How can I be purified?

Q: What does the Bible say about being purified before God?

The Bible teaches that true purification comes through faith in Christ, not through our own works. The Bible emphasizes that purification before God cannot be achieved through human effort or adherence to religious practices. In John 11, the Jews sought to purify themselves for the Passover, illustrating the futility of man-made religion. Job 25 raises the question of how a man can be justified before God, underscoring that only through Christ's sacrifice can one be truly pure. The only offering that satisfies God's holiness is the blood of Christ, which purges our conscience from dead works, granting us the purity we need to stand in His presence.

Q: How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Salvation by grace is affirmed in Scripture as the only means to stand justified before God. The concept of salvation by grace is foundational to Reformed theology, rooted in passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9, which declares that we are saved by grace through faith, not of works. This is further supported by Romans 3:28, stating that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law. The nature of grace signifies that it is unmerited favor from God, meaning that human efforts cannot achieve righteousness. Throughout the Bible, particularly in the message of the gospel, we see that Christ's sacrifice fulfills all requirements for redemption, making grace the only basis for salvation.

Q: Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

Understanding grace is vital as it reveals our dependence on Christ for salvation and sanctification. Understanding grace is crucial for Christians as it shapes our relationship with God and influences our daily lives. Grace signifies that our standing before God is not based on our performance but solely on Christ's finished work. This truth liberates believers from the burden of legalism and self-righteousness. In addition, knowing that salvation is completely a work of God encourages humility, gratitude, and a desire to live in accordance with His will. It transforms our good works into acts of worship as we respond to God’s kindness with love and obedience.

Q: How can I have a pure heart according to the Bible?

A pure heart is obtained through faith in Christ and receiving a new heart from God. The Bible teaches that to have a pure heart, one must turn to Christ. In Matthew 5:8, Jesus declares that the pure in heart are blessed, as they will see God. This purity is not achieved through our efforts but is a work of God's grace. Jeremiah 24:7 states that God gives His people a heart to know Him. Therefore, we must seek a new heart that is in accordance with God's will. This involves coming to Christ in faith, recognizing our sinful state, and relying solely on His righteousness for our standing before a holy God.

Our text this morning can be found in the Gospel of John, chapter 11. John, chapter 11. And we'll begin reading at verse 55. The Jews' Passover was nigh at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves, to purify themselves. How can I be pure before God? That's the question this morning. I hope the Lord will answer for us. At the Jews' Passover, they went up to Jerusalem to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him.

I'd like to ask you, if you will, to turn back with me to the book of Job, Job chapter 35. I'm sorry, Job chapter 25. Job 25. All of Scripture speaks of Christ. All of Scripture reveals the gospel, the good news of salvation in Christ. And that certainly includes the book of Job. So many read the book of Job thinking that it just addresses the matter of suffering. But that's not the message of the book of Job. The book of Job is a gospel message. like everywhere else in the scriptures. In the volume of the book, it is written of me.

The Lord had given Satan permission to afflict Job greatly. Lost all of his children, lost all of his possessions, lost his health. And now his friends, who he calls miserable comforters, his friends come to him and say, Job, what are you hiding? We know you're living a double life. God would not do these things to you unless you deserved it. Come clean, Job, and this will go away. And Job, knowing that he wasn't living a double life, justified himself.

And being tempted by these friends, he even said to God, God, let me bring my case before you, and I'll prove to you that I don't deserve this. Job equated suffering with sin. Yes, all suffering in this world ultimately is a result of the fall of man. It's a result of sin. But there is not a direct correlation between a particular sin and the suffering that the Lord afflicts his children with.

Our afflictions sent by God are for the purpose of causing us to see our need for grace. one of his comforters by the name of Bildad. Interestingly, Bildad's name means confusing love, confusing love. Bildad's name can also be translated a mixed message. And that's what you get when you mix works with grace. If it is of grace, it can no longer be of works. Otherwise, grace is not grace. Salvation is all of grace.

But Job and his friends thought that somehow his pattern of life brought this affliction on him. And so Bildad, in Job chapter 25, in continuing to afflict Job with these accusations, now at the end of the story, a man by the name of Elihu is going to preach the gospel. And he's aggravated at all four of these men, including Job, because they're justifying themselves. And after Bildad preaches the gospel, then, I'm not Bildad, Elihu, after Elihu preaches the gospel, then God's gonna speak. And God's going to say to Job, who is this that darkens my counsel without knowledge?

Brace yourself, Job, like a man. And I'm going to ask you a few questions. You've been interrogating me, asking me why these things are happening, thinking that you don't deserve them. Let me ask you a few questions. And God reveals himself to Job. And in the end of that revelation, after having heard the gospel, after God reveals himself to Job, Job says this. He says, behold. Behold, I see something I've never seen before. I am vile. And I repent in dust and ashes. I had heard of thee by the hearing of mine ear, but now mine eyes have seen thee.

Job was brought to understand that salvation is all of grace and that he was a sinner. He was a sinner. and that the sufferings that he was being afflicted with were not directly related to a particular sin, but were for the cause of God saying to him, Job, you've got to be saved by grace. By grace. You can't mix works with grace.

You can't listen to Bildad. You can't have a confusing message. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. But if you don't do your part, he's going to send you to hell. That's a confusing message. That's mixed love. That's the message of Bildad.

And the whole world has gone down the path of grace and works. You know, every religion in the world believes that salvation is by grace. Plus works. You listen to the Muslims. You listen to all the religions of the world, and they'll talk about the grace of God. But the grace of God by itself is not sufficient to save. You've got to do your part. You've got to do your part. And God's hands are tied until you do what he requires of you for him to be able to save you.

Now that's the message of Bildad. That having been said, oftentimes these unbelievers, as well as unbelievers today, will say things that are true. And Bildad's gonna say some things to Job here that are true. Job chapter 25. Look with me, if you will, at verse four.

How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? That's the question. How can a man born of a woman stand before God pure? These Jews went to the Feast of Passover in John chapter 11 to purify themselves. Is that not a description of all man-made religion? That men, ignorant of the righteousness of God, not knowing that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, go about trying to establish their own righteousness? Purifying themselves? And Bildad says, how can a man be born of a woman stand clean before God?

Job was saying, I'm clean. I'm innocent. I don't deserve this. And Bildad's saying, no, you're not. Verse 5. Behold, even to the moon, and it shineth not. Yea, the stars are not pure in the sight of God. Now, that's true. Bildad's saying some true things. She said, how are you going to make yourself pure, Job? The stars are not pure in the sight of the one whose eyes are too pure to look upon sin.

The Holy One, the one that is completely other than we are in every way, Holiness is not just moral purity. Holiness is a separation, an eternal separation that exists between us and God. A great gulf is fixed between us. And there is one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. There's no way for us to cross that gulf. There's no way for us to make ourselves pure to God. There's no way for us to be clean in the eyes of a holy God. Verse six, how much less man that is a worm and the son of man which is a worm.

Job, what are you gonna do? But Job answered and said, how hast thou helped him that is without power? How savest thou the arm that has no strength? What you're saying to me, Bildad, is true. I can't be pure before God, but you're not giving me any answers. The only answer you're giving is clean your life up, change your ways. Do something about it. Fix the problem. That's the message of the book of Job. And Job, I wanted you to see Bildad's words. How are we going to be clean before God? How can a man make himself pure? The moon and the stars aren't pure before a holy God. And Job said, you're not being any help to me, because you haven't given me the answer.

Matthew chapter 5, you find the Beatitudes. And in verse 8, the Lord said, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. To be pure, to be without offense, to be without sin, to be perfect, The Lord says, the Lord Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Now, most people read the Beatitudes and say, well, if I can figure out a way to get pure in heart, then God will bless me. No, the blessing is to be pure in heart, and only the pure in heart are going to see God.

Back to our text, these Jews were taking much care to their religious ceremonies, trying to make the pretense of purifying themselves. The Lord said this of the Pharisees. He said, you're like a cup that's filled on the inside with corruption, and you clean up the outside of it. What a picture of man-made religion. Men trying to purify themselves to stand in the presence of God. Clean up the outside. Man looks at the outward appearance. Clean up the parts you can see. Do this and don't do that. Are there things we ought to do and things we ought not to do? Yes, of course.

Is cleaning up the outside, turning over a new leaf going to make me pure before God? The Lord said, you're like a whitewashed tomb. You put whitewash on the outside, but the inside's full of dead men's bones. God's looking at the heart. We've got to be pure in heart if we're to stand in the presence of a holy God. And no effort. Religious men, they strain at a gnat, and they swallow a camel. They try to figure out a way to fix all these little problems and don't get to the real heart of the matter, which is their heart.

Lord, I've got to have a new heart. I've got to have the mind of Christ. We come into this world with a heart of stone, and it's as cold and hard and lifeless toward God as a rock. And God said, I'm going to take out the heart of stone. I'm going to put in a heart of flesh. What is that heart of flesh? Well, David describes it in Psalm 51. He says, it is a broken and contrite heart.

Lord, I can't trust my own heart. You hear people all over the world say, well, follow your heart. God says this in the Proverbs, a man that follows his own heart is a fool. My heart's not reliable, my thoughts are not reliable, it's broken, it can't be trusted. So how do I know the heart of God? He has revealed it in his word. A contrite heart, it's a teachable heart.

Not only is it teachable, but it's, it prefers God's way over man's way. It prefers God, Lord, you're gonna have to save me. I can't do it. It says not my will, but thy will be done. That's the mind of Christ. Lord, I can't, I can't make it happen. And my will in terms of the, Daily pursuits of life. Let no man say, we're going to go to this city and that city and buy and sell and make gain. Say this instead if it be the Lord's will. Preface all that you do with God, thy will be done. Thy will be done. Only those that have been given the mind of Christ, only those that have a pure heart, and only those who are looking in faith to Christ for all of their righteousness before God would ever be able to say such a thing.

And do we pursue our own desires? Do we follow our own thoughts and minds? Yeah, often, too often. Thank God for His Holy Spirit. He reveals to us again and again and again, and I hope right now, most especially, He reveals these things to us in the preaching of the gospel. Lord, I cannot be trusted. Lord, I cannot, I cannot figure this out, and I cannot save myself. This word in our text, to purify themselves. I'm not going to get into all the details of the language, except that it's in the active voice. Active voice means that the action is being performed by the subject.

So this isn't a purification that's being done to them. This is a purification that they are doing. And the mood of the word is such that they're not sure if it's going to result in a good outcome. In other words, it's potential. We are potentially trying to do everything in our power to purify ourselves, not knowing for sure if it's going to work. That's what this means. That's exactly the meaning of this word. We're doing this in hopes of making ourselves pure before God.

It may work. It may not work. We don't know the outcome. What a blessing it is when one of God's elect, when found wanting, found wanting, are able to see, Lord, I don't know if it's going to work. It's the pattern of the religious. Maybe if I just do a little more, Maybe if I try a little harder, maybe if I work harder, maybe if I learn more, I can purify myself. Maybe it'll work. And some, this is why I say it's a blessing, because some will convince themselves that it did work. I've purified myself.

And they'll compare themselves to other men and believe themselves to be good enough. And they'll compare themselves to themselves and believe themselves to be getting better. What a blessing it is when one of God's elect in religion is spinning their wheels and doing all that they can do and not know for sure. Not know for sure. Until finally the Lord calls them out of that dark, dark, dark way.

And this is a reference, purifying yourself also is a reference back to Numbers chapter 9. In Numbers chapter 9, the Lord speaks of observing the Passover. But he makes it clear that if any man has touched a dead body, then he's not fit to observe the Passover.

And he must purify himself of that, whether it be, you know, it didn't have to be a body of a human. And knowing the way these Jews were, they probably thought stepping on a bug would have been touching a dead body. You know, whether it be cleaning the fish or preparing a meat for a meal. I've touched, my hands have touched something dead, so therefore I'm unclean and I need to go through these things to purify myself.

Is that the meaning of what the Lord meant when he said don't touch any? If you've touched something dead, then you're not worthy to observe the Passover and you must be purified. Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1 speaks of repentance from dead works. What is a dead work?

It's a work that I have performed. It's a work that I've done in my own strength for my own glory. It's something that I'm presenting to God for the hope of my salvation. But Lord, we have done many wonderful works in thy name. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Those works that you're presenting as the hope of your salvation, I'm saying are iniquity. They are dead works.

Here's what the Lord's telling us, brethren. If we put our hand, as did Cain, To our offering, God will have no regard for it. Why did God receive Abel's offering and not Cain's? Cain's offering was the works of his hands. He offered it up, and God received it not. And he said, nothing's changed. Nothing's changed. God hasn't changed. It's the same message, isn't it? No, Abel's offering was accepted to God because it was a blood sacrifice.

And that alone will be sufficient to put away our sin and purify us before God. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter nine. Hebrews chapter nine. And look at verse, look at verse 12. 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. When the Lord Jesus died on Calvary's cross, he entered into that tabernacle, which was not made with hands. He put his blood on the mercy seat in heaven. And at that moment, he obtained, he secured, he purchased eternal redemption for all his people. It's the only offering. When God told Moses to put the blood on the mercy seat, God said, here, I will meet with you. Nothing's changed. God's still saying, here, I will meet with you. When I see the blood, I will pass by you.

Verse 13, for if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of heifers sprinkled the unclean sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, this was the Old Testament ceremonies that Christ fulfilled, the sprinkling of the blood on the instruments that were being used for worship and those that were coming into worship to sanctify them, to set them apart. Verse 14, here's what I want you to see. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Do we not do good works? Yes, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which He has ordained for us. Do we do those things in hopes of meriting favor with God, earning salvation with God, glorying in something we've done? No. No, Lord, we're just an unprofitable servant. What have we done? You gave a drink to them that were thirsty. You put clothing on them that were naked. And what did the saints in glory say when the Lord commends them for their good works? Lord, when did we do those things?

Believers don't spend their lives making a tally and a register of the things that they do in hopes of being able to present them to God on the day of judgment. They're ashamed of what they do. They can't glory anything. I don't want to make this about me in any way, but I'm ashamed of my preaching. I am. I'm not being pious here. I'm not trying to be humble. I'm telling you, I'm ashamed of it.

I'm sorry you've got to endure it. If God doesn't bless it, what hope do we have? If all we hear is the words of a man, no one will be saved. Lord, you've got to. Grace. Equals in spite of. Here's my hope. Paul said I am what I am by the grace of God in spite of what I in spite of me. If the Lord doesn't bless it, nothing that we do will matter. So Christ offers himself, verse 14, to God without spot, pure, that he might relieve our conscience of all dead works. Now, what does that mean?

If I'm an honest person, If I got a shred of honesty about me, and I've got any understanding at all about the holiness of God, and I'm looking to something that I did for the hope of my salvation or for my acceptance before God, whether it be something I've done to merit salvation or something I've done to prove salvation. This is not just works that men look to in their faith and in their good works to merit salvation. But this has something to do with progressive sanctification too. There's a whole lot of Calvinists that I know who believe in a, they're looking and comparing and competing with one another to see whose works are better than the other, and they're cracking the whip of the law, practicing church discipline against one another because you're in this sin and you're in that sin, and I'm not this way and that way, and all those Calvinists that are doing that believe that salvation is all of God.

But now that we've been saved, we gotta, We've got to purify ourselves. We've got to purify ourselves. And it's full of pride and self-righteousness. This thing goes deep. And it goes deep in my heart, and it goes deep in your heart, because we're all a bunch of recovering Pharisees. And we're all prone to look to something that we did to get some comfort and some hope. We're all prone to purifying ourselves But as soon as we try to purify ourselves, our conscience convicts us. If we know anything about what God requires for purification, our conscience convicts us. Because we just put our hands on a dead work.

And we have no confidence that that which we're looking to is acceptable to God. And our conscience becomes unsettled, it becomes unsure, it becomes convicted until the Lord calls us to see, Lord, the only purity I have before Thee is Christ. The only way I can stand in the presence of the Holy God is to be accepted in the Beloved, is to be found in Him. is to be a partaker of Christ Jesus. That's the only way I can stand before God. I can't purify myself.

Let's read verse 14 again. Romans chapter 9, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from your dead works? I no longer have to rely upon something I did. I no longer have to look to something I haven't done, some failure. I can rest all my hope on the spotless Lamb of God who put His precious blood before God the Father, and God said, I'm satisfied.

This was happening. Go back with me to our text. This is the only peace there is. If you're an honest person, if you can find peace in a dead work, if you can find peace in something you did, you are lying to yourself. And the father of lies has deceived you. And you've come to believe that your dead work is a good work, and God's gonna tell you in the day of judgment that it's iniquity.

John chapter 11. This was all happening before the Passover. The Passover. We know what that was. God's going to bring the children of Israel out from under the bondage of the law. He's going to deliver them and make them a free people. No longer will the taskmasters beat them and abuse them and cause them to fear. No longer will the weight of the law be on them. But before he does that, he has to show them his glory.

The 10 plagues, all 10 of those plagues, were an attack against an Egyptian god, a false Egyptian god, the Nile god, the god of the flies, the god of the frogs, all those gods. And God's not proving himself to the Egyptians. God doesn't go about proving. He's showing his glory to the Israelites who have been 400 years in that place. And all the god they ever heard about was the god of Egypt.

And now the tenth and final plague is the death angel. And God tells Moses, you have each house, slay a lamb, shed its blood, put the blood on the doorpost and the lintel of the house, take the lamb, before you kill it, bring it into your house and inspect it for four days. When the Lord Jesus in John chapter 12 makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he's going to cleanse the temple.

He's going to rebuke the Pharisees. He's going to teach the disciples. He's going to have the Last Supper. He's going to have the Olivet Discourse. He's going to do all these things openly for four days. For four days in Jerusalem, he's going to be openly, and this is in contrast to what they're saying in our text. I wonder if he'll come. I wonder if he'll come to Jerusalem. He knows the Pharisees have put out an edict that he should be arrested and killed.

Maybe he's afraid to come. Oh, he wasn't afraid. When he came, he came riding upon an ass. The whole city came out to recognize him. But for four days, he manifested himself clearly to all the people of Jerusalem. And then on that fourth day, he was crucified. That's that lamb. Inspect it. Make sure there's no spot, there's no wrinkle, there's no disease on that lamb. And at the end of the four days, kill it, eat it, Don't break any of its bones.

When the Lord Jesus died on Calvary's cross, the soldiers came and they broke the bones of the two thieves, the legs of the two thieves, because they were still alive. And with the broken legs, they would have collapsed and not been able to breathe and they would have died quickly. That's what that's all about. But when they came to the Lord Jesus, he had already given up the ghost. He was in complete control of his death. He had offered himself to his father. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.

Don't break any of the bones of this lamb. Eat it. And what you don't eat, consume with fire. Burn it all. Don't leave any of it left. And get behind the blood. Now, I've heard men say, well, you know, you have to apply the blood. You can't apply the blood. All you can do is get in the house behind the blood. Don't stick a finger out of the window. Get in the house behind the blood. And God said, when I see the blood, I will pass by you. It is the blood of that lamb that causes me to pass over you. And where the blood is not, The firstborn of every house will be killed. Now that's what they were celebrating, trying to purify themselves. Titus chapter 2 says, he hath purified to himself a peculiar people. a purchased people, zealous for good works, zealous for good works.

There's a difference between dead works and good works. A good work is a work done in faith. A good work is what believers do willingly, gladly, joyfully when they give, and they serve, and they pray, and they come to worship, and they encourage one another, and they share the gospel with friends and family members. To the glory of God, they do it in faith, looking to Christ, not acknowledging these works to themselves, not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, God's people, who have been purified by him unto himself, are zealous for good works.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 says this, Christ, who is our Passover, They're standing in the temple. They're celebrating the Passover. The person of the Passover has just left there and will soon come back. And they're worried about purifying themselves from having touched something dead so that they can participate in the Passover. And on the Passover, they're going to crucify the Passover. And these very people at the triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus who are crying, Hosanna, praise God. Hosanna to the highest. This is the Messiah. Four days later, we're going to be crying, crucify him, crucify him.

And the Lord Jesus is going to, on the Passover, bow his mighty head on Calvary's cross. shed his precious blood, and cry, it is finished. I've given myself to my Father for all the sins of my people, and I have purified to myself a purchased people, a peculiar people, who will be zealous for good works. In Exodus chapter 12, the first time we hear the word Passover, we see the word Passover.

Listen to it. And you shall eat it in haste, for it is the Lord's Passover. It is the Lord's Passover. And notice in our text, it's called the Jews' Passover. It's what we do. We take the things of God and we pervert them to where it's no longer it's the Lord's, it's man's.

Man-made religion is riddled with things that are true. People say all kinds of true things, like Bildad did to Job. And yet, what did Bildad's name mean? Confusing love, mixed message, and no lies of the truth. As soon as you put works in with grace, it is no longer grace.

It's man's works. What are they doing? They're taking the things of God. This is exactly what's happening today in all forms of religion, and we must guard against it in our own hearts. And they mix works with grace. You see it? We have two things that God has given us. And that's His Word and the Holy Spirit.

And anything else we look to for our salvation or for the evidence of our salvation, Men will naturally walk by sight rather than walking by faith. If all we have is God's Word and the Holy Spirit, that's going to require faith. But what do men do? Well, you know, I can't see that, so I need something I can see. So they stained glass their windows, and they put crosses on the front of their pulpits, and they wear robes and phylacteries and put crosses on their vehicles. And they make videos, and they do stage performances, all an appeal to the flesh. Give me something I can see. Give me something I can touch. Give me something I can feel.

Turn with me to Genesis, Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. We've got to look at this just briefly. Exodus chapter 20. Verse four. Please look at this with me. Exodus chapter 20, verse four. It's the Ten Commandments. It's the second of the Ten Commandments.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on earth beneath, that is in the water or under the earth. crosses, robes, crowns. We must not have anything that we can look to physically if we're going to walk by faith. We must not put our hands to dead works. We must not rely upon those things.

What is God saying to you and me? I'm going to make myself known to you, but I'm going to make myself known to you by my word in your heart, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's all you're going to have. And you can't look to something you did to earn it, and you can't look to something that you're doing to prove it. You're going to have to look to Christ and Christ alone. And he's the only one that can purify you.

That's the life faith. And those that are after the flesh, they mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. That which is of the flesh is flesh, and the flesh profiteth nothing. It is the spirit that giveth life. That which we can see is temporal. But that which cannot be seen is spiritual. We look upon those things which cannot be seen. You're not going to see these things, not with the physical eye.

You're going to hear a voice from heaven. You say, well, are you talking about an audible voice preacher? No, it's a whole lot louder than that. It's a whole lot louder than an audible voice. The voice that you hear from God will drown out all audible voices so that if anything audible is contrary to what you hear from God, you're gonna say, that will be done. God's word is right.

The whole world can go the way of Cain. I've got to have Christ. I've got to have him. They thought that the Lord Jesus was afraid to come to Jerusalem because he left after the resurrection of Lazarus in John chapter 11. He left and went to Ephraim with his disciples. And they're all looking for him to arrest him. And that's the question in our text, in verse 56. John chapter 11, verse 56. Then sought they for Jesus and spake among themselves.

They're having this conversation among themselves. What do you think? Why do I care what you think? And what do you care what I think? What does God say about it? When we preach and what we believe is thus saith the Lord. It's not what a denomination, it's not what a creed, it's not what a confession, it's not what a person thinks. Well, I think it's this way. That's what they're doing. They're having this discussion. What do you think? Is he gonna come? I don't care what you think. And you ought not to care what I think. Not when it comes to the things of God. What does God say? That's all I've got. Maybe he's afraid to come. He knows you're out to get him. Oh.

You know, what is it that causes fear in our lives? Is it not the unknown? We're not in control. We don't have control of circumstances. We don't know what's going to happen. As long as we've got everything under our control, we feel confident. But as soon as things start slipping away, we become afraid. A God that wants everybody to be saved, but that's going to end up having to send most of the people that he loves to hell and not able to save them because they didn't do their part, is a God who needs to be afraid because he's not in control. He's not in control. That's what they're saying. I wonder if he's afraid to come.

Oh, he wasn't afraid. No, he came boldly right down Main Street with a parade and made himself known. He went straight to the temple and turned over the money changer's table. He taught in the synagogue, in the temple. The Roman soldiers, when they came to arrest him, He said to them, I am, and they fell down. Whom seeketh thou? Jesus of Nazareth, I am. And they fell down. Oh, there was no fear in his heart. He was in complete control of everything, and he still is. He still is.

He said to Pilate, you have no authority. Pilate said, don't you know I have the power to crucify you? You have no power at all except for that which is given to you from heaven. and all authority has been given unto me, both in heaven and in earth. And he makes us willing, willing in the day of his power to bow before him.

Lord, if I'm going to be pure, you said the pure in heart are the only ones that can see you. Lord, you're going to have to give me the heart of Christ. You have to give me a new heart, a cleansed heart. And if my heart's going to be cleansed, it's not going to be based on anything I did. There's only one thing that's going to cleanse the sinner's heart, and that's the blood of Christ.

Our Heavenly Father, oh, thank you. Thank you for thy dear son. Thank you for the revelation of the gospel. Thank you for thy word. Thank you for thy Holy Spirit. Lord, thank you for the forgiveness of our sin and for the hope of eternal life. Lord, give us a new heart. We ask it in Christ Jesus. Amen. Adam. Number 13 in the spiral hymnal. Let's stand together. 13.

How can I be purified?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being purified before God?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

How can I have a pure heart according to the Bible?

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How can I be purified?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being purified before God?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

How can I have a pure heart according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

Comments

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