1 Peter 4 1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind. 2 For he that suffered in the
flesh hath seized from sin. Well, it brings this question
to mind. How could he cease to sin who
never began to sin? He that hath suffered in the
flesh hath ceased from sin. That's the question. How could
he cease to sin who never began to sin. He that never lived any part
of his time in the flesh to the lust of men. He who was always 100% holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. How could he Talking about the
Lord Jesus here, that's not debatable. It's as clear as the noonday
sun. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind, for he, that's Christ, for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath to cease from sin. How could he cease from
sin who never began to sin? Holy, harmless, undefiled, and
separate from sinners from the time of birth until the time
he died. No sin in him. No unholy affections. No unholy
thoughts. Always, continually, perpetually,
in constant harmony with the divine will of God. As a matter of fact, the Scriptures
say that it was His meat, this is what He lived on. It was His meat to do the will
of Him who sent Him and to finish His work. We've got to find out some things
here in this verse in order that we might understand it. Now,
we're in the middle of that verse where it says, "...arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind." Well, the word mind probably
ought to be translated thought. So if you translated that thought, it would
begin to make some meaning and understanding to our hearts.
Arm yourselves with this same thought. He that hath suffered
in the flesh, now watch here, he that hath suffered in the
flesh, or rather has been made to rest from sin. Where it says seized from sin,
it means rest from sin. So if you would read it like
this, arm yourself with this same thought that He, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who have suffered in the flesh has been made to
rest from sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ, we have
established that, you know that, and I need not dwell on it any
longer, that the Lord Jesus Christ was perfect man and perfect God. He knew no sin. So he could not
seize the sin who never began to sin. He suffered in the flesh. He suffered in the flesh and
he has been made to rest from sin. Now, let's consider then
the first part of this verse with that in mind which we've
already related to you. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh. Now, the first and great and
glorious truth of Christianity is this. Jesus Christ has suffered
in the flesh. He has suffered in the flesh.
Notice in verse 24 of the second chapter. We'll read verse 22. It says, Who did no sin? Verse 21, For even here unto
Where are you called? Because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His
steps. Who did no sin? That's the Lord Jesus. He suffered
for us. Who did no sin? Neither was there
any guile found in His mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. He was threatened, he threatened
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. Who, his own self, the Lord Jesus,
bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Then look over in
chapter 3, verse 18. for Christ also hath once suffered
for sins." That is the foundation principle of Christian truth,
that Christ Jesus suffered for us in the flesh. He suffered for us in the flesh. Now, His sufferings as we have
already read here, was because of sin. He suffered for sin. Suffered for us in the flesh
for our sins. Notice down at that last expression
that we commented on. He that hath suffered in the
flesh hath seized from sin, or hath been made to rest from sin. Now, his sufferings were on the
account of because of sin. He suffered the displeasure of
God against sin. He was made sin who knew no sin. And then, secondly, now, his
sufferings were vicarious. I mean by that, that they were
not for his sins. He suffered for our sins. He did not suffer for his sins. He had no sins. He had no sins. Can you conceive that? That this man of whom the Bible
is written about, everything in the Bible points to this man. Everything that is said in the
Bible is said in regard in light of this man who had no sin. He suffered for sins. His sufferings was because of
the displeasure of God against sin. He had no sin, but he suffered
for sin. He was made sin. He became a
curse and was hanged on a tree. His sufferings were vicarious. They were not for his sins. They
were for the sins of somebody else. He had none. He suffered. And the Scriptures
say, the just for the unjust. He became a curse in the room
of those who were accursed, or in their place, in their stead.
The Bible says that we all, like sheep, have went astray. We have
turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord laid on him the
iniquity of us all. He was wounded for our transgressions. This is the great cardinal and principal
truth of Christianity, that the Lord Jesus Christ suffered for
us in the flesh. He was wounded for our transgressions. Not for his transgressions, but
for our transgressions. So, his sufferings were vicarious. Now, not only in his sufferings
was the penalty borne in his person, it says in verse 24 of
chapter 2, "...who his own self bare our sins, in his own body
on the tree. He literally, actually, really
bore the sins of his people in his own body. He bore the penalty
of their sins in his own body. He bore what was their due. Whatever the wrath of God is,
or the displeasure of God is, against sin, the Scriptures say
that the Lord Jesus Christ bore this wrath and this displeasure
in his own body, in the flesh, on the tree. Now, not only did
he do that, but he bore them away. Turn with me to that ninth
chapter of the book of Hebrews. I want to show you something
here. Hebrews chapter 9, turn with me. In light of what we
have said now, that in his sufferings, which were vicarious, and in
his sufferings the penalty was not only born in his own body,
but they were born away, our sins. Look here now at this ninth
chapter of the book of Hebrews. Let me read two or three verses.
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world.
But now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He put them away. Not only did he bear them in
his own body in the fledge, he bore the penalty that was due
them, the displeasure of God, but he also put them away. He
bore the penalty vicariously as a substitute in the stead,
room, and place of somebody else. bore the penalty that was there
due in His flesh, and He put them away. He put them away. Now, not only did He bear them
in His own body, the penalty, not only did He put them away,
but the Scriptures say that when He put them away, God would do
something that He cannot do. He would never remember the sins
that the Lord Jesus Christ bore on the tree for His people because
the Lord Jesus put them away. And God would not, will not remember
them against His people anymore. Now that is a foundation truth. That is an elementary truth in
the Bible, that Jesus Christ suffered for us in the flesh. He did that! He did it! Can I say that and emphasize
that enough this morning? That the Son of God, the God-Man,
the Man-Christ Jesus, actually, literally, in reality, bore the
penalty that was due our sins in His own body, in the flesh,
on the tree. He bore the penalty. He put them
away. And God will not remember them
against those for whom He stood anymore. Anymore. They are gone
forever. Scriptures say He took away this
sin that I read to you there in the book of Hebrews. He took
away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He offered Himself. He is the propitiation for our
sins. The righteousness of God in taking
away our sins is declared in the third chapter of the book
of Romans where it says that God can be just now and the justifier
of him that believeth in Jesus on the account of what Christ
did. Now, the design of the sufferings
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we know that He was Divinely
sent. God sent Him. God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son. Our Lord said, I come from
the Father. I come directly from the throne
of God. I come directly from the bosom
of God. I don't speak my own thoughts. I speak that which I have heard
of Him. I am divinely sent of God. Divinely sent, divinely qualified,
divinely accredited by God. This divine Savior, His divine
design in coming is to do what? is to bring men to God. That's the whole idea, that's
the whole scheme of redemption in Christ Jesus, is to bring
men to God. Man once was in favor with God,
but because of his rebellion, He lost favor with God. And now he is far off from God. The Lord Jesus Christ came. It says that your sins and iniquities
have separated you from God. The Lord Jesus came to fire their
sins, to do something for God in order that the curse and the
wrath and the displeasure of God might be removed in order
that God could show mercy to poor, hopeless, helpless sinners. So, the divine design of the
divine, qualified, and accredited Savior is to bring men to God. It is to restore ignorant and
deceived and deluded men to the true knowledge of God. Men in their unregenerate state,
in their natural state, just like we were born and nothing
ever took place. Divine grace had not intervened
into our lives. And to that point, we are natural
men. We are carnal men. We are sold
under sin. Slaves to Satan. Slaves to our
will. Slaves to self. Slaves to our
ambitions. Slaves to our desires. Slaves
to sin. And we have no true knowledge
of God. We are ignorant of the true knowledge
of God. The design of the Lord Jesus
Christ is to bring men unto God, into God's favor, and give them
a true knowledge of God. And man without a true knowledge
of God is absolutely L-O-S-T. It doesn't make any difference what outward appearance gives
forth in an individual's life. It doesn't make any difference
about his religion, his education. It doesn't make any difference
about his morals. his behavior and his conduct
and so forth, if he has not been brought into a right favor with
God and brought to a true knowledge of God, I insist this morning,
whether he be boy or girl or man or woman, he is L.O.S.T. God. And unless Jesus Christ,
by the Word and by the Spirit and by the Gospel, brings him
into a true knowledge of God, he will be lost forever. All men are that way. We ought to be concerned about
men and women and children. Without this true knowledge of
God, they are lost. And I mean lost forever. And there's not a single solitary
thing that we can do about it apart from seeking the face of
God on their behalf and telling them the story. We can do that.
We cannot change anything, but we can pray unto Him who can
change. even our God. We can seek His
face on their behalf. There's lots of folks, there's
lots of people that have lived and died, I suspect, that their
names, humanly speaking, were strangers to the throne of God
because no one ever undertook to pray for these poor souls
that didn't have, well, enough sense to pray for themselves
and couldn't. Well, all right. I said that to restore ignorant
and deceived men to the true knowledge of God. Well, I don't
need to read this, but I will anyhow. Over here in the book
of John, If you care to, turn with me if you're interested
this morning. If there's anybody here and you're interested in
your soul, you turn with me and I'll read something to you in
light of what I said now. Listen to this. Our Lord Jesus
Christ, He's the one that's doing the talking here, never deviated
from the path of perfection all His life. Perfect. Perfect. He is speaking here to His Heavenly
Father. They were in perfect communion
and fellowship and harmony and unity. They were one. I and the Father are one, He
said. We are one in mind and purpose. We are one. My heart beats with
my Father and His heart beats with me. The Father said, This
is My beloved Son. This is My beloved Son. Hear
Him. Peter, keep quiet. You don't
know what you're talking about. Don't try to equate, bring Elijah
and Moses to the level of, My son, this is My son. I want you
to hear Him. Here He is now. He's praying. He's praying. We don't pray much,
but our Savior did. We don't believe much in prayer,
but our Savior did. These words speak Jesus, and
He lifted up His eyes to heaven. And he said, Father, the hour
has come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son
also may glorify thee. Our Lord Jesus Christ glorified
the Father when the Father poured out His displeasure against sin.
And He glorified our Father as a willing, obedient, suffering
servant. In His obedience unto death,
He glorified God. Because he made it. He made it
so that God could be just and justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus. Now listen to this. He says,
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this
is life eternal. This is it right here. Here it
is. You have to wait until you get
into eternity to find out what eternal life is. Eternal life
is a quality more so than it is a quantity. Jesus Christ is our life. Our life is here in Christ. Who is God? He is our life. We say Christ is this. He is
our life. That is what He is. Paul said,
for me to live is Christ because He is my life. And this is life eternal. This
is it right here. What is life eternal? What is
it? We talk about being saved from
our sins and having eternal life and being born. What is it? What
is it? It is this right here. It is.
And this is life eternal that they might know Thee. the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou sent." Now, isn't that in keeping with what I've already
said? That the design of the sufferings of this divinely sent,
divinely qualified, divinely accredited, divine Savior is
to bring men to God. He is to bring and restore ignorant,
deceived, deluded men. to the true knowledge of God,
and to bring guilty men into the favor of God, depraved men
into the image of God, and miserable man into the enjoyment of God,
that he might enjoy God throughout the dateless ages of the forevers
to come beginning right now. Now, I said all that to say this. arm yourselves for as much then
as Christ hath suffered in the flesh." He hath suffered. Now he says, arm, equip yourself,
put on your armor. When a man goes out to fight
the battles for our country, we provide him with the best
equipment. that money can buy. We don't
spare anything for soldiers, and the sailors, and the marines
that do battle. We build the best ships, the
best rockets, and the best tanks, and the best guns. We give them
the best equipment, the best rifles. We give them the best
helmets. We arm them! Arm them! We equip them! in order to do
battle with the enemy. So he says here, arm yourselves,
arm yourselves, something that you need here. Arm yourselves
likewise with the same thought, the same thought. What thought? forasmuch then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh." Arm yourself with that. Equip
yourself with that. That's your armor right there.
Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh. Arm yourself with
that. Well, what is this for? He that suffered in the flesh,
now listen to me, he that suffered in the flesh has been made to
rest from sin. He suffered in the flesh for
us, not for himself, for us. The just for the unjust. He is
the just one and we are unjust. Need I spend some time on that?
trying this morning under God to prove to you that you're a
helpless, hopeless, God-hating sinner in your unregenerate state. Didn't I go through that again?
I need to tell you that one more time. I've told you that over
and over and over for 27 years, that you're outside of Christ,
You hate God, you're against God, and you have nothing to
do with God, and every imagination of your mind is against God. You're unjust! You're unjust. It's the just here, dying for
the unjust, the just for the unjust. And when he suffered
for sin, get me now, when he suffered on the cross for sin,
for the penalty of sin. When He suffered for the penalty
of sin, when He bore it in His own body, when He put it away,
He did it for us and we, poor, poor, frail, ungodly, unholy
sinners like you and I who are believers in the Lord Jesus,
we suffered in Him. Can you see that? We suffered
in Him. That's what Paul means when he
said, I am crucified with Christ. When Christ hung on that tree,
I hung with Him. I died with him. I suffered with
him on that trip. Although he did not suffer at
all in regard to that which was due his sins, but representatively
and positionally, he suffered in Christ. Every believer, every
believer, the weakest believer, Bob, to the strongest believer,
all suffered in Jesus Christ. on that tree. He suffered in
the flesh for us, the just for the unjust, and when He suffered
for sin, we suffered in Him. His flesh was as it were our
flesh, and His suffering in that flesh were as it were our suffering. That's what He talked about right
here. If He died in our room, we died too, in fact, we died
in Jesus Christ. Now, He says, arm yourself with
that thought. Arm yourself with that thought.
And if you do, you can rest from sin. Not meaning now that we don't
sin. It doesn't mean that. Now, we who are believers and
the result or the consequence of our faith, our faith is given
to us, it's a gift of God, but humanly speaking, in order that
you and I might understand and appreciate this, the result or
the consequence of our faith, we are viewed by God as identified
as having done what He did. as having suffered what he suffered. Christ suffered in the flesh
for sin, and he has been made to rest from sin. And his being made to rest from
sin is the result of his having suffered in the flesh for sin. Do you see that? His suffering in human nature
began at the very day of His birth. He suffered. It just didn't begin
at the cross. But when He was born, He suffered. We'll talk a little more about
that tonight. His suffering in his human nature
did begin at his birth and ended only at his death. And he had
no rest after being made of a woman, made under the law, until his
obedient suffering unto death. Sin, you see, was armed by the
authority or the sanction of the law of God. And the law gave
him no rest. until it laid him in a bloody
and a dishonored grave, then give the Lord Jesus Christ any
rest. And it will never give you any
rest. The law of God will never give you any rest until you can
see that the law of God was completely fulfilled and satisfied, every
jot and every tittle of it, in Christ Jesus, and when He suffered
on the cross, You or any! Now, you'll never be made to
rest from sin until you see that. But if you can ever see, through
the eyes of faith, if God will ever make Jesus Christ unto your
heart, righteousness, wisdom, redemption, and sanctification,
if He can make Christ unto your heart, as your all and in all
that the law hath no more dominion over you, because it hath laid
the Lord Jesus Christ in the grave, a bloody and a dishonorable
grave. But in doing so, it lost its
power in that the law was fulfilled. Sin has lost its power. The strength of sin is the law. Well, in doing this, then, it
lost its power forever to disquiet the Lord Jesus Christ. It couldn't
hold Him in the grave when it laid Him in the grave. Now, I'll
tell you why. Because the death is fully paid. The debt that I owe is fully
paid in another when He died and suffered in the flesh on
that cross. Every soul that is in Christ
suffered with Him. So, the surety has been set free
because the debt has been paid and He can no longer suffer.
He no longer suffers. Now, He has been made to rest
from sin, and he can no longer die, and he's entered into his
rest, a glorious rest. Where at? At the right hand of
God. That's where he's at. A place
of power and dignity and might, and a place of rest. The Bible
pictures us, or pictures the Lord Jesus Christ as sitting
at the right hand of God, a place of rest. Everything now is subject
to Him. He has power over all flesh,
both in heaven and in earth. It was by His suffering for sin
that He was freed from sin. And that's the reason why that
sin and death can have no more dominion over our Lord Jesus
Christ. It is that He died for sin once,
and I read that to you in the book of Hebrews chapter 9. He
died for sin once and that sin or that death completely answered
all the demands of the law on Him as the surety or substitute
Now, for as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself, equip yourself
with the same thought. For he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath been made to rest from sin. You can live a glorious,
victorious life here, beginning this morning, if you can see
what I'm talking about. If God can teach you and I this
truth, brethren, that we died in Him. We died in Him. We died
in Him. The law has been answered and
satisfied in Christ, and we have been made to rest from sin. You say, well, preacher, but
we sin. Yes, we sin. every day, practically every
minute of every day. But Jesus Christ paid for the
sin that we commit. But I'm not through yet. I'm
not through. Don't anyone say, well, there he goes. He's going
to give us a license to sin. No, I'm not, and I never did.
But you pay close attention to me. I'm not going to give you
a license to sin. I'm telling you to arm yourself
with this thought that Christ suffered in the flesh for us.
And if you do so, verse number 2, the key word
to that verse number 2 is the third and fourth word, no longer. No longer! No longer, no longer,
no longer, no longer! I'll tell you, no man can see
what I'm preaching this morning and live in a non- a non-outward or inward act of
sin and rebellion against God. He can't do it. He can't be a
Christian man. He can't do it. That he no longer should live,
how long? The rest of his life. If he will
arm himself with this God, that he that suffered in the flesh
for sin has been made to rest from sin, if he'll arm himself
with this thought, that he no longer, no longer should live
the rest of his time or the rest of his life in the flesh to the
lusts of man, but to the will of God. That's clear, isn't it? That's clear right there. Believers,
are so joined, finally joined, connected to the Lord Jesus Christ,
that they are treated by God as if what He did, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and what He suffered, had been done and suffered by
themselves personally. That's the way God looks at it.
Well, let me read something to you here. Turn with me to the
book of Colossians, to the third chapter. Colossians chapter 3. Third chapter of the book of
Colossians, I believe it is. If you then be risen with Christ,
that is, if you are not just blown off, if something happened
to you, If God hath been pleased to make Jesus Christ known to
your poor heart as your Redeemer and your Savior, if He really
has, if you're just not playing, but if He really has, seek those
things which are above. This is the direction you're
to go. This is where you're to be occupied.
And there's a reason why I say that if a man is occupied with the Lord Jesus. The whole scene of his life is
filled with the vision of Jesus Christ. Brother, he'll seek God
because he can't see anything else. He can't see the world,
he can't see the flesh, and he can't see the devil. But he sees
Christ and he'll seek Christ. Alright, where Christ sitth on
the right hand of God. And that's where you're at. Positionally,
every believer is in Christ. Where's he at? On the right hand
of God. That's where you're at. Positionally, you say, well,
I know conditionally, I know your states are right here, right
here on this earth. You're breathing, you're moving.
But positionally, as God views you, as God views you, He views
you in Christ. Where Christ is at, that's where
you are at the right hand of God. All right, now look at this. Set your affections on things
above. That is, don't be overcome by
the things of time. Don't be married to the things
of time, to pleasure, to ambition, to lust of the flesh and things
of that nature. Don't be married to them. But
set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth. The things of the earth will
pass away. Everything that you see, God
is going to burn up. See this nice building? Isn't
this a nice building? Nice on the outside, nice on
the inside. We have our air conditioning,
a nice furnace, nice lights and a telephone. Pretty cherry paneling
and all. God's going to burn it up. It's just going to be another
log on the fire. That's all. Just another log
on the fire. Everything you see, God's going
to burn up. It's temporary. Don't be wedded
to it. You're going to be divorced from
it one of these days when this thing's on fire. Set your affections
on things above. It says, for your dead, when
did you die? I died in Him. I died in Him
on the tree. When He died, I died. When He
suffered, I suffered. How does God look at me now?
God looks at me as if I died. When Christ died, I suffered
in the flesh. When Christ suffered in the flesh,
and what He did, I did. Look at the next expression.
and your life is hid with Christ in God. That's where it's at.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye appear
with Him in glory. You see, you are dead, or have
died in Christ. So if you live, though you have
died, your life is hid with Christ in God. Paul said, I am crucified
with Christ. Now, every human being is a sinner. Everybody. Apart from the God-man. Everybody ever lived. Oedipus walked with God and was
not, for God took him, but he was a sinner. Abraham was a friend
of God, but he was a sinner. Noah preached for 120 years and
he was known as a preacher of righteousness, but he was a sinner.
Paul was a champion for God if there ever was one, but he was
a sinner. Every human being is a sinner.
And every sinner is condemned on the account of his sin, Bob,
every one of them. The curse of God lies on him.
and must forever rest on him till he becomes vitally connected
with Him who suffered the just for the unjust. Till he becomes vitally, vitally
joined to Him. And until that happens, the sinner
can have no rest. can have no rest. And the reason
if you're here this morning and you have no rest in the matter
of your relationship with God, and you have no rest, and you're
troubled at heart, you're troubled, you're troubled. I wonder. I
wish I knew. I wish I knew. How do I stand?
Am I good enough? Am I bad enough? What's my right? If you've got some problems,
you've got some trouble, you'll never, you'll never, and I say
this on the authority of the Word of God, you'll never have
no rest in your poor soul until you rest in Him, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who suffered in the flesh. And He that suffered in the flesh
for sin hath seized from sin. And then you'll have rest if
you can rest in Him. Rest in Him. Not in yourself.
Renounce your righteousness. Do it right now. Do it right
now. My righteousness, I have none. Well, I thought I did. I thought I did. I thought because
I prayed. I thought because my mother and
daddy was good and I was obedient to them and they liked me and
my neighbors liked me and this and that and so forth. Somehow
that developed some sort of a righteousness in my heart before God. Renounce that right now. You
haven't got your righteousness. God hates it. God hates your
righteousness. Your righteousness will send
you to hell. Oh, my soul, this morning, if
your heart and your eyes could turn to God and rest in that
righteousness, that's the righteousness of God. Jesus Christ is the righteousness
of God. That is the righteousness that
we must look to, we must rest in, we must live in, we must
die in and stand before a righteous God throughout the ages of eternity
to come. His righteousness. Salvation,
brethren, is in Him through Him. We are saved by that righteousness. I wish you could see I wish that
I had the ability this morning to tell you plainly in words
that you could understand what I'm trying to say. I can't
say it. I just can't do it. I can't say
it plain enough and simple enough. I just can't do it. I say that
to my shame, not to yours. not to God, but to my shame.
I just can't do it. But I wish I could. I wish I
could say it. I can say this, that all who
are in Christ have obtained rest, and there is no condemnation
to them that are in Christ. No judgments. No condemnation. That's what the Scriptures say.
And the reasons are very clear why there is no condemnation
to them that are in Christ. They are in Him who has been
condemned in their place. So there is no condemnation then
to them that are in Christ because Christ has been condemned in
their place. You see, they are redeemed from
the curse for the righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ, has become
a curse for them. Now, who can charge them with
any sin who hath been made to rest from sin." You can't do
it. I can't charge you. You can't
charge me. The devil can't charge any believer
with sin. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
hath satisfied. God hath condemned sin in Christ. and Christ hath suffered in the
flesh for sin, and who can condemn those?" Well, who can condemn
Christ? Can anybody condemn the Lord
Jesus? Nobody can condemn Christ. And nobody can condemn those
who are in Christ. Because there's nothing to condemn
them for. That's the good news of the Gospel.
Nothing to condemn them for. The debt's paid. The law is honored
and magnified. And listen to me now, listen
to me tonight, this morning. All that God requires was satisfied in Jesus Christ. If you got healed, you got all
that God requires. And that will make you happy
now and forevermore. He that suffered in the flesh
has been made to rest, you see. Redeemed from the curse. Well, in the book of Ephesians,
the first chapter, it says this, and I'll be through in just a
minute. It says, In him they have redemption through his blood. the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of God's grace. In Him are they accepted, it
says. The book of John says, His blood
cleanseth them from all sin. They are dead to the law and
to its condemning sins. They are made the righteousness
of God in Him. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. Can I say it any better? No rest,
then, for the man who is not in Christ. He is never safe. He is never safe. Why, God may
strike him dead twenty minutes from now. No rest for him. He cannot rest. If he can listen to the devil
and be lulled into a state of tranquility by the devil, if
his mind and his heart can be deadened by the song of the devil,
he can go to sleep. He is so far from God and such
a captive of the devil, well, he can lay down at night and
he can sleep better than you can. Because the devil's got
him. The devil's got him! But I'll tell you this in reality,
he can never rest. He can never rest. Why? Because the avenger of blood
is right behind him. Right behind him, reaching out
for him. He takes a step, the avenger of blood takes a step,
and one day the avenger of blood will get him by the nape of the
neck, and that's all she wrote. He'll be stone cold dead in the
market. You see what I'm saying? I say
there's no rest for the man who's not in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's never saved. because the avenger of blood
is on his trail and may overtake him any minute. There is no rest,
no peace, no security. Why not? Because they are not
in him who hath suffered in the flesh for sin, and he has been
made to rest. Arm yourself with this thought. Alright, having suffered then,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That man has entered into his
rest of glory. You can rest now. The question
is settled. The sin question is settled.
It has been settled. Christ settled it. Christ settled
it. I am not afraid to die now. I
am not afraid to die now I love my wife, love my family, love
the people I preach to, I love my friends, I love this world
and this earth, I love all that, but I'm not afraid to die. Why? Because I've entered in to rest. The sin problem has been settled.
That's been taken care of. I don't have to face it. I don't
have to jump out into eternity and have the book opened and
every single solitary imperfection that was ever charged against
me fly right into my face. No. It's all been paid for. He bore the penalty that was
due to those sins. He not only bore them vicariously
in His own body, but He took them away. God said, I'll not
remember. I guess you know more, so there
you are. There you are, not afraid now. Not afraid to die. Was afraid
to die. Not afraid to now because I see
this. I've armed myself at this point.
I've got this mind. I suffered with Him. So if you arm yourself with this
thought, if you have this truth lodged in your heart, lodged
in your mind, if you understand it, if you believe it, if you
meditate on it, if you think on it, if you reflect on it,
it will deliver you. It will tell you that no longer
will I live to the lust of the flesh any longer. No, I can't
do it now. I've been changed in light of
where I am, in light of what He did. I'm a changed man. Well, I'm not an adulterer and
an adulteress, or I'm not a thief and this and that. Not because
the law says, Thou shalt not have someone else's wife. That's
not the reason. I have armed myself with this
thought that I have died to sin in Christ. And no longer now,
no longer should he live the rest of his time, the rest of
his days in the flesh. To what? To the lust of man. What does he live to? To the
will of God? To the will of God? You see,
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit. And the world and the
attractions of this world want you to walk according to the
course of this world. That's what the devil wants.
The devil wants you to walk according to the course of this world.
And he holds up all of his attractions and he gives you all this business
Well, you don't need to do this, you don't need to do that. Well, just don't become a fanatic
about this Jesus business. You're not to sell yourself out
body and soul to the cause and claims of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants you to have some fun and some pleasures and this and
that and so forth. And don't become tied down and
all of that. That's what the devil says. That's
what the devil says. He wants you to miss Christ!
That's what he wants. And he'll throw any kind of a
bait out there to you. And brother, if your mind is
not occupied and if you're not armed with this, if you're not
saturated with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you just
might bite on the bait. I'm telling you, brethren, under
God, I'm telling you that this thing is a fight that you're
in. You're fighting for your survival. You're fighting. If
you don't fight, you're not going to win. That's all there is to
it. There can be no gain without any pain. You can't do it. You can't do it. If I've deceived
you, I'm sorry. But that's the way it is. The Christian must fight his
way. Don't be ruled and regulated by your natural ambitions and
desires and inclinations, by your worldly pleasure, by your
worldly honor, or by wealth. Don't be regulated by those things. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. Don't be a friend of the world.
Fight the good fight. rule then of our conduct. The
rule of our conduct is the will of God. Don't live, if you arm
yourself with this thought, well, you don't live the rest of