Well, last week we were thinking
in John chapter 19 verse 34 about the blood and water that came
out of the side of Christ when the soldier's spear pierced his
side. He was dead already. But we were
thinking of that as it's explained so well in Top Lady's hymn. Be
of sin the double cure. Cleanse me from its guilt, that's
the blood, and its power, that's the water, the spirit of God.
Blood and water, this week, we look into John chapter 20 at
the confirmation of the effect of that blood and water, the
effect of it in Christ's resurrection from the dead. For without Christ's
resurrection from the dead, it would have no efficacy whatsoever. I want to just take an overview
of John chapter 20 this week, and refer to other scriptures,
and think on the reality of the resurrection the witnesses to
the resurrection, its accomplishment, what is accomplished by the resurrection,
and the resulting eternal life. First of all, the reality of
Christ's resurrection. As Christ really died, we saw
that last week, He really did die. The man who was God died
because God, in the essence of His being a spirit, God is spirit.
God cannot die. God cannot die. Life goes on
because God goes on. God cannot die. But death was
required by the law to redeem the people of God, the people
he loved, in electing love before the beginning of time. To redeem
them requires death, for the soul that sins it shall die.
God cannot die, so God became man, that he might die. Read
Hebrews chapter 2 again. He partook of the flesh of the
children, that through death he might destroy him that had
the power of death, which is the devil, that by him the last
enemy, which is death, might be overcome. He who is God who
cannot die became man and died. And as he really died, so he
rose from the dead, really. You see, the soldiers were convinced
that he died, weren't they? When they came to break the legs
of the three on the cross, the two thieves and Christ in the
middle, they came to him and he was dead already, so one of
them pierced his side. In chapter 19 and verse 40, we
read about Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. They took the body. Pilate said to them that they
could have the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, do you remember him
who came to Jesus by night in John chapter 3? One of the Pharisees,
but was greatly moved. I mean, we don't know what his
final state is. I believe he was a true believer in the end.
And Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and wound
it in linen clothes with the spices. You know, they embalmed
his body, they wrapped it limb by limb, they wrapped it in the
linen clothes as the manner of the Jews was, to bury. Do you
think he could possibly not have been dead, and then not to have
noticed doing that? You know, you hear about people
not being very careful, checking that a body's dead, and very,
very occasionally, very once in an awfully long time, somebody's
taken as dead who actually isn't, and this couldn't have happened
here. This man was truly dead. His body was embalmed. He was
laid in a tomb. The man who was God, as I said,
did what God couldn't do. He died. His blood was poured
out to satisfy the law's demands in place of his people. The water
came out signifying the spiritual life that issues from that. And
having finished the payment, the law was satisfied. The law
of God was satisfied. Having finished that payment,
the law was satisfied. In John chapter 10, He talks
about it in verse 17. Jesus said this, "...therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down..." No, he said, no,
no, no, no, the Jews arrested him and bound him and treated
him badly and they killed him. No, he said, I lay down my life,
that I might take it again. No man takes it from me. Didn't
the Pharisees? No, no, no. As Jesus said to
Pilate, Pilate said, don't you realize I've got power to release
you or to condemn you? Jesus said to him, you could
have no power whatsoever were it not given you from heaven.
No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. How do
you know this commandment have I received of my Father? This
is a heavenly decree, that He should have power to lay down
His life. Who does He lay down His life
for? He lays down His life for, listen, He lays down His life
for the sheep. Who are the sheep? His people.
the elect of God, the multitude that no man can number, loved
with an everlasting love from before the beginning of time,
in the grace of God, sovereign grace alone, nothing else, no
worth on the part of any man, but for those sheep Christ died. He laid down his life that he
might take it again. How could it not be so? How could
it not be so? You know, I don't know if you
remember, but how many years ago was it? When you get older,
everything seems like it was yesterday, but there was that
Bishop Jenkins at Durham, wasn't it Bishop Jenkins at Durham?
Years ago, and he said, it's perfectly feasible to be a Christian
and not believe in the resurrection. What utter delusion. How could
it not be so that Christ rose from the dead? The objective
of redemption, of the payment of the price for the offense
to the law of God of sin, the objective of redemption is eternal
communion between Christ and His betrothed bride. The elect
that I talked about before, another term in Scripture is the bride
of Christ. There's a marriage supper of
the Lamb coming. The object of the redemption of Christ is that
a people, this people, should be qualified for his kingdom. For nothing that defiles shall
enter therein, and yet we are full of sin who believe him,
but in him we are made the righteousness of God in him. And thereby God
can have communion with his people. They shall be my people, I shall
be their God, is what God says again and again. For that to
happen, how could Christ stay dead? He couldn't. He must rise
from the dead. He must. All of Scripture, you
know, the whole of Scripture, its purpose is to declare to
us how God saves His people from their sins, to qualify them for
eternal glory, that we might be with Him where He is and behold
His glory, exactly as Christ prayed in John 17. And all Scripture
unfolds the story of redemption. And so it prefigures the resurrection. You don't have to look far. Think
about Noah's Ark. Noah's Ark, they went in, God
shut them in. The animals to preserve life
on the earth, when God destroyed all life in which was the breath
of life. Air-breathing creatures, not
the fish obviously, but air-breathing creatures were all destroyed
in the flood. Noah's ark went through that
judgment of God when he swept all of that wicked human life
off the earth. All were swept away apart from
those eight in the ark, Noah being one of them. And after
it had gone through that judgment, it landed on dry ground after
judgment. Is that not a resurrection in
type? They came back to life when everything
else had died. They came back to life, as it
were, out of the ark. Think about Isaac with Abraham. They went on a three-day journey
to Mount Moriah, Abraham going obediently in response to the
call of God to go and sacrifice your only Isaac, the one in whom
was the promised seed coming. Go and sacrifice him. And Abraham
went, and they went a three-day journey. Three days, three days.
Christ was in the tomb three days. They went a three-day journey,
and after that journey, as it were, Isaac rose from the dead,
didn't he? He was about to be killed on
that altar, but God had provided himself a sacrifice with the
ram in a bush. You think I'm stretching things?
Hebrews 11, verse 19. Abraham accounted that God was
able to raise him, Isaac, up. He accounted that God was able
to raise Isaac up, even from the dead. From whence also he
received him in a figure. It was a picture, but it really
did show what God intended to do. Think about the children
of Israel, the Israelites coming out of Egypt at the Exodus. And
they come and they're basically in a state of certain death,
trapped between the Egyptian army with all of its military
might and the Red Sea, which would drown them. And they crossed
the Red Sea on dry land, a three days journey after the Passover. Is that not a resurrection in
type? It's in scripture, it's throughout
scripture. Jonah was swallowed by a whale,
by a large fish it says, and he survived in the stomach, in
the belly of the whale for three days and was then vomited up
on the beach. Was that not a resurrection in
type, when he was deposited on dry land? These all prefigure
Christ dying to pay redemption's price, but rising to unending
life, without which there would be no marriage supper of the
Lamb and His Bride. Read Revelation 19, there's a
marriage supper coming. Children of God, if you believe
the Lord Jesus Christ, if you're part of that innumerable company
that form the Bride of Christ, In eternal glory there is a marriage
supper coming. It's an unending marriage supper.
It's an unending communion and celebration of the union of Christ
and His people forever. Them saved from their sins, Him
having accomplished redemption. Look in 1 Corinthians and chapter
15. I'm going to be referring to
1 Corinthians quite a lot, because obviously this is the chapter
where Paul talks a lot about the resurrection. But in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 and verse 14, Thinking about, could it be possible that
Christ didn't rise from the dead? Could it be possible to have
a Christian faith worth anything if Christ didn't rise from the
dead? Look, Paul argues the case. In verse 14 of 1 Corinthians
15, if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. What's
the point of it? And your faith is also vain.
What's the point of it? Yea, we are found false witnesses
of God. If that's the case, if he didn't
rise from the dead, and we keep saying he did, we've found false
witnesses of God, because we've testified of God that he raised
up Christ, whom he raised not up. If so be that the dead rise
not, for if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised? And
if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. You are yet in
your sins. then they also which have fallen
asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have
hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Of all men
most miserable. The resurrection is not an optional
belief. It's absolutely essential. How
can you know and commune with Christ if he didn't rise from
the dead? You cannot. What is the point
of a religion that has as much life in it as a belief in Elizabeth
I as a good Queen of England? She's dead, she's gone, there
is no communing with her, there is just the record of history.
Is that what it's like with Christ? No, of course not. He lives,
he lives, Christ Jesus lives today. You ask me how I know
he lives? He lives within the hearts of
his people. Without the resurrection, there
is no consummation of the eternal purposes of God. What's his purpose? His kingdom. What did Christ
come preaching? The kingdom of God. The kingdom of God cannot
come in triumph. Thy kingdom come. The kingdom
of God triumphant. If Christ did not rise from the
dead, how shall one of his people rise from the dead? We have no
hope. We're without hope in this world.
We are of all men most miserable. But he did rise from the dead.
And God's Holy Spirit will reveal that to you. God's Holy Spirit
will convince you of that. He will make you willing to believe
that in the day of His power. But nevertheless, nevertheless,
there are witnesses to that. Let's think about the witnesses
of Christ's resurrection. Paul summarizes them in verses
4 to 8 of 1 Corinthians 15. He was buried. and that he rose again the third
day, according to the Scriptures. Always according to the Scriptures.
The Scriptures said that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
The Word of God. How is it that the Scripture
might be fulfilled? Because the God who inspired
the Scriptures, who wrote the Scriptures, ordained the things
that would come. How does He know the end of things
from the beginning of things? It's not just because He's a
good crystal ball gazer. Nothing's left to chance with
God. God has ordained things, predestinated, whom he called,
those he also chose, you know, Romans 8. It's not depending
on, oh, I just wonder who of these people is going to accept
me and do me a favor of believing me. No, it's all in the purpose
of God, according to the Scriptures. He was raised the third day,
according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas,
of Peter, then of the twelve, and after that, Listen to this. He was seen of above 500 brethren
at once, at the same time, 500 believers saw the risen Christ. And yes, we've seen him. There's
no question about it. We've seen him. We know he's
risen from the dead. The greater part of them remain
to that time when Paul was writing this epistle. But some have died. They've gone on into eternal
glory. And after that, he was seen of James, then all of the
apostles, and last of all, he was seen of me, Saul of Tarsus,
the apostle Paul, as one born out of due time. He saw the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's a qualification for an
apostle. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ. But in John's account
here, firstly it was Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb on the first
day of the week, on the Sunday morning. He'd lain dead throughout
the Sabbath day. Good Friday he was crucified,
he'd lain dead in the tomb throughout the Sunday, and then on the third
day she comes to the tomb early in the morning. It was so early
it was still dark, and to the sepulcher. And the stone that
had been used to seal the tomb a heavy stone that no one on
their own could move away, a huge stone. She came and she saw that
it was moved away from the sepulchre. And she ran and came to Simon
Peter and the other disciple, which is John himself, whom Jesus
loved, and said unto them, they've taken away the Lord out of the...
I've been gone to the sepulchre, but he's not there. The stone's
removed and the body's gone. I don't know where they've laid
him. And in verse 11, Mary stood without at the sepulchre, weeping.
And as she wept, because Peter and John came, looked, they too
saw he wasn't there, and then they went away, but she stood
without, weeping. And as she wept, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two angels in white,
sitting one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of
Jesus had lain. They said to her, why are you
weeping? And she said, I don't know where they've laid him.
And of course, they're saying, they haven't laid him anywhere.
He's risen from the dead. This is the woman out of whom
Jesus had cast seven demons. This is the woman who had hung
on his every word. who had lavished love and care
upon him, who was utterly devoted to him, who had heard the words
of life from his lips, who had heard that, who was utterly devoted
to him. This was that woman who came
first to the tomb, and she was the first one to whom he showed
himself. Interesting lesson there, isn't
there? Those that think that the Christian faith is demeaning
of womanhood, she was the first one to see the risen Lord. Peter
and John knew his body was no longer where it had been laid,
but look in verse nine, they knew not the scripture. As yet,
at this stage, they knew not the scripture, that he must rise
again from the dead. Hadn't he told them? Surely he'd
told them, hadn't he? Yes, of course he had. I want
you to look back with me in Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28
and verse six. Because this is Matthew's account
of the resurrection. And Mary Magdalene had come and
the angel said, he is not here, for he is risen as he said. Come and see the place where
the Lord lay. But he's not there anymore. He
is risen as he said. Where did he say? Where did he
say? Look back in chapter 16. In chapter
16, verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus
to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem,
and suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests
and scribes, and be killed, listen, and be raised again the third
day. Look at chapter 17 and verse
23. This is Jesus speaking to them. The Son of Man shall be betrayed
into the hands of men, and they shall kill him. And the third
day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
They should have been glad, shouldn't they? He's going to be killed,
but all they can be sorrowful about is that he's going to be
killed, but not that he said he will be raised from the dead.
Then in chapter 20, And verse 19, chapter 20 and verse 19. And again, he's telling them,
we go to Jerusalem. The son of man shall be betrayed
to the scribes. They shall condemn him to death
and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge
and to crucify him. And the third day he shall rise
again. Had he told them? Of course he'd told them. He'd
told them repeatedly. He'd told them very clearly.
They'd heard his words, but they hadn't grasped his meaning. In
John chapter 20 and verse 16, John chapter 20, verse 16, he
is Mary. Jesus said to her, Mary, now
she sees. Here it is. Here is what he said
again and again. He shall rise from the dead.
Before her very eyes, she turned and she says, she realizes it's
him, Rabboni, which is to say master. She realizes it's him. He's risen from the dead. Mary
saw the risen Lord Jesus Christ. She heard His voice speaking
to her. She heard audibly. And then in
John 20 and verse 19, that same day, that resurrection day, that
first Sunday, then the same day at evening, being the first day
of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst
and saith unto them, peace be unto you. You see, he's risen
from the dead, and he's in a resurrection body. And so doors that are locked
and barred present no barrier to him. They don't. You say,
don't be ridiculous, that cannot be the case. The more you understand
about science, the more you know how that is perfectly possible. In the miraculous dealings of
God, of course that's possible. The apostles were there. They
all saw his hands and his feet. They said, we have seen the Lord. They said to Thomas, who wasn't
there, we have seen the Lord. And he said, I can't believe
that. No, we've seen him. He's risen from the dead. We've
seen him. There isn't a body lying somewhere undiscovered.
We have seen him. He stood in our midst. Verse
24, Thomas, one of the 12, called Didymus, means the twin. was
not with them when Jesus came. And the other disciple therefore
said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said, Unless I see
the very marks of the wounds of the nails and the spear, I'm
not going to believe. I've got to see it with my own
two eyes. And after eight days, again,
the disciples were in that same room and Thomas was with them
this time. And again came Jesus through the locked door into
the room. The doors being shut and stood in the midst and said,
peace be unto you. Then to Thomas, can you imagine
the atmosphere? Can you imagine? Can you imagine
the feelings? There's Thomas who said, I will
not believe. And here he is in their midst. Reach hither thy
finger. and behold my hands, and reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into the wound in his side from
which came the water and the blood. And be not faithless,
but believing.' And Thomas answered and said, there in that moment
was revealed to him, here was his Lord and his God. Here was
his God who died for his sins, who'd risen from the dead to
accomplish that eternal life My Lord and my God, Jesus said,
because you've seen with your physical eyes, you've believed,
blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed. We
haven't seen physically, we don't live in that historical era,
we're 2,000 years too late. But have you seen? Not with the eyes
that are in your head, physical eyes, but with the eye of faith. Seeing and believing unto life. This is belief unto life, true
life. Do you want life? Of course you
want life. Do most people know what life is? Not at all. They
don't know what the true life of God is, that true eternal
life that He gives in Christ, that Christ's death and resurrection
has accomplished for His people. That's what it's about. It's
about life, the blessedness of believing without physical sight.
There were many other appearances in the 40 days before Pentecost. In Acts chapter 1 we read about
this. until the day, verse 2, until the day in which he was
taken up, Jesus was taken up, after that, he through the Holy
Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had
chosen, to whom he showed himself alive after his passion, his
death, by many infallible proofs. See that? many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining
to the kingdom of God, and so he then goes on and ascends to
heaven. Just as Paul testified, seen
by five hundred at the same time, finally by himself on that Damascus
road, and again when he goes into Arabia. Flesh and blood
will not reveal the truth of this to you, You know, as Jesus
said to Peter, you know, who do people say that I am? And
they say, well, some say you're Elijah resurrected. Some say
you're John the Baptist coming again. But who do you say that
I am? And Peter said, you are the Christ,
the son of the living God. And Jesus said to him, blessed
are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Peter, blessed are you. Flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you. but my Father, which
is in heaven. Flesh and blood will not reveal
the truth of the salvation Christ has accomplished, of His resurrection
to you. But, having said that, any rational
examination of the evidence would be positive proof in a court
of law, wouldn't it? How unjust it would be not to
conclude, yes, of course He rose from the dead, that Jesus was
crucified, that He really did die, He was embalmed, He was
buried. And on the third day, he rose
from the dead and he ever lives, never ever to die again. What
did his resurrection accomplish? What did it accomplish? In Romans
four and verse 25 is a verse that you probably know. It says,
in verse 24 it says, For us also, to whom it shall be imputed if
we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
He's been speaking about Abraham and the righteousness that is
through faith, that is apprehended through faith. Who was delivered,
the Lord Jesus Christ was delivered for our offenses. When he was
nailed to that cross, he was lifted up, he was delivered to
that death for our offenses, to pay the price of our offenses,
but didn't stay dead. was raised again for our justification,
was raised again to that life which he must have if we're to
have fellowship with him for eternity, was raised again to
confirm that his death paid the price of the sins of his people,
was raised again to confirm that he accomplished that which he
came to do, which was the salvation of his people. That resurrection
proves the accomplishment of redemption. The accomplishment
of redemption, justification from sin, qualification for heaven. In 1 Corinthians 15, 17, if Christ
be not raised, your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins,
but because he's raised, Believing in Him, if He died for you, if
you're amongst that number that no man can number, that multitude
that no man can number, if He died for your sins, then His
resurrection proves that your sins are paid for. You are no
longer in your sins. The sins of Judah and of Israel
shall be sought for and they shall not be found. Why? Because
He has taken them away. If Christ is not risen, you are
disqualified from entering the eternal kingdom of God. Do you
know that? That's a fact. If Christ is not
risen from the dead, you are not qualified to enter the kingdom
of God. The people of God are united
with Christ in death and in his resurrection. Let me read you
some words from Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6, verse 4. We, his believing people, are
buried with him, with Christ, by baptism, that's symbolical,
into death. Baptism symbolises going down
into the waters, symbolises being united with Christ in his death.
And as you come up out of the waters of baptism, It's symbolising
being united with Christ in His resurrection. As He was raised
to newness of life, so are we. He was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we should also walk in newness
of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness
of His resurrection, knowing this. that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, and henceforth
we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion
over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise,
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. Because
you're united with Christ, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. You see the effect of the resurrection. Without Christ's resurrection,
you who say you believe have no part in the life of God for
eternity. It's that important. In Romans
chapter 8 and verse 11, I know I'm dodging around the scriptures
quite a lot, but in Romans chapter 8 and verse 11, the spirit of
him that raised up Jesus from the dead, if he dwell in you,
if you don't have the spirit of Christ, you are none of his,
but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken, make alive your mortal bodies by his spirit that
dwelleth in you. You see that? It's life. It's
eternal life. The life of God, this is what
it's about. Him being raised is the basis
of our living faith and our walk with Him. It's the means through
which the water that came from His side is communicated to us. The Spirit of God in us, communicating
the things of Christ to us. And so it brings us to the solid
hope that's hanging on Christ's resurrection. Back to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. In verse 19, it says, if in this
life only we have hope in Christ, while we're living in this mortal
flesh, in this world of sin, if that's the only place that
we have hope in Christ, and that He didn't rise and that He didn't
accomplish eternal life, we are of all men most miserable. Why
don't we just go along with the world? Eat, drink and be merry,
for tomorrow you die. but we have a hope of eternal
life. If Christ is raised from the dead, we have a hope, we
have a hope. Look at verse 20, but now is
Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them
that slept. That's where I got the message,
the title for this message from, Christ the Firstfruits. He is
the firstfruits because he is the first one to be picked as
it were, the first resurrection, and then all of his people rise
in him. For since by man came death,
by man also the resurrection from the dead. By man came death,
by Adam came death. But my man also, the second Adam,
the Lord Jesus Christ, came the resurrection from the dead. For
as in Adam all die, for all are sinners and worthy of death,
even so in Christ shall all his people be made alive. But every
man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward they
that are Christ's at his coming. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. But those that are his have his
Spirit, and they're the ones who will rise from the dead,
Christ being the firstfruits, and afterward they that are Christ's
at his coming. Then cometh the end, when the
kingdom shall be delivered. Jesus said, I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
He said that in John 10, chapter 10. I am come that they might
have life, And the life hinges on this resurrection, it's fact,
it's accomplishment. Not just now in the world or
in mortal flesh for a fleeting moment, but eternal life, outside
of the realm of time, the life of God in the soul of man. Again, I'm going back to 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 26. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. That's the last enemy, isn't
it? Through fear of death, you know, we're subject to bondage
all our lifetime because we know that we're all going to die.
It's appointed to man to die once and then the judgment. The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. But look in verse 52. In a moment. Behold, 51. I show you a mystery. We shall
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall
sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. And we shall be
changed. And then look in verse 55. O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? They're realities of life. It's
the destiny of us all, however fit or unwell, however young
or however old. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law, for the law of God condemns us
because of sin. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the hope
that we have. The fear of death is removed.
A hope burns within that each true believer of endless, sinless
communion with God in Christ. In John chapter 20, verse 17,
Jesus spoke to Mary and said some very touching words. He said,
Touch me not, for I am not ascended to my father, but go to my brethren
and say to them, I ascend to my father, And because he's my
Father, he's your Father. And to my God, and because he's
my God, he's your God. For you in Christ are my brethren. This is God who calls people
like you and me, sinners with no hope in ourselves, but who
believe the gospel of his grace, he calls us brethren. Go to my
brethren and say, there is a hope of eternal glory. Have you believed
John's testimony, the testimony of Scripture, that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, who died to redeem, who died and rose
again to impart redemption's eternal benefits? Have you believed
that? Then just look at the last verse
of John chapter 20. These things are written, says
John, we often refer to it, that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might
have life through his name. That's the objective, that's
the accomplishment, life through his name. This is the hope that
is in you, that Peter speaks about. Be always ready to give
a reason to anyone who asks you. What's this hope that you have?
You have a hope that you will die but you will go to eternal
glory. This is the reason for it. It's
accomplished. Everything is done. It's not
like one of the false religions of the world with its silly stories,
its literally incredible stories. This is true. Christ has accomplished
the redemption of his people from their sins. Are you a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ with this hope? And are you always
ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about that hope
that is in you with meekness and with fear? Well, we'll end
it there.