Well, our text this morning is
Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25. And you might think, well
that's not a very Christmassy text of scripture. Surely it
ought to be in the early chapters of Luke, but it is. You wait
and see. This is what it says. Husbands,
love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself for it. And I'll read the following two
verses as well. that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish." Now, it's Christmas
time in the world and in the world of religion, and you know
I've already said many times that as a religious ceremony
or season. We don't celebrate it. We're
constantly conscious of the fact that God became man and we're
constantly conscious of the man Christ Jesus dying and rising
again. So we don't specifically celebrate
Easter as such. Every Sunday is the Lord's rising
from the dead to us. All the time is. But thinking
about this particular season, do you celebrate Christmas? Well,
this worldly religious Christmas that we see all around us, quite
honestly, It's just like Americans' Thanksgiving. It's just like
the Hindus' Diwali. It's an excuse for a get-together.
And that's good. There's nothing wrong with that.
It's great. The dark days of winter, we light them up. That's
good. It's not Jesus' birthday. It isn't. It isn't. It's not
Jesus' birthday. In fact, almost certainly, Jesus
was not born on December the 25th. almost certainly not so
it's not but the fact that it's an excuse I mean actually it
was a pagan festival that was turned by the Roman Empire when
they turned over to nominal Christianity this is what Christmas became
so don't go thinking it's Jesus's birthday this time of year we
always rejoice in the fact that Christ came now the thing is
that religion's Jesus is not the Christ of scripture The world's
Christmas Christ knows nothing of divinity, true divinity. God was manifest in the flesh.
God, manifest in the flesh. The world's Christ, the religious
world's Christ, the Christmas Christ, knows nothing, really,
of incarnation, what it is for God to become man. to become
a substitute for his people to come as the surety of the covenant
to come particularly to redeem the people the father gave him
before the foundation of the world Jesus knows nothing about
that the Christmas Christ knows nothing of that it knows nothing
of the law being satisfied the world's Christ The Christmas
Christ of this world all around us is not the Christ that we've
just been reading about. The Christ who loved his church
and gave himself for it. You see, there are many false
Christs. If you turn to Mark 13, and you
don't have to turn to it because I'll read it out to you, but
Mark 13 verse 21. Jesus said to his disciples,
and then, in those days when he'd gone to glory, if any man
shall say to you, lo, here is Christ, or lo, he is there, believe
him not, for false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and
shall show signs and wonders to seduce. If it were possible,
even the elect boy they'll be convincing. but his elect, his
people, will not be seduced and convinced by those signs. There's
a test of who is the true Christ of scripture, the true Christ
who became God. It's in 1 John, chapter 4, verses
1 to 3. You know it And we won't turn
to it now, but you know it, that John says, test the spirits,
try those who preach, whether they're preaching the truth.
Whoever preaches that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.
Oh, you say, oh, that means there's loads of people are of God, because
all the Catholic church believes that Jesus was born at Christmas,
don't they? And all this church, oh, they all believe it. Yeah,
oh, so they're all of God. No, they're not, it's very selective.
You see, Paul himself, when he's preaching, in Acts 17, and again,
you don't need to turn to it, because I've got these marked,
so I'll turn to them quickly, and Paul, this was when he was
at Apollonia and came to Thessalonica. And Paul, as his manner was,
went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must
needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead. And, listen,
this is it, and this Jesus, the man, born of a virgin at Bethlehem. This Jesus whom I preach unto
you is Christ. There was a man called Apollos,
a couple of chapters later, who was a great orator and they found
him and heard him speak powerfully and Priscilla and Aquila heard
him and they explained the gospel to him more perfectly it says
and in verse 28 of chapter 18 this is him this is the same
man he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly showing
by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ, the Christ of the
Old Testament, the Messiah who was promised. That's the test.
Ask so-called Christian religion, is your Jesus the Christ of Scripture? Is he the Christ? Is he the Jesus
who came to save who? His people from their sins. That's
what he came to do. He came to save his people from
their sins. Is he the Christ who came to
do the Father's will of saving, losing none of those the Father
particularly gave to him? Is he the Messiah of Daniel?
Chapter 9 and verse 24. Let me read these words to you.
Daniel chapter 9. 70 weeks are determined. This is what the angel told Daniel.
This is Gabriel told Daniel. These are the things that will
happen. 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy
holy city to finish the transgression. To make an end of sins. To make
reconciliation for iniquity. to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
Read the article on the bulletin. Anybody listening, it's on the
website, I've sent it out with the email. There it is, read
the article. I've adapted it from something
Don Faulkner wrote about this verse. Know therefore and understand
that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and
to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, Christ, the prince, Messiah the
prince, shall be a certain number of weeks, and he goes on to say
how it happens. That is the Christ who would
come, and that is the test. Is he that Messiah? And read
that article. I won't take time to go into
it now. If not, if the Christ of this world's religion And
of all that we do in this world at this Christmas time, I mean,
you know, don't get me wrong, I celebrate Christmas in the
respect that we like to get together with family and friends and brighten
up the darkest days of the year. Yes, we do that. But it is not
the birthday of the Christ of Scripture. Be clear about that.
Be clear about that. If the Christ that you worship
is not that Christ of Scripture, the Scripture tells us He will
profit you nothing when you keep your unavoidable appointment
with death and judgment. But if he is the Christ of God,
if he is the Christ of Ephesians 5.25, who loved the church and
gave himself for it, then look with me this week at, firstly,
the love of Christ. Christ loved the church. And
then how that love outworked itself. It's outworking. He gave himself for it. And then next time, in two weeks,
because we won't be meeting next Sunday, too many of us are away,
but in two weeks, on the first of January, it's my intention,
God willing, to look at the following two verses, 26 and 27, to look
at the effect of the outworking of Christ's love and the ultimate
accomplishment of the outworking of Christ's love. So now, let
us look at Christ's love for his church. Christ's love. It
says here, husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved
the church. Husbands are to love their wives
as Christ has loved his church. Can you plumb the depths of that?
The three of us here this morning that are husbands, can you do
that? I can't, I can't get close. But look back at chapter three,
verse 18, Ephesians chapter three, that you may be able to comprehend. Do you remember what I told you
at that time? It's been pointed out that that
word is not really very well translated there, because in
other places the same word is translated better as apprehend. not comprehend in the fact that
you plum its depths and you understand every in and out of it. But even
if you don't understand it you can grasp hold of it, that's
what apprehend means, you grasp hold of it. That you may be able
to grasp hold with all the saints of what is the breadth and length
and depth and height and to know the love of Christ. That you
may be able to apprehend that love. So how, let us think, how
did Christ love the church? Oh I tell you, you know we like
to have big meals, big lovely meals at Christmas and the more
the merrier so we love to do that. I tell you, I don't know
whether this sermon will come across as it did to me in preparation
and as I trust and I hope it will in delivery. But there's
a feast set before us. There's an absolute feast of
spiritual treasure set before us just in these few simple words
here. How did Christ love the church?
He loved the church particularly. Who was it he loved in eternity?
He loved the church. What's the church? Oh, it's this
thing that people come and go and we don't know what it is.
No, he loved the church. He loved the church. He loved
the people chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
That's what Ephesians 1 verse 4 says. That's who he loved.
He loved the sheep that the Father gave to him. John 10 verse 26. Ye believe not, he said to the
Pharisees. Why don't you believe, you Pharisees? He said, because
you are not of my sheep. It's not that you're not my sheep
because you don't believe. You don't believe because you're
not my sheep. Wow. Think about the world's
religion. Think about the world's Christianity.
Think about saying that phrase, that verse, in the average so-called
Christian church this morning. They'd throw you out. Like the
Pharisees and the Jews tried to throw Jesus off a cliff when
he ministered to them in Nazareth. They'd throw you out and lynch
you. He said to them, you don't believe because you're not my
sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice and I know them. and they follow me and I give
unto them. My sheep, my sheep, I know them.
I know them. It's not I know who might make
themselves into one of my sheep. I know them from before the beginning
of time. I know them and they follow me.
they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never
perish every last one of them neither shall any man pluck any
of them out of my hand because my father gave them to me and
he's greater than all he loved his church particularly particularly
he prayed in John 17 if I can just quickly turn that one up
as well it's just worth noting this in that great high priestly
prayer that we often refer to he said I've manifested thy name
unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world verse nine
I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which
thou hast given me Christ loved his church particularly particularly
not those that might choose to become his sheep Not those that
in that last day say unto him, Lord, Lord, haven't we done all
these wonderful things in your name? For he will say to them,
depart from me, I never knew you. No, he loved them particularly. I'm going to embarrass her now.
There's only ever been one woman I have loved as my wife. Right? That's how Christ loved the...
No, no. He loved the church much more
than that, but that's the best example I can give you, because
I know what it means. There's only ever been one woman
I have loved as my wife, and that's how Christ loved his church.
He loved it particularly. He loved it everlastingly. When
did it start? When did I decide to follow Jesus? No, that wasn't when. He loved
it in eternity. When did the love of Christ for
his church start? It didn't start. It was always
there. It was everlasting. God has saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. That's when.
Before there was such a thing as time. Jeremiah 31. The Lord
hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, to his church I
have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Have you been drawn to the Lord
Jesus Christ to trust him? He loved you before the beginning
of time. Do you get tired of hearing that
text? I imagine that if you had a piece of paper that was a will
from somebody leaving you a million pounds and it was yours in five
years time, You'd read that piece of paper every day, wouldn't
you? You'd get that piece of paper out and unroll it every
single... counting down the days till five
years time when that million pounds becomes mine. Did you
hear, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yea,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love. It's a permanent love.
It's an indestructible love, because it's the love of God.
And as Paul says to the Romans in Romans 8, 38 and 39, nothing,
he lists things, height, depth, whatever, you name it, nothing
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. You see, if you're Christ, is
that of the world's religion, then your feelings, your circumstances,
your changing opinions, they can all separate you from that
Christ's love. But not the true Christ of Scripture.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. And then, Christ's love for his
church, it's freely He loved his church freely. He says in
Hosea chapter 14 and verse 4, of his people, of his church,
he said, I will love them freely. What does that mean? It means
without any dependence on any payment from the object of that
love. God's love for his child, the
child of God, God's love is not proportionate to the child's
love for God. No, not at all. He loves them
freely. He loves his church freely, with
nothing, nothing required in return. Though of course, in
the true children of God, there is that which is in return, which
is that they love him. But why do they love him? Because
he first loved them. No. This is freely he loves them. Freely. Freely. He says about
the love of God in 1st John chapter 4 and verse 10. Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our
sins. And verse 19, we love him. I already quoted it. We love
him because he first loved us. that's a tall order for husbands
to love their wives like that but that's how it says Christ
loves his people this is strong love strong love back in the
Song of Solomon strong love in Song of Solomon chapter eight
set me as a seal. This is, you know, the Song of
Solomon is a picture of Christ talking to his church, and his
church talking to Christ. That relationship of love, it's
pictured by Solomon, the beloved, and it's pictured by the Shulamite,
the woman that he loved. Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm, for love is strong as death, Jealousy
is cruel as the grave, The coals thereof are coals of fire, Which
hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can the floods drown it. If a man would give all the
substance of his house for love it would utterly be condemned.
You see this is strong love, this is the love of God for his
church. Now then, very brief I know,
but how does that love work itself out? Because if you love somebody
there are things you will do for them. Because Christ loved
his church what did he do? How did that love for his church
work itself out? It says husbands love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. That's
how it worked out. He gave himself for it. Galatians
2.20 says the same. Paul writes, the son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me. He gave himself for his church. Everything, they say, has a price. Everything has a price. For example,
a wife is kidnapped. and the kidnappers because they
think that it's a rich man and he's got a wife and he's got
some money and if they kidnap her then he'll pay money to get
his wife back a ransom for her liberty you know we we heard
about it a few years ago when that couple on their boat in
the Indian Ocean were captured by pirates and they were trying
to raise a ransom to get them free and the people the kidnappers
were saying you pay us this money and we'll set them free and I
don't know what happened in the end I think they probably did pay
a lot of money and they were set free. Everything has a price. What if the wife is kidnapped?
Would the husband give himself as the price? Let her go free
and I'll come and be your captive in her place. It might or might
not work. Would the husband give himself?
Well, if he loves her enough, whatever personal cost, whatever. This is what Christ did out of
love for his church. But what was the purpose of his
giving himself? Why? What was the purpose of
Christ giving himself? You see, the church of Christendom,
the church of this world that calls itself the Christian church,
if you ask them, this is what they'll say. They'll say Christ
gave himself to be an example to us as to how we should live.
That's what he gave himself for. Alright, well why did he die?
Ah, they'll say he died to show that he loved us. Right. Am I
going to show this lady here that I love her by going and
hanging myself from a tree? Would that show that I loved
her? Of course it wouldn't. That would be silly, wouldn't
it? No. No. He didn't do that. In fact, Him giving himself for
us would accomplish nothing if it depended on our response to
him. But what he did do was he gave
himself to redeem his church from the curse of the law. What's
the curse of the law? It's written in Deuteronomy and
Paul quotes it in Galatians chapter 3 verse 10. He says this is what
it says, cursed. Cursed is everyone. who continues
not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do
them. You know this law of God, this book of God, this law of
God, I ask myself and every one of you, do you continue in all
things written in the book of the law to do them continually
without ever ever failing and the answer is you know it no
of course I don't I don't therefore what does scripture pronounce
upon you it pronounces the curse you are cursed for cursed is
everyone who continues not in the book of the law to do them
the commandments But, but, what does it say three verses further
on? Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. He's bought
us back. He's paid the ransom price of
liberty. He's bought us back from the
curse of the law. How? by being made a curse for us. That's what it says. When the
church was given to Christ before time, when the father gave the
church to Christ before time began, he knew that man would
fall. And he knew that that church
would be unfit to be the bride of Christ in heaven because that
bride would be stained and defiled and corrupted and cursed with
the curse of the law for her sin. He knew that the broken
law and offended justice of God would have to be satisfied for
the church. So how's he going to do that?
Is he going to get them to become better people? To reform their
lives? To turn over new leaves? To become
transformed people? No. Hebrews 10, 7, Then said
I, this is Christ speaking. This is Paul talking about Christ.
Then said I, lo, I come. God saying, lo I come, in the
volume of the book, in this scripture, it is written of me. Why did
he come? To do thy will, O God. What is it to do, what was it
for Christ to do the will of God? What is the will of God
that Christ came to do? John 6, 39, Jesus told us. John wrote it down. Jesus told
us what was the will of God. This is the father's will which
he hath sent me. Jesus said this is the father's
will that he sent me to do. That of all which he hath given
me, what did the father give to the son before time began?
The church. his people, that of all his church,
that I should lose nothing. How are you going to lose nothing,
Lord Jesus Christ? How are you going to raise it
up at the last day? Perfect for heaven, he must come,
as it was written in the book of the law, to do the will of
God, which was to redeem his people from the curse of the
law by him being made a curse for them. Turn to the chapter
that we read, Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 9 read down with me just for a
few moments we see Jesus who was made a little lower or as
it can be alternatively translated for a little while lower than
the angels why was he made lower than the angels for a little
while? for the suffering of death Our God, the second person of
the Trinity, was made a little lower, or for a little while
lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honor. He's done it! As Revelation 12
says, when the dragon tried to devour the child, but the child
came and accomplished his work and was quickly taken to heaven,
that he by the grace of God should taste death. It says therefore
every man, but it's clear from the context if you read the next
verse what it means. It doesn't mean every man that
ever lived. It means every man of the many sons that he's bringing
to glory. For it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons. into glory, and that means daughters
as well of course, to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings for both he that makes holy and they who
are sanctified, made holy, are all of one. They're in union
with him. You know, the marriage union
is just a picture of that union between Christ and His church.
For which cause? He, God, holy, pure, majestic,
encompassing all of heaven, He is not ashamed to call them,
His sinful children, yet made the righteousness of God in Him,
He's not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare
thy name unto my brethren. in the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee and again I will put my trust in him and
again behold I and the children which God hath given me you know
come that day that great day of resurrection and final judgment.
There will Christ triumphantly lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come
in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the
King of glory. Behold, I am the children which
God has given me. Forasmuch then, verse 14, very
important. Look at it, learn it, study it.
Forasmuch then, as the children, you and me, our partakers of
flesh and blood, what did our God have to do? He also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death, his death,
he might destroy him, he might destroy the power, the accusing
power, the convicting power of the devil, who's saying they're
not fit to go to heaven. He's destroyed him, he's destroyed
his every accusation. verse 15 and deliver them who
through fear of death which is what all men are by nature in
the flesh fearing death for it's appointed to man to die once
and then the judgment and where will you stand in that day who
through fear of death all their lifetime was subject to bondage
but he's delivered them Christ has delivered his people for
verily he took not on him the nature of angels he didn't come
to save the fallen angels but he took on him not the seed of
Adam Not everyone that ever lived, but the seed of Abraham, his
church, his people. Wherefore, in all things, it
behoved him to be made like unto his brethren. Christ was made
like unto us, that he might be a merciful and high priest in
things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of
his people. If his sinful church is to be
redeemed from the law's curse and thus be fitted for heaven,
he must come in the same flesh as real man to stand as substitute,
to stand as surety in the covenant of grace. A real man, but a sinless
man. a fitting substitute. That's
why he, you know, why did Christ obey the law perfectly? To prove
that he was that Passover lamb. And in his sacrifice, he makes
his people the righteousness of God in him. A real man. A real man in his birth. He was
a real man. Why didn't he just come in a
readily formed man's body? He came as a baby. born of a
virgin Luke 135 Mary is told by she's visited by the angel
who says and she's a virgin and she's engaged to Joseph but they
did things properly in those days she's engaged but They're
not together. And she says, how can I have
a baby? I'm not together with them. I need a man to become
pregnant. And the angel answered and said
unto her, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee,
and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee That baby shall
be called the Son of God. That God, as we sung in the first
hymn, that God contracted to a span, the span of a little
baby, shall be called the Son of God. Many say they are Christians,
yet, they call, think about it, do you know people who say they're
Christians, but they don't believe in the virgin birth? They deny
that. Well, do you know what they're
doing in denying it? They say, oh, I'm exercising the right
of myself as a dignified human being to think about these things
and reject them. No, no, no, no, no, no. You're
calling God a liar. You're looking in the face of
God and you're saying, you're a liar. I don't believe what
you're saying. No. he had to become a man. Of the line of David, born as
a baby, God contracted to a span so he could exactly represent
his church. That holy thing that the angel
said to Mary was pure humanity, for as much as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same. He wasn't mortal He wasn't, you
know, you and I are mortal. Every one of us is going to die
one day. Whenever it might be, by accident,
disease, or old age, we're going to die. That's the case. Get
used to it. He was not mortal because he
was sinless. It's sin. It's sin. In the day
you eat thereof, said God to Adam, you shall surely die. That's
it. It's sin. Sin. The sting of death
is sin. But he was sinless, so he was
not mortal, but because he was human, in a human body, he was
capable of dying as a man. He was not fallen in nature,
though he was made of a fallen woman. Catholics hear that? Mary was not sinless. Mary was
not immaculately conceived. That which was conceived in her
was of God, but she was a sinner. He was made of a fallen woman. He was not able to sin because
he was the Son of God. He wasn't able to sin because
he was the Son of God, but as a man, he was able at the cross
to be made the sin of his people, that he might redeem them from
the curse of the law. He was a real man in his life. He grew as a child. He felt the
heat of a hot summer. He felt the cold of a winter.
He felt thirst. He felt hunger. You know, when
you're hungry, when you're dying, he felt these things. He felt
fatigue. Oh, how could you? Yeah, he did.
He was in a real body. He felt fatigue. He felt all
of the bodily limitations restricted to one place at a time. The infinite
God contracted to a span. But all the while, he was, as
it says in Luke 2, 49, about him when he was 12 years old.
He was about his father's business. He humbled himself, as Philippians
2 says. He became obedient. He laid aside
that glory of divinity in heaven and laid it aside. And he came
in a body to think with a human heart. Can you believe it? Read
John 11 about the death of Lazarus, his friend. As a man, he loved
Lazarus as his friend. That you or I might have friends
that we love as friends. He loved Lazarus. And Lazarus
died. And as God, he knew exactly what
he was going to do in raising him from the dead. He knew he
was going to do that, to declare the glory of God. But the man,
minutes before he raised him from the dead, the man standing
at the tomb of Lazarus, the shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept.
He wept. With a human heart. He spoke
with human speech. The Word of God, incarnate Word
of God, spoke with human speech. He touched things. He walked.
He ate. When the beloved disciple John
leaned on his breast, he felt everything about it. He was a
real human. Truly, he was the God-man. He
was a real man in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the upper
room when they went out and they went across the brook Kidron
in the dark and they went into Gethsemane and he went to pray
and there in effect they were waiting for Judas to bring his
band of soldiers to arrest Christ for the crucifixion. And here
in Gethsemane, look at him, look at him, look at him. He's not
filling heaven with his glory here because he's laid it aside
for the suffering of death. But here he is, poor, bowed down,
and suffering and groaning and agonizing at being made sin. He's sweating. The intensity
of the feeling is such that his sweat is drops of blood because
he's bearing the law's curse for his people. And they said
to him, if you're the son of God, get yourself out of this
situation. And he said, don't you realize
I could call upon the father to send legions of angels to
rescue me. But if he did, how would the
scripture be fulfilled? How would he do the will of God?
He could escape. He could have escaped that death.
As God, he could have escaped that death. But in the process,
he would have lost the church that we've just read. He loved,
he loved the church. He would have lost it. But he
said, not my will, but thine be done. And he went on to drink. the bitter cup to its dregs.
There was a real man on the cross. Many have suffered more physical
agony in dying, I'm sure, than did Jesus on the cross. but nobody
has ever suffered the soul agony that he suffered. Christ suffered
in soul what the church would have had to suffer in hell if
he had not suffered in its place in order to satisfy the offended
law's demands for satisfaction, for justice to be done. But in
what he did, in giving himself, he bore the curse of the law
and he satisfied the law that his church might have no sin
for which to answer what was the accomplishment, let me just,
I'm finishing with this don't worry it's not going on any longer
Jeremiah chapter fifty and verse twenty do you know this verse
written Oh, hundreds of years before Christ came, I'm not sure
exactly when, probably 600 or 700 BC. And he's speaking about
the Day of Judgment, and he says, In those days, and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for.
Doesn't mean that country in the Middle East, he means the
Israel of God, which is the church that Christ loved and gave himself
for. The iniquity, I'll put the church
in there, the iniquity of the church of Christ shall be sought
for and there shall be none. And the sins of Judah, his people,
his believing people, they'll be sought for, they'll look for
them in that day of judgment. And they shall not be found. Why? For I will pardon them whom
I reserve. How can God pardon sinners? Because
he's a just God and a justifier. He's justly satisfied the law
by coming as a man. And so, Christ cried out on the
cross, it is finished, it is finished. Praise God. Whatever
the world does at this time of year, and the religious world
particularly, think on that all year round. Next time, God willing,
two weeks today, first of January, I intend to go on to look at
the effect and the end of what Christ accomplished.