Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. I'd like to welcome you to our
program today. I'm glad you could join us. And if you'd like to
follow along in your Bibles with the message, I'm going to continue
a message that I started last week entitled The Psalm of the
Cross. This is part two, and I'm gonna
finish this. This is Psalm 22, if you'd like to follow along.
Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Cross. And of course, as I mentioned
last week, the Holy Spirit inspired King David to write this psalm.
And it does have limited physical, earthly, and temporal applications
to David in a very limited sense. But this Psalm is obviously and
ultimately concerning the glorious person. and finished work of
Christ. It's obvious from the very first
line in verse one where David wrote, my God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? And you remember in the book
of Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19, these are the words
of Christ. When he suffered on the cross
unto death for the sins of God's chosen people given to him before
the foundation of the world. And even in this psalm, he begins
to identify them. We're going to start off with
verse 22 here. And if you didn't get the first
part of this, go to our website and listen to the message or
order it however you want to watch it. We'll have it on our
website. And the first 21 verses, I dealt
with them last week in part one of the Psalm of the Cross. But
I wanna start at verse 22 today. But what this is talking about
is the sufferings unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ as the
surety, the substitute, and the redeemer of his people wherein
he died and was buried and arose again the third day for their
salvation. And this is the insurance of
the salvation for all for whom he died. You see the popular
view that Christ died for everybody without exception and salvation
is only accomplished when they believe or when they make their
decision. That is not in the Bible. That
is not the gospel. All for whom Christ died shall
be saved. He said it in John 6, 37. All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out. He said, this is the will
of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I
should lose nothing, but raise it up again the last day. All
for whom he died, he's going to send his spirit to bring them
under the preaching of the gospel. And to hear that, he's gonna
give them life from the dead, regeneration, and convert them
by giving them faith in Christ and bringing them to repentance
of dead works, both of which are gifts from God. That's the
new birth. How do I know that God chose
me before the foundation of the world? How do I know if I'm justified
before God legally? forgiven of all my sins, and
declared righteous in God's sight. How do I know that Christ redeemed
me by His blood on the cross? Well, the Holy Spirit will bring
you under the preaching of the gospel, just if you're sitting
there listening to me right now, I'm preaching the gospel, wherein
the righteousness of God is revealed, the gospel which is the power
of God unto salvation, and He'll give you ears to hear and eyes
to see spiritually. Remember Christ said, unless
you be born again, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven, the
kingdom of God, and cannot enter. And you'll be born again by the
Spirit, evidence first by faith in Christ, as he's revealed in
this word, and repentance of your dead works, that is your
efforts, your deeds, trying to save yourself. And this is what
this is talking about. Look at verse 22 of Psalm 22,
the Psalm of the cross. He says, I will declare thy name,
the God of this universe, unto my brethren in the midst of the
congregation will I praise thee. Now, who are his brethren? Well,
I want you to go over to the book of Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. And this
verse is quoted here by the writer of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit.
who inspired the writer of Hebrews, which I believe is Paul, but
not everybody agrees with that. But it says in verse nine, this
is Hebrews chapter two. It says, but we see Jesus who
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. Now that's speaking of his humanity.
Now there's no way that God the Son, the second person of the
Trinity, could ever be said to be a little lower than the angels,
except as that pertains to his sinless humanity. And that's
what it's talking about. He was made a little lower than
the angels, than his humanity, suffering the infirmities of
the flesh. And he says, but we see Jesus who was made a little
lower than the angels, this is Hebrews 2.9, for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace
of God should taste death for every man. Now that's the King
James translation. The word man was not in the original
manuscript. It would be better translated
for every one or every son. But it's not talking about every
person without exception. It's talking about all for whom
he tasted death and then he begins to describe them and identify
them, verse 10. For it became him, it was fitting
for God, for whom are all things and by whom are all things in
bringing many sons unto glory. Now these are the children of
God, chosen by God before the foundation of the world, adopted
into His family, justified by His grace in Christ. Many sons,
and He's gonna bring them to glory. Whoever it is He's talking
about here, the every man or the every son, He's gonna bring
them to glory. And it says, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings. The captain of their
salvation is Christ. And He's made perfect through
sufferings, not in a moral way. He always was morally perfect. He never sinned, knew no sin.
The Bible teaches us. He was the sinless substitute. He was made sin by the imputation
of the sins of his people to him, that is their sin debt charged
to his account, but he's never corrupted. So how was he made
perfect through sufferings? The word perfect means complete.
He completed the work by his suffering unto death. On the
cross in John 19 30, he said, it is finished. And that is the whole work of
redemption was finished at that time on the cross. And so it
says in verse 11, for both he that sanctified, that is he that
set apart his people, and they who are sanctified, those who
have been set apart, are all of one, united to Christ. That means that He's been my
representative, my surety, my substitute, my Redeemer from
the very beginning. That means when He died, I died. Not personally, I didn't die
personally, but in Christ, representatively, as my surety and substitute,
my Redeemer, I died in Him. I was buried, I rose again the
third day, you see, they're all one. And it says, for which cause,
verse 11, for which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. They're his brethren. Remember
he said to some people who he was preaching and his mother
Mary and his half brothers came, they wanted to talk to him. And
he said, well, who is my mother? Who is my brother? Them that
do the will of my father, which is in heaven. Those who believe
the gospel. That's what he's talking about.
And here in verse 12, now here's the quotation from Psalm 22,
the Psalm of the Cross. Saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst, that's the every one, the every
man, the every son, his brethren, and he's going to declare his
name to them. The Bible says, whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, he's going
to declare his name to them. to his brethren, they're gonna
hear it, they're gonna believe it. Faith cometh by hearing,
hearing by the word of God. And it says, for which cause
he's not ashamed to call them brethren. He says, saying, I
will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the
church. Now, what is the church? The
word church means called out. They've been called out of the
world and into the fold of God, into the church. And he says,
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. So who
is the church, the true church? That's the people of God who
believe and who've been brought by God through Christ by the
Spirit to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to rest in him
as the only way of salvation, to follow him, to trust him. to submit to his righteousness.
And so he says, look at verse 13 of Hebrews two. And again,
I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the
children, which God hath given me. Now remember what he said,
all that the father had given me shall come to me. They're
gonna come to him. Now they're not gonna come to
him on their own. If left to themselves, they will
not come to him. John 6, 44, no man can come to
me except the Father, which has sent me, draw him. And if he's
drawn by the power of the Spirit, making the gospel, the power
of God and the salvation of him, he will raise them up at the
last day. They're not gonna be lost. Nobody for whom Christ
died will end up in hell. That's what the scripture teaches.
Now my concern is this, did he die for me? I want to know that. Well, what does the scripture
say about those for whom he died? Well, look back at Psalm 22 and
verse 22. I will declare thy name, the
name of God, a just God and a savior unto my brethren in the midst
of the congregation will I praise thee. That's what he's going
to do. He's going to give them a new
heart. Do you, listen, do you have a real sincere desire to
know Christ? to be saved God's way, not your
way, not my way, God's way, by His grace, through the righteousness
of Christ. That's what the gospel is, it's
Romans 117, therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith, from knowledge revealed to knowledge received, For it's
written, the justified shall live by faith. What does that
mean? It doesn't mean they just live believing. Oh, they do believe,
but they believe something specific. The just live by faith, looking
to Christ, believing on Him, resting in Him, pleading His
blood, His righteousness alone, looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. Now go back to Psalm 22. Look
at verse 23. You that fear the Lord, praise
him. Now that fear there is not the
legal fear that stirs up religious, empty religious activity and
rituals, or even reformation of character and conduct. False
religion can do that. Now, we all need reformation
of character and conduct in some way, and that's true. But that's
not what he's talking about here. You that fear the Lord, you who
respect and regard and believe the Lord, praise him. He says in verse three, all ye
the seed of Jacob. Now that's who Christ died for,
the seed of Jacob. You say, well that's just talking
about physical Israelites, oh no. The seed of Jacob, the seed
of Abraham, is every sinner whom God brings to faith in Christ
and repentance of dead works. Did you know that? That's who
the seed is. Look at Galatians chapter three. Look at verse 26. Now, the apostle
Paul is inspired here by the Holy Spirit to write to believers,
both Jew and Gentile. And here's what he says in Romans
3.26, for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. In other words, the evidence
that you're a true child of God is you believe in Christ Jesus.
And he says in verse 27, for as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ. Now that baptized into Christ
is not referring to water baptism, the ordinance. It's referring
to being united to Christ, one with Christ, placed into Christ. In other words, if those who
have been placed into Christ, united to Christ, before the
foundation of the world, they were united to Christ. God chose
them and gave them to Christ. He was made their surety. They
were justified in Him, forgiven based upon what He would have
come and do in the future. in dying on the cross. They were
united to Christ in redemption. When he died, he died for them.
He didn't die for himself, he died for them. He was buried
for them. He arose again the third day
for them. Now that's what water baptism testifies to. That's
a confession. But made one with him in regeneration
and conversion, the new birth. That's what he's talking about
here. You've put on Christ. What do you mean put him on?
It means you believe in him. You receive him, and he says
in verse 28, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither
bond nor free, there's neither male nor female, you are all
one in Christ Jesus. You're the seed of Jacob. God
said, I'm the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Who's the sons of Jacob there?
All who believe. in Christ. And so he says in
verse 29 of Galatians 3, and if you be Christ, or if you belong
to Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, Abraham's seed, Isaac's,
Jacob's, and heirs according to the promise. So go back to
Psalm 22 now. Verse 23, you that fear the Lord,
praise him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify
him, and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. He's talking
about spiritual Israel here. The elect of God out of every
tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation, whoever God chose, whoever he
justified in Christ, whoever he sent Christ to redeem, and
whoever he brings to faith in Christ and repentance by the
spirit, the preaching of the gospel. the new birth. And they're
the elect of God. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Well, look at verse 24. For he
hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
neither hath he hid his face from him. But when he cried unto
him, he heard. That's the compassion. Verse
25, my praise shall be of thee in the great congregation. That's
in the church. I will pay my vows before them
that fear him. Now look at verse 26. Here he
says, the meek shall eat and be satisfied. Now who are the
meek? The word meek is not a synonym
of weak. A person who's meek is not weak. Moses was said to be a meek man,
and he certainly was not weak. Meek means to be submissive to
that which, to those who are an authority over me. Recognizing this, and here's
what he's talking, you remember Christ said in the sermon, blessed
are the meek, all right? Well, the meek are those who
recognize that God is high above us, he's God, We're nothing. His word is true. Let God be
true and every man a liar. Man by nature is not meek now.
He's not submissive. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them. They're
spiritually discerned. Man by nature will not submit.
This is why this false gospel of freewillism and conditional
salvation is so bad. The Bible teaches, look, if it
were the fact, given what the Bible says about man, in passages
like Romans 3, verse 10, there's none righteous, no, not one.
There's none that seek after God, no, not one. There's none
good, no, not one. and that by the natural man,
as I quoted, receive if not the things of the Spirit of God.
Given what the scripture says about all of us by nature as
fallen in Adam, ruined by the fall, and born in sin and depravity,
if God were to come down here and take a vote and say, now
I'm gonna leave you all to yourselves, how many of you will receive
and believe in Christ? The Bible teaches that none of
us would choose Christ. We would all choose our own way
and go our merry way to hell. But that's not the case with
God's elect when he brings them to submit. He humbles them, makes
them meek and willing in the day of his power to submit to
his way of salvation. plead the blood and righteousness
of Christ. So verse 26, the meek shall eat
and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that
seek Him. Your heart shall live forever. Now that heart there's not the
not the natural heart which Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17, I believe
verse 9, it's deceitful, desperately wicked, who can know it? What
happens here in the new birth? God gives him a new heart. Ezekiel
spoke of this in Ezekiel 36, a new heart, a new spirit, a
new mind. This is regeneration and conversion.
It says in verse 27, now look, talking about back here the seed
of Jacob and the seed of Israel, look at verse 27. It says, all
the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord. Now,
whoever he's talking about here, they're going to turn to the
Lord. He's not talking about everybody without exception.
Now, I know that in the end of this world, the final judgment,
every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess.
Those who die in their sins, they'll do it unwillingly and
forcibly and enter the eternal damnation. But what he's talking
about here is the results, the direct results of the death of
Christ as the substitute for his people, wherein he was buried
and arose again the third day, and that resurrection life is
going to be given to his people. I will declare thy name unto
my brethren. And so they're going to turn
unto the Lord. That's the gospel and faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works. And verse 27 says that all the
kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. All the
kindreds of the nations, all of his brethren. Now again, I
know that in the end, everything, the whole universe is going to
bow down to King Jesus. That's true. But this is talking
about redemption and salvation. And he says in verse 28, for
the kingdom is the Lord's, it belongs to him. He's the governor
among the nations. Verse 29, now look at this. They
shall be fat upon the earth and shall eat and worship. Now fat
there means healthy. Sometimes, you know, we see the
word fat and we say, well, they need to go on a diet. No, he's
talking about somebody who's healthy here. And they're spiritually
healthy. And they'll eat, they'll eat
of the word of God. They'll lie down in the green
pastures. They'll be led beside the waters,
the waters of Christ, his word. And they'll worship. They'll
worship God, they'll praise God. All they that go down to the
dust shall bow before him and none can keep alive his own soul. In other words, there's no hope
of salvation and eternal life in ourselves. But look at verse
30 now. These last two verses cap it
off. The psalm of the cross. A seed shall serve him. Now what is that seed? Well,
that's a generation. Look at verse going, it shall
be accounted to the Lord for a generation. What is that seed? That's his offspring. Over in
1 John chapter three, It's talking about the children of God as
they are distinguished from the children of Satan. The children
of Satan. The children of God are manifest,
the children of the devil. And in 1 John 3, 9, listen to
what he says. 1 John 3, 9. Whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin. Now, to be born of God is to
be born again. from above, regeneration and
conversion. It's the new birth that Christ
spoke of in John chapter three. And whosoever is born of God
does not commit sin. Now, what does that mean? Does
that mean that when you're born again, you no longer sin? Well,
if it does, none of us are born again. There's only two types
of people on this earth, sinners lost in their sins and sinners
saved by grace, but we're all sinners. And we who are born
again by the Spirit, who believe in Christ and rest in Him, we
still sin. Our sins are not imputed to us.
Blessed is the man whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. We have
righteousness, Christ's righteousness imputed to us, but we still fail
miserably. We're in a warfare, the flesh
and the Spirit. So what does it mean they won't
commit sin? Well, in the context here, and you can go all the
way back to the first chapter of 1 John, and read especially
in chapter two, He's talking about they do not forsake Christ. They will not apostatize, and
their sins cannot be charged to them. That's what it means.
So he says in verse nine, whosoever is born of God does not commit
sin, for his seed remaineth in him. Christ's seed, his generation,
his offspring, remain in him. They will not forsake Christ.
They cannot, not because they're so good and strong and faithful,
but because God will not let them go. That's what Christ meant in John
10, my sheep hear my voice, they follow me and none can pluck
them out of my father's hand. They will stay forever because
they're kept by the power of God. and they will persevere
in the faith because they are kept by the power of God. His
seed, His children, His offspring remain in Him. They don't forsake
Him like those over in 1 John 2, 19 that went out from us and
forsook Christ. If you're born of God, you can't
do that. If you're born of God and brought to faith in Christ
and repentance of dead works, you cannot deny it, you cannot
ignore it, and you cannot leave it because of His grace. And
so he says, and he cannot sin, he cannot leave Christ, forsake
Christ, because he's born of God. He has a new heart, new
mind, new spirit. The Holy Spirit himself dwells
with him. So go back to Psalm 22, verse 30. A seed shall serve
him, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. A
seed shall serve him. How you gonna serve him? Believe
and trust and follow him. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of faith. Verse 31, they shall come, They'll
come to Him and shall declare His righteousness. They're gonna
proclaim the righteousness of God in Christ, not their own.
And who is this? They'll declare His righteousness
unto a people that shall be born that He hath done this. This
is the work of God. And those who are born are born
of God. I hope you'll join us next week for another message
from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2-3. Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia
31707. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.theletterofgrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.