You might have noticed that we
have a theme of grace. Of course grace should be the
theme of every meeting of ours and every message. So let's begin by reading Ephesians
2 beginning at verse 1 and have a look at this grace of God together. And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. and were by nature children of
wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. And here are the words I want
us to consider. For by grace are ye saved. Through faith, and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. I want to talk to you today as
simply as I possibly can about the grace of God, and here in
Ephesians 2 is perhaps the most definitive of all statements
that I know of. In Hebrews 4, verse 4, we are
bid to come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help us. in the time of need. It's my hope the Lord would cause
us to see our need for grace, to see our need for Christ. He's
the only reason that we can come to that throne of grace boldly.
Lord Jesus Christ is himself the grace of God personified. So if you want a definition of
what grace actually is, Jesus Christ is the grace of God. Titus 2 verse 11 tells us, for
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men. The fullest revelation of the
grace of God is found in the appearing of our Saviour. There is no greater demonstration
of the grace of God than in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God is found exclusively
in Christ, only in Christ. For there is no other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. In John 1 we
read, that the world was made flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. This is the one, the Lord Jesus
is the one of whom and in whom all the grace of God resides,
full of grace and truth. And John bear witness of him,
John that came before him, John bear witness of him and cried
saying, this is he of whom I speak, he that cometh after me is preferred
before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness. have all we received, and grace
for grace." John 1. Grace for grace. Grace upon grace. Grace multiplied. All the fullness
is ours. All His fullness is ours. And
because of that union of Christ Jesus and the Church, we received
grace for the sake of Christ. The Lord Jesus is himself. the
fullness of grace, by which we receive grace, of His fullness,
have all we receive, and grace for grace. You'll notice in our
bulletins that the Sholeven Gospel Church is a grace-baptist church,
and we use that word grace to describe the nature of the gospel
that we preach. In Acts 20, we read, of the gospel
of the grace of God. Paul's ministry was to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. God was establishing his gospel
of grace through the testimony of his apostles. Testify and
exhorting to the truth, as 1 Peter 5 tells us, exhorting and testifying
that this is the true grace of God wherein we stand. You can only stand in one place
at a time. We stand in the true grace of
God. We read in Paul's letter to the
Colossians that they heard the word of the truth of the gospel
and knew the grace of God in truth. They knew it. Hearing
is the grace of God, is it not? hearing ears and understanding
hearts, a demonstration of the grace of God and the lives of
His people. Grace enables us to speak the
word of God, and grace enables us to hear the word of God, and
grace, most importantly, enables us to believe it. You cannot
believe the word of God without grace. It keeps us believing
as well. It perseveres. Grace perseveres. We all owe it to grace. Grace
that the world knows nothing of. And yet this world continues
on for a time, doesn't it? The only reason it really continues
is because of the grace of God. Hebrews 1 tells us that the Lord
is upholding all things by the word of His power. If the Lord
were to remove His power then everything would cease to exist. And why is the Lord sustaining
this world? A world that is at enmity with
God, a world not worthy of His favour. a world no different
from the world before the great flood in which the wrath of God
was kindled greatly. And we read in the scriptures,
by which God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually. Why is the Lord maintaining this
world? Romans 8 tells us that there
is a time of waiting, there is a time of waiting, waiting for
the sons of God to appear, the elect of God. The final number
of them is not complete. There is a complete number, a
perfect number, a number that no man can count, chosen by grace
from before the world began. Romans 11 tells us that at this
present time also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. But there are many who object
to the truth of discriminating grace. That's what grace is,
it is discriminating grace. They say that the grace of God
is common grace. I don't know whether you've heard
that before. Perhaps they don't mention the term, but that's
what most of the religious world teaches these days, common grace.
But common grace is really nothing but a disguise for telling sinners
that salvation is really up to them. If grace is common to all,
no one is saved by grace. If grace is common to all, then
we have to conclude that no one is saved by grace, because not
all are saved. Or put another way, if the grace
of God is given to all men, then what does the grace of God have
to do with anyone's salvation? what the scriptures say. For
by grace are ye saved. Now that statement is a statement
that common grace can't agree with. Because common grace is not saving
grace, is it? With common grace the purpose
of God is really nothing but a helpless desire of God that the death of Christ really
accomplished nothing and that the Holy Spirit just gently tugs
on the heart strings of man to make him decide something. Common grace and decisionism
and free will are well acquainted with one another because common
grace requires decisionism and free will to make the difference
in salvation. Common grace is not saving grace. In common grace God loves everyone
and wants everyone to be saved, but God doesn't have the power
to save men because men are stubborn and they keep saying no. God
has the will to save but not the power. He doesn't have the
power to save because he doesn't want to violate man's free will. I know that the Lord would exercise
his sovereign will and make us willing. Those of us that are
fathers will know that even little children, when they first learn
to walk and run, that's exactly what they do, they run. They
run, I've had that experience. They run away from Dad. in the opposite direction, oblivious
to any dangers. And I've often thought that free
will religion is like a father that lets his two-year-old son
or daughter run towards a busy highway. The father is fast on
his feet and he has the ability, doesn't he? He has the ability
to go catch that child and bring him back. But instead of acting
to save, the father in more desperate times just keeps saying, come
back, stop, come back. But the child is stubborn, he
has a stubborn will and just keeps saying no. And the child
continues on his deadly path and the bystander says, why aren't
you going to save your child and bring him back? And the father
says, I don't want to force him, I want him to come to me of his
own free will. That's the absurdity of common
grace. And a father like that, A father
like that is reprehensible and despicable. Not so our God. The love of God is saving love
and the grace of God is saving grace. There is nothing that
will keep God from saving the objects of His love and mercy
and grace. In Romans 8.38 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." We
were all at one time running as fast as we can to destruction. And so look what our Lord does
in our passage in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1. And you hath he quickened. who are dead in trespasses and
sins. We need the quickening power
of God to make us alive, to make us responsive to him, to make
us willing. He makes his people willing in
the day of his power. But before this, we were dead,
weren't we? We were dead in trespasses and
sins. Verse two, wherein in time, past,
ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. We were by nature, the
nature of sin, the nature of sin which still remains, that
God God quickens. God performs the work in the
heart by grace, and a new man is formed, created in righteousness
and true holiness, so the Lord must quicken us by His grace. He makes us alive in Christ.
Grace makes all the difference. Grace makes all the difference. The Apostle said the same, didn't
he? But by the grace of God, I am what I am. The only difference between the
righteous and the wicked, the only difference between the saved
and the unsaved, is the difference which grace has made. If you
are elect, your election is of grace. If you are redeemed, your
redemption is of grace. If you are called, your calling
is of grace, and if you are preserved, your preservation is by grace. All of it is by grace. The free
favour of God. Free favour of God. And this
grace in the life of a believer, I believe, is a work that generates
humility, in the soul. The Lord's people have no reason
at all to glory in the fact that God has made them to differ.
No sense of superiority over others. In 1 Corinthians 4 we
read, For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what
hast thou that thou didst not receive? And if thou didst receive
it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Recipients of grace have no reason
to be proud. God resists the proud and gives
grace to the humble. They have no reason at all to
look down on others who seem to have missed grace. For they know that any grace
they receive from God has nothing to do with themselves. Scripture says, humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you
in due time. God caused you to differ from
someone else. It's by his grace. And if you
are his, it is only because God has made you his. Read on verse
four, but God who is rich in mercy God is rich in mercy. God delights
in mercy, doesn't he? His mercy endureth forever. He is rich in mercy beyond our
comprehension. For his great love wherewith
he loved us. His love is both great and it
is particular. It is the love wherewith He loved
us. He loved us, even, verse 5, even
when we were dead in sins. Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ. by grace ye are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Not
only have we been quickened together with Christ, not only is our
life here with Christ in God, but also God has raised us up
together to sit with Him. What a beautiful picture, what
a beautiful language to describe the union of Christ and the Church. Ephesians 2 tells us that in
the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. In the ages to come that he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace. I have not seen nor
ear heard, neither have I entered into the heart of man the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him. Verse 8. For by grace are ye
saved. As I have said already, the Lord
Jesus Christ is himself. The grace of God personified. All the blessings of grace are
by Him and through Him and in Him. Free grace. That's what our Gospel is, free
grace. Grace is the free favour of God
towards those who are guilty and unworthy. The grace of God
is free. It's free. Free, that means without
your contribution, without your payment, the grace of God can't
be bought or earned or won by the creature. The grace of God
is given freely. It's a gift. It's given freely
and it's given permanently. The gifts and callings of God
are without repentance. God doesn't bestow his grace
one day and take it away the next. They are permanent graces
because they're saving graces, aren't they? His grace is irrevocable. And being a free gift, we have
nothing to boast in, do we? It is a gift. You don't earn
it. It's a gift. You can't make God a debtor.
God loved his people freely from everlasting. God's election was
an act of free, unconditional grace. And the moment a condition
is put to it, then it ceases to be free grace, doesn't it? Grace of God is undeserved grace. It is God giving to some that
which they don't deserve. But not only are they not deserving,
they are thoroughly ill-deserving. We need to remember that we're
not starting from a point of neutrality. We're not starting
from a point of innocence in this life. We were born sinners. We have the nature of our father
Adam, and by nature we are hell-deserving rebels. We have done nothing
to deserve the grace of God, but more importantly we have
done everything to deserve condemnation. It's all our fault. We don't
blame God. We don't blame God for making
us as we are. That argument is put to bed well
and truly in Romans 9. We don't blame God. The blame
for our evil rests squarely upon ourselves. For by grace are ye saved through
faith. Through faith. Let me just make
some comments here regarding faith. What is faith? Faith is
believing God. Believing God. Faith is believing
God. Simple, childlike faith believes
God. Believes what God says and believes
what God does. Believes everything God says
and does. Abraham believed God and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. Being fully persuaded that what
God had promised he was able to perform. Faith is the evidence
of God's grace. Hebrews 11 tells us that faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. It is through faith. Faith believes
and faith receives, doesn't it? Faith receives the atonement.
We're not saved by our faith. And this is a distinction, a
very important distinction. We are not saved by our faith,
as some would believe. Faith receives the blessings
of salvation applied. Faith receives the truth of the
gospel, the gospel of God's free grace. Faith receives the promises
of God, believing that what he said you will do. Faith is the
fruit of the sovereign grace of God, given to chosen sinners
and given to them in regeneration. So faith traces its existence,
its very existence, to be all of grace, doesn't it? Because
faith is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works. Many believe that their faith
is the cause of God's favour. The cause of God's favour. The
truth is that faith is the result of God's favour. I call on you
to believe, but don't look to your believing as the cause of
your salvation. Faith looks to Christ, not to
self. Faith is not generated by the
creature. God is the author and the finisher of our faith. And
he begins by a regeneration of the heart. Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Faith is the result of
the regenerating work of the Spirit of God. Where there is
no work of the Spirit, there is no regeneration and there
is no faith. In verse 9 of our passage we
have the arch enemy of grace. Not of works. Grace is not of
works, lest any man should boast. I've had conversations with people
that call themselves Christians, who agree wholeheartedly with
that statement, that a man is not saved by works. And yet,
they turn around and they make a work out of believing. Ask
them how they are saved, and they say, different things, don't
they? And they say, well, it just made
sense to me to follow Jesus. So the difference is that you
were more intelligent than someone else. Well, no, I could just
see it was the right thing to do. Oh, okay, so you did the
right thing and someone else didn't do the right thing. Well, no, no, no. Well, I made
a decision for the Lord. So the difference is that you
made a better decision than someone else. If you've had something to do
with your own salvation, then you'll boast in that thing. Salvation
is not what you do for God, it's what God does for you. Every
false way makes the difference, the difference to be something
you do. Salvation is of the Lord. No part of salvation can be attributed
to men. Yet by grace, And salvation is
by grace. If by grace, then it is no more
of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. Romans 11. Grace and works cannot
be mixed for salvation. Those who are trusting Christ,
Don't look to their works as the cause or the evidence of
their salvation. Grace is the only cause and faith
is the only evidence. Yet the scriptures do speak of
good works, good works. But these good works were ordained
of God. Look at our text in Ephesians
chapter 2 verse 10. But we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. The works of believers are the
consequence of their being created in Christ Jesus. Titus tells us that believers
are zealous for good works. We don't want to do anything
that brings the name of the Lord Jesus into disrepute. But at
the end of the day, believers believe themselves to be as unprofitable
servants as the Lord spoke of in Luke 17. It is God It is God that works in them,
causing them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Ephesians
2, Philippians 2. The believer knows that if there
are any good works, they have their origin and their cause
in God and they have no reason to boast. 2 Corinthians tells us, But he
that glorieth Let him in glory in the Lord. In Galatians 6 we
read that God forbid that I should glory say in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and
I unto the world. And what of grace before the
appearance of our Lord in time? Some people think that the New
Testament is the Testament of grace and the Old Testament is
law, but grace was always through, through the entire scriptures
from Genesis to Revelation. So if you could please turn with
me to Genesis. Chapter 6. Genesis 6. Verse 5. So this is the first time we
see the word grace in the Old Testament and it's used with
Noah. It is of course a picture of
salvation. The fury of God fell upon the
world, even upon Noah. But Noah was safe inside that
ark, that ark representing Christ the Lord. In verse 5 we read, And God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This world has changed dramatically,
hasn't it, since the days of Noah. But there is one thing
that hasn't changed. The heart of man hasn't changed.
only evil continually. That's never changed. Verse 6,
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man
and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. For
it repenteth me that I have made them. Verse 8, but no one found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Among all the inhabitants of
the earth, this man and his family were the only ones, the only
ones, the only exception to whom God exercised grace. Throughout the history of this
world, God has always reserved a people for himself. There is
a remnant a remnant according to the election of grace. So
there is a remnant, isn't there? There is a remnant that finds
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. There was nothing special about
Noah, nothing more commendable, nothing more righteous in himself. Noah's salvation was all grace. He was a righteous man in the
eyes of God. But he was chosen by grace, called
by grace and he was saved by grace, justified by grace. He was made righteous by grace,
kept by the grace of God through faith. Even his own faith, even
his own faith was because of the grace of God. You've got
to understand that believing, believing is a grace of God.
You can't believe but by the grace of God. Only by grace is
Noah enabled to believe God. And likewise, none of us, none
of us would believe God except by the grace of God. Everything
concerning Noah was owed to the grace of God. Everything concerning
our own salvation is owed to the grace of God. We sang that
hymn a little earlier, and we love to sing it, don't we? O
to grace, how great a debtor I'm constrained to be. O to grace,
how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. If you're
like me, you probably don't like being in debt to people. We don't like being debtors,
do we? We want to repay the debt. and
release ourselves from the obligation of that debt as soon as possible.
But I promise you, if you find yourself a debtor to the grace
of God, that is one debt that you'll never want to repay. Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was a debtor, a debtor
to grace. What found grace in his sight?
And in Exodus 33, the Lord said to Moses, I know thee by name,
and thou hast also found grace in my sight. I know thee by name,
the Lord said. Men claim to know the Lord, don't
they? Men claim to know the Lord. But importantly, does the Lord
know them? Does the Lord know them? If Brad and Ben go over
to America and whoever else might tag along, they might want to
go and see the President. And they may know a lot about
him. They've read about him on the internet and read the news,
and they may even feel that they know him. And they go and knock
on the White House door, they're not going to get in, are they?
They're not going to get a hearing. Why? It's not because they don't
think they know him, it's because he doesn't know them. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name
have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful
works. And what does the Lord say? Then
I'll profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that
work iniquity. And the Lord said to Moses, I
know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. The Lord knows who are his, and
he takes special care and attention of those who are his. They are known to Him. They are
known to Him intimately and they are known to Him completely.
They are known to Him everlastingly. They found grace in His sight.
Why? Because that grace, that grace
was never absent. That grace was always present
in the person of God. In the eyes of God they were
always under grace. before the children of God ever
sinned, before the children of God were even born, before time
began. The Lord Jesus stood as the surety
of his people. He pledged the substitution of
himself in the covenant of grace. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God, was standing in their stead long before they transgressed
and long before they sinned. And so these particular ones
in the eyes of God have never sinned, justified. They were
never exposed to danger. God the Father has always beheld
them with eyes of his grace, justified in his sight according
to the everlasting covenant of grace, justified from eternity,
right with God from eternity. Romans 3 tells us, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. The Redeemer has always been
the Redeemer of His people, and the Redeemer has always stood
for His people. Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, they have always been covered by His atoning blood.
The grace of God, like God Himself, is eternal. Eternal grace, the gospel of God's grace
is an eternal gospel. Let's turn with me briefly to
2 Timothy chapter 1. I think this is one of Ben's
favourite verses. What a wonderful summary of the
work of redemption We have in 2 Timothy chapter 1, when we
speak of the blessings of God, they are eternal blessings. When we speak of the purpose
of God, it's an eternal purpose, isn't it? So too, when we speak
of the grace of God, we are talking about grace that is eternal,
everlasting grace, without a beginning and without an end. And this
is the testimony of all gospel preachers, isn't it? 2 Timothy.
Chapter 1, verse 8, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou a partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Verse 9,
who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Before the world began, what
a remarkable thing. When they dig up those mummies
in Egypt, they're remarkable things, aren't they? And we go,
wow, how old are they? But the gospel, the gospel is
a message older than the world itself. Saving grace was exercised
toward the elect of God in Christ before the world began. Salvation was given to the elect
in Jesus Christ before the world began. Not theoretically, not
hypothetically, we are speaking of the reality of our salvation. The appearing of our Lord Jesus
was the reality in time, the reality in time, And at just the right time, the
Lord Jesus died. Romans 5 says, For when we were
yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. In due time, at just the right
time. Everything our God does is just
the right time. and appearing that fulfilled
every prophecy without exception, that he himself was the grace
of God, manifest in a person. But the Lord Jesus existed before
time, didn't he? As a substitute of his people.
Read on, verse 10, but is now made manifest. by the appearing
of our Saviour Jesus Christ who has abolished death and has brought
life and immortality to life through the Gospel. Grace and
truth were fully revealed and perfectly exemplified when the
Redeemer came to this earth. But by His appearing, by His
doing and dying, life and immortality are brought to light. that life and immortality were
the strong positions of the elect of God brought to light through
the gospel, the gospel of God's grace. Grace which we see in
all the scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament.
I love the story of Ruth and Boaz, a beautiful reminder of
finding grace in the eyes of the Lord. You remember that Ruth,
in the presence of Boaz, fell down on her face, bowed herself
to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in
thine eyes, that thou should takest knowledge of me? Isn't that every believer's confession? Why have I found grace? We sang
amazing grace, didn't we? We sang amazing grace, how sweet
the sound that saves a wretch like me." That's the confession
of every believer. We wholeheartedly agree with
it, don't we? And we agree with Paul who said
in Romans 7, I know that in me, that in my flesh dwelleth no
good thing. And then he says, a wretched
man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And Paul quickly gives us the
answer, doesn't he? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. How thankful we ought to be that
salvation has come to the wretched through Jesus Christ the Lord. And the trouble is, isn't it,
the trouble is that there are few that think of themselves
as wretched. You remember the Lord chastised
the church in Laodicea in the book of Revelation. If you could
just turn with me there to Revelation 3. Let's have a look at that. Revelation 3, the Lord finds fault with them,
doesn't he? He finds fault with them and
as the Lord goes to the heart of the problem with divine precision, Revelation 3.14 And unto the
angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God. I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot, or would thou wert cold or hot. So then,
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked. Laodicea was a very rich city
and as wealth often does, she was given to self-reliance and
vanity. She didn't know her own condition,
did she? She didn't know that she was all those things. Wretched
and miserable and poor and blind and naked. No awareness of sin. Ignorant of the need for grace.
Self-reliance has no need for grace, has it? And you remember
the Lord spoke that parable of a certain rich man in Luke chapter
12 who hardly had room in his barns for all his wealth. And
he said, what shall I do? And he said, because I have no
room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater and there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But the Lord said unto him, thou
fool, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things
be which thou hast provided? What is the Lord saying? I believe
the Lord is saying the same as when he spoke to that rich young
ruler in Matthew 19. And for all his enthusiasm and
his zealousness, that rich young man went away sorrowful. He was rich in possessions, but
he was also rich in self-righteousness. And so what did he lack? He lacked
the need for grace, didn't he? The need for grace. And no doubt,
self-reliance may be amplified by wealth, but wealth and possessions
themselves do not disqualify a man from salvation. For man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
In Psalm 51 we read, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a
broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. And what
did the Lord say? I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. The Lord is rebuking the church
at Laodicea, and he points to their spiritual poverty, doesn't
he? But the Lord had his people among them, and so the Lord in
love gives them this counsel In verse 18 of chapter three,
I counsel thee to buy of me gold, tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint thine
eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Buy me gold, tried in the fire,
that metal that is precious and pure and tried. He is that gold,
isn't he? Buy me the most excellent of
all investments. But how do we buy? How do we
buy? We are poor and blind and naked and wretched. How do we
buy when we have no means? Turn to Isaiah 55. Still, the Lord bids us to come,
and does it. We're poor and blind and naked
and wretched, and yet the Lord bids us to come and buy. Isaiah
55 verse 1, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. What does the Lord say in Matthew
in John chapter 7? If any man thirst, let him come
to me and drink. And he that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. And so here in Isaiah 55 we have
a gracious call of the Gospel. The Gospel of God's free grace. Come ye to the waters, just come. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. And so what are the qualifications?
You must be thirsty. Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Or are you satisfied with the
world and its enjoyments? What does the Lord say in Matthew
chapter 5? Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. What a promise to those who are
needy. What a promise to those who understand both the necessity
of righteousness and their own lack of righteousness. If any
man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. come to the waters. The Lord
goes on to say in verse 2, Wherefore do you spend money for that which
is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfies not?
Why waste money on something that's not what it claims to
be? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in Him." True Jesus. The Jesus who brings saving grace
to His people. As I said earlier, there is no
greater demonstration of the grace of God than in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In those hours before His crucifixion,
when the Lord Jesus prayed to His Father, He said, Now is my
soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this
hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour." How remarkable is that? The Lord Jesus, the Son
of God, would be caused to be troubled in His soul. It should
give us some comprehension of the cost of grace. The soul of
our Saviour is troubled. And what shall I say, did He
say? He said, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this
hour. That could never happen. That
would defeat the very purpose for which he came. The purpose
of bringing grace to his beloved people. The purpose of God from
before time. The scripture says the Lord Jesus
was delivered by the determinate counsel and full knowledge of
God and by wicked hands crucified and slain. Who can calculate the cost of
grace that we enjoy? Even being the Son of God, the
Beloved of the Father, the severity was not lessened. The sins of
his people were found upon him. The justice of God would still
be exacted. Blood would be required and so
we ought not never underestimate our offences, the cost of our
offences, the gravity of our offences before a holy God. The
cross of Christ testifies to who we are. Our iniquity is laid
on Him and it was not treated lightly. It took the blood of
God to put our offences away. So we read in the scriptures,
God made him what we are, and by that gracious exchange we
were made what he is, the very righteousness of God. For he
hath made him to be sin for us, and you know sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. What amazing grace
that the Lord of this universe, the God of this universe, would
willingly stand in the place of worms like us and receiving
himself the just punishment we fully deserved. The Lord Jesus abolished the
enmity, reconciled us to God and gave us peace with God. There was never any hesitation
with our God to undertake this work of grace on our behalf. Let's conclude just by looking
at Isaiah 50. Just go back to Isaiah 50 for
a moment. Isaiah 50, these are the words
of our Saviour, knowing that which is to come. Verse 5. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back." There
was never a second thought. There was never a doubt in the
mind of our Lord Jesus that would cause him to shrink back from
his work. Verse 6, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks
to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from
shame and spitting. and he looks to his power. For the Lord God will help me,
therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. We look
unto Jesus, don't we? We look unto him, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, Hebrews 12, despising the shame, and
has set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And what
was that joy that was set before him? He shall see his seed, Isaiah
53, the seed of Abraham. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. They are the reward of his travail.
They are his prize, the redemption of his beloved people. He stooped
to help us, to give us grace. And what was the motivating force
that he should endure such things? It was because he loved them.
He always loved them, he loved them before time, he loved them
then, and he loved them always. In this was manifested the love
of God towards us because God sent his only begotten son into
the world that we might live through him. Here in his love,
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be a propitiation for us. Not that we loved God, but that
he loved us. There's much more to say on this
subject, but I'm out of time. Gospel of God's grace is the
needy sinners. This is the gospel we preach,
a gospel that always directs the attention away from the creature
and towards the creator. 2 Corinthians 4 tells us, For
we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves
your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. All the eyes of the redeemed
are on Him, are on the Redeemer, looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour,
Jesus Christ. May the Lord fix our eyes upon
Him.