Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 530 to the tune Celestial,
111. Election is a truth divine, as
absolute as free. Works ne'er can make the blessing
mine. Tis God's own wise decree. Hymn 530, tune Celestial, 111. Yes. Sun is a true earth divine, As
a path shall be earth doth bring, What then can make a blessing
mine? Tis God's unwise decree. Oh. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? And gave them to his Son ? ? Eternal was the truth of God
? And Jesus did it, how they dwelled,
because of Joseph's sin. ? He turned and lost the choice
of God ? ? How did this Christ depend on sinners like me? ? That on His suffering mind. No more, O death, no hell, no
sin, with his degree. In eternal life shall we adoratory sing, His counsel stands forever strong,
immortal and divine, and justice Let us read together
from the holy word of God in the third chapter of the epistle
to the Romans. Paul's epistle to the Romans,
chapter 3. What advantage then hath the
Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? Much every way,
chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of
God. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief
make the faith of God without effect? God forbid! Yea, let God be true, but every
man a liar, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified
in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what
shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh
vengeance? I speak as a man, God forbid,
for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of
God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory, why yet
am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, as some, as we
be slanderously reported, as some affirm that we say, Let
us do evil that good may come, whose damnation is just. What
then? Are we better than they? No,
in no wise. For we have before proved, both
Jew and Gentile, that they were all under sin, as it is written. There is none righteous, no,
not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They have together become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulcher, where their tongues have they used to see
the poison of asps under their lips, whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery is in their ways. The way of
peace have they not known? There is no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. Even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law
of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing it is one God. which shall justify
the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish
the law. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
We desire to come in His name and plead in His precious blood
and righteousness as our only hope of salvation. And our desire,
O Lord, is to His name and we desire this afternoon to be favoured
to touch the hem of his garment as we gather round the word and
as we gather round the table of the Lord. May we gather, may
the gathering of the people be unto thee and may grace triumphant
reign in our hearts. May the grace of God which bringeth
salvation teach us that denied all ungodliness we should live
godly and holy O most gracious Lord, we pray for that grace,
we feel our shortcomings, we desire to confess our sins and
the sins of omission as well as the sins of commission. We
have a heart, Lord, which is deceitful above all things and
it's desperately wicked and we painfully feel it and we often
have to confess before thee, as did the dear apostle, O wretched
man, that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. But we thank God that we have
sweet hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. In his precious blood,
in his glorious righteousness, everything that we stand in need
of, O Lord our God, is in thy Son. He is the very centre, the
sum and the substance of all our hopes and all our desires.
And in him there dwells a treasure all divine, May we each be able
to say, a matchless grace has made that treasure mine. Where there is darkness, bring
light. Where there is bondage, bring liberty. Where there is
torment, bring peace. Where there are those that are
far off, make them nigh. In and through, the glorious
person, power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou said
in thy word I will draw them with the cords of a man and we
pray that may be so this afternoon. We might know that divine and
blessed work of the Spirit in the pulpit and in the pew. Move in one and another to close
with Christ in union with the Lamb from condemnation free thy
saints from everlasting woe and shall forever be chosen in him
from before the foundation of the world. Lord, how amazing
is thy grace. It is all of grace, all of thy
sovereign mercy. We thank thee for the electing
love of the Father, for the redeeming love of the Son, and for the
sanctifying love of the Spirit. And we pray that we may feel
with the divine and heavenly power of our triune Jehovah in
our hearts even this afternoon as we gather around the word. For God has sent forth the spirit
of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Lord, may we know
that sweet spirit of adoption, and may we know that we're chosen,
redeemed, and sanctified. Holy divine spirit of truth we
pray for thy heavenly power for thy divine unction in the reading
and in the preaching of the word that it may be sealed into our
hearts. The dear apostle could say when
he was at Thessalonica for our gospel came unto you not in word
only but in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. And we pray, Lord, that it may
be so, even here this afternoon, and that we may have that sweet
assurance of faith. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that we may know those divine drawings of our eternal Father. For none come except the Father
draw. May we be drawn unto Jesus Christ. May we behold His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. May we behold the glory of His
holy life, of the law fulfilled and honoured and magnified in
His glorious person. May we see a beauty, a loveliness
in that perfect Saviour. May we see, O Lord, Jesus in
the sinner's place. our sin-bearer, our Redeemer,
he that loveth not his life unto death, O that we may behold him
in our wretched room, place and stead, as he passes through Gethsemane
and the Judgment Hall under Calvary, crucified, wounded, bruised,
chastised on our behalf. Oh, to truly feel that, O Lord,
as we gather together here this afternoon. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst look upon us as a church and as a
congregation. Those present and those absent,
have mercy upon each one. O Lord, we do beseech thee. We
pray for dear Ina at home in her great age and pray that thou
wouldst grant her thy divine support and blessing and help.
And we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst remember any
and any trouble or trial or perplexity or sorrow or affliction, and
grant thy delivering grace, O Lord, we do beseech thee. We pray,
O Lord, that thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst remember our brethren,
the deacons, bless them with much-needed grace, Help them
day by day in all their responsibilities. Bless each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. Meet with us, Lord, as we gather
together around thy table. And Lord, bless the little ones
and the children that are brought into the sanctuary, the young
friends, have mercy upon them. Lord, bring them each to live
in faith in Jesus Christ. We pray for the prodigals that
have wandered away, Stretch out thy almighty arm, cause them
to return, there's nothing too hard for thee. Indeed, O Lord,
thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or
think. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel, O thou that dwellest
between the cherubim, shine forth. Remember this village, send out
thy light and thy truth. Return in thy power and in thy
glory as thou used to be in the sanctuary. Grant mighty signs
and wonders to follow the preaching of the word. Fulfill those sacred
gospel promises here among us as a church and congregation.
And in this village, we do humbly pray thee. I will bring thy sons
from far and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. They shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. Oh, let us see Zion's offspring
come. We do pray thee. We pray, most
gracious Lord, that thou would remember the little hills of
Zion. We think of the Sorin Church
at Hanover today with the loss of a dear aged member. Lord,
do draw near to them and do help and bless them even this day.
We do humbly beseech of thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
For all thy servants, as they labour in word and doctrine upon
the walls of Zion, set them free, set them at liberty. We do humbly
beseech thee, and graciously grant mighty signs and wonders
to follow the preaching of the word. And we pray thee, the great
Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest.
Hearken, O Lord, we do humbly beseech thee, We thank Thee for
the throne of grace. We thank Thee for that door of
hope that is open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands inside. We thank
Thee for the glory of His person and the resurrection from the
dead and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, we
thank Thee for the sacred ordinance of the Lord's Supper. and the
precious emblems that thou hast given us to remember thee by,
do draw near to us and help us to truly remember, we do humbly
beseech of thee. We thank thee for every mercy
and every blessing that freely flows through Jesus' precious
blood. Do make up in giving where we
do so fail in asking, as we ask with the forgiveness of all sins
For Jesus Christ's sake, Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 175. The tune is Revolt 396. Christ is my all, my sure defence,
nor shall my soul depart from thence. He is my rock, my refuge
too, in spite of all my foes can do. Hymn 175. Tune Revolt
396. Christ is born in Bethlehem. Christ is born in Bethlehem. Christ is born in Bethlehem. Christ is born in Bethlehem. He'll rise above thy burdens
now and then. Christ is thy Lord, and he will
be Dear Jesus Christ, my every hope,
I pray only for blessings ? Christ is my Lord ? ? Precious
to my heart ? ? With love divine ? ? Come down from heaven above ? ? Helpless and weak ? ? Felt in
the grave ? ? You did it, God, you did it ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct you to the third chapter of the Epistle
to the Romans, and we'll read verses 25 and 26. Paul's Epistle to the Romans,
chapter three, verses 25 and 26. Whom God has set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that have passed through
the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus, whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation. I understand that in the original
Greek, the word propitiation, it means the wrath-ending sacrifice
of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That is essentially
the meaning of propitiation. Very similar the word atonement
and if you look carefully at the word atonement and we're
quite familiar with that term aren't we the atonement but you
can break it up and look at that word at one meant at one meant
means to be reconciled at one with God how through that glorious
atonement of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, whom God has set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare
His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance. And that word forbearance is
a very similar word, and it means the same as grace, through the
forbearance or through the grace God. Grace, the meaning of the
word grace is the free unmerited favour of the eternal God. The forbearance of God. Because
he would. Because to show forth the glory
of his mercy and of his grace. Man deserved, I mean man in the
broadest sense of the word, as the apostle does here in this
chapter, he quotes to us actually from mainly the book of psalm
14 and it speaks there from verse 10 as it is written and he means
of course written in the old testament there is none righteous
he's speaking now of the whole of adam's race there is none
righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there
is none that seeketh after god this is of the whole of the human
race they're lost They're lost, they're ruined under the fall
and they are utterly incapable of delivering themselves from
it. We mentioned this morning how
nothing can be done without the Holy Spirit first entering the
heart. We may be very religious, we
may be very careful in the way that we live and I sincerely
hope we are. But unless we're born again,
none of that counts for anything. Everything is by the free grace
of God. The love of God shed abroad in
the heart. See, you look at what it says
here, of us by nature. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have
used to see, these are quotations from scripture. The poison of
Asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood, destruction and misery in their ways, and the way of
peace have they not known? There is no fear of God before
their eyes. You know, my beloved friends,
we can dress up human nature however we want to, and make
it look good, and make it appear good, But unless, unless the
grace of God reaches the heart, unless the Holy Ghost enters
the soul, quickens into life, it's vital. Without this, there is no grace. We can go a long way in religion,
and there's several people in Holy Scripture that solemnly
stand out as a solemn warning to each one of us. The Apostle
says, doesn't he, be careful to make your calling and your
election sure. Be careful. You know, it's a
solemn thing. The Lord Jesus, he speaks to
us, doesn't he, in the parable of the ten virgins, speaks to
us there of those that had oil in their lamps, five had oil
in their lamps. Five had no oil in their lamps. What was it then that was so
essential? What does that oil represent?
Grace. Grace. And it represents time
and time again in Holy Scripture. It's like the anointing oil that
was poured upon the high priest, it was poured upon the king,
and it was poured upon the prophets. And those three offices under
the Levitical dispensation required anointing with oil. What does
that oil represent? Grace. Grace. Not by might, nor by power, but
by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Do we have the Spirit
of God? Has our soul been quickened into
life? Have we been brought to realize
what we've just read here in this psalm? That we're lost,
that we're ruined, that we're sinners, that we're full of iniquity,
that we're unrighteous altogether. Have you been brought to feel
it? You know, the Word of God doesn't exaggerate. It says in Jeremiah, the heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Your
heart, my heart. But the only way that you and
I can know that is when the spirit enters the heart, quickens the
soul. Then you're made alive. Then
you realise that you're lost, you're undone, you're ruined. No help in self, I find, yet
oft have sought it well. The native treasure of my mind
is sin and death and hell. And you know, when you look back,
those of you that have been quickened and know this quickening grace
of God in your heart, you look back and you can see. And as you go on and as the Lord
deepens the work of grace in your heart, you're brought to
see more clearly and more fully just how fallen you are, just
how sinful you are. You're made to see more clearly
your inability, your weakness, your insufficiency, And this
is all part of the divine teaching of the spirit in the heart. They
that are whole need not a physician. Listen to the words of Christ. You see, my beloved friends,
we need a physician. And Jesus is the physician of
body and of soul. He speaks here very clearly concerning
the holy law of God in verses 19 and 20. Now we know that the
thing, what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them who
are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all
the world may become guilty before God. Do you know what it is to
be guilty before God? Therefore by the deeds of the
law that's by what we can do by the deeds of the law There
shall no flesh be justified in his sight Well, what does the
word justified mean? It means to be declared without
sin That is literally the meaning of justified to be declared to
be without sin Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. Now that gives us the extent
of the law. By it is the knowledge of sin.
Not the knowledge of salvation. Not the knowledge of redemption.
Not the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That doesn't come by the law.
No. But now, speaking now since the
law, since the Old Testament, the coming in of the glorious
righteousness of God in the person of his son, Jesus Christ, but
now the righteousness of God without the law. You'll never
be justified by the law. You know, one of the great errors
in the Galatian church is that they were, were Judaizing teachers
there, teaching the people that now they come to faith in Jesus
Christ, they could now keep the law and they could add to the
righteousness of Christ. That was what the teaching was.
The Apostle saw immediately how wrong that teaching was. He said
that he stood in doubt of them. What because no man is justified
before God in the law. Now the righteousness of God
without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. They witness, they point to one
person, Jesus Christ and him crucified. The law and the prophets
point to Christ. The ceremonial law, the sacrifices
point to the sacrifice of Christ. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe, for there is no difference." Why is he making so much emphasis
there? Whether you're a Jew. The Jews
thought they were much better than everybody else, especially
the Gentiles. They were much better than any
Gentile. Why? Because they were self-righteous.
But now he says, in Christ, when the Holy Spirit reveals Christ,
when he brings us as a poor wretched sinner to Christ, then we have
to give up all our own righteousness, all our own good works and what
we can do. And there is one alone that can
save and redeem and deliver, it's the glorious person of Jesus. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith. It is by faith. And in the Galatians,
the apostle tells us the law is not a faith. The law is not
a faith. Even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe. For there is no difference, there
is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile. None whatsoever. For all have sinned, whether
Jew or Gentile, for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. You see, being justified freely
by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Freely. He's absolutely free. Bring no
money, price or awe. It's absolutely free. Oh everyone
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Bring no money. There's no price. This salvation
cannot be brought, it cannot be worked for. No. It's absolutely
free. Being justified, declared free
from sin, freely, by His grace, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth. God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood. What seemed to so draw me to
this word was these two points, blood and righteousness, in this
one verse, 25. Seemed very attractive to me
as I was reading through him, through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past through the forbearance or the grace of God. The remission of sins that are
past. The salvation that is in Jesus Christ is a complete salvation. It is. And it is entirely through
the precious blood of Christ, the glorious sacrifice of Christ. That's where this salvation is. He shed his precious blood on
the cross of Calvary. And that blood, as John says
in his first epistle, the blood of Jesus Christ. And notice the
emphasis, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. What a vital
thing that is. God's Son. It's of infinite worth. We read in the Acts of the Apostles
that he purchased his church with his own blood. God purchases
church with his own blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. That sacrifice offered on Calvary
is of infinite worth. because it's the eternal son
of the Father who suffered and bled and died in that sacred,
holy humanity that he assumed in the womb of the Virgin. But
then it speaks here, declare his righteousness. And just think
of his righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He was born
without sin. Have you thought of this? He's
the only child ever born into this world without sin. Jesus Christ, that holy thing
that shall be born of thee. Adam and Eve had both fallen
before they had any children. They fell into sin. So this holy
child Jesus was the first holy child ever born into this world. without sin in his very birth,
righteous altogether. And his life was without sin. His walk, his conduct, he fulfilled, he honoured, he
magnified the holy law of God in his person, in his walk, in
his conduct, in his conversation, in his thoughts, in every way. There's something to me that
is very attractive and precious in the perfections of our Lord
Jesus Christ. His sinlessness. He honoured
the law. He magnified the law. He made
it honourable. We dishonoured it. We sinned. And we've just said, it says
here in this chapter, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
And as it says in the Hebrews, he, Christ, did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood, that pure, that holy blood of Christ that
cleanses us from all sin. Every favor, every blessing,
freely flows through Jesus' precious blood. Every blessing that you
or I have ever received, it comes through the precious blood of
Christ. It came through a suffering Saviour,
who suffered and bled and died for our sins, who lived a life
that was perfect and spotless, who was hated, hated, the ungodly. Why did they hate
him? Because his light shone so brightly,
and the light of his life shone so brightly, they were ashamed
of themselves. So they hated him. It says in
the Word of God, they hated me without a cause. So true of Christ. And the only reason being, it
is because he lived a pure, a holy, a spotless life. And that light
shone on all around and it discovered to them their own sinful, wicked
lives. That glorious light. He says,
I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world.
All that glorious light. You know, my beloved friends,
in some little way, believers are the light of the world. You
are as lights. in the world. The Lord Jesus
said in his teaching, didn't he, that they may see your good
works. He said, ye are the light of
the world, that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. Those works that flow from that
love to Christ, that love to his glorious person, Are you
in love with Jesus Christ? Are you and I following Jesus
Christ? Has he become the very center,
the sum and the substance of all your hopes and desires? And
you desire to be like him, and to follow him, and to serve him,
and to walk in his footsteps? Whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness,
that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus, or that we might indeed be among those that are true
believers. in Jesus Christ, true followers
of Jesus Christ. One hymn writer says, doesn't
he, I could from all things parted be, but never, never Lord from
thee. Oh, that the Lord Jesus Christ
might become so precious to us. Unto you that believe, therefore,
he is precious. Is he precious? Is He precious
in the enjoyment of Him? Is He precious in the desire
after Him? The longing to hear His voice,
to see His countenance, to worship in His holy hill of Zion, to
do those things that are pleasing in His sight? While our days on earth are lengthened,
may we give them Lord to Thee, cheered by hope and daily strengthened,
she gives them law to them. How often are we truly living
unto Christ, living to the honour and glory of his great and holy
name, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that
he might be just and the justifier of mercy. The justifier. He declares his people just and
righteous in him. In him. What a precious thing that is,
isn't it? Without sin. Of course, not without sin. And
all the time that we're on this earth, we'll never be without
sin. we carry about a body of sin
and death. And we'll always carry about
that body of sin and death. But in the sight of God, his
people are justified in and through the blood and righteousness of
Jesus Christ. Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Do we have that faith? The faith
of God's elect. that faith which is the gift
of God, that faith which feeds on the blood of Christ, that
feeds on the person of Christ, that feeds on the righteousness
of Christ. The king's daughter, and by that,
the king in Psalm 45 is Christ, and his daughter is the bride
of Christ. The king's daughter is all glorious
within. Why is she all glorious within?
How is it that she's all glorious within? She's a poor, vile, wretched
sinner. She's all glorious within because
she's washed in the blood of Christ. And in God's eyes, she's
pure and holy. She's all glorious within. Her
clothing is of wrought gold. It's a glorious, everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Christ that fits a poor, wretched
sinner, covers their nakedness to stand in the presence of Almighty
God. speaks of it in the book of the
revelation these that are clothed oh my beloved friends how we
long to be clothed upon with that glorious everlasting robe
of the righteousness of christ we we have that recorded in the
parable isn't it the man that came to the marriage supper of
the lamb and he had no wedding garment And the Lord Jesus said to him,
friend, how come is thou in hither not having a wedding garment? The teaching, of course, the
customs in the Eastern countries was that when you were invited
to a wedding, they sent you a wedding garment. And everybody that was
invited would have the wedding garment on. So they knew by just
looking at you that you were a proper guest. You got the wedding
garment on. The Lord Jesus uses that in that
parabolic way that he does of somebody at the marriage supper
of the Lamb not clothed in his righteousness. Not clothed in
his righteousness. And he said to his servants bind
him hand and foot, cast him into outer darkness. Doesn't it show
us the great need there is of this everlasting righteousness
of Christ? Whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God. to declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of
them, of him which believeth in him. Justified by faith. By faith. Abraham was justified
by faith. Noah was justified by faith. The Word of God declares it.
These all died in faith. They didn't die on their own
works, on their own doings, on what they had accomplished, of
their own obedience. No. They all declare, I nothing
am. My all is bound up in the Lamb.
Everything that I stand in need of is in Jesus. My religion is
a Jesus only religion. If I haven't got Christ, I haven't
got anything. It reminds us of the disciples
on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John. And they
saw Christ transfigured before them, and his raiment was white
and glistening. And as Peter says, and John says,
we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. It's that glory. wonderful glory
of His righteousness, and that wonderful glory of His sacrifice,
of His precious blood, divine justice demanded a perfect, holy,
spotless sacrifice. And the only one that could supply
that was Jesus Christ. And He did it by coming to this
sin-cursed world, being made of a woman, made under the law,
that he might redeem them that are under the law, that he might
pay the redemption price. And in his holy life, where he
perfectly fulfilled the law, that's his righteousness. The
righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God. And then his holy sacrifice,
he's satisfied. Divine justice demanded a perfect
sacrifice. It's only Christ that could offer
that perfect, holy sacrifice. And this he has done when he
poured out his soul unto death, when he shed every drop of his
precious sin atoning blood. What is that name that speaks
for me? In heaven's high courts above,
and from the curse has set me free. "'Tis Jesus' precious blood."
All that wonderful, sacred, precious blood of Christ that reconciles
unto God. One hymn writer says, "'Twill
Jordan's icy waves divide "'and land my soul above.'" I think
it was Martin Luther that said it shut the gates of hell. the Lord's people and it has
opened the gates of heaven for the Lord's people. It's delivered
them from the curse, from the curse of the law, from the condemnation
of the law. There is now therefore no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus, no condemnation. What a wonderful
thing to be declared free from sin. You know, it's a very sacred
thing. And the only reason I relate
it is that it might excite in your own hearts a desire to have
it. I remember being so blessed.
I've often told you of it. That hymn, I was so blessed in
my soul and that hymn was so sweet and precious. That's where
I was. I was literally in what it says. I'm blessed, I'm blessed. Forever
blessed. My rags are gone and I am dressed
in garments white as snow. I looked for my sins. My sins
could not be found, justified. How? Through the blood of the
Lamb, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. May the Lord add his
blessing.