Well, good evening everyone. If you would open your Bibles
with me and begin our service to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. We'll read the first 16 verses. If there be any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
of others, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and
took upon him the form of a servant. And that word servant is a bondman,
a bond slave. He took upon him the form of
a bond servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
unto death even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved,
as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only, But now
much more my absence. Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in
you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things
without murmurings and disputings that you may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked
and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. All right, Sean Comleason, our
singer. Okay, if you would turn in your
hand notes to song number 442. We'll sing Praise Him, Praise Him.
442. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. Sing, O earth, His wonderful
love proclaim. Hail Him, hail Him, highest archangels
in glory. Strength and honor give to His
holy name. Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard
his children. In his arms he carries them all
day long. Praise Him, praise Him, tell
of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. He suffered and bled and died. He our rock, our hope of eternal
salvation. Hail Him, hail Him, Jesus the
crucified. Sound His praises, Jesus who
bore our sorrows, love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong. Praise Him, praise Him, tell
of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. Heavenly portals, loud with hosannas
ring. Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever
and ever. Crown him, crown him, prophet
and priest and king. Christ is coming over the world
victorious. Power and glory unto the Lord
belong. Praise Him, praise Him, tell
of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. Okay, if you would now turn to
song number 351, Near the Cross. 351. Jesus, keep me near the cross. There a precious fountain, free
to all a healing stream. flows from Calvary's mountain. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the
river. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me. There the bright and morning
star sheds its beams around me. In the cross, in the cross Be
my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the
river. Near the cross, O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me. Help me walk from day to day
with its shadows o'er me. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory. Till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river. Near the cross I'll watch and
wait, hoping, trusting ever, till I reach the golden strand. just beyond the river. In the cross, in the cross, be my glory
ever. ? Till my raptured soul shall
find ? Rest beyond the river All right, let's open our Bibles
now to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus chapter 21. Now these are the judgments,
which thou shalt set before them. If thou be an Hebrew servant,
six years he shall serve, and in the seventh, he should go
out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he
should go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him
a wife, and she had born him sons or daughters, the wife and
her children should be her masters, and he should go out by himself.
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife,
and my children, I will not go out free. Then his master should
bring him unto the judges. He shall also bring him to the
door, unto the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear
through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. We'll end
our reading there. I ask God to bless his word. Let's bow together. Our Father, we are so grateful
that you've given us another opportunity to meet together
and to worship your holy name. Father, how we thank you. We
don't deserve to know you, to know your son, to be enabled
to open your word and read and have any understanding of how
it reveals Christ to us. and to be able to come into your
presence and worship. Father, we are not worthy. We
freely admit we are not worthy. But how we thank you that you have sent salvation
to your people and that you would call us together and enable us
to worship you. And Father, I pray that you would
make this service here in the middle of the week, a true worship
service. We call it a midweek worship
service. Father, enable us to do that, to worship you from
the heart, in spirit and in truth. I beg of you that you would enable
me to exalt and lift up, magnify our Lord Jesus Christ. And Father,
that you give each one of us eyes to see and ears to hear
and a believing heart, that you would take your word and in your
power and your mercy and your grace, apply it to our hearts. Father, I thank you for a place
that we can meet together in peace and love and unity. And
Father, we would ask of you that you would protect it, that you
would preserve it for many years to come, that there would always
be a place in our town where poor, wretched, vile sinners
can come and hear the Savior, hear of cleansing and the precious
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. To hear the command, come and
rest. Come rest in Christ because he's
done it all. And Father, what we pray for
ourselves, we pray for all of your people, wherever they're
meeting together tonight. Father, bless your word as it's
preached. For our good, but Father, especially for the glory of your
name. that you would, in this dark, dark day in which we live,
Father, show us your glory. Father, we pray for those who
are away from us, whether they're traveling or sick or in various
difficult situations. Father, we hold them up to thee
and pray that you would heal and comfort, that you deliver
according to thy will. Father, that above all, while
we're in the furnace, that you'd be with us, that your presence
be with us. Father, all these things we ask
and we give thanks in that name, which is above every name, the
name of Christ, our savior. Amen. I've titled the message this
evening, Christ, our bond slave. This is such a glorious, glorious
picture of Christ, our savior. I have been praying for days
that the Lord will enable me to show his glory. in this. It's a glorious, glorious
picture of Christ our Savior. Now the Lord has just finished
giving the Ten Commandments, or what we call the moral law.
We looked at that last week, although that's a picture of
Christ. As soon as God gave the Ten Commandments, He gave the
altar. The way that we would worship,
the way that our sins would be forgiven is through the blood
of Christ that's offered upon that altar. Now God goes on and
he gives Moses the civil law. This is how the society is to
be, to operate. And each commandment of the civil
law is a picture of Christ, just like the Ten Commandments was
a picture of Christ. Now this statute of the bond
slave, we just read it, says if a man gets in debt for whatever
reason, maybe he's mismanaged his money or he's mismanaged
his farm or he didn't plow and plant and weed properly or something. Maybe his crops failed. I mean,
who knows? For whatever reason, he's bankrupt. He's got nothing
to pay. He's taking out loans on his
property and on his seed and all these things, you know, and
he can't pay the debt. Now, the Lord didn't allow what
we allow today, that you just file bankruptcy and all your
debts are canceled, you know, and the creditor just has to
suffer the loss. God's law says the debt's got
to be paid. The debt must be paid. And the
way that God ordained to pay the debt of this man who lost
everything is he would pay back his creditor by being a bond
slave for six years. He would be this man's servant.
He'd do Whatever the man told him to do, whatever his master
told him to do, that's what he'd do. And he would work for free,
I guess probably for housing and food or something, you know.
And at the end of the six years, the debt would be paid. Now,
at the end of the six years, the man goes out free. But now,
you know, how life goes on in six years, if he was single when
he became a bond slave, he's going to go out a bachelor too.
If he's married and he became a bond slave, I reckon his wife
did too, but at the end of six years, his wife and his children
would go free with him. If he became a bond slave, well,
he was a married man. But if he was single, when he
became a bond slave, and while he was a bond slave, the master
gave him a wife, and they had children, and they had a family. The six years is up. The man
was single, when he became a bond slave, he's gonna go out single.
His wife and his children, are to remain slaves, servants to
the master. That's tough stuff, isn't it?
But if the man says, you know, I love my master. He's a good
master. I wonder how many times somebody
said that, I love my master. I could see him saying, I love
my wife and my children, can't you? But what scripture says,
he says, I love my master. I love my wife. I love my children.
I will not go out free. I'm going to stay your servant
so I can be with him." Well, then his master would say, okay.
He'd take him down to the public square. They had a post or a
door post or something. And he bore a hole in his ear
with an awl. He'd take that awl. I mean, a
hand awl. I mean, whew. This is not like an ear piercing
that we do today. I remember my sister Becky first
got her ears pierced. My aunt took her to get her ears
pierced. And my aunt told her, it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt.
And they did that. Becky's like, ow, did that hurt?
And she looked at my aunt. She said, I lied. You think what
an awl would do? I mean, my soul. I mean, mm. And then they'd hang a big old
earring in that hole, that awl made, so that everybody would
know. Now, this man is a willing bond slave. This is not forced
servitude. He's not there because, you know,
he couldn't run his business or he couldn't handle money or
something. He's a bond slave willingly. Now, that is such
a glorious picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, how Christ came
and he paid the debt for his people so that they go free. This is hard to get your mind
around. But the son of God, the son of
God became a bond slave to his father so that he could pay the
debt for his people. Could he have not come? Could
he have not gone to the cross? Could he have not obeyed the
law? Yeah, he could have, but he wouldn't do it because he
said, I love my wife. I love my bride, that bride that
the father gave him. Sometimes she's called his bride.
Sometimes she's called his children. Either way, he said, I love my
wife. I love my children, and I love my father. He's my master. In this case, the son lowered
himself to become a servant to his father. He said, I love him.
I'll not go free. I'll pay the debt. I'll pay the
debt, whatever it takes to pay the debt for my bride. Now, this
is the very first commandment of the civil law. And I'll tell
you what this tells us is the rest of all of the law is just
like this first commandment. It's all fulfilled in Christ.
It's all a picture of Christ. If you would go through and read
all this civil law and you would not see a way how that particular
statute is a picture of Christ, you hadn't seen it yet. You hadn't
seen the meaning of the statute yet. Keep looking and ask God
to show you because each one of these statutes is a picture
of Christ our Savior. And I want to give you four pictures
that I see of Christ in this commandment about the bond slave. Number one is this, it's the
willingness of Christ the bond slave. Now the Son of God is
equal with the Father in every way because they have the same
nature. They're the same, they're equal,
same, equal, whatever you want to call it, in eternality. in
sovereignty, in power, in omniscience, in holiness, in every attribute
of his character, the father and the son are the same. They're
equal because they have the same nature. They are one. It's not just they like they're
one. They are one. That's what our
Savior said. But the son, who's equal with
the father, willingly became a servant, a bond slave to his
father, so that he could do his father's will. And he told us
in John 6, verse 38, he told us that's what he was doing.
I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me. He wasn't forced to do it. He
did this willingly. I came down from heaven to do
the will of him that sent me. And it wasn't grievous work to
him. Do you know it was his delight?
Look at Psalm chapter 40. It was his delight. He told his
disciples one day that his meat is to do the will of his father
which sent him. This is not a grievous thing
for him to do. Psalm 40, verse six. Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened. And
that word open is digged with that all. He digged that hole. And he's talking about being
a bond slave. Burn offering and sin offering
hast thou not required. Then said I. Now this is the
servant speaking. Lo, I come. In the volume of
the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my
God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. This was his delight to do, to
do his father's will. He is so willing to do it because
it was his delight. And I want to tell you, he was
successful. Not only was he willing, he was
successful. Look at Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah
42, verse one. Behold, my servant, and that
word servant there is bondman or bond servant. This is the
father saying, behold, get a hold of this. Look at my bond servant,
whom I uphold. He's mine elect and who my soul
delighted. I put my spirit upon him. He
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry
nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reach shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not
quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall
not fail nor be discouraged. Though he have set judgment in
the earth and the isle shall wait for his law. The father
says, now you behold, look, stop and look. This is my bondservant. The son became the bondservant
to his father. He did it willingly. It was his
delight and he was successful. He brought judgment, he brought
salvation to everyone that the Father gave him to save. Look
over a few pages, Isaiah chapter 50. Verse five, the Lord hath opened
mine ear. Again, that means digged his
ear, he bored that hole in his ear as a sign of the bond servant.
The Lord God hath opened mine ear and I was not rebellious. Neither turned away back. I gave
my back. I gave it to the smiters. I gave
my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. That's the willing bond servant.
He willingly suffered because that was his father's will. His
father's will was for him to suffer and die for the sins of
his people. And Christ willingly suffered
to pay the debt. the sin dead of his people, those
people that he loved. Now, let me ask you, did he go
to the cross willingly? I mean, was this willing? How
about that mob came to take him? He said, whom seek ye? They said,
Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And they all fell
down backwards. They fell flat on their back.
He stood up again and, you know, he asked, he said, I am. He said,
all right, you take me, let these go. And they did. He went willingly. He's standing there in front
of Pilate, and Pilate was amazed. He said, don't you answer anything
for yourself? Don't you know I got the power to set you free
or condemn you? Our Lord said, you don't have
any power over me, except my father give it to you. I'm here
willingly. I'm here willingly. He told his
disciples. Now, don't you know I can call
12 legions of angels and my father to send me and deliver me from
this? But am I going to ask my father to deliver me from this
hour? This is why I came. I came here for this hour to
pay the sin debt of my people, and I'm gonna do it. He suffered
willingly to pay the sin debt of his people. I guess the first recorded words
of the Lord Jesus we have in the New Testament, wished he
not. I must be about my father's business. Not only was he willing, he was
dedicated. I mean, this is the perfect servant. Now that's amazing. I mean, it's amazing to think
about the son who's equal with the father, humbling himself
to become the bond slave of his father. That's, it's amazing,
isn't it? But you know what melts the hearts
of God's people? It's not the technicality of this, how Christ
the son became a servant to his father. The thing that melts
the hearts of God's people is who he did this for. the worst
of sinners, the sinners with the biggest debt. He didn't take
on sinners that just had a little bit of debt. He took on sinners
that had the biggest debt and loved them and willingly sacrificed
himself to pay their sin debt. This is a people, they're so
sinful, they're so vile, they would never love him unless he
loved him first. But he willingly became the bond
slave. pay their sin debt. Now that's what melts the hearts
of God's people, isn't it? All right, here's the second
thing. And this is, again, it's a little
bit of a technical thing, but it's something that had to happen.
Christ, the bond slave, legally paid the full price for the sin
debt of his people. Just like the bond slave, according
to the law, you worked a full six years. And when that six
years was up, in the seventh year, The debt was fully paid,
and only then could he go free. Well, Christ came to pay the
sin debt of his bride. Now, God's elect, they belong
to Christ. We're given to Christ in eternity
past. We belong to Christ. But there is a sense in which,
at one time, that we belong to God's justice. We belong to God's
justice. God's justice had a claim on
us because of our sins. And God's justice, this is what
the whole civil law tells you. You know, if there's a, somebody
does something wrong, there's an exact payment, eye for an
eye. There's an exact payment. God's
justice must be satisfied. The debt has to be paid before
God's people can go out free. Before we can be with Christ
forever, somebody's got to pay the debt. And Christ is the only
one who can do it. Now salvation, the salvation
of our sinful souls requires that that legal transaction happen. The debt must be paid. But let
me tell you, salvation is a whole lot more than a legal transaction,
isn't it? A whole lot more than that. I know sin must be paid for,
the holiness of God commands it. That's why our Savior said,
lo, I come. to do thy will, O God. I come
to pay the debt, to save everyone that you gave me in the covenant
of grace. Now I'm coming, I'm gonna pay
that debt. And Christ our Savior did that, not by going around
the law, not by ignoring the law or sweeping it under the
rug. Christ saved his people through the law, through the
law, by obeying every jot and tittle of the law. satisfying
every demand of God's law, even the death of the cross. He even
suffered and he died. He gave up the ghost because
that's the law's demand. There's got to be death for sin.
Christ died. He told his disciples one day,
don't think that I'm come to destroy the law of the prophets.
I'm not come to sweep the law away or ignore it. I'm not come
to destroy, but to fulfill. I came to fulfill the law. He
obeyed every commandment of God's law. Not just outwardly now,
but in his heart. It was in his heart, it was his
delight to do it. And by doing that, he established
perfect righteousness for his people. He didn't have to do
that for himself, he's already perfect. He did that for his
people, to give them his righteousness. Now the sin debt? is ours. In the picture that we look here,
the debt belongs to this man. For whatever reason, he lost
everything, whatever happened, the debt belongs to him. And
he became the bond slave. Now in this case, the sin is
ours. We're the ones who committed
the sin. We're the ones who are debtors, aren't we? Well then
how can the son of God, how can he become the bond slave? That's
a debt he doesn't know. That's a debt he didn't rack
up. That's sin he did not commit it. How can Christ become the
bond slave and pay the debt that belongs to somebody else? It's
by taking the sin of his people away from them and making it
his. Something you and I can never
understand. I don't think we'll understand
it even in glory. It's something only God can do. Take the sin
of his people away from them and make it his son's. even though
he never committed a sin. When Christ was made sin, the
debt of his people became his debt. It was his debt. And then
as the willing, successful bond slave, he paid the debt. He paid
it by his own blood. Look over at Isaiah chapter 53.
This is prophesied of all throughout the Old Testament, but so clearly
here, Isaiah 53 verse four. See, this is our sin, the sin
of his people, but Christ took it and he paid it. Surely he
hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded
for our transgressions. He is bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we're healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord had laid
on him the iniquity of us, of us all. The sin of God's people
became Christ and he suffered and died to put it away. Verse
eight, he was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall
declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. See, it's our sin laid on him
that caused him to be stricken. Verse 11, here's the successful
servant. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, and he shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
He took the iniquities of his people away from them, he made
it his, and he paid the debt as the willing, successful bond
slave. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, had to be the one to become the bond slave. He
had to be, because he's the only one who could pay the debt. You
and I can't pay the debt. Only Christ could pay the debt.
And here's why. Here's the payment that the Father
demands. It's the blood that maketh an
atonement for the soul. It's the blood. It can't be the
blood of bulls and goats. They can never take away sin.
It can't be our sinful blood. That'll never take away sin.
The only one who had sinless blood to offer was the Son of
God made flesh. He had to become the Son of God
so that the debt would be paid, so his father would be satisfied.
And even that's pictured in this commandment. The bond slave served
six years. And you know what six is. It's
the number of man. It's a number of failure. It's
a number of incompleteness. But in the seventh year, he'll
go free. Seven is the number of perfection. Christ made his people perfect.
And we go free because the debt's paid. And even God's law and
justice says, get out of here. I got no claim on you. Get out
of here. You're free because the debt's been paid. All right,
now here's the third thing. It's the love, the love of Christ,
the bond slave. Look back in our text, verse
five. If the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, I love
my wife and I love my children. I will not go out free. Now that's
love. I mean, you think about the love
of this man who's become the bond slave. He, he's been a slave
for six years. He had to do everything his master
told him to do, the way he told him to do it, when he told him
to do it. Now he's free. You think about the love that
he had for his master, and for his wife, and for his children,
that he said, I'll not become free. I'm gonna remain a slave. In choosing to remain a slave,
now this is a big deal. He doesn't get to choose to wear
what he wants to wear. He wears what his master gives
him. He doesn't get to live where he wants to live. He lives where
his master, wherever it is, whatever shack, whatever it is that the
master decides to give him. He can't redecorate without the
master's permission. He can only do what the master
allows him to do. He's got to go. where the master
tells him to go. He's got to do what the master
tells him to do. He's got no say so in anything
about how his life is run. Now, what's the motivation for
a man to do that? The Lord says, here's love, love. I'll stay a bond slave. I'll
remain a slave. I'll remain with no control over
my life whatsoever because I love my master. I love my wife. I love my children. That's exactly
what the son of God said. He became a bond slave to his
father because he loves his father. Oh, how he loves the father.
He loves his father so much that he was determined to do the job
that the father sent him to do. He loves his father. He would
not disappoint his father. He was determined to honor his
father in every way. He was made as a man under the
law and he was determined to honor his father's law by obeying
it. And he did it. The father said
he's honored and magnified my law. He obeyed it so perfectly,
magnified it, honored it. He did that because he loves
his father. He was determined to honor every
attribute of his father, to set his father up in such a way that
all of us could see his glory. He was determined to honor his
father's justice. At Calvary, the father's justice
is honored, wasn't it? Sin was found on the son of God. And what did the father do? He
didn't do what this daddy would do. I'd go light on my children. That's just a fact. That's what
I would do. But the father, God the father
honored his justice by pouring out his wrath upon his son until
justice said, sin's paid for. There's no more need for any
more wrath. And he willingly suffered. He suffered during those three
hours of darkness on the cross. There's suffering of body and
soul you and I will never know anything about. And he suffered
it willingly because he loved his father. He wanted to see
his father's justice glorified. And at the very same time, in
the very same way the son loved the father so much, he was determined
to honor, to magnify his father's mercy and grace. By dying as
a substitute for the sin of his people, by taking their sins
into his own body on the tree and suffering untold agony to
put him away, you know what the father, what the son showed us?
He loves his father. He's determined to honor his
father's mercy and grace. The way that you and I would
show mercy and grace is by ignoring someone's guilt. Isn't that right?
By ignoring someone's guilt. The death of Christ at Calvary
honored God's justice, mercy, and grace at the same time. Now
that's God's wisdom being glorified and the Savior was willing to
do all of that because he loves his father. At the same time,
remember the bond slave had to say, I love my master and I love
my wife. The son became a bond slave.
He took on him flesh and became the bond slave of his father
to do everything his father commanded him to do because he loves his
bride. Oh, how he loves her. He loves
her so much, he came where she is. He became what she is, clothed
himself in flesh, became what she is, lived with her in a cesspool
of sin. Can you imagine how awful that
was for the Holy Son of God? He lived as a man in the flesh
for 33 and a half years in a cesspool of sin and unbelief and rebellion. But he did it because he loves
his pride. He went to the cross and he suffered.
How he suffered, he suffered the hatred of men. I mean, this is just contrary
to nature. The creator suffered the hatred
of his creatures. The very creatures he's giving
life and breath to, he suffered their hatred. He suffered being
humiliated, being stripped naked and mocked and made fun of. He suffered being beaten. He
gave his back to the smiters. He gave his cheeks to those that
would pluck out the hairs. He suffered and he bled and died
in the most humiliating way possible. Being hung naked between heaven
and earth, between God and men, for God to judge and pour out
his wrath upon, and man to mock him while he died. Can you think
of anything more humiliating than that? Why did he do it? because he loves his bride. It's
the only way she can be redeemed, and he loves her so much, no
matter that it cost him his very life, he's gonna pay the debt,
because he loves her. Look at Ephesians chapter five.
Christ loves his people. We can call them his people,
we can call him his elect, we can call him his bride, he loves
his bride. He loves his people, and I wanna
tell you this, he only loves his people. He only loves his
bride. I love my bride. I love her. Now what do you think it would
mean to her if I said, honey, I love you, but I love all these
other women too. That's not going over well to Tate householders,
let me tell you that. For some false prophet to say,
God loves everyone, that demeans the love of Christ. That Christ
would love a people that would be damned that he judges and
that he condemns, that he damns. Depart from me, I never knew
you, but he loves him? For Christ, this glorious, glorious
bridegroom. To love a bride and she not love
him back? I think about old Ruth. There she is, gleaning in the
field. and there's a stir over and she hears a stir and she
looks up to see what the stir is. You know what the stir is?
Boaz is coming. Oh, here he is on his big white
horse. I mean, I bet this guy had long,
black, bushy, curly hair. I mean, he's dressed just right.
I mean, this guy's a specimen. And he comes up and sets his
eyes on that beggar girl. And he loved her. You reckon
she's going to love him back? I bet so. Now however handsome
and glorious and suave, whatever it is you want to say about what
Boaz looked like, oh, he's a dungeon compared to Christ our Savior.
And he comes riding up and sets his love on a people. And for
somebody to tell me they're not going to love him back, I'm sorry,
I don't buy it. He loves his bride and she's
gonna love him back. See, his love means something.
His love means this. He paid her debt and made her
perfect. Ephesians 5, verse 25. Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself for it. That, and here's why he did it,
that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. That's what Christ did by his
death for his people, because he loved her, because he loved
her. It's the only explanation. And
this bond slave, when he saw, I love my master, I love my wife,
I love my children, This is no secret thing. He made a public
display of his love. They took him down there to the
town square where maybe where the elders sat or where people
would be gathered. People are going to witness this.
And he willingly stuck his earlobe up to that door post and stayed
there while that master took that awl and drilled a hole in
his ear. That's a public display. I love my master, I love my wife,
I love my children. Would you know the Lord Jesus
Christ, the father's bond slave, he made a show of his love too,
a public show. Look at first John chapter four. First John four, verse nine.
Now I've been telling you, Christ loves his people. How
do you know that? How do you know for sure he loves
his people? 1 John 4 verse 9. And this was manifested, the
love of God toward us, because the God sent his only begotten
son into the world that we might live through him. Now herein
is love. If you want to see it, here it
is. Not that we love God, but that he loved us. And he sent
his son to be the propitiation for our sins. The father sent
the son to willingly suffer, to shed his blood as a propitiation
that would cover the sin of his people. I'm telling you the only thing
that could motivate someone to suffer to those depths is love. Now that's what melts the sinner's
heart, that God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
would love me like that. There are no words. There are
just no words. I'll borrow the words of the
songwriter. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and I wonder, how could he love me, a sinner condemned unclean?
Oh, how marvelous, oh, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me, that
He would love me and suffer like that, that I would be made without
spot, without blemish, without wrinkle or any such thing. That's what gets the believers
heart. Now let me give you this fourth thing. Look back at our
text in Exodus 21. It's the success of Christ the
bond slave. Now the bond slave, remember
I told you he's a picture of Christ. But the fulfillment of
the picture. Christ himself is so much better
than the picture. I love the Old Testament pictures
of Christ. Christ himself is always so much
better. The son willingly became the
bond slave so he could pay the debt of his bride and he paid
her debt because he refused to go out free. He refused to escape
being made a man, made under the law, and obeying the law.
He refused to escape it. He refused to not go to Calvary's
tree. When Peter told him, oh, don't
do that, don't go there, he said, get by me, Satan. No, he went
to the cross. He refused to miss out on it. He refused not to be sacrificed
for the sin of his people. And he paid the debt. But unlike
the bond slave, Under the law, you know, if the bond slave said,
I love my master, I love my wife, I love my children, I won't go
out free. Once he hung that earring in his ear, he was a bond slave
forever. He's a servant forever. Christ
our Savior did not stay a servant forever. And his bride didn't
stay a servant forever either. He took her out free. He took
her out free. They both went out free. Look
back up here at verse three. If he came in by himself, he
should go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife should go out with him. Now Christ went out free, and
you gotta look at the whole thing. Christ is both the man who came
in by himself and the man who was given a wife while he was
a bond slave. He is so successful, they all
went out free. They all went out free. He took
his children and he took his bride with him, and one day,
He's going to present them before the Father and say, Father, here
we all are. I and the children whom thou hast given me. Now, what a Savior. What a Savior
we have. By God's grace, I believe him. I believe him. I believe on him.
I love him. I'm ashamed to stand in front
of you and even mention My love for God, my love for Christ.
But now we're all loving. I mean, I have to say, Peter,
Lord, you know all things. You know I love you. And you
know what else? I don't ever want to leave him. Never. I don't ever want to leave
him. I don't ever want to leave his
people. I don't want to do it because I love him. Sounds a whole lot like a bond
slave, doesn't it? Look with me, Romans chapter one. We'll
close here, Romans chapter one. Verse one, Paul, a servant of
Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the
gospel of God. That word servant is bondman,
a bond slave. Paul is saying, I'm the bond
slave of Christ. That's what every believer is.
Every believer is a bond slave, a bond servant of Christ. Paul
was called to be an apostle. We're called to do what it is
that we're doing here, to serve the Lord in whatever way it is
we're serving here. But we're all bond servants.
And every believer can say, I love my master. I love his people. I won't leave them. I won't,
by God's grace, I won't leave them. And the thing that binds
us to him binds us to him forever is his love for us. It's his
love for us that moved him to sacrifice himself for us. That's
what binds us to him. I can't think of a better thing
in this world or a better way to spend the years that God's
given me than being his bond slave. How about you? All right, let's bow together.
Our father, Oh, how we thank you for Christ our Savior. How
we thank you that he willingly became the servant so that he
could do for us what we could never do for ourselves. Put away
our sin, make us spotless, without wrinkle, holy, spotless in thy
sight, that we might go out free and be with him forever. Father,
how we thank you. How we thank you. And Father,
until the day comes that you would be pleased to call us home,
I pray that we'd be found faithful, faithful bond slaves to our Lord
Jesus Christ, serving Him, serving His people, serving His gospel,
and worshiping Him together with His people. Father, bless us,
we pray. Bless us. For Christ's sake,
for His glory, we pray. Amen. All right, Sean. Okay, if you would, turn in our
hymnals to song number 75, and stand as we sing, Abide With
Me. Abide with me, fast falls the
eventide. The darkness deepens, Lord, with
me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts
flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs
out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, its glories
pass away. Change and decay in all around
I see. O Thou who changest not, abide
with me. I need thy presence every passing
hour. What but thy grace can foil the
tempter's power? who like thyself my guide and
stay can be. Through cloud and sunshine, oh,
abide with me. Hold thou thy word. before my closing eyes. Shine through the gloom and point
me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks. and earth's vain shadows flee. In life, in death, O Lord, abide
with me.