Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the Gospel of John chapter 19. I'd like
to look at one verse of Scripture. John 19. Lord willing, as we're going
through the book of John, I'll be in this portion of Scripture
soon, but this one verse is verse 30. I'd like to look at it this evening
and then we'll make a few comments. When Jesus, therefore, had received
the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Let's pray together. Our Father,
this evening, we truly thank you. for giving us this time
to meet together. Lord, help us to not take for
granted being able to worship. We thank you for your presence.
According to your promise, you're here. And Lord, that very thought
arrests our heart. Help us, help us to hear, help
us to worship. And Lord, forgive us for Christ's
sake. Amen. It is finished. You know, I was looking at this
passage of Scripture, and I thought to myself, there is no words
that I can think of in all of Scripture that demands more respect
Now, all the words are in the scriptures, but those words right
there, it is finished. You know, as I looked at that
statement made by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, I realized
this, the Spirit of God was pleased to not make any further comment
on it than that. But I do think that with reverent
thoughts we can, from Scripture, taking Scripture and proving
Scripture with Scripture, we can consider a few things from
God's Word concerning the truth from the mouth of our Lord, it
is finished. I know that from his statement
that satisfaction has been accomplished concerning the triune God's eternal
purpose to show mercy and grace to a people that the Lord has
everlastingly loved. I know that we can't plumb the
depth of that truth. It is finished. But I do know
this. It's so. I know that. God's Word is breathed. It is
finished. I read in the Greek that it is
finished. He's actually one word A single
word in a perfect tense means it has been completed. One word. It has been completed. But I thought about this. What
has been completed? The truth of Christ's redemption,
His work of substitution, pleasing the Father, it's finished. It's over. Hebrews 10.14 says,
For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. It is finished. Now, if I were
to make a statement like that to a dog, if I'd walk up to a
dog and I'd say, It is finished. I know this, that dog would not
understand what I was saying. He'd hear my voice. I know that
dogs can hear. He would hear me saying words,
but what would he know? He's incapable of understanding. But do you know that it's the
same with an unregenerate? You walk up to someone and say,
the Lord said, It is finished. Can you tell me what he meant?
Jeremiah 6.10 says, To whom shall I speak and give warning that
they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised,
and they cannot hearken. Behold, the word of the Lord
is unto them a reproach, They have no delight in it. Is that
not so? An unbeliever, you talk to a
man, a woman, that the Lord has not given a heart after the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you talk to them concerning the things of
God, and they are very quickly changing the subject. They don't
want to talk about it. They don't understand. Stephen
said to those who were about to stone him, you stiff-necked
and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the
Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye. You don't want to hear. A carnal man needs a new understanding. He needs ears to hear, spiritual
ears, a new heart. given in regenerating grace.
But to those who have been given ears, to those that have been
given eyes to see, a new heart, new understanding, from the words
of our Lord, we know that the completeness of our salvation
has been found in His death. Deliver them from going down
to the pit I found a ransom. In his death, the power of sin
to destroy God's elect was removed. Now, you know, we are so accustomed
to hearing this. We hear this. And as we hear
it right now, I can truthfully say, as I'm speaking it, I'm
thinking to myself, Lord, forgive me. I'm hearing these words and
I'm thinking to myself, I am so dull. I know their truth and
rejoice that Almighty God would finish the work and leave nothing
for me to do. Oh, wretched man that I am to
hear with such callousness. It is finished ought to grip
my heart and give me joy unspeakable." And I'm thinking, Lord, I am
so thankful that You said You came to this world to save sinners.
Because here's one right here that needs to hear. How this
message needs to be preached over and over again. How God's people need to hear
and be given faith to believe. We need some comfort tonight.
Isaiah said, Isaiah 41, to comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith
your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. Now listen,
though I will readily admit I see the callousness of my heart,
and I do believe. I think when the Lord asked John,
he said, John, you love me? He said, Lord, I love you. He said, feed my sheep. John,
you love me? I mean, Peter. Peter, you love
me? Lord, I love you. Feed my lambs. Ask him a third
time. Peter, you love me? And Peter
was grieved because the Lord asked him three times. He said,
Lord, you know all things. You know all things. You know
I love you. Yeah, the very one that denied
you. I do. Comfort my people. This is what
you tell them. Her warfare is accomplished. It's ended. It's satisfied. It's completed. Tell her that
her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins." As I've told you before, many
times we'll see that they receive double. Actually, what it means,
it means a folding. It means a folding. And actually,
it's completeness. She's received completeness. Everything that she needs. has been provided. Listen, there's
nothing left for us to do. The warfare is ended. The Lord
said it's finished. It's finished. Aren't you glad? I'm so thankful. Not as I ought
to be, not as I shall be, but we are thankful. Abraham was
walking up the hill with his son Isaac. And Isaac said, My
father, behold the fire and the wood, where is the lamb for a
burnt offering? And Abraham answered, My son,
God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And that
lamb finished the work, completed the will of the Father. This
is what the Lord said concerning coming into this world. My meat,
my food, my sustenance, if to do the will of him that sent
me, and to finish his work." And that's what he cried from
Calvary. He finished all of the types
and figures of the law. Whenever Moses lifted up that
serpent in the wilderness, The Lord spoke of that in John 3.14. He said, As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have eternal life. Here is the one who has revealed
himself as being that type fulfilled, pictured. He finished redemptions. Demand. That which has bitten
us, those fiery serpent pictures of sin, that we are, but for
the grace of God, we're going to eternally die. Moses lifted
up that serpent. And here was the command. Look. Just look. Just look. If you look, you're going to
live. I can tell you that from the
words of our Lord, he that believeth, he that believeth on the Son
hath life. But without a new heart, I can't
even do that. I need for Almighty God to do
something for me that I cannot do for myself. He needs to save
me. The Lord said it's finished.
Finished. He did exactly as the Spirit
of God prophesied. through Daniel. Daniel 9.24 says,
He finished the transgression and made an end of sins and did
make reconciliation for iniquity and brought in everlasting righteousness. Everything that Jehovah purposed
according to His determinate counsel and foreknowledge, everything
that Christ was appointed to do for his people's good, he
said, it is finished. He kept God's law perfectly for
his people. That obedience, that righteousness
is imputed to his people. He magnified the law and made
it honorable by perfectly keeping every demand and requirement,
everything that the law demanded. Not only outward obedience, but
inward. Inward thoughts. Intent. I've said before, I can fool
you. I can fool you. You look at me and you think,
well, he's not doing anything but standing up there preaching.
And there's so many deviations in my mind right now. I think
to myself, how did you go that quickly? How did you go that
far so fast? Not one deviation. He finished
the work. And he alone finished the work.
You know, when he said it is finished, it is blasphemous for
a man or a woman to insinuate that something else has to be
done to make salvation complete. Whenever you hear someone say,
all you have to do is, whatever they're getting ready to say
is to say that Christ is a liar. They're disputing His Word. When
He said it is finished, it is to say that all that was required
for salvation before God has been accomplished totally by
Himself. You say, well, doesn't a man
have to believe? Yes. But that belief is not a
work unto salvation. It is the evidence of God Almighty
saving you by grace. He gave you life and gave you
faith and you believed Him. And that belief was a fruit of
God's Spirit. He gave you that. You believe
because He gave you a new heart. It is finished. Woe unto all that believe this
world, thinking that they can add anything to the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. If there was one thing left for
you to do, one thing, all you've got to do is think. One perfect thought, we're gone. All you have to do is, if there's
anything that we must do, He finished His course. He finished
His work. The cup of suffering that He
drank, He drank it completely dry. Drank the dregs through
comfort, right now. is to, by the grace of God, say
within my heart, He has finished redemption for me. There's nothing
that God Almighty demands for righteousness from me. The Lord Jesus Christ has been
totally looked to by the Father. Being chosen in Him, the Father
has never looked to me for obedience. Never, never. He looked to his son and his
son pleased him and charged me with his obedience. Salvation
is by the grace of God. Listen, believer, it's done. It's done. Rest from trying to
do anything to merit salvation before the Lord God of heaven.
It is finished. Now, I would like for us this
evening to remember him that has finished the work. I'll ask
the men if they'll come forward and we'll receive the Lord's
table.