Good morning. It's good to see
all of you. Before we turn to our portion
this morning, I'd just like to say a few words by way of introduction. As I was sitting there, I was
thinking about how often it is that the children of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ, precious sheep, they can be so easily abused
by that Pharisee that will come alongside and try to size you
up spiritually. They'll ask you, what's your
theology? Or what's this or that? I'm so
thankful for the simplicity of the gospel. For you who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, somebody can come up
to you and ask you, what's your theology? And you can simply
say Christ. Tell me about where you worship. What did they teach you about
your justification? What's your justification? Christ. Tell me about your sanctification.
Christ. And let me make this a little bit more personal for
you this morning and for me behind this pulpit. Why were you able to get up this
morning? Christ, why are you able to breathe in this moment?
Why is the heart continuing to pump blood in your chest right
now. It's Christ. Beloved, it's our Lord and God.
Christ is our all in all. And you won't know that unless
the Lord has mercy on you and reveals that to you from above.
that everything that you and I so desperately need, and it's
one need, beloved, is provided for by our Great Shepherd. We sang it just a moment ago.
Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, He provides a what kind of salvation? A perfect salvation. It lacks
nothing. Whatever you bring to mind that
you might think you need to stand before the thrice holy God, our
Lord and God, by his precious blood and his perfect righteousness,
has accomplished such a salvation that lacks nothing, beloved.
Our brother King David, remember what he said in Psalm 23? I love it so much. He said, the
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That's such a blessing,
is it not? I shall not want for pardon.
How come? Because his blood throughly and
completely cleanses us of not some of our sins, but ever so
blessedly, all our sins. And I don't want to sin any more
than you do, beloved. But we do sin. We sin in what
we say. Every day we say in what we think.
And we sin in what we do. We don't want it that way. We
don't use the grace of God for lasciviousness. We hate our sin.
But hear me. His blood has cleansed us throughly
and completely. And that's half a gospel. You
want to hear the other half? In the life he lived upon the
earth as a perfect, upright man who perfectly honored and obeyed
all of God's commandments, not just the letter of the law, but
the spirit of the law, he has established for us on the earth
a perfect righteousness we have nothing to do with, and ever
so blessedly, in power, he has made it ours. Are you not, beside
yourself, thankful for that, beloved? Because I know I am. a perfect righteousness lacking
nothing, and a perfect pardon lacking nothing. And then our
brother, King David, in the last verse of that psalm, he said,
surely, I love that, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever, all owing to our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. We know beloved salvations of
the Lord and in a auditorium this large we can't presume for
ourselves let alone anybody else but I thought we would take some
time and go back to the passage we looked at last Sunday and
we read from where we left off and I pray the Lord will enable
me to open my mouth and preach Christ and Him crucified, and
that He would comfort us this morning in the time we have.
So if you would be so kind as to open your Bibles with me to
where we looked at last Sunday, and that's in 1st Peter, chapter
1. And last Sunday we looked at
God's elect people. in this passage because that's
who it's addressed to. Again, it's 1 Peter chapter 1
and I'll begin reading there in verse 5 through to verse 12. 1 Peter chapter 1 beginning in
verse 5 and where it says, who are kept. Remember, this is addressing,
and we see this in verse two, the elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the spirit, undue obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied. So this is written to God's sheep. This is written to his people,
his elect. And he continues here, Peter continues there in verse
five, who are kept by the power of God through faith, the faithfulness
of God's well-pleasing Son, unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for
a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through many full
temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found of the praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, ye love, in whom, though
now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of joy and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls. of which salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you. Searching what or what manner
of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and
the glory that should follow. unto whom it was revealed that
not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things the angels desire to look into." Now, last Sunday,
perhaps it occurred to you, it was impressed upon you, that
verse 5 is speaking about God's elect. And someone here in this auditorium,
I know myself, and people close to me might have that question.
How can I say that this verse is talking about me when it says
that I'm kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
that ready, finished salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time? What gives a sinner like you
and a sinner like me, the sinners that we are, grace to know this
is speaking about you and about me? Well, in verse 10, it speaks
there of the salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently
who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Let's keep
our place there at 1 Peter and turn with me, if you would, to
Isaiah chapter 25. Now my hope this morning is that
by the time I get finished through this message that God's people
will be glad, exceeding glad at what we look at here this
morning. Look what it says there in verse 9, Isaiah chapter 25
verse 9, And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our
God. We have waited for him and he
will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. And the verse the Lord gave me
to look at, to speak to that gladness that speaks of you,
beloved, and me, those who've been given this gift of faith
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what it says with
me in Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, and I'll begin
reading in verse 32. It's a bit of a long portion,
but I thought it needful to read from verse 32 down to verse 48. And we declare unto you the glad
tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he
hath raised up Jesus again. And remember what that angel
said to Joseph, call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Jesus, meaning Joshua, salvations
of the Lord, Jehovah saved, have raised up Jesus again, and as
it is also written in the second Psalm, thou art my son, this
day have I begotten thee. And as concerned, and as, verse
34 of Acts chapter 13, And as concerning that he raised him
up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said
on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore
he saith also in another psalm, thou shall not suffer thine holy
one to see corruption. For David, after he had served
his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was
laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised
again saw no corruption. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified,
declared innocent, acquitted fully and completely by the sin-atoning
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are justified from all things
which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware,
therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the
Prophets. Behold, ye despisers, and wonder
and perish, for I work a work in your days, a work which ye
shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out
of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might
be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now, when the congregation
was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytites followed
Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue
in the grace of God. And in the next Sabbath day came
almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But
when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with envy and
spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting
and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you. But seeing you put it from you,
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turned
to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldest be for salvation under the ends of the earth.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. and glorify the
word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed. Now, what did they believe? They
believed the gospel of God concerning his son, Christ Jesus, our Lord. I pray this morning the Lord
would enable us to hear the voice of our Lord and God declaring
on the cross, it is finished. And in glory, he says again,
it is done. Now in that portion of Isaiah,
it speaks about his salvation. And if the Lord will enable me,
I would like to look at three things, just three simple things. And I pray the Lord would bless
his word in power and cause the hearts of his people to have
these precious truths hidden there. The first thing is this, the
reason why God's people are glad is that this salvation that we're
talking about this morning, beloved, it's a perfect salvation. It's
not a part salvation. No, not at all. It's his perfect
salvation. The other thing that I'd like
to look at is our perfect Savior. And then thirdly, the perfect
sinners He saves. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the
Lord be pleased to show you, and in a moment you'll understand
why I'm saying this to you, that He'll show you, in mercy and
grace, that all you are is leprosy. That all you are is sin. You
could not know that unless the Lord was pleased to put you in
the light and countenance of his well-pleasing Son. But first
of all, let's talk about this perfect salvation. This salvation
that I wish to speak to you about this morning is a covenant gospel. If you turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 1, it says there in verse 9, how that God has saved us. Notice the order there. God has
saved us, and then afterwards it says, and he has called us
with a holy calling. It's a powerful, irresistible
call. And if you go through that verse,
you'll notice it's not by accident. It's not by chance, no, it's
all according to God's purpose and grace given us in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world. It says there that
we're saved and called by God with a holy calling and not of
works, not of works, lest any man should boast. This is not
of works, only by according to God's grace and mercy that he's
given us in Christ Jesus. Now, I've heard some men of the
past, and even some men of the present, they'll refer to God's
plan of salvation. I think Spurgeon has used that
language in the past. But it's something also much
more stronger than that, beloved. It's God's purpose, design, and
decree to send his son into the world to save wretched sinners
like you and me. how glorious it is to know that
this is a perfect salvation and it's ordered and ensured in every
way. It is a perfect salvation owing
to the covenant of the gospel. This is what our brother King
David rejoiced in, is it not? Look what it says there in 2
Samuel. These are the recorded last words
of our brother King David in 2 Samuel. in verse of chapter 23 if memory
serves, and occasionally it does. But look what our brother says.
He says, although my house be not so with God, although the
promised I do not yet see the promise seed of the Christ risen
up for my my line I don't see that yet I don't see that my
boys and as far as my house in in my my flesh I see no good
thing and he says although my house be not so with God yet
God hath made with me and everlasting covenant ordered in all things
and sure for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he
make it not to grow." Our brother, King David, he was rejoicing
in not a part salvation, beloved. He was rejoicing in the full
and free salvation all owing to him who loved us and washed
us of all our sins with his precious blood. Isn't that a delight to
know, beloved, that God's salvation the salvation he has for his
people is a perfect salvation. Isn't that what our sister wrote
in her hymn? Then go to a dying world and
a perfect salvation to tell. Isn't that a blessing? To know
that it's a perfect salvation. Well, why is it a perfect salvation?
It is because, beloved, we have a perfect Savior. A perfect Savior. And He spoke on this wise. Look what it says in John's Gospel,
chapter 6. Now while you're turning there,
I'll just mention that portion of Psalm 1 that I love in the
last part of verse 3. It says there about the author
and finisher of our faith, the captain of our salvation, that
whatsoever he doeth prospers. What a comfort to know everything
you need to be saved has been accomplished through the doing
and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to our Lord and God in
John chapter 10. It's a perfect salvation, beloved,
all owing to the covenant gospel of God's purpose, grace given
us in Christ Jesus. And now listen to our perfect
Savior speak of the salvation that he's accomplished. He speaks
here in John chapter 6, beginning in verse 37. And I hope you'll
allow me a few homely, poor illustrations to speak about
the glories of our perfect Savior. It says here in John chapter
6, beginning in verse 37, He says, All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
I love this, beloved. I love to ask a question to people
I meet sometimes. I say, Would you like to know
the Father's will? Can I tell you what the Father's will is?
And you're going to hear from the lips of a man who does not
lie. The God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 39. And this is
the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I shall lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me,
that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may
have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Just to look to the Savior. Just look and live. to know that
our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, was sent into this world by covenant
commandment of our Heavenly Father. To what end? He said, I have
power to lay down my life, I have power to take it up. And all that to save his people.
I'm so thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ is not a a Savior
who tries to save. He is the Savior who shall save
his people from their sins. I ask sometimes people this question,
and if some of you have heard me ask this question before,
I beg your pardon. Not for preaching the gospel,
but by suffering this question. But I'll ask somebody. I'll say,
of all the people that our Heavenly Father wants to save in sending
His Son into this world, what percentage do you think He'll
actually end up saving? Of course, the question is just
an opportunity to read again what we just read. Some people
say, oh, 30%, 50%. The glorious answer is, beloved, He will save all that the Father
has given Him to save. And they're described in the
portion we looked at just a moment ago in Acts chapter 13, verse
48. It says there, and as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed. Believed what? Believed the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's so many places in the
Word of God we can look to to speak about this sovereign success
of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, that indeed He is the perfect
Savior of His people. But here comes the rub, if you
want, where God's people have trials and they have, how do
I put it, moments of, dare I say, terror, where they ask themselves,
am I a sheep? Am I one of the elect? How can
I know? I think I was reading just this
past week that well-known television personality who had the television
program, Fred Rogers, I think his name was, his last words
to his wife Where am I a sheep? How can we know that we're a
sheep? Well, the Word of God tells us in Romans chapter 8,
verse 16, the Holy Spirit will bear witness with our spirit
that we are His children. But let me say something that
I pray will be helpful. Can you put your name in this
verse? And we'll move on to the next point that we'll look at
this morning. We've looked at this perfect
salvation and the perfect Savior that we have, our Lord and God,
Jesus Christ, and lastly, the perfect sinners that He saves. But in saying all that, remember
what our brother Paul, the Apostle Paul, wrote to our brother Timothy. He wrote to Timothy, beloved
Timothy, a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation, how that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Is that you this morning? That
you are, from the very top of your head to the bottom of your
feet, one reason, one singular reason why God should justly
send you to hell. Because I know that's me. I know
that's me. In my flesh, no good thing dwells. I can take the very words of
that patterned apostle, because the Lord gave those words to
the Apostle Paul. He said, I'm to be a pattern
hereafter to them who believe. And I trust if the Lord has loved
you and put you in the light and countenance of his well-pleasing
Son, he'll ever teach you and show you in ever-increasing ways
why Christ needs to be all your salvation. Not a part salvation,
not a part Savior, and God forbid anyone in this auditorium is
a part sinner. God does not save part sinners. And in the last heading we'll
look at this morning and the portion I'd like to point to.
I pray the Lord would illuminate your heart, open your heart and
show you that Christ is all. your salvation, not part. And
that you are entirely and completely leprosy. And you keep coming
to Him. And He keeps showing you this
dead cadaver you drag around every day. You see, you could
not see this flesh for being dead unless Christ was formed
in you. You would not cry out daily like
our brother King David, my sin is ever before me. But isn't
that wonderful, what Paul writes to the Apostle? Paul, what he
writes to Timothy? A faithful saying. This is true,
beloved. And it's worthy to be received
and accepted by everybody. Now, you won't receive it and
you will not accept it unless God gives you the faith to receive
it. Unless God gives you life to believe it. Opens your eyes
and opens your heart. I want to show you something
in the Old Testament in Leviticus where there's a curious detail
that was a great blessing to me. Where if somebody had leprosy
and they were brought to the high priest and they were examined
and they only had a part of their skin that was covered with leprosy,
they were declared unclean. You know the only time that the
high priest would declare that that leper was clean. Do you
know the only time? Was when they were leprosy through
and through. That is when the very moment
that you know from the top of your head to the bottom of your
feet is wretched and filth and leprosy and disgusting. In that
very moment God will show you that you are, from the top of
your head to the bottom of your feet, complete in His Son. That you are without spot and
without blemish, all owing to our Lord and God, Jesus Christ.
Look what it says with me in Leviticus chapter 13. In Leviticus
chapter 13, maybe I'll begin reading a little bit before verse
13. But this is what it says, and
in my Bible it speaks about here in verse 9, it says the plague
of leprosy. Well you, my friend, and I, my friend, we have a plague
of leprosy. And the only one who can deliver
us from this plague of leprosy that we are is the High Priest. And when does that happen? It
says here, In verse 11, in the latter part,
it says, the priest shall pronounce him unclean and shall shut him
up for he is unclean. And why is that? It's because
there is just partial leprosy. But there in verse 13, it says
here, then the priest shall consider and behold, if the leprosy have
covered all his flesh, If that's all you are, is a sinner, through
and through, and nothing more. If that's all you are, through
and through, a sinner, and nothing more, it says here the high priest
will declare him to be clean. In the latter part, in verse
13, it says he is clean. Now, where do we read about another
high priest like that? Well, that points us to Hebrews
chapter 7, does it not? turn with me to Hebrews chapter
7 and let's behold here our great high priest Hebrews chapter 7 Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners and in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 it says here Wherefore, our perfect Savior,
who has wrought this perfect salvation for his people, the
sinners that we are, it says he is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became
us who is holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than heavens, who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then
for the people's. For this he did once. We sang
that, did we not? O happy condition, free from
the law, once for all. He had offered himself up once
for the law maketh men high priests, which have infirmity. but the
word of the oath which it was since the law maketh the son
who is consecrated forever more. And then in Hebrews chapter 10,
verse 10, listen to what it says here. It says, by the witch will
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And then verse 14, for by one
offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." Isn't
that wonderful? To read here how the Lord Jesus
Christ is our all in all. All our justification, all our
sanctification is all by his doing. We read in 1 Corinthians
chapter one, there in the latter part, and I'll just give you
a few more portions of scripture, and then I'll ask Brother Eric
to come up and lead us in one last hymn. In 1 Corinthians, chapter one, there in the, verse 26. And I'll read to the
end of that portion and then just a few more portions. For
you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty men, not many noble are called. Not many are shown that they
are nothing more than a sinner through and through. Not many
are shown that all they are is leprosy and need of the blood,
the cleansing fount of the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness
alone. Verse 27, But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty. And the base things of the world and things
which are despised have God chosen, yea, and things which are not
to bring to naught things that are. How come? Verse 29, That
no flesh should glory in his presence.
But you, beloved sinner, you who know that all you are is
sin, it says, you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom. All our wisdom is found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He has given us wisdom to look
to him alone for all our salvation. Unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption that according as it is written
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. And turn with me to Psalm 79.9. This whole book is a gospel book,
beloved. This whole book is an H-I-M book. It's a hymn book. And turn with
me to Psalm 79, look what it says there in verse 9. It says,
help us, O God of our salvation, O God of our perfect salvation,
for the glory of thy name, and deliver us and purge away our
sins for thy name's sake. And then in Psalm 106, in verse
47, We read here, and may this be
the prayer of our heart. Save us, O Lord, our God. Psalm 106, verse 47. Save us, O Lord, our God, and
gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto thy holy
name and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting. And let the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord. And then in
First Chronicles. Chapter 16, we read the very
same thing. There in verse. 34 to 36, and I'll conclude with
this. I do pray the Lord will bless
and comfort you this morning and cause you to have joy unspeakable,
joy inexpressible, that you be glad, all owing to His perfect
salvation, His perfect Savior. And knowing this, that All you
are is a sinner through and through. That you have nothing of your
own doing to commend you to God. That the only thing we have us
to commend us to God is the blood and righteousness of God's darling
Son. You will never rest. You will never have comfort.
unless God teaches you by his grace to come to his son for
all things. You remember what our Lord said
about that multitude? He said, many will come to me
saying, have we not prophesied in thy name and cast out evil
demons in thy name? And in thy name, we've done many
wonderful works. What darkness? They're bragging
on themselves. They are singing the song of
the reprobate, the song of the condemned saying, I'm worthy.
I pray the Lord deliver us all this morning from ever wanting
to sing a song like that, and rather sing that new song that's
recorded in Revelation 5, verse 9. God's redeemed people, they
will sing a new song, singing, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to open
the book and open the seals thereof. For by Thy blood You have redeemed
us unto God out of every tribe, people, nation, and tongue upon
the earth. You see, His works are wonderful. And if He's worked
in you, He's faithful to finish that work in you, beloved. Those who do the will of the
Father, what do they do? Do you know? Our Lord and God told us,
those who do the will of the Father will go to heaven. And
what is the will of the Father? He said this, this is the work of
God. What is it? To believe on the
one God sent. To look to the Lord Jesus Christ
for all your sin atonement. For all your sins. And to look
to the Lord Jesus Christ for all of your righteousness. How wonderful. It says here in
1 Chronicles chapter 16, and I'll conclude with this, Eric.
Beginning in verse 34. 1 Chronicles 16, verse 34. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good. Our Lord is good, beloved. For
his mercy endureth forever. And say ye from the heart, the
Lord enable us afresh to say that this morning. Save us, oh
God of our salvation. and gather us together and deliver
us from the heathen. Deliver us from, deliver me from
me, myself and I. That we may give thanks to thy
holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. And all the people said amen
and praised the Lord.