The gospel we preach, the gospel that's declared in
the Scriptures, the gospel as it's defined by
those who first preached it, and as it's demonstrated in the
Old Testament types and all those pictures, allegories of men's
lives, nations, all those things that picture this gospel, answers
four questions. Every true believer is going
to come to be faced with these questions. He's going to have
to come to deal with what took place in eternity. Something
took place. Something was decreed. Something
was purposed. Purposed of God. The world is
not just cashed out on the sea and left to circumstance and
left to react to whatever comes its way. It's not left out on
that sea to evolve. But the Scriptures are full with
the word declare, decree, purpose, You go all through the Scriptures
and you find these things. And at first when you see them,
I think we think about limited situations like the apostles. And then we think about maybe
the coming of Christ and that. But we don't yet apply those
things to everything. And yet we find in the Scriptures
declarations like Paul made in Ephesians chapter 1 that he worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. Not limited
things, not specific things, but all things. All things, Romans
8.28, work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose. And so the Gospel
brings a man to ask this question, what took place in eternity?
And then he's going to be confronted with this question, What took
place in the garden? Why am I the way I am? Why can't I reform? Why can't
somebody give me some rules and statutes to follow? Why can't
somebody just give me some laws? Give me some good advice. Put
your arm around me. Help me. Why can't I reform?
What makes me the way I am? Why do I rebel like I do? Why do I do what I won't do? Read Romans chapter 7. Paul said
the good that he would, he did not. This is an apostle. You can't doubt his conversion.
He's an apostle. You can't say somebody taught
him wrong. He was caught up to the third
heaven and received his gospel. He said, I didn't receive it
of men, neither was I taught it of men, but of God. God called
him up into the third heaven and told him the gospel to his
face. And he came back and that's what
he preached. That's what he declared. And the Lord was pleased to use
that man to write nearly half the New Testament. Why am I the
way I am? He said, the good that I would,
I do not. The evil that I would not do,
that's exactly what I do. Why am I like that? Because you
fell in the garden. You fell in the garden. You're
born of a corrupt nature. And then you're going to come
to ask this question, what happened on the cross? What took place
on the cross? What happened when Christ died?
I must at least be suspect of it being as time itself hinges
on that very event. We've got time before Christ
and after Christ. Time itself hinges on that very
event. I ought to at least be curious
what took place on the cross. And then this question. What
happens in a man's heart when he's brought in saving faith
to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ? It hasn't been that long ago
since you wrestled with that. What takes place? How do I know
who I am? How do I know God is for me and
not against me? How do I know that? What takes
place? What takes place when this mysterious
preaching of the gospel, when this mysterious work of the Holy
Spirit of God blows upon the hearts of men? What takes place?
You'll face that question if God ever causes you to hear the
gospel. Well, in the first of these messages,
I labored to show you what happened in the garden. This race fell
in a representative man. Because of one man's sin, death
came upon all men to condemnation. His condition is unchangeable
and it's total in its ruin. And when I say man is totally
depraved, dead in trespasses and sins, I'm talking about his
spiritual condition. Man has a mind. He's alert. He's alive. He lives a life in
this world. He's conscious. He has affections. He loves. He hates. He gets angry. He's very much alive, but he's
dead spiritually. He's not dead mentally. He hears
what I say. He wouldn't get mad if he didn't
hear what I said, or he wouldn't be happy if he didn't hear what
I said. He hears. He hears. But he's
dead spiritually. He has no understanding of it.
He has no love for it. He's got no stomach for it. He
has a mind, but it's enmity against God. And because man has these
faculties and has these affections, he's accountable, responsible,
and he's treated as such by the living God. His spiritual death
lies in the sin that rules and reigns over all that He is. We talked about that Tuesday
evening there when the Lord rejected. He had no respect whatsoever
to Cain's offering and Cain was upset. The Lord may have just
walked right through it, just kicked it. Just kicked those
pumpkins or gourds or whatever, just kicked them. Or He may have
just walked past and ignored it altogether. It doesn't say.
It just says He had no respect to it whatsoever. Just walked
by as though he wasn't even there. Did not give his presence to
Cain. Did not give his words of comfort
to Cain. Abel, on the other hand, brought
a lamb, slit its throat, watched that blood pour out on the ground,
and by faith offered it up before God, seeing his own sins to be
put away by that promised Redeemer. Cain got, says Roth, that means
to kindle up a fire. His face flushed up and his countenance
fell and his eyebrows came down. Up until that time, he had his
thumb in his overhauls. He was proud of what he brought
in. He was expecting God to take this sacrifice and say, well
done, my good and faithful servant, enter thou in. Come on in. I
knew you were going to bring a good sacrifice. I'm proud of
you. He was just waiting on it. And instead, God spit on it,
figuratively speaking. He spit on his sacrifice. And
he got angry. And to that anger, the Lord spoke. And he said, what are you upset
about? What are you upset about? Why are you so angry? Why are
you so mad? Why are you flaring up before
me? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If this
sacrifice is what I required, what I testified, what I told
you I demanded, everything be okay. And if not, sin lieth at
the door. That is, sin coucheth at the
door. Now here's what he's telling
them. At the door of the unregenerate man is a predator. Like a lion. All through Scripture it uses
the lion as the predator. And he's couched by the door.
Anything tries to come into this kingdom, to come into his territory,
to come into his domain, buddy, he's going to pounce on it. And
that's what he told Cain. And he said, you've got to master
it. Master my sin? No way. No way. Well, it's going to be
mastered. It's going to be mastered. And it's going to be mastered
by you, but it's going to be Christ in you that masters that
sin. And when He masters that sin,
you're going to bring the substitute. You're going to bring His blood.
You're going to bring what God requires. You're going to come
into reconciliation with God. You're going to get on God's
side in this matter of judgment and sin. Our sin steals from us the ability
to reason with God. It deceives us into believing
a lie. Our affections are for ourselves
and things in this world. And then last week I talked to
you about God's unconditional election. If all men are totally
depraved, all men are totally ruined, all men are without spiritual
ability, then only God can save sinners. Only God can save sinners. It's obvious by history that
God does not intend to save every man. He said to Jacob and Esau,
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. That scripture alone
would be sufficient to convince me that God doesn't intend to
save all men. There is an election. Election
is unto salvation. It's unconditional. God does
not look down through time and see who would and who would not
choose Him, who would or would not be willing, who would and
would not be worth saving, who had the most potential. An election
has nothing to do with damnation. It has to do with salvation.
Damnation is because of sin. Salvation is by the grace of
God. And he says in Romans 11 verse
5, "...even so, at this present time there is a remnant according
to the election of grace." Election is an open door, not
a closed door. Election does not prevent any
man, woman, or child who wants to be saved from coming to Christ.
It simply marks out those for whom God will save, whom He will
show favor. whom he will assist, whom he
will cause to hear. And if you continue reading there
in Romans 11, he said, therefore, it is the election, and the rest
were blinded. In John 6, verse 37, he says,
All that the Father give me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. That's an open door. That's
an open door. No man will ever seek the Lord
or come to the Lord except the Lord bring him there by His sovereign
will. Listen to this, John chapter
6 verse 44. No man can, that word has to
do with ability if I remember right. No man can come unto Me
except the Father which has sent Me draw him. Election marks out
God's vessels of mercy which he hath aforeprepared unto glory. And now this morning I want us
to look at the third of these fundamental doctrines of grace,
limited atonement. That's what the old timers called
it. And I'm not crazy about the term because it's only limited
in one respect, who it's for. That is the only thing that limits
this atonement of Christ. I much prefer the term effectual
particular redemption. And as election marks out the
objects of God's sovereign grace unto salvation, redemption accomplishes
the work. Simply being elect is not to
be saved. In other words, you sat there
and you say, well, Preacher, you convinced me. I've looked
at these Scriptures, and I believe in election, so I'm saved. Not
hardly. Not hardly. Election establishes
those for whom Christ will show His mercy and grace, for whom
Christ will die. It marks them out. Christ still
must die, and you still must believe. No unbeliever is going
to enter into the gates of glory simply because he believes in
election. It's not going to happen. A whole
nation of Jews died believing in election and missed Christ. Redemption accomplishes work.
To His elect, the promises of Christ were given. And they were
always distinguished. from this unbelieving world by
these promises. And you can go back, at the very
beginning I preached Tuesday night to the folks here and we
looked at this in Genesis chapter 4 about Cain and Abel. Jacob
and Esau, Paul and Demas, two thieves, one on either side of
Christ. Go on and on and on. I don't care who they are or
when they were, they believed. And they believed because they
were chosen of God. Chosen of God. The whole of the appointment
of Christ in eternity. Now listen to me. The whole of
it. We're talking about Him being
by decree the Eternal. You can read over there in Psalm
chapter 2 where He said, I will declare the decree. This day
have I begotten thee. Talking about His Son. This is
my son. This day have I begotten thee.
That's not talking about when he was born in Bethlehem. That is the eternal generation,
if you will, of Christ. The eternal appointment of Christ. It has to do with his existence
as the surety. It has to do with his appointment
as mediator, testator of the covenant. It has to do with his
His king, Him being king, His office as prophet, His office
as priest, all these things has to do with the people that God
chose. They weren't chosen of themselves, they were chosen
in Him. You can read about it in Ephesians
chapter 1. Chosen in Him, blessed in Him. Nothing was done apart from Him.
And behold, of the appointment of Christ in eternity, His promises
throughout the Old Testament, His life, His death, His resurrection,
His intercession, and His second appearance, all these things
are for God's elect. For God's elect. Everything concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ is for God's elect. And the idea of
universal atonement is not of God. It's just not of God. The idea of His death making
salvation possible, making somebody savable, of being an offering
that's only effectual if somebody adds their faith or adds their
willingness or adds their commitment or adds their decision is blasphemous. From beginning to end, the Word
of God declares to every man that believes a full, complete,
accomplished redemption for their sins. It's done. When he cried out on the cross,
it is finished, that's exactly what he meant. It is finished.
Paul's gospel was not an if-he-may-be gospel. It wasn't yea and nay,
but it was all together yea and amen in Christ to the glory of
God. And the one thing that exposes
false religion and false preaching quicker than anything else is
their denial of the efficacy and the sufficiency of the atonement
of Christ. It's not a matter of your will.
You will be willing in the day of His power. It's not a matter
of your decision. You will decide, yes, when everything
else is eliminated, what else are you going to do? Answer me this, Israel came up
under the providence of God up to a sea. There was mountains
on the left, mountains on the right. They had one way to go. Pharaoh was thundering up behind
in his church and with his armor and his swords and his weapons.
They were just standing out there with knives and forks and spoons.
They didn't have anything. Whatever weapons Israel had,
they picked up on the other side of the sea after God drowned
them in the sea and washed up on the shore. But on this side,
they had nothing. Nothing. You reckon they was willing when
that sea split to walk across? You reckon they had to stand
over there and say, now, come on, come on, please, pretty please,
come on, huh? No. There was no other way out. Yes, we're going. Cross that
sin. That's what happens in the experience
of a believer. God eliminates the other avenues. He eliminates the question. He
eliminates all these other things. You'll be willing. You'll be
willing when the time comes. And that exposes... Here's the
issue. Is His death sufficient to put
away your sin? Is it sufficient? Is that enough? Does God require more? Or is
that enough? And if it's enough, then whoever
He died for must be saved. They have to be saved because
He bought them. They have no sin. He put away
their sin. His blood was sufficient to take
away their sin all through the Scripture. It talks about that.
That's why universal redemption is so ridiculous and so blasphemous
is because it denies the sufficiency of the blood of Christ to put
away sin. If Christ died for Judas the
same as He did for Peter, then His blood is meaningless. It
didn't have any effect. He didn't buy anything after
all. It was their will that decided in the end. So where is the glory
of Christ in that? The glory is all on man. The Spirit of Antichrist has
always been and ever shall be presented to man by a gospel
that reduces the death of Christ to only a possibility to save.
I don't care if you go anywhere, you won't go and sit down. I've
already been down the road and sat. If you want to, you go ahead. I know the outcome. But if you
want to go where it's at, you go where it's at. It won't take
you very long. You're going to hear them talk
about this possibility of salvation. God has no hands but your hands.
He has no feet but your feet. God wants to save you, but you
won't let Him. Let God His death is said either in plain
words or by implication to be of no value without the consent
of man. You'll never find that language
in Scripture. This is that doctrine that caused
Cain to flush in his face and rise up to kill his brother.
The sufficiency of his sacrifice to please God and his didn't. And it was the best he could
do. The best He could do. Oh, that's when folks get mad.
Tell all your righteousnesses. That's what Isaiah preached.
That's why they hated Him. Couldn't stand Him. Stood up
before Israel and all their ignorant zeal and superstition and self-righteousness
and said, all your church going and all your prayers and all
your gifts and all your life and everything that you do that
you're so comfortable in is filthy rags before God. That's all it
is. All your righteousnesses. There's
only one sacrifice sufficient to present you before God, faultless
before the presence of His glory, and that is the sacrificial death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Redemption is the very core of
the hope of salvation because it deals with the vital issues
involved in salvation. It deals with our sin debt. What
does my sins demand from a holy God? What does he demand? I'm a sinner. I can't deny that. You can't get out of that. You're
a sinner. What does God demand from the sinner? Well, He said,
the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Yeah, but I devoted
my life to the soul that sinneth shall surely die. Well, I go
to church all the time. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. Ain't no getting out of it. That's
what it demands. And it demands it as it satisfies
the holy character of God. Your little finite death is not
going to satisfy Him. That's why hell continues for
eternity. It can't satisfy God. If it could
satisfy Him somewhere down the road, you might be able to be
redeemed and brought back into the fold. But you don't find
that. You find Him talking about everlasting
darkness, everlasting fire. everlasting torment where the
worm dieth not. Oh, I tell you, this is such
an important doctrine. It deals with our sin debt. It
deals with what God demands in payment. It deals with the ability
of Christ and His sufficiency as a Savior. It deals with the
wisdom of God. Where in the world is the wisdom
of God in universal atonement? You mean to tell me God planned
and designed a salvation, gave the life of His Son, watched
His Son stand there while men spit in His face, nailed Him
to a tree, laughed at Him while He died, and it's not sufficient? Where is the wisdom of God in
that? And after all that, you're going
to be lost? There's no wisdom in that, my friend. I looked at this, this message
is too big to bring in one message. I'm going to bring you another
message next week, and the whole of that message is going to be
why, why universal atonement cannot be. I'm going to give
you 14 reasons from the Scripture why that doctrine cannot be.
I'll bring that to you next week. Today I want to give you seven
reasons, just briefly, why the Lord Jesus Christ must come into
the world as a man and die on the cross. Seven reasons why
none but the God-man himself must suffer at the hands of men
and under the wrath of God unto death. And if you'll turn with
me to Romans chapter 14, I'll give you my first reason. It
is that he might have the right He might have the right, declared
of God so, to be Lord of the dead and the living. Romans chapter 14, verse 7. For none of us liveth to himself,
and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live
unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 4. To this end,
for this purpose, Christ both died and rose and revived, that
he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. Now, you'll
find the parable over in the book of Matthew, I think, and
Luke also, where he talks about buying the field to redeem the
treasure. That's what he's talking about
in that chapter. He bought the field. He bought
the world. He bought the right to rule over
all men, to save whom he would and dispose of whom he would.
He bought that right by his death. And God declared that right when
He raised him from the dead and set him at His own right hand.
He bought the field. He rules this world as a despot. And I looked that term up. One
of the old writers used it. And I thought, what in the world?
It's spelled D-E-S-P-O-T, but it's pronounced despot. And I
thought, what in the world is he talking about, a despot? And
I looked it up. Here's what it means. Despotism
or a despot is one who rules by absolute sovereign authority. Not like the kings today, they
just figureheads. The kings and queens of this
world, they just figureheads. But back in the day of Darius,
they ruled in sovereign authority. If he said something and Darius
did, they tricked him and he slipped up to say it, but he
couldn't back off of it because his word was law. Absolute sovereign
authority. He rules. Nothing happens without
His directive of permissive will. Listen to this. In John 17, verse
2, the Lord lifted His eyes to heaven and He said, Father, the
hour has come. That hour which You required. That hour to which I was appointed.
That hour to which I was demanded. And in this hour, and by what
takes place in this hour, he said, Glorify thy son, that thy
son also may glorify thee. You glorify me in what I'm about
to do, and in what I'm about to do, I'm going to glorify you.
Talking about his death. Now listen, verse 2, As thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. There's the glory. There's that despot. There's
that sovereign. It's his sovereign right to rule,
and it is accomplished to the glory of God in redemption. You'll
find that also in Philippians, I think it's the second chapter,
where he tells the believer, he said, let this same mind be
in you that was in him, and talks about that death, that ignominious
death, and his life, and his humility, and all those things.
But at the end it said that he had raised him up and given him
a name above every name. that at that name every knee
is going to bow, every tongue is going to confess, even the
devils in hell are going to bow down before him and confess him
to be Lord to the glory of God the Father. Lord that he might
save. That's what he's talking about.
Alright, here's the second thing. He died in order that this redemption
glorify God by declaring him just and justifier of all that
believe. Turn with me to Romans chapter
3. Now, most of you are familiar
with this chapter. I quote from it all the time. And a lot of
this chapter is a quotation from Psalm 14. And here in verses
10 through 18, that's what he's doing. He's taking quotations
from the Old Testament scriptures, from the Psalms, and he's proving
the total depravity of man. And he describes the condition
of the sinner. And it's this condition that
makes this holy law of God a curse to him. If he had the ability
to keep it, it would not be called a curse. All through the scriptures
in the New Testament he talks about this law being a curse,
not a blessing, a curse. It's our condition that causes
this law to be so. In his ignorance, he cannot understand
its spiritual demands. In his rebellion, he cannot and
will not seek the Lord. In his fallen condition, he cannot
produce any righteousness or goodness. And in his true character,
destruction, he said, in misery or in his ways and everything
that he does. And then finally, in verse 20,
he comes to see that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh
be justified in God's sight. Just forget it. It ain't going
to happen. That's what he's telling you. It ain't going to happen. Verse 21, The righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith
or faithfulness of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe, for there is no difference. And this goes back to his statement
in verse 9 where he says there is no difference between the
Jew and the Gentile. Verse 23, For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace.
through the redemption, that's what we're talking about, that
is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God, that is Old Testament saints. Why do I know that? Because I read verse 26, to declare,
I say, at this time, his righteousness, and here's why he's going to
do it, both then and now. That he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. What's he saying? He's
saying God must be consistent with his own nature in order
to save. He's damning men and he's saving
men and he's going to show himself just in both. Now that's what
he's talking about. Well, how can God be just and
save a rotten, foul sinner? How can He do it? Through Christ. Through Christ. Through that
redemption. And that's why He set Him forth.
Redemption gives Him the right to rule over all and dispose
of whom He will. They are His by right of accomplishment,
by His death. And by His death, He declares
God to be just in the justification of sinners by paying their debt. by the death of His Son. And
then thirdly, the redemption accomplished by the death of
Christ put away our sins. We remember them. They're real
to me. But He put them away. I have
to constantly remind myself that I have no sin in Christ. I see them, but He doesn't. They're
under the blood. Christ, by this death, by His
blood, He put away. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
9. In the Old Testament, there was
a tabernacle, a tent. Set it up, looked like just every
other tent in Israel on the outside. Made of badger skins, old tan
hides put up there on posts. Looked pretty common on the outside.
But it was made and had layers and rooms and furniture in it,
all these things designed to picture the work of Christ. And
it was divided into two sections. It had a front section that all
the sons of Levi, the common priests, could enter into. And
then in the back was called the Holy of Holies. Nobody went in
there except the high priest, and only one time a year, and
not without blood. And our man, he went in trembling. He went in to him and he went
in before God. That's where the mercy seat was.
That's where the ark of the covenant was. That's where the broken
law was dealt with. That's where that rod of Aaron
that budded, that's where it was. That's where that golden
pot full of manna was, that bread that came down from heaven. All
those things are in there in that ark and that mercy seat
over that ark and them cherubims over top of that mercy seat.
And that high priest went in there, I guarantee you, he went
in there trembling with that blood and that incense. And he
put that incense around that's going to picture the prayers,
those intercessory prayers of Christ. And then he poured that
blood out on that mercy seat. Oh, look here in Hebrews 9, verse
8. The Holy Ghost, this signifying
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest
as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure
for the time then present, stood only in meats and drinks and
various washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time
of reformation. But Christ, verse 11, being come
a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this building." He is talking about himself, his body. "...neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained." Huh? He didn't make an offer. He didn't
make a possibility. He obtained. What kind of redemption? Eternal redemption. Eternal redemption. That redemption
purposed before the foundation of the world. That redemption
pictured in all the lambs of the Old Testament sacrifice.
Eternal redemption. He purchased it. He obtained
it. And it's His. It's not a possibility,
but it's accomplished. And with this redemption accomplished,
He applies these things to our conscience by the Holy Spirit
of God, and He purges that dead conscience. He purges that old
conscience that cries guilty, guilty, guilty. You can't serve
God when you're guilty. Forget it. It ain't going to
happen. But He purges that conscience, and He fills it full of love,
and He fills it full of peace, and fills it full of joy, and
we serve the living God. Hebrews 9, verse 26. Listen to
this. Unlike that old high priest where
he had to enter in one time a year, and he had to go back the next
year, and he had to go back the next year, and when he died he
had to be replaced and another go in, and another go in. Hebrews
9, verse 26, But now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away... Do what? Put away? Isn't that what he said? sin
by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, and after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him
shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. That is, He is not going to appear
the second time in humility as a sin bearer, but He is going
to appear as the victorious Redeemer. unto those that look for him. Look at this over here in 1 Peter
chapter 3. Here's the fourth thing. His death accomplished in redemption
what's necessary to bring me to God. Man's lost. He don't know it,
but he's lost. He's unable to seek God. There's
none that seeketh after God. That ought to be sufficient to
put away all the arguments. Man has to be found. And being
found, he has to be reconciled. Being reconciled, he must be
wooed by the Spirit of grace. He must hear the Gospel. He must
be convinced of the truth and submit himself to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He must be convinced to turn
from this world and turn from himself to the living God. 1
Peter 3, verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. None have the right, Winston,
none have the right to bring you to God. I can't go out here and select
somebody in a crowd and put my arm around them and tell them,
God loves you and Christ died for you. I don't have that authority. I don't have that right. And
men are liars who stand up and say they do. They're liars. I don't have that authority.
But He does. He does. By right of His death,
He can bring you to God. Nobody else can do it, but he
can. Why do I preach Christ? Because
Christ alone has the right to bring you to God. He can do it. He can do it. being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went, and preached
unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when
once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while
the ark was being prepared. Wherein few, that is, eight souls
were saved by water." Christ, that message of Christ, that
gospel of accomplished redemption, went out in the ministry of Noah.
And he preached to the spirits in prison, and seven of them
heard him and entered into that ark, found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. You can go all through Hebrews
10, verses 10 through 14. He came to do the eternal will
of the Father, which is testified of in throughout the volume of
the book. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them
that are sanctified." And then in the very next verse it says,
the Holy Ghost also is witness to us. That's how he brings you
to God. And then fifthly, he accomplished
redemption for us fully, completely in order to deliver us from this
present evil world. In Galatians chapter 1 verse
3 he said, Grace be to you. peace from God our Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins, that
in order that He might deliver us from this present evil world
according to the will of God and our Father. You can find
these things in Psalm 37, that reigning Redeemer. Romans chapter
8, talking about that spiritual man, that inner man, all these
things, tempted at all points like as we are yet without sin. Sixthly, why must He die? In this innocent death it is
declared the true colors of men, and then sixthly, to redeem us
from all iniquity. In Titus 2, verse 13, he says,
We look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself
for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Salvation
is not altogether about things we did. Now that holds a big
place in our heart and on our mind. There are certain things
that we've done that we don't tell anybody. Certain things,
certain thoughts, motives, ideas, desires, whatever it is, and
we hide those things. We don't tell men these things. It's not so much about those
things as it is what we are. what we are, but we wouldn't
do those things, we wouldn't think those things, we wouldn't
feel those things if we weren't all together in sin. It's this
nature of sin that causes this type of thing, and it's not about
things that we've done, isolated acts which we've done. Salvation
is from iniquity, and iniquity is the living principle of the
heart. It's a state of being. We do what we do because of what
we are. In the fall, God lifted His hand,
not altogether, but He lifted His hand from men. And He allowed
sin to have a free reign to a certain degree. Would you agree with
that? He let sin have a free course. And that sin manifested itself
throughout the ages. Death after death after death
after death after death all through the ages. None were redeemed. He comes along and he destroys
the whole world. He got rid of Cain. He got rid
of all his ancestors. He got rid of all the other things
that men attribute to sin. This family and that family and
this and that and these people came from here. Well, all that
was taken care of in the flood. There wasn't anybody on the other
side of the flood except believers. Sin came over in the ark. Yeah,
it did. Sin was on the other side of
the flood. Kept right on raining under death. Right on through
the years, raining under death, raining under death. Why? Because
of that iniquity that's in us. And when He comes, He sets up
the rain of His grace in the heart. And that grace reigns
unto eternal life. And it reigns. It reigns. Alright, last of all, this redemption
presents us to God faultless. Faultless. And that's the only
way you can approach God. Faultless. Faultless. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul
draws a picture of the This eternal, preeminent, all-sufficient Redeemer,
all things created for Him and by Him, and He being before all
things, is said to be the first cause of all things, having all
preeminence. Verse 20, And having made peace
through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things
to Himself, by Him, I say, were there to be things in earth or
things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated, and
enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in his sight." That's what redemption accomplishes. If we continue in faith, grounded
and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
which you have heard and which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister."
That's as best I know how to preach it, particular effectual
redemption, or what the old timers called limited atonement.