This morning, if I were to title
this, it would be something along the lines of a firm and eternal
foundation, but I'm referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, of
course. He is the firm and eternal foundation of our faith. I want to begin by saying to
you that I'm sorry I don't apologize. By that I mean I do not apologize
for the things that I've said unto you in reference to the
study concerning the importance of the purity of what the Scripture
declares concerning the word of the cross. For it is the word of God our
Savior who makes an issue of being careful and diligent in
maintaining the purity of what is descriptively declared concerning
the eternal atonement that he has completed for all of his
loved and chosen children, for all of the elect of his saving
grace of faith and glory. He's the one that makes the issue. Therefore, I cannot apologize
for proclaiming the truth of this matter, for if I do, then
I will undermine the great value of this truth and how God's word
represents it as the very seed of genuine regeneration. James 1.18 says, Of his own will
hath he begotten us again, literally, by the word of truth. 1 Peter
1.23 says, Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides
forever. The stamp of eternality is all
over both of those texts. Paul's inspired letter to the
Philippians stresses the fact of an existence without exception
among the whole body of true believers of being of the same
mind concerning the word of the cross." It is declared from the context
of this epistle that if we differ in the things that pertain to
the purity of the word of the cross, God shall reveal even
this unto you. Philippians 3.15. God shall reveal even this unto
you." In other words, God will bring each one around to what
He reveals the truth to be, and in regards to this truth, we
will completely agree. We will agree in the reference
to Jesus being the eternal Son of God. and His having become
for us our eternal substitute, and His having died for our sins,
and having been exalted by God to such heights of glory, that
at the mention of His name, every knee of fallen humanity will
bow, and every tongue of fallen humanity will call Him Lord,
supreme in authority, sovereign and almighty in power. And this
show of submission, this act of subservience from sinners
will be done whether in the glory of God's judgment upon them to
their sinful shame or in the glory of Christ's gracious salvation
of their souls. And the accountability that we
all are subject to before Christ our God is the purity of the
word of the cross. Therefore, once again, I cannot
nor I will not apologize for spending the time that I have
for putting forth the feeble effort that I have in declaring
to you in the best way that I can the importance, the critical
importance of seeing and understanding this rock-solid foundational
grace truth that is the very essence of the reality that Christ
is all and in all. Praise His name. And truly seeing and believing
this simple, pride-stripping, Lord Jesus Christ exalting truth
is incontrovertible proof of genuine regeneration. Hebrews 2, verses 14 and 15 says,
For as much then as the children were partakers of flesh and blood,
he himself likewise took part of the same, that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage." Hebrews 3.14 says, are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end. The blessed gospel doctrine of
eternal atonement by substitution through the Lord Jesus Christ
can never be too frequently reflected upon. In this day and time, this doctrine
of God's grace is continually being corrupted and denied and
even reviled by the bulk of so-called Christendom. Many Christian professors
will assent to the fact that Jesus Christ was a great man
in history. In fact, there are many Muslims
and Buddhists that will agree with this assertion. Furthermore,
many Christian professors will agree that Jesus was a most noble
and noteworthy example of a selfless servant of God. But they will
not agree that He indeed was God. That He is the only constituent
of human history who was the God-Man. The eternal Son of God,
Son of Man. the savior of his elect church. It is the purity of this biblical
assertion that is constantly being denied in one form or another
among the multitudes of the world's Christian community. And it is
the purity of this truth of the gospel that is the foundation
of the Lord Jesus Christ being for us our propitiation. Once again, scripture says from
Hebrews 2 verse 17, for verily or truly he took not on him the
nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, In all things it behooved
him to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people." And the word for reconciliation
is but another place where the word for propitiation is used
in the New Testament. In other words, it behooved our
Savior to become like us, that He might be to us a faithful
high priest substitute in the things pertaining to God in order
to literally be the propitiation for our sins. May God be pleased to grant us
His Holy Spirit of grace that we may never stray away from
this sound doctrine, so that we may be able to hold fast to
this source of eternal confidence and hope, so that we may be able
to stand firm in this grace truth until the end of our days, until
the time of our passing away from living out this earthly
experience and passing over into the reality of eternal blessing
and bliss that is found only in heavenly peace, which Ephesians
2.14 tells us is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
our peace. He is our hope. 1 Timothy 1.1
tells us so. And He is our life. Colossians
3.4 declares it. Jesus being in reality this great
and wonderful Savior is solid evidence that He as the person
of the eternal Son of God was divinely confirmed in the everlasting
covenant and eternal counsel of the great triumvirate to be
the redeemer of all of God's chosen for eternal salvation. His being, their eternal propitiation
is the very foundation of all the things that pertain to their
eternal salvation. This eternal redemption through
the person and work of Christ was eternally purposed, eternally
promised, and eternally performed for us. And for what reason was this
accomplished? Why, for the eternal glory of the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. It is Galatians 4 verses 4 and
5 that tell us that in the fullness of time, within the whole earthly
history of fallen humanity, God sent His Son into the fallen
human history of this world. He sent Him and He made Him to
be, as it says, under the law. specifically to redeem them that
are under the law. That, it says also, we might
receive the adoption of sons. Romans chapter 4, which descriptively
identifies the heirs of God as being such by the grace of faith
and not by the law, declares from verse 15 that The law worketh
wrath, for where no law is, there is no transgression." This means quite simply that
all of fallen humanity is hopelessly deserving of God's eternal wrath,
for we are all transgressors from the womb. Isaiah 48a gives us the words of God himself.
telling us that he knows that we are all transgressors from
the womb. What does this mean? This means that the eternal existence
of holy God also means the eternal existence of his holy law. Among men There is only a not
knowing of the eternal existence of the law, but that does not
mean that it is not there or that it has not always been there.
When knowledge of the existence of God's holy law is granted,
then sin indeed becomes exceeding sinful. See what Paul says about
this in Romans 7, verses 12 and 13. Romans 3.20 says, for by the
law is the full knowledge of sin. That's what the word for
knowledge means. The full knowledge. Not partial
knowledge. By the law is the full knowledge
of sin. Therefore, the holy, just, and
good law of God does not ever deliver sinners. from holy God's
wrath, but actually serves to justly distribute God's wrath
upon them. But the gospel, the good news
of the glory of Christ is the grace truth that in the fullness
of times, God sent his eternal son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to be the eternal redeemer of sinners under the law that
were chosen by God to be adopted by him through the redemptive
work of the Messiah. This includes every fallen sinner
of God's choice under the ancient Hebrew economy of Mount Sinai,
and as well as every sinner of God's choice throughout all of
the generations of the whole of fallen humanity. For both
the eternality of the law of God and the practice of adoption
were in existence before there ever was a Mount Sinai experience
and a formal transgressor of the law. The historical time
of Moses proves both of these things. The strength of the law to condemn
any and every sinner of any and every generation of fallen mankind
is the sin that makes a sinner the sinner
that they are by their simple birth. and also by the sins that
they personally commit in their thoughts, their words, and their
deeds. And 1 Corinthians 15, verse 56
says, the strength of sin is the law. Therefore, what a perfect
setting the law of God establishes to set forth a great need among
all of us sinners for an even greater Savior. to meet. Therefore, God makes an announcement
from Isaiah 28, 16 that descriptively declares, Behold, He says, I
lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tridestone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. Peter referred to this very text
when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write, Wherefore, it
is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believes on him shall
not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe,
he is precious. 1 Peter 2, verses 6 and 7. The Holy Spirit inspired the
same, in essence, through the Apostle Paul in Romans 9, 33,
which says, as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion, only here's
the way he puts it, a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. And whosoever believes on him
shall not be ashamed. Christ Jesus, our Lord, is this
precious cornerstone. He is the only foundation. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 1 says,
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. Two questions merit being asked.
When was this foundation laid upon which our eternal salvation
wholly depends? And two, who exactly is the one
that laid it? Why, the Lord Jesus Christ is
referred to from Revelation 13, verse 8 as being the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. The very essence of the purity
of the truth of the word of the cross is the atoning death of
Christ. Therefore, this foundation was
laid before the foundation of this world. The 1 Corinthians 3 text plainly
says of His being the foundation that it is a foundation that,
quote, no man can lay, unquote. This by itself means that no
one but God could fix and establish the eternal Son of God, Jesus
Christ, as the foundation for our eternal salvation. He is,
as the scripture says, the cornerstone of God's building. And God alone
has purposed from eternity the spiritual building of which his
Son is to be the cornerstone. And God alone has in time determined
its erecting and construction. Hebrews 11 verse 10 declares
that Abraham, quote, looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God." The Bible plainly says that God
announced to every hearing ear and every seeing eye, Behold,
I lay in Zion, mine elect and precious cornerstone. Zion is a type of the elect church,
the building of God, the bride and body of Christ. And Jesus
is its cornerstone, with which the whole building must be within
perfect alignment or not at all be a part of the divine structure. Think about that. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
announced from Matthew 16 verse 18 that upon this rock I will
build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. Eternality is stamped all over
this great statement. When Jesus made this declaration,
he was speaking concerning a right and accurate, may I say, a pure
understanding of the meaning of, quote, this rock, unquote. And he was defining this rock
as being himself, known and understood as being the Christ, the Son
of the living God. It is to this truth that a veritable
abundance of Scripture gives testimony and witness. The 22nd chapter of 2 Samuel,
verses 2 and 32 say, respectively, the Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer. And who is a rock? Save our God. From Psalm 28, verse 1, David
prays with understanding, Unto thee will I cry, O LORD, my rock. And from Psalm 31, verse 3, he
declares, Thou art my rock. Psalm 71, verse 3 says, Be thou
my strong habitation. Literally, in the Hebrew, it
is, Be thou the rock of my habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. Thou hast given commandment to
save me, for thou art my rock. Likewise, Psalm 89, verse 26. Thou art my Father, my God, and
the rock of my salvation. Psalm 94, 22, my God is the rock
of my refuge. Psalm 95, verse 1, let us make
a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Jesus taught from Matthew 7,
verse 24, He said, therefore, whosoever hears these sayings
of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man which
built his house upon a rock. The Apostle Paul was inspired
to remind the Corinthians of the wilderness wanderings of
Israel and how it always happened that just when they were feeling
their desperate need because of a lack of water, there suddenly
appeared that rock. from where a veritable river
of water, of life and refreshment, flowed forth for man and beast. 1 Corinthians 10.4 tells us that
rock was Christ. It was in eternity that God laid
this firm and solid foundation. In the singleness of the Trinity
of His persons, He took counsel and did determine and did purpose
that the church of the Christ of God, which consists of a massive
number of different people that no man can number, should be
eternally saved through the person, the perfect person and work of
the cornerstone of His choice, Christ Jesus, the Lord our Lord. Furthermore, this salvation for
the chosen sinner does not begin when the chosen sinner begins
to know it. No. They come to know it only
because it was in God's heart and purpose from all eternity
that it should happen, that they should come to know it. It is
God's decree that gives birth to the experience of the chosen
sinners coming to know that He has been, by God, through His
sovereign grace, chosen from eternity for eternal salvation. In short, it is God's decree
that brings forth the revelation of Himself and His saving work
through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. on behalf of all the
chosen sinners that in turn are truly and genuinely regenerated
by that revelation. The chosen sinner has nothing
to do with the experience except to be the blessed, the happy
recipient of it from God, by God, according to God's choice
of time and place for the real regeneration experience to happen
to them. The divine decree that gives
birth to this experience comes directly out of the very heart
of the everlasting and particular love of God. The eternal purpose of God that
has, by the Holy Spirit, Then, in time, in history, fully accomplished
in Christ, where the earthly existence of fallen humanity
is concerned, was originally formed in God's loving heart
again in eternity. It is from here, too. that eternal
salvation's plan was drawn up, and from where the Savior Son
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent forth. And it is in
here as well, in eternity, even in the very heart of the Christ
our God, that each individual of the great congregation of
the elect church was chosen and was placed. in the eternal safety
of Christ Jesus, their eternal surety. How eternally firm a
foundation He truly is. 2 Timothy 1, 9 and 10 tells us
that God has saved us, the power of God has saved us and called
us not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before, literally,
the age of sin and death began. And it has been manifested through
the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. who has, it says, abolished death
and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. The gospel that the Apostle Paul
goes on to write that he has been appointed using a word that
means predestined before he was born to be the preacher of. Second Timothy 2.19 is that great
text that declares that the foundation of God stands firm, having this for a seal. The Holy
Spirit of God is the sealer. And that seal is this, the Lord
knows them that are his. And let everyone that names the
name of Christ depart from iniquity. how eternally firm a foundation
He truly is. Now, the reality of this eternal
truth establishes us as being completely at rest in our sovereign
Savior substitute, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews
4.3 says, For we which have believed do enter into rest. As he said, as I have sworn in my wrath,
if they shall enter into my rest. Although the scripture declares the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. The prayer of Jesus that he prayed
for us right before the event of the cross adds substantiation
to the validity of this truth. John 17, 24. Father, Jesus prayed, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for
you loved me before the foundation of the world." Finally, the terse yet profound
statement of Proverbs 10.25 declares that without a doubt, the righteous
is an everlasting foundation. The righteous is an everlasting
foundation. Now what's significant about
this little verse is how does one define the righteous? We see from the context of many
of the Proverbs that the righteous refers to those who are made
righteous. That would be us, collectively. Therefore, we would accurately
say that this statement of Scripture declares the righteous have an
everlasting foundation. Or, the righteous points only
to Jesus. It's 1 John 2, verses 1 and 2.
John writes, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father. Who is it, John? Jesus Christ, the righteous. Jesus Christ, the righteous. We are the righteous because
we have been placed in Jesus Christ, the righteous. And the
righteous is an everlasting foundation. The everlasting foundation is
the fact that the eternal Son of God is indeed our surety,
our substitute, our propitiation, our eternal Great High Priest. Amen. O Lord, O Lord, reveal Yourself to us. Holy Spirit of the Lord Christ,
of the Heavenly Father, quicken our understanding. while we are yet encased in these bodies that befits only
a fallen, cursed creature before you. In spite of that, give us new hearts, new spirits, It makes all things new. Grants
us the grace of faith that sees clearly what is not
capable of being seen while we're in this body. Help us to see Jesus. Help us to embrace the Lord Jesus
Christ. the glory of His holy person, the magnitude of the work that
He has done, He has performed, He has accomplished from all
eternity for all eternity. The victory that only He truly defines Deliver us from ourselves. Deliver us from Satan who hates
us, who is a murderer, the worst kind who would murder a soul, who would willingly be responsible
for a soul being cast into outer darkness, into the midst of the
fire of the wrath, the holy, just, and good law
of Almighty God delivers from him, delivers from this world that shows forth, that bears
testimony of your curse upon it, every place. in every country, in every town,
in every home, O God. O Lord Jesus, be for us the great
Savior that only You can be for our souls. Bless this word to our hearts,
our minds. Use our lives. in spite of their
feebleness, hopelessness, helplessness, by
your Holy Spirit, bring glory through us to the Savior, to
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Bring glory to Him in Him alone,
I pray. Thank you.