Turn with me to the book of Lamentations. Go to Isaiah, it's about in the
middle of the Old Testament. Turn back to Jeremiah, one book,
and then right after Jeremiah you will find Lamentations. Now
while you're finding that book, let me give you a few words this
morning. I have something for you this
morning, but the question is, does God have something for you
this morning? While you're turning, Listen
to these words. So-called Christianity, which
is mostly thought of as Christianity today, is overrun. And I mean to use that word. It is overrun with decisionism. There is no doubt that believing
has with it some decision. But why is it that men say today,
rather than believe Christ, trust Christ, follow Christ, why do
they say, make your decision for Jesus? Why is it that the
words of Scripture, even translated into our own English language
in this country, is not good enough for this country? The
real reason is this, not that they think they're making it
easier for men and women to understand. The reason is they think their
words are better than God's words. And that's usually the first
step toward twisting the truth of God. So-called Christianity
today is overrun with decisionism, owl walking, prayer repeating. They actually teach this. This
is probably being taught right now in this country and in other
countries. This very same thing while I'm
speaking, they come forward and pray this prayer, repeat this
prayer, and God must save you, God will save you. That's not
so. This Bible never teaches that
anywhere. First of all, salvation is not
by praying, it's by believing. And when you believe God, then
you're going to pray. It's overrun with easy believism. So-called Christianity today
talks like believing is an easy thing. They say you believe when
you plant a seed in the ground, you believe that that seed when
it gets proper warmth and sunshine and water that that seed will
come. Now take that faith, that faith that you believe that'll
happen and put your faith in Jesus Christ. Your faith in Jesus
Christ will do you no good. The faith that is connected to
salvation is called the faith of God's elect. It's called the
gift of God. It's called one of those things
that's said to be the fruit of the spirit. Therefore, that faith
that is connected to salvation is a work of God, and it's a
characteristic of God alone. By nature, you and I do not have
that. But sadly, today's so-called
Christianity is overrun by this decisionism, owl-walking, prayer-repeating,
easy-believism, and people are convinced today that this is
conversion. Are they not? You make this decision,
you're converted. You walk the aisle, you pray
this prayer, you just believe, just believe. Tell God you're
sorry for your sins, tell Him you believe in Jesus and He died
on the cross, was buried and rose again, and you pray this
prayer, oh God be merciful to me, the sinner, and everything's
fixed up. Holy Scripture says this, God
is nigh unto them that be of a broken heart. He saveth such
as be of a contrite spirit. And I'm going to add this because
it's the preponderant testimony of Scripture and no one else.
Those are the kinds of people God saves and no one else. Until
you're broken hearted and contrite in spirit, you don't know what
conversion is. I don't care how many religious
things you've done. Matthew chapter five, verse six,
our Lord Jesus Christ said, blessed are they that do hunger and thirst
after righteousness. Have you ever been thirsty for
that? Have you ever hungered for that? Most people have walked
the aisle, prayed the prayer, easily believed and made their
decision for Jesus, because they don't want to go to hell. And
it's clear they just don't want to go to hell. They don't even
really care about heaven because they don't want to be with the
people of God who's going to be in heaven then. They don't
want to gather with them now. And if you don't want to gather
with them now, why would you want to spend eternity with them
then? Don't tell me you're saved and you don't want to be with
God's people. It's just not so. It's just not so. Acts chapter
nine and verse five. Let's read that one. Now hold
your place if you found lamentations. That one might be hard to find
again. Acts chapter nine. And just look at one part. These
are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts chapter nine and
look at verse five. The last part. This is the Christ
of God speaking. And he's not asking a question.
It's often preached as though it's a question. as though Christ
were asking Saul of Tarsus, is it hard for you to kick against
the pricks? Look at it there. There's no question mark after
that word, is it? This is not a question, it's a proclamation.
It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Until you've had
the pricks goad you, you're not converted. You can even hold
to solid doctrine, sound grace doctrine, but if you've never
been pricked by the pricks, you're not converted. You're not converted. John chapter 16 holds your place
in Lamentations. John chapter 16, these are the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll begin in verse 8. And when
He has come, speaking of the comfort of the Spirit of God,
and when He has come, He will reprove the world. Here's that
world you were talking about, Joe. Not every single individual
in the world, but the world, male, female, young, old, bond-free,
rich, poor, black, white, green, it doesn't matter. He will, not
he's gonna try. He will reprove the world of
sin and of righteousness and of judgment. If you've never
been reproved by the Spirit of God, you're not converted. I
don't care how many decisions you've made. I don't care how
many times you've walked the aisle. I don't care how many
times you pray the prayer. I don't care how many times you
have believed on Jesus. Of sin, why? Look at the two
main, of sin, because they believed on a me. of righteousness because
I go to my father and you see me no more. The first two things
have to do with what? Jesus Christ. Is that not what
it says? And of judgment because of the
prince of this world is judged. What is conversion? I've got
something for you here this morning. What is conversion? Is conversion
important? It is vital. Peter says in Acts
chapter 3 verse 19, you can read it sometime, repent ye and be
converted. That your sins may be blotted
out. And repentance and conversion
does not take away your sins, but it's the only thing that
will give you relief in your heart, mind, and conscience concerning
your sins. That's what Peter was talking
about. He's not talking about making an atonement by repentance
and conversion. He's talking about believing
God. Turn toward God and be converted and your sins will be blotted
out. It's not just important, it's absolutely vital. Except
you be converted and become as little children, you are no wise.
Enter the kingdom of God. Now, let's read what I am going
to title, The First Fruits of Conversion to Christ. That's
the title of my message. The First Fruits of Conversion
to Christ. Now you have Lamentations, look
at chapter one. And look at, let's begin in verse
12. We'll just read three verses. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold and see if there be any
sorrow likened to my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth
against them. He hath spread a net for my feet.
He hath turned me back. He hath made me desolate and
faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed and come upon
my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. the Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whom I am not able to rise up. You see it? Again, I'm saying
I've got something here this morning. This is the first fruits
of conversion to Christ. Now, first of all, if you've
never been converted to Christ, you're not converted according
to scripture. You may have been converted,
but you weren't converted by God. because God converts all
his people to Christ. To Christ. Now granted, the geographical
setting of this passage and all of the book of Lamentations,
the geographical setting is Jerusalem's fall. I understand that. I know
that. Jeremiah, if he was indeed the
writer of the Lamentations, was evidently looking upon or was
remembering, we don't know for sure, but remembering the destruction
even of the city. Mason, he was distressed at this. Because this is where the temple
was. This was God's city, where the worship of God in Christ
was centralized in types and pictures and symbols. That's
the geographical setting is Jerusalem's fall. And granted, the historical
setting for the book of the Lamentations is the tormented Jews' misery
who still remained in that city. Evidently, they even, because
of the siege that was upon the city, they even resorted to cannibalism. That's tough. That's tough. but there is the prophetic setting. As is true with almost all, and
maybe I should go ahead and say this, all Old Testament scriptures,
even if they're just a type and a symbol, Joe, it's prophetic
setting is this, Christ on the tree, my sin bearer. Christ on the tree, your sin
bearer. Now when I first read this, Few
verses, and some more, but I limited it, just these three, they'll
be sufficient. All of it's there, applicable.
But just to these three, I thought of myself, and rightfully so. But the first thought must be
of Christ. If it wasn't of Christ, then
my first thought was wrong. Think about this. Christ was
our sin bearer. Listen to the psalmist in Psalm
chapter 40. And I'll try to tie this in in
a moment. So bear with me. Psalm chapter 40, 40, Psalm 40,
I'm sorry. And we know this book is Christ
speaking because the New Testament quotes this and says it was Christ
speaking. And look in verse 12. of Psalm
chapter 40, for innumerable, this is Christ speaking, for
innumerable evils have compassed me about. Now that's easy enough
for me to comprehend as I see him hanging there on that tree,
right? But then look at this next word, mine. Do you see that? Mine iniquity. Well, that can't
be Christ speaking. Now that's David speaking. I
used to be taught that garbage always when I was in so-called
Christianity years ago. This verse speaks of Christ.
This verse is Christ speaking. That verse is David speaking.
This word is Christ. This next word is David. Oh no. Oh no. Mine iniquities have taken
hold upon me so that I am not able to look up. They are more
than the hairs of mine head. Therefore, my heart faileth me. What a thought. Before I continue,
I wanna give you three things. But before I continue, listen
to me. Conversion to Christ never starts. never starts apart from
a work of God revealing Christ to an individual. Because conversion
is conversion to Christ. And how does God do that? Romans
is clear, Paul is clear in Romans chapter 10, specifically verses
13 through 17, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. But is that just a religious
talking point? No. Does that mean just anybody out
there can say, Jesus saved me, and all of a sudden they're saved?
No, that's not what it means. Because then it goes on to say,
you can't call unless you first believe. And you can't believe
unless you first heard. And you can't hear unless God
Almighty sends you a preacher. And they can't be preaching to
you unless God Almighty sent them. And faith cometh, cometh
to what? Cometh to manifestation. Faith
cometh how? By hearing. Don't try to theologicalize
and make that fit into your doctrine. Faith comes by hearing. No one's
gonna know they believe on Christ till they hear about Christ.
You cannot believe on Christ until you hear about Jesus Christ. And conversion is to Christ.
Conversion is to Christ. You can be converted to the law
in either two ways. One, you can say, I'm going to
try to do it and God will accept me. That may be a conversion,
but it's not going to get you to glory. God's not going to
accept you. You might even say, I can't keep that law. And if
that's as far as you ever go, you will still perish not keeping
that law. You understand what I'm saying?
Oh, but thank God he leads the heart and mind to the answer
to all of this, to Jesus Christ himself. But this is much more
than just disseminating information. This is what so-called Christianity
calls gospel preaching. Men are just ignorant. Men are
just uninformed. And when we inform them of Jesus
Christ's historical reality, then they can make an informed
decision. And now we're back to the decisionism
again. Know the preaching of the gospel
is the proclamation of God's Son in His person and in His
work that God Almighty makes real to the heart, mind, and
soul of His elect at His appointed time of conversion. No one is
ever clothed with Christ's righteousness who is not first found naked
before God. and they know it. God knows you're
naked. God knows I'm naked from the
beginning. Adam and Eve sowed those fig
leaves together. They were still naked in God's
sight. And when the voice of God came walking in the cool
of the day in that garden, and he said, Adam, where art thou? It wasn't because he didn't know
where he was at. That is a summons for Adam to
confess where he was. And that's what the proclamation
of the gospel does. It forces you to confess where
you are, and it forces you to confess who Jesus Christ is. And you will call upon his name. No one is ever clothed with Christ's
righteousness who is not first found naked, even in his own
righteousness. You stand before God in your
mind. in your conscience, and you say, well, but I do this.
I pray. I read the Bible. I've made my
decision for Jesus. I've walked the aisle. I've done
all of these things. Therefore, God must accept me.
You've not been converted to Christ yet. Exactly. Being converted
to Christ is realizing that your righteousnesses are as filthy
rags in the sight of him that it really matters. In God's sight,
it may not be filthy rags in my sight. I may love it. I may
brag on you about it, you may brag on yourself about it, but
God does not, because he does not accept our righteousnesses,
because they are filthy rags in his sight. None is ever saved until they're
first lost. You know, think about it. People say, well, everybody's
a sinner. Go ask them. Leave here today and go to the
mall and start pigeonholing everybody you see. Are you a sinner? At
best, you will probably get, well, we've all sinned, come
sure, the glory of God. Well, we all make mistakes. Well,
we're all human. but never is it, oh, oh God,
and even this. I still do this sometimes and
I feel that that publican wouldn't even so much as lift his eyes
up to heaven, Mason, smote upon his breast and said, God, be
merciful. God propitiate me, the sinner. You don't find too many people
like that. Do you? No one is ever saved until they're
first lost. Have you ever been lost? I want to use these words. That's
a good place to be. Oh, it will not be a pleasant
place. Read Lamentations. Look at our text. It won't be
a pleasant experience, but it's not the experience that saves
you. It's the deliverer from that experience who saves you.
But He's the one who put you there. Just like He's the one
who put the Son there. when he hung on that tree. Now
we'll get there, I'll try to tie it in in a moment. None is
ever lifted up by Christ and exalted by the grace of God who's
not first brought low within themselves. Whosoever exalts
himself shall be what? Abased. But whoever abases himself
shall be what? Exalted. Exalted. And you're not even exalted because
you abased yourself. You're exalted in Christ. It's
simply when God reveals to you what you are and who Christ is,
you cannot but abase yourself. And your only hope of exaltation
is where? In him. But Christ, someone says, had
no sins. How could he say, my sins? You're right, he had no sins
of his own. But look at the 69th Psalm. Look at what it says. Look at
the 69th Psalm. And we know this is Jesus Christ
speaking. Read the 69th Psalm sometimes.
The New Testament tells us these are the words of Jesus Christ.
And look at what it says. First few verses, Psalm 69. Save
me, O God. For the waters are come in unto
my soul. Remember Isaiah the prophet said,
when thou, that's God the Father, shalt make his, that's God the
Son, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for his soul,
not just his body. His very soul. I can't explain
that any more than I can explain how God created this universe
out of nothing. Any more than I can explain how
the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God impregnated the womb of a
virgin and she was still a virgin after He did it. I can't explain
any of that, but it's true, thus saith the Lord God. And so is
this, I sink in deep mire where there is no, what? Standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat
is dried, my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Notice, while
he's bearing our sins, he still has full, complete trust in God. The sins he did bear were our
sins. put in him, I didn't say just
imputed, put in him, Peter said, who his own self bear our sins
inside of, that's what, in his own body on the tree. And he
experienced the nastiness of it, the misery of it, the guilt
of it. Look at these Psalms, some of
these Psalms. But it was my guilt, my misery, that he willingly
took upon himself. Look, they that hate me without
a cause are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would
destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then
I restored that which I took not away. O God, now look at
this. O God, thou knowest my foolishness. What? What? My foolishness and
my sins are not hid from thee. How could that be said? Because
he was bearing our sins in his own body. And he recognized them
as though they were his. And he suffered for them as though,
let me just say, they became. He was made sin for us. What a word. Now read Lamentations
chapter one again in those verses and think of Christ. Think of
it, just think of that. What a word. No, Christ had no
sins of his own, but he took mine upon him. And He took mine
within Him and bore the guilt and the shame and the punishment
for them. And that's the only way God could
still be just. When He punished the Son, He
had to have a real reason to punish the Son. And that was
our sins were in his own body on the tree. But seeing that
he did do this, then divine justice is satisfied. Because if what
Jesus Christ did on that tree is not enough to present you
faultless before God in glory, then what are you going to offer
in God instead of that or together with that? Well, I'll offer God
my faith. Don't offer God your faith. Believe
him by the faith of God's elect. or believe him you do not. Hear
me now. Hear me now. Here are those three
points of vital interest that I want to try to tie this together.
I'll try to be brief. Number one, conversion to Christ
is seeing by faith Christ's own union to me first. You see what I'm saying? Now
I'm not saying all of this has to be in a certain theological
order. But I'm saying, you're not really converted to Christ.
You haven't been converted to Christ unless you see by faith
Christ's union to you first. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us. That's the first thing. A lot
of people think they're converted to Christ because they walked
in hell, they prayed a prayer, they believe in Jesus. They believe
he died, buried Rosie. Isn't that true, Mason? Certainly
that's true, but that's just historical facts. Geographical
facts. And historical facts and geographical
facts, even from lamentations, is nothing but an ancient story
to me. And it's the same thing to you.
And don't you kid yourself like you think, I'll stand right there
with Jeremiah. No, you don't. No, you don't.
But I'll tell you this, I can see my Lord in these verses.
Uniting Himself to me in covenant agreement with the Father. He, the Father, hath made Him
the Son to be seen for us. Secondly, This is the flow of
this thing. Secondly, conversion to Christ
is seeing by faith my own union to those things for which he
suffered. A lot of people believe he died
on the tree, and yes, he did something good about sins. But
I'm not really that bad of a person, right? And yeah, I probably need
to repent and believe on him so I can go to heaven, right? But most people have no connection
to the very things for which he suffered on that tree. Now
let's read Lamentations chapter one again. And let's look at
this. Just a moment. Try to be brief. Look at what
it says. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Whenever God began to work in
your heart, mind, and soul, did it not feel like to you that
everyone around you was looking at you? as though you were kind
of exposed before. Most people had no idea what
you was going through, but you felt like you was exposed before
everybody. Is it nothing to you? And you
say, well, why don't they care about how I feel? Cause they
don't know nothing about it. They've not experienced that.
Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. And when God first
starts to bring you down, it's a very sorrowful thing. God puts
you in the dust. No, God makes you to see you're
a beggar on a dung heap before he's ever gonna lift you up and
set you with princes. Look at it. Look at it and see
if there'd be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. And here's a
lot of me, me, me. And that's the way we start out,
ain't it? Me, old poor me, old poor me. Now, don't we? You remember back
some of it? There's a lot of old poor me.
But then look, look, which is done unto me. All of a sudden,
Mason, you start to realize, I'm not doing this to myself.
If I could get rid of this today, I'd get rid of it. If I could
escape these feelings today, I would escape these feelings
today. I would deliver myself, but you can't. Why? Because it's
being done to you. Look, wherewith the Lord hath
afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. You start to realize
this is a work of God. Now look, from above hath he,
you see it? All of a sudden, the me, me,
me changes to he, he, he, don't it? From above hath he sent fire
into my bones. What's he saying? This conviction
that's brought by the Spirit of God goes all the way into
the inside. It's not just some outward feeling,
sitting back there, chewing your bubble gum, and then walking
forward and giving your heart to Jesus. This is God Almighty
afflicting you all the way to the bone. And it what? Prevaileth against them. He,
he spread a net for my feet. He captured me. Do you see that? He caught me in his net. That's
right. You're his prey. He was after
you and by his power, he'll have you. He has spread a net for
my feet. He has turned me back. I was
going that way and God said, stop right here. Isn't that what
he did Saul of Tarsus? I'm going that way. No, God stopped
him right dead in his tracks, didn't he? He, do you see it? He, the me's
over with now. Yes, it's still me that's being
dealt with, but now I realize where this is coming from. It's
still a tough place to be. But look, Look, He hath made
me desolate and faint. I don't hear a lot of free will
in that, do you? Well, I can make my decision
for Jesus in that. Well, I'll just walk an aisle,
that won't care. Why? Because He got you in a
net. He got you in a net. He hath made me, what? God empties
you before He ever fills you. He's made me desolate and faint
all the day. The yoke, look at it, you see
it? The yoke of my transgressions is bound by, what? Oh, glad I
came to see I was a sinner. Who showed you you was a sinner?
God did. God did. The yoke of my transgressions. Now he's back to mine now. That's
the one place to be. Own your own sins. Own your own
sins. Don't blame them on somebody
else. Don't blame them on the devil. Don't even blame them
on Adam. Blame yourself. This all started
with Adam, yes, but blame yourself. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed, cinched, you
see it? They are wreathed and come up
upon my neck. It's like God's got me in a noose. You see how? I'm asking you, have you ever
been there? Or did you just give us mental assent to the doctrines
of grace? Come on now. That's just as deadly as walking
an aisle and giving your heart to Jesus. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed and come up
upon my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. What are we all, when we were
yet without strength? God, whatever little bit of strength
you got, God will rub it from you. He hath made my strength to fall. The Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whence I am not. I am not able to rise up. And that's when you finally cry.
You're crying with the Apostle Paul. And you will continue to
cry for the rest of your life in one sense. Oh, wretched man
that I am. But you won't say what will deliver
me. You said who. Why? Because God
has revealed to you His Son. Thank God he runs you upon his
who. Thousands have been run upon
a lot of what's, and have done a lot of what's, and have a lot
of hope in a lot of what's, but very few have hope in God's who. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
my Lord. How despicable of a state this
is, when it first begins to be realized and experienced. But
it's not just an experience, because God Almighty's gotta
open your eyes to this. And when he does, it will feel
like torture. What does he say? God hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger. You might think God Almighty
gonna kill me and send me to hell. But you will begin to realize,
I deserve to go to hell. So much so that, you know what?
I should worship God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength,
and because of my sin, He still should send me to hell. Because of my sin. Why? Because
I still got a lot of, there's a lot of things I'm still seeing.
Even if I could do that, Mason. Worship Him with all my heart,
mind, soul, give Him all the praise David Wrighties do. One
sin, He should send me to hell for it. I deserve it. And as some people have said
before, people get angry when they hear that God loved Jacob
but hated Esau. When you get to this place here,
you're amazed that God loved Jacob. You understand why he
would hate Esau, because you understand you're like Esau.
Your character is no better than Esau's. Jacob's wasn't either. Jacob's wasn't either. The yoke
of my transgressions is bound by his antics. I'm not able to
rise up. I've got to be delivered. Right? Mason, to me, when I read
those three verses, it's like God shuts you down. That's what
I said. The first fruits of conversion
to Christ, God shuts you down in yourself. And you are forced
by God in free, compassionate mercy and grace to look to Christ
for deliverance. You've got nowhere else to look. No one else to look to. Everything's
been crushed at your feet. Yes, sir. The law. The Old Testament,
the law, the Old Testament, the New Testament gives us this indictment.
You come to realize there's none good, no not one. There's none
righteous, no not one. There's none that seeketh after
God. There's none that understandeth.
There is no fear of God before. And then all of a sudden it becomes
real, my eyes. Think about it, the law reveals
sin. There is no doubt about that. but Christ's suffering
reveals God's absolute hatred of sin. Now do you hear what
I said? The law reveals what sin is,
but it doesn't give us the absolute testimony of God's real hatred
for sin. But you want to see a testimony
of God's real hatred for sin, turn to, let me find here the
22nd Psalm. Here you want to see God's true
hatred of sin? These are the words of the Son of God himself
as he hung on that tree. How do I know that? The New Testament
says so. And even he, the one who always did those things that
pleased the Father, in which Mason, the Holy Father himself,
spoke audibly from heaven twice and said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I'm well pleased. And yet this one, when he hung
on that tree, cried this words, my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Now you're getting a little idea
about how much God hates sin, because when He's seen it in
His Son, not His own, but ours, when He's seen sin in His Son,
God turned His back on His Son. And then people talk about God
loves you. He loved Christ more than anything. He's one. These three are one. God forsaking Himself. I remember
Martin Luther said, God forsaking God. I can't fathom that. And
I can't but think God forsaking himself. There's no way I can
explain that to you. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me? And from the words of my roaring,
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not. And in
the night season, how was that Christ? It became dark while
he was on that tree, remember? Mason, he experienced this in
daylight and in absolute darkness as well. And I like what one
preacher said, God darkened, I think it was most parts, God
darkened that sky so that you and I might not look on that
because that was an act between the Father and the Son. We're
just to believe it, we don't get to physically see it. Because
you and I never know this right here. God's never forsaken me. like he forsook the son. God's never even forsook the
non-elect like he forsook the son. The son was absolute righteousness
and holiness. But when he seen our sins, the
sins of his elect in his holy son, he turned his back on him.
Look, but here we still see the absolute obedience of Christ
in himself, but thou art holy, he said. No complaint. No murmuring
against the Holy Father. But thou art holy, O thou that
inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee.
They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried in thee,
and were delivered. They trusted in thee, and were
not confounded. But I am a worm. But I am a worm and no man, a
reproach of men and despised of all the people. And go on
and on and on and look at it. There you see God's true hatred
for sin. And if you don't see that, you're
still blind spiritually. If that doesn't cause you to
love Christ and trust Christ and lean upon Christ, then you're
still spiritually blind. Conversion to Christ, here's
the third thing, the last thing. Conversion to Christ is seen
by faith, God's work of uniting me to that righteousness that
God demands. For he hath made him to be sin
for us. That's the first of what I've
been talking about in the first two things. Here's the third thing, that
we might, and it's not a might of human effort, it's a might
of divine right. Now that's a big difference.
Mark, write those words down or burn them in your mind. It's
not a might of human effort. It is a might of divine right
that we might be made the righteousness of God. Not perform it. You can't
perform it. You can't do it. I can't do it. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. My righteousness is seated at
the right hand of God the Father. I and you, if you're in him,
we are in him. When God sees his son, he sees
us. So let me sum it up. Conversion
is much more than disliking yourself. Getting a little fed up with
yourself. We do that all the time. Thousands of people do
that all the time. Conversion is much more than
just not wanting to go to hell. Now, not wanting to go to hell
is a serious thing. Do not think I'm playing games
there with hell. But it's not just about missing
hell. No, true conversion is doing
like being brought to that place, not doing, being brought to that
place by God like Job was, wherefore I abhor myself. I hate myself. I heard on the TV this morning,
of course, this probably time being it won't go on the TV,
but let me tell you, I heard this morning, I heard yesterday,
all hatred is evil. That's not so. That's the Antichrist
trying to switch us, turn us from the truth of God. It's good
when God Almighty brings you to hate yourself. Wherefore,
I hate myself, I whore myself, and I repent in dust. and ashes. That's a good place to be. That's a good place to be. That's
what it's all about. And the last thing, conversion
is seeing three things. Christ's union to me is a substitute. If you don't see that, you've
got no true hope. You've got no true conversion.
You see Christ as united to you as your substitute. Rather than
me being forsaken of God, he was forsaken of God in my stead,
in my room. Secondly, conversion is Christ
is seeing my faith, Christ's union to me as my penal sacrifice. In other words, he actually suffered
the penalty God demanded for sin. and satisfied divine justice. And thirdly, conversion is this,
my union to Christ as my all. As my all. I could easily say
that, but God Almighty tests true faith. And He tests it by
what? Fire. And if there is in your
life anything that you begin to look to more, or grasp ahold
of a little too firmly of, God Almighty will make sure he tests
that thing and burns it up and faith in him will stand at the
end of the day. If it doesn't, then you didn't
have the faith of God's elect. Now, listen to me, I will give
you an example. And we've got an example of that
here. And I say this to encourage her. But you see people in this
world, two people, a husband and wife, and they both profess
to believe. What happens when one of them dies? Sometimes the
other one who's still remaining, they kind of just flitter away.
Stop coming. Why? Because something else meant
more to them than the gospel of God and the fellowship of
His people. But when faith is real, no matter
what God Almighty rips out of your hand or your heart, your
loyalties will be with Jesus Christ. If not, you've never
been converted to Christ. It's just that simple, but that
profound. And it ain't a cakewalk. It ain't even skipping through
the daisies. You will experience the trouble in different forms
of Lamentations 2, 12 through 14 until you awaken His likeness. He will continually put your
face in the dirt to show you that you are His slave and He
is your God. That's what He'll do. Father,
teach us of Christ. Teach us of His perfect satisfaction. Teach us of His perfect person.
Teach us of His penal sacrifice and substitutionary work. And
oh God, help us by Your grace to rejoice in it, to find comfort
in it, to find assurance in it, and Lord, even in the proper
sense, to find boldness because of it. In Christ's name I ask,
amen.