Welcome to the Reign of Grace
radio broadcast. My name is Bill Parker. I'm the
pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky.
This program is sponsored by the members of Eager Avenue Grace
Church in Albany, Georgia, located at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany,
Georgia. I'll be bringing you a gospel
message of the sovereign grace and glory of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ from God's Holy Word. And now, the message. And the title of the message
is, Four Pictures of Truth. Someone once said that a picture
is worth a thousand words. Well, I don't believe that holds
true when we consider God's Word. Because God's Word is so precious
and so full. Many times we'll go to the Scriptures
and I'll read a verse, preach on that verse, and I don't even
feel like I've even scratched into the surface. Sometimes I'll
preach through a book of the Bible and I tell people I've
got to the end of it, but I didn't even begin to get to the depth
of it. And that's the way God's Word is. It's so full and it's
so beautiful. But here in Psalm 2, we have
four divisions here in this Psalm. That gives us a description of
four very great truths that we need to understand from the Bible. These are gospel truths. And
when I talk about the gospel, I'm talking about the way that
God saves sinners through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The
gospel speaks of our need of salvation. But the gospel also
speaks of the provision of God's grace in Christ. It is good news. And here in these descriptions,
We have four great truths, four pictures we might say, that we
can sort of look at just like a picture album. Now this is
a Psalm of the Messiah. It's speaking of the coming of
Christ to save his people from their sins. So let's look at
these pictures in light of the Messiah, in light of Christ and
God's provision of salvation through his blood and righteousness.
And the first picture that we'll see is in the first three verses
This is a dark picture. This is a sad picture. It's the
picture of the utter sinfulness of all men without exception.
All men born of Adam. The Bible says we have all sinned
and come short of the glory of God, which means we've missed
the mark. The Bible teaches that among
men by nature Among men born of Adam, and we're all descendants
of Adam, we fell in Adam, the Scripture teaches. When Adam
fell, we fell. He brought the whole human race
into a state of depravity and damnation. And that's what the
Scripture teaches. You know, many people don't understand
that and they don't believe it, but that's what the Scripture
tells us. But it says to be found among men there is none righteous,
no not one. That's Romans 3 and verse 10.
And it doesn't say that there's none religious. It doesn't say
there's none sincere and zealous. And it doesn't even say there's
none who are trying to be saved. It says there are none righteous.
You know, man can be religious and zealous and he can try to
be saved, but in an unrighteous way, unless God intervenes and
stops us and brings us to Christ. So, there's none righteous. There's
none good. No, not one, it goes on to say.
That's what the scripture teaches. All men born of Adam are sinful
creatures. Well, nowhere can that truth
be explained or displayed than in humanity's treatment, fallen
humanity's treatment of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, you don't
really understand how sinful we are by nature until we're
confronted with the truth of Christ and Him crucified. and
how we react to that. And by nature we'll all react
negatively. But look at these first three
verses. It says, why do the heathen rage? And what he's talking about
there is an assembly of humanity that is in an uproar, a rage,
you see. It's tumult. That's what the
scripture teaches. They're angry. And he says, they're
heathen. That means they're away from
God, alienated from God, unbelievers. This is all of us by nature now.
He says, why do the heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain
thing. Well now, what vain thing are
they imagining? Something that is vain is something
that is worthless. It's something that is futile.
They're trying to do something in their assembly that they cannot
accomplish. They think they can accomplish
it, but they can't. And so he says in verse 2, here's
what it is. He says, the kings of the earth set themselves.
That's the most powerful people on earth. They're in disassembly.
So nobility and earthly position and power doesn't exempt them
from sin. And then he says the rulers take counsel together.
Now when it says the rulers, it's speaking of religious counsel.
Like at the time of Christ, it was the Jewish Sanhedrin. So
we have the kings of the earth here, the nobles, the powerful
men, the rulers. Then we have the religious councils,
the religious men. They took counsel together. What
were they trying to do? What vain thing were they trying
to imagine? It says, against the Lord and against His anointed. Against God the Father and against
God the Son incarnate. His anointed, that's Christ.
And here's what they said in verse 3, let us break their bands
asunder and cast away their cords from us. We don't want God, he
says, to have a hold on us. We don't want to be burdened
with any responsibility from the Savior. In other words, here's
a picture of the whole of fallen humanity in opposition to the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's man in sin. And my friend,
I want you to understand something about this. This shows the utter
depravity and sinfulness of all of us by nature. Listen, if you
say, well now that doesn't include me, then you have not seen the
truth. And this is applied over here
in the book of Acts chapter 4. This very verse. When the Apostle
Peter was preaching here about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,
his Savior, and he says in verse 26, he says, the kings of the
earth stood up. and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his Christ. That's quoted
from Psalm 2 that I just read, those first three verses. But
look at what it goes on to say in verse 27. For of a truth,
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, there's the leader of the Israelite nation,
there's the leader of the Roman world, And he says, Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles, and he says, and the people of Israel were
gathered together. They were gathered together.
Now these were men who naturally hated one another, but in opposition
to Christ and God's way of salvation by His grace, they band together
in union. What an awful picture of fallen
humanity. And that's me and you. You see,
that's fallen humanity represented there. And I know people, they'll
look at this and say, well, that's just the Jews. They're the ones...
No, my friend, that was fallen humanity in opposition to Christ. And if you haven't seen that,
as I said, you haven't seen your sins for what they are. I heard
a preacher one time on TV, or heard of a preacher, rather,
who was talking about the death of Christ and he made this statement.
He said, if I had been there, I would have tried to stop it.
And I said to myself, what a fool that man is. Listen, this is
me right here without Christ. This is me right here. This picture
is a picture of me without the grace of God. If God had left
me to myself, if he had not intervened in my life and saved me by his
sovereign grace, that's me right there. I was there. in the person
of fallen humanity. So you see, that's what the natural
man does with the things of the Spirit of God, the Scripture
says. Light has come into the world, and men by nature hate
the light and love darkness. This is where we see our sin
and depravity. It's not in the things that natural
man recognizes as sin, though those things are parts of it,
but the issue of depravity is what think ye of Christ? Now that's what the Lord asked
a group of people one time when they were trying to trap him
with questions. They tried to trap him and they couldn't do
it. He's all wisdom. He's all knowledge. So he turned
on them and he said, now what think ye of Christ, whose son
is he? And that's the issue that you
must face. What think ye of Christ? When he's preached in his fullness,
in his glory, as God and as man and one person, when he's preached
in the fulfillment of his redemptive work on Calvary so as to ensure
and demand the eternal life of everyone for whom he died, how
do you respond? What think ye of Christ? And
that shows here the need that we have. My friend, I don't need
some, I don't need a Savior who comes part way and then begs
me to come the rest of the way, because, you see, by nature,
I'm against the Lord's Christ, against His anointing. I need
a Savior who'll come all the way down to where I am on the
dung heap of self-will and self-righteous religion, and pick me up like
a beggar, and place me in His home, and wash me from my sins,
and clothe me in His righteousness. So that's a picture of man in
sin. Here's the second picture. Now this is a glorious picture
here. This is a beautiful picture here.
It's the picture of the absolute sovereignty of God. And what
it shows us is that man's not in control. God is in control,
and that's a comfort to his people. Look at verse 4. Now God, he
there is God, that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. Man's
doing his best to try to bring God down off his throne. Man's
doing his best in his depravity to try to stop the Savior. But
God just laughs. The Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and he'll vex them
in his sore displeasure. He'll trouble them. And here's
what he says. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion. Now what does he mean? I have
set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. That's Christ, the Son
of God, who was sent to save his people from their sins. In
other words, here's what God is saying. It doesn't matter
what sinful man does, it is not going to stop or hinder or even
slow down the process of his purpose to save his people from
their sins. I want to read to you again from
Acts chapter 4. And I want you to see something
here that is astounding. Most men in religion today don't
even want to deal with it, or they deny it. And it has to do
with God's absolute sovereignty. Now, you remember I read there
about the kings of the earth, how they stood up and the rulers
were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ,
His way of salvation, His Son. And he says, "...for of a truth
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed." You
see, God the Father anointed God the Son to be the Savior.
And man, by nature, stands against Him. And then he says, "...both
Herod, Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel
were gathered together." Now this is Acts 4 and verse 28 here.
They gathered together, and then it says, "...for to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." Now God is
sovereign in all things, even in the death of his son. The
Bible says in Isaiah 53 and verse 10, it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. It was God that sent his son
into this world to die. It was God that put him on that
cross so that he could die for the sins of his sheep. It was
God that raised him from the dead and sat him at the right
hand of the throne. This was all an act of God. Now
you say, well, didn't it say that sinful men did it? Well,
sinful men were the instruments and sinful men are held fully
accountable and responsible because sinful men, we did it and meant
it for evil. But God overrules evil. He's
sovereign. He's in control. He's the one
who set his king upon his holy hill Zion. Over in Acts chapter
2, Peter made this statement. He said, verse 22 of Acts chapter
2, he says, Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also
know, Now look at verse 23, Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Christ was delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. That's the predetermination
of God. And he says, Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have
taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Now God
meant it for good. We meant it for evil. And that's
why we're held fully accountable for that. Now, somebody says,
well, that doesn't make sense to me, or I can't drive that
in my mind or reconcile. It doesn't matter. What matters
is what does God's Word say? You bow to God's Word. Somebody
said, well, I don't understand everything about God's Word.
Well, you've heard me say on this program before, join the
club. But my friend, don't ever be found in that group. that
denies what God's Word reveals because you don't understand
it, or you can't reconcile it in your mind, God's thoughts
and God's ways are so much higher than our thoughts and ways. And
who are we as puny, finite creatures to think that we can have everything
figured out about God? I know this. God is absolutely
sovereign. He's determined all things. The
Bible says He determines the end from the beginning, Isaiah
chapter 46. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter
1 that God works all things after the counsel of his own will. And it also says that all things
work together for good to them that love God who are the called
according to his purpose. You understand that. It's true. Now we are held fully accountable
for our sins. and for our rebellion and unbelief.
But God is absolutely sovereign. So he says, I have set my king
upon my holy hill Zion. Now here's the next picture.
And this is a beautiful picture too. It's a picture of Christ. This is the certain victory of
Christ. In verse 7, he says, I will declare
the decree. The Lord has said unto me, thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee. He says, Ask of me, and
I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt
break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. Now here's what he's saying.
The Lord Jesus Christ, that is God's King, the King of Kings,
the Potentate of Potentates, he sets him upon his holy hill
Zion. And no matter what Satan does,
Satan will try to defeat him, but he will not win. Christ is
the victor. Natural man's sinful humanity
will try to stop him and defeat him. You see, that's the thing
about it. Man, in his fallen, sinful mind,
when the Lord of Glory was put on that cross, he was put on
that cross by man as a malefactor, as a criminal. That's how the
world, that's how we by nature see Christ. But you see, He's
going to be victorious no matter what men do to Him. When they
nailed Him to that cross, they thought they were killing Him
and getting rid of Him. But God meant it to the salvation
of His people. That concept, in truth, is taught
way back in the Old Testament. And it's taught first in Joseph,
the life of Joseph. You know how Joseph's brothers
took Him, and they were going to kill Him. But they ended up
selling him into slavery. And then they walked away and
forgot about him. That was an evil thing that they did, wasn't
it? And they were to be held fully accountable and responsible
for that. But years later, we know how God worked it all out.
And this wasn't no afterthought with God. It wasn't plan B. This
is how God determined it from the beginning, even before Joseph
was born. And God put Joseph as second
in command in Egypt to Pharaoh, and through Joseph's position,
His brothers who had sought to kill him or get rid of him, they
were saved in an earthly, physical way. And Joseph told them that. He said, you meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good. God did it to redeem much people.
He did it to save much people. Because the nation of Israel,
the sons of Jacob, were honestly saved, delivered. through Joseph's
going into Egypt. That's a picture of how Christ
went to the cross at the wicked hands of men, but by the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God to save much people from
their sins. His people. Who are they? God's
elect. Who are they? His sheep, His
church, which He redeemed and purchased with His own blood.
And He was victorious. The Bible says He defeated Satan.
He said to his disciples before he went to the cross, he says,
now is the time come. Now is the prince of this world
to be cast out. In other words, Satan, he's still
alive. He's still he's still trying to influence things, but
he's actually he was defeated at the cross. He charges God's
people with sin, but the Bible says, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies, who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died, yea rather
is risen again and is seated at the right hand of the Father,
ever living to make intercession for us. So he says here, he says,
ask of me and I'll give thee the heathen for thine inheritance.
The Bible teaches in Philippians chapter 2 that Christ was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And because of his
death, he was raised from the dead, because in his death he
accomplished the redemption of his people. His death in the
scripture is called an accomplishment, not a defeat. You see, when he
met on the Mount of Transfiguration in that great vision that he
gave to Peter and two other disciples, he met in that vision with Moses
and Elijah. Elijah representing the prophets,
Moses representing the law, and it says the topic of their discussion
was his decease, his death, which he should accomplish. When Christ
died on the cross, what did he do? The book of Daniel chapter
9 says he made an end of sin. You see, sin didn't make an end
of him. He made an end of sin. It says he finished the transgression. He brought in everlasting righteousness. Christ, He put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter
1 and verse 3 that He purged our sins by the sacrifice of
Himself and He sat down at the right hand of God. That means
He finished the work. It says in Hebrews chapter 7
that He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto
God by Him. It also says, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Christ is
the author and the finisher of our faith. All who believe in
him, Christ is the beginner and he's the fulfiller of all of
salvation for his people. So the certain victory, you see,
his victory was never uncertain. It was never in doubt. It was
never in jeopardy. Every test that was thrown at
the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth, He met, He fulfilled it,
He passed it, He defeated His enemies. When Satan met Him on
the Mount of Temptation, Christ defeated Satan then. When Satan
inspired fallen humanity to put the Son of God on the cross as
a malefactor, Christ defeated them all. When the law of God
came against Him for the sins of His people charged to His
account, He met the law and fulfilled all righteousness by His bloody
death on the cross. He washed His people clean from
all their sins, and He gave them His righteousness and justified
them before God. When He was put in the grave,
the Bible says in another psalm, the grave could not hold Him.
He would not suffer His Holy One to see corruption. The grave
could not hold Him, so He conquered the grave. O death, where is
thy victory? You see, the grave couldn't hold
him because righteousness demands life. And now as opposition comes
against him and his church in this world, he defeats it at
every turn. He's told Peter and the other
disciples, he said, upon this rock I will build my church and
the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And one day he's
coming again to take his church into glory with him. He's a certain
victor. Now, the last picture is another
beautiful picture. It pictures the only way of salvation. Look at verse 10 of Psalm 2.
He says, Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings. Be instructed, ye
judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but
a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him. That's the way of salvation.
Here's a picture of man in grace. The first one was man in sin.
Here's the last one, man in grace. Grace of God. He says, be wise. Well, my friend, there is no
wisdom for salvation but in Christ who is our wisdom. If you look
anywhere else other than Christ and Him crucified, His blood
and His righteousness for salvation. That's foolishness. Be wise. Look unto Jesus. Look unto me
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, there's
none else, the Lord says. Look to Christ for salvation.
Look to Christ and Him crucified. And then He says, O ye kings,
be instructed. The gospel is a teaching. It's
the doctrine of grace. It's not just intellect. It's
not just doctrine on a page, but it's the words of life. And
then he says, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
The fear here is worship and respect. And the trembling means
this, I know this, I tremble to think of standing before God
except in Christ. Think about that, standing before
a holy God without Christ. I tremble, so I'm going to look
to Him. And when he says kiss the Son, that means embrace the
Son. Embrace him, lay hold of him, love him, trust him, rest
in him lest he be angry and you perish from the way, the way
of life. And his wrath kindled but a little.
And then he ends it. He says, blessed are all they
that put their trust in him. If you want to really know what
it is to be blessed, then put your trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Put your confidence in Him. The Bible says we are the
circumcision which worship God in spirit and we rejoice in Christ
Jesus. Our confidence is in Christ Jesus
and we have no confidence in the flesh. My friend, to be truly
blessed of God under the grace of God is to put your hope and
your trust and your confidence and your faith and assurance
in the Lord Jesus Christ who finished the work, who washed
us from our sins and clothed us in his righteousness. There's
no other way. And without putting your trust
in him, it doesn't matter what else you have, how you feel,
where you go, where you don't go, you're not blessed of God.
Blessings from God come in Christ. The Bible says, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. And don't look for salvation
or blessedness anywhere else. We're glad you could join us
for today's message. If you would like to receive
a copy of this message, or if you would like more information
about Eager Avenue Grace Church, remember we are located at 1102
Eager Drive in Albany, Georgia. You can call us at 229-833-9000.
432-6969, or visit our Reign of Grace website at www.rofgrace.com. Thank you, and may the Lord be
with you.