1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians
chapter 9. The name of the message is, What
is it to preach the gospel? What is it to preach the gospel? I had Brother Tim read that portion
of scripture, because it ties right in with this message here.
What is it to preach the gospel? 1 Corinthians chapter 9, starting
in verse 15. But I have used none of these
things, neither have I written these things, that it should
be so done unto me, for it were better for me to die than any
man should make. my glory in void. Here's our
text. For though I preach the gospel,
I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly,
I have a reward. But if against my will a dispensation
of the gospel is committed unto me, what is my reward then? Barely. that when I preach the Gospel,
I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge, that I may abuse
not my power in the Gospel. For though I be free from all
men, yet have I made myself a servant unto all, that I might gain the
more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the
Jews. To them that are under the law
as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the
law. To them that are without the law as without the law, being
not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ, that
I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as
weak that I might gain the weak. I have made all things to all
men that I might by all means save some." And Paul didn't mean
that he saves them. He didn't mean he saves them. And this I do for the gospel's
sake that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not
that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the
prize, so run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for
the mystery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain
a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so
run, not as certainly so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air, but I keep my body but I keep under my body and bring it into
subjection, lest by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway. Now our text is found in verse
16, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for
necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel. Now, oftentimes folks ask different
things about church or the church that you attend or for me, the
church that I preach at. When we lived in Oregon, folks
were always asking what kind of programs we had, what kind
of kids' programs, what kind of young marriage programs, what
kind of just was endless, the different things that they would
ask you, what kind of music we had, Or did we have an altar
call or didn't we have an altar call? I couldn't believe it when
someone asked me that. You know, that being the basis of whether
they would attend or not, whether or not you do an altar call or
not, it's just ridiculous. But the one thing that I noticed
that was always lacking in their questions was, do you preach the gospel?
They don't ever ask that because they don't want to hear it. They
want to be entertained. Well, gospel preachers don't
entertain folks. We don't entertain people. We
preach the gospel of the free grace of God in Christ. A necessity
is laid upon us to do that. We can't do anything else. We
can't proclaim anything else. And woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. This pulpit is to preach the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's people want to hear about
the gospel. They want to hear about Christ,
not how to fix you. So a lot of the questions that
were asked of me were questions just to appease the flesh. That's
the way I looked at it. And as I said, they never once
asked if I preach the gospel or not. Now to the Apostle Paul and the
preachers who preached with him and followed after him, the most
important thing about meeting together as an ekklesia, as a
church, and remember as I brought out this morning, the church
isn't the building, the church is the people. The ekklesia,
in the Greek it's an ekklesia, called out assembly. So when
God's people met together, And where Paul and these other
preachers went, they preached Christ and Him crucified. They
didn't mess around with anything else. Now they preached doctrine,
of course, yes. But that doctrine was always
centered around Christ. Always around Him. So our text tonight will be found
in verse 16. Let's look at it again. For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is
laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel.
Paul felt that preaching the gospel was paramount. It was
the most important thing to do. The most important thing that
he was to do. He was called of God. And we
saw that in the text that Brother Tim read. He was called of God.
He was sent of God. What? To preach the Gospel. To
preach the Gospel. In necessity, again, in our text,
necessity is laid upon him to preach that Gospel. Now, as a
Gospel preacher, I can't explain what that is. We just have to. Those of us who came out of religion
lied on God for so long that now that God's revealed the truth
to us, all we want to do is proclaim it. And I know several of the
grace preachers came out of the same stuff like that that I came
out of. Religion. Do, do, do. Well, now we preach done. Christ
has done it all. He's done it all. We don't do it for a living.
We don't look at it as a job. It's not a job, it's a calling.
It's a calling. God calls his preachers and we
must preach the gospel. We must. Paul was sent of God
to preach the gospel and he must, he must preach the gospel. Yesterday or two days ago, yesterday
when I put the message together, but two days ago I was talking
with a fellow and he said, a local fellow here, he's a religious
guy, and he said, you know, we should just do away with denominal
divisions, denominational divisions, he told me this. And it's right
after I'd been taking some of the older VHS tapes, I'd been
making them into DVDs, and I just happened to listen to Tim James'
message that he preached here 18 years ago. And y'all might remember this,
why can't we just get along? Well, the pump was primed when
this guy asked this question, after listening to that sermon. He said, why can't we just have
unity? Why can't we all just get along? You Sovereign Grace
guys, there's a Sovereign Grace guy here, there's a Sovereign
Grace guy there, and y'all can't even get along. Well, I got lots
of Sovereign Grace churches that we get along with, right? Don't
we? That we have perfect unity with. Kentucky, Tennessee, all
over. Oregon, California. I don't know
what he's talking about. But I told him this, that I cannot
unite with churches, some of the churches around here, because
I cannot have unity with someone who says God's done all that
he can do and now the rest is up to you. And I told him, that's
not my God. And you all know what I believe. I can't have unity with someone
who says that God's an impotent God and his hands are tied, because
that's not the God of the scriptures, beloved. And I told him, my God can do
whatever he pleases. He can save whomever he wills,
because he's God. And he says, well, but God, you
know, Christ died on the cross, and it's an invitation. Everybody
has an offer to receive him. And I said, God saves whomever
he wills, period. Now, we as preachers, we preach
the gospel, right? And one of the guys I was watching,
too, this week was Bill Clark. You all might remember him. He
came and visited me, and I was watching that. And he said something
I've proclaimed here, and I've heard other grace preachers proclaim
constantly. We preach the gospel and we let God do the saving. That's sovereign grace. That's
the God of the Bible. He's absolutely sovereign. He's
sovereign. He's not up there wringing his
hands waiting to save people. He saves whomever He wills. See,
this is the God of the Bible. This is the God we bow to. He's
not some weak God who can't do anything. He's a sovereign King. That's why we say bow. Bow to
Him. Flee to Him. Say to him, oh,
that God would make you willing, because he must make us willing.
But see, necessity is placed upon the preacher to proclaim
the sovereign God. That's why we can't hold hands
with other churches and sing kumbaya like they all like to
do, because we just, we can't. It's not the same God we serve.
And I know folks say, well, that's pretty narrow-minded, That's
the God of the Bible. Do you know that this precious
truth that we proclaim was paramount in the 1800s and the 1700s, the
sovereign grace of God? That there was whole churches
all over Europe and England and all over that preached this precious
truth? There's still churches that preach
it. We know that. We're not an island. I'm having
two faithful men come this July, one from Missouri and one from
Oregon, who preach this precious gospel. And there's many more,
beloved. We know them. There's many more. God's preachers must preach the
gospel, and it's evident from our text, and from the text that
Brother Tim read. and many others, that the apostles
and the gospel preachers that came after them, they preached
the gospel whenever they could. Let's go to Acts, chapter 5. What does the scripture say?
Let's have the scriptures prove this out, right? Because that's
our final authority, isn't it? Not what I say. And I want you
all to be like the Bereans. And think of this. Think of this. The Bereans. Paul, the apostle,
is preaching to the Bereans, right? The Apostle Paul! What are they doing? They're
searching the Scriptures. Is this so? Don't just believe it because
I say it. Search the Scriptures, beloved.
Search the Scriptures. Because in them is eternal life.
In them is Christ. Look at this, Acts chapter 5.
Now Paul says this in Ephesians. I'll read this in Ephesians 3.
He says this. Unto me who am the least of all
saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ. I love that text. The unsearchable
riches of Christ. You can't mine them. You can't
search them out. They're unsearchable riches.
What riches the believer has in Christ. In Christ. In Christ. So let's look at what the scriptures
say about what they did when they went out. Did they tell
people 50,000 ways to live a better Christian life? No. No. Let's look at this. Look at this.
Acts 5.42. And daily in the temple and in
every house they ceased not. What? They ceased not to teach
and preach. Who? Acts 5.42, And daily in
the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and
preach Jesus Christ. They preached Christ. They preached
the King of Glory. They preached the only Savior
for sinners. Now look at Acts 3.20. Acts 3.20. Acts chapter 8. Who did they
preach? They preached Jesus Christ. Look at this. And he shall send
Jesus Christ, which before... Acts 3.20. And he shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you. Christ. Christ. And in the text that
Tim read, I'll read that right now. Turn to Acts 4 too though,
we'll go there. But I'll read what Tim, a little
portion of what Brother Tim read this morning. But we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. And like Brother Tim said, that
is relevant for today. Because people think that preaching
the gospel is foolishness. It isn't. It's the power of God
unto salvation. It's the power of God. And I'm
living proof. And so is every one of God's
people here. We're living proof. that it's the power of God unto
salvation. Because we couldn't save ourselves,
could we? But God saved us. He took this vile sinner and
saved my soul. Praise be to Him. Praise be to
Him. But we preach Christ crucified
unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1, 23 and
24. So we preach not ourselves, but
we preach Christ Jesus our Lord. And ourselves your servants for
Jesus' sake. Look at Acts 4.2. We'll do a
little wee journey, three portions here in Acts. Acts 4.2. being
grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus. Who did they preach, beloved?
They preached Christ. They preached Christ. And the
religious folks hated it. They hated it. Oh, they despised
them. Through Jesus, the resurrection
from the dead. Turn over to Acts 8.25. 8.25.
See, they didn't... They didn't waste their time
telling people how to live, like I say, how to live a better Christian
life or yoking them with things that you have to do continuously.
No, they preach Christ, the Savior of sinners. And this is what
the gospel preacher does. This is what the Gospel preacher
does. Look at Acts 8.25. And they, when they had testified
and preached the word of the Lord, they preached Christ again,
returned to Jerusalem and preached the Gospel. Who's the Gospel
all about? Jesus Christ our Lord. It's all
about Him. They preached Christ. And preached
the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. Now turn one
chapter over to Acts chapter 9. As soon as Paul was converted,
beloved, he straight away preached Christ. It's marvelous. It's marvelous. He preached Christ
in the synagogue. And what did he preach? That
he's the Son of God. Look at Acts 9, verses 19 to
22. Look at this. And when he had
received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with
the disciples which were at Damascus." Now imagine them. This is the
one who was going around and hauling Christians out, right?
And casting them in the prison and consenting at the stoning
of some Christians too, of Stephen. And now he's sitting eating bread
with them. Could you imagine how they feel?
What a trophy of the grace of God. Now, as I said, every believer's
a trophy of the grace of God, but could you imagine how they
thought? And look at this, verse 20, and
straight away, he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is
the son of God. He preached Christ, beloved.
He didn't mess around with anything else. He preached Christ. But
all that heard him were amazed and said, is this not he that
destroyed them which called on his name in Jerusalem? The very
one who was going around making waste of the church? And came hither for that intent,
that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests. But Saul
increased the moor in strength, and confounded the Jews, which
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ." He preached
Christ. He preached Jesus Christ, our
Lord. So we can see from the Scriptures, and there are many,
many more. That's just a small sample, and
there's many more, beloved. that God's preachers, that Paul
and God's preachers who came after him preached and proclaimed
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who he preached.
That's who they proclaimed. So let's look at our text again
with that in mind, with in mind what we just looked at. Let's
look at our text again in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 16. For though I preach the gospel,
I have nothing to glory of." So the gospel preacher has absolutely
nothing to glory of in ourselves. We glory in Christ. We glory
in what He's done. And we proclaim to others what
He's done for sinners. Now we don't know who the elect
are, but God knows. He knows. Gospel preachers have
to be faithful to proclaim the gospel of Christ. Necessity is
laid upon us to do this. The Apostle Paul said, though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. Now the question
is often posed to the preachers, what is it to preach the gospel?
Oftentimes, and we get this question, well isn't everyone preaching
the gospel? That comes up a lot. No, not everyone is preaching
the gospel. They're not. It would be a great blessing
if they were. We would rejoice, eh? We'd rejoice if more folks
were preaching the gospel, wouldn't we? We would. We'd rejoice. But it doesn't take long listening
to someone. I usually listen to someone for
about five minutes. Ten minutes at the most, usually.
And you can tell, if they don't hit Christ in the first five
minutes, Because gospel preachers make a beeline to Christ. We
do. We just, right there. It's like a compass pointing
north. And you just preach them. And I'll tell you what, if I'm
reading a text and Christ isn't there, that I'm looking at, well
I can't see him. Brother Norm Wells told me this
years ago, as a young preacher, an older preacher, he says, he's
there, God just hasn't revealed it to you yet. And how much is
that true? When we read in scripture, we
go, oh my, look at that! It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Oh my. So it doesn't take long
listening to someone to tell if they're preaching the gospel
or not. And I remember Brother Donny Bell telling me years ago,
when I first started preaching, and some of you heard me say
this statement, but it's worth repeating, it's not the man,
it's the message. Always remember that. It's not
the man. It's the message. It's the message. The message is paramount. Are
they preaching Christ? Are they preaching Christ crucified?
And that statement, it's not the man, it's the message, it'll
destroy preacher worship. It will. It'll destroy preacher
worship, or it'll destroy folks claiming that one preacher is
their favorite over another. It'll destroy all that, because
the preacher don't want a glory in it. I'll tell you that. Preachers has one message, and
it's the message we proclaim, and it's not the men. Now, some
men we like to listen to that deliver the messages, that's
okay. But don't ever pit one preacher against another. Don't
ever do that. It'll grieve the preacher that you're pitting
against. It'll grieve both preachers, to be honest with you. If they're
gospel preachers, they'll grieve, because they don't want that.
They want you to look to Christ and Him alone. To Christ and
Him alone. It's not the man, it's the message. And if a preacher has a message,
that's what matters. That's what matters the most.
If any man gets up and preaches, they got the message, it's the
message. And it's God-glorifying and God-honoring
and the saints say, praise you, Lord Jesus. Thank you. Thank
you. I remember Donny saying after
that conversation with him, he had downloaded one of my messages
and he called me up. He says, well, you got the message.
And that's the truth. The preacher, God's called and
sent preachers have a message. We have a message. God's teachers,
Sunday school teachers have a message. It's Christ. It's Christ and
Him crucified. So God's preachers are called
by God and sent by God, like we saw in the text that Brother
Tim read, that Paul was sent by God. He had a message to preach
and to proclaim, and that's Christ and Him crucified. The good news
of the Gospel. The good news of a Savior who
saved His people from their sins. He did it. He did it. He came
to redeem His people from their sins, and beloved, He was successful. We preach a successful Savior.
Not one waiting. Not one that's done everything
he can, and now it's up to you, because that just puts salvation
in the sinner's hands. But salvation's of the Lord,
the Scripture proclaims. And He has saved His people from
their sins. And He will draw them, and He
will bring them. So, now preaching the Gospel involves
this. Telling the truth as it's revealed
in Scripture. Tell them the truth as it's revealed
in this book. Not my opinion. What does the
scripture say? Not another guy's opinion who's
popping off about something. What does the word? Remember
the Bereans? They searched the scriptures
to see if it was so, didn't they? They searched the scriptures.
So here are four points that we'll look at today. Four points that preaching the
gospel tells the truth about. Number one, telling the truth
about who God is. Gospel preaching, proclaiming
Christ in him crucified, will tell you the truth about who
God is. Number two, telling the truth
about man's natural state. Telling you the truth about man.
Not lying about, not saying that he's mostly dead, but that he's
dead in trespasses and sins. Tell them the truth about Jesus
Christ, who He is, what He did, what He accomplished, and telling
you the truth about salvation. So let's look at the first point.
Telling you the truth about God. Telling you the truth about God.
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for
necessity is laid upon me, yea, and woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. So number one, telling the truth
about who God is. Turn if you would to Job chapter
42. A lot of folks have imagined how they think God is, and who
they think God is, but beloved, they've made a God of their own
imagination, They've carved them out in their minds. As a dear
brother once said, our minds are idol factories. Pumping out
idols of who we think God is. But what does the Scripture say?
And God's preachers tell the truth about who God is. Who He
is revealed in Scripture. God is an absolute sovereign.
And when I say absolute, I mean absolute. He's a king. He's the king. Job 42. Absolute sovereign. And Scripture
declares this. Job declared this in chapter
42. Look at verses 1-6. Job 42, verses 1-6. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, I know that Thou can doest... Look at this. Everything. He's
absolute. And that no thought can be withholden
from Thee. This is God. Who is he that hideth
counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that
I understood not. So, he thought he knew who God
was. Oh, he didn't know who he was. But God has revealed himself
to Job. Things too wonderful for me which I knew not. Here
I beseech thee and I will speak. I will demand of thee and declare
thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. He'd be given eyes
to see. Look at this. Wherefore I abhor
myself and repent from dust and ashes. He sees God as a God who
can do everything. Anything. So natural man has a false notion
of who God is. Turn, if you would, to Revelation
chapter 15. Natural man has a false notion
of who God is. They do not know that he is a
holy God, that he is a righteous God, that he is a supreme king. They do not know that he is absolutely
sovereign. And as a result of being absolutely
sovereign, he is absolutely holy, he is absolutely righteous, right?
He is perfect. He is God. He is God. Look at Revelation 15, verses
3 and 4. And they sang the song of Moses,
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, Great and
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways. Look at this. Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord,
and glorify Thy name? only art holy. He's a holy God,
beloved. For all nations come and worship
before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest. He is almighty. His text here tells us he's almighty
and he's holy. He's almighty and he's holy. But look at this, look at this
saints of God. He's the king of saints. He's
the king of saints. He's the king of his people.
He's the king of kings as it is worldwide. But he's the king.
He's our king. He's the one we bow before. He's
a sovereign king. Psalm 135 says, 135.6 says this. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven. So, he's a king. He does whatever
he pleases in heaven. Well, it goes on though. Scripture
goes on to declare this. and in earth, and in the seas, and all deep
places. So we see from scripture, right? We tell the truth about who God
is. He's almighty. He's holy. He does whatever He
pleases everywhere. That's the God of the Bible.
You see how that other God that people are proclaiming that wants
to but can't? That's not the God of the scripture.
It doesn't say that, does it? It doesn't say, it doesn't say,
well, it doesn't say, well, he can do, he can save you if you
let him. No, it says whatsoever the Lord,
135.6, if you mark that down. Psalm 135.6, whatsoever the Lord
pleased. Whatever he pleased. Charlie, it pleased God to save
you. It pleased him. Jim pleased God to save him.
It just pleased him to do that and to save him. He does whatever
he pleases. Isn't it amazing? It's incredible. What a great
God. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas and all deep
places. That's an absolute sovereign
God. That's a God who's solvent. That's my King. That's my Savior.
Is He yours? That's mine. It ain't by anything
I've done. It's all by His mercy and grace.
And this is a clear declaration from Scripture of who God is.
Clear declaration. Now men may look at that and
say, well, I don't believe that. Well, it doesn't change it. That's a declaration from the
Word of God. Divine sovereignty means that
God is God. And besides Him, there is none
else. God is God. He's immutable in all His attributes
and actions. He does whatever He does. He
never changes. Never. For I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Praise God. Malachi 3.6. He's the same yesterday, today
and forever. The same God that Paul preached
is the same God I preach. An absolute sovereign. The same
God that David penned who says he can do whatever he pleases
is the same God I preach. Gospel preachers tell the truth
about God and about who He is. And this is what God reveals
to His people, that He's absolutely sovereign. The next point in
Gospel preaching is this. When God's preachers are proclaiming
the Gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, they tell the
truth about man's natural state. Turn, if you would, to Romans
3. Now, men do not like to hear about a God who's absolutely
sovereign, but that's what Scripture declares. And they also do not
like to hear what Scriptures say about themselves. Man does
not like to hear Natural man does not like to
hear the state that we're in, but this is Scripture, and God's
preachers are faithful to what Scriptures say. We must preach
this. We tell you the truth about man's
state before God. God's preachers are faithful
to the Word of God, and we must proclaim what it says about natural
man. We must proclaim that God is
holy, perfect, and righteous, and we are the exact opposite.
Man is the exact opposite of everything that God is. Natural
man. So let us ponder and let us think
on this. He is holy, we're unholy. We're
sinners. He's inipient and we're impotent
and frail. We can't do anything. Nothing
at all. Nothing at all. We have no power at all. He's
unchanging and we change all the time, don't we? All the time.
But the truth the Scriptures proclaim about man is found in
Romans 3, where we see that man has fallen. He's fallen. He's totally depraved. He's in
a sinful state. And all our actions, our thoughts,
and our deeds are tainted with sin. Everything. Look at Romans
3, starting in verse 9. What then? Are we better than
they? No, and no wise, for we have
before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under
sin. Now whether or not people believe
they're sinners, Scripture declares that we're all under sin. Every
one of us. Whether you believe it or not.
It doesn't change the fact. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. So not one man can come before
God in their own righteousness. Not one. There is none righteous,
no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
We don't have any understanding of the Word of God unless God
reveals Himself to us. There is none that seeketh after
God. No man seeks after the things of God. They are all gone out
of the way. They have all become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulcher, and with their tongues they have used deceit.
The poison of asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. This is
what scripture declares. This is not my opinion, but this
is what the Bible declares about man. There is no fear of God
before their eyes. And I believe this, because this
is how I was. Now we know that whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become what? Guilty
before God. Every one of us in this room,
every single human being on this globe, who is not saved by the grace
of God in Christ, is guilty before God. Every single one. That's what
scripture declares. Now, natural men, they hate it. They don't want to hear it. Because
they think, well, I'm not that bad. I'm not that bad. This is what scripture declares.
And God's preachers are faithful to declare this. Faithful to
do this. We must. Necessity is laid upon
us to preach the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ, the King
of Kings, is God in the flesh. And this
is our next point. God's preachers, when proclaiming
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, tell
the truth about who Jesus Christ is. Now, man is a sinner. We
saw that. He's absolutely hopeless and
helpless on his own. But here's the good news. See? Here's the good news. Who is
the Lord Jesus Christ? Who is he? Who is he? Let's see
what Scriptures declare. Turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy,
chapter 3, verse 16. Let's see what the Scripture
declares. The Scriptures declare that he is fully and totally
the Almighty God. We've seen that, right? and fully
and totally a real man. Look at this, 1 Timothy 3.16.
1 Timothy 3.16, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. So this scripture before us is
declaring that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. And gospel
preachers declare this. Christ is God. But also, he's
man. He's the God-man. The God-man. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles. He's being preached here today.
Believed on in the world, God's people believe on, thy people
shall be made willing, and received up into glory. He is seated at
the right hand of God right now. God himself was manifest in the
flesh. Jesus Christ is not no mere man.
He's God. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
Now what did Christ accomplish? Why did he come to this earth?
Why? And if you would, Matthew 1,
verse 21. Again, the Scriptures declare
this. This is not an opinion that we
just came up with. This is what Scriptures declare.
And this is marvelous news for sinners. This is wonderful news
for sinners. Oh, that God would reveal to
you that you're a sinner. And that you need Christ. Look
at this. Wonderful news that God's preachers proclaim. Matthew
1, verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son.
Mary shall bring forth a son. And thou shalt call his name
Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. Do you notice how the verbiage
is he shall, it's not he might. It's not he's done all he can
do, now the rest is up to you. Two thousand years ago when Christ
hung upon the cross, Brother Tim, he saved your soul. It's incredible. He shall save
his people. That became a reality for you
when you fled to Christ. He redeemed his people from their
sins on Calvary's cross. He shall save his people from
their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
God-man mediator. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
In theological terms, they call it a hypostatic union. Just a
fancy word for saying he's God in flesh and man at the same
time. He's God and he's the God-man.
He's the God-man mediator. Sent of God to affectionately
and eternally redeem his people from what? All their sins. I thank God that He saved me
from all my sins. Do you? Oh my goodness. That He paid for them all. Turn,
if you would, to Hebrews 9. Here's the good news. Good news. The good news of the Gospel of
what Christ has done. Remember? He shall save His people
from their sins. Look at this wonderful news.
that Gospel preachers proclaim. We proclaim this because this
is wonderful. Wonderful news for sinners. So the truth is
that we're sinners, right? In desperate need of salvation. And we can't save ourselves.
And people don't like that, but that's the truth of the Scriptures
that we looked at in Romans 3. Now look at this marvelous truth.
We looked at the truth of He shall save His people from their
sins. Look at this marvelous truth. And this warms the hearts
of God's people. Look at Hebrews 9, 11 and 12. but Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, now remember all
those Old Testament sacrifices, right? They couldn't take away
sin, but they were pointing to Christ. They were pointing to
the One who could take away the sins of His people. The One who
in Matthew 1.21 says He came to save His people from their
sins. Look at this wonderful news in Hebrews 9.12. Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, Christ's
own blood, shed for sinners. Right? By His own blood. He entered into the holy place.
Look at this. Having obtained. Christ, by the shedding of His
blood, obtained eternal redemption for His people. Do you see the
fallacy of God wants to save you but can't? The scriptures
declare that he came to save his people in Matthew 1.21. And in Hebrews 9 here it says
that he obtained that salvation. That means it's done. That means he purchased salvation
for his people. That means he redeemed sinners
on Calvary's cross. And he's the God-man mediator.
Only God could satisfy his own law. We can't. How much sin does
it take for us to go to hell? How much? One. How many sins have each one of
us committed in our lifetime? I can't pay for one. The Lord
Jesus Christ pays for all the sins of all his people by his
sacrifice upon the cross. How? By the shedding of his own
precious blood. Having obtained eternal redemption. This is good news for sinners.
Isn't it wonderful news? He's obtained salvation. This
is wonderful news for sinners. having attained eternal redemption
for us. Who's that? The elect of God.
And God's preachers tell the truth about this. We tell the
truth about who Jesus Christ is and about what He's done.
This is good news for sinners. Oh, that God would show you that
you're a sinner. Oh, that God would reveal to you your desperate
need if you don't know Him, and that you'd flee to Him, that
He'd make you willing. And God's people, we shout hallelujah.
Because we know we couldn't save ourselves. We know we couldn't
redeem ourselves. And as a result of that, what
do we do? Remember our text says that Paul couldn't glory? No,
we give him all the glory. Because he did it all. He did
it all. All the glory, honor, and praise
goes to him. He did not fail to complete and
secure the eternal salvation of his blood-bought people. But
beloved, he accomplished salvation for us. He accomplished it. Turn
if you would to Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42. This is beautiful.
The Old Testament proclaims. Do you remember our text in Matthew
1.21? He shall save his people from
their sins. And then we looked at Hebrews 9 and it says that
he obtained that salvation. Do you know that Isaiah said
that he wouldn't fail? Look at this. Isaiah 42. The Old Testament
proclaims that Christ would not fail in redeeming His people.
What a mighty God we have. Why wouldn't He fail? Because
He's God Almighty. God in the flesh. Look at this wonderful
news. Look at this. Isaiah 42, 4. He
shall not fail. And He didn't. He didn't, beloved. He shall not fail nor be discouraged.
until He has set judgment in the earth, and the owls shall
wait for His law. Christ shall not fail. And He
didn't, beloved. He didn't. Not at all. And then turn to
John 19. The New Testament proclaims this
wonderful truth. Isaiah says He shall not fail.
Matthew 1.21 says He shall redeem His people from their sins. Hebrews
9 says He obtained eternal redemption for His people. For us, it says,
and look at this marvelous truth proclaimed here in John
19, verses 28 to 30. Look at this. And remember, this
is God incarnated in the flesh suffering upon the cross for
the sins of His people. My sins. And if you're a believer,
your sins. Look at this. John 19, 28-30. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished. Accomplished. Let that word,
beloved, ring in your ears. Accomplished. He shall not fail. Accomplished. Accomplished. Sister Kathy, he accomplished
your salvation. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
saith I, Thirst. Now there was set a vessel of
vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar, and put
it upon Hesop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus, therefore,
had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. having obtained eternal redemption
for his people, beloved. How? By the shedding of his own
precious blood. And God's preachers, we preach
this. We must. We must. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Finished. It's finished. The Lord Jesus Christ has obtained
eternal redemption for his people. And again, his people say, praise
God. It's finished. My salvation is
complete. Sister Nancy, your salvation
is complete. It's finished. Having obtained eternal redemption.
It's marvelous. What a savior. God's people proclaim this precious
truth. God's preachers and his people,
we proclaim this precious truth. We must. We must. The next point
and the last point is God's preachers, when proclaiming the gospel of
God's free and sovereign grace, tell the truth about salvation.
We tell the truth about salvation. Now, we tell the truth in the
fact that every aspect of salvation of God's people, from being elected
by the Father in eternity, To Christ dying upon the cross and
to us being glorified is all of the Lord. It's all His doing. Salvation is of the Lord. Knowing,
brethren and beloved, your election of God. 1 Thessalonians 2.13
says this, For this cause we also thank we God without ceasing,
because when ye receive the word of God which ye heard of us,
how did they hear it? by the preaching of the Gospel,
by the Holy Spirit regenerating them, giving them faith to believe,
granting them repentance and faith, and they fled to Christ.
When you receive the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye
received it not as the Word of man, but as in truth. The Word of God which effectually
worketh also in you that believe. 1 Thessalonians 2.13 And then the aspect of us fleeing
to Christ is all of God. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Psalm 110.3. All the way to the
glorification of the believer. Romans 8.30 says this, Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. It's all of God from beginning
to end. It's all His work. Salvation is all of God, not
of man. Now remember this, when someone
says that God's done all that He can do, the rest is up to
you, that's putting salvation in man's hands, beloved. And
that's not scriptural. That's not scriptural at all.
Salvation is of the Lord. It's not of man's will. It's
not of man's works. It's of the Lord. Thy people
shall be made willing, willing, in the day of thy power. And
the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning now has
to do with you. So every aspect of salvation
from beginning to end, from beginning and election to the hearing of
the gospel to us fleeing to Christ and to our final glorification
is all of the Lord. It's all of Him. Turn if you
would to Psalm 37, 39. And then put your finger in Titus
chapter 3. We'll look at the Old Testament
and what it says, and the New Testament, and then we'll close.
See, salvation is all God's work. It's Him having mercy. It's Him
having mercy on sinners. Undeserving sinners. And the Gospel preacher must
preach this. We must. We must tell the truth about
these points. We must. We must. Psalm 37, 39. But the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. There goes man. He's out of the
picture. Psalm 37, verse 39. But the salvation of the righteous...
Now who's the righteous? God's elect, right? They're made
righteous. But the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble. Now turn, if you would, over
to Titus chapter 3. So the Old Testament says the
salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. And we know that
Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 says this. And this is all the free grace
of God in Christ. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. That's Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.
But look it over in Titus. And remember, I'll read again
Psalm 37, 39. But the salvation of the righteousness of the Lord.
He is their strength in the time of trouble. Now look at this.
We see Christ is our Alpha and Omega of our salvation. Look
at this. Titus 3, verses 4 to 7. But after that, the kindness
and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done. So that means that you can't
enter into heaven by your own works. No matter what anyone
says, this is what Scripture declares. And God's preachers
were faithful to declare this. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy. If you're ever
saved, it's the mercy of God in Christ. I stand before you,
a man who has received the mercy of God in Christ. And I didn't
deserve it. But God had mercy on me. And
if you're saved, it's the same with you. Mercy. Not by works of righteousness,
which you have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, having
obtained eternal redemption, right? He saved us. When? 2,000 years ago, on Calvary's
cross. Now, it became a reality for
us when the Holy Spirit made us willing and we fled the Christ. He saved us by the washing of
regeneration, right? Born again. We become born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. And the renewing of the Holy
Ghost, which He shed abundantly on us. How? Through Jesus Christ,
our Savior. Through Christ, the object of
our faith. That being justified by His grace,
pardoned. Pardoned. By how? By his grace, we shall be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Now this is the
preaching of the gospel, and it gives all the glory to God.
It gives him all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.
Why does it do that? Because salvation is of the Lord. Oh, Heavenly Father. We who are redeemed come before
your throne just so grateful that you have had mercy upon
us, that we have obtained mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We pray that you'd use this message for your glory and for your honor. And if you see fit to draw your
sheep to you, we praise you and thank you. and give you all the
glory you see fit to build up your saints with this message,
we praise your mighty name. But we stand in awe, we who are
redeemed, we who are sinners by birth, nature, and choice.
Oh, that you obtain eternal redemption for us. Oh Lord, may you be glorified
in the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name, amen.