Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The last book in the Bible is
the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not a revelation of a few
things about Christ, nor merely a panorama of future events.
Rather, its subject from the first to the last is Jesus Christ. If a man misses the unfolding
of the glory of the blessed Son of God, then he has totally misunderstood
the purpose and import of the book. regardless of whatever
else he may see or discover in its pages. This is why at the
end of the book John says, And if any man shall take away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book. A man may be mistaken
about many doctrinal issues having to do with the gospel, the end
of the world, and the role of men in fulfilling the purpose
of God. But if a man misses the preeminence of the God-man, Jesus
Christ, and his redemptive work in the behalf of his people,
then that man is totally without a knowledge of the salvation
of God. God, who at sunry times and in diverse manners spake
in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom he also made the worlds, who, being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high. He is the faithful witness. Christ
Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to David that his
seed would not fail to sit upon his throne forever. He is the
root and offspring of David. And though it pleased him to
be made in the likeness of sinful flesh, being born of Mary about
28 generations removed from David, he is greater than David. He
does presently occupy that throne and has no rivals, having put
down all powers and principalities, triumphing over them in His complete
work of redemption. This is manifested by His perfect
life of righteousness, imputed to His brethren, His satisfaction
and fulfillment of the law of sin and death on the cross of
Calvary, His complete victory over death and His resurrection
becoming the firstfruits of them that slept. his calling of those
whom he has purchased, indwelling them with his Spirit and giving
them faith, without which it is impossible to please God,
and ultimately his deliverance of them that are his at the last
trump, when he shall bring those that sleep to eternal glory,
shouting grace, grace unto it. He is the faithful witness. These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning
of the creation of God. A faithful witness must testify
of those things which he has seen. Jesus Christ is the beginning
and the end, and has ordered all things to occur according
to his own divine purpose. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things,
and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. He is the faithful
witness. A faithful witness will not lie.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning. Since He changeth not, we are
sure that what He has promised, He will perform. The fulfillment
of his promise may have seemed a long time in coming to those
Jews who longed for the Messiah. But when the Lord was pleased
to act, he did indeed make a short work in the earth, and did deliver
that which he has testified of. He promised to write his law
upon the hearts of his people, and this one who is the faithful
witness has done exactly that. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. Men often go shipwreck on the
matter of good works. There is a deep ditch on either
side of that true narrow road. One error purports that a man
can be said to be a follower of Christ who exhibits no desire
to walk in paths of righteousness. The other ditch into which religious
men often fall is the belief that good works are the duty
of believers in the sense that they are to labor to perform
them in the same fashion as those who are required to do so under
the law. The man who prays because of duty is not the same as the
man who cries unto the Lord, saying, Abba, Father. The man
who is repentant because he is instructed to be by men is not
the same as the man who has a broken and contrite heart because the
Spirit of God has convinced him of his innate wretchedness. Works
born out of duty are the product of the flesh. Those which are
the work of the Spirit stem from the power of the Holy Ghost.
who works in the sons of God both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. He is the faithful witness who is the advocate for
his elect before the judgment seat of God. His very presence
before the throne of God is the joyous hope of all those who
are convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment by the operation
of the Holy Ghost. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.