If on judgment day, when I stand
before God, the only way I will be accepted is if what the Lord
Jesus Christ did, I did. Now, how can that be? How can what Christ did be mine? How can what Christ did be what
I did? Now notice the question is not
what can I do to make what Christ did mine? That would still make my salvation
dependent upon me, contingent upon me, conditioned upon me. That's salvation by works. I
will not be saved unless what Christ did is mine." Notice, I did not say, how can
what Christ did be counted to me? But how can what He did be
in reality mine? Our text in Hebrews chapter seven
gives us some light on this. Now I'm going to be going to
several scriptures. I hope you'll turn with me to
them because we can learn from this passage and here is comfort. Here's assurance. If I stand
before God, having what Christ did being what I did, that's
justification. That's what justification means.
How can that be? In Hebrews chapter seven, beginning
in verse seven, and the writer of the Hebrews is beginning by
speaking of the absolute glory of Jesus Christ when he says,
without all contradiction, there's no conflict here. The less is blessed of the better. You're a blessing to me. God's
made you a blessing to me, but you can't bless me. I hope I'm
a blessing to you, but I can't bless you. Only God can bless. And without any controversy,
without any contradiction, it is always the better that blesses
the less. The Lord Jesus is that better. Verse 8, and here, men that die receive tithes. He's talking about the Levitical
priesthood. You become a priest because you
were born into the family of Levite. And you are not made
a priest so much by God's oath, but because you were born a Levite. And you're going to live a certain
number of years and you're going to die. And then your son's going
to take your place. It's never continual. And here men that
die receive tithes. We pay tithes to Levi, but there
he receiveth them of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
You know, Melchizedek lives right now and he was never born. and he'll
never die. Here's God's testimony, and this
is one of the reasons I believe Melchizedek is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Scripture says he liveth. That man who appeared to Abraham,
however many years ago it is, thousands, he still lives. He was never born, and he'll
never die. Verse nine, and as I may so say,
Levi also who receives tithes. Now remember the children of
Israel gave tithes to the Levites and they didn't give tithes to
the children of Israel. The children of Israel gave tithes
to the Levites to support the tabernacle, the priesthood, and
so on. They didn't have land. The way the other children of
Israel had, they didn't have countries. They were the Lord's
portion. And they were the ones who worked
the temporal and the tabernacle, and they received tithes for
the support of that. Verse eight or verse nine. And
as I may so say, Levi also who received tithes paid tithes in
Abraham. It does not say it was just as
if Levi paid tithes. It does not say that the tithe
paying of Abraham was imputed to him. It does not say he had
a legal standing before the law as a proper tither. That's not
what it says. And that's what we're looking
at. Just what it says. It says. Levi paid tithes in Abraham. How can what Christ did be mine? Well, it simply says Levi paid
tithes in Abraham. How can what Abraham did be what
Levi did? He was in Abraham. When Abraham
paid those tithes, Levi paid those tithes. When Jesus Christ
kept God's holy law, I kept God's holy law. When Jesus Christ died,
For sin, I died for sin. My sin was paid for. When Jesus Christ was raised
from the dead, I really was raised from the dead. In Christ, I paid
tithes. I love the scripture in Matthew
chapter three, verse 15. when the Lord says to John the
Baptist, thus it becometh us." Now who's the us? Not just John
the Baptist, everybody he represented, all of the elect, me, me, you. Thus it becometh us. to fulfill all righteousness."
He didn't say, thus it becometh me to establish a righteousness
and charge it to your account. He said, thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness. There are a lot of names given
to this doctrine we're trying to consider. You probably, maybe
you haven't, I said to Lynn, I'm going to talk about federal
headship of Christ, and she said, why use that term? I've never
heard it. So maybe you haven't either, but I never have liked
it really. You know, the president is my
federal head, and that doesn't make me have a real relationship
with the president. The federal headship of Christ,
like Adam was the federal head of his race, and Christ is the
federal head of the elect. Well, maybe, but I don't, just
never have liked that that much. And it's also been called seminal
headship, talking about the seed of Christ. Christ didn't have
Adam's seed. He was born of a virgin, but
everyone who has his seed, they're in him. And just like Adam, everybody
that was born of Adam, they have Adam. Everybody born in Christ,
they have Christ. This has also been called representation.
I've heard it stated that way, maybe I have, but you know, I
don't even like that that much in the sense that all representation
can be is a lawyer representing me. Here I am and somebody else
is representing me. It doesn't make me. righteous,
holy. I just have somebody representing
me. He's even been called original
sin. And most people have some familiarity
with the term original sin. It was coined by Augustine. It's
not in the Bible, though the doctrine is in the Bible, that
Adam's sin was the original sin and we all became sinners through
what he did. And just as we become sinners
through what he did, we become righteous through what the second
Adam did. But what I'd like to do is kind
of avoid all of those terms and just look at what the Bible says
about this thing of me doing what he did. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. I'd like you to turn with me to these scriptures. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. Now, how did Levi paid tithes,
he was in Abraham, his great-grandfather.
When his great-grandfather paid those tithes, the scripture says
Levi paid tithes. So the key, first of all, for
what Christ did being what I did is me being in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look in 1 Corinthians 1,
verse 30. This is something that we would all do well to commit
to memory. 1 Corinthians 1.30, but of Him
are you in Christ Jesus? Now, how do you get in Christ?
God put you there. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus? Now listen to what is true with
regard to me and you if we're in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody
that's in Him, He's made unto them wisdom. I'm fit for fellowship with God.
The wisdom of Christ. Righteousness. He's made unto
me righteous so that the holy law of God looks me over and
says there's no guilt. There's no sin. He's made unto
me sanctification, holiness. His holiness is my holiness. He's made unto me redemption,
full deliverance. How delivered is he? That's how
delivered I am. He's made those things to every
believer. Listen to this scripture. Second
Corinthians 521 says, for he hath made him. This is God doing
this. And this is where our security
comes from. This is where our joy comes from.
This is where our confidence comes from. This is what God
does. He made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, if you're a believer, do
you know what you possess? His righteousness, the very righteousness
of God. That's why you'll be accepted
on judgment day. It won't be because of how much
you studied the scriptures or how many souls you won. It'll
be because you're the righteousness of God in him. Turn to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. Now being in Him, let's take
it a step further. Being in Him is being in union
with Him. It's being united to Him. Hebrews chapter two, verse 11,
four. Both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified. Christ is the one who sanctifies,
all of his people are the ones who are sanctified. Now look
what he says. Both he that sanctifyeth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. Not real close. Not just stuck together. One. One. That is union with the Lord Jesus
Christ. One with the Lord Jesus Christ. Being one with Him. Not close, but one. Now look
in John chapter 17. John 17. This is the end of the Lord's
great high priestly prayer for His people. And He says in verse
20, Neither pray I for these alone, the twelve, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word. You know
who that is? Me and you. He's praying for every believer right
now. That they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me, I've given them, that they may be one, even as we are
one." Every one of these people has the very glory of Jesus Christ
given to them by Christ Himself They're all one. There's no one
up here and one down here. They all have the glory of Christ.
How can it get better than that? It can't. They're one together,
and they're one with the Father, one with the Son, and the glory
which thou hast gave us me, I've given them that they be one,
even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that
they may be made perfect in one. Now that's mysterious, isn't
it? It's what the scripture teaches
one with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me look at some scriptures
from Ephesians chapter five, Ephesians chapter five. Paul says with regard to marriage
in verse 31 for this cause. shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh." Now, this is a great mystery.
Sure is. But he said, I speak concerning
Christ in the church. I'm giving instructions with
regard to marriage, But I'm speaking more than anything else with
regard to Christ and the church. How close is the union of one? Look in verse 25 of the same
chapter. Husbands love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. Now, men, if you love your wives
the way you ought to, you're the one that benefits from it.
It's going to be very advantageous to you to do so. We ought to love our wives as
Christ loved the church. But you know what? That's not
really what he's talking about. Because when I love my wife, She's not me after I love her,
she's still Lynn. But what does the text say? He
that loveth his wife loveth himself. So close is this union between
Christ and his church that when he's loving his wife, he's loving
himself. Now that is the assurance of
the believer. When Christ loves you, he's loving
himself. That's how close this union is. Now, when I love Lynn, like I
said, that doesn't make her me. She's still Lynn. But when Christ
loves the church, he is loving himself. And that's how he can
say, as the father hath loved me, even so have I loved you. Thou has loved them as thou has
loved me. Now, how could that be? How could
God look at me, God the Father, and say with regard to me, I've
loved Todd with the same love I've had to my son? We wouldn't
dare say that if the Bible didn't say it. We'd be scared to death
to say something like that, but the Lord said that. How can that
be? Only one way, as I am one with
him. 2nd Thessalonians or 2nd Timothy
2 13 If we deny him He abided faithful
You remember when Peter denied him? Peter was a believer. He
denied that he knew him He didn't deny his person, but he denied
he knew him out of cowardice out of fear. He denied it You
know what the Lord says? If we deny him, he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. For him to deny me would be for
him to deny himself. Now that is how real this union
is. I think the great example the
Lord gives in John chapter 15, verse five, is when he said,
I am the vine, you are the branches. Now here is the closeness of
this union. The same vine, the same stem
that flows through the vine flows through the branches. No connecting
point. The same stem that flows through
the vine flows through the branches. What an amazing union. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. Remember, we're trying to see
how what Christ did can actually be mine, so that I did it. Look in 1 Corinthians 15, verse
22. For as in Adam, all die. Even so, in Christ shall all
be made alive. In Adam, in Christ. In Adam, everybody that was in
the loins of Adam, and that's me and you, and that's every
man to ever live. Every man to ever live. In Adam, all die. Now, we're all gonna die physically,
but that's not really even referring to this physical death. This
is talking the spiritual death that took place when Adam ate
of that fruit. In Adam, all die. Even so, in the same manner in
Christ shall all be made alive. Everybody in Christ, every one
of them, they're going to be made alive. This refers to that
as according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, we're in him. In Christ shall all be made alive. Look in verse 45 of the same
chapter. And so it's written, The first
man, Adam, was made a living soul. God breathed the breath
of life in him. He was dust, made from dust,
and God breathed the breath of life in him, and he was made
a living soul. The last Adam, notice was made
in italics. The last Adam, a quickening. a life-giving Spirit. Now, He
speaks of two Adams, the first Adam and the last Adam. Verse
46, Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, Adam, the
Lord didn't come first chronologically in a sequence of time. Howbeit
that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and
afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth,
The second man is the Lord from heaven. And as is the earthy,
such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. You won't be able to see the
difference between a believer and Christ. God only deals with
two men, the first Adam and the second Adam. You're in the first
Adam, or you're in the second Adam. Now turn to Romans chapter
five. Romans chapter five, verse 12. Wherefore, As by one man, speaking
of Adam, sin entered into the world and death by sin, so death
passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Now, notice
he doesn't say Adam's sin is charged to our account. When
Adam sinned, I sinned. I'm not damned for somebody else's
sin. I'm damned for my own sin, because when Adam sinned, I sent."
And nobody could say, well, I wasn't there. You would have done it.
As a matter of fact, you did it. When Adam did it, you did
it. You literally did it. You can't say, well, I wasn't
around then. You were an Adam. And you would have done the same
thing. I sometimes think about, you know, Adam was put in the
garden, and he's given one commandment. Don't eat of the fruit of the
knowledge of good and evil. Don't eat of that tree. And you
can have everything else. I mean, everything was great.
Everything was wonderful. He had such a great life. But
he ate that fruit anyway. Do you think you wouldn't have?
You ought to know yourself better than that. Yeah, you would have. And you did. Now notice verse
13 begins with a parentheses. And that parentheses does not
end until the end of verse 17. And the teaching in that is very
important and we don't have time to deal with it tonight. But
that means that parenthetical statement can be lifted out and
you can read Romans chapter five, verse 12 and 18 and 19 together. And look what it says. Verse 12, once again, wherefore
as by one man, Sin entered into the world and death by sin, so
death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. What Adam did, we did. Now verse 18, therefore, as by
the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. I was born condemned. Judgment came upon all men to
condemnation. Before somebody gets upset by
thinking, how can I be condemned for what Adam did? Forget what
Adam did just for a minute. How about the way you are right
now? How about the way you were yesterday? How about the way
you were when you were a kid? It wouldn't do you any good if
Adam's sin wasn't charged to you. You've got enough sins of
your own to condemn you, and I do too. But here's what it
says. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so,
in the same manner, everybody that Adam represented was condemned,
even so by the righteousness of one, that perfect obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The free gift came and Notice
that is in italics, but I can see why the writers put it there. But the free gift came upon all
men under justification of life. Just like everybody was condemned
by what Adam did, everybody in Christ is justified by what Christ
did. Now look at verse 19. For as
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. Now by Adam's disobedience, we
were made sinners. You know what that means? I was
born a sinner. When I was five seconds old,
I came out of my mother's womb a sinner. Now somebody may think,
well, how can somebody like that be a sinner when they don't even
have any consciousness, when they're not even able to commit
a sin? Well, look back in verse 13. For until the law, sin was in
the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law. Nevertheless,
death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure
of him that was to come." Now that's all about babies. They
didn't sin the way Adam did. They didn't use their will and
their intellect and their defiance. They didn't sin the way Adam
did. They, yet they die. It's a sad, how many babies have
died? Now, the babies didn't die because
they were innocent. The babies died because they
were sinners. And somebody is thinking, well, does that mean
a baby goes to hell? Does that mean a baby goes to
hell? Well, if a baby is saved, and I hope they are, I hope they
are, I got some reason to hope they are. And let me say this
too, the Bible never says one way for sure or the other. I
dislike it when people make dogmatic statements, I know all infants
are in heaven. Well, you can't get that, I know it from the
Bible. But there's some hope, but I know this, if a baby is
saved, it's saved the same way me and you are. Because it was
elected, because Christ died for it, and because it was born
again. Now, somebody says, well, how can a baby be born again?
I don't know, but I know John the Baptist leaped in the womb
before he was born, didn't he? He leaped in the womb. And if
a baby is saved, a baby is saved the same way me and you are.
But don't say, well, God would be unjust if he didn't save babies. Now, if God doesn't save babies,
God's just, and God's right, and God's holy in whatever he
does. And we trust his character. We know that whatever he does
is right. And I really dislike it when
people say God's got to be, almost like God would be unjust. You're
no judge of God. I'm no judge of God. Whatever
he does is right. Whatever he does is just. And as far as,
I hate using this illustration, but I'm going to use it anyway.
You know a baby copperhead can poison you and kill you when
they're one minute old, as soon as they're born? They're not
born. They're eight or nine inches
long, they're not born through eggs, and they have the same
deadly bite, the same things that their mom and dad do. Now,
if you see a baby copperhead in your house, one that's just
newborn, would you say, well, let's don't kill it, it's a baby?
No, you get rid of that thing. And the point is, don't... In the seed of that child is
a monster. And whatever God does is right.
Now, like I said, I have hope. You know, remember David said
with regard to his child, he can't come back to me, but I'll
go to him as if he would see him in heaven after he died.
And there are other scriptures that seem to imply that. And
I have a hope that that's the way it is. But aren't you glad
the Lord hadn't told us for sure one way or the other? Because
if he said all babies go to hell, think of the despair that would
create. Oh, it'd be horrible. You'd just, you'd want to kill
yourself. If he said, all babies go to heaven, I'll guarantee
you there'd be people killing babies to make sure they get
to heaven. Now you see the Lord's wisdom in what he says, but we're
born sinners. We're born bad, bad to the bone. We're born that way. So that's,
look what it says back in Romans chapter five, verse 19. Therefore,
as by the offense of one, or for by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. David said, in sin did my mother
conceive me, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go about
as soon as they be born, speaking lies. So by the obedience of
one, shall many be made righteous. It doesn't say that the righteousness
of Christ is imputed to them. It is, but that's still not what
it says. It says they're made righteous. Where what Christ
did, I did. Now that's my confidence in judgment. What Christ did, I did. I don't
have anything to work. However obedient he is, that's
how obedient I am. However beautiful he is, That's
how beautiful I am. 1 John 4, 17 says, as he is,
so are we in this world. And isn't this what baptism teaches? This is exactly what baptism
teaches. This is the believer's hope. When I'm baptized, I'm
saying when Christ lived, I lived. When he obeyed, I obeyed. Crucified, I was crucified. When he was punished for sin,
I was punished for sin. When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead. Baptism is so beautiful and it
tells the whole gospel. Now, it's been said, I want to
close with this. I know this. If what he did,
I did, here's my prayer. Oh, that I might win Christ and
be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is the
law, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the
righteousness, which is of God by faith. Yes, if I'm saved,
it's because what he did, I did. because of being in Him, being
united to Him. Now, here's an Old Testament
illustration. This is what we'll close with.
I preached on this not that long ago, but turn to Genesis 27. Now, everything that is going
on in Genesis chapter 27 is corrupt, it's deceitful, It's sinful. It's men trying to swindle other
men, trying to rip off and deceive other men. And you can't look
at this and say, well, this is okay. No, it was wicked what
was going on. It was wicked. Now this is when
Rebecca heard that Isaac intended to give the blessing to Esau.
And Rebecca wanted the blessing to go to her favorite son, Jacob. She didn't want to go into Esau.
Esau was her son too, but she preferred Jacob. And so she tells
Jacob how he can get the blessing from Esau. Verse six, Genesis
27. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob
her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy
brother, saying, Bring me venison and make me savory meat that
I may eat and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command
thee. Go now to the flock and fetch me from thence two good
kids of the goats. And I will make them savory meat
for thy father such as he loveth. And thou shall bring it to thy
father that he may eat and that he may bless thee before his
death. And Jacob said to Rebekah's mother, behold, Esau's my brother's
a hairy man, and I'm a smooth man. My father peradventure will
feel me, and I shall seem to him a deceiver, and I shall bring
a curse upon me and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him,
upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice and go and
fetch them me. And he went and fetched and brought
them to his mother, and his mother made savory meat such as her
father loved. This is all while Esau was out
hunting. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau,
which was with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob, her
younger son. And she put the skins of the
kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck.
And she gave the savory meat and the bread which she had prepared
into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father.
And you know he was nervous. You know he was scared to death.
And he came to his father and said, my father. And he said,
here am I, who art thou my son? And Jacob said unto his father,
I am Esau. God firstborn. Now I know he
was lying, but you know what? When I come before God, I better
come with what he did being what I did. And Jacob said to his father,
I'm Esau, thy firstborn, I've done according as thou badest
me. And we have, we've kept every
law perfectly. Arise, I pray thee, sit in need
of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said
unto his son, how is it that thou hast found it so quickly,
my son? And he said, because the Lord thy God brought it to
me. Once again, that's a lie, but
once again, that's the truth. And Isaac said unto Jacob, come
near. I pray thee that I may feel thee my son, whether thou
be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near into Isaac,
his father, and he felt him. And he said, the voice of Jacob's
voice, but the hands of the hands of Esau and he discerned him
not. There was no discernible difference. And if I'm going to be accepted
by the father, there can be no discernible difference between
me and the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, aren't that my very
son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, bring it near to
me and I'll eat of my son's venison that my soul may bless thee.
And he brought it near to him and he did eat and brought him
wine and he drank and his father Isaac said unto him, come near
now and kiss me my son. And he came near and kissed him
and he smelled the smell of his raiment and blessed him. He smelled
like Esau. He felt like Esau. He couldn't
be discerned between Esau. He answered to the name of Esau. For me to be saved, for you to
be saved, the same thing must happen. What Christ did must
be what I did. And there is a way I can know
if what Christ did is what I did. I can know that right now. If
what he did is the only hope that I have. and I'm relying
on what he did. If I do, what he did is what
I did. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that we might be found in Christ, that we might be united to him
that we might be enabled to believe on Him. Bless this message for
the Lord's sake, in His name we pray, amen.