Romans chapter 1. We'll go to
chapter 15 for our text, but let's look again at Romans chapter
1. Martin Luther said that the book
of Romans was the perfect gospel. That's what he referred to it
as, the perfect gospel. He said Romans was the masterpiece
of the New Testament. It was this book, Paul's epistle
to the church at Rome, to the Romans, that God used to light
the fire of the gospel of Christ in Luther's heart. The just shall
live by faith. And Luther said, well then why
am I doing all this that the Church of Rome tells me I must
do to be saved? And God saved the man, and that
fire passed from Luther to the world in what has come since
to be known as the Reformation. Somebody once said that the best
commentary on Scripture is Scripture. And that's true. I have some
books, quite a few books at home. I have three volumes by an old
Puritan named Thomas Adams, and he said that the Word of God
is about God the Word. That's good, isn't it, John? That's exactly right. The Word
of God is about God the Word, and as John tells us, that Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Gospel, as we read here a moment ago, is about God's Son. Christ Jesus our Lord. There's
no gospel without Christ. Call a message without Christ
whatever you want to call it, but it's not the gospel. It's
a tragedy, it's what it is. It's an insult to God, and it's
a mockery to man. For any man who claims to be
called of God to stand and deal with anything else is just a
mockery to the souls of men. Men who are God's messengers
have God's message. Duh! Isn't that what the young
people say? Duh! That's self-evident. If God calls a man to preach
the gospel, that's exactly what he does. That's what Paul said
he did. And he tells us in those verses
that this gospel message, as we said, and it bears repeating,
it doesn't bother me at all. I hope it doesn't bother you.
That message, that gospel is about Christ. You take Christ
out. You take Christ out and you remove
the sweetness, the good news of the gospel. He is what makes
it good news. It's a message about Him. what
He did, where He's at now, and that He's able to save to the
uttermost every sinner that comes unto God by Him. If you remove
Christ from the message of the Gospel, you take away the answer
to this question. And this shows how important
it is. How can a man be just with God? Now remove Christ and
you don't have an answer to that question. In other words, there's
no way for a man to be just with God except through Jesus Christ. He enables God to be just, remain
holy, when he justifies a sinner in the light of what Christ did
on the behalf of sinners. Without Christ, there's no way
to God. Now I know it's popular, and
I've had my baby sister one time, years ago, was talking about
different avenues to heaven other than Christ. She said, Larry,
don't you think? And I said, I do not. I do not
think. That might sound pretty, and
you might consider it romantic, but there's only one way to God. Only one way to God, and Christ
said, I'm the way. I am the way and the truth and
the life. No man, no man, could words be
plainer, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. No man, not
this man standing here, not those men sitting there. No man of
the Old Testament, no man in the New Testament. No rich man,
no poor man. No black man, no white man. No
moral man, no immoral man. No religious man or no downright
heathen man. No man comes to God except they
come through Jesus Christ. No man ever has. Never has. Never. Not from Adam to the last
elect that God calls out of darkness into his marvelous light and
says time shall be no more. No man comes to God except through
Christ. There's no other way. At no time. except the Christ way, the only
way, the God way, His Son. Without Christ, we are without
God and without hope. That's just a fact. 1 Timothy 1 and 1, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God, just as we read in Romans
1. God our Savior and Lord Jesus
Christ, which is our hope. Period. Period. Nothing else. And every sinner
who has been brought to Christ, whose eyes have been opened to
behold Christ, they know that's so. They know that's so. They don't want to hear nothing
else. They want for one minute entertain a thought that makes
Christ less than all. Christ is everything. Christ
is our hope. Period. Period. And that's enough. Without Christ, there can be
no salvation. How can you have salvation without
the Savior? Duh, again. How can you have
salvation without Christ? There are multitudes. I'm not
making this up. Christ said it so. There are
multitudes who profess to know God, who will say they're on
their way to heaven, they're even as sure of heaven as if
they're already there, but they don't know Jesus Christ. That's
not possible to be saved without Him. He that believeth on the
Son hath Right now, everlasting life. And he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Again, briefly, here in Romans
1, verse 1, Paul speaks of the gospel of God. The gospel of
God. Verse 3, he tells us what that's
about. Concerning His Son, Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Yes, Luther was right. I agree
with him. It's a perfect gospel, but you
know why? Because it's about our perfect
Savior. That's what makes it perfect.
And in verse 5, Paul says, by whom? That is by Christ, that
perfect Savior, by whom we have received grace. It doesn't come
any other way. Never has. Never will. Grace comes by Jesus Christ. Now churches, they can give you
membership. They can give you their creeds.
They can give you catechisms. They can give you rules and regulations
to live by. They can give you baptism. There
are so-called different modes of baptism. There are actually
only one. They can give you contemporary or traditional services. They
can give you whatever you want to keep you happy, to keep you
interested, to keep you entertained, and keep you coming back. But
they can never, they can never give you the one thing needful,
grace. Grace. For grace, you have to
apply to the only fountain of grace there is, the Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have received grace. Again, Paul writing to
Timothy. in 2nd Timothy 2 and 1. Thou
therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus. Romans chapter 5, verse 15. But not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. For if through the offense of
one many be dead, much more the grace of God and the gift of
grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ has abounded unto many. You've heard the story about
the traveling salesman. He's on his way somewhere and
he gets lost. He's out in the country, he gets
lost. He drives for miles and finally he sees a little country
store by the roadside. So he pulls up there and two
old gentlemen lean back in their rockers. And he gets out and
says, good afternoon. I'm lost. Can you tell me how
to get to such and such? And they said, you can't get
there from here. You can't get there from here. Even so, you
can find grace, except you come through the Lord Jesus Christ.
that one whom God has appointed to be a prince and a savior.
You can't get grace, receive grace and all the blessings that
come with it, this great salvation, unless you apply, unless you
come to, believe on, and bow to King Jesus, the fountain of
all grace and mercy. John chapter one, for the law
was given by Moses. Oh, but thank God it didn't stop
there. Because by the law is the knowledge
of sin. No man shall be justified by
the law, John 1 and 17, for the law was given by Moses, but grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ, didn't it? Didn't it? Oh, everyone that has tasted
that he's gracious will say, oh, amen to that. I might have
looked in my ignorance, in my darkness, in my self-righteousness.
I may have looked everywhere else and to everyone else and
to myself especially, but I didn't find grace except through the
Lord Jesus Christ. Romans again, 1 and 7, to all
that be in Rome, beloved of God and called to be saints, grace
to you and peace. Oh, I like that combination.
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now compare that in chapter 15. Turn there if you will. Chapter
15, we want to read one verse of scripture. The last verse
in the chapter. Or rather, verse 33, chapter
15. Now, this was Paul's prayer for
them. It's my prayer for us. Now, now,
the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Amen. So be it. Amen means let it be
so. Could you use some peace? Now
the God of peace be with you all. Amen. by praying that they
would experience this peace of God and peace with God. That was Paul's desire for them. He began his epistle pretty much
the way he brings it to a conclusion, doesn't he? The God of peace
be with you. Remember last Sunday's message
from this same chapter in Romans 15 verse 13? The God of hope,
the God of hope So much that we said then applies to this,
the God of peace. The God of peace. Oh, I like
the sound of that. I like the experience of it too.
The God of peace. What a sweet, sweet thought. I'm at peace with God. God has nothing against me. God's not angry with me. I'm
at peace with God. Isn't it sad? Isn't it sad? That so many today, religious
folks I mean, they'll read that verse or hear it read, now the
God of peace be with you all. And they don't see anything extraordinary
about that. They don't see any reason to
even be interested in that. Obviously they're not. They're interested in everything
but this. Bring up about any subject you want to and you'll
get their attention. They'll engage. But talk about
the peace of God? Not interested. And that's exactly
how you and I used to be. Just not interested. And you know why? Like them,
so were we. We'd never been convinced that
we need in peace with God. This is only good news to those
who've been through the turmoil, the battle within themselves. They've been brought to this
place by experience, this dreadful conflict of a soul made aware
of who they are. Oh, somebody turned the light
on. Never gave this a serious thought in my life. Who am I? And who God really is? Somebody
like the psalmist in Psalm 51, where he records that experience. Someone like that, they're interested
in the God of peace. Or like that poor publican in
Luke 18. Oh yes, I guarantee you he was
interested. More interested in that than
anything else in his life. How can I have peace with God?
Mr. Hart expressed it so well, I
quote it often. What comfort can a savior bring
to those who've never felt their woe? Will God comfort people
who've never felt their need of his son? Will God give comfort
to people that don't have any need of his mercy? What comfort can a Savior bring
to such people? And the answer is absolutely
none. None. He would have to compromise
to do that. God will never speak peace to
anyone who has never needed peace or wanted peace. Now, preachers
will. Sure, they will do it all the
time. So will winners. I saw another sad example of
this just the other day. I don't know how it, well, you
know how computers are. Sometimes they have a mind of
their own, but this, I opened this thing, which I didn't intend
to, but it got my attention. It was a website for this pastor
of a church and had an article about trick or treat. And he
talked about how he was a little boy and he would go out and him
and his brother and they would trick-or-treat and get candy.
And man, they would get home and compare their candy and stuff
and just had a good time. And I remember doing that as
a kid. And then he said, and God's mercy and peace and grace
is the same way. It's for you. All you got to
do is accept it. All you got to do is reach out
and take it, just like I, as a boy, reached out and took a
treat. God never, and thank God that he doesn't, the God of justice
and mercy never would deceive a sinner that way. He'll never
do it. He'll never give a false hope
to a sinner. Men do. People do, but God Almighty
won't do it. God, in his gracious mercy, always
strips us first. It's necessary, John, isn't it?
We gotta be brought down before we're lifted up. We gotta be
stripped before we're clothed. The prodigal son's got to confess,
God, I've sinned against you, before he hears put the best
robe on him. A sinner, Mr. Hart went on to
say, is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so. We sang it a moment ago. It's
easy to sing. I'm only a sinner. Oh, but remember
when God convinced you of it. They were only words to a song
at one time. Oh, but then God got me lost
and we learned what Mr. Hart must have meant. A sinner
is a sacred thing. He's a rare individual because
God Almighty did that to him. He couldn't do it. Mama, Daddy
couldn't do it. The preacher couldn't do it.
Loved ones couldn't do it. Other believers couldn't do it.
God did it. And what a sacred, sacred thing
that is. The making of a sinner. Oh, that
is a different picture, isn't it? A vastly different experience
being made a sinner by the Spirit of God. So different than trotting
down an aisle in some church and saying the sinner's prayer
and making a decision for Jesus. And then going out like the Pharisee,
again in Luke 18, worse than he was when he went in. Because
now he has a false profession to throw out every time a thought
of God or eternity or heaven or hell crosses his mind. If
it ever does, he can say, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've
got no problem with that because I made my decision. I like the
picture so much better in Mark 10, don't you? Oh, I like this
picture, this demonstration of God's grace so much better. I
think this is what Mr. Hart must have been talking about,
the making of a sinner. Blind Bartimaeus, Mark 10 verse
46, they, that is Christ and his disciples, came to Jericho.
And as he went out of Jericho, he came in and he's going out. He went out with his disciples
and a great multitude of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of
Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging. And when he heard that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry. Obviously he had heard of
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. And strange, Many people that
were walking ahead told him to be quiet. Charged him to hold
his peace. Don't disturb. Don't disturb,
Lord. You beggar. You blind beggar. You're here day in and day out.
We've seen you before. You're nobody. Leave him alone. But he cried so much to her.
Bartimaeus, why are you so concerned? Why are you so worked up? Why
don't you just repeat this prayer after me? Here, I've got a decision
card. Here, let me put your hand there,
and you can scratch your name on that line. Bartimaeus, it's
easy as A, B, C. Can you imagine anybody talking
to that poor man that way? I'm pretty sure, I'm certain,
that he wouldn't be put off with something like that. You know
why? Because he won in mercy. He needed mercy, and nothing
less than mercy would do for him. He had to have mercy. This is the picture of a man
whose heart grace has taught to fear. And God's mercy personified
was walking by at that very moment. He was passing by. The fountain
of grace, the only way to God, the only one that could give
him the mercy was passing by. Oh yes, the sinner is a sacred
thing. And Bartimaeus continued to cry.
Another picture, how about that publican, we referred to him
a moment ago. In Luke 18, God be merciful to
me, the sinner. I'm not leaving here, he said,
until I find God's mercy. The Pharisee couldn't identify
with him, could he? He just didn't have a clue what
the public was talking about. A little show of religion was
enough for him. What he thinks about himself
satisfied him. How he looked at himself was
enough. How a holy God looked at him, he didn't entertain a
thought about. You know why? Because he was a hypocrite. He
was just a hypocrite, pretending to be and have what he did. Oh,
but that publican, he wasn't a hypocrite. He may have been
at one time. Oh, but he wasn't there, because
God had got him lost. That Pharisee goes home satisfied
with his self-righteousness and ignorant of the only righteousness
that God will accept, the righteousness that God has provided, the righteousness
of Christ. Compare that Pharisee to that
man in Psalm 51. The heading of the Psalm is this,
to the chief musician, the Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet
came into him after he had gone into Bathsheba. You don't hear him saying, Lord,
I thank you I'm not like other men. He says, have mercy on me,
O God. not according because I deserve
it, but according to your loving kindness, according unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies. That's what I appeal to God.
Don't give me what I deserve. I'm guilty. I'm the man. My sin
has found me out. Oh, but according to your tender
mercies, please blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine
iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my sin,
my transgressions rather, and my sin as ever before me. Against
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that
thou mightest be justified when you speak and be clear when thou
judgest. Lord, have mercy on me. Restore unto me the joy of my
salvation, and uphold me by thy free spirit. Now ask someone
like that, or someone like the publican, do you want peace with
God? Mr. Publican, do you want peace
with God? David, do you want peace with
God? And they would say, oh, what
I wouldn't give. to have peace with God. What
I wouldn't do if tonight I could lie down and know I have real
peace with God. I believe I could sleep like
a baby if that were true. And let's consider the second
thing now. How does God become the God of peace to me? How does that happen? Well, I
know this. I know this. I know it according
to God's Word and I know it by my personal experience. How does
God become the God of peace to me? Never by anything that I
ever did. How foolishly people say, and
I think it was told to me, make your peace with God. Terry, I
don't know how to do that. make my peace with God, I can't. I tried. Billy, I tried. Oh,
I tried hard. I tried with all my might. I
cleaned up my act. I quit doing all those things
that I used to do. I got rid of all my paraphernalia
and my hippie clothes. I went and got that long haircut,
but I still didn't have peace with God. And then I did everything
I was told to do. I went to altars. I prayed the
sinner's prayer. Must have been a hundred times.
That didn't work either. Then I tried harder. I got me
a Bible. And I memorized scripture. Didn't
have a clue as to what it meant. But nothing I did mattered. Nothing. Nothing I did made God to me
to be a God of peace. Nothing I did. It seemed that nothing I did
was enough to please Him. It was never enough. What can I do to satisfy you,
God? And I remember thinking, oh,
there must not be a hope for me. I've gone too far. I've crossed the line. When I thought, when I thought,
when I was really convinced, I would have sworn to it. I would
have bet money on it. No, there's no hope for me. You talk about one miserable,
one miserable man, but it was then that God in His
great mercy and grace brought me to this place and revealed
His Son to me. And then I learned, now, oh Larry,
but now, in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ, for He is your peace, Larry. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, so making peace. And came and preached peace to
you." Larry Criss, peace. Scott Richardson said, when a
man under the powerful action of the truth of God takes his
place as a sinner, God can, and the exercise of grace take his
place as a Savior. The only proper meeting place
between God and man is the point where grace and righteousness
meet and perfectly harmonize. Nothing but perfect righteousness
could suit God, and nothing but perfect grace could suit the
sinner. But where could that take place?
Only in Christ. conscience. That's exactly what
we read in the psalm, don't we? Psalms 85 verse 10. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. There's our peace. We read in
Isaiah 53, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. He endured. Bruised, crushed
is the word. under the wrath of God. Surely,
surely we did esteem Him stricken of God, afflicted, bruised, forsaken. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him. The death of Christ pleased every
attribute of the Holy God. It pleased God's wisdom. It pleased
God's justice. It pleased God's righteousness,
mercy, grace. God can now, for Christ's sake,
forgive sin and can accept His people into His presence because
He is pleased with His Son. And we're in His Son. How pleased
is God with His Son, Jesus Christ? I can't add that up. I can't
calculate that. That's higher than I can reach.
Well, that is how pleased He is with you, too. In His Son,
another old hymn says this, Oh ye needy, come and welcome. God's
free bounty glorify. True belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings us nigh. Without money, without money,
come to Jesus Christ and buy. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. This he gives you, this he gives
you, is the Spirit's rising beam. Come, ye weary, heavy laden.
bruised and mangled by the fall. If you tarry till you're better,
you will never come at all. Not the righteous, not the righteous.
Sinners, Jesus came to call. You remember that prodigal? Father,
give me what I've got coming to me. Give me my inheritance.
I want it now. And he went and spent it on riotous
living. Then he ended up that good life
that he dreamed about turned sour. And there he is feeding
swine, how degraded. He would have ate what he was
feeding to them, to the hogs. And then he said, God turned
the light on. He brought him down. And he said,
I will arise and go to my father. I'm going home. And I'm going
to say, Father, I've sinned against heaven. and before thee. And
he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way
off, his father saw him. He'd been looking down that road
every day, every day. And he had compassion and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him. Before he could even get
the words of his memorized confession, the father put his arms around
him and just kept kissing, kissing, kissing. bring out the best robe,
kill the fatted calf. This, my son, was dead and he's
alive again. He was lost and now he's found. Let's make merry." And the Lord
said, even so, there's rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth. More than ninety and nine that
need no repentance. I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in his arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are ten thousand charms. The reason that God Almighty
becomes the God of peace with any sinner is because of the
peace that Christ made on our behalf. And in time, we come
to know it, don't we? How do I know that I have peace
with God, that Christ made my peace with God? When He calls
me to Himself by His grace. when he says to his sinner, like
he said to that woman, go in peace. Go in peace. Thy sins are all
forgiven. Peace with God. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Galatians 1 verse 20, and having
made peace through the blood of his cross, May we remember
that when we observe the Lord's Supper. Have He made peace through
the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto
Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in heaven, things in earth. And you, you that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Only that makes God the God of
peace. And only that can give a sinner
peace. Isaiah 40, Comfort ye, Comfort
ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished. Larry, lay down
your arms. Surrender. Quit your doing. Quit your working. Quit your
trying. Come to my Son. Bow to Him. And He'll speak peace to your
heart. Here's the third and the last thought. As we prepare to
come to the Lord's Supper, may God prepare our hearts to do
it. We do so on the same grounds and for the same reason and in
the same way when Christ first gave it to His Church. Remember
that? That night, before he went to
the garden, he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them,
his disciples, and said, Drink ye all of it, for this is my
blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins. And Paul tells us, Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 13 here of chapter 15 of
Romans, now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. Peace
in believing. Believing the record that God's
given concerning his son. The prophet Isaiah chapter 26
verse 3, thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed
on thee because he trusteth in thee. Trusting in thee The Lord
God brings peace. Those whose mind is stayed on
thee. Not when my mind is stayed on
me. Not when all my focus is on me. Not when I'm consumed
with me. That does the opposite of bring
peace. Oh, but his mind, that mind who is stayed on Christ,
God will keep in perfect peace. When peace like a river attendeth
my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot
thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul." Peace. Again, we referred to that lady
in Luke 7 in the house of Simon the Pharisee. One of my favorite
portions of scripture. They looked down their nose,
Simon and his brother Pharisees, at this woman. And they thought
everybody knows her. She's a sinner. She's a sinner. Everybody knows her. Who let
her in here? This is embarrassing. And I want
you to look. Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, he's
allowing her to touch him. How disgusting. And when he said
to that woman, thy sins are forgiven thee, thy faith hath saved thee,
go in peace, Simon didn't have a clue what he was talking about,
did he? Simon didn't understand that. He couldn't figure that
out because he never needed God's mercy. Oh, but she did. I can
just about see her, can't you? She skips out of Simon's house.
Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. Is that what she's saying?
My sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to his cross and I
bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Oh, my soul. How do you like that, Simon?
John 16, 33. These things, our Lord said,
these things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have
peace. In the world you shall have tribulation.
Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The God of peace gives his people
peace when they believe on his son. And he grants them peace
as they make their journey through this world, doesn't he? And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. David found this to be
so, didn't he? When he was dying, years before,
David had wrote, Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Well, that was a while before
he came down to die. Was it true, David? Did that
really happen? Sure did. Now these be the last
words of David, the son of Jesse. Although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things ensured. This is all my salvation and
all my desire, although he make it not to grow. And all brothers
and sisters in Christ, what peace awaits us. Oh, what peace awaits
us. and we shall see Him, the Prince
of Peace, and be like Him." Spurgeon said, the best moment of a Christian's
life is their last moment, because it is the one when they're nearest
heaven. He said, it is not a loss to
die, it's an everlasting, perpetual gain. Just before he died, a
man by the name of Edward Mote said, This was in 1874. He said, I think I'm nearing
the port, but the truths I've preached I'm living upon and
they will do to die upon. Oh, the precious blood, the precious
blood which takes away all my sins. It is this alone which
makes peace with God. He wrote to him on page 272 of
her handbook. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Oh, in eternity, we will
enjoy ever flowing into our hearts the sweet peace that comes when
we're forever with the Lord. Paul in Hebrews 13, verses 20
and 21. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead the Lord Jesus, 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, to
whom be glory forever and ever. Let me quote, read another old
hymn, and I'm done. I wish I could sing it. Bobby,
I wish you could sing it, and I know you do too. Every time
Bobby sang this song, she wouldn't get very far until I'd have to
pull out my handkerchief. It talks about peace. I entered once a home of care
for age and poverty were there, yet peace and joy withal. I asked the lonely mother whence
her helpless widowhood's defense, She told me, Christ is all. I stood beside a dying bed where
lay a saint with aching head, waiting for Jesus' call. I marked
his smile, it was sweet as milk. You've seen this happen. And
as his spirit passed away, he whispered, Christ is all. I saw a martyr at the stake. The flames could not his courage
shake, nor death his soul appall. I asked him whence his strength
was given. He looked triumphantly to heaven and answered, Christ
is all. I dreamed that hoary time had
fled, and earth and sea gave up their dead, and a fire dissolved
this ball. I saw the church's ransom thrown. I heard the burden of their song.
It was Christ is all. in all. Christ is all, all in
all. Yes, Christ is all in all. Now the God of peace be with
you all. Amen.