Open your Bibles, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 1. My message is about two words found in verse 1. The words are in Christ. In Christ. And these two words are such wonderful words. I even named the message in Christ. In Christ. Now everyone in this world are either out of Christ or in Christ. Those who are the born-again blood-washed saints of God are in Christ. Those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, those who are not born again by the Holy Spirit of God, are not in Christ. I don't care how religious they are, and that includes all those false religions in the world, And that even includes people who claim to know Christ, but there's no born again, they don't believe in that you have to be born again at all, or they believe in the false gospel of something they have to do to be saved. They're lost. So there's two types of sinners in this world. Lost sinners and forgiven sinners. Lost sinners and safe sinners. And the only difference between the two is one group is in Christ and the other group is outside of Christ.

Ephesians 1, 1 and 2, verse 1 and 2 says this. And remember, those who are in Christ have received the mercy of God. in the grace of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord, and through his perfect sacrifice as a substitute to save sinners through his blood and righteousness. It's wonderful. Ephesians chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Now, the saints at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus are the same. He says, Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the message of the Bible is Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. God became a man. God became a man to save sinners. Now, there's a lot of practical things for us too, but I'll tell you what, the main message, the main thing that preachers should focus on all the time is the preaching of Jesus Christ.

Now, I'll tell you what's happened. You got folks out there, they're preaching on mirrors, they're talking about this, they're always talking about something you gotta do. Do not go to those preachers. Do not listen to those preachers. They're feeding you a lie. If they don't preach Christ and Him crucified, they shouldn't be getting in the pulpit at all.

My. Listen to what, what Paul said. What Paul said in, 1 Corinthians 2, now this is good instruction for preachers who are older and young preachers and preachers who feel like they're just being called by God. And even for us as believers, when we're speaking to people, listen to this. Paul says this, 1 Corinthians 2, verses one and three.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, So he didn't talk in lofty language. That's what that means. He didn't spin their minds with the wisdom of the world. No. I did not come to you with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I am determined Now, here, this is good for every preacher who preaches Christ. Look at this. "'For I am determined not to know anything among you, "'not about angels, not about this, not about that, "'not about church history, not about the confessions.'" Oh, really? Yeah.

Paul says this, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, in Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. See, here's the great Apostle Paul. He didn't go off talking about this and talking about that. His message. And see, we've gotten so far away from this in today's world.

Religion knows nothing of this. It's nonstop seminaries on how to help save your marriage and how to do this and how to do that. And no one's preaching Christ. The Bible's just a handbook to them of do's and don'ts. But this word, beloved, this word, preach Christ from this word. It's the only hope for sinners right here.

And Paul, I love it, he says, I'm determined not to know anything among you. I'm not gonna get caught up in church history. I'm not gonna get caught up in denominationals. I'm gonna preach Christ to you. I'm gonna preach Christ to you. My. I'm determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Crucified for sinners, dying for sinners to save us from our sins. My.

He says, I've declared unto you all the counsel of God. In Acts chapter 20 verse 27. So what he's saying there, he's saying, I preach Christ to you. If you preach all the counsels of God, you're preaching Christ. As Paul said, I'm determined not to preach anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now that would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't it? That would solve a lot of problems if people just preach Christ. But you can't preach who you don't know. Hmm. Yeah. When God saved me, I found out something about myself that I'm a dead dog sinner. And I found out Christ is a great savior of sinners.

And by the grace of God, he drew me to Christ. He gave me faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And now he's given me the ability to preach about him. And I'll tell you what, I'm determined not to preach anything from this pulpit but Christ and Him crucified. Oh yeah, by the grace of God and by the mercy of God. And I hope whoever comes next after me, because I'm going to die, whoever comes next after me, I pray they're going to preach Christ to you too. My.

Now, if you've not yet learned that Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the foundation, the essence, and the fullness of divine truth of the scriptures here, if you've not discovered the message of the Bible is Christ and Him crucified, and the hope of the gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ, And you have read the word of God with no profit to your soul, and your religion is a show, it's a sham. And you are yet without God, and you are yet without hope.

Listen to this, Luke chapter 24, verse 7. Christ is walking on the road to Arimaeus with two disciples, and they're down, Christ is being, he's being buried, and they think it's all over. In verse 20, 27 of Luke 24, the Lord's walking with them, but he hasn't revealed himself to them.

And he says this, Scripture says this, In the beginning, Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. That Old Testament, it speaks of Christ. Paul, what did Paul preach from? When he said, I'm determined to preach nothing but Christ in Him crucified, he preached the Old Testament, beloved. He preached Christ. And we who are New Testament saints, we preach Christ. Same message, beloved, Christ and Him crucified.

And then further on down in Luke 20, 24, 44, and he says unto them, these are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. Now, did you see that? You see that? Oh my. He says, the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms all testify to me. They all spoke of me. And that's the whole Old Testament, beloved. And then here comes Paul and the apostles, and they're preaching Christ from the Old Testament. Because this whole word, and in the New Testament, it all speaks of Christ. My. My.

Now, if that's your state, what I mentioned before, if you haven't come to the understanding that Christ is the center of all scripture, then all your religion is in vain. And if that's your state, then the knowledge you have of the sacred scriptures will only add to your condemnation. will only add to your condemnation in the day of judgment.

Because without Christ crucified, you know what religion is without Christ crucified? It's like a bucket with no bottom. I used to carry a pail around sometimes to help my dad. Always had a bottom in it. But if your religion is without Christ, it's like a bucket with no bottom. It's useless. and it'll only lead to the condemnation of your soul.

Without the crucified Savior, there's no forgiveness of sin, absolutely none, because the forgiveness of sin comes through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Christ, there's no comfort in trouble. Without Christ, there's no strength for trials. Without Christ, there's no atonement, no peace with God. No peace with God.

Without Christ, there's no reconciliation to God. We fell in Adam. We must be reconciled to God. Christ reconciles his people back to God through his precious blood. But without Christ, there's no reconciliation to God. Without Christ, one has no mediator between God.

One has no priest. One has no advocate. Oh, my. But we believers have an advocate in heaven. And His name is Jesus Christ the righteous. And without Christ, there's no hope in death, no access to God, and no entrance into heaven. Absolutely none. I ask all who hear this, do you understand this? Christ is all. That's what He is for every believer. He's all. He's everything. He's all I need. He's all my salvation. He's my God. He's my shield. He's my defender. He redeemed me with his blood. God became a man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Saved me from my sins.

And without him, we are nothing. Vicki was mentioning a verse in between messages when Christ said in John 15, verse five, without me, you can do nothing. Can't save ourselves, can't redeem ourselves, can't sanctify ourselves, can't get access to God by ourselves. It all comes through Christ. Without Him, we are nothing and have nothing but sin and death.

All that God has for guilty sinners, all that He does for guilty sinners, all that He requires of guilty sinners, is in the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh. Our crucified, risen, and exalted substitute and Savior. Listen to this, John 3, verses 35 and 36. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand.

He that believeth not, or he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Okay, you believe on Christ, you have everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. And how do we see the Son? Oh, we see him as our God, our Savior, and based upon nothing in us. If you're trusting anything you've done, along with the finished work of Christ, you have a soul-damning, soul-damning religion. Salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end. And the love of God is in Christ.

Now, one of the worst things this side of hell, beloved, is for preachers to tell sinners that they are beneficiaries of God, God's love, mercy, and grace, without Christ. There's no way. Oh, that's one of the worst things this side of hell, people could tell, preachers could tell people. Because outside of Christ, oh, I'll tell you what, outside of Christ, there's no mercy from God.

God's love is in Christ to his people. Oh, my. You know what there is outside of Christ? No love, no mercy, no grace, but only wrath and judgment and condemnation. Think upon this, when the flood came, here comes the flood, right? God told Noah there's gonna be a flood. You know what?

There was no mercy, no deliverance anywhere but in that ark. And that ark was a picture of Christ. It was a picture of Christ. And the believer in Christ Just as not one drop of God's wrath, which is represented by the rain, did one drop fall on Noah and his family? Not one. You know why? Because the ark was sealed with pitch, which pitch is the blood of Christ. We're sealed, beloved.

Not one drop of God's wrath will ever touch us because it fell upon our Savior and our room and place. Just like the rains beat, think of that, the fury of God's wrath beat upon that ark, right? And all that were outside of that ark perished, every one. But all who were in that ark survived. That pictures all who are in Christ. My oh my, see the importance of being in Christ?

My, that flood came, there was no mercy for those outside, no deliverance for those outside that ark. Outside that ark there was death and the fury of God's wrath, which the flood is a picture of God's wrath, the rain beaten upon the ark. My, but not a drop of that fury of God, not a drop of that wrath of God fell on Noah. The ark was sealed with pitch. Again, pitch is the blood of Christ. And, beloved, we are safe from God's wrath. We are safe from God's law. We are safe from God's judgment in Christ. In Christ Jesus, our Lord.

God said to Israel, I will meet with thee And I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat. Oh, there's the blood. There's the blood covering the law, beloved. Oh, I'll meet you at the mercy seat. That means I'll meet you in Christ. Oh, praise his mighty name. Christ is the mercy seat. And God meets the sinner nowhere else. Nowhere else but in Christ. Oh my, and we who are in Christ are fully, freely forgiven by the grace and mercy of God. Amen and amen.