Thank you mark. It's a pleasure
to be here Been a year and a half year and
a half I Declare and I was supposed to be here last September and
I had to counsel son. I think the last time I was here
was March of last year time has a way of just kind of flying
by doesn't But it's a pleasure to be here that our folks in
Sylacauga send their Love to you, and remember us in your
prayers. Pray for me this morning. Would
you turn back with me, as Mark said, to Ephesians chapter 1?
We want to look at one verse. Verse 7. Verse 7. In whom? In whom? Not in what? But in whom? As your faithful pastor told
you so, so many times, salvation's not in what, it's in whom. Paul said, I know whom. That's
what gave him comfort when he was facing death, his departure
was near at hand. He said, I know whom. I'm not
ashamed because I know not what, I know whom I have believed.
In whom? Of course, it's speaking of Christ.
In whom we have redemption. through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. That's the title
of my message, those last seven words of the text, according
to the riches of his grace. Now these words most certainly
apply to the immediate context, I mean the verse itself, and
then we'll consider how it's applied throughout this chapter.
Redemption, it speaks of redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
Redemption through Christ's blood must be followed. It must be
followed with the forgiveness of sins. It can never be realized,
it can never exist except through the riches of God's grace. It's impossible, it's impossible
for the forgiveness of sins to be experienced except through
the redemption in Christ Jesus. The prophet Micah said this concerning
the redemption, the redemption of the soul. He said, wherewith
shall I come before the Lord? And Micah had some idea of who
God was. That's why he speaks so seriously,
so solemn. Wherefore shall I come before
the Lord and bow myself before the high God, God Almighty? Not the God of modern day religion. No, no, no. That's a figment
of man's imagination. But the God over all. How shall I come before him?
How can I have an audience before God Almighty? Shall I come before
him with burnt offerings, with the casts of a year old? Will
the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands
of rivers of oil? God never did say concerning
all those sacrifices under the law, never did he speak these
words. Looking at those animal sacrifices,
deliver his soul from going down to the pit. I found a ransom."
God spoke those words, but it wasn't concerning the animal
sacrifices. Listen to what the psalmist said,
Psalm 49, verse 7. None of them, none of them can
by any means, any means, redeem his brother nor give to God a
ransom for him. For the redemption of their soul
is precious and it ceaseth forever. And then in Hebrews 10, verse
4, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sin. It never was God's intention
that they should take away sin. They pictured, were a type, a
picture, a shadow of that one who would take away sin. God
says concerning his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, or listen
to our Lord's words himself. He told his disciples, the son
of man came. He came on a mission. He didn't come to make something
possible. No, no, no. He came to accomplish
something. that makes something certain,
didn't he, Bill? I find comfort in that, don't you? He told his
disciples shortly before he went to Jerusalem, he said, we go
up to Jerusalem, behold, all things that are written concerning
the Son of Man shall be what? Accomplished. They'll be done. And he told his disciples, the
Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many. The Son of God gave His life
a ransom for many, and that was the ransom God pictured with
every offering under the law. And that is why the ransom that
the Son of God offered to God on the behalf of His people produced
this, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His
own blood. He entered in once, one time,
into the holy place, having obtained, past tense, it's done. Redemption is complete, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. The prophet Isaiah, the evangelical
prophet. Some refer to him as the fifth
evangelist. He gives such clear prophecies
concerning the Son of God. You read it and you think, is
this a prophecy or is this a history? Especially Isaiah 53. But he
described the happy effects of redemption and the everlasting
salvation of God's people. Isaiah 35 verse 10, the ransomed,
the ransomed, the redeemed by that ransom, the ransom of the
Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. No tears in heaven. Remember when your children were
small and they'd be crying over something and it didn't amount
to a whole lot, and you'd say, what are you crying about? Mark,
you've got nothing to cry about. All children of God, in glory,
there won't be anything to cry about. Yeah, weeping now endures
through the night, and long may seem the night, but oh, one morning,
one glorious morning, that weeping and tears shall be done There's
nothing this side of heaven, is there child of God? Nothing
this side of heaven sweeter than having God's spirit bear witness
with our spirit to make us know that our sins, which are many,
are all forgiven thee. Wow. What a comfort. What a comfort. Sins put away
by the precious blood of Christ demand demand that that redeemed
sinner be forgiven of all those sins. Did Christ put my sins
away? He either did or he didn't. He
either got the job done or he didn't. Thank God he did as he
exclaimed victoriously, it's finished. We sang it just a moment
ago, didn't we? My sin, all my sin, it better
be. My sin, all the bliss, The comfort,
the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, all my sin, not part
of it, that won't do. My sin not in part but the whole
is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more. What should be my
response to such grace, such mercy, such a ransom, such a
price? Oh, praise the Lord. That demands
a song, doesn't it? Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
Oh, my soul, my sin is gone. When I think of that, it's hard
for me not to recall that old allegory by Bunyan, Pilgrim's
Progress. You know where I'm going. Oh,
he's pictured as a man under conviction of sin. God's got
the man lost. He was fine before that, no problem,
no issue. But then God got him lost. You remember? He's pictured with
that burden, that great burden on his back. And he cries out,
woe is me. He realizes for the first time
he's lost, he's undone, he's without God, he's without hope.
And he cries out, oh wretched man, woe is me. And he goes with that burden
on his back and he can't get rid of it. You remember that.
Remember that childhood. Oh, Lord, draw back the curtain
of memory now, and then remind us, show us where you brought
us from and where we could have been. And Bunyan goes on his
way, her pilgrim, rather, in the old story. And he says, until
he came up to that mount that day, oh, he came up to that mount
where was a cross. And he said, just as he came
up and saw the cross, that burden fell off of his shoulders, off
his back. And it began to tumble, begin to roll. And it rolled
to the foot of the mount into a sepulchre. Bunyan said, I never
saw it again after that. Oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought. Think of this. The Son of Man
says of every believing sinner, Every believing sinner, he says
to them this morning, of them, I tell you, I tell you, this
man is going down to his house justified. That's what he said
concerning that despised publican, didn't he? He's going home justified. He may not be going home to the
biggest house in town, the most expensive house, or the most
well furnished house, but the only mediator there is, between
God and man. The only way to God, the only
door to heaven says that man, the son of God himself says that
man is going home in God's sight without sin. How about that? In the court of heaven, in the
record of heaven, that man has been declared not guilty. Not guilty. Many years ago, I
knew a lady whose son was on trial for murder, had been accused
of murder. And she asked me the day that
they thought the verdict would probably come back if I would
be with her in the courtroom that day. And I said, well, sure. And I sat next to her. And when
the jury came in, oh, she was holding my hand. And I'm telling
you, oh, of course she didn't realize. Oh, just gripping my
hand so tight. This was her youngest son facing
a possible execution if a guilty penalty was pronounced. And he
came in, and oh, you could cut the tension with a knife. And
he stood and faced the jury. The jury foreman stood, and the
judge said, have you reached a verdict? They said, we have,
your honor. How do you find the defendant?
Not guilty. Not guilty. Oh, what a relief
to that dear mother. Oh, but to hear the judge, the
righteous judge of all the earth, pronounce these words about a
sinner. Larry Criss, I find you not guilty. Wow, is that possible? Can such
a thing be so? That sounds almost too good to
be true. Oh, but in the court of heaven,
under my name, in the record book of God's glory, there's
Larry Criss not guilty. No wonder that hymn writer wrote,
oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. Now those two things,
forgiveness of sins and redemption through his blood, in verse seven
are two blessings that can only be realized. that would have
never taken place other than according to the riches of God's
grace. But those two words refer not
only to redemption and forgiveness, they refer to everything in the
chapter, everything that Mark read. In verses, everything that
went before, from verses 3 through 6. And then everything that followed
after, verses 8 through 14. Everything about salvation is
according to the riches of God's grace. Everything. Everything. Repentance. Faith. It's not found in old fallen
Adam. It's not there. Faith is not
something in you by nature. Oh, no, no, no. The very will
to be saved. The will to come to Christ. The desire for mercy. The seeking
of salvation, it's all of grace according to the riches of God's
grace. Every one of those blessings
God bestows upon his children in Christ, and by Christ, and
through Christ, and never once, not one time. Thank God that's
so. Not one time, not once because
of anything other than this, they rest upon this certain and
sure foundation according to the riches of God's grace. Sometimes when Robin's in the
kitchen and I'm in the living room and I smell some sweet aroma, coming out of that kitchen, And
I said, man, I just follow my nose in there. And she's at the
stove. And I said, honey, you need some
help. Anything I can do? Can you believe
it? She said, I don't need any help
from you. She says, I know what I'm doing.
Just get out of here, go sit down, and I'll call you when
it's ready. This is what Jesus Christ says
concerning his free grace. It's ready. Listen to what the
prophet said. Listen to what the Lord said by the mouth of
the prophet. Ho, everyone that thirsteth. Oh, my soul. Anybody thirsty? Old Scott used
to say, anybody thirsty? This is good news for thirsty
souls. Anybody thirsting? For forgiveness
of sins. Anybody thirsting for God's grace? Thirsting for his mercy and his
salvation? Listen to this. This is what
God says this morning. Oh, everyone, everyone that thirsts,
come, come to the waters. You have no money? Come. Buy
and eat, come. Buy wine and milk without money
and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, that which can never satisfy? And your labor for that which
satisfieth not, hearken diligently unto me. And eat ye that which
is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Just like
Robin tells me to get out of the kitchen, she doesn't need
my help. Christ doesn't need my help. He knows what he's already accomplished. And now because he has already
obtained eternal redemption for his people, he says, come and
dine. Taste and see that the Lord is gracious. Taste his grace. Taste his grace. Feed upon it. This is what he
said in Matthew 22. Again, he sent forth other servants
saying, tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have prepared my dinner. I've done it all by myself. My oxen, my fatlings are killed. All things are ready. Come, come
into the marriage. God's rich grace is more than
enough to pay the debt I owe. About, oh, I guess it was three
months or so ago, Bill, I made the last payment on that pilot
sitting in the parking lot. Man, I bet 30, 36 payments. Every month I'd get a thank you
for your payment. Well, they took it out, you know.
Couldn't stop them. They better not try it anymore.
Better not to take any more payments. That car is paid in full. I've
got the title. Oh my, so what about this? What
about this? Concerning every believing sinner,
Jesus Christ has paid it in full. Paid all their debt. put away
every sin, brought in an everlasting righteousness. Christ's riches
counsel my poverty. The riches of his righteousness
is enough, more than enough, to cover the rags I'm dressed
in by nature." Remember that returning prodigal our Lord spoke
about in Luke 15. He was made to confess this.
He had rehearsed it on his way back to the Father's house. I
have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and I'm no more
worthy to be called thy son." Well, that was the truth. But
God didn't say, you're exactly right. You got what you deserve. Just go on. Go reap what you've
sowed. There's no place for you here.
That's not what the Father said, did he? Oh, no. That would be
the reception if it was according to our works, but according to
God's grace, That prodigal hears these words, bring forth the
best row. Put it on him. Put it on him. Put a ring on his finger, on
his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatty calf
and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was
dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and
they began to make merry. The great shepherd of the sheep
says when he seeks and finds one of his lost sheep, he says,
rejoice with me, rejoice with me for I found my sheep which
was lost. I send you likewise. There shall
be joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. This is the joy
that was set before the Son of God as the reason he endured
the cross. He saw the certain outcome of
his sufferings. He saw the travail of his soul,
what it would produce. He knew By doing that, he was
going to be bringing many sons to glory without a doubt. That's why he was made like unto
his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God. Thank God that nothing about
salvation is according to man. Aren't you thankful? Nothing
is dependent on man, not man's will. Man's will. Search the scriptures, Christ
said. For in them you think you have eternal life, and they are
they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me. You
will not come to me. There's man's will. It's not
free. It's bound to his nature. Ye will not come to me. If God in justice passes by any
sinner, that sinner will never will to come to Christ. No man
is saved against his will, but no man is willing to be saved
until God in mercy and grace makes him willing. You will not
come to me that you might have life. It's not by man's will. And grace is not by man's works.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it's God's gift. And it's not by man's worth.
It's written, there's none righteous, not one, not one. There's none
that understand that. There's none that seeketh after
God. They've all gone out of the way. They are altogether
become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. The truth that salvation is altogether
according to the riches of his grace, that's good news. That's good news to a sinner
who feels his need of grace. To those who believe that salvation
is of him that wills it, that they can take the first step
to God, that a decision brings salvation, that's not good news.
Oh, that would only get me religious, but lost. Let me read you a portion
of an article. I saw it in someone's bulletin
the other day, Brother Henry Mahan, a shelter in the time
of a storm. And we've all seen this happen.
Pastors, every pastor has seen this happen. Henry wrote, the
problem with people making professions of faith under stress such as
a severe illness or sorrow and the death of a loved one is that
like a drowning man, a soul under this sort of distress will grab
at any twig or limb to save his life. Isn't that so? Too often
the shelter sought and found during a sudden storm will be
deserted when the sun shines again. It just doesn't last very
long. I was on the phone a few weeks
ago with someone that I had hoped wanted to talk about his soul,
was concerned about his immortal soul, but it wasn't very long
into the conversation I realized he wasn't. He wasn't. He wanted
to talk about where do dinosaurs fit in. How old is really the earth?
Signs of the times. Isn't it something? Why are people
so intrigued about signs of the times? I mean, I bumped into
a winder one time on the street, and he found out I was a preacher,
and he said, well, don't you think we're living in the last
days? He couldn't hardly stand up straight, and he wanted to
talk about signs of the times. 666. Oh, and as I talked to that young
man and he kept asking these questions, it didn't amount to
anything because that's not the issue. If I could know, which
is not possible, if I could know, if I could know the exact hour
that the Son of God was coming back, I would still have to believe
on Him before I'm saved. I would still have to experience
His mercy and grace. And finally, I thought about
what our Lord told those Sadducees and Pharisees. They got together
and tried to trap Him in His words. And they came and asked
one question after another. Question after question, and
our Lord dealt with them. He answered the question. And
then he said, let me ask you a question. Here's the issue. Those other things aren't the
issue. What think ye of Christ? Listen, listen, nothing else
matters. It doesn't matter what I know
or what I think I know. The only thing that matters,
the issue is this. Do I know the Son of God or not? Do I know him in the sweet forgiveness
of sin? Has God been pleased to reveal
his son to me? Nothing else other than that
matters at all. It's amazing what most people
think the issue is, isn't it? But sinners awakened, awakened
by God's grace, realize their need is mercy. That's what I
was hoping to hear. Larry, I need mercy, mercy. The issue is not my dress, it's
my depravity. It's not my habits, it's my heart. The issue is not my waist, it's
my will, my depraved, fallen will. Something has to be done
about the depravity of my heart, my perverse will to bring me
into subjection to the Son of God. What about my sins? What about mercy? Here's the
matter of concern. Here's the issue. This is what
David prayed for, didn't he? Oh, Lord, have mercy on me. Be merciful unto me. The Lord
Jesus Christ said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance. What did blind Barnabas say,
huh? When Christ passed by and he
asked, what's going on here? What's all this commotion about?
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. He'd heard, obviously, of
Jesus, the son of David, as he shouted out. And he said, Lord,
have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. And I'll tell
you what, there was never an instance, never a time, not one
time that any sinner ever came to the Son of God seeking mercy
who was refused. Never happened. It never happened,
not in the scriptures, and it's never happened in reality. Any
sinner who asks for mercy sincerely shall find it. That's not the
question, is it? The question is, do you need
mercy? Do you want mercy? Is that your
need? Oh, there's mercy for the miserable,
the mercy of God in Christ. I guarantee you that a real sinner
begging for mercy to hear that salvation is all according to
God's grace He won't have a problem with that. That's good news to
him. Can you imagine someone saying
to Jonah in that whale's belly, that great fish's belly, well,
Jonah, it's up to you to get yourself out. Never going to
happen. Everything we read in this chapter
from being chosen in Christ, in verse 4, before the foundation
of the world, that being gathered in Christ in glory, in verse
10, and everything in between those two blessed events are
according to the riches of God's grace. Blessed, look at verse
three again, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he had chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world. Yes, salvation begins with a
choice. But it's not your choice. It's
God's choice. Listen to what our Lord said.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. If ye were of the
world, the world would love its own. But because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you. A lady asked her pastor one time,
where is this teaching about election? You mentioned it. Where
is it in the Bible? And he took her to this chapter,
Ephesians 1, read it. And then she said, well, I believe
Paul just got carried away there and said too much. Oh, my, so
have you ever had anyone tell you that we should never deal
with this doctrine of election because it's one of those non-essential
things? It's so obscure that it's so
rarely mentioned in the scripture that it's not important, so we
shouldn't deal with it. Is that really true? Is that
really true? What about the virgin birth?
Is that important? Was it necessary for Christ to
be made like unto his brethren? Well, of course it was. Of course
it was. If he wasn't made flesh, he couldn't have been made sin.
Was that essential? How about the resurrection of
the Son of God? Is that important? Was that essential?
The resurrection proves It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt God's
satisfaction with his son's sacrifice, that he was well pleased with
it. He accepted the ransom. Election is spoken of more than
either of those things. Election is spoken of in the
word of God more than the virgin birth, more than the resurrection. Yes, it's God's choice. You are
God speaking to his son. You are my first elect, God said,
and then chose us in Christ our head. Blessed is the man, David
wrote. Blessed is the man whom you choose,
whom thou choosest. and causes to approach unto thee
that he may dwell in thy courts, we shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house and of thy holy temple. Josiah Condor
wrote this. I've read this in many of Don's
writings, commentaries, and messages. "'Tis not that I did choose thee,
Lord, that could not be. This heart would still refuse
thee if you had not chosen me. Thou from the sin that stained
me hast cleansed and set me free. Of old thou hast ordained me
that I should live with thee of no benefit. Been told to believe
this is of no practical benefit, really? It's of no practical
use or comfort to know that God has loved his people with an
everlasting love? Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Would it be of any practical
use? And you've experienced it, child of God, when facing a heavy
trial, And during a great hardship, going through great sorrow, to be reminded of this, that
nothing that happens to you, no trial, no heartache, no sorrow,
no matter how severe, no matter how great, can change this, can
touch this. I've been loved of God with an
everlasting love. David said, I'm persuaded, I'm
sorry, Paul, I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels,
nor powers, nor principalities, present things, things to come,
height, depth, or any other creature, she'll be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. I love how the old hymn writer
put it, love with an everlasting love, led by grace that love
to know. Gracious spirit from above, you
have taught me it is so. Oh, this full and perfect peace. All this transport, all divine,
in a love which cannot cease. I am his and he is mine. What was it? Week before last,
we had local elections. Perhaps you did here as well.
And there were people, you know, wanted to be voted in, voted
in, voted out. Well, thank God, we're not voted
in, we're not voted out, the son of God. Loved us, gave himself
for us, God chose us, calls us, keeps us. The hymn writer went
on to say, all the life forever here. Doubt and care and self-resign. Oh, I wish I could do that. While
he whispers in my ear, I am his and he is mine. Heaven and earth
may fade and flee. Firstborn light and gloom decline. But while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine. how we should thank the triune
God that we've been chosen, redeemed, called, forgiven of all of our
sins completely and forever. God who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. Oh, when this world is tossing
me like a ship upon the sea, I'll be secure according to the
riches of God's grace. When we cry out according to
the hymn we sang earlier, oh, wretched man that I am, who shall
deliver me? I shall be delivered according
to the riches of God's grace. And while I draw this fleeting
breath, wow, when my eyes shall close in death, And when I soar
to worlds unknown, and I see God Almighty upon His throne,
this sinner enters heaven itself and looks into the face of Jesus
Christ all according to the riches of His grace. The last few verses
of the epistle to the Hebrews says this, and I'll close with
it. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
in his sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and
ever. To God be the glory. Great things
he hath done. God bless you. Good to be with
you. Thank you for your attention.