Open your Bibles to Romans chapter
five, Romans the fifth chapter. Many years ago, John Bunyan published
a book. He titled Grace Abounded. Bunyan
is best known, of course, for his Pilgrim's Progress. And if
you haven't read it, I highly encourage you to read the book.
It's a marvelous description of God's grace in the experience
of it. In Grace Abounding, Bunyan deals
with the same subject matter a bit differently. He describes
his own experience of God's grace in Christ Jesus, bringing him
from a life of vanity and blasphemy into a life of righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost by faith in Jesus Christ
the Lord. I've chosen for the title of
my message tonight, the title that Bunyan gave to his book,
Grace Abounded. My text is Romans chapter five,
verses 20 and 21. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. The word law that is used in
verse 20 refers specifically to the 10 commandments, to what
is commonly called the moral law, the law that God gave Israel
at Mount Sinai. That law intervened between Adam's
sin and Christ's sacrifice. But in this passage specifically,
when the apostle writes by inspiration and says the law entered, that
the offense might abound, he's talking about the law entering
the heart, the mind, the conscience of chosen sinners when God's
pleased to make known to themselves. who and what they are sin. Our Lord describes in his parable
of the sower seed that was sown and some fell by the wayside,
some on stony ground, some among thorns, and then some fell into
good ground. Speaking of a man's heart, but
the map, the ground that is good is ground that's been made good.
And you folks who do some farming can appreciate this. You go out
and stick the sharp edge of a plow in the ground. And if the ground
could speak, it would beg, please don't! But that plow's got to
go in the ground. And it turns over the soil. And
when it breaks up the fallow ground and turns over the soil,
it exposes things that some folks would be shocked to see. You
see things under the ground that you can't see above ground. The
breaking up of that ground with the plow. is the work that God
the Spirit does in the lives of his people, in the hearts
of his people, by the work of the law. The law enters, and
the law shows us what we are. This is what Paul specifically
refers to in chapter 7, verse 9, where he says, I was alive
without the law once. I was alive. Very much alive. He lived in righteousness that
men approved of. He lived a Pharisee. That's the
way his folks trained him. That's the way he was raised.
And he turned out to be just what they wanted him to be. A
perfect Pharisee. A perfectly good religious man. He didn't know God, but a perfectly
good, moral, upright religious man. He didn't run with the wrong
crowd. He was a respectable man in society. Folks looked at him and admired
him for his morality, his uprightness, his decency. This man, Paul,
was alive without the law and very happy with himself, a Pharisee
of the Pharisees. He looked in the mirror and every
day he would look at himself and say, I haven't yet arrived
at what I ought to be, but thank God I'm not like folks around
me. I'm not like other people are.
I don't commit adultery, and I don't steal, and I don't cheat
folks, and I don't mistreat people, unless they happen to be folks
who follow that man called Jesus of Nazareth. I don't mistreat
folks. I treat folks good. And then one day, God showed
that Pharisee what the law requires. He walked by the law all his
life, but he had no idea what the law requires. And God stuck
the plow in his heart and turned over the ground, broke up the
fallow ground and exposed to Paul what he was. That's what God does when he
saves sinners. He makes you and me to know what
we are from the inside out, not from the outside in. makes us
to know that in ourselves we're nothing but sin. The commandment
came, sin revived and I died, Paul said. The commandment stirred
up sin. stirred up wrath, stirred up
iniquity, stirred up rebellion, stirred up rebellion against
God and showed me what I was and then all my hope withered
and I died. I had no hope before God. No
hope because I don't measure up to the law. The law stirs
up sin. The purpose of the law has never
been that we should have it as a rule of life by which we seek
to regulate the lives of other people. Now, I know legalists
always say this is how I regulate my life. That's not so. They
use the law to regulate the lives of other people. I've been pastoring
now for 45 years. I'll tell you something. I've
never had anyone ask me. I've had a lot of questions.
Tell you something, I've never had anyone ask me. Nowhere in
the world. I get folks ask me questions
about this thing, that thing, but they come and ask me, do
you think a Christian should? Do you think a Christian should
go to the movies? Do you think a Christian should wear shorts?
Do you think a Christian should have a television? Do you think
a Christian should eat pork or beef or, you know, the stuff
folks invent? Do you think a Christian should?
But never are they talking about themselves. They said, what they're
saying is, do you think Tony Moody ought to be doing what
he's doing? And that's how folks use the law. The law was never
intended for that. It was never intended to be a
means of righteousness. Not for justification, nor for
sanctification. The apostle in this first five
chapters of Romans has spent the entire first three chapters
showing us you can't be saved by what you do. The law was never
intended for that purpose. and it's not a minister of righteousness
to teach us to grow in sanctification. It was never intended for that.
The law is administration of death and condemnation. The law is holy, just, and good.
If a man uses it lawfully, that's the way it ought to be used,
to expose sin, to identify what sin is, and to show you that
you're under the wrath of God because of the sin that's in
you. Paul asserts to us then that the law entered It entered
that the offense might abound. Now watch this next slide. But
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. The law exposes
sin. Grace removes it. The law condemns. Grace takes away condemnation
and declares there's therefore now no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. The law renders us guilty. Grace makes us guiltless. Guiltless before God. Where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound. Where sin abounded. Sin abounded in humanity. It abounded in our nature from
the sin of our father Adam throughout all the course of history, throughout
all the ages of men, throughout all parts of the world, including
everyone in the world, every man, woman, and child, sin abounds. Sin abounds, that's what's in
us is sin. So that everything we do, everything
we touch, we corrupt with sin. Everything, everything. We try
to, folks have a notion that somehow can make themselves better
about what they do. If I put my thumb right there
on the screen of this tablet, I've left a mark, a dirty mark
of the oil of my own hand, a dirty mark. And whatever Dwight Moody
you've ever put your hands on, you've left a dirty mark. Now
that's painful reality, but that's reality. And not a father here
who looks back over raising his children and you do the best
you can do or you try to. You exercise all the care you
can and you look back over and you say, oh, how horribly I have
influenced the ones I wanted to influence for good. I've never
come in contact with a human being I didn't in some way or
other corrupt. My God, I hate to declare that.
That's painful reality, but that's reality. That's reality. I've never put my hand to anything
I didn't defile. It's not possible, because all
we are by nature is sin. And that's true of all human
beings, true of us all. It's called total depravity,
the corruption of the heart. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. God, our Savior, Jesus Christ,
the Lord, more than 2000 years ago, stepped into humanity. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God became a man and lived in
this world for 33 and a half years with grace constantly abounding
in humanity. Everything he said, everything
he did, everywhere he went, he was full of grace and truth. Grace displayed everywhere. Wherever
he went, he healed as many as had need of healing. When folks
were hungry, he broke loaves and fishes and just fed them
until they were just busted. He fed him and left plenty over
for him to take home and have snacks with. He was full of grace
and full of truth. Always ministering grace. Grace
abounded in humanity in the God-man, our Savior. Sin abounded in this
world so that all men and women since Adam lived in depravity. The faculties of the soul corrupt
man's understanding, his will, his mind, his nature under the
dominion of sin. But in regeneration, the grace
of God much more abounds, enlightening the dark mind, subduing the rebel's
will, and turning our hearts to God in faith and love. Sin abounded throughout the world. throughout the world, but now
God sending the gospel of his grace throughout the world, gathers
in his elect. one by one, daily adding to the
church, such as should be saved. And he sends his gospel to gather
in mercy those whom he scattered in justice. I encourage you to
read Jeremiah chapters 31 and 32 as soon as you can, and see
God's countless promises of grace. He said, I will gather them whom
I have scattered. I will gather them, and the priests
shall be satiated. All God's royal priests, satiated
with His grace, completely satisfied with His grace. And His people
shall be satiated. He said, I will satiate the weary. All who are weary, laboring,
heavy laden, completely satisfied with his grace. He said, I will
make Jerusalem and Judah, Israel, my people, Jacob. I will make
my church a habitation of justice and a mountain of holiness. I
will forgive their iniquity. I will not remember their sins
and I will not turn away from them to do them good. This is
my promise to my people so that God sends his gospel down and
calls out his grace and we're Sin abounded. Throughout the
world, grace much more abounds. We think particularly of places
like Africa, New Guinea, where Lance Heller and his wife Robin
are fixing to go back to New Guinea. I can't think of a more
miserable place to live. But why on earth go? Because
God has his elect scattered in the four corners of the earth.
and he will gather his elect whom he scattered in justice
since the fall of our father Adam and gather them to himself
so that when each one is called they're turned and bemoaned themselves
and turn to the Lord. And that's the experience of
God's saints as is given to us in the scriptures and it's given
to us by their own testimony. There was a lady in this book
in the days of our Lord's life on this earth called Mary Magdalene. Well, she wasn't really a lady.
She couldn't hardly be described like that until God saved her
by his grace. Out of her, he cast seven devils
and all how grace abounded. She was with the savior to the
end. This man saw the Tarsus. Oh, how grace abounded in that
man in the calling of him, laying him flat on his back, causing
him to call on the name of the Lord. There was an old Philippian
jailer, a hardened, hard, hard, hard Roman soldier who now in
his old age is just keeping a prison and has no compassion, no sympathy,
no kindness, no tenderness in him. But God sent Saul, or Paul,
the apostle and Luke to prison that he might cause his grace
to abound to that man, to him and to his house. So his daughters,
hearing what God had done for him, experienced the same grace
and came and ministered to the apostles themselves. Bunyan describes
himself in his own language as being the son of the vilest man
in the vilest family in the world. Some have suggested he was raised
as a gypsy. And if not that, something similar. And Bunyan recognized that God
snatched him from the pit of darkness and planted in the kingdom
of his dear son by his super abounding grace. That's what
God does for sinners. In verse 21, the apostle shows
us the reason for God's super abundance of grace over sin. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Sin is a monarch. Sin sets on the throne of every
man's heart by nature. Sin sets on the throne of every
woman's heart by nature. Sin sets on the throne of every
child's heart by nature and reigns over everything. reigns over
everything so that man continually drinks iniquity like a thirsty
man drinks water. Man continually is as a wild
as his coat that cannot be tamed. Man continually lives with his
fist in God's face and will not bow. Sin reigns all through humanity,
all through our being, from the top of our head to the sole of
our feet, nothing but sin, just sin. And sin, when it's finished,
bringeth forth death. Spiritual death, physical death,
eternal death. Death is the fruit of sin, the
result of sin, the just consequence of sin. The wages of sin is death. Many folks get upset with me
over the years because they understood me to say, by the preaching of
the gospel, that mama is in hell, or daddy's in hell, and they
just can't take it. What they're really saying is
you don't dare tell me I deserve to go to hell. But you hear folks
say, well, how could God send anybody to hell? How could he
not? The righteous Lord loveth righteousness. Justice demands
it. The wages of sin is death. If you go to hell, you will go
to hell because that's exactly what you deserve. That's true
of you, that's true of me, that's true of your mother and daddy,
that's true of my mother and daddy, that's true of your brothers
and sisters, that's true of my brothers and sisters, that's
true of your sons and daughters, that's true of my sons and daughters.
Sin brings forth death. Even so, even so, in just the
same manner God has determined that grace reign like a sovereign
monarch through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. Yes, grace too is reigning. Grace as it is in the heart of
God toward his elect reigns in the salvation of his people.
and reigns over all the world to accomplish our salvation.
The throne from which God our Savior rules the universe is
called the throne of grace. There's one throne, one throne
that governs everybody and everything all the time. It's called the
throne of grace. And grace reigns everywhere. all time, in all history, among
all men, in all events, through righteousness by Jesus Christ
our Lord. I try to keep up with the news
some watch. I watch a little bit of news
and I get sick of it and go watch it so I can get sick again and
I'll read the paper and get sick of it and I'll get another paper
and read it and get sick again. And you think to yourself, Mother
Don, did you read the paper this morning? And you tell us that
grace reigns everywhere? How can all the evil all the
evil, the millions of murdered babies. How can all the evil, the rape,
and incest, and murder, and theft, and wars, and poverty, and famine,
and earthquakes, and pestilence, and disease, how does grace rape? That just doesn't make any sense.
Doesn't make any sense to anybody who doesn't know God. It all
makes perfect sense to us. There was a crowd of folks one
day who gathered together, religious folks and harlots and soldiers,
Jews and Romans, Jews and Gentiles gathered together, all with one
mind, with one consent, with their wicked will, by their wicked
heads, and crucified the Lord of glory. And if they hadn't
done so, there'd be no such thing as redemption, forgiveness, pardon
the sin. Grace was reigning. God exactly
having his way to accomplish the salvation of his people.
Will you hear me, children of God? Grace still reigns. Grace still reigns everywhere. And no matter what it is that
men do, And we can't grasp it. We can't comprehend it. We can't
get our handle on it. We can't figure out what God's
doing. We don't have to figure out what
God's doing. God is reigning in grace to save
his people. Sovereignly, absolutely controlling
and manipulating the thoughts and deeds of every human being,
of every devil in hell and of every angel in heaven all through
the universe to accomplish the saving purpose of his grace in
calling out his elect. And that ought to satiate your
weary soul. That ought to give us complete
satisfaction. Not satisfaction with the way
the world is. Not satisfaction with the things
we see. Satisfaction with our God, His
purpose and His works. So that we walk through this
world with peace and confidence in God. Don't let yourself get
wrapped up. in the politics and the affairs
of this world and in the protest and all the stuff religious folks
get involved in. Preach the gospel of God's grace
and watch God work. Just wait and watch God work. Grace reigns and grace reigns
through righteousness unto eternal life. God is working his way
in providence to give eternal life to sinners loved of God
from eternity, chosen by his grace, redeemed by his darling
son. And he raises up nations and
tears down nations to do it. He raises up kings and tears
down kings to do it. He causes men chosen of him at
the appointed time of love to hear his word and believe on
his son. This grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, let's focus our
attention for the next few minutes on this statement in verse 20.
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And let me
show you three, maybe four things. Number one, our great God in
infinite wisdom and indescribable, amazing, superabundant grace
found a way to make guilty sinners completely innocent. Completely innocent, Chris. Completely
innocent. Did you hear me? He didn't find
a way to treat you as though you were innocent. He didn't
find a way to act as though you were innocent. He didn't find
a way to look on you as though you were innocent. He found a
way to make you innocent. Really and truly innocent without
sin. That way is called substitution. Let me show you an example of
what I've just been telling you. Turn back to John chapter 11.
John chapter 11. The foolishness of God is wiser
than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Here
in John 11 you have a council called by the Jewish Sanhedrin. They were upset. They were upset
because so many people were following the Lord Jesus because of his
miracles. And they said, what are we going to do? Now look
at John chapter 11, verse 47, then gathered the chief priests
and the Pharisees of council and said, what do we for this
man, Jesus of Nazareth, do it many miracles. If we let him
alone, thus all men will believe on him. And the Romans will come
and take away both our place in the nation. That is, they're
going to take away our, uh, religious rank and they're going to destroy
the nation. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest
that same year, said unto them, ye know nothing at all. Fellas, don't you know anything?
Don't you understand anything? Well, the best thing for us to
do is kill him. That just stands for reason. Nor consider that
it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people.
and that the whole nation perished not. Now Caiaphas had nothing
in mind except saving his position as a religious leader and saving
the nation of Israel from destruction. But that's not all that God says
he said. Read the next line. And this
spake he, not of himself, he didn't know God from a billy
goat. This spake he not of himself, but being high priest that year,
he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for
that nation only, not just his elect among the Jews, but that
also he should gather together in one the children of God that
were scattered abroad. The Lord God said, in that day,
I will gather them whom I have scattered. And Caiaphas, the
high priest, a blaspheming, ungodly, self-righteous Pharisee, denying
all the person and work of Christ, speaks by the order of God to
say this is how God makes guilty sinners innocent. He, by the
sacrifice of his son, took away our sins. when he had by himself
purged our sins. What a word. Purged our sins. He uses many words. He says,
I am he that blotteth out by transgressions. I will not remember
thy sins. The Lord has removed our iniquities
from us as far as the east is from the west. He's cast our
transgressions into the depths of the sea behind his back. All
those things he's declaring to us, he makes the guilty innocent
without sin. By the sacrifice of his own darling
son, the Lord God Almighty fully satisfied his own offended justice
so that Jesus Christ, when he was made sin, with one tremendous
draft of love, drank damnation dry. So that here I stand, believing
on the Son of God without guilt. He took my guiltiness and gave me his innocence. He
said in Psalm 22, Lord, you know my guiltiness. It's not hid from
you. He took my guiltiness and made
it his own. Those many women who are redeemed
by his precious blood, those sinners who believe on the Lord
Jesus are pure without spot or blemish or any such thing in
the sight of God. Now listen to how our Lord describes
us. No one who knows me would ever
dream of saying this concerning me. No one who knows me except he who really knows me. This is what he says. Behold,
thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair. Thou art
fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. No spot in thee. Would you be innocent of all
sin before God? Completely innocent. so that
you have no reason to have a guilty conscience before the God of
glory. Believe on his son, for he declares
the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanseth us from all sin. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. Here's the second thing. Not
only has God found a way to make guilty sinners innocent, He has
found a way to make sinful men and women perfectly righteous. Perfectly righteous. Now this
is what God requires. You don't, if you want to see
me afterwards and get the references, I'll give them all to you. But
just listen, you can look them up for yourself. Over and over
and over again, God says it shall be perfect to be accepted. He
says, be ye holy, for I am holy. Walk before me and be thou perfect. God won't accept anything less.
He won't have anything less. You will either be perfectly
holy, perfectly righteous, perfectly sinless, or you will not enter
into glory. Perfectly so, perfectly so. Without
holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Who shall ascend into the
hill of God? Who's going to ascend into Mount
Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem? Who's going to walk through the
gates of Pearl? Who? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart and has never sworn deceitfully and has never committed
iniquity. Who? He that has clean hands
and a pure heart and has never sworn deceitfully and never committed
iniquity. Only read Revelation 21, the
very last verse. Nothing that defiles or makes
a lie or is unclean is going to enter that city. Without holiness,
no man shall see the Lord. Well, how on this earth can men
and women who are nothing but sin have holiness, righteousness
before God? Only by a divine work. Only by
the work of God himself. God, our savior, walked on this
earth, the last Adam. fulfilling the type, the figure
of him that wants to come. He fulfills the figure. The last
Adam, the last representative man, the last covenant head.
He walked on this earth as our mediator, our substitute, our
surety, fulfilling the law of God perfectly. So that every
commandment of God written on his heart He was completely obedient
to all his life. He walked on this earth as a
man in perfect submission to his father's will. In perfect
obedience to his father's command. In perfect fulfillment of every
detail of every commandment given in the law. Always believing
God perfectly. Always believing God perfectly. Now, hang on to your seats. Me
too. Me too. You see, he didn't do
any of that for himself. He did that for us. Not only
did he do it for us, we did it in him. So that His obedience
is our obedience. His life is our life. His righteousness
is our righteousness. And now, since He died in our
stead, satisfying the justice of God for us, being made sin
for us, He became what we are by nature, that He might make
us what He is in His nature, the very righteousness of God. His name is Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord our righteousness. He is the Lord our righteousness
in all aspects of righteousness. He is the righteousness of God
for justification, and He is the righteousness of God for
sanctification. Now understand this. Sanctification
is just another word for holiness. It's the very same word translated
in those two different ways throughout the Scriptures. Sanctification
is talking about our regeneration, our experience of grace. Justification,
it reaches into other things, that's basically what it's talking
about. Justification is talking about our righteousness in a
legal sense. So that Christ's righteousness
is imputed to us in free, perfect justification. So that we stand
now before God with his spotless garments on, holy as the Holy
One. Wearing the white linen robes
pictured in Revelation as being the righteousness of the saints.
In perfect righteousness, top to bottom. God says Don Faulkner
is righteous. That righteousness that he imputed
to Abraham, he imputes to us if we believe on him that raised
our Lord Jesus from the dead. That's what he tells us in Romans
4. But that's not all. Paul says, follow peace with
all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
That tone is talking about something inside you. That's talking about
something inside you. In the new birth, this is what
God does for sinners. He plants in us perfect righteousness. Perfect righteousness. Gives
us a holy nature. This is how God describes that
new man created in you. It is that new man created in
righteousness, what do you say Caleb, and true holiness. True holiness. God doesn't require
that you be as righteous and holy as you can. He requires
that you be perfectly righteous and truly holy. And in the new
birth, Christ is formed in his people. Now a preacher can't
do that for you. And you can't do it for yourself.
And the church can't do it for you. And mom and daddy can't
do it for you. But God can. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Christ formed in you is called
Christ in you, the hope of glory. We are made partakers of the
divine nature. A year or two ago, Brother Todd
and I were discussing 1 John chapter 3, talking about that
which is righteous, that which is sinful. that which does righteousness
and that which does see it. And Todd said, which one's really
me? I said, both at both. What we really are by nature
is the child of the devil, just seeing just corruption. And that's what our nature always
does. And what we really are in Christ
as he is, so are we in this world, righteous with no more guilt,
and no more sin and no less righteousness and no less holiness than Jesus
Christ himself seated on the throne of God possesses. Perfectly righteous. Perfectly
righteous. That's called grace. Grace. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more bad. Peter understood this like we
ought to. after he denied the Lord Jesus. He said, Lord, these others,
they may do like you said. They may all forsake you, but
not me. Not me. Not me. I'll go with you to death.
And he meant it. He did it. But he had to be made
to understand something. All you are in yourself, Peter
said. And I'm warning you now, before
the rooster crows tomorrow morning, the second time, you're going
to deny me three times. And I'm telling you sooner or
later, Jared, you'll learn this. Maybe not yet, but you'll learn
it sooner or later. You may get it here, but sooner or later,
you're going to learn it. Be prepared. You can't even believe
God now, except by his grace. That's not possible. Have you
tried lately? Have you tried lately? I'll tell
you when we believe God. You've got a little experience
of your day at the hospital right now. And you fret and worry and wring
your hands and get on the internet and paste the floor and then
God shuts you up to himself and you can't do anything else. That's
when you'll believe him. Understand that? You understand
that? Peter, before the rooster crows
tomorrow morning, you're gonna deny me three times. And Peter
denied the Lord, and denied him again, and he heard that rooster
crow. Can you imagine how his heart must have sunk within him?
Oh, I won't do that again. He warned me, I'm not gonna do
that again. But he could do nothing to help himself. He must be sustained
only by grace. And he denied the Lord a third
time and the rooster crowed again. And Peter went out and went bitterly
and went back to fishing. He said, I'm gone. I'm gone.
But he forgot another word the Lord spoke. His very next word. His very next word. Let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. And the Lord came to Peter. He
said to the ladies at the tomb, he said, the angel said, go tell
my disciples and Peter, be sure you tell Peter, I'll meet him
in Galilee like I said I would. Nothing's changed and he went
and looked up Peter. And he asked Peter three times,
lovest thou me? Lovest thou me? Twice he used
the common ordinary word for love. The third time he used
the strongest possible word he could use. And Peter was grieved
in his heart because the third time he used that word, he said,
Peter, now let's get down where the rubber hits the road. Do
you really love me? And this was Peter's response.
Lord, you're the only person in this world who knows me as
I really am. Not my wife, not my children,
not my neighbors, not my brothers and sisters. You're the only
person in the world who knows me as I really am. You know that I love you. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. Now, let's look at one more text.
Romans chapter six. I'll wrap this up. Romans chapter
six. Here's a strange reason for thanksgiving. Strange to everybody but you
and I who gladly confess by the grace of God I am what I am. But God be thanked that you were
the servants of sin. Paul was there for just a minute,
let that soak in. He didn't say God be thanked you who were the
servants of sin. He said God be thanked that you
were the servants of sin. Brother Dwight, the angels of
God know nothing about this grace. They know nothing about redemption.
They know nothing about forgiveness. They know nothing about free
pardon. They know nothing about deliverance. They've been preserved,
kept, but they know nothing about this grace. Oh, thank you, God,
for this blessed, sweet experience of grace bringing me up out of
the pit of my corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons
of God. God be thanked that you were
the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that
form of doctrine, the gospel, which was delivered to you. Being
then made free from sin, free from sin, you became the servants
of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men
because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as you have yielded
your members, servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity,
even so now you who were the servants of sin, yield your members,
servants to righteousness unto holiness. But when you were the servants
of sin, you were free from righteousness. You didn't have any. What fruit
had ye in those things whereof you're now ashamed? For the end
of those things is death. But now, now you who were the
servants of sin, now, you who were the servants of sin, oh,
thank God, you who were the servants of sin, being made free from
sin and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness
and the end everlasting life. Let me give you a little bit
of the fruit. The angels of God meet with us
here tonight and listen to our songs of redemption and praise
and grace. Learning from God's saints, saved
sinners, the blessedness of God's salvation. Can you imagine that? The angels
of God don't know God like we know God. They can't know him
in redemption. They can't know him in grace. They cannot see the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ as saved sinners see the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now, since we fell in our father
Adam and went forth from our mother's womb speaking lies and
God saved us by his free grace in Christ. I know God like Adam could never have known
him in the garden. Like the angels of God can never
know him. I know him as God my Savior,
Jehovah Sidken you, the Lord my righteousness. And I'm going to tell you something.
Here is a priest, one of that royal priesthood, who is satiated. What a strange word for priest.
Priest never had enough sacrifices. They never had enough sacrifices.
Every day they had to go get more. Every day they had to go
get more. Every day they had to go get
more. They were never satiated. Yonder on Calvary's tree hung
him who was the sacrifice that satiates my soul. God can require no more. And God completely accepts Christ,
our sacrifice. And that satisfies me. That's
all my conscience requires. I'm without guilt, without sin,
perfectly righteous. That means I have absolutely
no reason ever to be afraid of God. Preacher, are you telling the
truth? I'm telling you the truth. Absolutely no reason ever to
be afraid of God. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. He will satiate the weary. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden. Oh, come, weary sinner, to Christ. And he says, I will satiate you. I will give you rest. I will
cause you to rest easy in my grace abounding toward you. and Zion, God's church, God's
Israel, God's Jerusalem, God's people. Here we are, a habitation of justice, a habitation of justice. It's right for God to take me
to glory because he has fully fitted me for glory. Do you understand
that, Luke? It's right for God to take us
to glory because he has fitted us for glory with the perfect
righteousness of his Son. And soon, in resurrection glory,
even these bodies, this corruptible shall put on incorruption, this
mortal immortality, this carnal spirituality, and we shall be
raised in bodies like the glorious body of our Redeemer in perfect
righteousness. Perfectly worthy of the smile
and approval of God all the time because we're one with Christ. Oh, may God now, in the sweet
experience of His grace, give you faith in Christ and unite
you to Him, believing on Him, one with Jesus Christ. One with Jesus Christ so that
God is pleased with us as He's pleased with His Son. Amen.