Now turn back in your Bibles
to Isaiah chapter 28. The title of this message is
Christ, Our Only Foundation. Now, has Brother Danny read that
passage? I'm pretty sure he knows. Many of you have heard this passage
preached on before several times, I'm sure. Sometimes when we read
the Bible, we get a picture in our mind from the words that
are written, and it may not be a true picture, a true assessment
of what's going on in this passage, the prophet Isaiah, God's prophet
who's delivering God's word to the people in Jerusalem. But
here you read about drunkenness and wine and things like that,
and you might get the picture in your mind that, well, these
are just a bunch of people who are just drinking themselves
silly, having wild parties and things like that. But the issue
here is not getting physically drunk on wine. The issue here is the drunkenness
and stupor of false religion. That's what Isaiah is talking
about. The issue here is not being drunk
with wine. If that were a problem, I'm sure
the prophet, like any preacher, would speak out against it, as
the Bible does. But the issue here is stated
in the very first sentence of Isaiah chapter 28. Woe to the
crown of pride. It's being drunk, mentally, in
physical and religious spiritual pride. That is what the issue
is. And he is speaking here to the
leaders of Israel, the princes of Israel, the judges, and to
the priest. He says, Woe to the crown of
pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading
flower, something they glory in which is fading. He says in
verse 2, Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which
is a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters
overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. That's
the judgment of God. He says again in verse 3, The
crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim. What is the issue? What's going on here? It's the
pride of false human works religion. which lifts up sinners in opposition
to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation by God's
grace. Everything in this chapter centers
on verse 16. Look at verse 16. This is my
text this morning. God says, Therefore, thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone,
a tried or tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation,
and he that believeth shall not make haste or shall not be ashamed."
Now that in one verse we have the whole foundation of grace,
salvation of sinners. This is a prophecy of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah, the stone the foundation. And
when the prophet began to preach the gospel, here's how they took
it. Look at verse 9. He says, Whom
shall he teach knowledge? Who's going to hear the hearing?
Who's going to hear the gospel? And whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? Them that are weaned from the
milk and drawn from the breast. Not those who are drunk on the
wine of false religion and lifted up with pride. And he said, we
got to tell it over and over and over again. It's precept
upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line.
This is not something that men can just hear one time and then
that's it. This is the note. This is the
place where we rest. Somebody said, well, you can
preach that, but don't go to seed on it. Let's go to seed
on this. That's what he's talking about right here. This is our
message and everything we preach. Whatever passage of scripture
we go to should stem right from here. It says here in verse 11,
it says, "...for with stammering lips and another tongue will
he speak to this people." You see, it's going to be different
from what they've been hearing. That's what he's talking about
there. The message that their false prophets are delivering
to them, this message that Isaiah, God's prophet, comes with, is
different. It's different. It's not just another version
of false religion. It's not even a truer version
of false religion. It is totally opposite to false
religion, human works religion. And then it says in verse 12,
to whom he said, this is the rest wherewith you may cause
the weary to rest. And this is the refreshing. You
see, this message of grace in Christ is rest to the weary soul. False religion puts a burden
on the backs of people that they cannot bear. It is a continual
activity of human works aimed at establishing a righteousness
of our own. And it's a burden we cannot bear.
And just the time that you think you've made it, just that time,
you go back to square one, don't you? And you have to start all
over again, over and over again. So here's a message of rest.
But rest is in Christ. Hebrews chapter 4 says Christ
is our Sabbath. Our Sabbath is not a day. Today's
not the Sabbath. Did you know that? Today's the
first day of the week in which we're commanded by God to meet
together, to worship God, and to look to our Sabbath. Christ
is our Sabbath. When we keep the Sabbath, we
don't stop doing this or that or the other. during the day.
Now, we are to set aside everything else and seek to worship God
today with God's people. But our Sabbath, listen, when
we enter into his rest, we cease from our labors and we enter
into his rest. And here's rest for the weary
soul. But look here in verse 12, the last word. Yet they would
not hear. They would not hear. Why? Because
of pride. Because they were drunk. with
the wine of false religion. And they derided the word of
God. The word of the Lord was unto
them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line,
that they might hear a little thereof, that they might go and
fall backward and be broken and snared and taken. So Isaiah says
in verse 14, wherefore, for this reason, hear the word of the
Lord, you scornful men. What is it to scorn something?
It's to fail to give it the value that it deserves, that it has
inherently. When you hear this gospel, when
you hear about Christ and Him crucified, when you hear the
glorious message of God's grace, what Christ has accomplished
by a sovereign act of God, when you hear that message, how valuable
is it? The Bible says it's like precious
jewels, gold. Not wood, hay, and stubble. It's
the precious things of God. And you scornful men, Isaiah
says, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. You don't hear
this message of rest and peace, of salvation accomplished. Here's
what you say. Now look at verse 15. You said,
we've made a covenant with death. We've made an agreement with
death and with hell. We're at agreement. What was
their agreement? when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, when death comes, when the wrath of God
comes, it shall not come unto us. Same as what Jeremiah said,
peace, peace, when there is no peace. You reject the message
of God's grace. You reject the only way of salvation
in Christ Jesus, yet you've made a covenant, a covenant with death
and with hell. And the prophet exposes this,
he says, for we have made lies our refuge. They don't say that.
The one who's drunk on the wine of false religion, he doesn't
say that. But the prophet does. In other words, your refuge is
a refuge of lies. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. Now, people are no different
in our day than they were in Isaiah's day. Do you know that?
Religious lost men and women still love to boast about their
agreements their pledges, their decisions, their covenants that
they've made with death and with hell and with the grave. And
therefore, we need to constantly warn everyone of the certain
and eternal destruction of all those who rest in this refuge
of lies. And it centers on verse 16. It's
the message of grace. It's the message of Christ crucified.
How important is it? How vital is it? Look at verse
17. He says it brings judgment down. It exposes the truth, the
reality. God says judgment also, while
I lay to the line, righteousness to the plummet. This is the standard.
Whatever religion you're in, however you think God saves sinners,
it's got to stand the test of righteousness as measured not
by you or others or the preacher or the denomination, but righteousness
as it's measured by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's what the Scripture
says. God has commanded all men everywhere
to repent, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath appointed,
anointed, and ordained, in that he hath given assurance unto
all men in that he raised him from the dead. How do I compare
to him? And he says, by this standard
the hell shall sweep away the refuge of lies. Whatever you're
resting in, whatever your assurance is based on, Whatever you expect
to go to heaven and be received in the bosom of God based on,
if it's anything but Christ and Him crucified, His blood and
His righteousness, this judgment, this truth is going to sweep
away that refuge of lies. And the water shall overflow
the hiding place. And he says in verse 18, your agreement with
death shall be disannulled. Your agreement with hell shall
not stand when that overflowing scourge shall pass through."
You'll be trodden down by it. Oh, my soul, what is this? This
is a plea from the prophet of God for sinners to hear the message
of grace and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verse
19, from the time that it goeth forth, it shall take you. For
morning by morning shall it pass over. By day and by night you'll
hear this message. Listen, here's what's going to
happen. Those who stand before God without Christ This message
will ring in their ears day and night. I believe this is one
of the, you know, I cannot describe hell. I know it's a place of
torment, but I believe that one of the main issues of suffering
in hell will be this mental torture over this message of grace when
men and women have heard it and scorned it, rejected it. And he says, you'll hear it day
and night. It'll pass over you. But look at the last line of
verse 19. It shall be a vexation. only to understand the report.
It'll vex you. What's that mean? It's trouble.
It'll be trouble, not a joy. You know, the Bible says there's
joy and peace and comfort in believing. In believing what? In believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It rests for the troubled. But here, those who stand before
God in their own righteousness, in their own works, That message
will pass and pass and there'll be trouble, trouble, trouble. He says in verse 20, for the
bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on. You ever
tried to sleep in a bed that's too short for you? Ever done
that? You don't get much rest. And
what he's saying here is the message that you latched on to. There's no rest. There's no sleep. It's a bed that's too short. And he said the covering. the
covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it. Have you
ever tried to sleep with a cover that you can't wrap up in on
a cold night? That's what that message of human
works religion will do. It's like trying to cover yourself
with something that can't cover. You see, we need to be covered
in the blood, washed in the blood. We need to be covered in the
robe of righteousness that Christ has provided. protect us, that'll keep us from
the wrath of God. That's joy and peace and comfort.
But it all rests back up here on this one verse. Look at it,
verse 16. That's Christ and Him crucified.
My friend, He's the only right and sure foundation, the only
provided and secure foundation. He's the only resting place that's
big enough for sinners like us. He's the only covering that can
cover our nakedness, which is exposed to the wrath of God without
him. Peter said this in a message
in Acts chapter 4. He says, Christ is the stone
which was set at naught of you builders. Those who guided Jerusalem,
the religious leaders, they counted him as nothing. But he said he's
become the head of the corner. He's the cornerstone. And neither
is there salvation in any other, for there's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Paul wrote
in 1 Corinthians 3, he said, For other foundations can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And whatever
is built better be built upon that foundation. Men by nature
willfully choose to disregard the only foundation on which
a guilty, hell-deserving sinner can find peace with God and go
about to establish their own righteousness, seeking that rest
and covering which will not suffice. Now, Isaiah describes our foundation
right here in verse 16. Let me give you several things
here about our foundation, Christ, our only foundation. First of
all, Christ is the foundation that God has laid. And I want
you to notice that. He's not a foundation that we
lay. Any foundation that we lay is no good. It's going to crack.
It's going to crumble. Whatever we build upon the foundation
that we lay is going to fall, no matter how good it looks.
No matter how many people applaud it, it's no good. But Christ is the foundation
that God lays. Look here, God, thus saith the
Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation. Just like the foundation
of a well-built house. You ever lived in a house that
didn't have a good foundation? It's not pretty, is it? But just
like the foundation of a well-built house, The foundation and the
house are all part of the design of a chief architect who designed
it. Well, God the Father is the chief
architect of this house. He's the wise master builder
whose purpose to build a spiritual house to the glory of his son. That's what the scripture teaches.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places. In the fullness of the time God
sent forth his Son, he was set up from everlasting to be the
foundation of this building. And God, when he came into this
world and began his public ministry, the Father looked upon him after
his baptism and he said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. This is a foundation not laid
by man, Not dealt with men's hands, but laid by God himself. And then secondly, Christ is
the foundation of his church. Look at it in verse 16. Behold,
I lay in Zion for a foundation. What is Zion? Well, some people
say it's a mountain or a hill over there in Jerusalem. And
it is, but it was a picture. In the Old Testament, Zion, or
sometimes Sion, S-I-O-N, is a picture of the church. God's people. What is the church? Not the building,
not the carpet and the floor. The church, you who know Christ,
you're the church. And he says, I lay in Zion. He's
the foundation of the church, the church of Christ. He told
Peter, he said, upon this rock, I will build my church. Not Peter,
but Christ himself who would come and redeem the church with
his own precious blood. He said, I'll build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. When the
overflowing scourge comes by, if you're on this foundation,
it will not touch you. What a covenant this is. We who
know Christ, we can say we've made an agreement with death
and hell. And when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it
will not come to us. Why? Because we're on the right
foundation. We have a resting place. We're
hidden in the rock Christ Jesus. And he's sufficient, he's more
than sufficient. The foundation, now listen to
me, the foundation, Christ the foundation is laid with the purpose
of building many other stones on it and joining them all together
as one. You know, when they go out and
build a house or a building, they don't just build the foundation
and walk off and leave and say, now there it is, go live. That
foundation is the foundation of many bricks, many stones. All the stones in this foundation
that Christ is and Christ is laid, all whom God saves are
chosen and precious stones, hewed out of the quarry of sin and
condemnation and brought to Christ and laid by Him and on Him. Stones made ready before they
were ever brought to the foundation, because God chose them from the
foundation of the world and gave them to Christ, all whom God
brings to Christ were chosen and ordained to salvation before
they ever brought to him. And that's what it is. Look over
there at first Peter chapter or second Peter chapter two or
first Peter chapter two. I'm sorry. That's what this is
saying. And, you know, this right here
describes how Christ, who is the foundation, builds the house.
Just like a just like a builder. The foundation is built, and
then he brings the bricks or the blocks in, and he lays them
one by one, and he unites them together with that mortar, seals
them together. And Christ is the foundation,
and he's the sealant that brings us together, and we're the bricks.
We're the stones that he lays. And look here, he says in verse
1 of Chapter 2, Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile,
and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby." Newborn babes. Now, that's those who are born
again by the Spirit of God. This is how Christ builds His
Church. He lays the foundation in redemption. By his own precious blood he
took away our sins 2,000 years ago on the cross of Calvary and
made us righteous in him, justified us in him. And then in the process
of time these bricks are called out, brought in by the Holy Spirit
through the preaching of the word. They're given life, they're
given eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts and minds to
understand and know and love Christ and believe in him, rest
in him. repent of their own works, and
he brings them into the fold. He brings them into the church.
They're the called out ones. That's what church means. Called
out. Called out of the world into
his life, into his church. And he takes that brick, he takes
that precious born-again person, that man or woman whom he died
for, and he lays them just like a brick on the foundation. And
they're resting there. They're not working to stay there.
They're not cracking up and falling over here. He seals them together.
And they're resting on the foundation. And so he says, as newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby,
if so be that you've tasted that the Lord is gracious. Have you
tasted that the Lord is gracious? Have you been born again by the
Spirit of God? And he says, to whom coming as
unto a living stone. Christ is a living stone, not
a dead stone. Disallowed indeed of men. Men
rejected him. That's us by nature. He was a
man of sorrows, wasn't he? Rejected. But chosen of God,
the foundation laid by God, he's chosen of God, and precious.
He's precious. Now look at verse five. You also, this is believers now,
born again people, as lively stones or as living stones are
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood. How can we say
we're holy? Now, think about that. How can
this man standing before you today say he's holy? Can I say
that with confidence? Yes, I can. But how? In Christ. In him, I'm holy. One day, I'll
be holy in myself. Perfect him when I go to be with
him. When this flesh is put away. But right now, I'm holy priesthood. What does he mean priesthood?
Does that mean we should all get a funny collar and wear it around and
walk around? No. That means we have free access into the holiest
of all by the blood of Christ. Each one of you who know Christ,
you have one mediator, you have one representative, you have
one substitute, you have one priest, Christ himself who entered
in for us, and right now you're a priest unto God. You don't
have to have a man do that for you here on earth. You have full
and free access into the holiest of all by the blood of Christ.
Right now, every one of you who know him. Now, if you don't know
him, you don't have free access. But if you know him, trust him. And he says to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And that's where
in verse six, he quotes the very passage we're studying from Isaiah
28, 16. In verse seven, he says, under
you, therefore, which belief? How do you know if you've been
born again by the spirit? How do you know? if you truly
believe in Christ, saved by the grace of God. There are several
ways the New Testament puts that, but here's one of the best. Verse
7, under you therefore which believe, he is precious. Christ is precious. Is Christ
precious to you? Go back to Isaiah 28, or are
you one of those who scorn the Word of God? Is he precious? I'll tell you what, if he's precious
to you, that's a miracle of grace. Isn't that right? If he's precious
to me, that's a miracle of grace. Because he wouldn't be precious
to me naturally. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. He won't receive those things
which are freely given. Christ is the foundation of his
church. Here's the third thing. Look
back at Isaiah 28, 16. Christ is the tried stone. He's the
tried foundation. He's the tested one. That means
this. Now, you know what? We talk about testings and trials. And talking to my wife last night,
she said, you know, we go through a trial and she said, you know,
I don't feel like I've gone through this trial very well. I don't feel
like I go through any trial very well. I really don't. I'm just
being honest with you. I really feel like I'm a failure
when I go through these trials. But you know where my victory
is? It's not in how I go through the trial. It's in the one who
sends the trial, brings me through the trial, and conquers the trial.
My victory is in Christ. You know how I come out of trials?
Thanking God for Christ and Him crucified. But you know what?
I read in this book that's the reason he sends trials. That's
the very reason he does it. So that Christ will be even more
precious to me today than he was yesterday. That's what I
think spiritual growth is all about. growing in grace and knowledge. It's just he becomes more and
more precious. All his precious blood, all his righteousness,
all that he's accomplished from it just becomes more and more
precious unto us. But now listen, he's the tested
stone, and every test that he was put through, he conquered.
He didn't fail a one of them. I tell you what, he didn't even
have to look up from the paper and think about, you know, where
did I learn that? No, he went through it, lock,
stock, and barrel. He's the tried stone. The Bible
says in all points he was tempted as we are, yet without sin. Satan
tested him on that mount and failed and never went because
Satan had nothing in him. This is the God-man mediator
standing on that mount 40 days and 40 nights and here comes
that old devil and tries to tempt him. Boy, he would have gotten
the best of us, wouldn't he? Somebody said, well, how could
Christ have been tempted if he had no sin? Well, he had a human
nature without sin. He had the infirmities of the
flesh without sin. Think about yourself being up
on that mountain 40 days and 40 nights and not having not
eaten. How hungry would you be? Think you'd be pretty hungry?
And here Satan comes along and tempts you with something to
eat, with bread. You see, in Christ, there was no sin in him. to cause him to even think about
denying his father in order to relieve that hunger. But there
he is in us. There he is in us. He was tested. And then he went
through the greatest test of all. His greatest test was when
he was made sin for us and came under the wrath of his father
to die for our sins and bring in righteousness for us. And
through that test, he sinned not. He looked upon his utter
enemies, every one of us, humanity, in sin, crucifying the Son of
God. And you know what he said? He
said, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. Who could
say that but the Son of God incarnate? Who could say that but the spotless,
sinless Lamb of God? Who could love such people as
that? Only Christ. He passed the test. The Bible says, being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. You see, what was he doing? He was purchasing his church
with his own blood. He was honoring his Father by
satisfying law and justice and enabling his Father to be both
a just God and a Savior to save wretches like me and you. That's
what he was doing. There was nothing in us to draw
him to us. To draw us to him, there was
nothing of us that earned or deserved what he did. It was
totally, totally unconditional love, free favor of God for sinners
who hated him. And yet he died. What a test.
And he passed the test. He's the tested foundation. Every
test that he was put through, he passed. He went into the grave,
but he came out of the grave because God said it's not right
that the Holy One should see corruption. He died for our sins. He satisfied it. He finished
the transgression. He brought in righteousness,
and he arose again the third day for our justification. And
now he's seated at the right hand of the Father, still loving
his people, still making intercession for us, that when we sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He's
the tri-stone. Here's the fourth thing. He's
the precious foundation here in Isaiah 28, 16. He's a precious
cornerstone. He's precious to the father who
sent him to be our savior. Who said this is my beloved son,
whom I'm well pleased in the Old Testament. He's called the
apple of the father's eye. He's precious to his people,
for he bought us with his precious blood, not with corruptible things,
but with uncorruptible. the precious blood of Christ.
And then we read there in 1 Peter 2, how unto you therefore which
believe, he is precious. Turn to 2 Peter 1. He has given
us exceeding great and precious promises so that we might know
and trust him. Look here in 2 Peter 1, verse
1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God,"
this is verse 2, chapter 1, "...elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit and obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace
be multiplied." Now look at this, verse 3, "...blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His
much mercy," His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a
living hope." That's what that is. That's the new birth again.
We're begotten again unto a living hope, a lively hope, the hope
that's in Christ, who is life. "...by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible." Now listen to
this. Listen to this, you see. This precious foundation, it's
an inheritance that's incorruptible. You know, there's nothing in
this physical world that's incorruptible. But in this spiritual, spiritual
house, there's incorruption in Christ and undefiled and that
faith is not away and it's reserved in heaven for you. We have a
reservation in heaven that can't be broken. A couple of weeks
ago when I was flying down to Georgia, I got into Atlanta and
you know, that's a lot of fun. Went to the airport, went through
the concourses, you know. Got up there, you know, carrying
a bag, you know, huffing and puffing. Found out they canceled
my flight into Albany. Had to rent a car and drive all
the way to Albany, 200 miles. You know what made me so mad? That I smiled. I smiled at the
guy behind the desk. And, you know, he was telling
me all, you know, giving me this big spiel about why they canceled
the flight. And I didn't understand a word he said. Didn't make any
sense to me. But I looked at him, I said,
you know what? I said, I want you to mark this down because
you're not going to have another customer like me today. And as I smile,
he said, I appreciate that. But you see, I had a reservation,
but it was canceled. I had a reserve seat on that
plane. Well, here's one that's not going to be canceled. It's
reserved in heaven for me. And you know why? Not because
I'm so good. Not because I'm a preacher, it's
because of this precious cornerstone that's been laid, Christ. That's
why. And he says it right here, verse
5, look at it, who are kept by the power of God. We are a kept
people. We don't keep ourselves, he keeps
us. And we're kept by means of or through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time. That's our final glory
in heaven. That's what he's talking about there. And he says, wherein
you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you
are in heaviness through manifold temptations. All of this thing,
all of this in Christ. Now, he's a precious cornerstone
and he saved us from our sins. And the Bible teaches us that
this cornerstone, you know, the cornerstone is the chief stone. It holds everything together.
And Christ holds us all together. Look back at Isaiah 28. Here's
the fifth thing. And I'll close. Christ is the
sure foundation. Isaiah 28, 16. I believe I messed
you all up. I said second Peter, and that
was first Peter, wasn't it? You didn't think I was going
to catch that, but I did. I'm getting old, but I'm not
there yet. All right. That was first Peter chapter
one that I read. I apologize. But look here at Isaiah 28, 16.
Christ is the sure foundation. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tri-stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. You know, when I see that word
sure, what I think of? I think of assurance. Assurance. How can I have assurance of salvation?
I used to read the old Puritans quite a bit. And honestly, some
of them didn't think you were supposed to have assurance. They
thought it was presumption. And it's almost like if you weren't
just walking around with your head hung down, crying all the
time, then you weren't humble and you weren't a Christian.
But I don't believe the Bible speaks that way. How can we have
assurance? Well, if our hope is built on
a sure foundation, why shouldn't we? How sure should we be? As sure as the willingness and
the ability of our Savior. How great of a Savior is He?
Now, if my assurance is based on anything but Him, then that
is presumption. But if my Savior is able and
willing to save me to the uttermost, then how much assurance should
I have? Talk about the greatness of His person. Who is He? How
sure can I be of this sure foundation based upon who He is? Now, where
it starts, who is He? He's God in human flesh. That's
who He is. He's God-man. He's the Son of
God who has no beginning and no end. Co-equal with the Father
and the Spirit and every attribute of deity, there's nothing that
He cannot do that is in accordance with His divine nature and glory. He's the one who calmed the storm.
He's the one who fed the 5,000. He's the one who raised Lazarus
from the dead. And he's the one who forgives
sins. He asked them one time, when
they challenged him on that, they said, what do you mean you
forgive, his sins forgiven? Only God can forgive sin. He
said, well, which is easier, to raise the dead or to forgive
sin? If he can raise the dead, he's
God. Isn't that right? He can forgive sin. He's God-man. He identifies with us in our
name and our nature without sin. Every bit God, every bit man.
One person with two distinct natures. He's able. That's who
He is. What a wonderful Savior. And
what about the power of His work? What did He do? What did He accomplish
in His obedience? Perfect keeping of the law. He knew no sin, did no sin. He
was a completely sinless person in Himself. He's the spotless
Lamb of God. He kept the law. Have you done
that? Have I done that? No. Then I better not be your
surety. You see, if you look inside yourself for your comfort
and assurance, you better find something there that has kept
the law perfect. But I'm going to tell you something.
You look to the sure foundation. You look to Christ. He kept the
law. And then what did He do on the
cross? He died for our sins. And that death was an accomplishment.
It was a victory. It wasn't defeat and failure.
Man, we looked upon the cross as shame and failure, but he
looked upon it as victory. It was a death. He talked with
Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he said
his death which he should accomplish. And he accomplished it, and he
was buried, and he rose again the third day. Now, here's our
assurance. Who can condemn us? Romans 8. It's God who justified us. God's
the one who declared us not guilty in Christ. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
is risen again and seated at the right hand of the Father,
making intercession for us. Oh, He's our surety. He's the
sure foundation. And those who are given life
and grace to flee to the Lord Jesus Christ shall never be ashamed.
Look at it. He that believeth shall not make
haste. That means he'll never be ashamed.
Those who have trusted a false Christ will be confounded and
confused and ashamed, especially on the Day of Judgment. But not
those who are in Him. We have a Savior who is able
to save to the uttermost. Now, the foundation is the strongest
part of the building, isn't it? And it must, this foundation,
it must, it must support the whole building. And if it doesn't
support the whole building, it won't support one brick, basically.
All of the salvation of God's people rests upon Christ alone.
It's on his strength, his grace, his blood, his righteousness
alone that we rely and rest. And our redemption, our justification,
our sanctification, our glorification all depend on him, all conditioned
on him. And we rest on him for safety
and direction and eternal life. We read it this morning in our
Sunday School. Christ told his disciples, without me you can
do nothing. And all who are redeemed by his
blood and born again by the Spirit gladly say, in the Lord we have
strength. In the Lord. Let me close by
reading a passage in Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. This is the
end of the Sermon on the Mount. And he speaks of it here in verse
24. He says, Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken
him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the
rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house. It fell not. Why? For it was
founded upon a rock. This is your foundation, Christ. And everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that
house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." It wasn't
built upon the rock, but the sure foundation of Christ.