Open your Bibles with me to Mark
chapter 7, please. Mark the seventh chapter. Try to picture the scene before
us in this chapter. Our Lord Jesus has just come
to Decapolis on the coast of Tyre and Sidon where he had graciously
healed the Syrophoenician woman's daughter who was grievously vexed
with the devil. Here in Decapolis, he continued
his acts of mercy, healing one who was both deaf and suffered
from a speech impediment. His fame was so great that it
couldn't be hid. There was a huge crowd gathered
around him, standing before him. He who had caused the lame to
walk and the deaf to hear. than the dumb to speak. He who
by the mere word of his power had opened the eyes of the blind
and raised the dead, stood before this thronging crowd. These people,
seeing his works, observing what he had done, conclude the day
with this statement found in Mark 7 and verse 37. They were beyond measure astonished,
saying, He hath done all things well. He hath done all things well. If these men and women who had
seen only our Savior's miracles were astonished and cried out,
He hath done all things well, how much more astonished you
and I ought to be who have been the recipients of his unceasing
grace all the days of our lives. We who have tasted and experienced
the fact that the Lord is gracious. How much more we ought to confess
to God our Savior, to the angels before his throne, and to wandering
worlds, and to one another. He hath done all things well. That's my subject this morning.
He hath done all things well. May God the Holy Spirit give
me wisdom and grace to proclaim it. Looking over the days of
my life and all that I've experienced these past 63 years, I lift my
heart and my hand to heaven and I say to God and to you, He hath
done all things well. Like you, I've had a few trials
and heartaches, a little pain, a little sorrow, a little hurt,
and a little bitterness. And I'm ashamed to confess, but
I must confess, I have caused much more than I've experienced. But God, my Savior, has been
so kind, so gracious, so good to me, that were I to die this
very day, you can write these words on my gravestone. He hath
done all things well. Here lies a man who for 63 years
has been the benefactor of unceasing special divine care. My Jesus has done all things
well. Sinners redeemed, with wonder
tale. Christ Jesus hath done all things
well. By his great sin atoning blood,
believing we have peace with God. That one who bought us with
his blood now reigns on high the Son of God. This fact our
every fear should quell. Christ Jesus has done all things
well. Now here's a question for you.
Tell me. You who know the Savior, Can
you not say the same? Indeed, I know you can. Your
life's experience verifies this fact. He hath done all things
well, from first to last, from the day of our birth to this
hour, from the earliest pangs of sin's conviction to the blessed
thrill of sin's forgiveness, From the cradle to the grave,
from earth to heaven, this will be our testimony concerning all
the way in which the Lord has led us, all the experiences through
which he has brought us. When we stand before him at the
end of life's journey in resurrection glory, we will declare he hath
done all things well. in providence and in grace, in
every truth revealed in his word, in every token of his love, in
every stroke of his rod, in every sunbeam of his goodness, in every
cloud that has darkened our skies, in every sweet morsel he has
put into our lives, in every bitter thing he's mixed in our
cup, In all the mysterious, confusing, painful, humiliating things we've
endured, in all that he's given, and in all that he has taken
away, he hath done all things well. This is, must be, and rightfully
should be our grateful acknowledgment in time and eternity, he hath
done all things well. Our great God, our Savior, who
loved us, chose us, redeemed us, and saved us by His grace.
He who has all these days, in all our ways, kept us by His
hand of omnipotent mercy, has done everything exactly right. He's done all things well. He who is our God, let us never
forget, is too wise to err too strong to fail, and too good
to do wrong. He cannot do wrong. He has it. He does it. He shall not do wrong. Study the universe. Study history. Study God's creation, His providence,
His judgments, His grace. View all of it in this light,
and view it all in every light by which you can examine it,
in every minute detail. You could look at the things
of God through a microscope in the most minute detail and study
them and understand them right. You must acknowledge He hath
done all things well. Turn back to the 119th Psalm.
Psalm 119. I have nothing new or profound
to say in this message. I pray that God the Holy Spirit
will simply convince your heart with the glorious good news of
this one statement. He hath done all things well. Here in Psalm 119 at verse 65,
we have the testimony of a man who knew by experience what I'm
trying to proclaim to you. Thou hast dealt well with thy
servant according unto thy word. Thou hast dealt well with thy
servant according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge. For I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went
astray. But now have I kept thy word.
Thou art good and doest good. Teach me thy statutes. Oh God,
you're good and you do good. Teach me now what you've written
in your word. God my savior has dealt with
me. What a statement. What an amazing
thought. All the days of my life, God
has dealt with me. All the days of my life, the
angel of the Lord has pitched his tent round about me and dealt
with me. When I first began pastoring,
I was just 21 years old, and I met an old man who became a
very dear friend, Brother Elmer Harrell. Brother Harrell was
about my age at the time I met him. He was a deacon in the church
at Lookout, West Virginia. And I don't think I'll ever forget
the first time I heard him pray. He said, Lord, encamp round about
us. And I thought that's a strange
way to pray. Encamp round about us. But that's
exactly what the psalmist declares. And that's exactly what our God
does. The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him and delivereth them. The Lord
God, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, our mighty Savior, continually
the angel of the Lord, the angel of the covenant, God's messenger,
continually pitches his tent around his people. All the time,
watching over, caring for, and protecting his people. He's caused
us constantly to be under his care. Not only has he dealt with
me, he has dealt well with me. Truly, thou hast dealt well with
thy servant. The fact is, he has dealt well
with me, so well that these words don't begin to start telling
my astonishment. The word David uses here for
well is one of those little magnificent words that is just bursting with
meaning. It means all of these things.
Thou hast dealt most favorably. Most kindly, most graciously,
most lovingly, most pleasantly, most sweetly, most prosperously,
most finely, most joyfully, most merrily with thy servant. Thou
hast dealt well with thy servant. Particularly these last 47 years
since God saved me by his grace, he has dealt well with his servant.
Of course, he's dealt well with me as his son. He's dealt well
with me as his spouse and as his friend. But like David, I
take particular delight in saying he has dealt well with me as
his servant. Unto me, whom less than the least
of all his saints is this grace given, that I should preach to
you the unsearchable riches of Christ. Imagine that. God taking
such a one as I am, and not only planting His grace in me, but
giving me the blessed privilege of preaching the gospel of his
grace. I stand as a testimony of what is written in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. God has chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise, the base things, the things
that are despised, things that are nothing. These things God
has chosen to proclaim the gospel of his free grace. The Lord has
dealt bountifully with me and dealt well with me as his servant,
and he's done so all the days of my life. Thou hast dealt well
with thy servant according to thy word, according to his word
of predestination, according to his inspired word of promise
we have before us, according to the word of his grace, and
he's dealt well with me especially. according to Him who is God the
Word, Jesus Christ our Savior. Let me elaborate just a little.
Let every redeemed sinner who serves God with willing heart
acknowledge God's unfailing goodness. Truly, He has dealt well with
you, His servants, according to His Word. In addition to the
immeasurable mercies of His grace and kindness to us in Christ,
All the days of our lives, God has dealt with us in the goodness
of his providence. David put it this way, because
the Lord is my shepherd, surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life. I'm 63 years old. For 63 years,
goodness and mercy have been pursuing me. Goodness and mercy
have chased me through this world. Goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life until at last I dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. He promised, there shall no evil
happen to the just. And no evil has ever befallen
God's elect. Not you, not me, not one of God's
own. We experience much that appears
to be evil at the time. We experience much that in our
unbelief we look upon as evil, and we despise the thing we experience. But God has proved himself faithful,
looking back upon the things we thought were evil at the time.
Things we would never have chosen. Things we would never have decided
this is the path I want to take. This is the thing I want to experience. But looking back upon those things,
God having brought us through those things, we look back at
them and say, that was good. The Lord did things just right. Just right. I have a very dear
friend. Many of you have heard me mention
his name from the pulpit, Brother Bob Ponce, one of our deacons
at home. I was in this country preaching
a while back. I think maybe it's been a little
over a year and a half ago now. And Bob had an infection in his
body for several years, just a constant draining sore, and
finally had to have his leg amputated. And he wasn't physically strong
to begin with. 81 or 82 years old now, but he
had to have his leg amputated. When Shelby and I flew back home
from the trip here, we stopped by the hospital to visit with
him the very night that it took place. And Bob's a principle
fellow, just a principle fellow. If you visit the church in Danville
and you don't know who Don Fortner is or Shelby Fortner or remember
our names, you'll remember Bob and Sally Ponce. They're just
that kind of people. And I have often looked at Bob and said
to him, I would never have done that to you. I would never have done that.
Never. I would never have put you through
that. Never. My love for you wouldn't
allow that to happen. I wouldn't do it. But he who
loves you infinitely more than you and I can imagine being loved
has done this for you. You understand that? You understand
that? We look at things and say, what
a terrible thing. God is doing us well in everything
he does. And he has done us well all the
days of our lives. By that which God does, By that
which God has caused to come to me, he's caused to come to
you, my brother, my sister. He does well for us all the time. We often look at our society
and the day in which we live and days gone by, and I try to
remember, this is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice
and be glad in it. Not only is this the day God
has made, this is the day God has made for me. This is the
day God has made for you. This is the day for which he
made us. Knowing that, could I choose
to do so? Could I choose to do so? I would
choose to live in no other day, in no other circumstances than
those God has ordered. This is the best opportunity,
Pastor, you and I could possibly ever have to live for God and
serve Him. Never been a generation like
this, not for us. Never been a generation in which
you and I can better serve our Redeemer. It's good to acknowledge
the good when we see it, but it's far better and more honoring
to God to acknowledge His goodness in His providence when nothing
good can be seen. except by the eye of faith. When
I look to my Father with tears burning my cheek and sorrows
crushing my heart, I look to Him in faith and confidently
ask for grace confidently to say to Him, Thou has done all
things well. And when I can, then I prove
the reality of my faith. Child of God, Whatever your God
has done or allowed to be done to you, with you, and for you,
He's done for your good. The same's true of me. So let
us with glad hearts acknowledge that which we will acknowledge
when all things are set in their true light. And there is a day
coming. There is a day coming. When our
Lord Jesus shall reconcile all things to God, everything will
be seen in its true light. We will then see as he sees,
and appreciate everything he has done, and we will declare
thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto
thy word. Let me give you some samples. Look back, if you can, as the
book of God has revealed to us to old eternity. Turn to Ephesians,
the first chapter. Brother Peter read a portion
of this yesterday. Ephesians chapter one. When we think of all that our
Savior did for us as our surety, Old eternity, if I can use such
language, and I know the word, very language is redundant, but
how else do we talk about eternity? Before the world was, as our
Savior acted on our behalf, surely we must confess He hath done
all things well. In the covenant of grace, God's
darling son stood forth as our surety before the world began. Hawker said, there was a time
before time, a time when God the son stepped forth as our
surety. And when he did, he took upon
himself all responsibility for our souls. I've said that so many times
in recent years, and I'm just overwhelmed by it. God the Son
took upon Himself all responsibility for my soul. He assumed all responsibility
for me. He espoused our cause as our
surety. And when He did, He did everything
just right. He drew near to God on our behalf. He tells us in Proverbs 8, His
delights were then with the sons of men. His heart was upon us. He pledged Himself to redeem
and save us. He gave Himself as the Lamb of
God to redeem us. And the Father accepted Him,
accepted us, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Him,
trusting Him as our surety. Look at verse 3 of Ephesians
1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. God the Father, the triune Jehovah,
heaped upon all God's elect all spiritual blessings Everything
that God can give to men. I chose my words deliberately.
Everything that God can give to men. Everything that God will
give to men. Everything that God can require
of men. Everything that God will require
of men. He gave to us at one time in
eternity, in heaven, in Christ Jesus the Lord. According as,
I love those words, this is how God blessed us. According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him. And when you
read the commentaries on that statement, most of the commentaries
will say this is God chose us, He elected us unto holiness,
that we should live a holy life. Now let me tell you something
about that. That'd be a good trick if you could do it. But
you can't live a holy life. You can't live a holy life. That
doesn't lie within the realm of possibility. Holiness is perfection. You can't do it. You can't do
it. Holiness is not something you
perform for God. Holiness is something God performs
for you and in you. He chose us in Christ before
the world began so that ultimately we should be holy and without
blame before Him. to be holy and without blame
before God. So that God in heaven has no
reason ever to be alienated from you. God in heaven has no reason
ever to frown upon you. God in heaven has no reason but
to accept you and bless you in His Son, holy and without blame
before Him. He chose us to make us like His
Son. And that He has done from everlasting. That He causes us to enter into
the experience of when He gives us His Son's nature. And that
He will cause us ultimately to enjoy in the perfection of resurrection
glory, holy, without spot, without blame, without blemish of any
kind before Him. In love. Election. This is not a hard doctrine.
Folks say it's a hard doctrine. God says it's done in love. I
don't ever know how to read these last two words of the fourth
verse. Do you read them at the end of
verse four with connection to election or at the beginning
of verse five with connection to predestination? Yes, that's
how we read them. He chose us in love and in love
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.
He did this to the praise of the glory of his grace. wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Highly favored in the
beloved. accepted in Christ so that before
ever time began, before we fell in our father Adam, before we
sinned going astray from our mother's womb speaking lies,
before we ever entered into this world and before we walked in
the course of this world in our own disobedience and rebellion,
he made us accepted in the beloved. And that acceptance is an immutable
acceptance. It never varies. It's not at
one time we're close to God and one time far away from God. That's
true in our feelings. That's true in our emotions.
That's true in our experience with regard to sin and corruption
that's in us. Sometimes our hearts are cold
and it seems that God is so far off we can't possibly know Him,
let alone see Him and speak to Him. But never is our acceptance
of any way harmed. We're accepted in Christ. Near, so very near to God, nearer
I cannot be, for in the person of His Son I am as near as He. Dear, so very dear to God, dearer
I cannot be, for in the person of His Son I am as dear as He. That means, Alan, until God frowns on His Son,
He can't frown on you. Until God is displeased with
His Son, He can't be displeased with me. The thing that David
did displeased the Lord. That's the language of Scripture.
It didn't say David did. For our acceptance is in Christ. Accepted in the Beloved. Read
this now. In whom we have redemption through
His blood. That means the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of His grace. Now, skip down
to verse 12. that we should be to the praise
of his glory who first trusted in Christ. When Robert Hawker
lay on his deathbed after preaching the gospel for 50 years, just
before he died, a friend was in the room and he asked if he
would like for him to read to him. He said, yes, read Ephesians
1. And the man began reading at
verse 1 and he got down to verse 12, that we should be to the
praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. And Hawker
said to his friend, and who first trusted in Christ? And the friend
paused, not knowing exactly how to answer. And Mr. Hawker said,
the triune Jehovah first trusted in Christ. He trusted him in
whom we now trust. Oh, well, may we trust Him. God
the Son stepped forth as our surety and asked that the Father
trust His people, His glory, His will into His hands as our
surety. And He promised, I will bring
them and present them faultless, holy, and unblameable before
the presence of Your glory, I and the children which Thou hast
given Me. And the Father looked on the Son, our crucified Redeemer,
and accepted Him, the Lamb slain for the foundation of the world,
and trusted everything into His Son's hands. And the Father and
Son struck hands in the covenant, and we were one with Christ when
it took place, accepted in the Beloved. Then in the fullness
of time, when God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, when
the Son of God came down here and took on Him the seed of Abraham,
He hath done all things well. The writer of Hebrews did not
say he took on him the seed of Adam. He said he took not on
him the seed of angels, the nature of angels, but he took on him
the seed of Abraham. He came here and assumed the
seed of God's elect, Abraham's covenant seed. He took on himself
our nature as our representative before God Almighty to redeem
and save his people from their sins. As a man, the Lord Jesus
lived in this world in perfect righteousness. We can't, we just can't imagine this. Our
Savior walked on this earth for 33 years, the full age of manhood
with never an evil thought with never a sinful passion, with
never a corrupt word, with never a deed of transgression of any
kind, in perfect compliance with the revealed law of God, and
in perfect compliance with the revealed will and the secret
will of God, completely obedient to God. You see, what God requires
of man is righteousness. God requires righteousness. Not
the best you can do, but righteousness. Not your best effort at it, but
perfect righteousness. When Christ Jesus lived on this
earth in righteousness as a man, he didn't do it for himself.
There was no need for himself. He lived the full age of a man
in perfect righteousness, but not as a private person. He did
so as our representative, as our covenant surety, as our substitute. We lived on this earth in our
substitute, in perfect righteousness. God says, walk before me and
be thou holy. He says, be ye perfect for I
am perfect. That's what God requires. I can't
do it. You can't do it. But I have done
it. And if you're Christ, you've
done it. In Him. In the Beloved. We walked with
God in righteousness. So that His name is Jehovah Shekinu,
the Lord our righteousness. Turn to Jeremiah chapter... Let's
see, where is that? Chapter 16, isn't it? No, chapter
33. Jeremiah chapter 33. and listen to what Scripture
says concerning our great Savior. You don't have the right passage.
Somebody tell me what I'm looking for. 3316. That's what I'm looking
for. 3316. Listen to this. Well, no word I can't find. I'm in Ezekiel. Jeremiah 3316. Jeremiah 3316. In those days shall Judah be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name
wherewith she shall be called. You see that? She shall be called. The Lord our righteousness. God Almighty declares that we
are one with Christ. One with Christ. Really and truly
one with Christ. There is no possible separation
between us and Christ. Shelby and I have been married
now for nearly 45 years. And we're getting more and more
alike. I hope I'm getting like her and
not her like me. But we think alike. We think
the same thing. We have the same taste. More
and more alike. And there is a very real sense in which we
are one. But not really. And we never
can be. We never can be. Not really. We are one with Christ as Christ
is one with the Father, really one, really one. So that everything
he is, we are in him. Everything he did, we did in
him. Everything he has, we have in
him. He said, Father, restore to me
now. Give me the glory which I had
with you before the world was. And then he said, the glory which
you've given me, I've given them. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us righteousness. He hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Now this is what I'm saying.
Look back upon your past sins and look upon your present infirmities. and even upon your future errors,
and weep with repentance, and yet rejoice, for there's no danger
of condemnation, no danger of curse, no danger of wrath, no
danger of punishment, for Christ is our righteousness. I stand
before you this day, a man in the garments of salvation, robed
with the righteousness of Christ, and I'm bold to declare to you,
that I am myself as holy as my Holy Redeemer, as holy as my
Holy Redeemer. We have a better righteousness
than Adam had in the garden. Christ's righteousness is compared
to fine linen, clean and white. And if I wear it, then I'm without
spot. In this robe, we're worthy to
sit at the wedding feast of the great king in the parable of
the prodigal son. The father has his son received
back. He said, bring hither the best
robe and put it on him. Put it on him. A robe already
prepared for him. Put it on him. It's a better
robe than Adam had in the garden, a better robe than the angels
wear in heaven, and a better robe than any man could imagine,
for this robe can never be worn out. Not only is it a robe we
wear, it is a part of our being. Not only is Christ our righteousness
in justification, he's our righteousness in sanctification too. Turn to
Hebrews chapter 10. Let me show you. Hebrews chapter
10. You remember in Hebrews 12, 14,
the apostle says, follow peace with all men and holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. Holiness? What is that holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord? Well, no, you've got
to do good. And don't misunderstand me. Don't
misunderstand what I'm saying. Let other folks do what they
want to, but don't you misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting that how
you behave doesn't matter. It matters a great deal. What
I am saying is that your obedience to God is not your holiness. Your works as a believer is not
your righteousness. That holiness without which no
man shall see the Lord is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He
is our righteousness in free justification, and He is our
righteousness in perfect sanctification. Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. And the reason God did this is
that no flesh should glory in His presence. Hebrews chapter
10, verse 10. By the witch will, by Christ's obedience to the
will of God, as he has described in the first nine verses. By
the witch will, we are sanctified, made holy through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth
daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." Ralph Erskine put it this way. If you would
have righteousness, you must have it in and from Christ. He has to give you both imputed
righteousness for justifying you and imparted righteousness
for sanctifying you. Just as the fallen, unrighteous
nature of Adam was imparted to us by natural birth, the holy,
righteous nature of Christ is imparted to God's elect in the
new birth so that you're made partakers of the divine nature. That which is born of God, that
new man in you, John says, can not sin. Paul describes it in
the seventh chapter of Romans, a warfare between flesh and spirit. The old man is still there. Adam
raging with all his lust. But now there's a new man. And
both really are me. This is what I really am by nature. And Christ is what I really am
by grace. God says, Reckon ye also yourselves
to be indeed free indeed from sin. The righteousness of Christ
imparted to us is this holiness without which we cannot see the
Lord. J.C. Philpott said, if once I catch
by the eye of faith this glorious truth that Christ of God is made
unto me righteousness, The moment I see that by faith, that by
the eye of faith, a measure of imparted righteousness flows
into my heart, then the soul receives internally what Christ
has done externally. In a word, when Christ is received
as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, he becomes all
these in vital, living manifestation. Because we're justified by Christ's
righteousness at the cross. We're sanctified by his imparted
righteousness in the new birth. I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God, the prophet wrote. For he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. It's not only in Christ that
God is well pleased. Only in him is God well pleased.
He said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. But
he is well pleased with us in his son. Look at the book of
Ecclesiastes for a moment. Ecclesiastes chapter seven. Do you ever read the scriptures
and then suddenly you read something and you just sit back and You're
just astonished, just astonished at what you've read. Ecclesiastes,
that's in chapter 7, chapter 9 and verse 7. Go thy way, eat thy bread with
joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Now watch this.
For God now accepteth thy works. Go home today and eat your bread
with joy. Drink your wine with a merry
heart. Live in this world for God's glory. Live in this world
day by day. When you get up tomorrow and
you get dressed and you go off to work and you punch the time
clock, do it with this understanding. God accepteth thy works. He accepts us in the totality
of our lives, for he accepts us in his Son. As we live here
for God, Christ lives in us. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. When he died, I died. Nevertheless,
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, this present life, this present state
of being, this present existence that I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me. Through the merits and mediation
of Christ, our righteousness, God accepts us as a living sacrifice. Paul said, I beseech you, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. We, collectively, present our
lives, the totality of our lives, one living sacrifice. That one
living sacrifice is Christ in whom we live. And God accepts
us in His Son, so that we as living stones are built up a
spiritual house and holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices,
listen, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The only claim
we have to God's acceptance, the only claim we have to heavenly
inheritance is Christ our righteousness. But we need no other claim. But
our Savior didn't stop there. The life of Christ, perfect in
obedience to God the Father, His righteous obedience, that
righteousness which He brought in, that everlasting righteousness
He fulfilled, would be of no benefit to our souls without
blood atonement. His righteousness could never
satisfy the justice of God. Sin must be punished. Therefore,
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. And when the Son
of God died upon the cursed tree as our substitute, O my soul,
he hath done all things well. The Lord Jesus comes now to chosen
redeemed sinners in grace, a just God and a Savior. By his one
sacrifice for sin, justice was satisfied. God says to Jacob,
fury is not in me. With one tremendous draft of
love, when he who knew no sin was made sin for us, he drank
damnation dry. The curse of the law is gone
forever. Sin is put away, and now we're
free. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
flesh. God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh but after the spirit. So when we come to God, trusting
our Savior, looking to Christ our Redeemer, we bring to God
everything that God requires. We bring to God perfect obedience
and complete satisfaction and thus we fulfill the law. The only fulfilling of the law
on our part is by faith in Christ. We bring God what God himself
requires, what God himself gives, and thus fulfill the law. You
remember how Abraham spoke to his son Isaac on the Mount Moriah
when Isaac had the wood for a burnt offering and the fire in his
hand? And he said to his father, he said, Father, here's the fire
and here's the wood. Where is the land for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said to Isaac, My son, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. Not God will provide for himself,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And he
saw a ram caught in the thicket, which typified our Savior. And
he sacrificed that ram in Isaac's place. And Isaac and Abraham
went down the mountain, having worshipped God perfectly. And
Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, saying in
the mouth of the Lord, it shall be seen. Christ also hath once
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by
the Spirit. And in that day thou shalt say,
O Lord, I will praise thee. Though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Pause again
and consider our Savior's words. He had done all things well in
the mighty operations of His saving grace. I spurned His grace,
I broke His laws, and yet He undertook my cause. To save my
sinful soul from hell, my Jesus hath done all things well. Look
at Psalm 32, the 32nd Psalm. Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 are both
written as Psalms of David after the matter of Uriah the Hittite. The Lord God comes to his people
chosen and redeemed. Had he promised, our Savior did,
it's expedient for you that I go away. If I go not away, the Comforter
will not come. But when the Comforter is called,
this is how He comforts. He will reprove the world. That is, He will convince the
world. He will convince His elect, wherever they are in the world,
of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Holy Spirit conviction. Listen to me now. Holy Spirit
conviction is the most comforting thing in the world. Holy Spirit
conviction is the most comforting thing in the world. It is terribly
bitter in the initial experience, for it is a conviction of your
sin. And when you first find out something about your sin,
you're driven to utter darkness. But where there is conviction
of sin, there is conviction of righteousness. Because the Savior
said, I go to my Father. I came down here to bring you
everlasting righteousness as Jehovah's righteous servant.
Had I not fulfilled all righteousness, I could not return to the Father.
But righteousness is done. Now, I go to the Father. And
He will convince you of judgment. Not that judgment is coming.
Everybody is born knowing that. Everybody in the universe knows
they're going to meet God in judgment. There's no exception about that.
But when God the Holy Spirit comes, revealing Christ in you,
He convinces you of your sin, of Christ's finished redemption,
and judgment is over. Because the prince of this world
is judged. Christ comes in the vital work
of His grace by His Spirit, convicting His people of sin, of righteousness,
and judgment finished by His sacrifice. He calls by His grace. He converts us to Himself and
gives us free forgiveness. And this is what David describes
in Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered, Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity. The Holy Spirit translates that
for us in Romans 4.8. Blessed is the man to whom God
will not impute sin. But David here uses all three
words by which sin is described. Transgression and sin and iniquity. Sin being that evil that's in
us. Transgression being breaking
God's law, taking over the barrier in rebellion against God. Iniquity
means not measuring up, not reaching the standard. David said, the
Lord has forgiven all my sin and will never impute any to
me of any kind. That one in whose spirit is no
God. That one who'd been born again by His grace. When I kept
silence, verse 3, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the
day long. For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into the
drought of summer. When you read that word, Selah,
it's all right to read it, but the word really is a long pause. The Spirit of God is saying,
now pause here and think about that for a little bit. Think
about that for a little bit. Now watch verse five. I acknowledge
my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will
confess my transgressions unto thee. Again, he takes in every
word that's used to describe sin. Some of you here yet without
Christ, would you have him? Would you know Life in Jesus
Christ the Lord, if we confess our sins, if we confess our sins,
that doesn't mean go to a priest and confess your sins. That doesn't
mean go to the front of the auditorium at an evangelistic crusade and
confess your sins. That doesn't mean come to an
altar in a Baptist church and confess your sins. That doesn't
mean come to a preacher and confess your sins. If we confess our
sins, it doesn't even mean you sit down and say, well, I cheated,
I stole, I committed adultery, I committed fornication, I was
a drunk. All those things are there, but that's not what it
means. If you dare do business with God right where you sit,
rip open your heart to God. Rip open your heart to God. and
acknowledge what you are. He is faithful and just. Faithful to His Word. Just because
of His Son's sacrifice. Faithful and just to forgive
us our sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. So where you sit now, right now,
go to God. Trust in Christ the Lord and
confess your sin and go home today without sin in your own
conscience before God. Stop and think about that. Thou
forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Look at Psalm 34. Having
saved us by his grace, he keeps us. I will bless the Lord at
all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all
my fears. This poor man, they that said,
cried unto the Lord, and he heard him, and saved him out of all
his troubles. The Lord preserveth the simple. I was brought low, and he helped
me." He preserves. He keeps. He holds us. I have, in these years, like
many of you, seen many profess faith in Christ, join the church,
baptize and join the church, endure for a while, and then
they're gone. They're gone because they never knew God. They appeared
stronger, wiser, nobler, and far better than me, but they're
gone. And here I am. Why? Why? Honesty compels me to tell you
it is not because of anything in me. No. The righteous fall seven
times a day and the Lord raises him up. Why do you reckon, pastor,
he said seven times? He's fallen 700 times today already. Why not 7,000 times? Why not
70,000 times? Seven speaks of completion. The
righteous fall in everything they do. And we know it. We know it. The righteous fall
in everything. We read the Scriptures and our
minds are full of corruption. We pray and our hearts are full
of evil. We try to do something good for somebody and I've got
to tell it before it ever gets done. The righteous fall seven
times in a day and the Lord raises them up. The difference between
you who continue in the faith and those who don't is only the
difference that grace has made, is, makes, and shall continue
to make. I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish. The Lord God who saved me by
his grace, how often he has proved himself true to my soul in his
promise. My grace is sufficient for thee,
even for me." Paul's again acknowledged that in every display of his
great love, he hath done all things well. What manner of love the Father
hath bestowed on us that we should be called the sons of God. Back
years ago in the United States, and I presume here, folks wanted
to adopt a child, they'd go to an orphanage and pick out a child. family went to adopt a child,
they made an appointment to adopt a child, a couple that didn't
have any children, and the lady having interviewed them and gotten
all the paperwork done, she had just the right child picked out.
She had little Susie, little blonde-haired The girl had her
all fixed up with her curls, her pretty new dress on, waiting
in the office. And the man and his wife got
to the adoption agency, and as they got out of the car and started
in the door, there's a little old red-headed, snaggletooth
boy out there, just kind of been fooling around all day, dirty
and carrying on. And he was hiding behind the bushes. And when they
started to walk in, he picked up a rock and threw it and hit
the lady right in the hip. Just threw a rock at her. They
turned around and looked at him. He stuck his tongue out at her
and took off running. Well, they walked in, and this
lady brought out Suzy and all her beautiful blonde hair and
her pretty dress and told them what a fine little girl she was
and what a fine young lady she was, and she curtsied and very
polite, and they talked a little bit. And finally, the man looked
at his wife and then looked at the lady running the agency and
said, when we came in, there was a little redheaded boy out
there hiding behind the bushes, and he picked up a rock and threw
it at my wife. Oh, I'm so sorry. She said, we have 59 children
here available for adoption. And then would any of them be
a fine child for you? Johnny's number 60. And the man looked
at his wife, and she looked at him, and he said, I believe Johnny's
what we want. I'm number 60. Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed on us. that we, me, you, that we should be called the
sons of God. Hear in His love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Once more, in His good providence,
He hath done all things well. I will sing unto the Lord, because
He hath dealt bountifully with me. He who gave His darling Son
to us and for us, with Him has freely given us all things. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Is not your life a verification
of that fact? Mine is. Truly, in all things,
he has done all things well. And that which he has done, he
is doing and shall forever continue to do. until he's finished all
that he purposed to do in eternity. And then we'll look back over
the ages of time. Do you like me pause at times
and just sit back in your easy chair and fold your arms and
try to think of what heaven must be? This I'm certain of. God will
give us understanding through the endless ages of what he has
done for us. And we'll look back over it all
and we'll say that everything just right, just right. Every darkness, every pain, every
sorrow, every graveside, every sick bed, every heartache, every
trouble, every winding path through which he brought us. He's done
all things well. Alan preached to us yesterday
from Acts chapter 4 where Peter had so boldly confessed
Christ. You remember the same people
who had crucified our Lord, the Sanhedrin, had arrested Peter
and John because they had healed this man. And they asked Peter
and John, said, by what name, by what authority have you done
this? And Peter could very well have
said, we did this by the name of Jehovah,
the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And
that he had been telling the truth. That would have been absolutely
true. And those sad heathen put their
arms around and said, well, brother, we didn't realize we were one
spirit, one mind. And Peter would have been denying
the Lord Jesus. He would have been denying the
Lord Jesus. Though he spoke the truth, he didn't confess Christ
before his enemies, had he not said, in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, this man stands before you whole.
Where do you reckon he got such courage? Where do you reckon
he found such boldness? He's standing here before the
very fellows who had crucified the Lord Jesus. A couple of months earlier, he
was standing by the fireside in Pilate's judgment hall. And
he said, I don't know him. I don't know him. And he cussed
and said, I don't know that man. And the rooster crowed. And Peter
went out and went bitterly. And then the Lord came to him.
You remember after he rose he told, the angel told the women
at the tomb, go tell my disciples, tell his disciples he'll meet
them in Galilee just like he said he would. And be sure you
tell Peter. Be sure you tell Peter, I'm gonna
meet him just like I said I would. And he came to Peter to convince
Peter of something. Not to convince Peter of his
love for Peter, but to convince Peter of Peter's love for him. He asked him three times, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Lovest thou me more than these?
Peter said, yes, Lord, I love you. And asked him again, Simon,
son of Jonas, forget about these, lovest thou me? He said, yes,
Lord, I love you. But then the third time he asked
him, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? And Peter was pricked. He was grieved in his heart because
he said to him the third time, lovest thou me? You see, the
first two times, he used a very common word for love. The third
time, he used the strongest word possible for love. He said, now
Peter, let's get down to the heart of this. Do you flat out
really love me? And Peter appealed to something
that only an honest man can do. He appealed to the Lord's knowledge.
He said, Lord, thou knowest all things. I haven't acted much like it. And James and John have every
reason to suspect that I don't. But Lord, you know all things.
You know that I love you. And had he not experienced the
horrible fall he experienced and the great merciful restoration
he experienced, he would never have found the courage that he
had on the day of Pentecost or the courage he had before the
Sanhedrin. You see, the psalmist put it
this way, surely the wrath of man shall praise thee and the
remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain. in all things, in all
things. He hath done all things well. Cowper put it better than I can.
He did it in just a few verses. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will. You fearful saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds you so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break in blessing on your head. And when the last of the blessings
has been heaped upon you in heaven's glory, we will stand with one
voice and say, He hath done all things well. Amen.