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. Welcome to our program. Now today
I'm going to be preaching from the book of Colossians, chapter
3. And the title of the message
is, Risen With Christ. The title is taken from verse
1, where the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Colossae, he
writes, if you then be risen with Christ. Now what does it
mean to be risen with Christ? Well, let me give you some fundamentals
of the Gospel message, the basic Gospel message. The Bible teaches
us that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. to every
one that believeth, to the Jew first and to the Greek also,
for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith, for as it is written, the just or the justified, which
are saved sinners, shall live by faith." That's Romans 1, 16
and 17. The Apostle Paul described it
as the gospel of God. In other words, it is a message.
The word gospel simply means good news. And it is the good
news that comes from God and not from men. In the realm of
salvation and eternal blessedness, man has no good news of himself. All he can come up with is false
religion and self-righteous works religion, which is the main form
of false religion. trying to earn his way into God's
favor by his works. And that is a deadly message. That's not good news to a sinner.
Now you may think it's good news. A lot of people do. But it is
not. It's like poison to a person
because it is deadly. But the gospel is the gospel
of God. It originated with God. It is
sent from God. And it redounds to the glory
of God. Paul also wrote in Romans chapter 1 that the gospel concerns
a person. The gospel is not just facts. It's not just doctrine. However,
we don't deny doctrine. We preach doctrine when we preach
the gospel. But it's a doctrine concerning
a person, who Jesus Christ is, and that is the person of the
gospel. The gospel declares him to be
both God and man in one person. Paul wrote that it's the gospel
that concerns Jesus Christ who was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh. Now what that means is that the
humanity of Christ, the incarnate Christ, when we say the word
incarnate, that's just a word that means flesh, sinless flesh,
Christ was made of the seed of woman, he was not born of man,
But physically he was born of the Holy Spirit, conceived in
the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, and his earthly
lineage was of the house of David, of the Jewish nation, the tribe
of Judah, the royal tribe. And so he is called the seed
of David. Back in the book of Genesis chapter
49, it was prophesied of the promised Messiah, In this way,
he was described, it says, the scepter, that is the rule, shall
not depart from Judah, that is from David's kingdom, earthly
kingdom, until Shiloh come. And Shiloh there means peace,
and Christ is the Prince of Peace. So what that is saying is that
the rule of Judah would not depart from David's house until Christ
come, because He is the Messiah. He's the fulfillment of all that.
But according to the flesh, He was not born in sin, He was not
born a sinner. He was never made a sinner. He
was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and he
existed as God-man, the Word of God incarnate, all through
his earthly life and even until now as he's seated at the right
hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for his
people. But now he is also God as he was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh. That speaks of his sinless humanity,
his human nature. He was declared to be the Son
of God. He wasn't made to be the Son
of God. I know the Mormons and other
denominations claim that Christ was, that He grew into being
a Son of God. He grew into deity. That's blasphemy. That is not scriptural. It is
anti-Christ. And what I'm telling you, He
was not made to be the Son of God. He is God. And God cannot
be made, created, or formed. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the first and the last.
He has no beginning and no end. He always was, always is, and
always will be the Son of God. And He said it Himself. He said,
I am. He's the great I am. The self-existing
God. And so He is God and man and
one person. Now the Gospel concerns a person.
But now the Gospel also concerns what this person, this specific
person, identified as Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, what
this person actually did and what he accomplished in the mission
that he was sent to do. That's why the Apostle Paul said
the gospel is the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. Now it's important that we understand
this if we're to understand what it means to be risen with Christ
because the Apostle is going to make the point here in Colossians
chapter 3 that in order to be risen with Christ, and you know
that speaks of his resurrection from the dead, we must first
be dead with Christ. Now, what does all that mean?
Well, what did Jesus Christ accomplish in his obedience unto death,
in his life, in his death, whereupon he was buried and arose again
the third day because of the justification of his people?
Well, what he accomplished in his life unto death was the complete
redemption of his people. It was the complete justification
of his people. Christ did not come into this
world to try to save anybody. He came into this world to save
his people from their sins. And if you would doubt that he's
able to do that, we must remember that not only is his name Jesus,
which means Jehovah who saves, But his name is Immanuel, which
being interpreted as God with us, as the angel told Joseph
in Matthew chapter 1. He is God-man. So in his obedience
unto death, he didn't try to save his people, he didn't make
salvation merely available to them, but he actually completed
their redemption. The Bible says he put away their
sins. He drank damnation dry, he paid
their debt in full, and he established righteousness whereupon God could
be just and justify them, the ungodly. Now, to be risen with
Christ means to be identified with him in several ways. And
that is the four basic gospel principles that we might look
at. For example, Christ was the representative and is the representative
of his people. He stood for them. All that he
came to do in his incarnation, his obedience unto death, he
did not for himself, but for his people. He was their representative. We see the Old Testament type
and picture of that in the high priest of Israel. who went into
the holiest of all one time of year for the people. He represented
the people. In his garments there was a breastplate,
and on that breastplate there were 12 names written on various
stones, and it was the 12 names of the 12 tribes of Israel, meaning
that the high priest represented the 12 tribes of Israel. That
was God's elect under the old covenant. But Christ is the representative
of God's elect out of every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation, Jew
and Gentile, so that when he obeyed the law and when he died
under the justice of God, he died as a representative, he
appeared before the Father, he entered into the Holy, as the
Scripture says, for them. But not only was Christ our representative,
he was also our substitute, and that's the second term, the gospel
principle, representation, now substitution. Not only did Christ
appear before the Father for his sheep, he actually took their
place under the law, under the justice of God. Now the Old Testament
picture and type of that is the sacrifice. The high priest, when
he went into the holiest of all, he had to come there with the
blood of an innocent substitute. He had to come there with the
blood of a lamb. The Bible says, for without the
shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Why is that?
Because the soul that sinneth must surely die. The wages of
sin is death. Blood represents death. So Christ
not only stood as a representative of his people, he actually took
their place under the law as their substitute. He obeyed the
law for them and he died under the justice of God for them.
He was their substitute. He said, I laid down my life
for the sheep. Now how is that possible? How
could God, now listen to me very carefully here, how could God
be just and righteous and punish one who is in himself innocent
and righteous and holy for sins that he had never committed?
Christ never did a sin. He never sinned. He was not born
in sin like you and me. I was born in sin. I was condemned
in Adam and I was born in sin with a sinful fallen human nature
that was totally bent and set on opposition to God, rebellion
and unbelief. And not only was I born in sin,
I am a sinner. I fall short of God's standard
of holiness in every area of life. There's only two types
of people in this life. There's only sinners lost in
their sin, and sinners saved by the grace of God. But we're
sinners. But now Christ was not a sinner,
and He was never made a sinner. There are people today saying
He was made a sinner on the cross. That is not so. A sinner is one
who blasphemes God. A sinner is an unbeliever. A
sinner is one who transgresses the law. A sinner is a God-hater. Christ was never corrupted in
his thoughts, in his motives. He was always the perfect Lamb
of God. So now, how could God be actually
just and holy and still punish Christ, the innocent victim,
the innocent sacrifice, rather, for our sins? Well, that brings
us to the third gospel principle, and that is imputation. Now,
it's an important word. And it literally means that God
took the sins, the demerit of the sins of all of his people
and he charged them to Christ. Now that's not a difficult concept
to understand. He put them over and laid them
to his account. In other words, Christ became
responsible legally by imputation for sins that he had no part
in committing. He was not made a sinner. The
Scripture said He was made sin, and what that means, He was our
sin-bearer, our sin-offering, and it means that God legally
charged the demerit of the sins of His people, His elect, Christ's
sheep, to the account of Christ. He was made accountable for my
sins. So that all that I deserved because
of my own sin, Christ became responsible for it, by my sin
laid to His charge. They became His sins because
they were laid to His account and He became accountable for
them. He became responsible for them.
All the conditions of my salvation were put upon His shoulders.
The Bible teaches that in the Old Testament when the offerer,
those who brought the offerer, the sacrifice, they were to lay
their hands upon the head of the offerer And you remember
back in the book of Leviticus where it speaks of the scapegoat.
On the Day of Atonement they were to bring two goats. And
those two goats, one of them was to be sacrificed, blood had
to be shed. And the other one was led out
into the wilderness by a fit man, which was a picture of Christ.
The sins of the people were laid upon that scapegoat and led out
into the wilderness. Now that goat didn't become a
sinner. But all the sins of the children of Israel were typically
and ceremonially laid upon that goat. Well, when Christ went
to the cross, the sins of his sheep were laid to his account.
And my friend, that wasn't fiction. That wasn't God being unjust.
That was real. And in return, in return, the
righteousness of God was laid to the account of his people.
The Bible says, for He made Him, God the Father made God the Son,
to be sin. For us, Christ who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now that was the
redemption and the justification of His people. Now, here comes
the fourth principle, and the principle is satisfaction. When
Christ died on that cross as a representative, the substitute
of his people for their sins charged to him, he literally
drank damnation dry. The whole wrath of God fell upon
him to the point that he in his soul suffering cried, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And what he did is he finished
the transgression, he made an end of sin, he brought in everlasting
righteousness, And in all of that, he paid the sin debt in
full and justified his people. Now because of that, because
of that, Christ was raised again the third day. Now as he lived
for his people, as he suffered and bled and died for his people,
as he was buried for his people, he was raised again the third
day for his people. So it could literally be said
now, That when Christ obeyed the law, if I'm in Him now, when
Christ obeyed the law, I obeyed it too. Not by my own works,
not by my own efforts, not in my own person. I wasn't even
there, literally. I wasn't even born yet. But in
the person and work of Christ, I was there. He was my representative. He was my substitute. My sins
were imputed to Him. His righteousness was imputed
to me. And He satisfied law and justice for me. When Christ suffered,
bled, and died, I suffered, bled, and died. When Christ was buried,
I was buried. When Christ was risen from the
dead, I was raised from the dead. And that's what He means there.
And I know I took a long time to explain that, but that's so
important. This is the Gospel message. If you then be risen
with Christ, if He died for you, if He was buried for you, if
He was raised again for you. Now if that's the case, what
does that make you? That makes you a justified person. That makes you a redeemed person.
Now how do you know whether or not a person is justified and
redeemed? How do you know the difference,
you see? Well, look at what he says in this verse. If you then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Now, my friend, if Christ
is your representative, if He lived, died, was buried, and
rose again the third day for you, if your sins were laid to
His charge and His righteousness to your charge, if He satisfied
law and justice for you, then in time the Holy Spirit He's
going to come to you and bring you under the preaching of the
gospel and he's going to give you life. That's regeneration.
That's another gospel principle. It's the gospel of life. Paul
wrote it as we've quoted before. It's the power of God unto salvation
for everyone that believes it. Now by nature we're unbelievers.
But God the Holy Spirit in the new birth brings us to believe
in Christ to the point to where we seek those things which are
above. In other words, the person who's
risen with Christ is going to see heavenly things, the things
of God. We're in the world, but we're
not of the world. We have to deal with issues of
this life. We have to work our jobs, take
care of our families. We have to deal with people in
this life. But our heart and our minds and our affections
and our hope is in things above. This world is not our home. This
world is not our goal. Seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." He's speaking here
of the assurance of salvation that comes because Christ has
done the work that the Father gave Him to do. Where is He now?
He's at the right hand of God. What is He doing there? The Bible
says He's ever living to make intercession for all who come
unto the Father by Him. Christ is seated at the right
hand of God, it says. Back in the old covenant, the
high priest never could sit down because his work was never finished.
He was only a type. He was an inferior. The Christ
is not a type. He's the fulfillment. He's the
satisfaction. He finished the work. He said
on the cross in John 19 and verse 30, he said, it is finished.
He finished the work. Hebrews chapter 4 says, he finished
the work that he was given to do. And after he finished that
work, he entered into his rest. When we come to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, we cease from our own labors trying to save
ourselves, and we enter into his rest. We look unto him, the
author and finisher of our faith. We believe in him, we rest in
him, and we seek the things of Christ. And that's what he means.
He says in verse 2, set your affection on things above, not
on things on the earth. Now that word affection means
your mind, but it's not just intellectual or mental issues
that he's dealing with here. He's dealing here in what you
know because you love these things. Your heart, your affections,
your will. And he's saying set your heart,
set your goals. Set your inner being upon the
things that are in Christ, things above, things of God, things
of the Word of God, and not on things of the earth. For we who
are saved, we who are risen with Christ, we who have been redeemed
by the blood, we who have been regenerated by the Spirit, we
are not people of the earth, we're in the world, but we're
not of the earth, we're the people of God. And so he says in verse
3, for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now that may seem like a strange
statement, for you are dead. Well, my friend, if you are in
Christ, and if you died with Him, and you were buried with
Him, and you're risen with Him, that's exactly what you are.
The Bible teaches that. You're dead. Now in what sense
are you dead? Well, the Scripture speaks of
two ways in which the believer is dead in Christ. First of all,
we're dead to sin. He says in Romans chapter 6,
he says in verse 3, he says, No you not, that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death.
Now baptism there means that we're identified with Christ.
It's not talking about water baptism, but it's an identification. It's being placed into is what
it literally means. So you were placed into Christ.
Well, if you're in Christ today, you were placed into Christ by
divine election before the foundation of the world. For God elected
you in Christ. And then when Christ came to
this earth and went to the cross, you were placed into Him as your
sins were laid upon His account. And you died with Him. And that's
what He's talking about. You were placed into His death.
He died for you. So He says in verse 4, Therefore
we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life." In other words, that
death that Christ died was not a death that we should stay dead,
but we should be risen with him. He says in verse 5, "...for if
we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing
this, that our old man," now that is our former condemnation
in Adam, "...is crucified with him." that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Now
look at verse 7. He says, for he that is dead
is freed from sin. Justified is what that word freed
means. It means sins can no longer be
charged to me. They were charged to Christ.
It means sins can no longer be laid to my account. They were
accounted to him by imputation. It means that sin can no longer
bring me back under condemnation, for I was condemned in Christ,
I was buried, and I rose again with him. I'm justified, declared
righteous in him. Over in Romans chapter 7 and
verse 4, it speaks of being dead to the law. He says, Wherefore,
my brethren, you are also become dead to the law by the body of
Christ, that you should be married to another, even to him who is
raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God. We're dead to the law. What does that mean? That means
the law of God can no longer condemn us because in Christ
it sees us as sinlessly perfect. The law of God must justify me.
Now how did I become dead to the law? By the body of Christ. Over in Colossians 3 in verse
3. For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Hidden not in the sense of being
hidden away, but hidden in the sense of being protected. I'm
under the protection of God in Christ, so that the law of God
cannot condemn me. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn me? 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. It's impossible that
I could ever be lost again. Why? Because I'm dead in Christ
and my life is hidden with Christ in God. And he says in verse
4, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you
also appear with Him in glory. There is a certainty, certain
assurance of my being glorified together with Christ. When He
comes again, I'll be glorified with Him. Why? Because He is
my life. If Christ is my life, I can never
experience eternal death. Now, I'll experience physical
death because this old corruptible body must put on incorruption.
I don't want to exist forever in this old corruptible body.
I want to have a new body that's incorruptible and will be changed.
But I'm going to be glorified. I'm going to have that new body
and live forever because Christ is my life and He's coming again. He shall appear, and I will appear
with Him in glory." That glory there is the final glory of His
people when He comes again. Never to sin again. You see,
the Bible said we're dead to sin. Not to the presence of sin,
it's still right here with me. Not to the influence of sin,
it still influences me. Not to the contamination of it,
it contaminates everything I do, but it cannot condemn me. It
cannot be held against me or charged against me. It cannot
keep me from coming to Christ. It cannot deceive me to the point
of keeping me from Him. And it will one day be totally
gone even from the presence, from my presence. I'll be glorified. I'll be sinlessly perfect in
myself when I come to glory in Christ. You see, if we're dead
with Him, we're going to be raised again with Him. Risen with Christ. If you're risen with Him, you
see, what a glory that is. What a comfort. What a peace.
What an assurance. There's no substitute for it.
And my prayer and desire for you is that you'll come to Him
and believe in Him and rest in Him as your all and in all. I
hope this message has helped you to understand the issues
of salvation. what it is to be risen with Christ.
That's the title of the message. If you'd like to get a copy of
it, listen to the announcers. He gives you the details. The
title is Risen With Christ. And I hope you'll join us next
week for another message from God's Word. 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.