and turn to hymn number 243.
243. I need your help tremendously this morning. 243, Come Thou
Fount. Let's stand and sing our best
with this hymn. Come thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace. Strings of mercy never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon
it, mount of thy redeeming love. Here I raise my heavenly sir,
Hither by thy help I'm come, And I hope by thy good pleasure,
Safely to a private home. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger Interposed
His precious blood O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm
constrained to be Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering
heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O. Take and seal it, seal it for
thy courts above. You may be seated. Welcome you to this service this
morning, this Labor Day weekend. We ask the Lord's mercies upon
us as we gather, especially His grace to reveal As Paul said,
his son in me and each one of his people. We pray and ask him
as we have needs of those who are sick, weak, lost. Let's be in prayer for continue
for brother Joe Schwartz. And I would appreciate your prayers
this morning on the behalf of my family, my daughter Stephanie,
she's still in the hospital. They did an MRI on her foot yesterday
to determine just how serious the infection remains and they've
given her strong antibiotics and just pray for her, pray for
her. And also my sister, Mary, who
lives in South Carolina. She's battling COVID and has
been for some time. And please remember her also,
family. And let's pray for those that
are of our family members and friends, especially if the Lord's
grace to them has revealing the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. We pray for them. We ask the
Lord's help this morning in every way. We're going to do it a little
differently this morning. I want to read to you from Job
chapter 19. Job chapter 19. Supposedly, the Book of Job is
one of the oldest books in the Bible. And many say that the Old Testament
saints could not have known much. But I beg to differ with them.
If you listen to Job's words here, they really say it all. beginning in verse 23. Oh, that my words were now written. Oh, that they were printed in
a book. That they were graven with an
iron pen and laid in the rock forever. For I know that my Redeemer
lives. And that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold. And not another, though my reigns
be consumed within me. I know that blessed knowledge,
that blessed knowledge that comes with assurance. He says that
my Redeemer lives. Let's bow for prayer. Our Father, this morning we come
in our great weakness. And our great sinfulness. and our great need. And we beseech you this morning
as we come before you through that one mediator, not Pope or
earthly priest, but that one great high priest forever, the
Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in him and through him
and because of him and seek grace and help from you. And this are
many and often times of me that you would help us that you would
be pleased to meet with us this morning. Be mindful of us. Cause your spirit to work in
our hearts and our minds. All is vain unless the spirit
of the Holy One come down. We pray that you might visit
us to comfort our hearts in every way as the God of all comfort. That you would comfort us, especially
in the matter of our sins. with that comfort that comes
only through Christ and Him crucified. Cause us to know that which really
matters, that which will be eternal, that which will be even after
the world is on fire. We pray that we might know spiritual
realities, that we might know the truth as it is in Christ
Jesus, that we might be delivered from this present evil world,
and that we might behold his great work and sufficiency as
all our salvation. We pray this morning that we
might have hearts of praise for you, thanksgiving, That we might
have an interest in the things of Christ. That our minds would
not be fixed on this world or even what the religions of this
world demand and set forth. But where we might know the peace
of God. The peace that is in Christ Jesus. The peace that he made by the
blood of his cross. Cause our souls to rest in him
and rest in his divine purpose of grace to us. Cause us to know
as your people that all things work together for good for them
that love you and are the called according to your purpose. Cause
us to joy in your salvation. Cause us to rest and have hope. We pray, Lord, for these that
we mentioned that are heavy upon our hearts. And, Lord, we ask
that your will might be done, your glorious, great, perfect
will, that it might be accomplished in every life. We pray that you
would remember mercy, that you would help my own daughter and
that you would help my own sister. And all of these that are upon
the hearts of this people gathered here this morning and your people
wherever they might be in this world. We know your eye is upon
everyone. And that is upon every one of
your people to do them good. That as a father pities his children,
you pity us and that you remember that we're nothing but dust,
weak and frail, sinful and unable to deliver even ourselves. We ask that you would cause us
to know that grace that is in Christ that you have set forth
so clearly in your word. but our eyes are blinded to the
truth. Our hearts are prejudiced against
your truth. We want a view of you like we
want you to be naturally and not a view of you as you are
in reality. Bring us to be submitted before
your word. Make us worshipers, true worshipers
who worship you in spirit and in truth. Bless those that travel
and are away from us this morning. Bless your servants, your true
servants, who preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
preach Christ and Him crucified, that full salvation. Lord, we ask that you would rebuke
the enemy, that you would cause those that prophesy error to
come to an end, that you would shut their mouths and that you
would open our ears to the truth. We thank you that you in mercy
have called us and revealed yourself to us and reveal that purpose
that you purpose in Christ Jesus before the world began. We have nothing to glory in.
Nothing to boast in, but to say that we are sinners who have
been saved by your sovereign will and grace in Christ. We thank you for him. We thank
you for all blessings that we receive in him. And we pray and
ask all things in his name. Amen. All right, let's try. When I,
I told my wife I, in moving, I've stumbled of some old things,
and one thing I have stumbled on was a half-written or partially
written hymn I had written a number of years ago. So I sat down this
week and tried to finish it, but I don't know how we'll do
without the pianist. But it's to the tune of, I sing
the mighty power of God. And then as we close this hymn,
Tim, if you would wait on the congregation. Oh, let me sing of sovereign
grace. It is the grace I know. That did before the world began,
to me its blessings show. True grace it is that God did
choose this wretched sinner then. And give me to His Son beloved,
To bear my debt of sin. Christ then in time did come
to earth, Their sinless man to live, That He upon the cruel
cross His perfect life may give. He by His perfect work did save
His people from their sins, And there did shout the victor's
cry, "'Tis finished! None condemns!" Then God, the
mighty Spirit, came and gave me life and faith So for the
ages I will sing the song of sovereign grace The grace of
God, the Christ of grace, I now will praise alone. So lift your voice, if this be
you, and make His glory known. Brother Billy is going to come
now. That song we just sang reminded
me how much we missed Janice this morning. If you'd like to take your hymnal,
I'm going to try to sing number 392. I've had the one that we
opened with, and Paul passed a baton to me. Guess what was
on my mind to sing? Come Thou Fount. We do miss Janice and Richard
both this morning. They've been having a wonderful
weekend, a much deserved wonderful weekend. My hope is built on
nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but holy laying On Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. When darkness fills his lovely
face, I trust on his, on bound in grace. In every high and stormy
gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid
rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. His oath is kava, not his blood. Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, he then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. Turn in your Bibles this morning
to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation. I want to take you to heaven
this morning. Not in some out-of-body experience, not in some mystical way, but by the word of God. And I want to read to you from Revelation chapter 5. Revelation chapter 5. The book of Revelation is not
a book of charts or imagine things, beasts and dragons and such. But as it states in the very
opening verses, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. What we have here is about It's
about Christ and His church, His people. And John is here given a vision
of those people in heaven. And it says in verse 9 of Revelation
5, and they sung a new song saying
thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof
for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And has made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. Turn over to chapter 14, Revelation
14. Here they are again, verse 3. And they sung, as it were, a
new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the
elders. And no man could learn that song
but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins, These are they which
follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. These verses speak of a people who sing a song. And that song is about the redeeming
love of the Lord Jesus Christ. That will be the song of heaven. But before it begins in heaven,
it will begin in their hearts and minds on this earth. With them singing such hymns
as Calper's old hymn. E'er since, by faith, I saw the
stream thy flowing wounds supply. Redeeming love has been my thing
and shall be till I die. Redeeming love has been my theme,
has been my song, has been my gospel since God revealed his
truth to me. And he says, and it shall be
till I die. That won't end that song, that
just means in a greater way that the redeemed will sing that song. But as we saw in this reading,
there are the redeemed, there is the redeemer, and there
is the redemption. The redemption. And I'm not talking
about redeeming coupons here. I'm not talking about the things
that men claim to do to redeem their self. I'm talking about
biblical redemption. The redemption that is the theme
of this book. To redeem, redemption means to
buy back or it means to release. by the paying of a price. There is a price in redemption. And not only that, but it implies
a prior relationship or a prior possession Thus it is a redemption. It is the buying back, just as
is displayed in Hosea's relationship to Gomer. She was already his
wife, but he went down to the slave market to redeem that which
was already his. It was a redemption of love,
commanded of God. And it is the release of someone
through the payment of a ransom. Actually, ransom is the price
itself. It's the price paid for redemption. And it implies in the scriptures
two things. Redemption is a deliverance. It is a deliverance from sin
and all its consequences. It is a redemption or deliverance
from the penalty of death or sins. It is the redemption from
the enslaving power of sin, from Satan's captivity in sin, and
gloriously It is a redemption one day from the very presence
of sin. These that sing this song are
not even in the presence of sin. And it also has to do with a
restoration of true liberty. If you go back in the Old Testament
and read in the books of the law about redemption, and it's
very interesting and enlightening to a slave or a son who has sold
himself or his property into sin and slavery, it could be
redeemed by the paying of a price. And this true liberty, Paul refers
to it in the New Testament as the forgiveness of sins. It is, as he says, according
to the good pleasure of God's will. God is not obligated to
redeem anyone. He would have been just as just,
if we can say that, eternally if he had not redeemed anyone. But it is because his good pleasure
and his will is that he will redeem many. That's not just many in our terms,
that's many in God's terms. And the way this redemption will
be accomplished is in this Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God, Paul says, which
is in Christ Jesus. And here is the redeeming love
of God. There is no love without this
redemption. There is no redemption without
this love. And it had to be accomplished,
not by any son of Adam, not by any angel, especially not by
any sinner. A sinner could never redeem a
sinner. And yet God says of all our race,
all that fell in Adam, all of us together, He says that all
have sinned and glumshory short of the glory of God. And in order
for there to be a Redeemer, he had to first have a will to redeem. You can go back and look at the
Old Testament book of Ruth, and you see Boaz, that kinsman Redeemer,
and what we find in him, who's a picture of Christ, is this.
He had to have a will to redeem. He also had to have a relationship
to redeem. He had to be as Christ was, bone
of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He had to be, have the
ability to redeem. Boaz was a rich man. He had the
ability to redeem. He had the will, he had the relationship,
the family relationship in tie with Ruth and Naomi to redeem
them. And he had to actually redeem. He had to go down to the gate,
the city gate, and actually pay that price, settle that claim
in order to redeem them. And that's what Paul is saying
in Colossians when he speaks of Christ. He says, in whom we
have redemption. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. There is no forgiveness
of sins without this redemption. And this redemption is in Christ. In Him we have redemption. Only Christ was qualified to
pay the ransom. Only Christ had the will to do
so. Only Christ, the man Christ Jesus,
had the relationship And only he could pay the price and redeem
those who had fallen in sin. And in order to redeem from sin,
the redeemer first must be without sin himself. Peter says this about Christ.
He says, who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. He's one who knew no sin, who
is described as harmless and undefiled and separate from sinners. Only Christ has the payment which
will ransom. And the wages of sin, God says,
is death. And the ransom from sin requires
the payment of a sinless life. A sinless sacrifice. And the things that the world
esteems so highly, the good men and the good women and the good
morality and the good examples and all, the Bible says those
things are an abomination to God. And they not only do not
count for righteousness, they will never redeem from sin. They will never redeem to God. And this is why Christ has come. This is what the Bible says in
Hebrews 9, 24. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands. That is as was pictured in those
examples in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. When that
priest went in to represent his people, Israel, in the matter
of their sins and make atonement, he went into a literal, actual,
physical place on earth. But that's not what Christ did.
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the truth, but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us. He alone could accomplish this
redemption. The psalmist said, they that
trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of
their riches, the very richest, none of them can by any means
redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, for
the redemption of their soul is precious and ceases forever. not the richest man, not the
richest woman, whether they be rich monetarily, whether they
be rich in morality, rich in godly examples, whatever it is,
they cannot redeem their own soul, neither the soul of their
brother. And this is what Peter says,
reminding us of all of these things pictured in the Old Testament. For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things, that blood that was offered in
the holiest of holies, though appointed of God, though received
by God as far as it went, It could never, because it was corruptible
blood, the blood of bulls and goats, it could never redeem
one soul. So redemption is not accomplished
by any of these earthly means or any of these earthly things.
You are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold. from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers. Redemption in the Old Testament
had a price. A silver coin. And that was, you might say,
the coin of redemption. But God was just showing them
that there is a particular price that had to be paid to redeem. And He says, you were not redeemed
by any of these things. but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without spot and without blemish." Without
spot and without blemish. In other words, Christ alone
is the Redeemer. He was from old eternity. He
came into this world to do this, to redeem. And that's what we
find in the Bible. That's what the gospel is about.
The redemption that's in Christ Jesus. And the very first thing
about it is this. It was particular. You go back and you look at the
whole of scripture. Don't go and pick you out a little
verse here and a little verse there. that appears to be so
universal and everything like that, you go back and you look
at the whole of scripture where redemption was pictured and spoken
of, and you'll find out that God never intended to redeem
the whole human race. He just didn't. You say, well,
why Preacher? Why didn't He? I don't know.
because it's His own sovereign prerogative as God to redeem
whom He will. Men say He redeemed all, but
God's Word doesn't say that. As a matter of fact, in Acts
20 and verse 28, when Paul is instructing those elders from
Ephesus, he says this to them, Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves
and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers, to feed the church of God. He told them to preach the gospel,
to teach the word, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with His own blood. That's why they were sent to
preach. That's who they were sent to
feed. Oh, they preached the gospel to everybody that came, I'm sure.
To everyone they had opportunity to. But this was God's purpose
for them in preaching this, that they might feed the church of
God. And it is that church that He
purchased with His own blood. Over in 1 Chronicles 17, He gives us these words, speaking
of the nation of Israel which pictured spiritual Israel. And what one nation in the earth
is like thy people Israel? whom God went to redeem to be
his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness
by driving out the nations before thy people whom thou hast redeemed
out of Egypt." You only, he says to Israel. And then in Nehemiah he says,
or thy servants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy
great power and by thy strong hand." All these things making
reference to the redemption of God's spiritual people, His church,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. But most of all, we know this
by what Christ said. He's the shepherd of the sheep.
He's the good shepherd. He's the great shepherd. And
he said, I lay down my life. This is redemption. This is the
price of redemption. The laying down of this perfect
life of the Son of God. I lay down my life for the sheep. And then he says, I give my life
for the sheep. He said, I came to seek and to
save that which was lost. It says that he gave his life
a ransom for many. He could have said, I didn't
give my life a ransom for any. But he says, I gave my life a
ransom for many. And in the verse that we begin
and read, it says that he has redeemed us to God by thy blood. out of every nation, kindred,
tribe, people, and nation. But now listen to this one. When Paul, the apostle, is giving basic fundamental instruction
to these believers at Ephesus about the husband and wife relationship, There are many preachers that
can spend six months in the verse that I have chosen to read to
you this morning. And all they'll talk about is
husbands and wives, how we're to love one another. But this
clear command and instruction to husbands and to wives is based,
first of all, upon something else outside of themselves. Husbands, love your wives. And then there's a comma. It's
not just husbands love your wives. It's not we're going to have
a seminar on how to love your wives, how to treat your wives.
If you love somebody, you're going to treat them real good. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church. Redemption is an act of God's
love. But it's an act of God's love
for his people, his church, the bride of Christ. Even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it. He gave himself a ransom for
it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that in
it should be holy and without blemish. He did this in order
to accomplish something. That they not only would be chosen,
that they would not only be loved, but that in Christ, by his death,
by his redemption, they would be all of these things, sanctified,
cleansed, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish, a glorious
church. And the word church means a called
out assembly. Called out assembly. This is
a work of special love. John said, hereby perceive we
the love of God. Oh, I just feel like that God
loves me. No. I just feel like I'm loved. I
just, no. Hereby perceive we the love of
God, because he laid down his life for us. I remember Brother Henry Mahan,
first time I ever heard him preach a message about the love of God. He said, if God loves everybody, If Christ died for everybody,
what has the love of God got to do with salvation? There is no love divorced from
this particular love, this love which is in Christ Jesus for
his church. I'll tell you something about
this redemption war. It was an absolute success. It was an accomplished redemption. These preachers can say all they
want to say, like, if you'll do this, or if you'll accept
Jesus, he'll redeem you. No, that's not the way it is. Christ accomplished redemption. He did not merely attempt to
redeem. He did not make men redeemable. He did not offer redemption. He did not make it possible. He redeemed. Just like Boaz went
to that city gate, which was a picture of Christ going to
that cross, Boaz redeemed and Christ redeemed. Boaz redeemed
his bride. and Christ redeemed his bride. That's what he says to the Father.
It's finished. That's what he says to his people. It's finished. It's accomplished.
It's redemption that is successful and was accomplished, and it
was accomplished as a redemption by divine sacrifice. That's what was pictured when
Israel was in Israel in that bondage under the slavery of
the ruler of that land and that people and God delivered them
in the exodus. That's a going out. It's a death. Christ Christ's death is referred
to the same word as an exodus. He went out and when he went
out, he delivered. And one of my favorite things
in that text is what God says about his redeeming word. They were commanded to take a
particular land. They were commanded to, in typical
of Christ, to slay that lamb, to cause a death, and to take
that blood and to brush it and sprinkle it on the lintels and
doorposts of those houses where the Israelites lived in the land
of Goshen. The death angel. God says the
death angel is going to pass through the land and slay the
firstborn among man and beast. You go in those houses, you stay
there, you do what I command, don't be peeking out. This is
a transaction between God and His Son. And then He spoke those
words, when I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. Thank God He didn't say, when
you see the blood. You see, this redemption was
accomplished by Christ over 2,000 years ago. The manifestation
of this redemption. And God says, when I see the
blood, I'll pass over you. Those people in heaven say, you
redeemed us with your blood. It's not by just representing
us. It's not by just choosing us.
It's by dying for us. You redeemed us by your blood.
The blood of God manifests in the flesh by his own body, having
obtained it redemption by his own blood, all whom he redeemed
shall surely be saved and not perish." They've been redeemed. Before they ever find out about
it, they've been redeemed. And without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission. There's no forgiveness. You see preachers in our day
mock and blaspheme Christ's work of redemption by saying that
he may not see the total success of it. An absolute lie. But the scripture says that he
shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Satisfied with what that work
what that death accomplished. Satisfied with everyone he saved. Satisfied as God. They say he paid the price of
redemption for everyone. And that this yet will not guarantee
that they will finally be saved. They say that only an act of
a fallen sinner can make this work effectually. Oh, God help
God, if that's the case. They say that many for whom Christ
died will eternally perish in the lake of fire. Fools! God paid this price and will
not have what he bought? Will not have accomplished what
he purposed to accomplish? They say it, but God, that is
not what God said. And what a mockery it is to make
God's purpose a failure. And God will so fickle, but much
more to make Christ's sacrifice of none effect for the most of
our race. Paul writing to the Galatians
said it this way in the past tense. Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is
written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. It's a sure,
successful, glorious work, finished, accomplished, successful, And it's an eternal redemption. Writing to the Hebrews, he said,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. It's never going to end. because
it never had a beginning. If you know anything about the
word eternal, it's the biggest word maybe in all the scriptures,
eternal. That doesn't mean he just simply
obtained it at the cross. This eternal redemption was manifested
by his death on the cross. Somebody said, well, you believe
in any aspect of eternal justification or redemption. You're wrong. I'm amused. I'm getting old,
so I'm getting amused with men. They come on places like these
media forums and they make their declaration. Anybody that believes
this, that, and the other, they're going to hell. Let me tell you
something. No man will determine who goes
to heaven and hell. It is the eternal God who justifies. The only reason he can is because
he's God and no part of his purpose will fail or could fail. No contingency plans. He purposed
it, He decreed it, and they're justified. God the Father said
they're justified. On the cross, Christ said they're
justified. When the Spirit reveals the gospel
to us, what does He say? We're justified. Justified. This redemption through the blood
of the everlasting covenant. God's purpose, God's grace, That
lamb slain from the foundation of the world, they're redeemed
eternally by the eternal God. To the eternal God, they're bought
with a price, and you're not your own. And then we are to notice also
that it's a voluntary redemption. Christ came and died for us in
his love. Because he wanted to. Because he loved us. And gave
himself for us. He laid down his life for us. Laid it down. Yielded up the
ghost. And it's a substitutionary redemption. He did it for us. He redeemed
us. Redeemed. Substitution means
in the behalf of another, or in the room instead of others,
or in the place of others. He redeemed us. That's why redeeming love is
going to be my thing. It's the only hope I've got. You read the book of Isaiah,
especially chapter 3. 53, I mean. There it is. redemption for us, suffering
for us, giving His life for us. And it's a full redemption. He
redeems us from all iniquity. There's a free redemption. He's
plenteous in His redemption. These words of Paul in Romans
3, so wonderful, being justified freely. without any cause in
us, with any help from us, without any reason in us, by His grace, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood. He is dead. I'm redeemed because Christ died
in my place. I'm redeemed because Christ paid
the price, all of the price. I'm redeemed because that redemption
is such that He redeemed me to God. He redeems us from sin,
but He redeems us to God. And we never ought to forget
that it's a just redemption. Here's where so many err. Here's where so much comfort
for God's people is stolen away. They speak of redemption in which
Christ is not just. We're to come to the scriptures
and take the scriptures and God's word at face value. And if Christ has paid for someone's
redemption and God sends that one to hell, he is not just. So all these preachers preaching
the gospel, universal free will, free all for gospel, works oriented,
they're all preaching contrary to the character of God. Number
one, he doesn't change. And number two, he's absolutely
just. He is a just God and a savior. And on the other hand, if God
receives and blesses a sinner and does not punish his sin,
he's not only not just, he's not God. He will by no means clear the
guilty. He must punish our sins. And the way that he has accomplished
that is by his redemption. He can only be a just God and
a Savior through that redemption which is in Christ Jesus. And
as a just and holy and righteous God, As He is, He can only redeem
sinners by imputing their sins to Christ, the Redeemer, and
His dying, the death, which alone can satisfy God, and only through
Christ's redeeming blood can He be just and the justifier. Amen. Do you realize the sweetness
in this? Those are two contrary things, it seems
like, to us, to reality, but they're so precious that to every
true believer, every one of God's elect, he is just and the justifier. He doesn't change. He doesn't
diminish his justice. He doesn't make what He has said
before a lie. He is just. He demanded punishment for our
sin. That's the death of Christ. He
not only demanded punishment, but He provided the one punished. God forbid. that I steal one
iota of peace and comfort from any of God's sheep by filling
their minds and their heads with demands that are to be made and
kept in order to please God. Christ pleased It is Christ that
dies. It is His Son. He's pleased in
His well-beloved Son. Well, if He's pleased with His
well-beloved Son, He's pleased with everybody in His Son. Seek to obey the commands of
the New Testament. Seek to live accordingly to God's
Word and God's precepts. But don't ever think that salvation
rests in those things. Our Redeemer. We can say as Job, because our
Redeemer, He still lives. He wrote, I know that my Redeemer
lives. And though the skin worms eat
my body, I'll in this flesh see God. And I'll see Him as He is. Who has he redeemed? How will they be known? And those texts that we read
in the beginning in Revelation, it says 144,000. That was those
12 tribes of Israel, 12 times 12 is 144. That's just an exact number that
God has numbered, that God has willed and purposed and sent
his son to redeem, and they're redeemed. They're not just 144,000. We
don't know the number of God's people. We don't know the number
of the redeemed. But you can bet your bottom dollar
he does. He knows. And that's the revelation of
it all to our hearts. They're called his people, they're
called his children, they're called his sons, they're called
his sheep, they're called his church. But the way that they're
manifest in time is when they hear the gospel of Christ's redemptive
glory. And they behold what? What did
John the Baptist say when he first saw Christ? He'd been told
that he'd be the announcer, the herald of the forerunner, I mean
the forerunner of the Messiah. Here's Christ, come to earth
in human flesh. How's he going to be announced?
The mighty one, the wonderful counselor, son of God, whatever. First words, behold the Lamb
of God. That's the Redeemer. That's in
His redemptive character. That's the most glorious thing.
The gospel of a Redeemer who redeems lost sinners through
His bloody sacrifice on the cross. And He brings them to believe
on Him and confess Him as their Redeemer. And you'll never know Him without knowing about His true
redemption. This is the Redeemer. Not this
mystical person that, this Jesus that men talk about that loves
everybody and that he died for everybody and he wants everybody
to be saved. No, that's not him. But if he were all those things, if he did love everybody, if
Christ died for everybody, if God desired the salvation of
all, if he was trying to save all, And he did it apart from this
redemptive work. He wouldn't be worth believing. You see, God's love is redeeming. So I'll sing old Calvert's words. I'm like him, I haven't always
had faith. I've been religious, but I didn't
have faith. I've been moral, pretty much
so, but I haven't had faith until he revealed the truth to me.
E'er since, by faith. How'd you see? By faith. I saw thy flow, the stream, thy
flowing wound supply. that stream that flows from Calvary,
from the body of the Son of God, what it accomplishes. It could
have dripped on a soldier below and he went to hell. But it can
never be shed for one Christ died for and him go to hell. E'er since by faith I saw the
stream, by flowing wounds supply. Redeeming love has been my thing
and shall be till I die. Then I'll sing it with a clear
voice. I'll know about it more fully. I'll sing it more loudly. but
it won't be any different song. We pray, Father, this morning
that you would honor your son, that you would call out your
sheep, that you would reveal your truth, that you give them
the peace that was made by the blood of your cross. We thank
you for your son and our Redeemer. We pray in his name. Amen.