Open your Bible, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. I've been studying this wonderful book with you all on Sunday mornings for Sunday school. Ephesians chapter 1. And I just thought, you know, I have to do a short sermon on this because it was so wonderful what we looked at. And I just wanted to preach again from this verse, verse four, Ephesians chapter one, verse four, for this short sermon. The name of the message is Spotless Before God.

And it's all about how sinners, safe sinners, sinner saints, as Luther used to like to say, sinner saints, We who are the born-again, blood-washed saints of God are at the same time sinners and saints. It's absolutely amazing. It's absolutely amazing. But before God's eyes, we're spotless, beloved, because of the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let's open our Bible to Ephesians chapter 1. And we who are the redeemed of the Lord, let us marvel at this text put before us, which shows us in very plain language the fact that God has saved his people through the blood and righteousness of Christ, according to his own will, because he chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. It's amazing.

Let's read verses 3 to 4 to see a little bit of the context of verse 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That alone is just mind-blowing. Why do we have all spiritual blessings in Christ?

Look at the next verse. According as he has chosen us in him, that's in Christ, that's God choosing us in Christ, before the foundation of the world. Now, a lot of people say, I don't believe that. Well, you don't believe what God says. This is truth. It's in very clear English language for us. before the foundation of the world.

And there's nothing about anything we do, because it's based upon the free and sovereign grace of God in Christ. And as the last message, the only thing that's made us to differ from any other sinner in this world is, because we're safe sinners, remember, is because we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And when did we find grace in the eyes of the Lord? Well, it tells us here, before the foundation of the world. Now, what's the result of God choosing us in Christ and Christ redeeming us? Not only do we have all spiritual blessings in Christ, but look at this, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. And that love there is an everlasting love. God's everlasting love for his people. So let we who are redeemed of the Lord marvel at verse four. is we see very profoundly the truth that God chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world. To deny that is to deny what God's Word says. It's so clear, isn't it? And yet, unless God reveals it to us, we'll read those words and won't even understand them.

I remember when I was in religion, I read these words. Somebody told me about this. Somebody told me God chose the people in Christ, and I got so mad at that person, I stormed out of their office. And he just smiled and said, well, one day the Lord will reveal it to you. And you know what? He did, by the grace of God. By the grace of God. It's beautiful. My.

Now, we who believe are not made sons of God by our faith. As religion tells you, well, now that you believe, now your names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and now you're sons of God. No, no, our names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life in eternity, and we're not made sons of God by our faith, but we are eternally chosen in Christ by God himself. Turn, if you would, to Galatians chapter 4.

Open this up. And this brings it so clearly forth. We studied this in Sunday school. I brought it up many times, and it's worth repeating more and more and more. So the reason we believe is because we're sons of God. Verse 4 tells us we're chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. If we weren't chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, we'd never believe. Now, that's pretty, Wayne, that's pretty rough. No, it's not.

It's the truth, because there's none that seeketh after God. There's none that understandeth God. There's none that knoweth God. We don't know God, unless he reveals himself to us. And there's none righteous in God's eyes, which means we can't work our way into heaven by something we do.

Oh, look at this. Galatians chapter 4, verses 4 to 6. Now, again, let us see how clear this is. It says here, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his woman made of a... I'm so sorry. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law. Now, 90% of professing Christians are, well, I hope 100 would, but I doubt even everyone would believe this, but it says here, professing Christians, that is, all of God's true people believe this. Okay, it says that God sent forth his son. Okay, people say, I agree with that. And why?

Well, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. That tells us that we're just like everyone else before the Lord saves us. The law has a claim on us. Now, if we tie in Ephesians 1-4, which is according as he had chosen us in him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. And as I said, before we were believed, before we believed, we were already sons of God, because look what it says in the next verse. This is a great verse to take people to.

And because ye are sons, because you're sons, what's God done? God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Salvation's of the Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, period. Because you're sons, when did we become sons?

Before the foundation of the world. Chosen in Christ that we would be holy and without blame before God in love Because the only way we can be holy and without blame before God is in Christ a Son of his love my oh my So we see then the fact is emphasized that salvation is not a result of of human decision we see it right here, too but divine election. We tie this verse, Galatians 4, 6, in with Ephesians 1, 4, and it's clear that salvation's of the Lord. It's rooted in God's sovereign grace, in his mercy, his sovereign mercy, his sovereign love, too. And it's demonstrated to us through Christ.

And it's applied by the Holy Spirit of God. And it was all planned and purposed by God the Father. My. My. It's just amazing, beloved. And because we're heirs of God, therefore God sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, which is we're born again.

Gives us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us, right? For by grace he has saved through faith and not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Oh, he gives us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And now we testify, we testify that God, our Father, he's Abba Father. He's Abba. Oh my, Abba Father. Now this truth again is very humbling and very counterintuitive to human pride. But the gospel is offensive to human pride. because it shows us that salvation is of the Lord, that it's only in Christ and through his blood and righteousness. The born-again, blood-washed believer, though, this truth that salvation's of the Lord brings deep comfort to us. And what assurance! If salvation's of the Lord, then it's not based upon my doing, And I can't lose it.

But I don't want to go out the door and go crazy, do I? No, because the love of Christ now constrains me. And we want to obey God. We want to obey His word. And by His grace and His mercy, and being strengthened by the grace of God, we follow Christ. I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. would keep following Christ if it wasn't for the grace of God. No one. God keeps us, doesn't he? He keeps those he saved. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. And look at this.

The Holy Spirit has, Paul penned before us the fact that God's people were chosen by God by the Father in Christ in eternity to be holy and without blame before him in love. Let's read verses verse 4 again of Ephesians chapter 1. According as he had chosen us in Christ or in him that's Christ God had chosen us before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

Why do men kick against the pricks of this truth? Because it destroys human pride. We are wired to do something. We are wired to works, because we're born dead in trespasses and sin. And the only thing man knows, and man's been worshipping false gods, that they have to do something to appease his wrath, This is amazing. God appeases his own wrath by sending his son to die in our room and place. Therefore, salvation's of the Lord. Oh, but natural man, they don't like hearing that.

And I know we were all there. We were all there. We know why. Because in our unbelief, we thought the same way. It can't be that easy. It's gotta be by something I do. No, it's not. It's all by Christ's work and all his blood and righteousness. Any sinner who's saved, they're saved by the blood and righteousness of Christ and by his perfect sin atoning work alone. And the chosen redeemed sinners will be forever holy, we see here, and without blame before God and love, all because of the blood and righteousness of Christ. Listen to this. Listen to this. Our text says here, and this is a fact, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. This refers to the purpose of God, beloved.

This is why God chose us in Christ. And this is why we're redeemed by Christ, and this is why we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, so that we would be without blame before holy and without blame. Sinners made holy and without blame before God in love. All in Christ. And that we who are the redeemed be in awe and wonder. That is this wonderful doctrine that believers are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and to be blameless before God brings forth the purpose of God. in the fact that Christ came to undo, remove, and rectify completely the effects of sin and of our fallen Adam for his people, making his people holy and without blame before him. In doing so, Christ destroys the works of the devil.

And marvel at the fact that because of the perfect sin atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, When he died in our ruined place, his people are now, as a result of that perfect sin atoning work, holy and without blame before God and love. Let's read verse 4 once again, Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4. According as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. See the word holy in verse 4?

In the Greek it means holy, set apart, sanctified, consecrated, a saint. And see the word without blame? In our text, that's one word. Without blame is one text in the Greek. And it means without spot. Hence the title of the message being spotless before God. Without spot. without blemish, spotless without blemish.

My. And as we see the result of being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, in Christ, and because of his perfect sin atoning work on Calvary's cross, we are set apart by God. He chose us. He chose us, each one of us. And now we stand before him in Christ. without spot or blemish, being found in Christ and clothed with His perfect righteousness in love. And that love is eternal love, as I mentioned earlier.

Oh, we're clothed in the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ, washed in His blood. And we who are now sinner saints are now beautiful in God's eyes. My. All by the blood. all by the blood of Christ, by which we're redeemed. And we have been forgiven of all our sins. And now we're clothed in that perfect righteousness of Christ, which God has put on us. Which God's put on us.

We who are the redeemed of the Lord, we're now in Christ before God, holy and without blame before him in love. Let we who are the redeemed of the Lord marvel at what this text says. I'm going to close with Jude verse 24 and 25. Now unto him, that's being Christ, that is able to keep you from falling. See, if Christ didn't keep us, we'd fall a thousand times a day, if not more.

And to present you Faultless. Wow, that sounds like without blame. Huh? Faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. And what do we say as God's people? Amen and amen.