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 wanna welcome you to our program
today. I'm glad you could join us for today's message. Today,
I'll be preaching from the book of Colossians. Turn to the New
Testament book of Colossians, Paul's letter to the church at
a place called Colossae, Colossians chapter one. And the title of
the message is taken from verse 20 of this chapter, Colossians
chapter one, peace through the blood. Peace through the blood. But I want us to go back to verse
12 of Colossians chapter one. I want to read through these
verses and make some comments. And what I want to show is that
peace with God comes only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Peace with God. And there must
be peace with God. And this is the doctrine of reconciliation. Now, why must there be reconciliation? Well, reconciliation takes in
mind that there are two parties who are at odds and there's something
that keeps them apart and makes them enemies. Well, the Bible
teaches us that God is holy and just and righteous, and he cannot
tolerate or have fellowship with sin. It also teaches that man by nature,
that's all of us as we are naturally born, we fell in Adam into the
rebellion of sin and death, a state of sin and death, and that we
are not only fallen in Adam, Because we sinned in Adam. The
scripture teaches that Adam was the representative of the whole
human race. And when he fell, we fell. When
he sinned, we sinned. Romans 5, 12. But we're sinners. And sin makes us enemies of God. Now, somebody says, well, I'm
not a Christian or I've never been saved or I don't go to church,
but I'm not an enemy of God. My friend, If you're a sinner
by nature, if you're a sinner by, you're falling Adam and a
sinner by nature, you're an enemy of God. That's what the scripture
says. I'm gonna show you that. That's what the Bible says. Doesn't
matter how you think or how you feel about that matter. Listen,
there's only two types of people. on this earth. Sinners saved
by the grace of God, and those are the ones who've been reconciled
to God, sinners still lost in their sins. If you're a lost
person, if you're in unbelief, if you don't know Christ, you're
an enemy of God. Now you may be gentle, you may
be moral, all of that. You may not want to harm any
Christians, but in God's sight you're His enemy. And so God
and sinners must be reconciled. And this reconciliation must
be on some common ground that meets the need of both. Well,
what is God's need? Well, God, listen, it's not God
needs me or you, no. God needs to glorify himself. That's what God needs. God is
so high and so unique and so glorious. He must have the glory. You know why? Because He's God.
It's not because He's conceited. If you see any man who must have
the glory, that man's conceited. There's no humility. But God
is God. He's the creator of this universe.
He's the all-knowing, all-powerful. He is everything. He is within
Himself, infinite. So God must be glorified. To
God be the glory. Great things He has done. And
then man, what is his need? He needs salvation. I'm a sinner. I need salvation. I need forgiveness. I need mercy. I need grace. I need unconditional love. I
cannot earn anything from God and I don't deserve anything
but wrath. I need forgiveness and pardon.
I need spiritual life. By nature, I was born dead in
trespasses and sin. The Bible teaches that. You hath
he quickened who were dead in trespass. I need to be quickened.
I can't quicken myself. Now, here's the issue. Because
of sin, God, listen, how can God save me, have mercy upon
me, be gracious to me, forgive me, give me life, and still glorify
himself in his justice, his truth? How can God be both a just God
and a savior? That issue of sin that keeps
us apart must be dealt with. Now, I can't deal with it. You
can't either. Cain tried to deal with it by
his works. And the Lord told him, he said,
look, he said, if you do well, you'll be accepted. What was
it to do well? It's to bring the blood of the Lamb, like Abel.
That's a type of Christ. But he said, if not, sin lies
at the door. You've got it to deal with. And
it's like a roaring lion outside your door, ready to pounce, and
you're gonna lose that battle. I cannot deal with sin by way
of satisfaction to God's justice for it. I can't deal with it
to get rid of it. You see, it's so much a part
of human nature that we can't conquer it. So that sin matter
has to be taken care of. Well, this is what Colossians
1 is teaching. Look at verse 12. He talks about
giving thanks unto the Father God the Father, now He's talking
to believers here now. He's not talking to everybody
without exception. He says, giving thanks unto the
Father which hath made us meet qualified to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light. God the Father makes
His elect, His people, qualified to be partakers. That's a fellowship
word. of the inheritance. In other
words, they're equal partners in an inheritance. Now, you don't
work for an inheritance. You don't earn an inheritance.
Somebody dies and bequeaths it to you, and it's an inheritance
of the saints. A saint is a sanctified person,
a sinner saved by the grace of God. And he says, in light. Light means truth and life. That's what Christ is to his
people. So he says, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made
us meet or qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light, verse 13, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. Now what happens here? How am
I saved? Not by what I do, not by what
I decide, not even by what I believe, but by being translated delivered
from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of
his dear son. God delivers me from the power
of darkness. If God, listen, salvation's of
the Lord. It's not of your free will or
your decision. Do God's people, listen, listen. Do God's people make a decision
to follow Christ? Yes, but only after God in His
power by the Holy Spirit has given them life and delivers
them from the power of darkness and translates them into the
kingdom of His dear Son. You see salvation is not conditioned
on you or me. It's not conditioned on our decision.
Are God's people drug into the kingdom of God against their
will? No. God changes their will. They're unwilling by nature.
They will not come to him. No man can come to me except
the father which has sent me draw him. Man by nature will
not seek the Lord. He'll seek religion. He'll seek
a God of his imagination. But he won't seek the true and
living God according to the scripture. He has to be delivered by God's
power and grace through the Holy Spirit who comes forth from Christ. The power of Christ. He has to
be delivered from the power of darkness, unbelief, self-righteousness,
pride, unbelief. and translated into the kingdom
of God's dear son. And what happens is God makes
him willing in the day of God's power. He gives him a new heart. That's what he says in the new
covenant. Jeremiah 31, Hebrews chapter eight. He gives them
a new heart. He gives them a new spirit. He
causes them to walk in his word. And then he says, verse 14, now
it's His dear Son in whom we have redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins. You see that? Redemption. You see, reconciliation to God
comes by redemption through the blood, the blood of Christ. The blood is the full payment
of the debt of God's people, God's elect, of their sin, imputed,
charged, accounted, reckoned to Christ. He took my debt. He said, put it on my account,
I'll repay it. I can't pay for sin. You can't
pay for it. The price is too high. But one
who is willing and able to pay for that did for his sheep. He didn't do it for everybody.
He did it for His sheep. Who are His sheep? Those who've
been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into
the kingdom of His dear Son. And this includes the forgiveness
of sin. You see, the forgiveness of sin doesn't come by what I
decide or what I believe. It doesn't come by my tears of
repentance. It comes by the blood of Christ.
And that's what I believe. Somebody said, well, I have decided
to follow Jesus. If you really have, then it's
because you've been made willing to do so in the power of conviction
by the Holy Spirit. And this forgiveness of sin does
not dishonor God's justice. It does not deny His righteousness
or His truth. He is still honorable. He is
still glorified. How? Because it's based upon
the payment of the redemption price. Justice is satisfied. The law of God is honored and
sinners are forgiven on one ground, one basis, the blood of Jesus
Christ. That's the same as the righteousness
of God revealed in the gospel. That's his righteousness imputed
to his people, charged to his people. Just as the sins of God's
people were imputed, charged to Christ, his righteousness
is imputed to them. That's what it means to be washed
in the blood. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. You see, this is how God can
forgive his people, his elect, and still be honored and glorified
in his justice, his holiness, his righteousness and truth.
And then look on, he says in verse 15, Christ, who is the
image of the invisible God. Now that is a statement. that
literally means he is God. Every bit God, the firstborn
of every creature. The firstborn of every creature
is speaking of his resurrection, because righteousness has been
established upon which the new creation at the church, that
they are created. He says in verse 16, for by Him
were all things created, that is Christ. Remember John said
that in John chapter one, in beginning was the Word, the Word
was with God, the Word was God. All things were created by Him.
He says that are in heaven, verse 16, that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities
or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. That's all
governments, even ungodly governments were created by Him for His glory
and for His purposes. He's not the author of the evil.
He's not the author of sin. But I'll tell you what, He works
all things after the counsel of His own will, to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Can I explain all of that to
you? Absolutely not. And you can't explain it to me.
And there's no use going around here denying God's sovereignty.
in order to elevate man's responsibility. Are we responsible and accountable?
Yes, we are. But God's in control, folks.
He says in verse 17, And Christ is before all things, and by
Him all things consist. The reason, the reason, listen,
Christ is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the
beginning and the ending. Everything's about Him. And the
only reason this world exists today is for His glory and His
preeminence. Look at verse 18. He's the head
of the body, the church. That's His people. And it's not
denominations. Somebody says, well, I believe
there's saved people in every denomination. I don't. Because
there are some denominations, now listen to me very well, I'm
not being, somebody said, why are you so judgmental? I'm just
showing you what the word of God says. There are some denominations
who call themselves Christian, but they deny the truth. And they're not Christian, they're
Satan's tares. They're the false church. In
the book of Revelation, you read about Babylon. That's the false
church. And there are multitudes that
flow into Babylon believing a false gospel. Paul wrote in Galatians
chapter one, if they come preaching another gospel, which is not
another, let them be accursed. Anytime a preacher or a denomination
or a church body tries to mix man's works or man's will or
make salvation conditioned on man and call it the gospel, that's
a false gospel. It's all in Christ. Christ is
the head of the body. That's His true church. The church
refers to God's elect. ruined by the fall, sinners,
but redeemed by the blood. And those who are regenerated
by the Holy Spirit, born again, quickened under the preaching
of the truth, the gospel, wherein the righteousness of God is revealed,
where Christ is preached, and they're brought out of the world
into the family of God. That's the church. And he says,
look here in verse 18, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, his resurrection, that in all things He might have
the preeminence. Christ has the preeminence. And then verse 19 says, for it
pleased the Father that in Him, in Christ, should all fullness
dwell. All fullness, the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him.
Over in Colossians 2.9, it says, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. In other words, the fullness
of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the glory of the Godhead
dwells in the person of Christ, God in human flesh. And verse
10 of Colossians 2 says, and you are complete in him, which
is the head of all principality and power. In other words, my
completeness as a sinner saved by grace, my complete salvation
is in Christ. My complete righteousness, my
complete forgiveness, pardon, My complete security, it's in
Christ. It's based on His blood and righteousness. And so go back to Colossians
1 and verse 20, listen to this. And having made peace through
the blood of His cross. There it is. Peace through the
blood. His blood, the blood of the cross
is His death. His death is satisfaction to
God's justice for the sins of His people. His death is righteousness
established, which secures and literally demands their full
salvation. Christ did not die for any who
perish. It's not like that preacher said
back in the 50s over in Chicago. He made the statement that hell
is a monumental, mental, hell is a monument to God's failure
to save multitudes. No, sir. Hell is a monument to
God's justice to give sinners what they deserve and what they've
earned. Heaven is a place of grace through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ. You say, well, then if that's
the case, it doesn't matter whether I seek the Lord or whether I
believe, oh no. Because you see, those things
that Christ has accomplished on the cross by establishing
righteousness, which God has imputed, charged to his people.
Listen to verse 21. by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself. God is going to bring His people
to be reconciled unto Him on the same ground, the blood of
Christ. In other words, they're going
to be brought by the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit
in the new birth to seek the Lord and believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. How do I know if I'm one of God's
elect? How do I know if I'm one of Christ's
redeemed ones? How do I know if I've really
been born again? I find I'm reconciled to God
by the blood of Jesus Christ, not by anything else. If you
add anything else to the blood, the righteousness imputed of
Christ, my friend, it's corrupted. And that's what he means. He
says, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. In other words, it doesn't matter where you are. And then look at verse 21. Now
remember I said that by nature we're enemies of God. Listen
to this. And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In other
words, those who are sinners saved by grace, those to whom
God has been reconciled by the blood and who have been brought
to be reconciled to Him by the blood of Christ. And you could
say by faith, because they believe in Him, they plead His blood,
they plead His righteousness. They were before this reconciliation,
that is God bringing them to Himself on this ground, they
were enemies. They were alienated. In other
words, they weren't near to God. They weren't in fellowship with
God, in their minds, enemies. And it was by wicked works. Now,
who do you think he's talking about there? And I'll tell you
what, this is one of the biggest mistakes that people make in
interpreting the Bible. You say, well, they were enemies
in their minds by wicked works. What are those wicked works?
You say, well, that's talking about the immoral segment of
society, the openly immoral and openly rebellious. My friend,
that's talking about all sinners by nature, even the most religious
ones, even the most sincere ones who are in unbelief, even the
most moral ones who are in unbelief. Think about Saul of Tarsus. He
was a religious Jew, a sincere person, a moral person. but he
hated the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not believe in Christ.
His works were wicked works. Think about Cain back in Genesis
chapter four, coming to worship God, to be accepted with God
based on his best efforts, based upon his works. His works were
wicked. Scripture says that. Abel's works
were righteous. What was Abel's works? The blood
of the lamb. You see, the only thing that
I can bring to God as a sinner now, as I am a sinner, the only
thing that I can bring to God that will be acceptable to Him,
that will be good in His sight, is the blood, the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I bring anything else of myself,
even things which I believe God has enabled me to do, like preaching
in His name, or casting out devils, or doing, it will not stand the
test. You see, a sinner who's been
reconciled to God is a sinner saved by grace and that grace
reigns through righteousness, not mine, not yours, but Christ
through Jesus unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. It's
the righteousness of God for Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe it. And they've
been brought by the Holy Spirit in the new birth. They've been
quickened and they've been brought to faith in Christ. and repentance
of their wicked works, even their religious efforts. He says, he's
reconciled us, verse 22 of Colossians 1, in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. Now, how in the world can a sinner
like me honestly claim that I'm holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in God's sight? This is not your side or my side,
it's God's side. There's only one way. And that's
as I stand before God in Christ, washed in his blood and clothed
in his righteousness. As God has been reconciled to
me and I reconciled to God through the blood of the cross. Peace has been made. because
Christ is my peace. Somebody said, well, this fella
needs to go out and make his peace with God. Well, how's he
gonna do that? What's he gonna do? Is he gonna
join a church, get baptized, walk an aisle, take the Lord's
supper, give a tithe, go to confession? Those things will not make peace
between God and sinners. There's only one thing that'll
make peace, and that's the blood of the cross. Again, what? Can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Well, in verse 23, he says this
is true, this reconciliation, this peace through the blood,
is true, verse 23, if you continue in the faith, that is in the
gospel, grounded and settled by the power of God, and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel. There were some who claimed
to believe it, and then they left it. Well, here he's talking
about you be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. And if
you don't, listen, if I believe it, and if I'm not moved away
from it, I guarantee it's the power and grace of God. And he
says, which you have heard and which was preached to every creature,
which is under heaven, whereby Paul and made a minister. Now,
if you continue, people use that verse to try to prove, well,
you see there, if you don't continue, you'll lose that salvation. That
is not what that verse teaches. And I've dealt with this on the
program many times. That if there is not a conditional
situation. He's not saying you'll stay saved
if you continue. That if is not conditional, it's
evidential. In other words, this is true
of you if you give the evidence of continuing, being patient,
enduring. If you give evidence of persevering. Now, how do you know that? Well,
because this is the gospel of grace, not of words. You see,
under the old covenant, Israel's, the ifs that were given to them
were conditional and they failed. But under the new covenant, which
is a covenant of grace conditioned on Christ, all the ifs contained
in the promises of that covenant are evidential. You're saved
if you continue. That's the evidence, continuing
is the evidence. Peace through the blood. I hope
you enjoy this message and 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
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today and may the Lord be with you.