Vital Christianity

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ in us?

The Bible teaches that having Christ in us is essential for true spiritual life and salvation (Colossians 1:27). Colossians 1:27 states, 'To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.' This verse encapsulates the essence of vital Christianity, emphasizing that Christ living in us is what truly constitutes our spiritual life. Without this indwelling of Christ, no amount of religious activity or moral striving can yield genuine godliness or a right relationship with God. It is ultimately through Christ in us that we are transformed into His likeness, living lives that are reflective of His grace and truth.

Q: How do we know that Christ living in us is true?

We know Christ lives in us through personal faith and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 2:20). The assurance that Christ lives in us comes from our experience of faith and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Galatians 2:20 affirms this, stating, 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.' This transformation is evident in our desires, actions, and the ongoing sanctification that occurs as we grow in our relationship with Christ. Moreover, we recognize His presence through the fruits of the Spirit, which cultivate love, joy, peace, and righteousness in our lives.

Q: Why is having Christ in you important for Christians?

Having Christ in us is vital because He is the source of our spiritual life and hope for glory (Colossians 1:27). The importance of having Christ in us cannot be overstated. In Colossians 1:27, the apostle Paul reveals that 'Christ in you is the hope of glory.' This means that our hope for eternal life, acceptance before God, and spiritual transformation is solely based on Christ's presence within us. Without Him, our faith is empty, and our attempts to live a Christian life become futile and burdensome. The transformation that occurs through Christ in us empowers us to live in obedience to God and experience true peace and joy. Essentially, our relationship with Christ defines our identity and purpose as believers.

Q: How is the gospel revealed according to the sermon?

The gospel is revealed through the proclamation of the word by the preacher and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:6). The revelation of the gospel is a sovereign act of God, requiring both a preacher to proclaim His truth and the Holy Spirit to open the hearts and minds of the listeners. As discussed in the sermon, 2 Corinthians 4:6 states, 'For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' This scripture highlights that without the divine revelation of the Holy Spirit, the gospel remains hidden from those who hear it. The preacher’s role is to faithfully declare the message while relying on the Spirit to illuminate the hearts of the hearers, thus making the gospel effective in producing faith and transformation.

Q: What is vital Christianity?

Vital Christianity is centered on Christ, emphasizing the necessity of His presence within believers for true spiritual life. Vital Christianity revolves around the essential truth that Christ is at the center of our faith and existence. As articulated in the sermon, the essence of Christianity is not about adherence to a moral code or doctrinal creeds but about a person—Jesus Christ. Without Christ living in us, our religion devolves into mere ritual and activity devoid of spiritual substance. Vital Christianity affirms that only through the indwelling of Christ can believers experience true transformation, live as His representatives, and receive the hope of glory that accompanies salvation. Therefore, to live a vital Christian life means to have Christ actively working within us, shaping us into His image and guiding our actions.

turn please to Colossians chapter 1 and verse 27 Colossians 1 27 just told you Bible's open there I hear a lot of sermons as I travel listen to the radio some a little bit of television I hear a lot of sermons on how to live the Christian life practical godliness, holiness, and obedience. I hear a lot of fellows bring series of messages on these things.

I get a lot of religious book catalogs that come across my desk from across the country, various denominations, various organizations. As I thumb through them, it's very easy to see that the largest section of those catalogs All of them, without exception, the largest section of them. The most popular books being sold today are what I call how-to books. How to be a good husband, how to be a good church member, how to be a good witness, how to live a good Christian life, how-to books.

Preachers and religious leaders are falling over top of themselves with new ideas on how to get people to live for God. Instructions are given, rules are imposed, projections are made, goals are set, proposals are offered with enticements either by the threat of punishment or the loss of reward or the gain of reward if you do what's right.

But when the day's done, when the work's all over, folks go to their homes. The churches are full of people. professing godliness, but living without the knowledge of God. Active, active. Oh, very, very active in church, active in Sunday school, active in religion, but totally without the knowledge of God.

We're living in a religious generation. Maybe I should say a generation of religious people who simply don't know God. Preachers have but and hold about everybody. Almost everybody has made some kind of profession of faith. Folks have been talked into a religious profession without any experience of grace, and they've been baptized and brought into the church without knowing the living God, and now preachers are pulling their hair out trying to get folks to act like they know God when they know full well they don't know God. Trying to get folks to act like Christians because they know full well they're not Christians. Trying to get folks to return to New Testament Christianity because they know their brand of Christianity is anything but New Testament Christianity.

A religion that is all put on, pretense, that's all sham and show, has to be pumped and primed and pushed and pulled so we may look like we're busy for the Lord. And so preachers pump, and bribe, and push, and pull, and persuade, and coddle you, and bribe you, and encourage you, and hone you, and chase you down, and say, do this, now you've got to do this. This is what Christians are supposed to do. This is how Christians are supposed to live.

But it's all in vain. It did. Useless. Dead religion. And it leaves poor souls in utter confusion, disappointment, and frustration. I can think of nothing more frustrating, nothing more confusing, nothing more conflicting within a man than to try to live the Christian life without Christ. But that's what religion is all about in our day. Folks trying to live the Christian life without Christ. No wonder we've got to have counselors and Christian psychiatrists and Christian psychologists, somebody to try to get your mind back in shape because preachers have been out of shape. Preachers in religion have got folks going plum crazy with religious notions and ideas without the knowledge of God. Now, I want you to understand this. I'm not going to say anything more important than this throughout the whole message. Be sure you get this. If we would live for God, this one thing is vital. Bobby, we've got to have God living in us. You understand that?

If you would live the Christian life, as they say, if you would live for Christ, and we ought to live for Christ. Oh, we ought to live for Christ. But if you would live for Christ, you've got to have Christ living in you. Now, if God lives in me, I'll live for him. And if God doesn't live in me, no matter what I may pretend to have, I can't and I won't live for God. If Christ lives in you, now listen to me, if Christ lives in David Coleman, David Coleman will live for Christ.

He'll live for us. Oh, and he may stumble and fall, he may trip up, he may look like sometimes he's turned upside down, ain't gonna pull him out of the way. But in his life, he'll live for Christ. And if Christ doesn't live in him, he can't and he won't live for Christ, no matter how resolute he is.

You understand that? That's the essence of it. And my subject this morning is vital Christianity. My text is found here in Colossians 1, verse 27. whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. It is, which is Christ in you, in the hope of glory. Christ in you. Christ in you. Is Jesus Christ in you? Nothing else really matters. Nothing else really matters. Is Jesus Christ in you? Now, before we get to this 27th verse and the text that's found in it, let me make some observations with regard to the context, particularly verse 26.

The Apostle Paul is talking about being called and committed to the ministry of the gospel, that is, to the declaration of the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but is now made manifest to his saints. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a mystery. It's a mystery that has been hidden by God, hidden by divine decree, hidden by divine providence, hidden by God from generations, hidden by God from ages gone by.

In the Old Testament, during the days of the Mosaic economy, when God dealt with the Jewish nation and called them out as his specific people and gave revelation specifically to them, try to understand this, God Almighty hid the gospel from all the rest of the Satan was turned loose upon the world to blind the nations of the world that they should not see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. God gave his oracles, his law, his priest, his tabernacle, his temple, his sacrifices, the Passover, the ordinances of the Old Testament. He gave his word, his prophets, everything just to the Jews. Just to the Jews.

It was hidden from everybody else. And even to the Jews. to that select nation and those select people, the gospel was hidden under the tights and shadows and ceremonies of the law. That is to say, it was not fully revealed as it is now revealed and made manifest to us. And even today, in this day and age in which we live, the gospel is still hidden from men. It's still hidden.

Our Lord Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven And he said, Father, I thank thee thou hast hidden these things from the wise and true, and hast revealed them unto them. You witness to folks, you preach the gospel to them, you share a case to them, you You hear a message, and your heart's just stirred, and you see the glory of God revealed in Christ, and your soul is uplifted, and you hear that message, and you give it to a neighbor and say, boy, I want you to hear this.

Oh, if you just listen to this, you're going to hear something you've never heard before, and I'm sure it'll be amazing to you. He said, well, I'll take that home and listen to it. He said, you damn listen to it. And he comes back, and he doesn't say anything about the message, and after a week or two, you find him saying, did you ever listen to that sermon? Yeah, yeah, listen to that.

What do you think of it? Well, it's all right. It's all right. I didn't see anything wrong with that. But it didn't see anything in it. Why? Because the gospel's hidden. It's hidden. It's hidden. It's hidden to everybody until God does two things. First, until God sends a preacher. He sends a preacher. a man with his message, tell you the truth. And those who understand the message, they say, oh, how beautiful from the mountain are the feet of them that preach the gospel, of them that publish salvation, of them that stand as iron, my God, amen. Oh, what a blessed sight. How blessed we are that God allowed us to hear the word.

But my preaching it to you, won't reveal it to you. I study and I study hard. I prepare to preach to you. I make certain I don't come here unprepared. I don't take this thing lightly. But my most diligent study, my most well-ordered message, my most deliberate arguments, my most precise logic, will never reveal the gospel to you. Can't happen. The power of the gospel does not depend on the preacher's eloquence or ability or learning or education. Not in the very least does the gospel depend on us. Well, preacher, how then is the gospel revealed? Only if God the Holy Spirit comes and opens your blind eyes and stops your deaf ears. and gives you a heart to believe. Oh, blessed are your eyes for they see. Blessed are your ears for they hear. Blessed is your heart for you believe.

The Gospels hid unto God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness shines in our heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But look at the verse again. This blessed gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus the Lord is now made manifest to His saints. It is now made manifest by the sovereign effectual power and grace of His Spirit.

Oh, how blessed we are. How blessed we are. Last week, you heard numerous folks We came here to conference to talk about how blessed you are and you nod your head and you agree. But our tendency is to forget it real quick. To forget it real quick. We live in a place, in a day, in a time when God has been pleased to establish in our midst the gospel of his free grace.

What an astonishing thing. What an astonishing thing. I know folks who live in huge cities, who can't find a place where they can go hear a man preach the gospel. Live in huge cities, huge cities. And they're just astonished. How big is Danville? Well, you can find it if you look on a good map.

Why on earth does God sit the gospel there? Because God has been pleased to plant the gospel in your front yard, that's why. That's why. God Almighty has given us the privilege, not only of having the gospel set in our midst, but of giving us an understanding to see the light of the glory of the gospel. Let us then take care, O God, help me to hear you, let us take care that we do not despise the blessedness that God has given us. The blessedness he has so bountifully bestowed upon us. I raise this warning, because it's a warning you need to be raised.

The Jews walked in the wilderness led by God, and God Almighty gave them manna from heaven. Every morning, with the falling of the dew, manna fell down. Angels' food fell out of the sky. And they went out and gathered up all they needed. And in that manna was everything necessary for life and strength and health and sustenance of their being in this world. Everything was in that manna.

And they said, we're getting tired of this light bread. We're getting tired of this, like, oh, we wish we had some leeks and onions. Who on earth? Now, I like onions pretty good, but who on earth wants to swap manna for onions? We wish we had something else. And God gives us something else. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Larry and I were talking about this a little bit yesterday. I recognize that God's people are preserved and kept in Christ. I know that. I know that.

But I'm fearful for you who neglect the opportunity he gives you of worship, hearing his word. I'm fearful for your souls. I'm fearful myself of neglecting this I'm fearful of it. You remember the first time you began to swap off a little bit, well, for a midweek service, it's awful hard to get over there, got so many things to do. Let's just not go tonight. Man, your conscience bothers you, you pace the floor and you wring your hands and say, I fall off the bed in the house of God. What misery I bring on myself. And then the more you neglect and the more you despise the privilege God gives you, the easier it becomes to quieten your conscience and find an excuse for saying, well, you know, we've got this all the time. We've got this every day around here.

We don't have to be so concerned. I mean, after all, God's not going to take this away from us. Be careful then that you forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some will. For if we sin willfully, after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin. No more.

Well, I've got so many important things to do. I wonder, I wonder, I'm talking to you as your friend and your pastor, that's my job. I wonder just how important your games are going to be when you meet God in judgment. I wonder just how important your games are going to be when you look at your son, your daughter, your wife, your husband. and you see them perish under the wrath of God because of your negligence of them following your example. Oh, I've got such important things to do. You've got nothing so important and nothing so blessed as the privilege of hearing the gospel and worshiping God.

And the apostle speaks of men forsaking the assembling of themselves together. He's not talking about assembling with unrighteous men. He's not talking about assembling with folks who don't know God. He's not talking about going to church where the gospel is not preached. He's saying to you who have the assembly of God's saints, who have the word of God and the worship of God, don't you dare despise these things. These things are hidden from the world. They don't exist.

Let's look at verse 27. Here the Holy Spirit gives us, in the simplest terms possible, a clear description of the vital Christianity set forth in the New Testament. And he gives it to us in three points. The essence of it is Christ. The experience of it is Christ in you. The expectation of it is Christ in you the hope of goodness. All right, let's look at them together. First vital Christianity, all true religion, all spiritual life, in the essence of it is summed up and revealed in this one word, Christ. Lord God, I convey this message to everybody who hears my voice, by whatever means. in Christianity. Christ is all. Christ is everything. Christ is all. Without Christ, there's no Christianity. Without Christ, your religion is empty, vain, just a shell.

It's difficult to know which of the words in our text, mystery, riches, or glory, is antecedent to the word which. But I think all three must have reference to Christ. And so all three may be properly taken. Christ is the mystery of the gospel. Dread is the mystery of godliness.

God was manifest in the flesh. I try to preach on that, and I hear other folks try to preach on that, and I read a lot of books on that. And when all is said and done, the best thing I ever heard written or said about it is just what Paul said. God was manifest in the flesh. God Almighty assumed our nature. and came here to say such.

The riches of grace is Jesus Christ. We're blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. All the unsearchable riches of God's grace, they're found in Christ and only in Christ. And Christ is the glory of God. We beheld his glory, John said. Referring to the mouth of Transfiguration, I'm sure. But referring also to the revelation of the gospel, he says, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now the essence of godliness, the essence of the gospel, the essence of vital Christianity is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

The essence of Christianity is not a doctrinal creed. You know how important I recognize doctrine today. I make no apology for instructing folks in the doctrines of the gospel. But the essence of Christianity is not a creed, but Christ. The essence of Christianity is not a code of conduct, but Christ the Lord. Most people, somehow, they've got to run to this extreme or that extreme.

The dry, intellectual fellow, he says, now, Christianity is knowing the right doctrine, knowing the right stuff. And the pharisaic legalist, he says, no, no, no, no, no, Christianity is living right. And so the one fellow spends all his time trying to instruct you in needless arguments about which nobody's concerned. And the legalist spends all his time trying to get you to act like you ought to act.

But the message of the gospel is Christ. Christ. Now, preach his doctrine and show folks what he demands, but the message is Christ, Christ crucified, only Christ. Christianity is not an emotional experience. It's not a denominational name. It's a person, the incarnate Son of God. The Son of God, Jesus Christ the Lord, came into this world. He assumed our nature, and he did it, and he might say a sentence. His name is Emmanuel.

When our Lord Jesus came here, he came into this world in human flesh, and the scripture says, he took not on him the nature of angels. That is, he didn't come to save fallen angels, and he didn't take on him the nature of Adam, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. God came as a man to save the chosen covenant people represented in Abraham, our father. Christ Jesus came to save his people from their sins, and save them he must.

Only the incarnate God could save us. Only one who is himself infinite, of infinite worth, of infinite merit, of infinite value, could render a righteousness unto God which is of infinite value for you and me. Only he who is the infinite God could offer a sacrifice of infinite satisfaction to God's holiness and justice. though he isn't now in heaven, our Savior still is God in our flesh. His name is still Emmanuel, God with us, God in our nature. Understand this now, the God who sits on the throne of universal monarchy, then you talk about him as what? That God, that God sitting on the throne of glory, is himself a man touched with the Touch it with what touches us. Moved by what moves us. Affected by what affects us.

He's a man. There like a man the Savior sits. The God, how bright he shines. Now the fact that this glorious God-man is now seated in heaven tells us that his work is finished. The work for which he came. The mission on which he was sent into the world, the cause for which he came into this world, is now finished because he's seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.

The father said to the son, sit there on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. He entered and walked into the holy place with his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high because he purged our sin. He's sat down because his work is over. He's sat down because there's nothing else for him to do. He's sat down because his purpose is secure. His name, the title by which he is commonly known, Christ, includes all his covenant officers. Christ, here's the essence of Christianity.

We can't separate his person from his name and his officers. any more than we can separate his person, his name, and his offices from his work. He is my prophet, priest, and king. He is my husband, brother, and friend. He is my savior, surety, and prince. Christ is my head, my representative, and my substitute, my redeemer, my daisman, my mediator, and my savior.

In all things and at all times, I will lean the weight of my immortal soul Christ alone. He is my all. Now you take this sweet morsel of truth, get it earned in the grip of faith and run just as far as you can with it. In all things, in all that he is, Christ Jesus is man. All that he is, in all that he does, he's our representative.

He represented us in the covenant of grace as our surety. When he bargained for us in eternity and struck hands with the Father, the scripture tells us that when Christ became surety for us, we were then and there blessed with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He has given us in Christ All the bounty of His grace and His salvation, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

When our Lord Jesus came into the world as a man to do His Father's will, He said, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O my God. As a young boy, He said to his friends, Don't you know I must be about my Father's business? And when he went up to the Lord God and prayed just before he died as our substitution, he said, Father, I finished the work you gave me again. And all the while, he was talking about his life of obedience. Then you read it in the first hour this morning, he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

And Ron Wood, you obeyed God. What? You kept the law. You loved your neighbor as yourself. You loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and being. From conception to completion and represented. Understand that? Christ is our representative. Christ is our representative.

In his death, The scripture says, we were crucified with Christ. I know preachers say, go be crucified. Preachers say, crucify yourselves. Preachers say, go get on the cross and nail yourself up there. Who ever heard of such nonsense? Nowhere in the scripture do you have that kind of language. The scripture says, we were crucified with Christ. Every time. Every time.

We were crucified with Christ. died with him when he died, so that when he satisfied the demand of God's justice for our sin, representatively, I paid my debt to God in him in its entirety. Crucified with him. When Jesus Christ arose, the scriptures said we're risen with him by the power of God. Representatively, we arose in him. And now who's in heaven's glory? and he sits down in glory and we're seated together in heavenly places with Jesus Christ the Lord. He's representing us before the court of heaven perfectly and perpetually.

This is what I'm saying. Whatever Christ is, we have done. Whatever Christ is, we who believe are. Whatever Christ possesses, we must possess, for we're one with him. Virgin put it so well, he said, he that preaches Christ, preaches the gospel. He that does not preach Christ, preaches no gospel. It is no more possible for there to be a gospel without Christ, than a day without the sun, or a river without water. Now be sure you understand this too.

Christ himself, Christ himself is the essence of Christianity and the essence of salvation. I stress that because so many times people somehow get the idea that this thing or that thing about Christ, this thing or that thing from Christ is salvation or Christianity, but it's not so.

Christ is not merely the head of our religion, he is our religion. Christ is not merely the author and finisher of our faith, He is our faith. He is not merely the one who gives salvation, He is salvation. Christ is not just one who gives us grace, He is grace in all its fullness.

Simeon saw the Lord Jesus and held Him in his arms and he said, Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for I have seen thy salvation. He didn't say that while Christ was in Mary's arms. Christ in Mary's arms will do him no good. Christ bounced on Joseph's knee will do him no good. But when he took the child in his own arms, he said, God, I've got your salvation.

Now listen to me, Christ in your hand, Christ possessed by you is salvation. nothing less than Christ possessed by you. Anything short of Christ will leave you short of salvage. Anything that's added to Christ will shut you out of Christ. The Scriptures says of him that is of God are ye in Christ Jesus who is made of God unto us wisdom.

I like that. doesn't just say he gives us wisdom, he is wisdom. He doesn't just give us righteousness, he is our righteousness. He doesn't just give us sanctification, he is our sanctification. He doesn't just give us redemption, he is our redemption. We preach Christ. I refuse to preach about any other thing. I preach it, don't you? Don't you think you need to talk a little bit about this thing or that? No. Don't you want to get involved in this debate? No. No, I'm not interested.

I took a vow to God 20 years ago. It's a vow never broken. And God helping me for this mouth ceases to speak. It's a vow never broken. Nothing else will do you good. Nothing else will bring you to God. We preach Christ and only Christ. I'm always content to preach Him. I do not set before you something about Christ or something that belongs to Christ or something procured by Christ, but Christ himself. See that you get him for yourself. And I know this, believers never outgrow it. Never outgrow it.

Religionists do. hear the gospel of Christ, I've had it happen over the years so many times, and boy, they hear the message and they get so excited and get so wrapped up and they're just, boy, you'd think they were going to set the world on fire and you'd think they were going to take this message to everybody, but they're like the kid with the new toy, that's just the first time they heard it. And after a while, the glitter wears off. And if that child, that two-year-old child, had a solid piece of gold or a ball, Now if it was a solid piece of gold, and he's had it for a day or two, bring him a sucker, he'll throw the gold away.

And folks who don't know God in religion, they get excited about the gold, the gospel. They get excited about Christ crucified. But give it a day or two, and bring them some theory about demons. And then they'll drop Christ crucified and they'll chase demons. Talk to them about angels. Oh, let's talk about angels a while. Talk to them about the spirit world. Let's go see about the spirit world.

And every new thing that comes down the pipe, they'll run after it. I mean, every new thing that comes down the pipe. They had these fellas, I forgot what it was, Maurice can tell you, down in Madisonville, they locked themselves up and stayed and prayed all night long like teenagers at a stock house. Locked themselves up all night long.

Real spiritual. Some fella has gone around the world carrying a cross on roller skates. And folks say, boy, that's real spiritual. Put him on television. Listen to it. Now they got these promise keepers. Promise keepers. Just anything comes down the road, anything in the name of religion that will divert you from Christ, Satan will give it a pretty picture, and men will follow after it. Follow after it right to hell. Right to hell. But Christ crucified, inspire yourself. Christ crucified will edify you. Christ crucified will strengthen you. Christ crucified will comfort you.

You eat other bread, and after you've had a slice or two, that's all the bread you want. You eat this bread and you're more hungry than ever before. Take a drink of this water here. That's enough for right now. Oh, but if you drink from the water that flows from the throne of God, the river of the water of life, Jesus Christ crucified, you'll cry, oh God evermore give me this water.

If you ever know him, oh yeah. That's the problem. If ever you were to meet him, if ever you were to meet him, You wouldn't need some preacher pushing you and pulling at you and tugging at you and chasing you down trying to get you to come to church. But from the depth of your soul, you'd cry like the Apostle Paul, Oh, that I may know Him. I want to know Him. Don't you? I want to know Him. I want to know Him. Oh, more than life itself, I want to know Him. The more you're with it, the more you want to be with it.

For Christ alone is enough. You remember those folks in John chapter 6 who turned and walked no more with the Savior? And the Lord Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and he said, will you also go away? And Peter, speaking for the rest of them, said, Lord, we can't. We can't. To whom shall we go?

Thou hast the words of eternal life. Only Christ can satisfy the law and justice of God. Only Christ can comfort and quieten your guilty conscience. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can inspire and govern your life for good. Only Christ can give contentment to your soul. Only Christ will comfort you when you come to leave this world.

Nothing else. You young men, talking to Nathan and Ian a little bit more services this morning. Just chatting with them. And I know what you got on your mind most of the time. Boy, if I could just bounce that ball a little bit better. Shoot that thing a little bit better. Or if I could just have just a touch more talent. If I could practice a little bit more, there's a chance. There's an extreme of this chance. Folks know my name like they know Larry Bird's.

But it doesn't matter how much fame you have, or how much possession you have, or how much property you have. or how much of this world you're able to get in your hands, it doesn't matter. When you come to leave this world, I want to tell you something. Listen to me now. When you come to leave this world, nothing will matter but Christ.

Now I'll put you, you're a bit of a fanatic. Would to God I was a heapsight more fanatical. Maybe a bit. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. I'm talking to you about vital Christianity, not a word. Vital Christianity, not a denomination. Vital Christianity, not a little experience. Vital Christianity, not something to kindly smooth over the rough spots in your life. Vital Christianity is Christ. Christ. Christ. In the essence of it. The experience and enjoyment of it is Christ in you. Christ gave me it.

I was working on this point last night. I couldn't help but think about Bill Raleigh. Bill's a fisherman. Pretty good. I ate some of his fish. You go fishing, you got one of those little gadgets that tells you where the fish are on your boat. He gives that thing. I can just almost see the adrenaline pumping through him. He ate right in the midst of a school of fish. Let's talk to your fish a while. That's exciting. But I can tell you one thing better than being right in the middle of a school of fish. It's having the fish in your boat. Now listen to me. Christ in heaven is glorious. Christ in the gospel is astonishing. Christ in others is a wonderful thing. But Christ in you is life and salvation. Christ be with you.

Men may have the picture and full awareness of all the gold there is in Fort Knox and be a pauper. Give him a bar in his hand that makes him rich. You can take bread and set it on a shelf and it's possible for a fellow to look at bread sitting on a shelf and starve to death because he can't get to it. He just can't get to it. give him one piece of bread, he eats it, it's in him, and he'll live on it.

You take medicine, sitting in the medicine cabinet, we're all kindly reluctant to take it. Shelby and I both have headaches all the time. I'll lay down at night and I'll say, I've got a headache. She'll say, well, here, take some BCs. No, no, that's so dumb. That's just so dumb. Nah, it'll go away. It ain't going away. Well, maybe it'll go away. It'll for sure go away if you just take the BC. That's all. Just take the BC, and it's done. But sitting in the cabinet, it'll do you no good.

And Christ, anywhere and everywhere, is of no benefit to you until He's in you. Christ in you. the hope of glory. What on earth does that mean? Christ in you is Christ born in you. I can't put him in you. I can't persuade you to get in him or him in you. You can't get Christ in you by walking to the front of a church and repeating after me and saying a little ditty or saying a sinner's prayer or confessing your sin. That's not how it works.

The only way Christ will ever come to be in you is if God by almighty, free, sovereign grace invades your dead heart and causes Christ to be born in you. Now there, Christ born in you is Christ in you. so that you're partakers of the divine vision. You who were dead, yet now have he quickened. Christ in you is Christ deliberately, willfully, personally received by faith. To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. This class right here, received some water a little while ago. I poured it in myself, right there. Now the glass was totally passive. The glass had nothing to do with it. The water was poured into it.

Now that's how you get Christ. You're dead, lost, ruined, God puts him in you. But listen to me, I'm going to receive some water now. That requires an act Oh, but God gave you the faith. I'm aware of that. I'm pretty well aware of that. But you must receive him personally. And that's just exactly what John 1 12 means. To as many as received him. To them gave him power to become the sons of God. Christ in you is Christ possessed by you. Listen to the psalmist. The Lord is mine.

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. What I had for supper last night is mine. I didn't steal it, but if I had, it's still mine, because I ate it. And you can take me to court, you can sue me, you can take everything I've got, but what I had for supper is mine, and you can't get it.

And I'm telling you that Christ received by faith is your Eat his flesh, drink his blood, and he's yours. He's yours. Well, preachers, what about God's purpose? Eat his flesh, drink his blood, he's yours. But what about election? Eat his flesh, and drink his blood, he's yours! I hear preachers preach sometimes they act like they're scared that there's some of the non-elects that are going to get into the kingdom. Come on. Just come on.

If you can take him, if you can receive him, he's yours. is in you. Christ in you is Jesus Christ experienced in all his saving powers. I've experienced the power of healing medicine flowing through my body. Just right at the door of death and weakness, ready to leave this world and the medicine blow through your body and you pick up a little strength.

You think maybe I got to get up today. And soon you walk in full health again. I wasn't at death's door. I was dead in trespasses and sins. And the Son of God invaded my dead soul. And I've experienced the power of God in Jesus Christ within me. And it's transforming power.

I'm not what I ought to be, John Newton said. And I'm not what I want to be. I'm not what I hope I shall be. But he said, blessed God, I'm not what I once was. And by the grace of God, I am what I am. I know whom I have been to you. I know that he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Christ did you. Is Christ reigning in your soul? When the city of man's soul is conquered by and surrendered to the rule of King Jesus, salvation comes. That's Christ in you. Christ in you is Christ transforming you. Paul said, I live, yet not I. But Christ lives in me. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Christ in you.

It makes things different. It makes things different. As a welder, I don't know much about these things that I have. I've been in shops. I've been in blacksmith shops. And you take a piece of cold, black, hard iron and throw it into a blast furnace. Just throw it in there and watch it. That cold, black, hot iron soon takes on itself the nature of the fire. Grab hold of it and see. It even becomes soft so that you can take it and bend it in whatever shape you want it. And Christ in you takes this cold, black, iron-hot heart of sin and transforms it into his image. Christ in you is Christ radiating.

A little girl had been in Sunday school one day, and the teacher was teaching on this subject, and the little girl asked her daddy on the way home, she said, Daddy, how big is Jesus? He said, well, I don't know, honey, why do you ask? that side of any man.

She said, well, if he was in me, wouldn't he stick out? He said, I expect he would. And if he's in you, he'll stick out. If he's in me, he'll stick out. Those enemies of our Lord took notice of the disciples and asked for that they'd been with Jesus. You folks can't help but take notice of him. Christ is in you. He sticks out. Once more, In this matter of Christianity, vital Christianity, the essence of it is Christ. The experience of it is Christ in you. And the expectation of it is the hope of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Well, I preached too long. Maybe I'll pick up on that in a week or two.

But Christ was our hope. He's our hope. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. If Christ is our hope, we have a good hope through grace. And if Christ is our hope, we have every reason to expect glory. The Lord will give grace and glory. That's what the psalmist said. Wherever he gives grace, he gives glory. He covenanted with the Father to bring us to glory. He has already taken possession of glory in our room and in our stead. He prays for us that we may be with him where he is, that we may behold his glory.

We read here in Colossians 2.12 that God in Christ has already made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of states in life. He's already made us worthy of glory because Christ is worthy. He's promised to give us glory. He said, the glory which thou has given me, I've given thee. And he sent his spirit to seal us for glory.

This is vital Christianity. Anything else? Listen to me. Anything else? I don't care where you got it or how long you've had it. I don't care what the experience of it is. Anything else is a vain delusion. This is vital Christianity. Christ in you. Amen.

Vital Christianity

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Why is having Christ in you important for Christians?

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Vital Christianity

What does the Bible say about Christ in us?

How do we know that Christ living in us is true?

Why is having Christ in you important for Christians?

How is the gospel revealed according to the sermon?

What is vital Christianity?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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