Well, Happy New Year, 2019. It's
pretty amazing. And well, I was thinking about
a message. As you know, I don't do a lot
of topical messages at a certain time of year, not yet anyway. But I was thinking about a message
for the new year. And this passage kept coming
to my mind with a few others. And the passage is 2 Corinthians
5.17. which says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things are become new. And that's because in Christ,
all things are new. Everything about God's salvation
for His people is new to us. It's not natural. It's not something
that we know naturally. So it's very new to our old,
fallen, Adam nature. Christ changes everything. He
changes the believer, his children, his child. He takes and he changes
everything about their understanding of how God saves his people so
that the old things that we held to, the old things that we believed,
they are passed away. And that's because everything
about salvation according to the natural man is wrong. It's
wrong. It's wicked. It's not true. And
it doesn't lead unto life. Christ alone leads to life. And so the Spirit, the Spirit
of Christ, has to do this work for us. The Spirit of Christ
gives us life. And the Spirit of Christ teaches
us what we need to know, that salvation is of the Lord. It's
not something that we merit for ourselves. It's not a work that
we do to get ourselves saved. But the Spirit reveals to us
what Christ has done to save His people, what He's already
accomplished. And so the Spirit's going to
bring to our knowledge, He's going to open our understanding
to show us that Christ is our salvation. Now, we're surrounded
by many churches, so-called, and they focus quite heavily
on keeping their members busy. And they exercise them in the
works of the law rather than exercising them in the hearing
of faith. And the natural man, of course,
loves this. They love to hear what they can
do to merit or earn or increase in their salvation, that they
can do to sanctify themselves. And that's because it's minding
the flesh. And as we know from the scriptures,
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. So what you see natural man doing
and his natural man-made religion is all a product of the flesh. It's all man-made teaching and
it all leads to death. So you can imagine that anyone
having a Wednesday night message or probably the first message
of the year, they're quite interested in this time of year because
this is a great opportunity for them to make known or to get
their members who are thinking of resolutions and what they're
going to be doing for the new year. It's a great opportunity
for getting their minds focused on what they can do in the interest
of their church. Now, Paul did say in Titus 3.8,
he said, this is a faithful saying, and these things I will that
thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God, and
that's important, to they which have believed in God, might be
careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable
unto men." But notice he addresses it to those that have believed
in God, not as carnal man teaches us, to look to man's will and
to make a decision for Christ, to look to his own faith and
his own works to determine where he's marking on the measuring
stick, where he's coming up. This belief in God is an operation
of God. It's something that the Lord
does for his people. Paul said just before this in
Titus 3-7, he said that being justified by his grace, by his
grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal
life. So that it's by grace that we
believe in God. It's not an act of our will. It's not something, it's not
a product of our flesh. that we believe in God. This
is a supernatural, this is divine power operating in His people,
bringing them to believe God. And the point is that You know, where this little J
Jesus is preached that he's only opened the door of salvation
in the sense that he's only made it possible now for you to be
saved. But they still put this emphasis
on something that you need to do in order to make God's grace,
God's salvation, effectual for you. So they still take faith
even, which is a gift of God, and they take spiritual things
and they subtly turn them into being a work that's a product
of your flesh. And so it gets these people all
focused on the flesh. And having begun in the flesh,
what do they continue to do but teach them the things of the
flesh how to how to get their lives right and how to keep their
lives straight and narrow and what they've got to do now to
keep themselves in the grace of God and keep themselves in
in favor with God so we see this will work salvation that begins
that way so that's of course naturally how they have to keep
it going because it's all will work so they've got to use different
carrots and sticks to to lure the people and beat the people
from behind and do all those things, but salvation really
is by grace, and it's not by our works. Turning over to Romans
11, Romans 11, verse 4, we see Paul says this, he says, Romans
11, 4. What saith the answer of God unto Elijah? He says, I have found 7,000 men
who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Is that what
he says? No, he doesn't say, I found. He says, I have reserved
to myself. The Lord did this work. I reserved
to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image
of Baal. Even so then, at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise,
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. So it's true
that we do receive the testimony of God. We believe on the Son
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, for salvation. But our receiving
is like this water glass, right? When you're at home and you're
thirsty, you go up to the cabinet and you choose out the water
glass that you want to use. And you fill up that water glass
with water, right? Well, in the same way, God chooses
whom He will, and He pours His Spirit into them, and He fills
His people, His chosen vessels, with the Spirit. And in that
regard, they receive the Spirit. They're passive in this salvation.
They're the happy recipients of God's grace and mercy. They
didn't choose God. God chose them, in the same way
that you choose a water glass at home to fill with water to
quench your thirst. It's the Spirit of God that quickens
us in the inner man, and the Spirit of God renews and reminds
us that, and this is what the operation of God constantly is
reminding us, as it says in Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And so that the Spirit
of Christ is constantly renewing our minds, constantly reminding
us and showing to us and declaring to us that our salvation, brethren,
is accomplished. There's now, therefore, no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. So that we're being reminded
over and over again that it's Christ who has saved us, despite
how we feel, despite what we're thinking about, despite the sinful
tug in the flesh, or even the actual act of sinning, all these
things, it's the Spirit that reminds us that there is no condemnation
now in Christ Jesus for His people. The Spirit of Christ working
in us is turning our affections from looking to the flesh to
make things right, looking to the flesh to strengthen our resolve
in God, and looking to the flesh to correct some error that we've
done. I remember talking to some who
claim to believe in Christ, and because they didn't believe that
they should sin, they just called it a mistake. It was a mistake
now, and they just start making up things to cover their sin. And so, the Spirit is constantly
turning us away from the flesh and to look and to behold what
Christ has accomplished for us. And it's the Spirit, which is
the gift of God given to us, whereby we do good works. Otherwise, it would just be Paul
saying, why don't you stop doing those those dead letter carnal
works of the flesh under the Old Testament and now come on
under the New Testament and start doing carnal dead letter works
here. If it was all just the flesh,
if it was just a matter of reforming the flesh, it would just be one
dead letter religion being traded in to commit another dead letter
religion just under a different name. So it's all of Christ. And as Paul said in Romans 8,
4, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in
us who walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Even so
then, we declare the Lord Jesus Christ, because we love Him.
And we have His seed in Him. The Spirit is poured into us.
The Spirit of Christ is given to us, whereby we're made alive
unto the things of God. to know the things of God and
to understand that it's God who has provided our salvation and
not we ourselves for ourselves. So tonight, I want us to see
that the believer has been hid in Christ, that the believer
is redeemed by Christ, and the believer is regenerated by the
Spirit of Christ. And those will be our divisions. And it's because we do want to
walk in Christ and delighting in Him, And the way that we walk
in Christ and delight in Him is to hear what He's accomplished
for us. It's to be turned back to the
Gospels, to be reminded by the Spirit that there is therefore
now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. So that's what we're
doing. We're walking after the Spirit. I like to just call this
message New Year's 2019 message, but to you internally here, I
would say it's Christ is the believer's constraint. All right,
so let's look at our text in verse 14. 2 Corinthians 5 verse
14 is where we're going to start, and we'll go down to verse 17.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 14. And here we see the believer's
motivation or the believer's constraint. We find that it's
not the law of Moses. That's not what's constraining
us, what's holding us, what's brought us in under the fold
of Christ. But it's Christ Jesus himself. It says, for the love
of Christ constraineth us. The love of Christ constraineth
us. wow what a declaration of power right that this is God
saying it's the love of Christ that constrains a believer and
so it's the Spirit of God that's gathering us whereby in Christ
we enjoy all the gifts and and all the blessings that are in
Christ Jesus our Lord in Song of Solomon 2 verse 4 it says
that He brought me to the banqueting house. I didn't bring myself.
You didn't bring yourself. He brought me to the banqueting
house, and His banner over me was love. He's gathered us under
the love and the power of Christ so that anyone outside of Christ,
they're none of His. And that is until the Spirit
makes known to us by bringing us into Christ under His banner
what He has accomplished for his people. In Romans 8, verses
9 and 10, Paul reminds us, you're not in the flesh, not anymore,
but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of
God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he's none of his. And if Christ be in you,
the body, this body, it's dead because of sin. But the spirit
is life because of righteousness. That is, because of Christ's
imputed righteousness to his people. So God brings us to Christ,
He puts us in His Son, in Christ in whom we have life and love. and liberty in the Lord Jesus
Christ. 1 Corinthians 118 telling us,
for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. How can God save and keep his
people looking to him, trusting him, growing in him, just by
the preaching of the cross? That's foolishness to people.
Therefore, they turn back to the Law of Moses and to other
studies, but they don't stay on the Lord Jesus Christ. They
don't trust and have any confidence that God is able to keep his
people, both to save them initially and to keep them to the end,
just in the preaching of the cross of what Christ has accomplished
for us. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. We know that's exactly how God
does it. He saved us in the beginning
through the cross of Christ, and he continues to save us through
the cross of Christ, bringing us back to remember what Christ
has accomplished for us, reminding us that there is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There's
no condemnation. So he's bringing us to see that. It's not just a feel-good story. really this is how we're saved
by Christ and we continue to declare Christ because that's
how he continually saves us that's how he keeps us is is beholding
and seeing with the eye of faith what Christ has accomplished
for us and he's he's destroying the works of of of sin and and
and the works of the devil in the flesh he's destroyed those
things so that we're no longer under the condemnation of the
law and We're no longer under the dominion of sin. He's destroyed
those things. Sure, we still feel the lusts
of the flesh. We understand and we recognize
that these things are there. But we're constantly being reminded,
constantly being made to look to what Christ has done for us,
how that he has laid down his life for us to put these things
away. And he turns us from those things. And he grows us in the grace
and the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ, so that we We're
no longer bound in looking to the pride of life, and the lust
of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh, and being taken away
with those things, but He increases Christ before our eyes, and He
exalts Him, and He lifts Him up, and He glorifies the Lord
Jesus Christ before us, and again we're reminded, there is therefore
now no condemnation in Christ Jesus. So, He's constantly doing
this for us. You remember what Christ said,
it is finished. The works are done, there's nothing
more for us to do. And so it's His power working
in us. We're not getting ourselves saved,
we're not getting ourselves more sanctified, we're not getting
ourselves more justified. This flesh has no part in that
work. Christ finished the work. He
did all the work. And so the Spirit is constantly
illuminating our minds, constantly bringing us back to see, and
behold, the Son of God has accomplished everything necessary for our
salvation. So you can be sure that in terms
of this gospel, the Spirit is going to bring it home to the
hearts of His people. He's going to make us to hear
it. He's going to make us to see and to behold that it really
is finished. Christ really did all things
necessary for my salvation. Remember, as the Lord said, I
have reserved for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee
to the image of Baal. Even so then, even at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, and it's no more works, otherwise grace
is no more grace. So understand, Brethren, that
it's the Spirit who takes the truth and the love of God displayed
in Christ, displayed in this Gospel, and He pours it into
us by His divine power, creating life in us and planting us with
the seed of Christ. Just as we were made of our Father's
seed and we were in our mother's womb, so spiritually we are implanted
with the seed of Christ so that by Him we have our life, by Him
there is spiritual life, by Him we hear of what He's done, by
Him we believe Him and we rest in Him and we're delivered and
turned from the dead works of this flesh and scrambling and
trying to work up a righteousness for ourselves when we've done
something wrong to make up for it. We cease with those things.
He turns us from that. We see the folly in that and
that it does no good for us. And so we're brought back to
say, Lord, I need your mercy. Have mercy on me, Lord. Forgive
me. Daddy, help me. I'm struggling again. I'm looking
back to the works of this flesh. I'm trusting in the works of
the flesh. Save me from that, Lord, because I know those things
cannot save me. Have mercy, Lord. And we look
to Christ and we're made to rest in Him and wait upon Him. till
he comforts our hearts in the Lord Jesus Christ so it's by
Christ brethren that we see that we have it all the enjoyments
of the the children of God the sons and the daughters of God
as it says in Ephesians 1 verse 3 I know we quoted a lot where
he says blessed be the Lord but blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ and that in heavenly
places in Christ brings to mind what Paul wrote also to the Colossians
for example in Colossians 3 verse 1 if ye then be risen with Christ
seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God because that's where all our blessings are they're
found in Christ where Christ is seated at the right hand of
the throne of God and so It's because he died, rather, that
he's risen again. It says, set your affection on
things above, not on the things on the earth, not on fleshly
dead things, because you are dead. Because you're dead and
your life is hid with Christ in God. And so we're dead to
those carnal dead letter works of the flesh. We're dead to the
condemnation of the law. It's got nothing more to say
against us because we're not married to the law. We're not
married to this flesh anymore. We're married to Christ, a new
husband. We're not listening to what that
law says to us anymore. And the dominion of sin is destroyed
over us so that now we see and know, don't do those things.
I have a more precious inheritance and it's in Christ. And I'm trusting
the Lord. I'm waiting on my rest, waiting
on my enjoyment. because I know that it's found
in Christ and he's a much better inheritance than any momentary
passing pleasure that I could have in this life. So, back in Ephesians 1, 4, and
5, it shows us that it's according as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself and it's all according
to the good pleasure of his will. So this is all being declared
to us over and over again in the gospel of our Savior Jesus
Christ. We all see and know and understand
the blessings of God being poured out upon us in the sun all because
of what christ has done and we're reminded of that we don't leave
those things behind and now start whipping and beating the flesh
and trying to get ourselves in line by the flesh having begun
in the spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh all last
in glacians three three no it's if we continue on in the spirit
just as the spirit gave his life initially the spirit must continue
to give us life in the sun jesus christ so We see how there's
nothing more effectual for the brethren but to see and behold
what Christ has done for us. And we're reminded of what Christ
has done. That's what melts our hearts. That's what keeps us going and
looking to Him. If it was just a work of the
flesh, I could see what the Will Works religionist is saying.
If it was just a product of this flesh and a reformation of this
flesh, then yeah, you better pull out all the law and start
whipping and beating and constraining people because the flesh is fallen.
It's wicked. It's corrupt. But it's the spirit. It's the life of the spirit of
Christ in us whereby it's incorruptible. It can't sin. The new man cannot
sin, as John said. In fact, you can see, I wonder
sometimes if John didn't write his epistle at the same time,
or in near proximity when he wrote the Gospel of John, but
he says, He says, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. And that's what
he's saying when he wrote in John 3, 19 he says this is the condemnation
that light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil because there's no
fellowship between the flesh and And and and God whose spirit
there's no fellowship there But he that doeth truth in verse
21 cometh to the light where we have fellowship with God we
walk in the light of God and and as it says there in first
John 1 7 we have fellowship one with another and the blood of
Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin because in the
light we see what wicked filthy sinners we are in his flesh we
confess our sin and we look to the Lord Jesus Christ falling
down before him and saying Lord you did all things necessary
you do all things well and you secured my salvation have mercy
upon me forgive me of my sins cleanse me of my sins deliver
me from the love of this fallen filthy world and set my heart
and my affection and my thoughts and my mind on you. That I may
walk by your spirit and walk in your light having fellowship
and enjoying your presence every day and every hour. And so we're
walking there in that light and then what do we find? that his
deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." And
we see all the while it wasn't my flesh doing that. It wasn't
my will that did that for me. It was all the Lord God in mercy
and in grace showing me my sin, showing me my need of the Savior,
showing me that He's sufficient for all my needs and that He
accomplished my salvation. He puts me in Christ and I see
that he put me in Christ and that he's given me life and light
and liberty in the Sun so it's not my flesh doing this work,
but but all of him and so we're rejoicing in him and it's by
looking and seeing what he's done and being reminded of what
he's accomplished for us in this gospel so and that's what we
have in our text and then it says for the love of Christ constraineth
us because we thus judge that if one died for all then we're
all dead that is when Christ died on the cross and he put
away our sins when he bore our sins in his own body and he put
them away by the sacrifice of himself we were in Christ we
died in him we died with him when he died we died so that
it's the law is dead to us as it says in Romans 7 for wherefore
my brethren ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ that ye should be married to another, even to him who is
raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God." Alright, so we're bringing forth fruit now, spiritual fruit,
acceptable fruit, pleasing fruit, not by the flesh, but by the
seed of Christ implanted in us, which is incorruptible, because
it's not of this flesh, it's not of this world, it's of our
Husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we live and move and
have our being now. Next now, redeemed by Christ,
we'll look at what Christ accomplished in redemption. And redemption
just means to be bought, bought with the right price. With the price that it takes
to buy that, that's what Christ paid for his people so that we
understand that he purchased us. And because he purchased
us, because we're his, he gives us his spirit. We're his, and
he's going to perform the spiritual work in us. He's going to bring
us to Himself. He's not going to leave us in
darkness. He's not going to let us fall away or anything like
that, or just be left in the dark. He's going to bring us
to the light and the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. In
2 Corinthians 5, 15 and 16, this is what Paul is saying. He says
in our text, "...and that He died for all, that they which
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him
which died for them and rose again." Wherefore, henceforth,
know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now, from here forward, know we Him no
more." He's saying Christ came and what He did when He purchased
us and laying down His life, the sacrifice He made, there's
no more sacrifice for sin. It's done. We don't know Him
anymore after the flesh because the work is finished. It's done. It's accomplished. There's nothing
more to be done. We're going to bear spiritual
fruit. We're going to walk and bear
good works that are pleasing to the Father, that are a blessing
and a help to one another, to the Lord's Church. We're going
to bear these things because it can't be any other way. It
pleases the Father to do this for us. So let's look at our
redemption. In 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19,
it tells us what the price of redemption was. He says in 1
Peter 1, 18, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers, And that's exactly what
churches, so-called churches, are still doing today. It's just
vain conversation being handed down by the tradition of men
because they don't know anything about the Spirit of Christ. And
they don't understand how it's the Spirit of Christ that indwells
in us and constrains us and bears fruit in us. So these are just
vain traditions. We're redeemed not by something
we do or don't do, but we're redeemed with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish, and without spot. So, because we're bought, and
we're bought with the price which is Christ's blood, now turn over
to 1 Corinthians 6.20. 1 Corinthians 6.20. Paul says to us, who believe,
and that is believe by the Spirit's power and working in us, thinking about good works, he
says, for ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God
in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Now, is he turning
us back to the flesh to glorify God, to do something in the flesh
to glorify Him, or are we being turned back to look to Christ,
to look to what He's done and the Spirit's work? Brethren,
we do know what it is to struggle. We know what it is to burn and
to feel the tug and the lust of the flesh, the things that
appeal to each of us individually, whatever they are, but we have
the Spirit of Christ in us, dwelling in us, constantly reminding us
and showing us Christ and bringing us back to what Christ has accomplished
for us so that we're not looking to the strength of the flesh
to get ourselves out of whatever predicament we're in, but we're
falling down before Christ. We're falling down before him
and we're seeking him and begging him for mercy and forgiveness
and strength to turn us away from those unprofitable things,
to be delivered from that the guilty conscience that comes
upon us. And so the Spirit's constantly
declaring to us, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. Alright, so we're talking about
glorifying God. Now if you look over in Revelation
5, in Revelation 5-9, Paul encourages us to glorify God. And here,
I want you to see how this is how we glorify God. And I've
told you, the Spirit's the one that's bringing back to our minds
what Christ has accomplished for us there on the cross. And
what do we find them doing in Revelation 5-9? It says that
they sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation. I'll go once more, same theme
in Revelation 14. Revelation 14 verses 3 and 4. And notice here again, they're
singing. They sung as it were a new song before the throne
and before the four beasts and the elders and no man could learn
that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand which
were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins." Right? They're
not born. This isn't a product of the flesh.
This is of the seed of Christ by which we stand before God,
complete and whole in Him. These are they which follow the
Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among
men, being the firstfruits unto God. and the Lamb. So what is
it that the Spirit is doing in His people? He gives them, He
teaches them the song of redemption. Of what Christ has done for me. What Christ has done, He's put
away my sin. So when Paul says glorify Christ
in your bodies and in your spirit, it's to sing that song of redemption. To be reminded by the Spirit,
Christ has put away my sin. Christ has delivered me from
this. I'm no longer under the condemnation of the law. I can't
do these things in the flesh, but He delivers me. He's destroying
these works in the love of these things. Lord, have mercy upon
me. Save me from these things. This
is what you accomplished in your death, your burial, and your
resurrection. And we're constantly looking to Him. We're always
being reminded of what Christ has accomplished for us. If you
want an answer for a guilty conscience, it isn't going to be by looking
to the law of Moses. You're going to be condemned.
You're going to condemn yourself, or you're going to think more
highly of yourselves than you ought to think, thinking wrongly that
you somehow mastered it when you didn't. But the answer for
a guilty conscience is to look at what Christ, the Lamb of God,
has accomplished for us in shedding His precious blood to put away
our sin. That's our hope. That's our song.
That's what we're saying to one another. encourage one another
and to press on knowing that God has blessed us abundantly
with all spiritual blessings and he's comforted our hearts
with the blood of Christ so the Spirit teaches us this song the
Spirit constantly turning us back to Christ to Christ to Christ
only we're always looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and that's
what Paul is declaring to us in his epistles over and over
and over again. Go over to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter
10, and we're gonna pick up in verse 14. Now, it's a little
bit long, but it's saying everything that I just said to you in Hebrews
10, verses 14. Notice it's all the power of
Christ. It's all by his spirit. Everything
we have, every enjoyment, every blessing we have is by Christ. Hebrews 10 14, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof
the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us, teaching us that song
of Christ. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission
of these is, there is no more offering for sin." Right? And that's just like what Paul
said in 2 Corinthians 5 16, Yet now henceforth know we Him no
more after the flesh." It's been done. There's no more offering
for sin to be made. Our faithful High Priest made
the sacrifice and we're complete and whole in Him. Verse 19, "...having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by
the blood of Jesus." Where's our confidence in some fleshly
work that we did or in the blood of Jesus Christ who's opened
the way of salvation for us to enter in to come before the throne
of God without fear and without shame and without being without
being afraid that we're going to be turned away. Oh we're coming
with the precious blood of the sun and having verse 21 and hype. Oh verse 20 and by a new and
living way which he had consecrated for us through the veil, that
is to say, his flesh, right? When he laid down his life, when
he was crucified there on the cross. And having an high priest
over the house of God, who offered himself to God as the sacrifice
for his people, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith, without wavering, for He is faithful that promised,
and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good
works." You want a New Year's resolution? Sing the redemption
of Christ. Sing the redemption that we have
in Christ's blood, that He has set us free, that He's opened
the way, that we can stand before a holy God covered in the righteous
robe, the bloodstained robe of Christ's righteousness. And you
don't have to fear and tremble going before Him in that flimsy,
fake, fig leaf religion that men and women are looking to
this day to get themselves right with God. Rest in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Alright, now very quickly, it
says back in our text in 2 Corinthians 5.17, that because of Christ and that
we have life by spirit, we read, therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold,
all things become new so that the Holy Spirit dwells in us
teaching us this song of redemption so that all those former things
that those old things are passed away and we are set free in the
Lord Jesus Christ and delivered from those that fear-mongering
and that carnal man-made religion where we all were once under
looking to those things and and being done with that outward
form of reformation and that outward form of religion, it's
all done away in Christ. It's all done away in Him. And
so because of Christ, it's all new. Everything we have, it's
new. Remember, the Spirit grants us
repentance to be turned from those dead, carnal, man-made
works of religion and to behold Christ. To see that He's made
all things new. And He's given us a new heart
that isn't hard and stony and cold and dead and loves these
things. He's given us a new heart and
a new mind to believe what Christ has done. New eyes to see the
Lord Jesus Christ, what He's accomplished for us. New ears
to hear this Gospel and to receive it and to believe it. And to
sing it, and to confess it to one another that this is the
work of Christ. And to be encouraged that Christ
has put away our sin once and for all, brethren. So, for this
new year, be singing the song of redemption in our Savior Jesus
Christ. Look to Him. There's now, therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, by His Spirit, in
the Spirit of Christ. I pray that he teach us all that
song very well. Amen. All right, let's pray and
then we'll be dismissed with we'll sing the song redeemed
475 when we're done with this. Our gracious Lord, we thank you,
Father, for the redemption that you've provided in your son,
Jesus Christ, Lord, that it's not that we're worthy or that
we've merited it in our fate, in our flesh, Lord. It's not
that it was the work of our flesh that believed you and not something
that we've done to receive it or reject it, Lord, but rather
we're so thankful that by your Spirit we hear what you've done
and what you've accomplished in Christ and we receive it by
your Spirit so that we are the happy recipients of your grace
and mercy. Lord, Lord, we believe, help
thou our unbelief, Lord. If there's any still looking
to their flesh or any doubtful, Lord, cause them to hear Christ,
to hear his voice and to believe, to be given light and life and
liberty in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you would fill them, fill
us all, Lord, with your spirit and keep us looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus' name,
our Lord and Savior. Amen.