Turn with me if you would now
to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Every
time that I sit down to study for a message, my desire is to
feed on and to prepare. I want to personally feed on
and I want to prepare what we would call the meat and potatoes
of the gospel. The meat of the Word. We dig and we search for the
deep things of this Word, sometimes hard things. The Apostle Peter
said concerning the Apostle Paul, He said some of the things he
wrote are hard to understand. And sometimes we have to roll
up our sleeves and do some digging. Dig and search to find that fundamental
message of the meat and potatoes of the gospel. But there are
times when I sit down at my desk to study and I know that all
I can handle is milk. There are some times when I just
sit down and I know, I just know all I can physically handle is
milk. Now, that is not something different. I want to make that clear up
front. Milk is not a different meal
than meat and potatoes. Milk is not a different message
from meat and potatoes. It's the same word. It's just sometimes I feel like
rather than chewing, it'd just be nice to sip on it a little
bit. And I believe that makes sense. I believe that makes sense. If the Lord has opened up the
word to you, I believe you know what I'm talking about. A man
made the statement one time concerning the word and the declaration
of it. He said, the meat and potatoes of the gospel is critical. And it is. The meat and potatoes
of the gospel is critical. But he said, the salad and the
ice cream sure is nice too. Sometimes that easy to digest,
just sweet on the spoon meal, that can be nice too. And that's
what I'd like to serve to you tonight, just something we can
sip on. Maybe our Lord will add some
sweetness to it, make it sweet to our taste. I believe that
this is a verse that I'll end up preaching from more than most
any other throughout my time in the ministry. And the reason
is because this is so easily digestible to me. This is just
so sweet. And it's so comforting. And I
find it to be just right when I'm when I'm searching and needing
something and I run across this verse, I always think that is
just right. That is just what I needed. Second
Corinthians 11 verse three. It says, but I fear. lest by
any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ." Oh, the simplicity that is in Christ. I love simplicity. I love simplicity, clear, plain,
easy to follow, easy to understand simplicity. God's truth is simple. It's simple. It's clear. It's plain. It's easy to follow. It's easy to understand. A babe
can understand it if it's revealed. If God reveals it, a babe can
understand it. God's law is simple. It's not simple to fulfill. It's not simple to accomplish. It's not simple to satisfy, but
it's simple to understand. I was in a college English class
one time and all the students were assigned a topic that they
had to write a paper on. The one that I was assigned was
God's laws versus man's laws. And whenever she said, that's
your topic, I thought, great. But the conclusion I came to
was man's laws are complicated. Man's laws are hard to understand. They're easy to bend. They're
easy to break and not get punished for it. They're easy to change,
and it's because they're written in such a way that the interpretation
of them can be hard to comprehend. All of those whereas, for, tos,
but, without, not, but, only if. God's laws are simple. They are clear. They're plain. They're easy to follow. They're
unbendable. They're unbreakable without being
punished for it. Unchangeable. Man muddies everything
up with complicated wording and loopholes and contingencies and
stipulations. God says, Thou shalt not kill. Period. The wages of sin is death. Period. Simple. Clear. God's Word is clear. God's Law
is clear. And God's Gospel is clear. God's Good News is so simple
and it's so clear. Verse 3 says, But I fear, lest
by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ." The gospel is this simple. Meaning it's this singular. It's
this clear. In Christ. It's that simple. in Christ. All of the good news
that God has for us is in Christ. All of the good news that this
word has to tell us is in Christ. The meat, the potatoes, the salad,
and the ice cream is all in Christ. That's the
meat, potato, salad, and ice cream of the gospel. What we
have in Christ. What God has provided for us
in Christ. That's what we feed on. That's
what satisfies us and that's what's sweet to our taste. The
simplicity that is in Christ. Now, I don't have anything to
wow us tonight. I don't have anything to challenge
us tonight. I just have something for us to enjoy. I want to take
a minute and feast on what we have in Christ. He said in verse
3, I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ. We're going to look at a few
scriptures. where those two words are back to back. I got into
the concordance and I found some scriptures that say in Christ. Through these scriptures, we're
gonna enjoy what we have in Christ and then we'll be done. All right,
we'll just go through them and then we'll be done. Go with me
if you would to Romans chapter three. Romans 3 verse 24, it says, being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. I read that, I looked up these
scriptures, and I found the ones that said it, and that was the
first one on the list. And I turned over there to it,
and as soon as I read that, that just slayed me. I thought about
the Queen of Sheba. She went to see Solomon, and
the moment that she saw him ascend up into the temple, there was
no more spirit left in her. When the Lord lets us enter into
that, We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that's in Christ. We have, in Christ, we have redemption. We have redemption. That means
God has placed us back where we fell from. through the redemption
that we have in Christ. How did we sinners receive redemption
in Christ? What had to happen for us to
receive redemption? Total redemption in Christ. Verse 25 says, God had to set
him forth. God had to set Christ forth to
be a propitiation. That means God had to give His
Son to be a victim. God had to deny His Son. He had to turn His back on His
own Son. He had to make His Son to be
the payment that would redeem. And He took His blood and He
applied it to our account And in the payment of that blood,
we are completely redeemed. Debt satisfied. Slate wiped clean. Brand new record. Totally brand
new record. Ultimately, what does that mean
for us? What does that mean to have our debt satisfied? Slate wiped clean. Brand new
record. Look at Romans 8. Y'all hear that little baby down
there? She's crying out. And if we would do the same thing,
our Heavenly Father would do the same thing she just did.
Oh Lord, come quickly. Romans 8. Alright, what does
it mean that we have our slate wiped clean? Verse 1, there is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. That's what it means, no condemnation. In Christ we have no condemnation,
none. We have redemption, we have no
condemnation. Verse 2 says we have life. FOR
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS." Everything
about our existence in the flesh is tainted and it's stifled and
it's bound to death. Everything about our existence
is tainted, stifled, and bound to death. It's why we hurry up
and do whatever it is we're going to do. Because it's coming. Death is coming. But in Christ,
it's not. It's already come. It's over. In Christ, we don't have to hurry
up and do anything. Does that sound peaceful? We
can just rest. In Christ, we can just rest.
In Christ, we don't have to let go of anything. In Christ we
will never lose anything or anyone, especially not Him. In Christ
it is life, life, eternal life. That's what's coming and that's
what will keep coming forever and ever. Life, eternal life. That is, like David said, that's
sweet to my taste. Sweeter than honey. In Christ
we have redemption. We have no condemnation, we have
life. Look at this one, Romans 8 verse
38, it says, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Christ we have the love of
God, the very love that God the Father
has for God the Son, and the very love that God the Son has
for God the Father. That's the very love that God
the Father and God the Son has for us. The very same love if
we're in Christ. Our Lord said in John 17, He
prayed to His Father concerning his people. He said, I in them
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, meaning
in Christ. And that the world may know that
thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. As thou hast loved me. You've
loved them. as you have loved me." In Christ,
we have God's love. We have all of it. Romans 8, chapter 9, verse 1,
it says, I say the truth in Christ. In Christ, we have the truth.
Just tell me the truth. Don't lie to me. Don't send me
out to meet God with lies. Tell me the truth. What is the
truth? Where is the truth? It's in Christ. The truth is in Christ. The truth
is Christ. He said, I am the truth. Look with me at first Corinthians
chapter one. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 2, it says,
unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ. That means holy. Holy. In Christ we are holy. We are set apart for holy use. Outside of Christ, we're filthy
rags. That's all we are, but in Christ
we are clean, we are pure. That's amazing too. That is amazing. That's amazing how that blood
can wash a sinner clean. That blood can take a spotted
sinner and remove every spot. White as snow. Look at 2 Corinthians
2. Verse 14, it says, now thanks
be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. In Christ, this is what we have,
victory. triumph. God the Father said
in Isaiah 42, this is one of my favorite, favorite passages. He said, behold my servant, and
then he went on to say, he shall not fail. And in him, neither shall we. The victory that he won, he has
given to us. He has given us the victory. Triumph in Christ. Look at 2
Corinthians 5, verse 17, therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature. He's a new creature. That sounds
so good to somebody that knows he's ruined himself. Every now and then, a sinner
gets a hold of the fact, when God reveals it to him, that he
has ruined himself. Completely ruined himself. And
he realizes that there's no fixing this. There's no reform that
can fix this. It's total ruin. And it is just so good to hear
that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new, brand new. Go with me over to Galatians
chapter 2. Galatians 2 verse 4, it says,
and that because of false brethren, unawares, brought in, who came
in privately to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus. Outside of Christ, it's nothing
but bondage, bondage to the law, bondage to the flesh, bondage
to sin. And I pray that the Lord would
open more eyes to the liberty that's in Christ. I pray that
the Lord would remove the bondage for more sinners. Our Lord said, if the truth in
Christ is ever revealed to you, the truth shall make you free.
And if the truth makes you free, you're free indeed. You are completely
free. We have such liberty in Christ. Such liberty. We have such freedom. We have freedom from guilt. Do you ever feel guilty? Does
anything ever make you feel guilty? Alright, that's while we are
looking into the flesh. Alright, you look into the flesh
and you see what's going on in the flesh and it brings such
guilt. But when God truly turns our
eyes to Christ, we have freedom from all that guilt. We have
freedom from the guilt of our sin, freedom from the guilt of
everything that we are, everything that we do. Freedom from guilt, freedom from
self. We have freedom to approach His
throne with boldness. We can go right up to the throne
of God that we may find grace and mercy to help in time of
need. That's liberty. That's liberty. Look with me at Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 verse 3 says, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. All spiritual blessings in heavenly
places. Those next few verses go on to
tell what they are. Our election is in Christ. The
only reason God chose us is because God put us in Christ and He chose
Christ. Adoption, acceptance, forgiveness. Chapter 2 verse 6 says, a reserved
seat. That's a blessing in heavenly
places, isn't it? Chapter 2 verse 6, and hath raised
us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus. That's a reserved seat. Where
is my seat? In Him. It's in Him. We are seated in Him. Go with me over to Philippians
2. Philippians 2 verse 1, it says,
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
love if any, fellowship of the Spirit, if any, bowels and mercies."
In Him, this is what we have. We have consolation, we have
the comfort of love, we have the fellowship of the Spirit,
and we have the heart of mercy. And we do. In Him, we have consolation. You know, Simeon was waiting
for the consolation. Lord, come console me. In Him
we have fellowship of that Spirit, His Holy Spirit, the heart of
mercy. Two more. Go with me to Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians 1 verse 28, it says,
Whom we preach warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus. In Christ we are absolutely perfect. Absolutely perfect. Chapter 2
verse 10 says, You are complete in Him. Complete Finished, perfect. In Him, as He is, so are you. And with that perfection, look
at 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16 says, For the Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
In Christ. If we died in Him, died with
Him, we have a resurrection. We have a real resurrection.
It's hard to imagine. It's hard to get our mind around,
but we have a real, true resurrection. All right, now let's end this
message with this question. How does a sinner get in Christ? How does a sinner get in Christ?
We've seen how glorious it is to be in Christ, how restful
it is, how peaceful it is. We've seen how important and
vital it is to be in Christ. But here's the ultimate question.
How does a sinner get in Christ? Does he decide to be in Christ? That's what most people believe. I've decided to be in Christ. Is that how it works? Nope. Does
he come to the preacher and does the preacher get him in Christ?
Nope. Does he go out and do a bunch
of good deeds so he can earn the right to be in Christ? Nope. How does a sinner get in Christ? Go one more time to first Corinthians
chapter one. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 it says,
but of him, that's God, but of him are you in Christ Jesus? who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Salvation is
of the Lord. Only those who are in Christ
see that. Salvation is completely of the
Lord. That is so offensive to the flesh. You talk about the
offense of the cross and the offense of the message. You tell
somebody it's God's decision whether or not He saves you.
You don't have any say in the matter. That's totally God's
decision. You tell a person that and That's an offense to the
flesh. But if God put us in Christ,
we will cry, Amen, Hallelujah, thank God. Only those who are
in Christ see, have it revealed that salvation is of the Lord.
It was His grace It was his mercy. It was his will. It was his choice
that put all of his people in Christ. And here's the, here's
the evidence. Here's how we know who they are. If it's us, every soul in Christ
will cry verse 31 according as it is written. He that gloryeth,
let him glory in the Lord. He'll say, all of my glorying
is in Christ. All of it. All of my glory, all
of my praise. is in the simplicity that's in
Christ. Everything I want to hear, everything
I believe, everything I trust is right there in the simplicity
that is in Christ. This is sincerely my prayer from
Gabe to you. May we never be corrupted from
that simplicity. May God never let us stray from
that simplicity, the simplicity that's in Christ. All right,
let's all stand together.