I come here with all kinds of
emotions this morning. I was bragging yesterday that
I felt like I was getting my emotions under control. Not sure
about that anymore. First, I just come as a father.
Two of these kids today are my kids. It's such a blessing. I also come as someone who dearly
misses Joe. I'm sorry, already. I just keep thinking about how
much he would love this. As much as he would love this,
as happy as this would make him, it's nothing compared to the
happiness he's experiencing right now. And that's the truth. As amazing as this would have
been for his earthly life, It pales in comparison to any second
he's experiencing right now. But that doesn't make me miss
him less. And we do. And I wish he was here. But I'm
also very glad he is. So baptism is interesting in the fact that
it's a ceremony we're supposed to do. a sacrament, a ceremony. It really
means nothing. It's just a picture. But it's one that we're commanded
to do, so we do it. And we take joy in it when we can. But baptism
doesn't change anything for these four kids today or anybody that's
been baptized. That water, it's just regular
water in what appears to be some sort of cattle trough. I'm not
a farmer. But it's just water. It changes nothing about who
they are. It changes nothing about how
they'll experience this world. It changes nothing about the
condition of their souls in the sight of God. That water means
nothing. This is just a ceremony. Again,
one that we can thoroughly enjoy because we know what it means.
And I'm going to get into that. But this doesn't make Christ's
work effective. Christ, his work is effective
all on his own. This doesn't change anything
regarding their relationship with God. This doesn't change anything
regarding the way that they will live their lives after today.
It doesn't change, nothing is gonna get magically better. It's
not the truth. but it does symbolize what I
just read in Ephesians. I suppose I should probably be
in Ephesians. The mystery that Paul refers
to and he refers to in Ephesians, the mystery that the least deserving
back then considered the Gentiles. The entire Old Testament, the
words of God, the blessings of God, were not for the Gentiles.
They were for Israel. And the Gentiles were told this.
And suddenly everything changed when Christ came. And it was
for everyone. Even those who had been told
that it wasn't for them. They had every reason to doubt.
But then this mystery that Paul refers to, the mystery that is
Through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
members together of the one body and sharers together in the promise
of Christ Jesus. The least deserving are given
perfect salvation. That's the good news. That's
the simplicity of the good news. The least deserving, the ones
who need it the most receive perfect salvation. Now we all
need it equally, but the only ones that are made to know that
we're God's people. If you are not one of God's people, you
probably won't realize that you need it. If you don't think you're
sick, you don't need a doctor. We're not even sick. We're dead
in our trespasses and sins. We need more than a doctor. We
need life. So by the life, death, and resurrection
of our Savior, that is in his death, our sins and our flesh
also dies. And in his resurrection, we are
also risen with him in a new life, a life free of the sin
and the just condemnation that comes with it, completely set
free in what he has done. All of God's people are already
set free. They were for the beginning of
time. It says that in the scriptures. The work is finished. The following
work of the spirit is to bring all of his people home. That's
what's happening now. And that is guaranteed. There's
no ifs about that. Everyone that Christ died for
will be saved. He doesn't fail. His work doesn't go unfulfilled. So the work is finished, and
the following work of that is the spirit to eventually bring
all his people home, to make them realize the truth, to understand
the truth, to have their eyes opened and their hearts softened.
These baptisms this morning were the topic of my very last conversation
with Joe, which is pretty awesome. My very
last conversation, I called him the night before. And we'd been
talking about Oliver, mostly, had been talking about wanting
to be baptized. And I'd been talking back and
forth with Joe about it. And then Joe randomly told me that
Kenzie and Ava were also thinking about it. And then out of nowhere,
honestly, all four of these kids came to this realization without
talking to each other, even the two, the brother and sister.
Probably not surprised that they weren't talking to each other. But that's so cool. I mean, it's
not like the four of them got together and thought, you know
what, this would be way easier if we do this together. That's not
what happened. The four of them came to this on their own. They
just happened to be at the same time. And for someone like Joe,
I mean, we know Joe saved no one. Christ saves his people. Pastors
are here to tell people about the truth. The Spirit does the
work. But as a pastor, you're still human. And you preach for
this long, 37 years, news of four young people believing
under your teaching, You can imagine how happy he was. And
he was that night. I did not know that was the last
time I would talk to him. But he went to bed feeling real
good. And it was a huge blessing that
that was our last conversation. Now, I thought Joe would be here.
He did mention to me that night, and you can ask Katie, my response
to this. So I'm talking to him like, hey,
yeah, they both, they all want to do it. That's what I told
him. And, you know, excited and happy. And he goes, well, you
want to do it? I'm like, what? He's like, you
want to baptize your own kids? I'm like, can I do that? And
he said, absolutely. So I asked the kids and they
said yes. I called him back. Actually, I wish I would have
called. I texted him back. I told him, hey, they're in,
so am I. And he said, great, with three exclamation points.
And that was it. But what a beautiful way to end
our relationship. Again, as I'm picturing that,
it was him right here. And I really wish he was. But God knew better. God always
knows better. Our plans, we have plans. And we fully think
that they are going to come to be. And you come to realize,
especially the older you get, sometimes even when you're pretty
young, you realize you don't have a lot of power to do a lot. You
can't fix a toothache. As Joe used to say, God has a
plan. His plan was to bring Joe home. And maybe these were the last
four that Joe was sent to teach to, to bring to this place. And God said, you know what? You've done it. And as Paul has
said, when he was reaching the end of his ministry, I have run
my race. And maybe that's what God said to Joe. You've done
it. You've run your race. Time to come home. And he is. I wish he was here, but Joe does
not. Because while all God's people
have been set free from the shackles of sin, as I said earlier, Joe
is actually fully living it right now. All we can do is imagine. Joe is no longer living by faith.
He is living by sight. He sees it. He sees his savior
face-to-face. So Joe, in his amazing ways,
and God in his amazing ways, when he had heard from Kenzie,
that Kenzie actually sent him an email asking some questions
about baptism, and Joe responded, and for those of you that know,
Joe responded with a gigantic email. And I'm gonna read it. This is
Joe's letter to Kenzie and actually to Ava as well. He sent it to
both of them when they asked him about baptism. So these are Joe's words. Dear Kenzie, thank you for your
email. It reminds me that I need to
do some preaching on this subject. I did quite a bit of the teaching
on baptism when I first came here. However, I did not mention
it too often and it never occurred to me that there is now an entire
generation of church attenders who were not here when I was
doing that preaching. So your email gives me an opportunity
to explain it, not only to you, but to some others as well. What
is baptism? The short answer, baptism is
a ceremony commanded by the Lord Jesus in which those who profess
to believe in him are immersed in water to publicly confess
that they are trusting him as their Lord and Savior. But that answer is a human answer.
It needs to be backed up with scripture in order to have any
authority. Matthew chapter 28, 18, the Lord
says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always to the very end of the age. The rite of baptism
has been used by John the Baptist, some forms of Jewish religion,
and even some completely different religions. But what the Lord
said here is the official beginning of Christian baptism. Note that
Christian baptism arises only from the authority of the Lord
Jesus. Three commands are given to the
apostles, all of them based on the authority of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The first is given to me. Christian
baptism is not a mere human invention. Nor is it something commanded
by the authority of the church. It is a ceremony instituted by
the Lord Jesus himself. Next. But it is important to note the
order of the commands the Lord gave. make disciples of all nations. The first and most important
work of the apostles and all preachers after them was to go
into all nations on the earth and preach the gospel. That is,
teach them about the Lord Jesus, who he is and what he has done. The Greek word, he always knew
the Greek word. The Greek word translated make
disciples means to teach or train a person. So we see that before
anyone is to be baptized, they are to be taught the truth about
the Lord Jesus. Baptizing them. Those who believed
the word that the apostles taught were to be baptized. A person
can be taught the truth, but unless they believe it, they
are not considered disciples. The command was to baptize disciples,
not anyone else. Teaching them to obey everything
I've commanded. A person does not need to know
everything about the Lord Jesus in order to be a disciple. In
fact, no one knows everything about the Lord Jesus. The most
basic elements The most basic elements of the
gospel truth are sufficient to create faith in the heart of
the hearer if the Lord wills it. And by that faith, they become
disciples. But there is more to learn. It is sort of like, and this
is where he's speaking directly to Kenzie. It is sort of like
when you did gymnastics as a young girl. The first time you went
to the gym to learn about gymnastics, you became a gymnast. a disciple
of the sport of gymnastics, but you continued learning. You followed
the discipline. See how that word is related
to disciple of gymnastics. Each lesson and each session
of practice made you more proficient as a gymnast. As time went by,
you did not become more of a gymnast for there is no such thing as
being more or less of a gymnast. One is either a gymnast or she
is not a gymnast, but discipline makes the gymnast more proficient
at gymnastics. In the same way, when a person
hears and believes the gospel, they become a Christian. They
are never more of a Christian, but they do grow in their understanding
of the truth of the gospel. And they grow in how the truth
of the gospel affects their outward behavior. 1 Peter 3, 18 through
22 teaches us that the meaning of the symbolism involved in
baptism and by that teaches us what the person being baptized
is confessing in baptism. And that teaches us who should
be baptized and how they should be baptized. So starting in verse
18, for Christ died for the sins once for all, the righteous for
the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in
the body, but made alive by the spirit, through whom also he
went and preached to the spirits in prison, who obeyed long ago
when God waited patiently on the days of Noah while the ark
was being built. In it, only a few people, eight
in all, were saved through water. 21, sorry, that's verse 21. And this water, I thought it
was a number, And this water symbolizes baptism and now saves
you also. Not the removal of dirt from
the body, but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves
you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven
and is at God's right hand. with angels, authorities, and
powers in submission to him. So verse 18 lays out the most
fundamental truths of the gospel. The essential problem dealt with
in the gospel is that we have been separated from God. Christ
came to bring us to God. There would be no need to bring
us to God if not first, we had been separated from God. It is
our sin that has separated us from God. God is infinitely holy,
so our sin is infinitely offensive to him. We think there is such
a thing as little sins and big sins, but there is no such thing
as little sin, for there is no such thing as a little God to
sin against. All sin is against an infinite
God. So in God's sight, a little white
lie is as sinful and offensive as mass murder. Therefore, all
people, no matter how good they may look to us, are horribly
sinful in the sight of God. The only way to remove our sin
from us so that we can be brought to God is for someone to pay
the penalty of sin for us. The penalty of sin is death.
And not just any death, but a complete death that goes beyond the body
and touches the soul. We could never satisfy that kind
of death. That is why hell is forever.
The people there are never finished. They are never finished paying
their debt of sin. But the Lord Jesus could fulfill
such a death for us for three reasons. One, he was human. The sacrifices of the Jewish
religion could never take away sin, for those sacrifices were
mere animals. Our Lord was and is fully human,
so he is able to be substitute for other humans. Also, as a
human, he could die. God cannot die. So God became
human so he could die to pay our penalty. Three, he was righteous. One sinful person cannot pay
the penalty for another sinful person. He can never fully pay
for his own sin, much less could he pay for someone else's. Our
Lord never committed any sin. He never even desired sin. Therefore, as a perfectly righteous
man, he could die in the place of an unrighteous person. And
because he was more than just a man, he was also God, he could
die for the sins of many. but the Lord Jesus did not simply
die. He was also raised from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus as proof that his death was sufficient
was enough to remove the sins that he bore. The sins of God's
people were laid on him, and those sins brought God's wrath
on him so that he died. But his death was so complete
that God was satisfied with Jesus' payment for sin. Therefore, the
sins that were laid on him were put away. They no longer exist
in the sight of God. Since the death of Christ put
away the sins that he bore, there was no more sin on him, so God
raised him from the dead. Death is for sinners, but the
death of the Lord removed the sin he bore, so he was no longer
a sinner in the eyes of God, and so was worthy of life. The
sins of God's people were transferred to Christ. He died for them.
His death put those sins away. And the proof of that is that
Christ was raised from the dead. Verses 19 and 20 confuse some
people, for they think it means that Jesus' body was in the tomb,
he went to hell and preached to those who had died in Noah's
flood, but that is not what it means at all. The meaning is
that through the same spirit that raised the Lord from the
dead, the Lord had preached to the people of Noah's day by sending
Noah as a preacher to that generation. The book of Hebrews calls Noah
a preacher of righteousness. As such a preacher, Noah was
teaching the people of his day the same gospel we teach. He
did not know how the gospel was fulfilled in history, not the
way we know it, for that history had not happened yet. But Noah
did know that all people were sinners and that the only hope
for salvation would come by the seed of the woman that God had
promised through Adam and Eve. We might understand the meaning
of verse 19 if we added one word so that it read, through whom
also he went and preached to the spirits now in prison. The
people of Peter's day would have understood that is what he meant.
Peter introduced the subject of the flood in Noah's day for
it shows us why baptism is such a good symbol of salvation in
Christ. The last line of verse 20 explains how Noah's flood
is related to baptism. In Noah's day, eight people inside
the ark survived the flood. The flood was God's judgment
or wrath against the people of that day. Everyone but Noah and
his family died by drowning in the water of judgment. But Noah
and his family were safe in the ark. But notice that the ark
did not stop God's judgment. It merely protected Noah and
his family while it went through the judgment. Picture the ark
in the flood. It is surrounded by water. Wave
after wave beats against it. All that water and all those
waves were attended for Noah and his family as judgments against
their sin, but the water and the waves never reached Noah
and his family for the ark itself bore the water and the waves.
The ark is a picture of Jesus Christ. Noah and his family went
through the judgment just like everyone else in Noah's day.
But Noah and his family went through the flood in the ark.
Therefore, they survived the flood because the ark bore the
judgment while keeping them safe inside. In the same way, all
of God's people went through God's judgment, but were able
to survive it because they went through God's judgment in Christ,
just like in the ark. Christ bore the judgment with
us inside, so to speak. Paul wrote it in this way. We
died with Christ. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. So Peter takes us back to Noah's
flood to show us an instance where water is the method of
divine judgment and salvation through the judgment comes by
passing through the judgment in something that is able to
bear the judgment. Two more pages. I told you it's
Joe. In Noah's day, eight people were
saved through water. That is, saved through judgment
by virtue of being in the ark. In Christ's day, millions were
saved through judgment by virtue of being in Christ. Verse 21
starts with, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also. Peter does not mean that the
act of being baptized saves anyone. He is saying that in the same
way that the events of the flood are pictured of salvation in
Christ, so is baptism a picture of salvation in Christ. The main
point of connection between Noah's flood and baptism is the water
is what symbolizes judgment to the point of death. Baptism does
not picture our salvation as washing away of sins. as if baptism
were a spiritual bath. Rather, baptism is a symbolic
death under the judgment of God. But the key here is to note what
death it symbolizes. It does not symbolize our death,
at least not directly. Rather, it symbolizes Christ's
death. But since it is we who are baptized, it also symbolizes
that we died with him. For we were in him when he died.
I say we were in him. when he died, for I'm speaking
from the perspective of believers. Peter makes this clear by saying
that baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Baptism does not symbolize only death. It symbolizes resurrection
as well. After all, we do not leave a
baptized person underwater. We bring him up again. The resurrection
that is symbolized is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But just as
we died with him, we were also raised with him. So when we are
baptized, we are testifying to the fact that we have successfully
passed through judgment in Christ. In Christ, we have survived the
wrath of God. Peter calls baptism an answer
of good conscience towards God. The NIV translation says pledge
of good conscience. I can't find anywhere in scripture
that this word can mean pledge. As though by baptism, we can
make some pledge. In every other place, it refers
to a demand for an answer, and it could also be used for the
answer that is given to such a demand. I once read that this
word was used to refer to the answer given in the court of
law. When a person is accused of a crime, they are required
to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty in answer to the charge
against them. So imagine you are in God's court,
and your crimes, your sins, have been read out, and you are asked,
how do you plea to the charge? Baptism is the plea or the answer
of a good conscience towards God. What is a good conscience? It is a conscience that perceives
no guilt. So a good conscience towards
God would be a conscience that perceives no guilt in the sight
of God. So the answer to the charges, it pleads not guilty. But we are guilty, aren't we?
Yes, if you consider our nature and our conduct, we are guilty.
How then can we plead not guilty in God's court? Baptism shows
us how. Our answer or plea before God
is, I am not guilty of any of the sins charged against me,
for Jesus Christ died bearing my sin, and by his death, he
put away my sin, and by his resurrection, he proved that my sins were put
away. When he died, I died. When he was buried, I buried.
I was buried. When he rose again, I rose again. As you can see,
baptism is no small thing, and no one should be baptized who
is not convinced that he or she is free from all sin and guilt
by virtue of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It
is not a ceremony to show others we are religious. It is not a
ceremony by which we become Christian. It is not a ceremony by which
we confess that we are sinners worthy of death, but claim that
we are free from sin. Sorry, it is a ceremony by which
we confess that we are sinners worthy of death, but claim that
we are free from sin because of Christ's sacrifice. In their
conscience, they are free of guilt before God. Since Peter
describes baptism in this way, it is easy to see that it is
not for infants. Since baptism is an answer to a question, guilty
or not guilty, no one but those who can understand the question
can give such an answer. Therefore, infants seem unqualified.
But this does not mean that baptism is only for adults. is also for
anyone who can understand the charges against them and can
understand how they are cleared of all charges by the sacrifice
of Christ. Age is not an issue. Understanding
and faith are the issue. Also, since baptism symbolizes
the removal of sin by Christ suffering our judgment unto death,
it cannot be by any other method that does not symbolize death.
As Paul wrote, we were buried with him in baptism. Baptism
symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and
our participation in those things. Therefore, neither sprinkling
nor pouring will do. It must be immersion, like burial.
This may have been a longer answer than what you were looking for.
Was it? Oh, okay. Good for you. I would
have said yes. but I thought it wise to give
you a detailed description. If you have any other questions,
let me know." So obviously he did not know when he wrote that
that he would be preaching today, but he sure did. I love it. It's just so him. And in everything
he ever did, reach the gospel and the gospel
is through and through in that letter. Now, let me get back to my notes.
I promise that was kind of long, so I won't go that long. I usually
don't anyway. I was thinking, though, as I
was going through this this week, I remember calling Joe. It had to be about 26 years ago.
I remember the events and emotions, the thoughts that surrounded
me when I went through the same thing that these guys are going
through and struggled and kind of wrestled with the idea of
baptism. I'd heard the gospel of Christ
for almost 10 years and I believed it to be true. But there's also the flesh aspect
that never lets go. So you struggle with these certain
thoughts and these certain feelings, a lot of questions. I remember
thinking to myself, do I understand enough to be baptized? Have I learned enough to be baptized? Can this really be for me? I'm still so sinful and I show
no signs of getting better. I know Christ died for sinners,
but even me? It's amazing what the flesh will
do. They talk about the devil as being the accuser of the saints. And that's exactly what he's
talking about. The devil will work in that way to tell you
like, really? You think that you're probably
the one that out sinned of the grace that God can provide. Are
you sure it's for you? And I remember having those thoughts. And then one day I sit in my
mom's kitchen. And I remember realizing that all those things,
all those thoughts and all those worries were absolutely true.
I hadn't learned enough to be saved. You can't. I didn't understand
enough to be saved. And that's not how it works. You can't understand enough.
I hadn't learned enough to be saved. You can't learn enough
or understand enough. You can't do anything to be saved.
Christ has already done it all. It's for me. It's for you. There
is no test to pass. There is no level to reach. I can't earn one single blessing
from God. I remember thinking that, like,
I can't earn anything, so what am I waiting for? The gospel has already told me
this. I can't earn anything, so why am I waiting on myself? Christ has completely defeated
death. He has fully paid for the sins of his people and that
included me. There was nothing left for me
to do. So I walked over the phone and I called Joe, a landline
in my mom's kitchen. Just like what we read earlier,
if you go back to Acts chapter eight, verse 26 with the Ethiopian eunuch. Then Philip ran up to the chariot
and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you understand
what you're reading, Philip asked. How can I, he said, unless someone
explains it to me. So he invited Philip to come
up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of scripture. He was led like a sheep to the
slaughter. As a lamb before the shearer is silent, he did not
open his mouth. In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who
can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the
earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "'Tell me, please, who is this
prophet talking about? Himself or someone else?' Then
Philip began at that very passage and told him the good news of
Jesus." Because that very passage is about Jesus. And they traveled
along in the road and then came to some water and the eunuch
said, Here's water, why shouldn't I be baptized? And that's kind
of the moment I'm talking about. It's like, why not me? And notice he didn't even wait
for Philip to respond. He didn't actually ask a question
and wait for an answer. He didn't ask Philip, why not
me? It was more of a statement. Because
Philip doesn't answer. He says, Why shouldn't I be baptized?
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. He didn't wait. He realized
that if Christ had done all of the work, what am I waiting for?
Here's some water. Probably nicer than that, but
there's some water. What am I waiting for? And that's
exactly the truth. What are you waiting for? Just like nothing can stand in
the way of Christ saving each and every one of his people,
if you believe in Christ and the power of his blood, there
is not one single reason not to be baptized. It is only our
flesh, our weak human nature that creates those doubts that
I spoke over. When I was working on this, I
was listening to a Derek Webb song called Beloved. And the
chorus is, don't you let anyone tell you that there's anything
that you need. but me, that's from Christ's
perspective. Don't let anyone tell you, including
yourself, that there's anything you need but me, but Christ. If you look to anything else
in this world or yourself, you will only spur doubt. That's all we're good for. There's
no confidence coming from looking at myself. There's no confidence
coming from looking at this world. Confidence, strength, those things
come by looking only to Christ. Like I said, that includes your
own mind, every part of this world, your flesh, this world
will never stop telling you that you've gone too far, that this
free grace is not enough for you, not you. And that is simply
not true. So untrue that we can not only
approach God we can approach him with confidence as one of
his children. Because as we will always find
out when we look at ourselves, God doesn't look at us. So why would we? I look at myself, I'm not gonna
come away feeling good about things. But if God, when my standing
in front of him is on the line, doesn't look at me. He looks
at Christ. Why would I look at me? He's
what matters. His judgment is what matters.
He sees Christ when he sees his people. We are in him. His righteousness,
not ours. We have none. So if God, the judge, the decider,
doesn't look at us for righteousness, for a just reason to love us,
why would we? We should look to Christ, just
as God does. First, because he is the answer.
He is the way. He is the truth. But also because,
like I said, that is where God looks. If God looks to me to
find righteousness, or even one good thing, I have no hope. Absolutely lost. But he doesn't. He looks to Christ for that righteousness. He finds all the righteousness
needed to save each and every one of his people. In me, he
would find not one good thing. In Christ, he finds every good
thing. And that's where he looks. And doubts will continue to be
part of our lives now and as long as we're here in this world,
but all doubts come from looking at ourselves or to this world.
If we are able to always look upon Christ, if we were, which
we aren't, but if we were able to always look at Christ, we
would not doubt, but we can't. But when looking to Christ, there
is no doubt. There's nothing to doubt. There
is only confidence. All we have to do is look to
Christ to enter the rest that he has already made for us. Rest
in his finished work. Rest in his glory. Rest in the
righteousness that he has provided. I say that's all we have to do,
but that is not easy. You'd think resting would be
easy, but it's not. Turn to Hebrews chapter four,
verse six. Let me see. I don't know. Chapter four, verse six, it says,
it still remains that some will enter that rest. And those who
formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in because
of their disobedience. Therefore, God again set a certain
day, calling it today, when a long time later, he spoke through
David. and said before, today, if you hear his voice, do not
harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them
rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There
remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone
who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God
did from his. Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall by following
their example of disobedience. Resting in the finished work
of Christ goes against every natural desire we have. We want
a part of it. If we get salvation, we're cool
with Christ doing 99% of it as long as we can do one. We need something to boast in.
That is our nature. It's just who we are. It is so
hard and against our nature to fully rest in what is already
completed. And it says here, make every
effort to rest. That sounds funny. Effort to
rest? That's how hard it is. It's completely
against our nature to rest in what Christ has done, but that's
what we're supposed to do. We want to prove ourselves. We
have an instinctual need to be part of our salvation. To simply
rest is what we need to do. Trust in what the Lord has done.
So now if we go back to Ephesians, earlier when I was talking about
Gentiles and the mystery that the Gentiles and Israel basically
had become one under Christ. So you talk about these doubts
that we deal with. Imagine being a Gentile. In a
time of Christ and the apostles, how could you possibly feel free
to enter his rest? You've been told that all the
blessings of God don't belong to you. That Israel are the people
of God and all others are Gentiles. Talk about having doubts. Justly
having doubts. Certainties, matter of fact,
that you don't belong to the people of God. That's what you've
been told. So much more than doubts, so much more than the
doubts that our minds create. And then Christ comes and says,
he is here to save his people, sinners regardless of background.
Imagine hearing this for the first time from Paul as a Gentile,
the mystery that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs
together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers
together in the promise of Christ. The Gentiles had true reasons
to doubt. Sorry, it's kind of windy. True
reason to believe that this free grace was not free for them.
That mercy shown to the people of God is because the bloodshed
of the Lord Jesus couldn't possibly include them. Yet here's Paul telling them
the exact opposite. That it is not only for them,
But it says a little bit later, it says, in him and through faith
in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. He's
telling us to the Gentiles. By the way, we're Gentiles. That's
a symbol of God's people where there is no Israel anymore. It's
just, it's the church. When he talks about Israel, it's
just God's people. And Gentiles are in that now. That's what
he's talking about. And he says, not only are you accepted, not
only can you be loved, you can In faith in him, you can approach
God with freedom and confidence. So here's Paul telling the exact
opposite, that not only is it for them, but if they believe
in Christ and perfect salvation and righteousness freely given
through the shedding of his blood, they can not only be saved, they
can, through the work of Christ, approach God with freedom and
confidence. Freedom and confidence. There
is no reason to doubt. If I could remember that on a
daily basis, an hourly basis, every minute, we pray that the
Lord can keep that in our hearts. Because of Christ, God's people,
these four young people are not only saved, nothing, they've earned nothing,
but we don't need to sheepishly agree that we've been saved. We don't need to walk up to God
with our head hanging low, feeling the guilt of who we are and what
we've done. That would be, the work that's been done is
so perfectly complete. There's no reason to doubt. There's
no reason to feel ashamed. The only reasons to feel ashamed
are the sin that he was talking about earlier that have been
cast aside and are no longer in the sight of God. We can go
to him with confidence. and freedom. Confidence in ourselves? Absolutely
not. Confidence as Gentiles? No. But we can run to our Father,
singing the name of our Savior, professing the name of the one
who made us acceptable. who gave his own perfect righteousness
for us. We can run to our Father with
freedom and complete confidence in Christ. Our Father in heaven, we thank
you so much for today. We thank you for your gospel.
We thank you for your truth. We thank you for what you've
done for your people. We pray that you'll continue to bless
our day today, bless our time together, and bless each one
of us to understand you, to understand better the things of your truth,
your gospel, and to trust in you, to come to you boldly with
confidence and freedom, knowing that what has been done is out
of our hands, and it's been done perfectly, and there's nothing
we can do to improve it and there's nothing we can do to take away
from it. The confidence we have is in you. And we thank you for
that confidence, Jesus. We pray this in your name.