If you would open your Bibles
with me, the book of Colossians. Colossians chapter one. As you're
turning, let me make a few announcements. Brother Eric Floyd and Brady
are in San Diego this morning. Eric is preaching there. Pray
that the Lord bless their service and let them get back home tonight. Charlie Davis is scheduled for
a shoulder surgery in the morning. And Novi Sparks is scheduled
for a surgical procedure to put a port in so she can have dialysis. They intend to do that on Wednesday.
And after that, she'll spend a few days in the hospital there
making sure everything goes smoothly. So we want to remember all those
folks in prayer. All right, Colossians chapter
1. We'll read the first eight verses. Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, by the will of God, and Timotheus, our brother, to the
saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colossae.
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you
have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you
in heaven whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the
gospel, which has come unto you as it is in all the world, and
bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you since the day you
heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth, as ye also learned
of Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful
minister of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in
the spirit. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, Thank you that you
have given us this another opportunity to meet together and to worship
your precious name. Father, I pray that you enable
us to do that this morning, that you would enable us to, for this
hour to set aside all the cares and thoughts and goings on of
this life. And Father, let us hear word
from thee. Let us hear the message that
you would have us to hear, to hear it in the power of the spirit,
to hear it with ears of faith that we might, every one of us,
leave here this morning rejoicing in and resting in Christ our
Savior. Father, we thank you for this
place and this family of believers that you have called together.
We ask that you bless each home with your presence and your grace
and your leadership. Father, for those in difficult
times, we continue to lift them up to thee. We continue to pray
for Barb as she recovers. Pray for Charlie and Novi as
they go through these surgeries this week that, Father, you use
these things to touch and heal their bodies. Pray that you'd
be with Eric and Brady, Father, that you'd bless the services
there and bring them back home safe to us. Father, there's so
many cares and worries that are on our heart because of the things
that are going on in the world right now. Father, we know that
thy will will be done. We pray that you give us the
grace and the faith to trust you, that you do all things well
and to wait on thee to provide the way out. We pray that, Father,
that you'd see fit to remove this sickness that's all across
the land, that you'd give us some relief and enable people
to return back to a more normal way of life. Father, all these
things we ask, and we give thanks in that name which is above every
name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. All right, now
our first, second, and third string song leaders are all out
today, so you're stuck with me, and we're just gonna sing a chorus
to open our service. Sweep Over My Soul. Sweep over my soul, sweep over
my soul, Sweet Spirit, sweep o'er my soul. When I sit at His feet, sweet
Spirit, sweep o'er my soul. Let's do that again, one more
time. I kind of enjoyed that. One more time. sweep over my soul sweep over
my soul sweet spirit sweep over my soul my joy is complete ?
When I sit at his feet ? Sweet spirit sweep o'er my soul All
right. Now if you would open your Bibles
again to Colossians chapter one. We're gonna start a study through
the book of Colossians this morning with a message that I've entitled,
What is a Believer? This is one of the letters that
the Apostle Paul wrote from prison. We call it a prison epistle.
You know, we would think that Paul getting arrested for preaching
the gospel and him getting thrown in prison was awful, and it was. I'm sure it was awful for him.
But you know, the Lord used this time. The Lord ordained this
time that Paul would be put in prison. He used this time for
the Holy Spirit to inspire the apostle to write these epistles,
which are so important to us now, which are such a blessing
and so instructive to us. And I point that out because
I think it's good for us to remember this. The Lord often brings blessings
out of painful experiences. You know, Paul probably wouldn't
have had the time to write these epistles if he was traveling
and studying and preaching and so forth. So in that way, this
painful time has been a blessing to the church through all these
centuries. And we would probably do well
to remember that, but we're in times of painful circumstances.
You just never know what the Lord's gonna bring out of these
situations. He's able, and I thought that
was just a good thing for us to remember. Now, Paul had never
met the congregation here in Colossae. Their pastor had come
to visit him in prison. He's the one that told Paul about
them. That's what we see in verse seven.
He says, as you also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow
servant, he means your pastor, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the spirit. So their pastor comes to visit
Paul. Maybe Paul had known him before,
maybe he didn't, and he met him in prison, but their pastor came
and told Paul about this congregation meeting in Colossae. And even
though Paul never met these people, he was very concerned for the
wellbeing of their souls. And he writes to, to warn them
about what was going on in the, in the world and especially the
religious world at that time. The Judaizers were there that,
uh, you know, we're constantly trying to put people back under
the law. And they kind of tried to shift
their message to fit in with what people were hearing and
believing. They said, it's fine that you believe in salvation
by grace. That's fine. We can accept that. It's fine that a person is cleansed
of their sin in the blood of Christ, as long as you keep that
salvation by your obedience to the law. They could not give
up the law, and they kept wanting to put people back under the
law. Now that message actually means that their message is all
man's free will works religion. And grace has got nothing to
do with it. If grace, God's grace in Christ Jesus can't save you
and keep you saved, then salvation's by works. There's no mix of the
two. And just think how awful it is
to put people under the burden of the law that they can't keep. But that's what these Judaizers
were doing. And Paul was writing to warn
them about that. He, even though he never met them, his heart
just went out to them. He is so concerned that they
would be put back under this, this bondage to the law and that
they would, uh, people would be able to use the law, like
apparently what happened to the church at Galatia to turn people's
attention away from Christ to the law. He is concerned about
this church. And this is what Paul knew the
best way to feed God's people and strengthen them and protect
them from these errors is by preaching Christ alone. Just
preach Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ alone,
and then preach more Christ alone. And that is the subject, the
main subject of this letter to the church at Colossi. If you
look in chapter three, verse 11, here's the key to understanding
the whole book where there's neither Greek nor
Jew, Circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or
free, but Christ is all and in all. Christ is all, that's the
theme of this book of Colossians. And since it is my earnest prayer
that Christ is all be a hallmark of this ministry, I think it'll
be a real blessing for us to, in the next few weeks, study
this book with the theme that Christ is all. Now, my title,
remember, is What is a Believer? And I titled the message that
way because I know how we all are. Someone may doubt, am I
a believer or not? They may worry that they're not
a believer. They may wonder, could I be a
believer? It seems confusing. Well, I have
six traits that are true about every believer from our text
this morning. And if you're a believer, if
you trust in Christ, you'll recognize these six things in you. Number
one, every believer is a saint. First one, Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God and Timotheus, our brother to
the saints. Now, believers are called saints
62 times in the new Testament. Many, many other times in the
Psalms. I've heard it said that believers
are called saints more than any other term in scripture. Saints,
Every believer is a saint. Now, the Catholic Church has
poisoned everybody's mind on this so that you can't help but
you think a saint is somebody that's superhuman or something.
And that's not true. Every believer is a saint. Saint
Gary. Saint, you're a saint. If you
believe Christ, you're a saint. And the word means this. It means
a holy one. And it means separated to God.
Separated to God for his holy use. Now we think about that,
none of us are holy in our flesh. We can't be holy, what we do
or what we don't do, not at all. We can try to sin less and we
find we can't do it. We find that we want to stop
sinning. Every believer wants to stop
sinning. No believer wants to sin, but yet we can't stop sinning. So in that way, it's impossible
for us to be holy by our actions. So the only way that any of us
can be a saint, can be holy, is by the work of God for us
and in us. A believer is a saint. Remember
the word means separated to God. A believer is separated to God
in divine election. When the father chose a people
into salvation, he chose those people. He chose to make them
holy in his love for them. That's how a believer is a saint.
The father chose them. He separated them out from the
fallen lump of Adam's race and he chose to make those people
holy. He separated them out for his holy use. And a believer
is a saint. Remember, the other definition
is a holy one. A believer's a holy person. Because
the Lord Jesus Christ, by his obedience to the law for us as
our representative, he made his people holy. Look back at 1 Corinthians
chapter one. Paul uses this word again in
his First letter to the church at Corinth. First Corinthians one verse two.
He says he's writing under the church of God, which is at Corinth
to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be
saints. Now they're sanctified in Christ
Jesus. They're sanctified through union
with Christ so that when he obeyed the law, They did too. That's
how a believer's been made holy. We've been made holy by the Lord
Jesus Christ. What he did for us is our representative. When he obeyed the law, God's
people obeyed the law. And you think, well, I don't
feel very holy. But the believer is. Just as surely as Adam made
you a sinner by his disobedience, Christ makes his people holy
by his obedience. Then a believer is a saint because
they're called to be saints. That's what he says here, called
to be saints. A believer is called to be a
saint in the new birth, when the Holy Spirit moves in power
and there's a new man born. And that new man, born of God
the Holy Spirit, is holy. He's holy, he cannot sin, because
he's born from the holy seed of the word of God. You know
why it is in our flesh we can't stop sinning, that we can only
sin? because this flesh is born from
sinful seed, and that's all it can do is sin. That new man,
born of the Holy Spirit, that new nature born inside every
believer is holy because he's born from holy seed. He can't
sin because he's born from holy seed. It just all depends on
the seed that conceived you, doesn't it? Now we talk about
a believer being a saint, being holy, and I don't think that
you can possibly find someone who truly believes and trusts
Christ that will tell you they see themselves as holy. I don't
think you can find someone that truly believes Christ that'll
say, ah, look at this holy thing that I did. This right here,
that was holy, I didn't. They're not gonna say that, because
here's the paradox about believers. Every believer honestly sees
themselves as the chief of sinners, yet they're holy. Yet they know,
even though I know that I am the chief of sinners, I know
I'm holy. I'm holy in Christ because of
what he's done for me, what he's done in me. Someone will say,
you're telling me that the chief of sinners is holy. That's exactly what I'm saying.
Matter of fact, that's the only person who can be holy, the chief
of sinners, because that's the only person who will trust Christ
to be their holiness. All right, number two, every
believer is faithful. He says, and Paul says in verse
two, he's writing to the saints, and faithful brethren. Now don't
get stoved up here and think, well, I can't be a believer,
because I'm not as faithful as I want to be. I'm not as faithful
as I should be. Don't get stoved up there, because
here's another paradox about believers. Every believer is
faithful, but they're ashamed of their faithfulness. I read
a quote last week from an old writer And he said, here at the
beginning of the new year, he said, look back over the past
year, and he was ashamed and wanted to repent of his faithfulness
because it was so weak. And I'd say every believer feels
the same way. No believer is ever satisfied
with our faith, our faith in Christ. Every believer wants
to believe Christ more fully, rest in him more fully. No believer
I'm sure is satisfied with our faithfulness, our faithfulness
to the cause of Christ, our faithfulness to help and serve one another.
But every believer is faithful. They're faithful. Every believer
is faithful to keep trusting Christ and to keep believing
the gospel. Now I know our, our, the feeling
of our faithfulness and even the way we might act on this
faithfulness, I know it waxes and wanes, but this is why I
can tell you about a believer. They will remain faithful. They
will remain faithful. Here's how I can say that. Believers
aren't going to quit. They're going to be faithful.
They're not going to quit because the Lord won't let them quit.
He started a good work in them, and he's going to finish it.
He's not going to let them quit. And oftentimes, we don't feel
faithful, and we don't feel that way because we're probably not
as faithful as we should be or as we want to be. We don't feel
faithful, but we don't quit. We don't quit because the Lord
keeps us faithful. We're gonna be faithful to hang
on to Christ and not let go of him because the Lord's not gonna
let go of us, see? And every believer is faithful
in this way, too. A believer can be believed. You
can believe them. A believer believes. By definition,
a believer must believe, right? But they can also be believed.
They can be believed in a worldly sense. They're honest people.
They're honest in their business dealings. You can trust what
they tell you. But here's the real way a believer
can always be believed. They confess Christ. They trust
Christ for everything that God requires of them. That's their
confession. And they're sincere in that.
They really do mean it. That's not just religious words
to them. They're sincere in that confession
And they're faithful. They're faithful to that confession.
They're not going to go off starting to trust in the works of their
flesh. No, they're going to be faithful to keep trusting Christ.
They confess Christ and they're going to keep trusting him because
he's their only hope. They know this. He's their only
hope. So they're not, they're not going to start trusting something
else. They're faithful in that way. Now, does that describe
you? Then you're a believer. God's
made you that way. All right, number three, every
believer is a brother. Paul says he's writing here to
the faithful brethren. Now believers are part of the
family. We're all part of a family, the
family of God. Look back at Galatians chapter
four. There's several different ways scripture talks about God's
people, his children being made part of his family. First, we've
been adopted into the family of God. Galatians four, we, um,
verse four, you know, we were, we were born part of Adam's family,
part of Adam's race. God, by his graces adopted his
people into his family. Galatians four, verse four. But
when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son
made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law that they might receive the adoption of sons.
And because your sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his
son into your hearts, crying, Abba father, wherefore thou art
no more servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir, an
heir of God through Christ. Now, every believer has been
made a full fledged member of God's family. They've been adopted
into God's family. Paul calls it here, You might
receive the adoption of sons. They've been adopted into God's
family. He sent his spirit into their hearts. They're made a
full-fledged member of the family. Second, believers are in the
family of God because they're born into the family of God.
They've been both adopted into the family and they've been born
into the family. They've been born into the family
in the new birth. Believers are born from the seed
of our heavenly father. That makes us part of his family.
Third, look at John chapter 20. Believers are all part of the
same family, because they've got the same father, and they've
got the same big brother, and that makes us brethren. John
chapter 20. This is after our Lord had arisen. He appears here to Martha, or
Mary, excuse me, as she's come to the tomb in verse 17, Jesus
says, or touch me not. He's saying, you don't have to
cling to me and try to stop me from leaving. I'm not leaving
yet. Touch me. Not don't cling to me for. I'm
not yet ascended to my father. I'm not ascending back yet, but
go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend under my father
and your father to my God and your God son of God here says
that his, his, His brethren, his people, the son of God says,
my father is your father. Well, that makes us part of the
same family. Becky and I are part of the same
family. We got the same father. That's what makes us part of
the same family. And since we have the same father and we have
the same God, that makes our relationship as brethren very
important. Now, I know people say, well,
you know, People don't love the family of God like you love your
earthly family. And I know why they say that.
I see people often, often I've seen this, desert the gospel. Not because they disagree with
the message of the gospel, but to get along with their family.
They desert the family of God because of their earthly family.
I've seen that. People do things to God's family
in cruelty and ignoring them and just that they would never
do to their earthly family. I grant you that happens. It
ought not, but it does. And I will grant you we are not
perfect brethren here on this earth. I look forward to the
day that we are, but we ought never use that as an excuse.
We ought never use that as an excuse not to do what I'm supposed
to do. You know, it would be hard for
me to spend time with all of you in the same way that I do
Becky and Jonathan, my brother and sister after the flesh. But
now I'm telling you the truth. I want you to get down. I'm telling
you the truth. I love you just as much as I
do her. Just as much. That is God's honest truth. You
are dear to me. I love everyone that loves Christ. But now this family's special. You're special, you're special
to me, I hope you're special to each other in a special way,
how we love one another. Solomon said, and maybe this
will be helpful in this matter of brethren. A brother, Solomon said, is born
for adversity. When the chips are down, and
I've lived this by experience, I know it so, when the chips
are down, boy, this family will step up. When the chips are down,
somebody's hurting, somebody has a special need. Let's remember
this, a brother is born for adversity. Let's see that we put that love
that you feel into action. A brother is born for adversity.
It's very important that we be good brethren to one another
because every believer is a brother. I've been at a place one time
and the pastor, Dismisses the congregation he tells they said
now look around you These are the people you're gonna be in
glory with Treat him right Treat him right all right number four
Every believer is in Christ in Christ Paul says back here. He's writing to the Saints and
faithful brethren in Christ and Now that is the key. This phrase
in Christ is the key to understanding everything spiritual and everything
regarding salvation. A believer is holy. They're saying
cause they're in Christ and he's holy. A believer is righteous
cause they're in Christ. A believer is forgiven cause
they're in Christ. They already died for their sin
in Christ. A believer is accepted by the
father. because we're in Christ, accepted in the beloved. A believer
is kept because we're in Christ. He won't let us go. A believer
is faithful because we're in Christ. We get our faithfulness
from him. That's the only way a sinner like you and me can
have any spiritual blessing whatsoever. It's in Christ. Now I can show
you that if you look at Ephesians chapter one. The only way we
can have these spiritual blessings are being in Christ because the
father put every spiritual blessing in Christ. That's where they're
all at. If you'd have them go where they're
at, go where the father put them. He put them in Christ. Ephesians
one verse three, blessed be the God and father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings and heavenly places in Christ. according as he has
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure,
which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being
predestinated according to the purpose of him, who work with
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. In whom he also trusted after
that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
In whom also after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. You see how many times it says
in him, in whom, in Christ, in the beloved? Every spiritual
blessing that God has for a sinner is all found in Christ. And the only way we can have
them is by being in Christ. Everything spiritual, everything
regarding salvation, everything regarding righteousness, everything
regarding acceptance with God is all in, by, and through the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's all in Christ because Christ
is all. He's the head. It's all, everything,
it all resides in him. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in him bodily. And the only way we can have
it is by being the body joined to the head. It's all in Christ.
And that thrills a believer. I mean, that just lets a believer
just relax. How thrilling is it? How just
relaxing, just takes all the pressure off to be seen in Christ. What a thrill of God's grace
that he would see a sinner like you and me in his beloved son. That's just, it is so relaxing. If we could really get a hold
of that, we'd have no worries. There's certainly no worries
about dying and facing God in the judgment if he sees me in
Christ. Innocent people, and that's what
a believer is. In Christ, you're innocent. Innocent
people are totally relaxed. in judgment before the judge,
because they're not guilty. Christ made them not guilty.
He just took all the pressure off. What a thrill to be seen
in Christ. And to be seen in Christ doesn't
mean that the father sees Christ and me, and then he kind of,
you know, grudgingly accepts me because I'm like, you know,
a leech latched on to his perfect son. The father could not accept
me in justice that way. If he saw me and Christ, because
all I am is seeing, he can't accept me that way to be seen
in Christ means this, that when the father looks at me, all he
sees is Christ. That's why the apostle Paul said,
Oh, that I wanted, this is my heart's desire that I may win
Christ and be found where in him. Oh, if I'm found in him,
All the father sees is his precious son. When the father looks at
me, he sees the perfection of his son. He sees the person of
his son. What a blessing that when the
father looks at me, he sees Christ. He looks to Christ to be everything
that he requires of me. Doesn't require anything of me.
He requires it all of his son. I've really spent some time thinking
about this. I meant to, I had intended to preach this message
last Sunday. We got snowed out, so I had an extra week to think
about it. And I still can't think of a way to say how glorious
this is. That when the father looks at
me, all he sees is the perfection of his son. Songwriters say,
well, he sees me. He sees the blood of the lamb.
He sees me as worthy and not as I am. He views me in garments
as white as the snow, for the Lamb of God is worthy. And he
washed me white as snow. Now that's the only way a believer
wants God to see them, is in Christ. Does that describe you? Do you want to bring something
that you've done to add to Christ, or do you just want to be seen,
found in Christ? Then you're a believer. All right, here's
the fifth thing. Every believer is saved by grace. Verse two, Paul says, in the
latter part of the verse, grace be unto you and peace from God,
our father, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer is saved by grace,
grace and grace alone. No believer claims any of their
salvation comes from something that they've done or they haven't
done from their conduct. Our conduct cannot earn our salvation
and our conduct cannot keep our salvation. Now, You think of
the blessing to be a believer, that God's given you faith in
Christ, that he's put you in a place where you can hear the
gospel week after week after week. You hear the gospel, we
hear of Christ our Savior, what his unspeakable love to his people,
how he sacrificed himself for the likes of you and me. how
he's called us by his grace, how he's kept us by his grace,
what he's done for us. Our conduct, the conduct of those
kind of people, ought to be perfect. I mean, we ought never have a
bad attitude, we ought never have to say a bad word, we ought
never have a bad thought, we just ought to, I mean, just, but it's not. It's not that way,
is it? So we get nothing. Nothing spiritual
is gonna come from our conduct. The only thing we ever earn from
our conduct is death, condemnation. Then what a comfort, what a joy,
what a thrill to be constantly reminded, salvation by grace,
by grace. Not what we've earned, but what
Christ earned for us and what he gives to us freely. Our sinful
works cannot save us, but God's grace must. save his people. It absolutely must. God's grace
cannot fail to save anyone that the father chose to save. Look
at Romans chapter five. I've been reading ahead some
in our studying glare in the Genesis that we look at on Wednesday
nights, looking at Noah. Noah, scripture says, found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. He found grace. And you know
what that meant? Where was Noah found when the rain start falling?
In the ark. Just like the believers found
in Christ and because he was in the ark, he was spared from
God's judgment in the flood. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord and he could not perish under God's wrath. He could not, it was impossible
because he's an object of God's grace. Since salvation is by
grace, That makes the salvation of God's people secure because
God's grace demands his people have eternal life. Now look at
Romans five verse 19. For it's by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one should
many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That a sin hath reigned under
death. The sin of our bodies reigns so that these bodies die. You can't stop it. Sin reigns
under death. Even so, might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace reigns. It reigns so that
we must have what Christ purchased for us. We must have what Christ
earned for us. We must have eternal life if
we're an object of God's grace. And since grace reigns, Nothing
can stop it Now what a thrill to be saved by grace I want you
to look at Deuteronomy chapter 9. I want us to be sure to get
this Salvation is by grace. I mean,
it's all of grace from from it is from its beginning to its
ending in glory Salvation is by grace and there's not a single
point in the believers life not a single point that we're blessed
of God by our actions. It's always because of grace,
always. And let's not forget that now
or we're gonna get too big for our britches and we're gonna
get a learning experience here. Look at Deuteronomy 9, verse
one. Hear, O Israel, thou art to pass over Jordan this day,
to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities
great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the
children of the Anacoms, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou
hast heard say, who can stand before the children of Anak?
Understand therefore this day that the Lord thy God is he which
goeth over before thee. As a consuming fire, he shall
destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face. So
shalt thou drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord
has said unto thee. Now listen, speak not in thine
heart, After that, the Lord, thy God has cast them out from
before thee saying for my righteousness, the Lord brought me in to possess
this land for the wickedness of these nations. The Lord does
drive them out from before thee, not for thy righteousness or
for the uprightness of thine heart. Does that go into possess
their land, but for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord, thy
God does drive them out from before thee that he may perform
the word which the Lord swear unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. Understand therefore that the
Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it
for thy righteousness for thou art a stiff neck people. They
see what the Lord's saying there. The people that the Lord is driving
out from the land of Canaan, the land that was promised to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, those people, God's driving them out
because they're wicked. They're wicked. And God reminds
Israel, you just remember this, you're no better. You're no better. You know why God's driving them
out and giving you the land? Grace. God promised to give it
to you. By his grace. And that's why
he's giving it to you. Not because you deserve it, but
by grace. And that's the way every believer
is saved. We're saved by grace. Not because
we're better than anybody else. Because we're not. We're all
cut from the same cloth from Adam's fallen, wretched flesh. Every believer knows this. The
only reason God saved me is he made me an object of his grace. And I hope and pray that's the
way you see yourself. Can you really sing, truly sing
amazing grace that saved a wretch? A wretch like me. Not a, eh. Kind of good person, kind of
bad person, a wretch. Can you call yourself that? If
you can, then you're a believer. That's who God says by his grace.
All right, here's the last thing. Every believer has peace with
God. Paul says in peace from God, our father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. And here's why I believe has
peace with God because Christ made that peace. He purchased
that peace with the blood of his cross. A believer has peace
with God because the blood of Christ took away that sin that
brought God's wrath. Because of the blood of Christ,
God has no reason to be angry with his people. The blood of
Christ took their sin away. So God's justice is not looking
to punish somebody. If Christ died for them, it's
not because his death satisfied God's justice and God's not angry.
He's at peace. But then there's another avenue,
another part of this peace. The believer has peace with God
when the blood of Christ is applied to our hearts. We don't have
peace with God by nature, do we? The carnal mind's enmity
against God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can it be. So how can that person ever be
at peace with God? When the blood of Christ is sprinkled
on our hearts and God gives a new heart, a heart that surrenders
to God, a heart that bows to him, a heart that willingly,
lovingly surrenders to him. That heart, that nature is not
mad at God anymore. That nature loves God. Then there's
peace. It's a two-way street. God's
not angry at me. Because of the blood of Christ,
I'm not angry at God. I bow to Him. I surrender to
Him. Now every believer has perfect, unshakable, unmovable, perfect
peace with God. But do you always enjoy it? And
we have perfect peace with God, but we don't always enjoy that
peace, do we? And you know when we don't enjoy
that peace with God? It's when we're looking to the
arm of the flesh to do something. We're looking to the arm of the
flesh to do something that'll make God happy with us so he
won't be angry with me. I'm looking at the arm of the
flesh to take care of some problem I have and not dependent on Christ.
That's when I don't enjoy the perfect peace that's mine in
Christ. You can't have peace when you're
looking at yourself. It's impossible. There's no peace
to be found in anything that we do because everything we do
is a failure. The Spirit just calms us down
and makes us look to Christ and depend upon Him. He's taken away
every other avenue and we're forced to look to Christ again
and depend on Him and trust Him. We enjoy that peace. We have
peace even in the midst of the storms of this life. There's
peace. Now does looking to Christ, does
that give your heart peace? Does hearing the gospel and being
reminded again, Christ is all, you're nothing, Christ is all,
it all depends on him and none of it depends on you. Does that
give your heart peace? Then you're a believer. That's the only people
that can hear the gospel that way. And verse three says, we'll
get into this next Sunday, Lord willing, we give thanks to God
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.
That's another thing, every believer is a praying person. You know
why we pray? There's nobody else to turn to.
Nobody else to turn to but God. There's nobody else we can thank
in prayer. There's nobody else we can thank in prayer but God. He did it all. Do you have nobody
else to turn to but Christ? That's what, now you know this
about yourself. I know about myself. When do
we truly pray? The only time we truly pray when
we had nowhere else to go. Do you have nowhere else to go
but Christ? Nowhere for forgiveness, nowhere
for righteousness, nowhere for salvation, nowhere for acceptance?
You have nowhere to go but Christ? Then you're a believer. That's
who prays. All right, well, the Lord bless that to you. Let's
bow together in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word, how we thank you that in unspeakable mercy and
love and grace to your people that you made your people believers,
giving us faith to believe in and rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that you would
take the word as it's been preached and apply it to the word, to
the hearts of your people. You promised that your word would
not return into you void. Father, I pray that you'd send
it forth this morning in a purpose of mercy and grace, life-giving
faith, that each one of us might leave here this morning believing
in, trusting in, resting in, and rejoicing in Christ our Savior. It's in his blessed name, for
his sake, we pray and give thanks. Amen. All right, you're all dismissed.