Good morning. Let's go to Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians 1, and I want to read
verse 14 with you. Speaking of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, Paul writes, "...in whom we have redemption through
His blood." even the forgiveness of sins. Now last week we looked
at the redemption of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We saw
that redemption means to buy again, to buy something back,
to pay the exact required price that allows us, that lets us
buy something back. Redemption is the payment of
the actual price to purchase something. And we saw how that
Christ himself was sent of God, that he is the redemption of
God for his people and by himself he delivered us from the hands
of justice for our sins, our iniquities, our trespasses and
rebellion and enmity against the true and living God. Christ
restored that which was lost by us in Adam. Now, in our text
this morning, in verse 14 again, we take up the cause of Christ's
redemption, and that from the perspective of the Father. However,
having said that, what we see to know the will of the Father,
to know His perspective, to understand what our God is doing, we see
it through Christ, don't we? We see and know the Father. We know the Father's will. We
see His love, grace, and mercy revealed in the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, what is the cause of
Christ's redeeming his people? And this is absolutely critical
for us because we as men and women want to know, how may I
be justified by holy God? How can a man be justified by
God? Because if I'm the cause, If
I am the cause, if I must do something to obtain this redemption,
to obtain the favor of God, if it's something that I do, well
then, my eyes need to be turned on me. And if I'm going to help
you, I'm going to be looking at you. And I'm going to turn
your eyes on you. And I'm going to look at what
I do, what I say, what I do or don't do, how I am. how I behave myself. My eyes
are going to be on me. But if God is the cause, if he's
the cause of my redemption, then my eyes will be on him. And your
eyes will be turned on him to hear his word, to know what he
is saying to his people, to see what he reveals to his beloved
people. in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so, by the grace of God,
we seek Him to know, well, how can a man be justified? Job added, how can he be clean
that is born of a woman? And what he means is, born of
the seed of Adam. How can a man who is born of
that corrupt, defiled, ruined seed of Adam be justified by
God? How can I do something that is
pleasing to God when all I am in myself is flesh, which according
to the scriptures is enmity against God? Our very nature, our whole
being, in this flesh is enmity against the true and living God
so that we cannot hear the things of God, we don't receive the
things of God, we don't believe the things of God. It's all hypocrisy,
it's all a show, it's all glorying in self when it's left to the
sinner, when it's left to man to save himself. But here our
Lord testifies of the redemption of sinners by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who has obtained
our redemption. He has recovered us. He has redeemed
that which was lost and given us a double portion, given us
not only forgiveness of sins but life in himself. He is the double portion of our
God unto us. So you that hear of this glorious
redemption and think, how might I come under that blood? How
can I be reconciled to holy God? Is there something that I must
do? What our Lord tells us in his scriptures is look to Christ. Believe on him whom the Father
has sent. He is the promise of God. He's the fulfillment of the promise
of God made unto sinners. And he tells us, believe. Believe, that's his command to
his child, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes to us
with power to deliver us from death and darkness. When he speaks
that word in our hearts, when it's not just a man saying, believe
on Christ, do this, do that. When you hear the voice of God
who says, believe. Lazarus, come forth. That's how it is. He delivers
us from death and the bondage of sin and ruin in our nature
and we rise. And we come to our Savior. We
come to our God, believing Him. He has accomplished our redemption. The works are finished. From
the foundation of the world, they're finished. They are complete
in Christ. It's all established in and by
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe God. Believe Him. Look to His Son. He is the servant
of God who came and obeyed the Father perfectly. all that he
commanded and all that he said must be done Christ his son came
and accomplished it and reconciled his people to God by himself
Now whom the Lord loves he gives this hearing ear He gives them
this hearing ear and a believing heart turn over to John chapter
1 John chapter 1 in verse 12 and 13 And here we see that faith is
wrought in us by the power of God. John chapter one, verse
12, but as many as received him,
those that believe Christ, those that look to Christ, those who
wouldn't dare come to God, but in the blood of Christ, as many
as received him, To them, this is how it happened, to them gave
He power to become the sons of God. Even to them that believe
on His name. How do we receive Christ? God
gave us power. He raised us up from the dead
in power. So that our faith, whereby we
believe God, is wrought in us by the effectual power of God.
Look at verse 13, which we're born, not of blood, Brother Scott,
your faith is not because your mother believes God, but because
God has wrought that faith in your heart by His own power. nor of the will of the flesh. It's not what we desire. It's not what we will do. Christ
said to the Jews, and ye will not come unto me that you might
have life. That's what the will of man is.
He won't come to Christ. It's not of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man. Those whom you love, though you
would affect it, and those whom you love, family members, friends,
Dear beloved ones, you can't affect it in them. God has to
do it for them. All we can do is declare Christ,
is preach Christ crucified. Tell them what he's done for
me. Like that Gadarene, go and tell
them what great things God has done for you. And we declare
this hoping. It delights our hearts. hoping
that he will delight their heart also. But we leave it with God. We just preach him faithfully
as we can. But they're born, as it says
at the end there, of God. God. We are born again first,
and faith follows. Faith follows. All the blessings
of God are given into the heart of his child, filling us with
his spirit. Where Christ dwells in our hearts,
by faith, and we do bear those fruits of righteousness, being
the planting of the Lord. Do you believe Christ alone,
that he is the salvation of God? Then continue in him. Believe
him. walk before him in faith. The first thing we notice immediately
after Paul speaks of the redemption by Christ in Colossians 1.14
is that he begins to boast in and glory of in Christ. He speaks of Christ. Let's read
that. Colossians 1.14, we'll start there again, in whom We
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of
the body of the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence."
Christ holds the preeminence in our hearts. He's our boast. This is why Paul is boasting
in Christ. He's not speaking of himself
or what he's done. He's not speaking of His birth,
that he was born a Jew, that he's a Hebrew of the Hebrews,
that he was circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin,
that's not his boast. He counts that all done, all
done. Our boast, the child of God's
boast, is not what I've done for Christ, but what he's done
for me, to deliver me, a sinner, weak, fickle, foolish in my ways,
to deliver me from death and to give me life, to give me the
hope of the saints, Christ in you, the hope of glory, to know
that we have the very promise of God given to us, regardless
of how I feel that day, given to us in Christ. He's accomplished it. He's redeemed
us. He's purchased us, and we are
his own. And he's teaching us. He's leading
us. He's keeping us. He's comforting
us. He blesses His people richly in Himself, in His glorious name. And so we see the suitableness
of Christ, and He becomes our boast just as He is the boast
of all His saints, and we see that everything necessary has
been provided for us in Christ freely by the sovereign grace
of God. God has established us in his
covenant of redemption where Christ did everything and we
see the will of God, the perfect will of God given to us in Christ. I read somewhere that one man
said redemption must totally ransom the sinner. It must be
entirely accomplished by Jesus Christ. Because if there's anything
left for me to do, that I must do in my own power and in my
own strength, I will come short. I will fail of the promise. I will not obtain that which
I seek. if there's anything left to me.
But thanks be to God, it's all been given in Christ. And so
all things necessary, even in time, are all worked out for
us in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. So that he that boasts, he that
glories, let him glory in the Lord. Let us glory in the Lord
and rejoice in Him. Our God has done this by making
us new creatures, new creatures. It's not what I do or don't do.
It's not what Paul said back in Galatians 6, 15. It's not circumcision that saves
us. It's not even uncircumcision.
It's not what we are or what we've done or what cuttings we've
made in this flesh or things that we've done without, but
a new creature. And because that's of great importance
in the eyes of our God, the work of his son, he's done that. He's
made us a new creature, born again by the spirit of God, taking
of the things of Christ and showing them unto you. That seed of Christ
regenerating us, giving us that new man, that spirit whereby
we hear and know and believe the voice of our God. So let
us look to him for this redemption. Let our eyes be upon him and
not upon ourselves. Let us look to him. Now this
morning I said we'll look at the causes of redemption. If
it's not man, then how is it of God? What motivated God to
redeem his people? We're told that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them. Why? Why? Well, God tells us
everything we need to know in Christ. We see many blessed blessings
and attributes of our God all revealed in the face of Jesus
Christ, shining into the darkness of this heart and this mind,
which is enmity against God, and delivering us out of that
darkness to see, to hear, to believe on the Lord our Savior. and God shows us through Christ
His love for His people. He shows us in Christ that He
is gracious to His people. He reveals to us in Christ that
He is merciful and forgives us of our sins and is kind. and abundantly gives to his people
all in Christ, and many, many other blessings. And he tells
us this to comfort your hearts. You that believe him, it's to
comfort your hearts. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. Yes, we hear what we are in the
flesh, that we are but grass, that we wither and die, but Christ
has established all our salvation in him. What a comfort! He is,
and He comforts us with these words that we might know that
Jesus Christ is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by Him. By Him. That's how we come to
the Father, in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's see the
Father's causes of redemption. First, what moved God to redeem
a people to Himself? Some would say the cause is in
us. God is looking to us. He's seen some redeemable quality
in us. He's looked down through the
annals of time and seen us do some good thing and something
for ourselves. And they would have you to believe
that God looked at us, that he saw some flicker of light, some
little gleam of hope in man whom he had created. But that's not
at all what the scriptures teach. That's nonsense. That's a lie.
That's a damnable lie. Men and women go to hell believing
that there's something in them that merits God's attention and
favor and love in us. God has not just given us a little
help to get good people over the hump and get them saved.
He's done everything, everything, at great cost. Not to us, but
at great cost to His Son. who bore the wrath of God in
the place of His people, that which we deserve, and not just
me or just you, but all His people, their sins, their punishment,
their death was laid on Him so that He became a curse for us,
that we would know and be delivered from that death to know and worship
and to rejoice in the fellowship of our God in Christ. The scriptures
teach us how that God made choice of Jacob over Esau. We're told over in Romans chapter
9, verse 11 and 13, and this will see the first thing of God's
love. In Romans 9.11, for the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him
that calleth. It was said unto Rebekah their
mother, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now, of course,
we see in this a picture of the two natures that is in us, that
are in us, the nature of the flesh and that which is born
of the spirit, Esau being the flesh, which cannot please God,
which cannot hear the things of God and doesn't seek God,
doesn't look for Him, doesn't turn to hear what his God says. And then we see Jacob who pictures
the new man, him that is born again, created by God, not of
the works of man. But we also see in this how that
God chooses to whom he will be gracious, and whom he will he
hardens. And he tells us down in Romans
9 verse 15 and 16, when he said to Moses, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion, so then it's not of him that willeth. Our so-called free will is bound
up and chained in sin and death and corruption of this flesh. so that all we can do comes short
of the glory of God continually. Continually. We are rebels and
lawbreakers against the true and living God. It's not of Him
that runneth. We don't do the works of God.
Our works don't work the works of God. We come short. But it's
of God that showeth mercy. And so, for today, what we're
looking at here is that I want you to notice the motivation
of God that's declared here in that passage, Jacob, have I loved. God loved Jacob. God loved Jacob. John says it
rather sweetly when he describes the believer's motivation, which
is wrought in us by God, who loved Jacob, who loves his people.
He tells us, for God is love. God is love. John was saying,
he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. And that
means that he that does love, loves, because God is love, the
love you have for your brethren, the patience you have for your
brethren, that desire to fellowship and be with them wrought in you
by the love of God. We're motivated by God's love,
and God was motivated by love. He loves his people. He made
choice of them for his love's sake, so that God's love is the
source and spring of that blessing, and that source and spring, that
blessing is seen in Christ. It's seen in Christ. Election,
regeneration, our effectual call, as well as our redemption is
the reason for these is because God's pure holy love with which
he loves us with which he chose us in Christ. If I had to say
which came first, I would say it's His love for Christ and
He chose Christ and that He would glorify His Son. But right on
the heels of that, God loves His people and chose us in Christ. and blesses us richly in Christ. He is the source and the spring. He's the day spring out of which
all these blessings flow unto us and bless us and comfort us. God's love's not altered or changed
by what you or I do. Do you believe that? Doesn't
feel like it, does it? It doesn't feel like that. Many
days when we see our weaknesses, our shortcomings, our temper
gets tripped, we say something foolish, we do something we ought
not to do, and how we would turn against us in a heartbeat, and
we would bring down the law against ourselves if another did it like
us. But God shows us mercy and love
and patience and even in his correction It's for our good
and for the good of our brethren He says for I am the Lord I change
not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not Consumed if God was was
responding to what we did it would be for our destruction
It wouldn't be for our good because we see our need of God every
day. Now Christ, in scriptures, called
the gift of God to his people. Paul wrote thanks be unto God
for his unspeakable gift, and he speaks of Christ. Christ is
that gift. Before Christ was ever sent in
the flesh, he was first given to us by the Father. He was given
to bless us and to redeem us. The father says to his son in
Isaiah 42, 6, I, the Lord, Jehovah, this is Jehovah speaking, I,
the Lord, have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine
hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the Gentiles. And so God gave his son before
he ever sent him into the world. He was already given. He is the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It was already
purposed by God to accomplish this redemption for His people. And this gift we see springs
from God's love for us. John 3.16, for God so loved the
world, His people scattered throughout the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting love. He gave Him He sent him, he spared
him not, but delivered him up for us, his body, us all, that
we would know him. So he gave his son as a gift
to his people to redeem them, to restore that which was lost
in Adam. And he declares this promise
to his people. This is declared in the promise
of God to his people, spoken of from the foundation of the
world. In this word, in the scriptures recorded for us from the very
first and early happenings at the creation of the world, we
see God's purpose of grace to his people, testifying of his
precious gift. We saw when God said, let there
be light, the word was spoken and the light of men is Jesus
Christ shining upon this dark world. declaring the very purpose
of God to be gracious to his people, for those whom he loved. This was understood by the saints
in the Old Testament, though obscurely in some cases, but
they saw, they looked for Christ. They looked for redemption In
Israel, didn't Anna the prophetess come in and declared Christ to
all those who looked for redemption in Israel? They're looking for
their savior. And when he came, they rejoiced.
And Job said it this way, Job 19.25, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. Some say Job was one of the earliest
books ever written. Then he said, I know that my
Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth. He saw the coming of Christ.
Isn't that beautiful? Since Christ came, this is the
latter day since he came. He saw the coming of Christ,
his Redeemer, in the flesh according to the very promise of God who
said, by the seed of woman, I'll redeem you. I'll deliver you.
I'll restore all that which was lost by your sin and your rebellion
against me. I'll restore it in my son." And
so Job, just as all the Old Testament saints, he knew and he looked
for the gift of God whose promise, the promise of his coming was
fulfilled by the coming of Christ. And so when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth his son. He gave him, then he
sent his son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption
of sons. And so God's will of his purpose
is accomplished by the redemption of Christ. Don't doubt the love
of God your father that he has for you. He that spared not his
son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him freely give us all things?" All things. He's brought you
here, he's gathered you here, he's made you to hear the gospel.
He's brought you into his inn, where he cares for you. He's
healed you, and he's put the precious ointment of his spirit
in you to heal you, to restore you, and he comforts you in the
inn. in the local assembly, blessing
you with the preaching of his word. God commendeth his love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. Now in addition to the love of God for us, we see in this
redemption by Christ the grace of God. we see that we are redeemed
by the free, sovereign grace of God. So that it's not what
we do that saves us. It's not what we start or stop
or do that saves us. It's by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So that
in the redemption of Christ, we see God's grace toward us. That it's by the death of another,
by the death of our Savior, that we are free. That we are set
free. That bondage wherein we labored
in fear and worries and doubts under the thumb of the devil,
all that's been broken and canceled so that we don't fear death.
We're not afraid of death anymore, wondering, have I done enough?
Did I get myself clean enough? Did I do enough for God? That's
how we are in the flesh. That's how we are in the flesh,
always looking to self and doubting. But when we look to Christ, there's
no doubt. He dispels all the darkness.
He drives away the fear. And he makes us to rest, to lie
down in the green pastures of Christ our Savior, who leadeth
us beside still waters. Still waters, not the wrath of
God. but still waters made peaceable by Christ. It's like we see that
sea of glass before the throne of God. There's not a ripple
in it. There's no terror. There's no
fierce winds to oppose us, nothing coming to pour out upon us and
to destroy us. The sea is calm. The sea of God's
wrath is at peace. And that's what he gives to us
in our hearts when we hear Christ. And he gives us faith to believe
him and rest in him. So it's by grace, by grace. Additionally,
to this grace and the love of God, we see the mercy of God
for his people. When John the Baptist was born,
his daddy, Zachariah, being filled with the Holy Ghost, prophesied,
saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited
and redeemed Israel. and hath raised up in horn the
strength of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. And he tells us it was to perform
the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. And again, through the tender
mercy of our God, whereby the day spring from on high hath
visited us. So we see in Christ that he is
that spring. out of which we see and understand
and know and receive the love of God, the grace of God. mercy of God, we see the wisdom
of God, we see the compassion of God, we understand all that
he has done for us in Christ. God's mercy motivated him in
sending Christ to be the propitiation for our sins. Oh give thanks,
the psalmist wrote, oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good,
for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. And again, who remembered us
in our lowest state. He knows what we are. He knows
everything that's in our hearts and our minds. Nothing is hid
from God. And yet, for Christ's sake, he
loves you. He's gracious to you. he's merciful
to you, who remembered us in our lowest state for his mercy
endureth forever and hath redeemed us from all our enemies, sin
and death, the grave, this world, the devil, he's redeemed us all
from it and delivered us for his mercy endureth forever. And so by love, grace, and mercy,
we see the will and purpose of God revealed to us in Christ,
who delivered us from our sin, our fallen sin, our ruin in Adam. He saw us living vain and wicked
lives, and delivered us from that death, delivered us from
the coming wrath upon the inhabitants of the world, and he brought
us into the Lord Jesus Christ by his own precious blood. And
though we deserve wrath, we obtain salvation by him. that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. And so, again, in Christ
we see the dayspring, the spring of love, grace, and mercy. fulfilled and accomplished to
us by the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see the covenant
of His redemption fulfilled and established by the blood of Christ. What is the cause of redemption?
Was it something in me? Or is it something in Christ?
It's in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the testimony of Scripture.
That is the testimony of the Spirit unto us. It's all obtained
and accomplished by Christ. We see his love, his grace, his
mercy. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. Amen. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
for your grace. We thank you for your love. We
thank you for your mercy, which is poured out the blood of Christ
to redeem us, to deliver us from death, to shut our mouths of
boasting and self and open them in boasting of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We thank you for this mercy. We thank you for this redemption.
We thank you for the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ who reveals
to us, makes us to see the love, grace and mercy of our God in
the face of Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you. Fill our hearts
with this blessed word. Fill our hearts with your spirit. Fill our hearts with Christ in whom we dwell and live by
faith in him. Lord, thank you. It's in Christ's
name we pray and give thanks. Amen.