oh, he, in his life, in his association with sinners.
I love it in John chapter 6 where it says he must need to go to
Samaria. Why? There's a sinner there that he came to save. She'd been married five times
and the man she was living with, she was cohabiting with outside
the bond of marriage and he said to her, I that speak
unto thee, She said, come see a man who's told
me all that I've ever done. And one of the glories of the
gospel is when he tells me all I've ever done, all I've ever
done is sin. And all I've ever done is perfect
in him, no sin. a life of perfection, his life
being my life. What about the woman taken in
adultery in the very act? They bring her to be stoned. Woman, where are those thine accusers?
Hath no man condemned thee? No man, Lord, neither do I condemn
thee. Go and sin no more. Zacchaeus, little short rip-off, tried to
destroy people's lives, padding his own pockets with their money.
Everybody in town hated him, you can bet that. He was very
rich. The chief of the publicans. Wicked
man. Cruel man. Zacchaeus, make haste. Come down, for today
I must abide at thy house. And that didn't just mean for
a 24-hour period. That meant forever. The thief on the cross, even
as he's hanging on the cross, today thou shalt be with me in
paradise. Oh, his association with sinners,
he prayed for sinners. Father, forgive them. Let me tell you this, everybody
he prayed for, the Father forgave. That was no generic prayer. Father,
forgive them. They know not what they do. He prayed as the friend of sinners
and how he proved himself the friend of sinners in his death. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter
8 verse 9, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor. He who was rich in righteousness
became completely devoid of that on the cross when he bore his
people's sins that you through his poverty might be rich. You think of him on Gethsemane
sweating great drops of blood as he saw that cup pass before
him. And I know the content of that
cup. That was the sin of his people. And you and I can't understand
this because sin doesn't bother us anywhere near the way it ought
to. But oh, the holy, harmless son of God, knowing he was going
to drink the content of that cup and be made sin. Why did he do this? Because he's
the sinner's friend. Are you a sinner? He is your
friend, the friend of publicans, the friend of sinners. Turn with me for a moment to
Romans chapter 5, verse 6. When we were yet, what? Without strength. Not just weak. Void of spiritual
strength. None. When we were yet without strength,
in due time, Christ died. for thee ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, and that's talking about a real religious
guy. Real, you know, the guy that you're around and you feel
judged by him and he's looking down at you. Nobody's gonna die
for that guy, he's a jerk. That's what he's saying. Nobody
likes people like that. Scarcely for a righteous man
would one die, yet for a good man some would even dare to die.
A good man, a merciful man, a gracious man. But God commendeth his love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners. Lawbreakers. transgressors of
his holy law, having kept one commandment one time. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Now there's the description of
that one Jesus Christ shed his precious blood for us, the friend
of sinners, without strength, ungodly, sinner. He intercedes for sinners. He was raised for sinners. I
love to think of him being in the tomb, lifeless, and all of
a sudden he opens his eyes, he breathes, he lives, he gets up. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. He was raised for sinners and
he intercedes for sinners right now. John didn't say, if any
man be good and holy and obedient, righteous, we have an advocate
for the father with the father. He said, if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. Wherefore, he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. And that's the
only way a sinner comes by him. There is no other way. Seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. And beloved, as the sinner's
friend, he's returning. for sinners. Hebrews 9, 24 through 26 says,
but now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself to put away my sin. And as it's appointed, unto men
once to die and after that the judgment. Here's an appointment we must
keep. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him. looking for him. When your name
is called on judgment day, who are you gonna be looking to answer
for you? Him. To them that look for him,
shall he appear the second time without sin. That sin's gone. It is no more. Unto salvation. Jesus, what a
friend of sinners. Jesus, lover of my soul. Friends may fail me. Foes assail
me. He, my Savior, makes me whole. Jesus, What a strength in weakness. Let me hide myself in him. Tempted, tried, and always failing. He my strength. My victory wins. Jesus, what a help in sorrows. While the billows o'er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking, He, my comfort, helps my soul. Jesus, I do now receive Him. More than all in Him I find. He hath granted me forgiveness. I am His and He is mine. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Hallelujah. What a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me until the end. And at the end, the great end
of predestination will take place in our experience. Perfectly
conformed to his image. I won't be a sinner anymore.
and I won't even remember what it's like to be a sinner. I don't
understand how that is, but I do know this, when I see the scars
on his hands and his feet, I'll know that's the only reason I'm
there. Jesus, the friend of sinners. Number 44 in your spiral, Gospel,
Hymns, Hymnal number 44.