It's our privilege to have with
us this morning Brother Larry Criss from down in, and I never
can say it right, Sylacauga? Did I get it right? Well, or
close. Alabama, Fairmont Grace Church. His wife Robin. We're so glad
to have you folks with us. What a blessing. Back with us
in last March. That's before we did all this.
And we're glad that they're here. It's always been a blessing to
hear the gospel preached by Brother Larry. And we're looking forward
to that this morning as well. Brother Larry, come on. Thank you, Gary. Yeah, you've
made some changes. February, I think it was, actually, that
I was here with Brother Paul Mayhem. I'm trying to remember
how I looked before, but it looks great now. It looks very, very
nice. I know you're thankful for it.
It is an honor for me to be here. I appreciate Donnie asking me
to come. I don't count, don't take that
lightly, and ask that you would please pray for me. I don't have
any qualifications to do what I'm going to try to do, that
is preach to you. So please, please pray that God
would be pleased to make His Word effectual. The little flock
I pastor in Sylacauga, Alabama, send their love to you. Brother
Darwin Pruitt as well, he's filling in for me as I'm here this morning. Would you turn with me in your
Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1? I'd like to begin by reading
just one verse of scripture. It's a big one. Verse 30. You've heard the expression,
you've said a mouthful, well, we have it here. 1 Corinthians
1, Paul says, but of him that is God, but of God. Are you in
Christ Jesus? God's done this. Who of God is
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. When I thought about this verse
last night, this morning, I thought about a visit I made to a friend
many years ago who was in the hospital. I went to see him.
And when I went in, he was having his lunch. They had just served
the meal. And he was eating, and I told
him, if you don't mind, it won't bother me. I'll talk while you
eat. It won't bother me, but it won't
bother you. And he said, well, go ahead. But after several minutes,
he pushed his tray away from him, and he said, I declare,
Larry, the longer I chew that piece of meat, the bigger it
gets. So it is with this verse of Scripture. Of Him, that is,
of God. Of God. Brother Gary read a moment
ago from 1 Peter 1. In chapter 2, of that same epistle Peter wrote
these words in verses 6 and 7. Wherefore also it is contained
in the Scripture, Behold, I, again God, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, a lat, precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded. He'll never be put to shame.
Never be put to shame. Unto you, verse 7, Peter wrote,
unto you therefore which believe he, that is Christ, is precious. Can you think of anything more
precious than the Lord Jesus? A lady was teaching some young
children in a Bible class one Sunday morning, and she was dealing
with that word, precious, as it's used there in 1 Peter 2. And she asked the children, can
anybody tell me what that means? What does the word precious mean?
And one little girl raised her hand and said, well, Father told
us mother was precious, because what would we be without her? Oh, children of God, where would
we be What would we be? What hope would we have without
the Lord Jesus Christ? Old John Newton, I suppose it's
his most famous hymn, Amazing Grace, most people know that
hymn by heart. They know the words but they
have no idea what he was talking about. For example, when he wrote
these words, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear.'" Remember
that line? "'Twas grace that taught my heart
to fear.'" Now, we had no idea when God was bringing us down
to fear Him, when God got us lost, that that was grace, that
He was dealing with us in a way of grace, but indeed He was. Grace taught my heart to fear.
Now that sounds strange to today's religious world, doesn't it?
Because the God, sadly, sadly, the God that most people profess
to worship, there's no need to fear Him. I mean, listen to how
he's described. He's a God who wants to, but
can't. He's a God whose will and purpose
is stopped, hindered, brought to nothing by the will of man. Why should we fear such a being
as that? Why stand in holy wonder at such
a being as that? Oh, but that's not the true God,
is it? That one is rather to be pitied than feared. But when
God in grace When God in grace, in matchless, sovereign, reigning
grace, nothing less than that will do, teaches a man who He
is, that is, who God is, gives him an idea of who He really
is, and then at the same time teaches him something about who
He is, that is, the man, then he'll know something. He'll learn
something about what old Newton meant when he said grace. God's
grace taught my heart to fear. But Newton didn't stop there,
did he? He went on to write and grace.
That same grace my fears relieved. The same grace that taught my
heart to fear. That same grace my fears relieved. Like the relief that that poor
leper must have felt. You remember him. We have the
account of it in Mark chapter 1 and the other Gospels. He came
to the Lord Jesus Christ. That man was an outcast. He was unclean. He had been condemned
by God's law. The high priest pronounced him
unclean and he was cast out. He couldn't socialize. He couldn't
go back to his family. If someone was in the area that
didn't know the law, And they would approach that leper not
knowing any better. That leper was bound by God's
law to warn that stranger and tell them, I'm unclean. Don't
you come near me. I'm unclean. I'm unclean. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? The anguish in the heart of that
poor leper that day, when he came to the Lord Jesus and bowed
down before Him and said, if you will, if you will, most people
think he has to. He's obligated to. He's under
obligation to every sinner to show them mercy. That leper knew
better. Grace had taught his heart to
fear. Therefore, he took his place in the dust before the
Son of God and said, if you will, you don't have to do it. You
don't owe it to me. It's all a matter of pure mercy.
If you will, you can make me clean." Can you imagine? Can you imagine the relief he
must have felt? That's what Newton was talking
about. And grace my fears relieved. Oh, what relief! It must have
been in the ears of that poor leper when Jesus Christ reached
toward him and touched him. I wonder how long it had been
since anybody had touched that man. But our Lord said, Oh, I
will. I'm willing and able. I will
be thou clean. Oh, what a relief. Blood of the
soul of that once diseased poor man. Or can you imagine the relief
of that thief on the cross? when the Lord Jesus Christ likewise
was putting away the sins of his people. And that condemned
man, that guilty man, looked over at the Lord Jesus Christ
and said, remember me, are you serious? Remember him? The Lord is trotting at that
moment the winepress alone. He's being made sin. He at that
moment is obtaining the eternal redemption of his people. He
doesn't have time for that dying thief. Who does he think he is? Oh, yes, he had time. Oh, he
that is mighty to save, he who is able to save to the very uttermost
all that come unto God by him. When that thief said, remember
me, when you come into your kingdom, can you imagine how he must have
felt? Because in just a matter of moments,
that thief was going to be ushered into the presence of God Almighty,
as you are and I am. And the Lord Jesus Christ said
in response to his prayer, I say unto thee, today, today, you're
going to be with me in paradise. Now that's heaven. That's heaven. To be with Christ. I hear people
talking about streets of gold and mansions and crowns. Build
my mansion next door to my mother's. Isn't that special? Oh no. No. Heaven. Heaven. Glory is
to be where He is. Christ prayed in His high priestly
prayer, His last will and testament, as it were. Father, I will also
that those whom Thou has given me be with me where I am. Oh, in grace my fears relieved. Newton went on to write, how
precious, how precious did that grace appear the hour I first
believed. Oh, God, roll back the curtain
of memory now and then. Remind us of where you brought
us from and where we could have been. Oh, how sweet, how precious
did His grace appear the hour I first believed because it was
then, then that I learned what I could never know otherwise,
that I was in Christ Jesus. Faith is the evidence that I
was in Christ Jesus. Who did that? Who could do that? I could never put myself in Christ. All my will, all my effort, all
my work, all my trying could never put me in this precious
place of being in God's Son, accepted in Him. A person may
put themselves in a church in the water, in the doctrine, but
only God Almighty can perform this blessed operation and put
a sinner in His dear Son. God put His people in Christ
in eternal election. Oh, there's that word again.
Most churches would rather hear you stand and say a curse word
than to say election. Election. Oh, I can't stand that. I can stand it. I like it, don't
you? God chose a people of wonder
and wonders. Marvel of marvels! God chose
this sinner in Christ. That kind of takes me plum out
of the equation, doesn't it? As far as being my work. Chose me and His precious Son
before the world began. And what God has joined together,
no man. No man can put a sun to it. No wonder Paul tells us, not
the glory in the flesh, but the glory in the Lord. It's the Lord's
doing that put us in Christ. That God be the glory, great
things He hath done. If we could put ourselves in,
we could take ourselves out. Oh, but God put us in His Son
and therefore nothing can separate us from the love of God that
is in Christ Jesus. Our being in Christ is altogether
God's work. Our conversion, our saving union
with Christ is not the result of something we did. It's not
because we're wiser or better or made a better choice than
anyone else. We're in Christ because God put
us in Christ. In other words, salvation is
of the Lord. I like this old hymn. You know
it. In the Beloved. In the Beloved.
What sweet words. In Christ Jesus. That just feels good, doesn't
it? That just feels good, like I
probably told you this story. I know I've told you stories
about as a kid living up that holla in West Virginia, being
in the last house in the holla, and being caught out after dark.
Or I'd be walking home with my friends, we'd been out and watched
a movie. Dracula, werewolf, or something
like that. But you know, we're all brave.
Let that werewolf pop out, I'll give him one of these. But then
we'd come to the holler, and they would go down into the camp.
And I had to walk up that hall all by myself. They said, hey
Larry, don't let the wolfman get you. And I'd be walking.
I mean, I'd be scared to death. I'm scared. I didn't let them
know, but as soon as they were out of sight, I'm walking. Man,
I know that wolfman. I know he's there. I know he's
there. He's going to get me. And man,
I'd hear a leaf rustle in the wind. I'm laying down. And I'll make that last turn
in the road. And there's our house. There
it is. You can't go no further. If anybody
came up there in the car, they had to be coming to see us or
they were just plumb lost. But man, there was the house. There was that light on. Mom's
waiting up for me. Man, I go in. And she tucks me
in. I was just a little fella. And
I remember she would come upstairs and tuck me in. She'd throw that
old bedspread up in the air. And here it come floating down. Man, she'd tuck it in. I wasn't
scared anymore, Brad. Now I was home. I was safe. I was secure. Paul said, in that
day, in that day that God Almighty has appointed, in which He shall
judge this world in absolute righteousness, in that day, Paul
said, I want to be found in Him, in the Beloved, dressed up in
His righteousness, wearing the very best robe, the righteousness
of God's own Son. Again, I ask you, doesn't that
feel good? Oh, to be in Christ Jesus, in
the Beloved, accepted am I, risen, ascended, and seated on high,
saved from all sin through His infinite grace, with the redeemed
ones according to the place. In the Beloved, how safe my retreat. In the Beloved, accounted complete.
Who can condemn me? In Him I am free. Savior and
Keeper forever is He. In the Beloved, God's marvelous
grace calls me to dwell in this wonderful place. God sees my
Savior and then He sees me. In the Beloved, accepted and In Christ Jesus all this wonderful
place and God put us there and nothing can take us out. James
wrote, beloved brethren, he said be careful about making your
plans and saying I'm going to do this and tomorrow I'm going
to do that. You don't know what tomorrow might bring. You don't
know what tomorrow might bring. Oh how sweetly, how sweetly Changes
can come change and decay all around I see but here's something
that can never change Never grow old. My relationship to God that's
in Christ Jesus, it's always the same. It's always complete. It's always perfect. I'm always
accepted. Before God Almighty rejects this
believing sinner, He first has to reject His Son. And that's
not going to happen. That's never going to happen.
Oh, what a blessed place to be in Christ Jesus. These four things
he mentions that God has made Christ to be to His people. And the first is wisdom. Wisdom. Meaning that our greatest wisdom,
our highest wisdom, you talk about higher learning, it's this,
knowing Him. Knowing Christ. Christ is the
head. The head of His body, the church.
And all the wisdom of the body is in the head. And all our wisdom
is in Him. You remember what Jeremiah said?
God said, Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not
the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glory his glory
in this. that he understandeth and knoweth
me." Wow! Wow! Know God? This is like the
eternal Christ said that they might know Thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou didst send. I am the Lord which
exercised lovingkindness, and judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Years
ago, one of my younger brothers was visiting me, and it was a
summer night, clear sky, just stars, just abundance. And we
were sitting out there, and he was into astronomy. And he was
sitting there, and he said, Larry, do you know? Well, Larry didn't
know. He was going to enlighten me. He said, everything you see there,
all that you see, that's just our galaxy. That's just our galaxy. And it has no end. It's infinite. He said, do you know that? I
said, no. And he elaborated on some other
things. And I said, Ernie, that is amazing.
The creation is amazing. But let me tell you something
greater than that. I know who did it. I know the
Creator. I know the great God that spoke
all that into existence. I know that God who in the beginning
created all things by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How about
that? How about that wonder? Oh, what
a blessing. Who can answer this question?
How can a man? Who can solve this dilemma? People
today think it's easy. Religion gives all kinds of silly
little answers. But there's really only one answer.
There's only one way by which a man can do this. How can a
man be just with God? Have you ever thought about that?
You ever gave that any serious thought? How can I, a guilty
sinner, be just, be declared right in the sight of a holy
God? Between Him and me, there is
a great gulf fixed. And none of my works can bridge
that gulf. My will can't do it. My work
can't do it. My worth can't do it. How can
I be just with Him? Can you give us the answer, Moses?
You're the lawgiver. Can you tell us the answer to
that question?" And Moses would say, no, no. No, by the deeds
of the law, no flesh will be justified in God's sight. How about you, Solomon? You are
the wisest man of your day. Can you give us the answer to
that dilemma? How a guilty sinner can be declared
righteous in the sight of God?" And he would say, well, I know
a lot. But I can't answer that. I can't
solve that. But glory to God, there is one.
There is one by whom God Almighty can justify sinners and be absolutely
just in doing so. As Scott Richardson used to put
it, before God can do anything for you, He's got to do something
for Himself. When God forgives a sinner, it's
on righteous, holy grounds. God doesn't set aside His law. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. And now God Almighty, this is
what we read in Romans 3. Romans 3 and 23. For all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. Then is there no
hope? Is there no hope? Being justified
freely. There it is. Freely. Without cost. from us freely
by His grace through the redemption that is, and here's the words
again, in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be of propitiation
through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say this time,
His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of
him that believeth in Jesus. Mercy always comes to the sinner
on the wings of justice satisfied. Acts chapter 13, Be it known
unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which they could not be justified
by the law of Moses." Hebrews 7 and 19. For the law made nothing
perfect. And God says it's got to be perfect
to be accepted. I won't accept anything less
than perfect. The law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did." And that's Jesus Christ. By the witch we draw nigh unto
God. Isaiah 53 and 11, you know this
one well. He that is Christ shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge,
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Jesus Christ is our wisdom, made
so by God. He's the embodiment of wisdom.
He's the Word of God in the flesh, the revealer of God. And all
the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him. And by Him alone is God
made known to men. All true spiritual knowledge
is derived from Christ. Only those who are taught of
Him are made wise unto salvation. Remember our Lord said in Luke
chapter 10, Verse 21, in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit
and said, I thank Thee, O Father. Lord of heaven and earth, that
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and
has revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to me
of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father,
and who the Father is but the Son, and He to whom the Son will
reveal Him." And He turned to His disciples and said privately,
Blessed are the eyes, blessed are your eyes, for they see. Blessed are the eyes which see
the things that you see." What do you see? What does faith land
on? The Hemrider said, my faith has
found a resting place. Real faith always does. Now false
faith will be content to cast their eye upon anything. They'll
be content to cast their eyes upon themselves, upon their work,
upon their will, upon their decision, upon this, that, and the other.
Oh, but genuine faith, that faith which is a gift of God, always
finds its resting place beholding the Son of God, beholding the
Lamb. That's faith's resting place.
Oh, look unto me, he says. Look unto me. Oh, thank God that
he gave this sinner faith to see Jesus. Look unto me. Look
unto me and be ye saved." And Old Spurgeon said, he looked,
and he looked, and he said, I never saw such a sight. He said, I
could have looked my eyes out. Look unto me and be ye saved. Not only is he wisdom, Paul says,
God has made Christ to be unto us righteousness. Righteousness. That refers to being declared
right before the law of God. Christ didn't come to lower God's
demands, but to magnify those demands by living a life of perfect
obedience to it. I come to fulfill the law. I
come to do thy will, O God. And if we have righteousness
before God, Christ must be our righteousness. Christ must be
our righteousness, and God has made Him to be so. You remember
when Paul wrote to Philemon concerning that runaway slave Onesimus. And Paul told Philemon, he said,
if he is wronged thee, that is Onesimus, if he's wronged you,
or if he owes you anything, put it on my account. You charge
it to me. Oh, in that everlasting covenant
of God's amazing grace, Jesus Christ stood as the surety of
his people. And he said, Father, everything
they owe, put it on my account. Put it on my account. I will
pay it. I will pay it. He will restore
that which he took not away. And Paul went on to say, I, Paul,
have written it with my own hand. I will repay it. And that's what
we sing. Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. I owe nothing
to God's law. God's law is satisfied with this
sinner. God's law finds no fault in this
sinner. Why? Because Christ is my righteousness. I am in Him. This blessed doctrine
of the gospel is revealed in Holy Scripture. The Son of God
came to this world in human flesh that He might magnify the law
and make it honorable. He led for His people. Every
step As we say from the cradle to the grave, every thought,
every word, every deed, everything the Son of God did, God said,
I am well pleased. And he puts us, the psalmist
said, in his steps. Steps of absolute perfect obedience. Just as we were made sinners
by the disobedience of the first man, Adam, we're made righteous
by the obedience of Christ, the last Adam. That means that every
sinner for whom Christ died and rose again are right. Right. Righteous before the law
of God. Justified. That's what our Lord
said about that poor public in Netanyahu. Now that Pharisee,
like most people today, will enter a church and just come
in self-satisfied. self-righteous, never feeling
their need, their heart never been made to fear by God's grace,
and they'll just sit there content and leave it that same way. Nothing
bettered. Just like the Pharisee. He didn't
ask for a thing. He didn't need anything. Oh,
find me a publican. Find me a lost sinner. Larry,
everybody's a sinner. When's the last time you talked
to one? When's the last time you heard anybody say, oh, I
need mercy? Anybody, like we sang a moment
ago, cry from the depths of their heart, not giving a lip service,
but their greatest need is this. God, don't pass me by. If you do, I'm going to hell.
Pass me not, oh gentle Savior. Oh, find me a sinner. Like that
poor public. I've got some good news for him.
Standing and smiting on his breast saying, God be merciful to me,
thee sinner. Ooh, I'd like to find one like
that. I would rejoice to tell them. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you'll be declared right. That's what Jesus said about
that man, didn't he? I tell you, the preacher didn't say this. The Pope didn't say it. The priest
didn't say it. The soul winner didn't say it.
The only mediator between God and man, the only one who has
a right to say it, said concerning that publican, he's going home
justified. How about that? How about that? Right in the sight of God Almighty. Jeremiah, in His day, Judah shall
be saved. And Israel shall dwell safely.
And this is the name. This is His name whereby He shall
be called the Lord of Righteousness. The Lord Himself. It is a righteousness
that can never be lost. can never cease to be accepted.
It's everlastingly perfect. It's of eternal merit. God hath
made Him, that is Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." And sanctification. People have some odd ideas about
that, don't they? They think sanctification has
to do with touch not, and taste not, and wear not, and go not,
and smile not, and laugh not. All of that. That's not sanctification. It's not something I do. It's
something that God has done. It's all together the work of
God. It is in no way to any degree
dependent upon us. It's not a progressive thing.
Oh no, Christ is our sanctification accomplished by God the Holy
Spirit when He forms Christ in us the hope of glory. Now you're
not going to get any more sanctified than that. That holy thing formed
in you in the new birth. Sanctification is in Christ,
is ours from eternity by virtue of our union with Him. That's
what we read in Jude chapter 1. But then, in time, we come
to know it. We come to know that blessed
fact when we're translated out of the kingdom of darkness into
the kingdom of God, dear Son. That's the new birth. Christ
in you. This is what John was speaking
of when he said, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,
for his sin remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he
is born of God." And redemption. That's the last one. Redemption. The word translated redemption
means complete deliverance by ransom. God said, on the grounds
of justice satisfied, concerning the death of his son, he says,
for everyone for whom Christ died, deliver his soul from going
down to the pit, just like that dying thief. Remember me? And
God says, deliver his soul from going down to the pit, because
I have found a ransom, complete atonement Christ has made, and
to the utmost farthing paid all that His people owe." Of all
the words used to describe God's grace, there's none so rich,
so full, so assuring than this word, redemption. And God has
made Christ to be unto us redemption. Redemption is chosen in Him in
eternity before the world was made. He's the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. And when the Son of God bore
our sins in His own body on the tree, He was punished to the
full satisfaction of divine justice. God cannot demand any more. That's
enough. That's enough. His anger, his
wrath was wore out, emptied upon the Son of God and now everyone
for whom Jesus Christ died must go free. I like that, don't you? That's what we have a picture
of in John 18 when that mob came for him and he said, whom do
you see? Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I'm he. You found me. You found me. Take me, take me,
but I'll tell you this, taking me, my sheep, go free. You can't have both of us, just
as God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand,
and then again at mine. Oh, and there is a day coming,
child of God, when we shall enjoy complete redemption. I mean redemption
of body, soul, and spirit. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. What a day! For the trump shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. I like that. We shall be changed. There'll be no more crying out,
O wretched man that I am, because we shall be changed. There'll
be no more cold hearts because we shall be changed. When I see
thee as thou art, and love thee with an unsinning heart, we shall
be chained. And then, then for the first
time ever, ever, I'll love him as he deserves to be loved. I'll
worship him as he deserves to be worshiped. And we'll cry,
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Christ shall be made of God and
thus redemption and the complete deliverance of his elect from
all the consequences of sin. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption." Now, why does God act that way? Why did God
do it this way? The last verse tells us, that
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. In Christ Jesus, how loved God's
people must be. In Christ Jesus, how accepted
They must be. In Christ Jesus, they have no
fear of condemnation or separation because in God's Son, they're
as near as He. Old John Kent lived many years
ago, but he expressed it this way better than I can. He wrote
these words. He said, "...Betwixt Jesus and
the chosen race subsists the bond of sovereign grace, that
hell with its infernal train shall never dissolve nor rend
in vain. Hell's sacred union, firm and
strong, how great the grace, how sweet the song, that worms
of earth should ever be one with incarnate deity." one in the
tomb, one when He rose, one when He triumphed over His foes, one
when in heaven He took His seat, while seraphs sang all hell's
defeat. This sacred tie forbids our fears,
for all He is and has is ours. With Christ our head we stand
or fall, our life, our surety, our all. In Christ Jesus. Doesn't that feel good? God bless
you. Thank you for your teaching. Let's stand and turn in our hymnals
to Psalm 125. Let's sing He Paid it All.