If you turn to the passage we
just read, to Ephesians chapter 4. I'd like to draw your attention
to a few verses in this chapter. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse
7. For unto every one of us is given
grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore
he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is
it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth? He that descended is the same
also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill
all things. And he gave some apostles, and
some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ. till we all come in
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. When Christ ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men, some apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for
the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, and
the edifying of the body of Christ. Gifts. We spoke of gifts last
week. The charismatic gifts, the charismata. The gifts that you hear a lot
about in many circles these days. Especially those charismatic
gifts which are the more supernatural in appearance. Those which cause
men to look upon and wonder. those which give an appearance
of the presence of God and the power of God in the meeting. The church or the professing
church in our day is notable for the extent to which it has
turned from the preaching of the cross, from the doctrine
of Christ and to the noise the music, the spectacular, the confusion of that worship, which has become
so common and so sought after, which appeals to the flesh, but
in the end does nothing for the saving of the soul. It is the
gospel which God calls the power of God under salvation. It is by the preaching of this
gospel that God is pleased to save them that believe. And though
he could save in many ways, he has the power to do and the authority
to do just as he pleases. Nevertheless, it has pleased
him as Paul opens the first book of Corinthians by saying it has
pleased him to save those that believe by the preaching of the
cross, by the preaching of Christ, by the preaching of the gospel. And to this end when Christ had
died when Christ had wrought salvation for his own, when Christ
had suffered under the outpouring of God's wrath against the sin
and the sins of all his own people, all that elect company that the
father gave him before the foundation of the earth, when his father
had beaten and bruised him, upon the cross and judged every sin
and blotted out the unrighteousness of all his people. When he had
cried out at the end, it is finished. And when he could look upon that
people for whom he suffered as no longer being black with sin,
but as now being perfectly white with the righteousness of God
in Christ, whiter than snow, perfect, having wrought out salvation,
having justified his own. On the third day, he rose from
the dead victorious, mighty, a victor, having come to battle
and having conquered And having risen, he ascended,
ascended to sit on the right hand of his father, upon a throne
from which he rules to this day and forevermore. And from that
height, having ascended, having led his people who were once
captive into freedom, and having bound his enemies fast. Having
ascended up on high, we read that from that height of glory,
he gave gifts unto men. Gifts. But the gifts that Paul
speaks of here in Ephesians 4, as quoted from the psalmist,
are not those charismatic gifts those qualities of which we spake
last time, those that so many seek after. But the wondrous
gifts that he sends down from on high, having wrought out salvation
for his own, having wrought the gospel, are those gifts, those
men, those preachers, Those apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors
and teachers whom he sends to his church, to his people that
they may hear and that hearing they may believe. That he sends
to Zion that the people who believe on the Son of God might be perfected. might be built up, might be edified,
that the body of Christ might be edified, that it might come
together in the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of
the Son of God, that it might grow up into a perfect man unto
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. He sends
gifts, preachers to preach this powerful gospel, this gospel
that saves, this gospel that finds the lost sheep, this gospel
that takes dead sinners and brings them into everlasting life, this
gospel that delivers from darkness into the light of God, this gospel,
this salvation. He sends preachers to bring the
message of this gospel, to save sinners and to build his church,
that those whom he saves might be no more children tossed to
and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the
slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love,
they might grow up into him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ. The greatest gift that Christ
could send to his church on earth was not speaking in tongues,
was not the gift of healing, but is the gift of those faithful
preachers of the gospel, which bring glad tidings of everlasting
life. which bring the power of God
unto salvation into the ears of those whom the Spirit causes
to hear. Let men run after those gifts
that make them appear great in the eyes of others. But child
of God, seek the greater gift. Seek the gospel. and seek those
who preach the gospel that you may hear and you may live and
you may grow that you may not be no more a child tossed to
and fro but that you might grow up into the perfection of a man
into the perfection of a fully grown man in Christ. In 1 Corinthians
we read at the end of chapter 12 The conclusion in that chapter
of Paul's thoughts on the body of Christ. A subject which he
picks up again here in Ephesians in the chapter we've read and
which we're considering. Two very similar passages and
the same cause of the unity in that body and of the feeding
of that body and the sustaining of that body is the preaching
of the gospel. The gifts that Christ sends for
the edification of that body, the greatest gifts are those
men whom he sends to preach his gospel. Paul has been dealing
with the subject of gifts here. He continues through chapter
12, 13, and 14 to show these believers at Corinth that though
it's good to seek after spiritual gifts, spiritual graces, that
there are those gifts which are greater than others. They were
seeking after the spectacular. They should have been seeking
after the gospel. He says, you are the body of Christ and members
in particular and God have set some in the church. Now notice
the order here. What does he begin with? Which
is the greatest? Does he mention healings first
or tongues? No. He starts with apostles. then prophets, then teachers,
and following that miracles, healings, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues. Are all apostles, are all prophets,
are all teachers, are all workers of miracles? Covet earnestly
the best gifts, the best. What is the greatest gift we
could have from God? The gift of healing? No. One who comes to preach the gospel.
One who comes to make known Christ and Him crucified. One who comes
to take the bread of heaven and break it before us. And by the
Spirit to cause us to drink of the water of life. The preaching of the gospel.
There are two great classes of gifts spoken of in the New Testament. Firstly the charismata. these
spiritual graces, these qualities which the Spirit gives to one
faith, to another healing to another the word of knowledge,
to another the word of wisdom qualities but there's another
group of gifts called the Dhammata which are those teaching gifts
which are not so much the quality or the ability to preach or teach
the Gospel but the very ones that God sends to preach it.
He sends as gifts apostles, prophets, teachers, men he sends to his
body on earth to preach that gospel that brings to life and
that sustains life. And of all the gifts in the New
Testament it's the domata from which we get the word dogma. dogmatic, teaching authority. It's the domata, the teaching
gifts which are greater than all. And it's the domata and
the preaching of the gospel by them which will cause us to cease
to be children but to grow up into the fullness of Christ.
Now these Corinthians were seeking after the charismata. And how
spiritual they thought they were by seeking after such things.
And how spiritual their counterparts today think they are by seeking
after the charismatic gifts. The tongues, the healings, the
spectacular, the signs and the wonders. How they encourage others
to as it were attain to this higher level of spirituality
which they say they should have that they should be baptized
of the spirit as if they weren't when they were saved that they
should have these experiences that they should move on to doing
these great wondrous works how spiritual they think they are
to do these things or to encourage others to do these things yeah
how blind they are for Paul says of the ones at Corinth and of
their counterparts today. I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and
not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither
yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal, For whereas
there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye
not carnal and walk as men? For while one sayeth, I am of
Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is
Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed,
even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plant,
if anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth
the increase. Are they spiritual? Are you spiritual
if you seek after these charismatic gifts today? No, Paul says, you're
children. These things appear great to
you, but you should, and you would, if you had more maturity,
you would seek after the preaching of the gospel, the truth which
sets you free, the gospel which makes known Christ unto you and
which conveys Christ to you, and by which you will grow up
in Christ into maturity. You are not mature with your
charismatic gifts. But you are babes in Christ,
you are carnal. And this is why you glory in
this man who does this and this other who does that. And this
is why you follow after this preacher and that minister and
this leader in your meetings. This one that does these wondrous
works and that one that does those wondrous works. This one
that promises you prosperity and that one that promises to
build your church up into thousands. this is why you follow this one
and that one and this gift and that gift and this is why as
a consequence there is envying among you and strife and divisions
for you don't seek after Christ alone you don't seek after the
message of the cross alone you don't seek after the gospel alone
but you want to add on to it all these other things and you're
more taken up with these other things than you are with the
gospel. Your children, who were taken
up with toys, put away your toys and seek after Christ. Paul deals with their seeking
after these things in chapters 12 to 14, not by outright condemning
them, not by saying there are no gifts, there were no gifts
at that time, not by saying they couldn't do these things, but
by showing them a more excellent way, by pointing them to the
preaching of the gospel, by showing them the greater gifts, the domata. As children he doesn't say stop
that, But he simply says, come and look at this. And the end
result is the same. He could forbid the one and allow
the other. And the one would cease to be.
Or he can point them to the greater. And when they've tasted the greater,
the former will cease to be. Yes, he exalts the preaching
of the gospel. The gospel and the preaching
of the gospel is overall It's his whole message in 1 Corinthians
as his answer to the problems which were there in that chaotic
church, that church of confusion, that church of division, that
church of laxness, that church in which children in the faith
fed the flesh and not the spirit. I determine not to know anything
among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. It's by preaching,
he says. By preaching. We preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. And to this end, when Christ
ascended, having wrought his gospel, he sent gifts to this
end, he sent preachers. Then seek their ministry. Seek
that preaching. Seek that gospel. How we need
the preaching of the gospel. How we need a living ministry. Those whom God sends to preach. How we need to heal. Those gifts
which are not just qualities, not just the ability to preach,
but those men whom God has separated, whom he has prepared, whom he
has taught, whom he has sent to his church to edify her. How
we need this gospel. For in the gospel is life. In the gospel alone is salvation. In the gospel alone is the righteousness
of God. In the gospel alone is Christ
made known and conveyed to his people. He and his life must
flow down to them. It must be conveyed. It must
be conveyed from heaven's heights to his people on earth. And it's
conveyed and it's only conveyed by the preaching of the gospel. By those whom God sends as gifts
to his church to preach that gospel. as the bearers of eternal
life as those whom he sends with this message of life to find
the lost sheep wherever they may be and to bring them this
wonderful glorious message of life. Paul makes it clear that
this gift and this message, this preaching of the gospel and those
who were sent to preach it are overall are greater than all.
He makes it clear in these passages we have read How vital it is. And yet how neglected it is. How neglected the preaching of
the gospel, the preaching of Christ is in the professing church. How the church has set it aside. It made the messages shorter
and shorter. It made the singing longer and
longer. It took the pulpits away. It
replaced them with microphones at the front. It took the term
preaching away and renamed it to be talking. Bringing a little
word, bringing a little exhortation at the end. It put drama in its
place. anything and everything but the
faithful, bold, plain, clear preaching of Christ and Him crucified. How the professing churches have
sought to twist and to alter and to take away from the gospel,
offended at the message, offended at the message of a sovereign
God who saves those whom He will save, not those whom men would
have saved. Offended at a message of free
and sovereign grace, the election of God, the choice of God. Offended. Offended at the message
of the total depravity of man and his utter inability to move
one finger to contribute towards his own salvation. The professing
church offended, has altered the message. to make it palatable
seeing the numbers dwindle from their meeting places and attributing
the cause of that to the offensiveness of the gospel preached they vaulted
it to the extent that it is no more and though they carry the
name church above the door and though they carry a book they
call the Bible And though they speak of a person they call Jesus,
everything is so far from the truth as it was delivered in
the beginning. So far from the faith once delivered
unto the saints. So far from that gospel which
Paul is not ashamed of, in that it is the power of God unto salvation. Everything is so far removed
from this. that despite the names, despite
the words and despite the order they've got nothing left. There's
no power in their meetings, no gospel to save and no salvation. Then beware, beware of the blind
that lead the blind. Beware of the folly of going
after that which has an appearance of life. and yet is dead. Beware of the folly of going
after that religion which is in word only, but not in power. Beware of the folly of those
meetings where much is made of worship of someone called Jesus,
but where his person and his work is never made known, for
his gospel is never truly preached. How vital this gospel preaching
is, and yet how neglected. How much Paul makes of it. He
makes little of the ones who God sends to preach it. They are sent as gifts, yes.
Their message brings great blessing, yes. But he says, praise not
Paul, praise not Apollos. Don't raise up this man and that
man on a pedestal. We're all nothing. One sows,
one waters, one reaps. But it's God who gives the increase.
It's God who gives the gifts. It's God who sends the message.
It's God who wrought this gospel that we make known. It's God
who saves. And it's this gospel you need
to hear. For you will hear it. from those
whom he sends to preach it. So do not despise or take a gospel
ministry for granted. It's a rare thing, especially
in this day. A faithful ministry, a faithful
gospel ministry is so rare in days when so many take pulpit
places and preach error and lies. And another gospel, which Paul
says is not another. There's a famine in the land.
but not of bread, but of the hearing of the words of the Lord,
a famine. And yet in that famine, where
the true child of God is found starving and hungry, a good and
a gracious God has sent gifts unto Zion under his body. He has sent preachers, apostles,
prophets, teachers, Pastors and teachers, he has said, preachers,
to them, wherever they may be, that they may hear, and hearing
they may be fed, and feeding they may live. Yes, there's a
famine, but God has his people, a hungry people, a thirsty people,
and they will flock to wherever they hear the sound of Christ
and him crucified. Wherever they can find it. Sometimes
they cannot find it in person. Sometimes they have to listen
to tapes and to recordings. And we thank and praise God that
he has brought these means of us hearing the word of God. But
wherever they can get to hear the man in person. Wherever God
raises up a ministry. What a blessing it is. What a
gift. What a gift to his people. When
he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts
unto men for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is what brings the blessing.
This is what conveys life. This is what brings down from
above the bread of heaven and the water of life, preaching
It is this which saves, this which builds the church, and
this which sustains the church. The preaching of the gospel. When God builds his church and
adds to its numbers through the preaching of Christ, and gathers
a company, he knows how to watch over it. He knows first how to
provide that which brings the food that that people need to
live. He sends that gift of ministry
that they may feed on Christ. He knows how to ensure that they
will not starve in this dark, evil wilderness of a world in
which they pilgrimage through. They're hungry, yes. They're
cast out by the world around them, yes. They're despised and
rejected by others like their master before them, yes. But
God knows how to feed his flock. As he led the children of Israel
through the wilderness, and as they cried out, in desperation
at times and wondered whether they'd been brought out of Egypt
to die in the wilderness for lack of food. God gave them manna. God gave them water. God fed
them and kept them. And he feeds and keeps his people
today. He knows how to keep them alive
on the backside of a desert. By his gospel. By grace. And he does all in that church.
When he gathers a church and builds it up in number, he does
everything in that church to order things such that that gospel
continues to be preached. For we know that whenever a company
are gathered, whether they be true believers or not, whether
they all be true believers, all knowing much of the gospel, whenever
a company is gathered, they bring each with them the flesh. And
that flesh in each of them wars against the truth and does everything
that it can to divide and to quench. The adversary, the evil
one, knows how to get in. He knows where the weak parts
are. He knows what to do to prevent the preaching of the gospel in
their midst. He knows how to make some favor this preacher
over that preacher and how the faithful preacher becomes rejected
by the people and how he will cause them to flee after this
other preacher who seems much more proficient, much more able,
much more learned, who brings a greater recommendation from
others who studied in the greater colleges. He'll have them go
after this man rather than that man. He'll make much of people's
failings in the flesh, their impatience, their anger. He'll
use family loyalties to give power to certain ones and to
take it away from others. He knows how to keep the people
of God both scattered and at one with each other. He knows
how to divide. He did it in Corinth. But God's
antidote is always the gospel. God's antidote is always to send
the gospel to his people. God's antidote is always to raise
up a faithful ministry amongst that people. And to order everything
that that ministry should have free course amongst that people.
And to this end, God has ordained in the church various offices,
which we read of in the New Testament. We read of those which the authorised
version called bishops. We read of deacons. We read of
elders. All offices in the church with
various men are appointed to. By the faithful minister Timothy
was called to choose out from amongst the flock those ones
who should be deacons and have responsibility for various affairs
in the gatherings of the saints. And there were those who were
elders, those who were the older amongst the people, those who
had been saved for years, those who had grown in the faith, those
who had much wisdom, wisdom that comes with experience, wisdom
that cannot be put on young shoulders, wisdom that a novice cannot have,
but that which comes with age, elders. There are those who are
elder in the meeting. And there are those, as I've
said, called bishops, which is better translated overseers,
oversight, those who are given the oversight of the meeting,
those who are given the responsibility to watch over the affairs of
the meeting, watch over what's going on, watch over what's done,
ensure that the meeting is free from division, that the meeting
is free from those influences which would be brought in by
various ones which would hinder the preaching of the Gospel.
that the gospel might have free course. God gives various offices
in the church. It's not my intention today to
go into what those offices are. But as I said, there are overseers,
there are deacons, and there are elders. And the reason for
them is for the freedom of the preaching of the gospel. That's
the only reason they exist. Not to give men in the church
something to aspire of, to be thought well of, that they have
served as a deacon for however many years. Not to give different
ones something to glory in. But simply that God might ensure
that in that meeting that nothing comes in to prevent the preaching
of Christ. For Christ is preeminent, and
his gospel is preeminent, and it is no church which has neglected
the preaching of his gospel. As soon as a meeting starts to
sideline the preaching of the gospel, replace it with other
things, it's a meeting on its pathway to ruin. But God won't
allow his church to be brought to ruin, for he builds it. and he sustains it, and he ensures
that the right offices are there, and the right gifts are sent
to it, and the right gospel is preached within it. For where
he has his people, he keeps his people. church as we've seen
is spoken of in various ways in the New Testament is spoken
of as the body of Christ and everyone who is in it every child
of God is spoken of as a member of that body of Christ There
is no person who is saved by the grace of God in Christ. No
child of God, no one saved, washed in that blood, who is not a member
of the body of Christ. Who does not have his place.
People speak of church membership in the local church. and whatever
practical use membership roles may have, and whatever arguments
may be made for having a church membership system, the reality
is that the New Testament mentions it nowhere. But it does mention
one body, and all members of one body. If you're in Christ,
you're a member of his church. And if you're in Christ, you
will seek out the gathering of his church. wherever you can. And where that church is gathered,
those believers, those members, seek after the best gifts, the
preaching of the gospel. We're all members of the body
of Christ. All members, as Paul says, there
is one body and one spirit, even as you are called in, one hope
of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all
and in you all. It's God who's quickened his
people unto life. It's God who's brought them to
life in Christ. It's God the spirit who brings
them into being. And when he brings them to life,
They're baptised of that Spirit. There's one baptism. Whilst we
practise the sign of baptism being put under the waters as
the figure of the death, the burial and the resurrection of
Christ, the baptism that Paul speaks of here is that baptism
by which the Spirit brings us into life as we believe the Gospel. By which he quickens us unto
life. By which he gives us faith. Faith
by which we look unto Christ. One baptism. One baptism which is the consequence
of that baptism which Christ suffered upon the cross when
he went through the fires of God's wrath. And when all his
people went through that wrath with him, in him. By which they're
brought out of death into life. as a consequence of which the
spirit brings them to life in their experience. One baptism.
And it's this baptism that brings us into his church as members
of his body. There's no such thing as a second
baptism or a second experience, a second blessing of the spirit.
We're baptized of the spirit when we're brought to faith.
And by this we're members of his body. as a result of that wonderful
work of grace which comes from one God and Father of all, who
is above all and through all and in you all. Grace comes from
above, not from man. Salvation is of God from start
to finish. The gospel is in Christ alone. It's God who chose a people to
save. It's Christ who came to redeem
that people. It's Christ who suffered and
died for that people. It's Christ who took away their
sins and blotted them out. It's Christ who rose again and
they in him. It's Christ who ascended and
it's Christ who sat down on high in power. From whence he sends
these gifts to preach this message. This message of an accomplished
salvation. It's His gospel. It's His power
to send to whom He will. It's not for man to claim. Man cannot earn it. Man has no
part in it. You sinner have nothing that
you can do to contribute to it. If God has taught you your sin,
and I pray he will, if God has taught you what you are before
him and your need of Christ, your need to be cleansed, your
need to be washed of your sins, your need to be delivered from
the wrath of God to come, If God has taught you your state,
if God brings you to the cross and points you to his son, you've
had no part to play in it. He's the worker. He's the one
who's done all. He's the one who brought the
sacrifice. He's the one in Christ who is
the priest and the sacrifice. He's the one who shed the blood
of his own son. He's the one as the priest Christ
who went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled that blood. He's
the one who in the presence of his Father Sprinkle that blood
upon the mercy seat for all his people and said unto him that
I have cleansed them I have made a way into into thy presence. I have justified them. I have
saved them He's the savior of sinners. Do you know him? Have
you looked unto him or are you looking under something you can
do? Do you look under him and think well I know he died but
it's my decision that sets me apart from others who don't believe
on him. Don't you know that no decision
you make will ever be in favor of Christ by nature. You're dead
in trespasses and sins if you've ever come to look unto Him. If
you've ever cried and called upon Him for salvation, it's
because the Spirit opened your eyes. The Spirit showed you what
you are. And the Spirit put a cry of faith
in your heart. Have you cried? Perhaps you're
yet in your sins. Perhaps you're yet seeking your
own glory. Even if it is in religion, even
if it is in the worship of God as you call it even if it is
in the things of the church oh you go to church you read the
bible you seek after the gifts but do you know Christ and has
he shown you that you by nature are dead and you can't lift a
finger to bring salvation to yourself Nothing, none of your
religion, none of your being baptized, your praying, your
works, your piety is of any worth. It's all in the flesh if it comes
from you. But everything that's pleasing
unto God comes from him. Everything that's pleasing unto
God is a gift from God above, a gift of grace. and everything
comes by those gifts whom he sends to preach the gospel because
everything comes by the gospel which he wrought alone freely
to bring unto that people whom he chose from before the foundation
of the earth. A wayward people, a guilty people,
an evil people like you and me, a selfish people, a self-glorifying
people, a dead people, a blind people blind as Paul goes on
later in Ephesians 4 here to say that you walk not as the
other Gentiles walk as you used to in the vanity of their mind
having the understanding darkened being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the
blindness of their heart that's what we are by nature we don't
know a thing our hearts are blind and as a result we are alienated
from the life of God no matter how religious we are Indeed the
Pharisees, those who thought they saw, were the blindest.
Those who were most religious and spoke of God and his salvation
most, knew him least. Is that you? has God sent a preacher
of Christ to open your blind eyes and to make you see that
salvation is of God to make you see that you are a nothing as
those Corinthians were and to cease glory in himself but let
him as paul says who will glory let him glory in the lord has
god sent a preacher to teach you to glory in christ and christ
alone well if he has he does it at his command at his power
He commands salvation, he commands the word of God to go forth,
because Christ is the builder of his church, and Christ is
the head of his church, and Christ sits above his church, and Christ
sends down his gospel in his church. people speak of church
governments and various ways of governing churches on earth
but ultimately there's only one church government and that is
that which is under Christ for he is the head and the government
of the church is upon his shoulders He sits and he rules and he rules
by sending gifts unto his church, by sending his gospel. He builds
it by sending the preaching of that gospel. He sustains it,
builds it, keeps it, hedges it about, comforts it, nourishes
it by his gospel. He rules, there's one government,
and that government has Christ as its head, and it owns Christ
as its head, and it bows down upon its knees unto Christ, under
whom all men will one day bow and worship, for He is over all. O wondrous gift that He has sent
unto His church! O wonderful truth that He arose
victorious and ascended up on high! leading captivity captive
and sending gifts unto men. Have you received these gifts?
Do you value them? Do you love them? Do you love
the message they bring? Do you love the message of the
cross? Do you love Christ and his salvation? Do you love Christ and him crucified? There's nothing else worth hearing
in this world. No other words worth hearing
than Christ and Him crucified. No other words worth hearing
than the love of God made known in Christ and spread abroad in
the heart by the Holy Spirit. No other words worth hearing
but that of a free salvation, of free and sovereign grace,
of a saviour who saves, of he who shall save his people from
their sins, of he who came and laid down his life because he
loved his own even unto the end. He loved his church and gave
himself for her. He loved it. Do you know his
love? Have you heard of his love? Have
you felt his love? Have you been overwhelmed by
his love, conscious of your sin, conscious of your corruption,
feeling utterly unworthy to be in the presence of God, ever
to be saved? Do you feel that your sins have
cut you off from God forever? Well in Christ there is that
which brings the worst of sinners into the presence of God. Because
it takes away their sins. It doesn't ask them to cleanse
themselves. It doesn't ask them to do a better
job. It doesn't ask them to be more pious, to be more dutiful.
It doesn't ask them to pray harder. It doesn't ask them to study
the scriptures more. It says fall down on your feet
as nothing, on your faces nothing. But look unto Christ. Look unto
me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved. Have you seen him? Have you heard his voice crying
out in the wilderness? Crying out as it were by John
the Baptist, making the straight place, making the crooked way
straight, making the valleys plains. Have you heard that cry? All flesh is as grass. But have
you heard the cry that follows? Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. Has the gospel come unto your
hearing? Have you heard Christ's voice
by it, saying, look unto me and live? Have you? Have you? Can you say with Paul,
I am crucified with Christ. That heathen that I was, that
child of wrath that I was, that blind man that I was, that corrupt
sinner that I was, is crucified with Christ. It's gone. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, not I, but Christ
liveth in me. 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. Praise God. Amen.