Well, we finished Revelation,
that was a long study from February, I think 35 messages, something
like that, and we finished it and I hope that all who believe
and that have listened have seen a vision it was a book of seven
visions, but have seen a vision for themselves of the triumphant
kingdom of God and of the part that God promises in it to all
who believe him, that when we die, when we leave this life,
as every single one of us must, sooner or later, that there is
that which awaits us, the glorious, blissful kingdom of God in triumph,
without sin, in the intimate presence and communion of God
between him and his people. That's our hope. Christian faith
is not just for this life, because as Paul said, if it were, we
would be of all men most miserable. But no, this is the paradise
of God which is set before us. The paradise of God. You know,
this world, as it grows ever more corrupt, you see more and
more denial by people that their lives are going to end, more
and more denial as to what their eternal destiny might be. But
regarding the paradise of God, a man called Charles Buck said,
the Christian's hope is the expectation of all necessary good, both in
time, that's now, and in eternity, when we've died, when we've gone.
The Christian's hope is the expectation of all necessary good, both in
time and eternity. Why? Why do you believe that?
Why do you have that hope? It's founded upon, here's the
reason, it's founded upon promises, relations, and perfections of
God. God has made promises, he relates
to his people, he is perfect, and it's founded upon the offices
and the righteousness and the intercession of Christ. It's
a compound of desire, what we want, of expectation, what we're
confident is going to happen, of patience while we wait for
it, and a deep inner sense of joy. This is the Christian's
hope. Do you have this hope? Do you
claim to be a Christian? Do you have this hope? Do you
have this hope? Are you confident that when you
leave this life, as Jesus said to the penitent thief on the
cross when he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom,
dying there on that cross with minutes or hours left to live.
Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, said Jesus. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
today, this day, you shall be with me in paradise. Is that
your hope? Are you confident of that very
fact? And is that hope that you have rational? Is it reasonable? You have a reason for this hope.
You don't just have a hope with no thought whatsoever. Most of
the world around us, and the religious world especially, has
either no hope or an utterly irrational hope. You look at
the false religions of the East and the silly mythical nonsense
that they put their trust in, the traditions that the parents
and the grandparents and those before have all relied on, all
as mad as one another in terms of the rationality of it, no
sense to it whatsoever. And people hoping here in this
life, people even claiming nominal Christians, you know, a relative
dies. Oh, they're together now in heaven. How do you know? What's the reason for that hope
that you have that that departed relative is together with the
departed husband or wife? It's no more certain than UK
summer weather. Any of you that live in UK, and
I know a lot of you do, but some listening don't, We'll know what
I mean by that. An American once asked me, when's
the best time to come to Britain regarding the weather? And I
said, I haven't got the foggiest idea. And he said, but you've
lived there all your life. I said, that's exactly why I
have no idea. You just don't know. We don't know. We don't
know. We could plan a date. I could
plan a date in June next year. Is it going to be a lovely day
for my wedding, for my whatever it might be? Is it going to be
a lovely? I haven't got the faintest idea. Not even one week out have we
much idea. Is that the sort of hope that
most people have? Is it, in fact, the hope that
you have? No, Revelation, the book of Revelation, has set God's
triumphant kingdom before us. Do you believe it? Do you expect
to be there? John saw much people in heaven,
Revelation 19, verse one. He saw much people in heaven. He saw a multitude in chapter
seven, a multitude which no man can number. of every tribe and
tongue and kindred. He saw that in heaven. Do you
believe that? Do you expect to be there? Well,
let me ask you, what makes you so sure? Well, if anybody asks
me, here are my five reasons. And why am I preaching on this?
It's because my text is in 1 Peter chapter three and verse 15. And I'm just gonna take the text
as it is, just this verse, 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 15, where
Peter writes, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. How
can you make holy the Lord God in your hearts? You can't make
God holy. Well, what he means is there,
acknowledge the holiness of God in your hearts. live with an
awareness of the holiness and majesty of God in your hearts
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks
you a reason of the hope that is in you and do it with meekness
and fear not with arrogance and pomposity with meekness and fear
be ready always to give a reason to give an answer to every man
that asks you, why do you have this hope of heaven and eternal
life? You live, obviously it leaks
out. It leaks out in your demeanor,
in your attitude to this world and the things in this world.
You have a hope of eternity and it leaks out in your relations
with others. And some will say, Why do you
think that you're going to heaven? Why do you think that there is
a God? Why do you think these things? Be ready to give an answer
to every man that asks you, a reason of the hope that is in you. Well,
here this morning are my five reasons, and no doubt many can
think of many other reasons, and this text has been preached
on by so many people, you could find many, many messages on this.
But this is my take on it this morning. Here are my five reasons. If somebody says, Why do you
have a hope of heaven? You can read the article that
I've written in the bulletin this week, which is from that
standpoint of, you know, we always say, don't say I, I, but say
God, God. You know, not I did something,
but God did something for me. Well, why am I doing this? Well,
because this verse says you be ready to give a reason to anyone,
to give an answer to anyone that asks you a reason for the hope
that is in you. Well, here are my reasons this morning. Firstly,
Why do I have this hope that there is a life after death? Why do I have a hope that there
is existence after death? The answer is simple. It's because
of the existence of God. It's because there is no doubt
that God exists. In Hebrews chapter 11, and verse
six, you know Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter, the faith gallery,
but in verse six it says this, without faith it is impossible
to please, how do you please God? With faith, because without
it it's impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God,
he that seeks a relationship with God, must believe that he
is, and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. He must believe that God is. My first reason is rational,
and it is my first reason that God exists. Because why? Without God, there can be nothing. Without God, there can be nothing.
But you say, but the whole world believes that without God there
is what we see. The whole universe exists. It
came into being of its own accord. Science tells you that. No, God
says this. 1 Timothy 6 verse 20 calls it
science falsely so-called because it's the fallen opinions of man. Evolution of life by random materialistic
processes without any thought of God is the lie of unbelief. You say, but so many scientists,
these are the cleverest people in our society. Really? Really? God's Word says that if you trust
God, you are smarter than all your teachers. No. Evolution
of life by random materialistic processes is an impossible notion. It's an impossible notion. You
say, well, why do so many of them accept it? Why do so many
of the great scientists accept it? Do you know the Word of God
itself tells us? Romans 1, verse 28. Romans chapter
1 and verse 28. Even as they, mankind in general,
the world around, they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. That's it. Fallen man. Sinful man. Out of communion
with God, his maker, fallen man did not like to retain God in
his knowledge. You know, you see this attitude,
don't you, in society? Anybody that has an interest
in the things of God and in knowing God, they will disparagingly
call that person a God-botherer, one who wants to make a nuisance
of himself in terms of God. No, no. God created his people
for a relationship with him. In the same chapter, Romans 1
and verse 19, we read this, we read this, that which may be
known of God, See, people say, oh, there is no God, but that
which may be known of God is manifest in them, it's shown
in them, for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things
of him, of God, from the creation, you say, I can't see God. Yes,
but the invisible things of God, are clearly seen. How? Being
understood by the things that are made. I look and I see all
around me. I see wonderful things all around
me. I see the hand of God at work
in everything. I see the flowers even at this
time of year outside, and I see the hand of God everywhere. even
his eternal power and Godhead. Nobody has an excuse for not
believing God, because his fingerprints are everywhere. Those who disbelieve,
those who believe that an enormous great explosion of cosmic proportions
billions of years ago led to everything just naturally like
this, that's blind faith. It's an impossible process. An
impossible process. So to believe in it is blind
faith. But my faith isn't blind faith.
My faith is reasonable. It's a reasonable faith. I'll
give an answer to anybody who asks me. It's a reasonable faith. Your claims of evolution, unbeliever,
your claims that these things all just happened without God
by themselves, It's blind faith. It's utterly nonsense. Nobody's
ever demonstrated anything closely like it. And I'm telling you,
those of you, any of you listening to this who think that you can
confound me with your arguments of Richard Dawkins-type science,
have a go. You can't. It's utterly impossible. And every Every honest scientist,
every honest scientist who really looks into it knows, knows that
that which they postulate as the way in which they came into
being is completely, completely untenable. It's completely without
foundation. But what we believe, believers,
is founded on divine revelation. You know, again, in that same
Hebrews chapter 11, Why do I believe that God exists and that he made
all things? Verse three of chapter 11 of
Hebrews. Through faith, that gift which God gives, we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
God made it out of nothing. And how do I believe that? By
faith, not of myself, it is by faith. And what is faith? By
grace are you saved, says Paul. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Oh, that
God might give you faith to believe him. The unbelieving world cannot
discern spiritual truth. For as 1 Corinthians 2.14 tells
us, the natural man is blind to these things. He cannot discern
the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness to him, neither
can he know them. Why? Because they are spiritually
discerned. Oh, that God would give you,
by his Spirit, that spiritual discernment to see the things
of God. God grants to his people eyes
to see and ears to hear. How many times do you read that
in the Scripture? You who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Oh, that he might give each one of you hearing me this morning,
eyes to see and ears to hear. Why do I have hope of heaven?
My first reason is this, because none of what I see could exist
without God. He is the reality. He is the
reality. You say, I don't see him. You
see his handiwork everywhere. We read it in that scripture
in Romans 1. So the existence of God is my number one reason,
and the existence of God to me is proven by everything that
I see, exactly as God's word tells me. Then the revelation
of God. Now, you see, creation reveals
God, as I've just said. Intelligent design is everywhere. The psalmist Psalm 139, verse
14, he said this, I will praise thee, I will praise God, I will
praise him. Why? For I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. Can you not agree with that?
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am not fearfully and
wonderfully evolved. I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. Marvelous are thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well. but to know God. We need more
than just to know that there is a God. We need him to teach
us his truth and his ways, and we need for that his word, this
book, the Bible. This book, the Bible, is print
on paper. I know you say, yes, you can
get them on your phone, online. Well, that's great. That's all
good extra means. But really, the preservation is print on
the page of scripture. It's independent. It's objective. It's independent of human feelings
and of emotions. I mean, it deeply affects human
feelings and emotions, but it's independent of that. It's the
truth of God given. And it's unchanging as time passes,
as the millennia have gone on. The words written in the Book
of Job, probably the first words of the Bible in terms of history,
ring exactly the same as the words of the Book of Revelation,
the last words of Scripture written. It's divinely given. If you turn
to 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15,
this is Paul writing to Timothy, who was the younger man whom
he had him helping with his ministry. And he writes to Timothy, who
by this stage is pastoring a church, and that from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures. How did he know? Well, his mother
and his grandmother, Lois and, was it Eunice? I think it was.
They had taught him the scriptures when he was a child. From a child,
you have known the scriptures. Look at what the scriptures are
able to do. The scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation
through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Because all scripture,
all of it, is given by inspiration of God, God-breathed. The Holy
Spirit guided the men who wrote it. All Scripture is God-breathed
and is profitable for doctrine, the truth of God and life, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works. It's divinely given. It's miraculously
preserved. I think I mentioned last week
the word in 2 Peter 1, verse 19, that all of the religious
experiences you might have only go so far, but we have a more
sure word of prophecy to which we do well to take heed, and
that's this book that even today is preserved and is available
and is widely, widely available. It's the expression of God's
mind to his elect multitude. That's what it is. The mind of
God expressed to his elect multitude. Spoken down millennia. God who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spake unto the fathers
by the prophets. That's how the book of Hebrews
opens. has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, who
is the Lord Jesus Christ. And what did Jesus say in his
high priestly prayer in John 17 and verse 14? He said this,
I have given them, the people that you've given me to follow
me, I have given them thy word. Christ has given the word of
God. He who came down from heaven
has given the word of God from heaven. But not only has He given
the Word of God from heaven, Christ is the Word of God. He is the Word of God from heaven. He is the manifestation and expression
of the hidden Godhead. No man has seen God at any time,
we read in John 1. But the only begotten Son who
is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. As we read
for our opening verse, in the beginning was the Word. This
is speaking of a person, not just words on a page, but in
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. This is Christ, this is God revealed,
this is God become man, to convey to his people the mind of Christ. In Revelation 19 and verse 13,
we see him in triumph. at the judgment, coming on his
white horse in triumph, and there's a name written on his thigh,
and that name is the Word of God, for he is the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Word of God, the manifestation of the unknowable God. This entire
book is that which, as Jesus said in John 5.39, these scriptures,
these Old Testament scriptures, all the scriptures, These are
they which testify of me. He said it again in Luke's Gospel,
chapter 24. You can read it there. All religious
ideas must be tested by this book. All religious theories,
all religious doctrines must be tested by this book, because
as I often repeat, Isaiah 8 and verse 20, to the law and to the
testimony, if they speak not according to this word, there
is no light in them. But most so-called Christian
religion doesn't test it by this book. So what does this book
reveal? Obviously, I have to try and
condense it into one or two sentences. It reveals the holiness of God.
It reveals the justice of God. the mercy of God, the grace of
God, the fact that God is personal and has a personal relationship
with his people, that he is near to us all, as Peter read earlier
in Acts chapter 17, in him we live and move and have our being.
He is not far from each one of us. He is revealed as omnipotent. There is nothing that God cannot
do. He is revealed as omniscient. There is nothing that God does
not know. He knows all things. Omni is all. Science, knowledge. He knows all things. He is everywhere,
omnipresent. Where can I go to hide from him,
says the psalmist? I cannot. If I go to the most
obscure place, thou art there. I cannot hide from you. God is
sovereign over everything. This is what this book reveals.
It even reveals this, that even the devil is God's devil for
the purposes of God's eternal goodness and grace to his people.
He, God, is the source, the sustainer, and the remover of life. I'll
say that again. He is the source, he is the sustainer,
the upholder, and he is the remover of life. For, as we read in John
chapter 1, in him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Why do I have a hope of heaven? Because Not only does creation
reveal that there is a God, but his word reveals him in all of
his glory. And then thirdly, why do I have
a hope of heaven? And you might think that this
is a reason for not having a hope of heaven. And indeed it is,
to start with, the nature of man as revealed in the scriptures
and as borne out by our own experience and testimony. As sure as I am
of God's existence, of his glorious majesty, etc., all of those things,
I am sure that in my nature, that is, in my flesh, there dwells
no good thing. I am sure that in my nature,
in my flesh, as a child of Adam, who fell from that state of bliss
with God in the paradise of God in Eden, I know that I, by nature,
cannot see or know God. It is impossible for me to see
or know God in my sin. because I must be as holy as
he is if I am to see him. In Hebrews chapter 12, And verse
14, we're encouraged to follow after peace with all men and
holiness, righteousness, without which no man shall see the Lord. If you do not have the holiness,
the righteousness of God, you will not see God. You will have
no hope. So maybe my hopes so far are
without foundation. because I am a sinner condemned
to eternal separation from God. I have transgressed God's standard,
His laws, His righteousness. I am defiled and barred from
entry to heaven. You remember what we read in
Revelation chapter 21, nothing that defiles shall enter therein.
Why do I have a hope of heaven? I'm defiled, I shall not enter
therein. What can I do? What can I do? Because as the
Word of God itself says, Psalm 143 and verse 2, in the sight
of God shall no man living be justified. If I want to be justified
as a good person, you know, people say, oh, do you know, I think
I'm becoming a better Christian. I'm doing all right. Do you know, you haven't got
a clue, because in God's sight, No man living and trusting in
his own righteousness and strength shall be justified. That's what
that verse means. In the sight of God, the very
highest, best thing we can do will be condemned, for all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It doesn't matter how hard
you try, how many new leaves you turn over, it makes not a
scrap of difference. In the sight of God, no man living,
relying on his own righteousness and good works, however good
and high and honorable they might seem to other men and women,
no such man shall be justified in the sight of God. No, none,
not one. The scripture's true interpretation
of the state is that there is none righteous, no, not one. They've all gone out of the way.
There's the poison of asps is under their lips. There is no
good in them. And so, in that very first written
book of the Bible, the book of Job, Job asked, in Job chapter
9 and verse 2, and he'd asked the same question elsewhere,
in the midst of all of his trials and difficulties and the accusations
of his so-called comforters, Job asks this fundamental question,
how should a man be just with God? How should any of us be
just with God? We're fallen, we're sinful. Can
anybody make himself as holy as God requires? Can anybody
do it? Romans 3 verse 20 gives the answer.
By the deeds of the law, by the things that you try to do, there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight. You know what happened
to Isaiah when he was the prophet of Israel, about 700 or 800 years
before Christ came. He was highly revered as the
prophet of God. And then in chapter six of the book of Isaiah, we
read his testimony of what fundamentally shook him. In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and
lifted up. Who was it he saw? We know from
John's gospel chapter 12, which tells us that Isaiah saw the
pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the manifestation of the
unknowable, hidden God, whose face no man can see. I saw the
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train,
his robes filled the temple, his presence, his glory, his
majesty filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims,
Each one had six wings. With Twain, he covered his face.
With Twain, he covered his feet. And with Twain, he did fly in
acknowledgement of the unimaginable holiness and purity of the Lord
that was sitting there upon that throne. And one cried unto another
and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door, in
this vision that Isaiah was given, the posts of the door moved at
the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke, speaking of the glory and majesty of God. And what
was Isaiah's reaction? Oh, isn't this a good place to
be? We're in a good place here, aren't we? Let's have a good
religious experience. No, he said, woe is me, for I am undone. Because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. I deserve
to die. I am unfit in his sight. This
knowledge revealed by God's spirit through his word, confirmed in
the heart and the soul, spells out to us what was the title
of Milton's sort of poetic work of a couple of hundred years
ago, Paradise Lost. You know, can we attain to paradise?
No, paradise lost because of sin. And in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress, you know, this Christian who went He's living in Vanity
Fair and he comes to a knowledge of what he is before God and
he's despairing. And they're saying to him, don't
be so silly, just get on and enjoy life and make the most
of things. But he's despairing. Why is he despairing? Because
God has opened his eyes that as Isaiah saw, he might see the
glory and majesty of God and how far short he has fallen himself
and how utterly unfitted he is for anything other than eternal
condemnation. Do you know, when Christian in
Pilgrim's Progress saw that, do you know, he was a sacred
thing. He was a sacred thing. So is
anybody else who comes under conviction of sin. For, as that
hymn tells us, a sinner is a sacred thing, a holy thing. Why? because
the Holy Ghost has brought him to that realisation. The Holy
Spirit of God has brought that realisation upon that one who
realises what a sinner they are, and until they hear the word
of the truth of redemption from the curse of sin. With Christian
in Pilgrim's Progress, it was when he came to the foot of the
cross and the burden of sin on his back fell away and rolled
down into the tomb. It's redemption from the curse
of sin, and it's accomplished by Jesus Christ. And that's my
next reason. You see, I'm not leaving us in
the despair of what the word tells us about what we are, but
it tells us that salvation has been accomplished. Why do you
have a hope of heaven, that you will be there in that majestic
kingdom of God? Because Christ has accomplished
salvation. It's the theme of the entire
Bible. The recovery from the curse in
the Garden of Eden, in Genesis chapter 3, the soul that sins,
it shall die. God, unchangingly holy and just,
is able to justify sinners. I'll say that again, because
if it hasn't struck you, you haven't thought about it properly.
God who is unchangingly holy and pure and strictly just is
able to justify sinners, is able to declare just those who are
sinners, who deserve condemnation. by the infinite God becoming
man to satisfy the demands of divine justice. What are the
demands of divine justice? The soul that sins, it shall
die. That's it. That's the demands
of divine justice. But he came, God, infinite God,
contracted to a span when Christ was born in Bethlehem. He became
man to satisfy the demands of divine justice, to stand forward
and say, I will pay it, I will pay the debt, and thereby pay
the sin debt of a multitude as their substitute in their place.
And all scripture anticipated his coming. The promised seed
in the book of Genesis, chapter 3. Immediately after the fall,
he's there. Abel's lamb, Abel's lamb as the
only way back to the tree of life. That which was guarded
by the Shekinah at the gate of the Garden of Eden. Pictured
by Abel's lamb, providing access to the tree of life. Christ pictured
in Noah's ark, for all who are in him are safe from the flood
of the judgment of God which is coming to carry all away.
Pictured by Abraham's only Isaac. Only Isaac, that promised son,
that son of promise in whom the seed, the true Christ would come.
But there he is. And where is the lamb for a burned
offering? Isaac asks Abraham. He says,
God will provide himself a sacrifice. God will provide for himself
a sacrifice. And God will provide he himself
as the sacrifice for sin. He's pictured in the Passover
lamb. on the night of the Exodus from
Egypt, when the children of Israel came out of bondage in the land
of Egypt. And he's pictured there in the
Passover lamb, for the lamb of that substitute Passover lamb,
one for each household, that blood was to be painted on the
doorposts. And the slaying angel, the slaying
angel coming through the land, Implementing the justice of God
against sin, all the firstborn of the land of Egypt were to
die. Of all the animals and of all the people, the firstborn
of all of them were to die. And the same would be true in
the houses of the Israelites, but for the fact that a substitute
Passover lamb had been slain in their place. In the tabernacle
and temple, in the history of Israel, in the prophetic promises,
all of these things speak of him. Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14,
I will give you a sign, says God to the people. A virgin shall
conceive and bear a son. A virgin shall conceive and bear
a son. And shall call his name Emmanuel,
which we know from elsewhere in the scriptures. Emmanuel,
God with us. God will come as a baby born.
For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the
government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. Look at the genealogy of Christ
in Matthew's Gospel and in Luke's Gospel chapter 4, Matthew chapter
1 and Luke chapter 4, and see how it all perfectly fulfills
that which God determined and that the scriptures said. The
place of his virgin birth, Bethlehem, the audible voice heard by people
all around of God from heaven saying, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased, this is my beloved son, listen to
him, see what he is, see who he is, see what he is doing,
all testifying that Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus born in Bethlehem,
raised in Nazareth, Jesus the one whose ministry was 2,000
years ago, is the promised Christ. the Messiah of Old Testament
Scripture. The purpose of him, Matthew 1.21,
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Who do
you say I am, said Jesus to his disciples. He said, who do the
people say I am, Matthew 16. Verse 15, he said a little bit
earlier than that, he says, who do they say I am? And some say
that you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some
say you're Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But he said, but
whom do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, thou art the Christ. You're the Messiah of the Old
Testament Scriptures, the Son of the Living God. You're the
one who has come to save his people from their sins. And so
he did. He who knew no sin was made sin
for his people. He was made the sin of his people,
and he bore its curse in the cross of Calvary. He redeemed
his people from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
them. And he did it that we, his people, might be made the
righteousness of God in him. This is how God's justice concerning
sin is satisfied, and this is why I have a confident hope of
heaven. This answers Job's question.
This is how I, a sinner, attain to the righteousness and holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord. This is how divine
justice will find me, a sinner in my flesh by nature, to be
guiltless, as Jeremiah 50 verse 20 says. Come the day of judgment,
the people that are in Christ for whom Christ died, they will
be looked at in judgment and will be found not to have any
sin on them because he has taken it out of the way. He is indeed
our Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate is indeed, as Hebrews 7.25 tells
us, able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
him. How big a sinner? Even the chief
of sinners. This is a faithful saying, says
Paul to Timothy. 1 Timothy 1.15. This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And he wasn't using
poetic license and extravagance. He really meant it because of
what he had been and what he'd done. It's the gift of the sovereign
God in Christ to give eternal life to his people. John 17,
2, Jesus himself said, thou hast given him, meaning himself, power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. That's the gospel of God. Peace, goodwill toward men. The wages of sin is death, says
Romans 6.23, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus. But it isn't all just head knowledge. And here's my fifth point, very
quickly, in the final minute or so. Why do I have a confident
hope of heaven? Because I believe God. Oh, aren't
you good? No, that's not what I'm saying.
but I believe God gives me confidence that I will be there. My belief
of God and his gospel doesn't earn me favor with God, but it
does demonstrate that I am numbered with the elect of God for whom
Christ accomplished salvation. Everyone whom he chose in Christ
before the foundation of the world, everyone for whom he came
as substitute to represent in union with him to live and to
die and to rise again for them. Every one of them, he did that
for. By God's irresistible grace,
by the fact that when God calls, you cannot resist, he calls his
people, every one of them, by God's irresistible grace, I have
obeyed the gospel call to believe. I have done the work of God.
The Jews asked Jesus, what must we do to do the work of God?
He said, this is the work of God, that you believe on him
whom he has sent. I've done the work of God. No
praise to me, all praise to him. I've done the work of God. He
said to some Pharisees, he said, you believe not because you are
not of my sheep. He didn't say, oh, if only you'd
believed and then you would have been amongst my sheep. He said,
you believe not because you're not of my sheep. My belief is
not something that earns me salvation. It proves that he has saved me
because he brings every single one for whom he died, for whom
he paid the sin debt, to a belief and trust in him. And my hope,
as the hymn says, is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. This is how Paul was confident
that the names of the Thessalonians were written in the Lamb's Book
of Life. They believed the gospel and committed wholly to Jesus
Christ. Why do I have a confident hope
of heaven? I trust God. I heed his word. I confess my
need. I find my righteousness in him
and I believe him. But all of it was what he has
done for me, not what I have done for him. And as I put at
the end of the Bulletin article, and if free grace, why not for
you too? Amen.