Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you wish to follow along,
turn to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. When I'm through, I will have
a couple of announcements to make, but I'll do that after
I am through. Romans chapter 1. Before I read
the first few verses, let me propose something to you. What
if, just suppose that On the day of Pentecost, after Peter
and the other apostles had been moved by God to preach the person
and work of Jesus Christ to that great multitude there, what if
on that day of Pentecost there was in Jerusalem a man named
Saul of Tarsus? And this man named Saul of Tarsus
had on his Pharisaical regalia with his enlarged borders and
phylactery showing, counting his Jewish bloodshed, yea, the
fact that he was from the tribe of Benjamin, one of those most
beloved sons, that he was circumcised the eighth day. that he, in his
own mind, when it came to the law of God, was blameless. One who kept the ceremonies and
the rites and the traditions of his fathers. He believed in
the Bible and was a very righteous man. Just suppose that on that
day, he was there at Pentecost too, and he met a man, an old
fisherman named Peter. Probably had calloused hands. Clothes were probably not near
as refined as Saul of Tarsus' clothes. I doubt they had one
phylactery on them. Here he is with his dusty feet,
He, by revelation, walks up to this man, Saul of Tarsus, and
says, one day, Saul, one day, you will bow to Jesus of Nazareth. And one day, you will preach
his gospel. One day, God will mightily use
you to spread the gospel throughout much of the known world at this
time. And I can guarantee you that
that man, Saul of Tarsus' eyes, would have began to flame with
fire. And say to this fisherman, never, never, I'll wipe the name
of Jesus of Nazareth off the face of the earth. And I will
do away with you, you dirty fishermen. And yet we read Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ. Look at that something. Called to be an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God, which he had promised to for by his
prophets in the holy scriptures. This is Saul of Tarsus, the same
man writing these things. Then he goes on, concerning his
son, Jesus Christ our Lord, This is that same man, Saul of Tarsus,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh
and declared to be the son of God with power according to the
spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. This is the same
man, Saul of Tarsus. God's grace reigns, folks. God's grace reigns. God's grace conquers. How many times do I forget that? I pray my prayers, and I mention
men and women's names, and as I'm doing so, with God's name
on my lips, part of me says, they'll never be saved. Not that
person. Not that person. Not that person. God is God. If God set his mind
and heart on you in eternity, you will, in the day of God's
love and power, you will bow to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Your tune will change. Your thoughts will change. Your
beliefs will change. You will bow down to a circumcised
Jew. How many preachers do you hear
saying that today? Jesus of Nazareth is a circumcised
Jew, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and all whom
he saves bow to him. and rejoice in him. Now we have
come the past couple Sundays up to verse three and four, but
let me read it again. I'll try to be brief. Paul, the
servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under
the gospel of God, concerning his son. That's the continuing
thought. Concerning his son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh, and declared to be the son of God with power, according
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Oh, and by the way, this gospel, he promised to forward by his
prophets in the holy scriptures. Let's follow that original thought.
The gospel of God is about God's son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Any message that leaves him out,
that is his person and work, is not the gospel, even if it
comes directly from the word of God. It's just not the gospel. I thought of trying to go into
all the different scenarios of how this might be so, but just
remember, if a man is preaching, if someone is witnessing, if
you're not speaking of the person and work of Jesus Christ, you
are not preaching or giving witness or testimony to the gospel of
God. There are many things that men
and women need to hear, but there is only one thing that will ever
do them any spiritual eternal good, and that is the message
of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For instance, if a man be one
who murders little children in the womb, and that's what it
is, If a man be a person, a doctor, that murders little children
in the womb, and he ceases from doing so, in great repentance
and tears, and never lifts another scalpel, if he does not bow to
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, he will still perish under the wrath
of God. That drunk that is laying under
the bridge. with his piece of cardboard and
tattered blanket and that bottle of wine in his hand, may by some
stroke of luck, put that in big print, please, find himself on
the bright side. He finds a lottery ticket, and
it's a winner. He abandons that bridge, that
cardboard, that tattered rag, and the bottle of wine. And now
he's a sober man running a company one of the most moral men, full
of philanthropy and human compassion that ever walked on the face
of the earth, but if he does not bow to Jesus Christ the Lord,
Jesus of Nazareth, he is still under the wrath of God. Paul's original thought is this,
the gospel is one person, Jesus Christ the Lord. But in this
verses, this verse one, two, and then mainly three and four,
there are at least two, now there's more than this, but there are
at least two vital elements are given. And that's what I want
to try to deal with this morning. Those two vital elements are
this, Christ's humanity concerning his son, Jesus Christ, which
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. That's
his humanity. The second thing is this, his
deity, and declared to be the Son of God. Let me illustrate. Jesus Christ was
made to be seen, but he was never made to be righteous. Jesus Christ was always, and
is always, and shall always be righteousness. But he was, at
one point in time, made to be seen. Jesus Christ was made to
be a curse for some, but he was never made to be holy. He was
never made to be holy. He is the thrice holy eternal
God. Back yonder, now, and forever. He is truly, he was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh, but he was declared to
be the son of God with power. I wish, I wish, not wish, I wish
I could say that in a language that would enable us all to get
that this morning. But it's not how eloquent I speak. that will give you and I the
ability to at least in some way lay hold of that in just a little
bit. It takes a revelation of God
Almighty in compassion and mercy and grace. Even if you've been
converted by the gospel for 50, 60, 70 years. Every day is a new day. Every
day I need God's spirit to illuminate my mind. So Christ's humanity
is given, Christ's deity is given. This individual, this Jesus of
Nazareth was both man and God in one person. In one person. But here's my thought for this
morning. Why does Paul mention Christ's humanity before his
deity? Ever thought about that? Now before I answer, consider
first this. Both are absolutely vital to
us. Yes, sir. To us. Both are absolutely
vital. They are vital. That is, His
humanity and His deity is vital to our very salvation. Yes, sir. Amen. Amen. Thank God Paul preached
about the kinsman, at least to some degree and very ably, of
the kinsman redeemer. And someone may say that comparison,
that illustration of Boaz and the kinsman redeemer, that's
such an interesting way in which God did that. No, no. If you see it as interesting,
you are looking at it only from an intellectual side. No, this
is not some interesting way God decided to save some fallen sons
and daughters of Adam, this is the only way that the thrice
holy God could satisfy divine justice and give grace and mercy
to creatures like us. It's not an interesting way,
it's the only way. We used to sing a song, we've
never sang it here. I used to sing a song and others
with me. Just suppose God searched through
heaven You remember that? You aware of that one? And he's
looking for a redeemer. No, Jesus Christ is the lamb
slain from before the foundation of the world. Before Adam ever
laid hold of that fruit and put it to his teeth and took a bite. Jesus Christ was already our
kinsman redeemer. Although he was not literally
made flesh yet, The Father considered him as our kinsman redeemer. And even throughout the Old Testament,
and if there's a better word, I understand, so bear with me,
but there were temporary appearances of Jesus Christ in human form. But this would hear concerning
his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh, once it happened, it is now eternal. He will always be that in His
human flesh. Always be that in His human flesh. So both are absolutely vital.
Secondly, Christ's deity was first. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And there's
nothing that exists that that Word did not create, being God. Even Lucifer before he fell and
was then known by Satan God created even him And the hordes of angels
were told it's about a what a third something along that line that
fell with him God created them and the other horde of angels,
two-thirds, some were thereabouts, that never fail, called elect
angels. God created them. And in that
garden, God created man, male and female, and called them very
good. And yet Adam, in willing rebellion,
stepped out on God. There was nothing that Adam couldn't
do on this earth. Nothing he was prohibited from
doing on this earth. Nothing! But don't eat of one,
the fruit of one tree. And Adam knowingly, willingly
stepped out on God. And he plunged us into ruin. Right. He plunged us in. Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
so that death passed upon all men, men of the past, men of
the present, any men or women of the future. So that death
passed upon all men, for all have sinned. Not all will sin
when they're born, but all have sinned. When did we so sin? When our federal head, Adam,
rebelled against God. Someone just says, do you blame
Adam? Yeah, I do. I do blame Adam. But I'm just
like my daddy, Adam. And had I been the Adam, I would
have done the same thing. Because God told him, not if
you, I was always taught when I was a little fella in the Sunday
schools, if Adam ate of that, well of course he did. That's
not what God said. God didn't say if you eat, he
says in the day that thou eatest thereof. Thou shalt surely die. Why? Because God had ordained
that humankind fall in a federal head so that God in glorious
wisdom would redeem some of that fallen race out of their misery
and corruption by one other federal head. That's Jesus Christ the
Lord. And that's the one this Saul
of Tarsus now called Paul and no other. That's the one he's
writing about here. So both, that is his deity and
his humanity, are absolutely essential, but his deity was
first. Christ is the eternal God. No less. And no more. But he is the eternal God. The third thing, his humanity
is what he was made to be, John 1 14, and the word was made flesh. And once he was made flesh there,
that was it. This was not a temporary thing.
And I don't know the best word. Again, if you have a better theological
word that fits all of our great Calvinism and everything, you
inform me of it and I'll mention that word next time. But I'm
just telling you, Jesus Christ, the eternal God, was made a male. made an M-A-L-E. On the eighth day, he was circumcised. And offerings were offered. Though
he needed none. Why did he do that? Because he
was acting on our behalf. And if God chose me, if God chose
you in Christ, that means I was in his loins, if you will. I
was in his loins even back then. And just like Levi, who never
paid tithes, Levi received tithes. You remember Levi? He received
tithes. Some of the tithes, Joe, he ate.
And he lived and survived on those tithes. Never paid a tithe,
he received tithes. Yet, Levi paid tithes years before
he ever existed when his daddy Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. So that lets me know that when
Jesus Christ was born, circumcised, kept the law, lived perfectly,
honored God, so did I in him. And so did you in him. And somebody says, I can't grasp
that. I'm not asking you to grasp, but I'm saying bow down to God's
truth and receive it. Like this, there it is, it's
true. How do I know that water was
for me? Because I just drank it. And I don't care if it was
yours, it's mine now. Number five. No, I'm sorry, number
four. Both together, both together,
that's his deity and his humanity, brought us hope. It's already
been said, others have mentioned it. Jesus Christ as God alone,
us being in our fallen state, he could not touch us. He could
not touch us without defiling himself. God is too holy even
to look upon iniquity, let alone to touch it. And Jesus of Nazareth as man
only cannot lay hold of God if he is not God himself. Else he
would have been just like you and I in Adam and would be consumed
had he just retched out toward God. But he is both deity and
humanity. And he can lay hold of me and
touch me. And touch me. And he can lay
hold of God and touch God. and he brings us to God, not
like this, but in himself. One day he'll bring us to God
like this. One day we'll drop all of this robe of corruption
and mortality. We'll drop all this one day.
That's not happened yet, but we've already been brought to
God. And we've been brought to God by the death of his son. So both together are our true
hope. He took not on him the nature of angels, but he took
on him what? The seed of Abraham. Now who's
the seed of Abraham? All those that believe. That's
what the book teaches. Now Hebrews, was it written to
mainly Jewish people of Jewish ancestry? I don't know. And neither
do you. Because the title Hebrews was
never really in the original. It's not, I'm writing this to
a bunch of Jews. Who are Hebrews? Who is a Jew? Who is truly an
Israelite? Those that God Almighty has moved
upon and within in free, sovereign, saving grace. He took on him
the seed of Abraham. All of God's people that God
had set his love on in Christ before the world began. And he
was made us. He was made us and He took us
upon Himself. But here in our text, His particular
humanity, His particular humanity, He wasn't just any old man. He was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh. Do you see that? Why? First of all, cause God said
so. Because God said so. Look back
on David's life. David was a corrupt fallen man
too. It's not because David earned
the right to bring forth in a line of succession through natural
processes, Men and women coming together and do what men and
women do, but because God Almighty is saying, I'm going to show
you who the Messiah is. Now think about this. This is
my subject. It's almost time for me to quit.
Messiahship proven. But think about this. I am told,
the Bible never directly says this, but it indicates in some
instances, and those who've studied such things say it used to be
years ago, before the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, that
the Jews kept record of who gave birth to who. And those records
were kept somewhere in or near the temple when there was a temple. But in 70 AD, those records,
if they existed, they exist no more. You see, Messiahship, lineage
now is not to be proved by some human document. It's proved by
this right here. And this right here only. Now,
let me turn to a passage, Isaiah 9. Now think of, this is Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9, and you know
the passage, and I've got to move along here. Isaiah 9, let
me read a couple verses. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. Notice his humanity is mentioned
first. Now was his humanity first? No. His deity was first. But the
only way we're gonna know this is Emmanuel, this is God with
us, was through his particular humanity. For unto us a child
is born, and to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.
Upon the throne of David. Not just any old Jewish boy. From David. the throne of David
and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever, the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. Another passage, chapter seven
and verse 14, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a what? A sign. Here's a proof. Here's a proof. Behold, a virgin
shall conceive. Now the records, even if they
existed, were not going to show that, now were they? You think those scribes was at
all? Mary, the virgin. I don't think that would have
went over too well, do you? But what does tell us that? This
book right here. And then when he was born, others
later, being moved by the spirit of God right down, he was virgin
born. They described his earthly daddy,
if you want to put it that way, hadn't even touched his mama
when he was conceived. Therefore, the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name God with us. God with
us. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is God. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is my
redeemer. And you remember, I don't have
time to read it, Matthew 22 verses 41 through 46, Christ asked some
rebels, Messiah, the Christ, whose son is he? They said, well,
David's son. And he said, well, if he's his
son, why does he in the spirit that's being moved by God call
him Lord? And it said after that, they
stopped asking him any questions. Because I think they're beginning
to realize, uh-oh, if this one is the son of David, guess who
he is. Now, by the spirit of God, I'm
not guessing who he is. I believe what this book says
about who he is.