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. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us today. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles with today's message, I'm going to be preaching from
the book of Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. He
was a prophet who prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah
in Jerusalem, right up to the point of where God brought punishment
down upon that nation for their disobedience, their idolatry,
and sent them into captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Jeremiah
the prophet was constantly pointing the people to the true and living
God who reveals himself in the salvation of his people by his
grace through the promised Messiah, the Christ, who would come years
later. I'm going to be preaching from
Jeremiah chapter 9 and the title of this message is to glory,
to glory in the Lord. To glory in the Lord. And what
I'm gonna talk about, it may take me two messages for this,
what I'm gonna talk about is what it means to glory in the
Lord. Now, we're going to glory in
something, whether it's ourselves, to glory, in essence, especially
the word glory in the New Testament, means to boast. It's actually
a boast. It has to do with where our confidence
lies. And so man by nature will glory
in something. And this is really appropriate
to the book of Jeremiah here, verse 23 of chapter nine. Listen to what he says in Jeremiah
nine, verse 23. He says, thus saith the Lord,
let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. If someone is very
intelligent, or if they're wise, you know there's a difference
between what we call knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is to know
the facts, to know the details, to know the information. Wisdom
is to know how to use that in a way that's profitable, in a
way that will help. And so he says, let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom. So if there's one who is, you
may be very smart, you may have a high IQ. And if that's your
boast, is that your confidence? But what Jeremiah is talking
about when he approaches the people here is these are issues
of salvation and a right relationship with God. And so if a person
is smart, or intelligent, a genius, let's say, or just generally
smart. To glory in that, to boast in
that, means that you think God smiles upon you, or God accepts
you, or even that God, some might go so far as to say that God
will save me because I'm so intelligent. or to interpret that intelligence
or that wisdom as a blessing. Okay? Now, it could be a blessing,
but it could be a curse. So he says, let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his
might. Someone who is strong, powerful. Is that what you boast in? And
what we have there These two issues of wisdom and
knowledge and strength, they're sort of emblematic, symbolic,
let's say, of the works and the wills of men. Do you glory in
your works? Do you glory in your will? Many people today think they're
saved simply because they made the right decision for Christ. And those who are saved, they
do decide for Christ. They do agree with him. They receive him. But you can't
glory in that. That's what Jeremiah is saying.
Because that's not what makes the difference between saved
and lost. And so he says, let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Then
he says, let not the rich man glory in his riches. Someone
who is blessed with great wealth, property, whatever. And again,
if you interpret that to be a blessing from God, be careful. It could be a blessing, but it
could be a curse. The Bible speaks of those who
glory in their riches and they give their time and their efforts
at the expense of worshiping, following the Lord. Those riches
become a curse. In Luke chapter 12, the Lord
Jesus Christ spoke a parable of a rich man. who gloried in
his riches. And then there come a time when
he says, thou fool, tonight, this night, your soul shall be
required of you. So that's what Jeremiah writes
here, verse 23. But now look at verse 24. He
says, but let him that glorieth glory in this, now listen to
it, that he understandeth and knoweth me. Talking about the
Lord God. that I am the Lord. That word
Lord there, the title Lord there means Jehovah, and it's talking
about God revealing himself in salvation. I am the Lord, which
exercises, now listen to this, this is so important, loving
kindness. Now we all love to talk about
the love, the kindness, the mercy, the grace, the compassion of
God. But it doesn't stop there. He
says that, that understandeth and knoweth me that I am the
Lord which exercise lovingkindness. But look at the next word, judgment. Judgment. Not only, God is a
God of love, lovingkindness. And anytime we preach the gospel
of salvation by the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ,
We're preaching the love of God to His people. Not to all without
exception. Because God is also a God of
judgment. He brings judgment. In fact,
the Bible says that God reveals Himself in judgment. But then
the next word, righteousness. He exercises loving kindness,
but He also exercises judgment. In other words, he exercises
loving-kindness, but not at the expense of judgment. God must
do right. He must judge. And what is the
basis, the foundation, the standard of God's judgment? Which actually
becomes the standard of His love. And He says it's righteousness.
Righteousness. What is righteousness? It's justice. It's perfect satisfaction to
the justice of God. And listen to what he says here.
He says, I exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. The Lord is dealing with his
glory as revealed in the earth. And he says, for in these things
I delight, saith the Lord. Now over in the book of 1 Corinthians
chapter one, The Apostle Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to
quote those verses out of Jeremiah chapter nine. And what Paul was
talking about here is salvation, God's salvation that fully lies
in the glorious person and the finished work, the righteousness
of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he tells them that
salvation is all of grace. Now that means this. That means
that salvation is conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ alone. and that Christ alone met and
fulfilled those conditions to secure the entire salvation and
eternal well-being of all the people whom God had given him
before the foundation of the world. That's why he said, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. And so this is what Paul
is saying here, that he's saying the glory of God is wrapped up
in the revelation of God. God making himself known in the
glorious person and the finished work of Christ. And so he says
the reason that God set it up that way, and if you look at
1 Corinthians 1 verse 29, he says the reason that God has
set it up that way is that no flesh, no human being, should
glory in his presence. I don't have any reason in my
flesh as a human being, because I'm a sinner. I fell in Adam. I was born dead in trespasses
and sins, ruined by the fall. I've sinned against God. All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23. So that no flesh has any right
to glory in himself, in God's presence. Now you may glory among
men, and men may be impressed, men and women may be impressed,
but God's not impressed. Because His glory is the highest
glory, and so He says, here's where God's glory lies. Look
at verse 30 of 1 Corinthians 1. But of Him, of God, are you,
that is you who believe, you who are saved, in Christ Jesus. You're in Christ. who of God
is made unto us wisdom, the only wisdom when it comes to salvation. This is what he's saying. When
it comes to salvation and a right relationship with God, how God
justifies the ungodly, how God forgives sin, how God makes me
righteous, in His sight, and it's not by my works, it's not
by my will, it's not by my riches, or my strength, or my intellect,
but it's of Christ, who of God is made unto us, wisdom. You
see, when you see the gospel, the gospel of God's grace, that
is wrapped up in the person and work of Christ, that is the very
wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1, right across
the page there. He says in verse 22, listen to
this, we'll divert just a little bit here. Verse 22, he says,
for the Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom,
human wisdom. Verse 23, but we preach Christ
crucified, the death of Christ. What did the death of Christ
accomplish? the glory of God, unto the Jews a stumbling block,
unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called,
called by the Spirit, under the preaching of the gospel, and
brought to faith in Christ, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power
of God, Remember, let not the mighty man glory in his might.
Christ is the power of God. I have no power to save myself.
I have no power to make myself good in God's sight. I have no
power to establish a righteousness of my own. I have no power to
wash away my sins, to do that which is required. Well, where
is that power? Christ is the power of God. He
is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him.
And so it's Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. So, jump back over to verse 30
now. But of him are you in Christ,
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. Christ is my wisdom. And who of God is made unto us
righteousness. Now what is righteousness? Remember
what we read over in Jeremiah 9 and verse 24. Let him that
glorieth glory in this. That he knows God, the God of
loving-kindness, the God of judgment, the God of righteousness. Well,
where do I find righteousness? Some people find it in their
decisions. I made the decision for Christ
and that made all the difference. Oh no. No, Christ alone makes
all the difference. In other words, the Bible teaches
us that in ourselves, left to ourselves naturally, we would
not choose Christ. It says there's none righteous,
no not one. None that doeth good, no not
one. None that seeketh after God, no not one. The natural
man, he says that down in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he
know them, for they're foolishness unto him. And he can't know them
because they're spiritually discerned. So, what is this righteousness? Well, it's the righteousness
of God, which is, now listen to me, it is the merit, the worthiness,
the earning power, you might say, of Christ, of Jesus Christ
in his death, his obedience unto death, as the surety, the substitute,
the Redeemer and the Preserver of His people. In Romans chapter
one, Paul calls it the righteousness of God revealed. And when he
said that in Romans 1 16, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the
Jew first, to the Greek also. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed, the justice of God against my sins, is revealed
in the glorious person and finished work of Christ. And so he says
in 1 Corinthians 1.30 that Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
and sanctification, holiness. Christ is my holiness. What sets
me apart from the unbelieving, unregenerate, that is not born
again, world? What sets me apart? Is it what
I wear or what I don't, what I eat or don't eat? What I drink
or don't drink? No. That doesn't set anybody
apart. What sets me apart? It's my standing,
my state in Christ. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
as my whole salvation, my wisdom, my righteousness, my holiness,
and redemption. Redemption from sin is by the
blood of Christ. It's not by what I do. It's not
by what I decide. And so he says in verse 31 of
1 Corinthians, that according as it is written, now he's referring
back to Jeremiah chapter nine, our text. He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord. If you're gonna boast, if you're
gonna brag, if you're gonna express confidence, then express it not
in yourself, but in God. Now let's get back to something
very basic here. Exactly what is the glory of
God? Now, I quoted earlier Romans
3.23. That's a verse that is familiar
to just about anyone who calls themselves Christian. Where it
says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now what we're talking about,
to glory in the Lord, to glory in God. Well, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. What is the glory of God?
Well, we can say it in different ways. To glory in God, for example,
is to believe Him. If you don't believe God's word,
from Genesis to Revelation, you're not glorifying God, you're calling
God a liar. Scripture says if you don't believe
God, you're casting dispersion upon His character. You're saying
God is a liar, God is not faithful, God is not true. So to glory
in the Lord is to believe what God says. The glory of God is
the revelation of His character. His nature. Now, you know, when
we see today, or among humanity, if you see someone who is a man
who is handsome or a woman who is beautiful, that's their attribute,
their characteristic. And many of them glory in that.
It's all surface. But you can't see God. God is
invisible. God is spirit, you see. So how
are we going to glory in God? Not by how He looks. You can
draw a picture and say, well, that's God, but it's not. You
glory in God by the revelation that He gives of Himself in His
Word. Who is God? What is He like?
It's the revelation of His attributes, His nature, His character, everything
about God. God is holy. That means there's
nobody like God. He is alone, unique, nobody to
be compared with God. He is so unique and simple. He's not made up of parts, like
we have our parts. No, God's not like that. He's
singular. He's simple. When I mean simple,
I don't mean easy to understand. No, He's so high above us, we
can't even fathom the fullness of the glory of God. Scripture
says that. God is immutable. He does not change. Malachi 3,
6, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. He's not like us. He doesn't
change his mind. I know there are passages in
the Bible that talk about God repenting, but God doesn't repent
the way that we repent. Our repentance is a change of
mind, but not God. There are other passages. One,
for example, says God is not a man that he should repent.
If you change, you got to change for the better or the worse.
God is loving. God is love, the scripture says.
God is merciful. He delights to show mercy. God
is a God of grace. All of these attributes. We could
go on and on. He's righteous. He's just. He
must punish sin. He must punish sinners to whom
sin is imputed. Sin is charged. God is hatred. Bible says, Jacob have I loved,
Esau have I hated. Psalm 5.5 says, God hates all
workers of iniquity. You say, well, that's not fair,
that's not good. Oh no, God's hatred is a righteous, just,
holy indignation. And so that's the attributes
of God. God is sovereign, in control. He works all things
after the counsel of his own will. It's not God versus the
devil, and the devil does what he wants, and God does what he
wants. No, God's in control, folks. Any preacher who says
he's not is not glorying in the Lord. But here's the point. If you look at 2 Corinthians
chapter four, where is the greatest revelation of the glory of God
found? Well, if you look at 2 Corinthians
chapter four in verse six, It says, for God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, that's the God of creation, who
glorified himself by the act of creation, hath shined in our
hearts, now who's that? The hearts of his people, believers,
born again people, given a new heart, shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. You wanna see the fullness of
the glory of God? Look to Christ. His face here
is that which identifies and distinguishes Him. It's not talking
about an actual replica of His face or a drawing or a painting.
It's talking about the glory of His person. Who is Jesus Christ? The Bible says He is God manifest
in the flesh. You wanna see the glory of God?
Look to Christ. And what did he do on Calvary
to save his people from their sins? He worked forth, he brought
forth an everlasting righteousness of infinite value, whereupon
God, having imputed that righteousness, charged it to his people, is
just. to save them and to forgive them
and to justify them. We who are saved stand before
God in Christ, washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness,
imputed to us, charged to us. We have nothing to brag about
or boast about, but Christ crucified. And that's why Paul over in Galatians
chapter six and verse 14, and I'll deal with this more in the
next message, But he says, but God forbid that I should glory,
boast, have confidence, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto
the world. You wanna give glory to God?
Believe God's way of salvation by His grace in Christ. See that
Christ alone on that cross, His death, burial, and resurrection
proving it, that He alone makes the difference between saved
and lost. He is my righteousness. He is my wisdom, my righteousness. He is my sanctification. He is
my redemption. None other. He's the only way
to God. One mediator between God and
men. If you say there's another mediator, you're not glorying
in the Lord. Worship Him through Christ. Follow
Him. Look to Him. Believe Him. Rest
in Him. He is the only way of righteousness
and there is no other way. It's all by Jesus Christ. Having
my sins charged to Him, He substituted Himself in my place and went
to the cross, was obedient, even unto death, the death of the
cross. And He worked out by His death a perfect righteousness,
which cannot be contaminated, a righteousness for His people.
And He's called the Lord our righteousness in another place
in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 23. And that's what he is, he's the
very righteousness of God. You can see the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. And his glory is in what he accomplished,
not what he tried to do, but what he accomplished on Calvary's
cross to save his people from their sins. And His death on
that cross is the assurance of their salvation unto final glory. How do you know that? Because
He was raised from the dead, meaning that sin was put away,
sin was pardoned, and righteousness was established. And so God forbid
that I should glory except in one thing, Christ crucified. the cross of Christ, what He
accomplished on that cross to save His people from their sins.
And there's no other way. Now that's the glory of God.
God glorifying Himself in His nature. Every attribute of God's
nature, attributes, can be seen working consistently together
in the person and work of Christ. His name shall be called Jesus.
He shall save his people from their sins. His name shall be
called Emmanuel, which being interpreted, God with us. So let him that glorieth glory
in this, God says back in Jeremiah 9 24, that he understandeth and
knoweth me that I am the Lord, which exercise loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the earth, in Christ, for his
people, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. 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 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia 3-1-7-0-7. Contact us
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today and may the Lord be with you.