Well, we're coming back to the
first chapter of Colossians this week again. As you know, I regularly
remind you that the Bible is the word of God. And as the word
of God, what it reveals is God's supreme glory. What is the supreme
glory of God? What is the greatest glory of
God? Ah, the universe that he's created. No, no, it isn't. the
greatest glory of God Moses asked him in Exodus 33 Moses asked
him show me your glory and God showed him his greatest glory
and do you know what it was? His compassion, His grace. I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. God is sovereign in all of these
things. That is the greatest glory of
God. And what must we do? Stand up
and say, oh, that's not fair, and shake our fist in the face
of God? No, bow. He's the God of the universe.
We bow to what He has declared of Himself in His word concerning
His sovereign grace in salvation. Because as I frequently remind
you, the primary purpose of the Bible is not to tell mankind
how to live. Oh, it does. It does. It tells
people how to live better than not. It does do that, but that
isn't its primary purpose. That's not what it's for. It
is God declaring to the people of his choice how he has saved
them from the just condemnation of their sins. How in saving
sinners, who are an offence to his holy nature and his holy
law, how he remains a just God, for if he were not to remain
a just God, he would cease to be God. And God is just, and
yet at the same time, whilst being absolutely strictly compliant
with his justice and the law, he justifies sinners. He is a
just God and a saviour, it tells us in Isaiah 45. He is just and
justifier, it tells us in Romans chapter 4. Now the last time
we looked at this chapter, two weeks ago, we were looking at
verses 21 to 23, where we see what he's done in the Gospel
of His Grace, because he is speaking to believers at Colossae. And the way he knows they're
believers is because Epaphras, his fellow servant, their minister
who taught them the Word of God, has come to visit Paul in his
house arrest in Rome, and he's visited him and he said about
these Colossians. how they've embraced the gospel
of grace, how they love it, how they believe it, how they're
walking in it, how they're living according to it, and he counts
them brethren because he's seen in them on the testimony of Epaphras
three marks of believing people. Three marks? The faith that they
have in the Lord Jesus Christ. They trust him. It's as simple
as that. It's not a great work that they
do but they trust him. They trust Christ. When Christ
speaks to them through his word by his spirit they hear his voice
and as he says my sheep hear my voice and they follow me Christ's
sheep follow him they don't argue with him Christ's sheep follow
him faith and then that shows itself in love for one another
by this shall all men know that you are my disciples said Christ
that ye love one another And then, hope of heaven. Hope of heaven. Living in this
life, but yet with a clear, firm hope of eternal glory. I know
where I'm going. This world is not my home, I'm
just passing through. And the older you get, the faster
the journey seems to go, doesn't it? And we're heading that way
now. A hope of eternal glory. A hope
of being there. We must all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. What a terrifying prospect. No,
not for those who are in Christ. Because what does Paul say he
has done in the gospel of his grace? He's presenting them holy
and unblameable and irreprovable in his sight because of what
Christ has done for his people. And he tells us in those three
verses that they were just like everybody else's by nature, alienated
from God. Enemies in your minds, you were
alienated. Enemies in your mind by wicked
works. But you who were like that, You're not a Christian
because you've been better than anybody else. You are exactly
the same by nature as everybody else. You're a child of Adam,
just like everybody else born into this world. But he, by grace,
has, if you're believing the gospel, he has reconciled you
to himself. How has he done it? How has he
reconciled those who are unreconcilable enemies, sinners, to a holy,
how has he done it? He's done it through the blood
of his cross. He's done it by the blood of
Christ making peace. How does it make peace? It satisfies
the offended law of God. And because of that, you're going
to be presented holy and unblameable and irreprovable in his sight.
But there's a condition, verse 23, if ye continue. This is not
a work that you do. It is not a work of qualification
that you do. Continuing is not something that
you must do in order to qualify yourself to go into eternal glory. It's a proof. The continuing
is the proof of the work of God that he's done in you. If you're
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, what is the hope
of the gospel? Eternity. Eternal glory. accepted
in the Beloved, standing before the judgment seat of Christ,
and hearing these words, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,
and not those dreadful words depart from you. I never knew
you, if not moved away from the hope of the Gospel. There's clearly
a discrimination in the Word of God between those who do continue
and those who evidently don't start, never mind continuing.
Now I want to look at the next few verses fairly quickly and
then focus on verse 27 because I want us to see the ministry
of the mystery which is the gospel. In verse 23 Paul says if you
continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved
away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard and which
was preached to every creature which is under heaven. Obviously
it doesn't mean literally everyone that was ever born. He means
that there was no discrimination made as to who this message should
go to. It was preached to all types, wherever Paul went he
preached and anybody within hearing range of him heard his message
and he says whereof, this message, this gospel, whereof I Paul am
made a minister. Note he's made a minister. He didn't make himself a minister. He didn't appoint himself. God
made him a minister. You can read that in all of the
other epistles, every time. This is how he declares it. Was
anybody more opposed to the gospel of God's grace in Christ than
the Apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus as he was? Was anybody
more opposed? Do you know, I've said it before,
but in the history of the church, and of The record of salvation
in the scriptures you cannot find a more staggering conversion. I know people talk about it poetically
and with its literary content and they talk about a Damascus
road experience but was anybody more drastically worked upon
than the Apostle Paul going to take them believers in Damascus
with letters from the high priest to go and take them and kill
them and there in a moment he's converted to Christ because he
meets the risen Christ. on that road to Damascus. He's
made a minister. And what sort of a minister?
He was an apostle. He was one of the twelve. Well
you say, ah hold on a minute, no you've got that wrong because
in Acts when Judas obviously had been taken out of the way
they appointed number twelve, they appointed Matthias. Do you
know that was a mistake that the early church made? Do you
know how I know that for sure? You read your Bible, you never
ever hear another word about Matthias. And yet we hear all
about Paul. God appointed the apostle Paul
as one born out of due time. A minister of the gospel. He's
a minister of gospel? Gospel. What does gospel mean?
It's not music. It's not, you know, you say to
most people, what's gospel? They say it's music that choirs
sing very loudly with waving arms. No, it's not that. It's
good news. That's what the word means. Good
news. Good news of what? Of justification. If you're charged
with an offence and you've got to face a court of law, There
is no sweeter word in your ear than the word justification.
You're exonerated, you're free, you're found not guilty, you're
cleared of all charge. Justification is that freeing
from all guilt, clearing of all charge. Good news of acceptance
with God, of peace with God. Good news that satisfaction to
an offended law has been made by the blood of Christ which
he came to shed for his people. And he has preached it. He has
preached it, meaning he's declared it. He's verbally announced it. You know, there's a great emphasis
on debate. I'm sorry, we don't debate it.
We declare it. God has given it in his word.
He has equipped men to proclaim it. And they proclaim it. We don't debate it. Because why? He tells us why. Paul, again,
writing in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 21. For it is by the
foolishness of preaching. Why does he say that? It's the
foolishness of the message of substitution to the natural man
that is the foolishness of preaching. It's by that preaching, of that
message, that it pleased God to save those that believe. But
verse 24 It isn't a ministry without sufferings. Who now rejoice,
he, Paul, this minister, this apostle, he rejoices in his sufferings. For you, believers. Because he's
doing this work for you, believers. And he fills up that which is
behind in the afflictions of Christ. In my flesh, for his
body's sake, which is the church. There's not the slightest hint
there that there was anything lacking in the suffering that
Christ made on Calvary for his people. He fully, fully satisfied
the law of God. He cried, it is finished. Everything
was done. But Christ is united to his body. He is the head, and the church,
his believing people, is his body. And whilst that body goes
on living in this world, for he has gone to glory, and he
has left his people in this world until he comes again, the church
must suffer in this life we suffer opposition as believers of the
gospel of grace we suffer persecution you say well people are not being
nasty to me particularly we suffer rejection we suffer in some parts
of the world even violence even violence remember a few weeks
ago when we were in the book of revelation and we were looking
at antichrist and the beast from the sea and the beast from the
earth and all of it representing This world in which we live,
this world striving for a sort of a Tower of Babel utopian unity
which has nothing to do with the redemption that is in Christ.
It utterly rejects the redemption that is in Christ. It thinks
it's good enough to go to its own heaven and make its own heaven
on earth without anything to do with the things of Christ.
It mesmerises this world with its technological signs and wonders,
which when John wrote it, when John was given the vision, he
couldn't possibly have envisaged what we've seen in the last 50
years even. The way that this technological
world is bamboozling and mesmerizing hordes and hordes of people so
that they have no need of Christ and they have no need of the
things of eternity. And all of those things effectively,
as we read in Revelation, they make war with the saints, they
make war with God's people. It's exactly what God has told
us will happen. The gospel of Christ does not
chime with unbelieving society all around us. But Paul is made
a minister of it. Verse 25, whereof I am made a
minister. He was made a minister. It was
God's choice. It was God's dispensation to give him the word of God,
given to him For you, he says, you who believe, this is one
of the ministry gifts of the church. If you read in Ephesians
chapter four, God gave gifts to his church, gifts of pastors,
teachers, evangelists. All of these things are ministry
gifts that he gave to his church. Why? To build up the church,
to edify it, to strengthen it, to feed it with the word of God,
with that manna from heaven. which is Christ in his word,
he who is the word of God revealed to us, to fulfil the word of
God at the end of verse 25, to fulfil it, to do that which it
prophesied, to make it widely known. Verse 26, even, what is
it, even the mystery, he calls it the mystery, this gospel truth
of salvation is a mystery, whereas it had been hidden from the majority
down ages and generations, look even the mystery which has been
hid from ages and from generations but now is made manifest is made
openly clear to his saints who are his saints let's have a scriptural
view of who his saints are saints are not Saint Paul, Saint James,
Saint Mary, Saint Mark that's not saints according to the scriptures,
if you read the scriptures All believers are saints. You read
the epistles. Every epistle is addressed to
the saints that are at Colossae, to the saints that are in Ephesus.
If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, don't think that
you're gonna wander around with a halo around your head, but
the scripture calls you a saint, because it means a set-apart
one. You're set apart. You're set
apart by the grace of God, to believe the gospel of God, and
to walk in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, which you
see in the face of Jesus Christ. Could it be clearer? God reveals
his truth. God reveals the reality, the
accomplishment of salvation. to the people who in sovereign
grace he has justified in Christ when he went to the cross and
bore the sins of his people on that cross. Now skip to verse
28, very briefly, and Paul says, talking of Christ and the gospel
of his grace, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus. We don't know who God's people
are. We don't know who are the ones
that Christ has saved. But what Paul says as a minister
of the gospel, and what all faithful ministers should do, is to preach,
to declare Christ to every man, i.e. to everyone without distinction,
who will listen, warning them of judgment, teaching them the
wisdom of God. And where is the wisdom of God?
In Christ. For as it says, A few verses down in chapter 2 and
verse 3, in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And what's his aim and objective?
That everyone to whom he, it doesn't make any distinction,
everyone to whom he preaches be found saved in Christ Jesus. And so Paul strives and labours. That's his work to which he was
commissioned. Come back with me to verse 27,
and this is where I want to focus. To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's what I want
to focus on for the rest of our time. God wills to make known
the glorious riches of the gospel message among Gentiles like the
Colossians, and like you if you believe, and what are these riches? What are these riches? What are
the riches of the gospel? What's the treasure? Christ in
you, the hope of glory. Lay up treasure in heaven. We
all like to lay up treasure on earth. We all like to value the
things we possess on earth. Don't try and make excuses that
you don't. You do. If you're flesh, you
like things. Everybody does. I do. But the child of God has
a greater treasure. And where is it? It's in heaven,
where moth and rust doesn't corrupt. That's where it is, in Christ.
The hope of glory, the hope of glory. Now, let me ask you a
question. If that's where the treasure of the gospel is, Christ
in you, the hope of glory, do you have a hope of glory? Do you have a hope of glory?
Do you have an expectation that when you leave this life, you
will pass into heaven? Do you? That you will be in that
multitude that no man can number, pictured in Revelation, that
John saw. I saw a multitude that no man can number, of every tribe
and tongue and kindred, singing the praise, worthy is the lamb
that was slain. That you will be in that multitude.
Do you have that hope? That you will be there with all
who've gone before, all sorts that have gone before, who simply
believe the gospel. That you will be there with even
that that thief on the cross next to Christ that Luke tells
us about that even he said Lord he he what what changed why did
he why did he change compared with the one on the other side
of him who continued to curse and revile clearly because God
the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to see who this man was hanging
between him and and the other thief he showed him who he was
and he said Lord remember me Because I've done all these good
works. No, he hadn't. And he's not going to get another
chance, is he? Because he's nailed to a cross. He's got no more
chance to do it. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And Christ said this to him.
Verily, verily, I say to you, this day you shall be with me
in paradise. Is that the hope that you have?
If you go into glory today, this day, you shall be with me in
paradise. Well, if so, what is the basis? What's your hope built on? You
know, I hope that when we go to Scotland in two and a half
weeks' time, the weather's going to be lovely. And do you know
what my hope is based on? It's based on the fact that about
once in every 20 years, at that time of year, it can be lovely.
But I'm afraid that probably 19 out of 20 years, you're likely
to get a good mixture of wind and rain as well. You know, I've
got a hope, but it's not based on a very, very solid foundation. What's the basis of your hope
about eternal life? Is it your religion? I've been
faithful to my religion. Is it your tradition? Is it the
fact that you were baptized? I remember in a bed and breakfast
in France, Christine will remember this, talking to some other guests
around the table there and there was this elderly lady and she
was so proud of the fact that her baptism had been in the great
cathedral of Orléans, I think it was, and oh how pleased she
was with he put her on a higher spiritual plane than everybody
else because her baptism had been in that great catholic cathedral
in Orléans and she'd been held by the priest there and see she
was putting emphasis on all of these things. Is it your good
works that's the basis for your hope? Is it your upright life
that you're not like sinners, you're not like these people
that commit crimes? No. Is it based on your knowledge
of the Bible? Because, I tell you, if it is
in any of these things, in any measure, you're like the foolish
man who built his house on the sand that Jesus spoke about in
Matthew 7 the foolish man built his house on the sand and the
storm with by which he means of judgment of testing of trying
came along and the house on the sand we read fell flat unlike
the house that was built on the rock in that judgment turn to
Matthew if you can sorry if you can't don't worry just keep up
with me Matthew 7 21 to 23 I'll read it to you This is in the Sermon on the
Mount. Jesus says this, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth
the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thine, we've
been preachers for you, and in thy name have cast out devils,
and in thy name have done many wonderful works. Now listen to
these, these are some of the most chilling words in the whole
of the scripture. and then will I the Christ of
God the second person of the Holy Trinity then will I profess
unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity
and then he goes on to tell that parable of the wise and the foolish
man building their houses their lives on the solid rock which
is him and his salvation or on the shaky sand which is their
own religious works the only solid foundation for a good hope
of eternal life is the knowledge, the experience of what Paul calls
here in verse 27 of Colossians chapter 1, Christ in you. It's what someone defined as
the life of God in the soul of man. Do you have reason to believe
that the life of God is in the soul? I'm not saying, are you
such a holy person? No, no, no. As long as you're
in this flesh, you're a sinner. Flesh never ever improves. But is there evidence of the
life of God in the soul of man? I want to ask three questions. What does it mean? How does it
happen? And how do I know that I have
it? What's the meaning of it? Turn with me to John chapter
14. John's Gospel and chapter 14. What does it mean, Christ in
you? What does it mean? John 14 verse
23. Jesus answered and said unto him if a man love me he will
keep my words and my father will love him and we will come unto
him and make our abode with him is that not clearly there the
man Christ Jesus in his earthly ministry saying that he as God
will come to that man that loves his word, that loves his being,
that loves his person, loving and believing Christ's words,
he says, I and my Father will come and live in him. We will
come and live in him, Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's
God living within. Look down to chapter 15 of John.
Jesus says in verse 1, I am the true vine, and my father is the
husbandman, the farmer. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit
he purgeth it, he chastises it, he prunes it, that it may bear
more fruit. Verse 3, Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in
you. Stay in me, and I will stay in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in me. I am the vine, I am the root
stock that gives the sap is what Jesus is saying here ye are the
branches that must have that sap that comes from union with
him he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth
much fruit for without me ye can do nothing read on to verse
7 if ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what
ye will and it shall be done unto you abiding in Him, abiding
in Him. Now turn over the page again
to John chapter 17 and the first three verses. John chapter 17.
Now John chapter 17 records the prayer that Christ prayed with
his disciples before he went out to be taken and be crucified. This is his high priestly prayer. This is really the Lord's prayer.
The other one that's called the Lord's prayer is really the disciples'
prayer. The disciples said, Lord, teach
us to pray, and he taught them to pray. Our Father, we're chanting.
That's the disciples' prayer. This is the Lord's prayer. This
is our Lord Jesus Christ before he went to the cross, praying
to his father. These words spake Jesus. And
he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is
come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. Remember what he was about to
do. was the very basis of the salvation which God in grace
had determined to accomplish for the people of his choice.
He says, as thou, the Father, hast given him, the Son, power
over all flesh. Who has power over all flesh?
Christ. Why? Because the Father's given
it to him. Power over all flesh, that he
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
The people that the father gave to the son in the covenant of
grace before the beginning of time, Christ is determined that
he will give eternal life to as many as the father has given
him. And what is it? What's the basis of it? In what
is it manifested? This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. Because how do we know the only
true God? There is no other way of knowing the only true God
than through knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip said, show
us the Father, and that will do, that will suffice us. Jesus
said, Philip, have I been so long with you, and yet you have
not known me. He who has seen me has seen the
Father. Now look at verse 6. I have manifested
thy name, God's name, unto the men which you gave me out of
the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they
have kept thy word." Okay, the word has been revealed. Is that
not what we read? Paul saying to the Colossians,
the word, which was a mystery, has been revealed to his saints.
Verse 9, I pray for them. This is the prayer of Jesus.
You compare it with the prayer in most religion. Oh, we pray
this for the world. We pray that suffering will be
curtailed, but look, the Lord Jesus Christ didn't pray for
the world. I pray for them, his people. I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine.
Is that not radical? That's radical. Do we believe
the word of God, or do we try and twist what the word of God
says? I pray for them, not for the world. then going down further
verse fourteen I have given them thy word and the world hath hated
them because it's found itself in utter conflict with them the
world is based on godless evolutionary philosophy worked out in every
realm of life and if you believe the God of the Bible and who
he is and what he has done you will find your philosophy, your
mode of life, your attitude to things will be completely at
enmity with what the world thinks and what the world finds good
and the world hates it because they are not of the world even
as I am not of the world now look at verse 22 and the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them. He's believing people. That they
may be one even as we are one. Now, listen to this. Verse 23. I in them. Christ in you, the
hope of glory. I in them and thou in me. That they may be made perfect
in one and that the world may know that thou has sent me and
has loved them as thou has loved me. in them, and thou in me. Galatians 2.20 says this, Paul
writes, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, this is talking
about his absolute unity with Christ. that unity which is the
basis of salvation of satisfaction of the law if you're saved it's
because you're united with Christ and Christ has satisfied the
law of God's demands in every respect I am crucified with Christ
nevertheless I live there he is, he's living, he's breathing
yet not I but Christ liveth in me Christ in you The hope of
glory. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Ephesians 3, 17. That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith. Believing in him, he dwells in
your hearts by faith. Christ in you. The hope of glory.
1 John chapter 4 and verse 4, ye are of God, little children,
because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the
world, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Revelation 3.20, letter
to the church at Laodicea, behold I stand at the door and knock,
I will come into him whoever opens to me I will come into
him and will sup with him and he with me Christ in you the
hope of glory the life of God in the soul of man 2nd Peter
chapter 1 verse 4 whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers listen
to this this is staggering is this that by these promises and
believing them ye might be partakers of the divine nature. What? It doesn't mean you take on the
nature of God. It doesn't mean you become as
God. No, what does it mean? It is
to have Christ himself imparted to us and formed in us by the
Holy Spirit. It's a new man. It's eternal
union with Him, so that all He is, we are in Him. This is the
teaching of Scripture. It is that which makes us fit
for heaven. You imagine, without that fitting
for heaven, you imagine going to heaven. As a man or a woman
that has not that fitting for heaven by Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Heaven would be a hell to you.
Heaven is filled with the holiness of God. Heaven is filled with
the glory of God. Heaven is filled with the righteousness
of God, who cannot abide sin. And you want to go there and
think you'll have a good time in your sins? Not at all. Not
at all. There must be a preparation.
How does it happen? Second question. How does it
happen? It's Holy Spirit regeneration. It's the new birth. If you read
the bulletin, there's a little piece. I always try to choose
pieces that fit with what the sermon is going to say. And there's
a piece in there on the new birth. You must be born again. Holy
Spirit regeneration. The new birth. Ephesians chapter
two. Ephesians chapter two. Let me
turn you over there. It's not far from where we are
in Colossians, Ephesians chapter 2 and the first five verses,
let me read these verses to you and you, he's speaking to Ephesian
saints Ephesian believers at Ephesus who have believed the
gospel and he says and you hath he quickened, he's made alive
made alive spiritually whereas you were dead who were dead in
trespasses and sins wherein in time past you walked according
to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of
the air the devil and his angels basically the spirit which now
worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we all had our
conversation we mixed with them we found it we found we found
it a delight to be in the company of those who blasphemed God and
hated the things of God, in times past, in the lusts of your flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were
by nature, in your natural fleshly state, children of wrath even
as others, but God. who is rich in mercy for his
great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in
sins hath quickened us made us alive together with Christ by
grace are you saved it's regeneration it's what the Holy Spirit does
it's what Jesus described to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 Nicodemus
says we know that you're a teacher come from God and Jesus says
no no no unless you be born again you cannot see the things of
the Spirit of God. A woman asked Mr Spurgeon Mr
Spurgeon, you keep on preaching, you must be born again. Why do
you keep on preaching, you must be born again? And he said, because,
madam, you must be born again. That's it, you must be born again. There is no spiritual life without
being born again. John 3, 8, everyone that is born
of the Spirit, there must be a new man that's put in. 1 John
3, verse 9, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. It's a difficult passage to read
and look at because Christians do commit sin, everything we
do in the flesh is sin, it's never improved but this is what
the scripture clearly teaches that in the believing person
there are two natures there's the old nature of the flesh that
we don't ever drop until the day we leave this body and die
and there's the new man of the spirit which is that which is
born of the Spirit of God in the new birth. How does it happen?
I know I'm taking you to lots of scriptures this morning but
I think it's far better generally that the scripture preaches rather
than the words I say. Romans 10 verse 8 Romans 10, verse 8. But what
saith it? What does the word say? The word
is nigh thee. Romans 10, verse 8. The word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the
word of faith which we preach. What's that? It's the gospel.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek, the Gentile. For the same Lord
over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 4. Whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Philippian jailer,
what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and anybody else in your household, and you shall be saved. 5. How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good things and I'll skip to verse 17 so then
faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God by the foolishness
of preaching as we saw earlier there's a general call that goes
out and so that's why Paul says he labors and strives to let
to warn every man he comes across he labors and strives for that
there's a general call but there is a specific irresistible call
of the Holy Spirit that gives new life and gives eyes to see
and ears to hear. like that man, that blind man
that Jesus healed. He was born blind in John chapter
nine and he took mud and he spat on it and I think he created,
the creator created eyeballs for that man there and then.
And the Pharisees were enraged. How is it that you're seeing?
Get his parents. Yes, yes, this is our son. Well,
how is he seeing? Well, we don't know. All we know
is we know he's our son and that he used to be blind but now he
sees and this is what the man says in the end. They put him
out of the synagogue, but the man said this, One thing I know,
that whereas I was blind, now I see. Is that not the testimony
of every believing heart? Whereas I was blind, spiritually,
now I see. Because God the Holy Spirit has
opened my eyes. He has come. Now how do I know? I'll be brief. I'll be very brief.
How do I know? I believe God. Isn't that what
he said, Paul said to the Thessalonians? We are bound to give thanks,
I know I quote it so often, but it's such a good verse. We are
bound to give thanks to God for your brethren, beloved of the
Lord, for God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit, setting apart of the spirit,
and belief of the truth. How do I know? I believe God.
Concerning the gospel. I experience Christ in me, the
hope of glory. I trust that his union with his
people included me. That though my sin condemns me,
and oh what a blessed thing it is to be taught of the Holy Spirit
what you are as a sinner. A sinner is a sacred thing. The
Holy Ghost has made him so. But then showing me that, showing
me that Christ has satisfied the law's demands, he has paid
the sin debt for his people in my place, as my substitute, as
my husband, as in old English law, the husband used to be entirely
legally responsible for the deeds and actions of his wife, so Christ
the husband is responsible legally before the law of God for the
deeds of his wife, his bride, the church. that his lifeblood
paid redemption's price that it did everything that was necessary
that he took my sin into his own being at Calvary as 2nd Corinthians
5.21 says he who knew no sin was made sin that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him and in so doing that's
what he made his people the righteousness this is what it is to have Christ
in you and a hope of glory experiencing that I know I have peace with
God. In my heart, I know I do. I can
see it on Marguerite's face, you know you've got peace with
God for what he's done for you in Christ. You can sing that
hymn, it is well with my soul. It is well, I know it's well
with my soul. Oh, it's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. Our God is a consuming fire,
but we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ,
but I know I will hear those words. It is well with my soul. I know I will hear him say, come
ye blessed of my father. inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. I feel it in my heart,
not just in my head. I rest confident about judgment
and heaven. I have a good hope of glory. Let me finish. Have you heard
the gospel of God's grace? Have you been convicted of sin
and been given faith to look to Christ for cleansing? Have
you trusted Him to keep your immortal soul safe? No, I know
whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that He is able to
keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day, safe
into eternal glory. Do you discern his broken body
and he shed blood, you know, the bread and wine of communion.
Why? Are we just doing a ritual? No, no, we're discerning in the
heart Christ in you the hope of glory, discerning by faith
that that broken body paid the law's price for my sin, that
that shed blood satisfied divine justice for my sin. That's what
it is. And to eat and drink it without
discerning that is to eat and drink it, Paul tells us, unworthily. If that's the case, If all those
things are the case, then God has made known the riches of
the mystery of the gospel to you too. Christ is indeed in
you, giving you the hope of glory. You may say, no, it's not. But oh, I would want it to be.
What should you pray? Lord, help me. You know what
that man said? Jesus said, do you believe? He
said, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. Help
my unbelief. Show me by your spirit that my
sin was paid by Christ at Calvary to cancel my sin debt. Give me
the assurance that Christ is in me and give me a confident
hope of eternal glory. Amen.