Colossians chapter 4. Y'all see how pretty I look in
this tie and this jacket? Get a good look real quick because
it's gone. I'm sorry about that, but I feel
like I have a straitjacket on when I'm wearing that. Colossians
4.1, and this may seem like an unusual verse of scripture for us to
focus in on and look at as a standalone text. Colossians 4.1, masters
give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing
that you also have a master in heaven. Now this verse is indeed part
of the context of chapter three and how that we are exhorted
all through that chapter. And we can look at some of the,
some of the verses and get a sense of that. Forbearing one another,
verse 13, forgiving one another, that he may have a quarrel against
any Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. We're exhorted
to adorn the doctrine that we preach. We're not to declare the forgiveness
of God and then be cruel to those who we perceive to have wronged
us. We're not to proclaim the loving kindness and mercy of
God and then be mean as a snake. We are to adorn the doctrine
that we preach. be doers of the word, doers of
the gospel and not hearers only. And we will be. God works in
us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. If the Lord
is blessed in us, if he's saved us, if he's dwelling in us, Paul
said, it's not I, it's Christ that dwelleth in me. we're not to experience and affirm
what a wonderful king our savior is and then abuse whatever authority
he may have given us on this earth we're to live the gospel
that we preach honoring our savior as we do as his word does all
through but this verse also reminds us and teaches us of a particular
attribute of our God which is so glorious and comforting, especially when seen in light
of the gospel. You see how specific this verse
is when you consider what it might have said. It specifically
points out the framework of the verse is telling masters to treat
those who serve them In a certain way, because here's the reason,
here's the motivation. Because we have a master in heaven
because of Christ and who he is to us. Let's be that to others. It could have said kindness is
our master, not kind to us. Is he not long suffering? Does he not not upbraid us when
we show ourselves to be fools and so needy before him and always
dependent upon him? He upbraideth not. He knows that
we're dust. He knows that we need him every
hour for everything. And he is that need. They could
say generosity. Masters be generous to your servants. because you have a master in
heaven. It could surely say that, couldn't it? Our savior gives us what's right,
but somehow his idea of what's right for his sheep is a lot
more than us just getting by. He's so generous, isn't he? Everybody
in this room is rich. rich, and those who know the
Lord Jesus Christ in this room are rich beyond measure. It could be wise governance,
be wise in your administration of, of whatever authority you
have, because look at your master, how wise he is, how, how many
things we would do differently and suffer for it. But our Lord
guides us. Teaches us. Reigns us in overrules
us opens our eyes and our hearts. To the truth. It could be level. That'd be
a strange concept in this world. Wouldn't it love your servants?
Because look at your master in heaven. You know, that one centurion,
I believe he loved his servant. Don't you? He came to the Lord
Jesus Christ and said, Lord, my servant life at home, sick
of the policy, grievously tormented. Come and help him. You're not,
I'm not worthy for you to come into under my roof. Just say
the word and my servant will be healed. He came to the Lord
for him. Those ones that lowered their.
their loved one down through the roof. Lord, they came and
brought him to the Lord. Do we do that in prayer and from
our hearts? Bring those that we love before
the Lord and say, Lord, have mercy. If you will, you can. All of these and more would abundantly
apply to our master. in heaven, but we're told specifically
to be righteous. That's what that word justice.
And fair. That's those two words righteous
and fair in our dealings. With our servants those over
whom we have authority as a parent as a boss in the church. At home. Or in any capacity under
God. And the clear implication being
that God, our master, is just and equal in his dealings with
us. And maybe you're thinking, wait
a minute, is that what we want? Do we want the master to be righteous? To be fair? Is that what we want? What's
fair from God? It sounds like something we wouldn't want. And
in a sense, it is something that very much we don't want. You've
probably heard a few gospel preachers say, if God gives us what we
deserve, we're in trouble. And that's the truth. In the
sense of our standing before God by nature, this sounds like
something that we don't want. We all deserve to go to hell.
In our natural condition before God, We deserve hell and only
hell. Anything beyond hell is some
kind of mercy. Only hell, nothing but hell.
We are by nature, the children of wrath, even as others. But let's look at that passage
of scripture that I just quoted that verse from. Turn with me
to Ephesians 2. and verse two. Ephesians 2, 2. Wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, People popping off about their free
will. When they're under the bondage
of Satan the whole time. Captive. Captive under Satan
at his will. God. But God, we richly deserve his
wrath. And yet, God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, even when we were so wretched and horrible in his
sight, that we were like dead, stinking, rotted corpses. But worse than that natural picture,
dead, stinking, rotted corpses shaking our fists in his face
and spewing blasphemies and our hatred unto him. But for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, what did he do
about it? He quickened us together with Christ, by grace you're
saved. In case this picture of us being
dead, dead people are dead. No capacity, no hope. It's important that we understand
our condition by nature, not only wretched and vile, and evil
and corrupt. People talk about sinners, like
it's kind of a romantic way, don't they? Oh, he's just a poor
old sinner. Do you have any idea what that is? Somebody got offended
at me one time calling us from the scriptures. Now I called
us stupid. I said, we're stupid. You look
up that word, slow of heart, slow of heart to believe. spiritually
before God, without his grace, without his enlightening spirit.
We're stupid. And somebody got, well, I don't
like the word stupid. And I thought to myself, I always
think, you know, when it's too late to say it, what was the
best thing to say? But I thought later, I thought,
well, do you like the word sinner? Do you think stupid is worse
than sinner? You're okay with being called
a sinner, but you don't want to be called stupid. Something
wrong with that. If we had any idea what a sinner
was, stupid would be a compliment. Even when we were dead and sins
hath given us life. And so if that picture isn't
clear enough, dead, four days stinking dead. And Christ with
the power of the same voice that said, let there be light. And
there was light said, Lazarus, come forth. And quickened us together with
Christ. All of our blessed, every blessing
we have from God is in Christ. We're quickened together with
him. In case that picture isn't clear enough, by grace you're
saved. That's what that's saying. That's
saying we're not only horrible, but there's nothing we can do
about it. And it's going to take the free sovereign grace of God
to save a wretch like me. So God, because of his great
love wherewith he loved us, quickened us, gave us life together with
Christ who rose from the dead for our justification. Even though
we were deserving of his wrath, followed Satan and were rebels
even to the point of murdering his precious only begotten son
on Calvary. because he loved us. But is that just? Is that right? How can mercy, even the rich
mercy of God, be consistent with justice? If God is strictly just
and we deserve hell, we get him. That's what justice means, doing
what's right. But notice in what we just read
that it's who God is. We're the children of wrath,
even as others, but God who is. It's because of who he is, not
because of any improvement in me or reaction from me or Works for me, anything, decision,
my will, nothing. It's because of who God is that
there's hope for me. You see that? God who is. We can never understand this
in this life, but the answer has to do with who God is. Who
is God according to that passage we just read in Ephesians 2?
Who is God? Rich mercy and great love. That's why I'm saved, because
of who he is. Romans 5a, God commendeth his
love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now, not
only is that a beautiful truth concerning the love of God toward
wretches like us, but let's look at the context of that verse
too, in Romans 5. Let's look at Romans chapter
5 for a minute. And talk about this. God has
dealt with us in justice and equity. That's comforting. That is how we go to sleep at
night. Romans chapter five. And we could
read this whole chapter. Let's kind of, I guess, look
at. look at, I guess, most of it. Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations
worketh patience. He works everything for our good.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.
How shall he not freely also freely with him give us all things. You know, nothing bad has ever
happened to you. If you're his things that we call bad, but
nothing bad has ever happened to you. It's all been for your
good. Before you knew him, when you
knew him, after you knew him, there's no bad. Even tribulations,
pain, fear, heartache, it's all good. He works it. To establish these graces within
us, to grow us in his grace and in his knowledge and hope, make
it not a shame. Verse five, because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which
is given unto us. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died of us, much
more than being now justified by his blood. That's what our brother just
preached, isn't it? because of his blood. It's that simple.
It's because of his precious blood that I stand not guilty
in the sight of God. It's that simple. Anything else
you would say about that would just complicate it. It's by his
blood that we're justified. And we shall be saved from wrath. through him. You see that? For
if when we were enemies, and we were, we read it, didn't we?
By nature, the children of wrath, the carnal mind is enmity against
God and is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can
be. We were reconciled to God by
the death of his son. It is enough that Jesus died
and that he died for me, not the world, not mankind. He died for me. Is that enough
for you? Is that enough for us? And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement He's saying the same thing a lot of times in
a lot of different way. We've received the atonement
and we joy, we rejoice in him. Who are we? We're the circumcision
that worship God in the spirit. And what do we do? Rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Wherefore, as by
one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so
death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. That's
where we started. How can God be just? How can
he deal with us in equity and us have any hope? Until the law,
we'll look at this part too, until the law, sin was in the
world, but sin is not imputed when there's no law. Nevertheless,
death still reigned. Just because there wasn't a law
written yet and given on Mount Sinai doesn't mean we weren't
already breaking it. Those didn't sin after the similitude
of Adam's transgression in the very face of God's written law,
but they sinned. Death reigned who is the figure
of him that was to come, but not as the offense. So also is
the free gift for if through the offense of one many be dead
much more The grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by
one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. So God deals with
us justly and in equity, and yet there's hope, there's grace,
there's salvation by the blood. We're reconciled to God by the
death of his son, as it says in verse 10. and put this way
in verse nine, I love the way he said that there in verse nine,
justified by his blood. So then the way that God can
have mercy on us in a righteous way to deal with us in equity
and justice and yet have mercy is by the precious blood of Jesus
Christ. Isn't that simple? Greg said
it was. He was right. He was right. Is that what the Bible teaches?
Turn to Romans chapter three, please. Romans 3 21. But now the righteousness of
God without the law. is manifested. Does that mean
God just did away with his law? Of course not. Righteousness,
how can there be righteousness without law? That's what righteousness
is. It's obedience to the law. It's
perfect obedience to the law. But this is righteousness, the
righteousness of God without you keeping the law and being witnessed by the law
and the prophets. The law itself It teaches us
how to be just without the law. Does it not? God gave his law
on Mount Sinai, revealing what we are, by the way, not to prevent,
you know, us being that way, but because we are that way. And then what did he say? Build
a mercy seat. That's part of the law too. Build a mercy seat. What's that
for? For lawbreakers. That's where
the precious blood of God's lamb will be shed and applied to that
mercy seat. He said, I'll commune with you
there on that mercy seat. That's Christ. The only place
God and a sinner can come together in communion in acceptance and fellowship
is in Christ and by his precious blood. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Now Christ first believed on
God. He's the first one, the first
man to ever perfectly, completely, satisfactorily believe God. And he is our righteousness in
that. But this here, this word means the faithfulness of. This
is righteousness, the righteousness of God, which by the way, that's
the only righteousness there is. There's just war. It's by the faithfulness of Christ. For us to be righteous before
God, we would have to be faithful to his law. That can't happen. That's never
happened. That's never going to happen.
But Christ was faithful to the law, not just outwardly conformed
to the law. But with all of his heart, his
meat was to do the will of him. That which sustained and satisfied
him was to do the will of his father. That's my righteousness. Christ, the faithfulness of Jesus
Christ. But what about our faith? Here it is next. For there unto
all and upon all them that believe. That's us believing on Christ.
And as our brother said, that's the gift of God. That's not something
we work up. The fruit of the spirit is faith. Looking unto Jesus, the author,
you look up that word sometime, it means that by which something
began to be. The author and finisher of our
faith. So we're looking unto Jesus,
that's what faith is. We're looking unto Jesus by faith,
and by faith that he gave, we're looking to the one that gave
it to us. And we'll finish it. And we'll keep us unpluckable
from his hand. For all have sinned, well, upon
all them that believe, for there's no difference. The difference
is the difference that Christ makes. There's no difference
in any of us. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. You say, well, I haven't sinned
as much as somebody else has sinned. That's like saying he's more
of a worm than I am. I'm a worm, but he's a bigger
worm. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. That's what you need to know
about that. And by nature, you're a child of his wrath, but being
justified freely by his grace. You see that now? God's going
to deal with us justly and in equity. How? We're justified
freely by God's grace. So God is just so just so benevolent
that he just decided he's gonna let some of us go off scot-free?
No, God can't do that. So what did he do? Why did he
do that? How can he do that through the redemption? Through the precious
sin-cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has set
forth to be a propitiation, a sin offering. How'd you put
it, Todd? A sin-removing offering. Propitiation
through faith in His blood. Isn't that a beautiful phrase?
Faith in His blood. Do you believe that Christ's
blood is precious enough to pay for all of your sin? There's a little more to it than
that, and Lord willing, we're going to talk about that in a
second, but a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness. This has nothing to do with you
being righteous in the sight of God and by the deeds of the
law. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in the sight of God. This is about his
righteousness. This is about what he did for
you. Gospel preachers don't stand up and try to get you to do something
for God. Our hope and prayer is that God will do something
for you. To declare, I say, verse 26, at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just, that He might deal with you in righteousness
and fairness and equity and yet justify you by grace
through faith in his darling son. Your master in heaven has dealt
with you in a righteous and equitable way in saving you simply because
the precious blood of Christ was shed for you. We saw those
words in that passage, redemption in verse 24, the word in verse
25, propitiation. Also in verse 25, faith in his
blood, through faith in his blood. And all of that adds up to God
being God and justifying a sinner like you. Do you know what it is to have
faith in Christ's blood? And to believe in His blood is
to believe that only, only by the blood of Christ am I acceptable
and even holy in the sight of God. I'll tell you what it's
not. Faith in His blood is not to
believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood for everybody
and the only way that that blood can work for you is if you decide
that it does. That's not faith in his blood,
that's faith in you. That's faith in your depraved
will. Here is faith in his blood. Listen to it. You wanna know
what faith in his blood sounds like? And we know that all things
work together for good. Turn over there with me, please,
Romans 8. We'll pretty much close with
this passage, Romans 8, 28. I want you to see, isn't it beautiful
how you, when you see scripture that you may be familiar with,
but you see it in the light of another verse, another passage
of scripture. Nothing sheds light on the word
of God like the word of God. Romans 8, 28, we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And this establishes what he's talking about. He's talking about
God saving you. And all that was involved in
that, look at verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, to them he
also justified. and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we say then to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Now think
about that. Think about that in light of
what religion, their whole message. I think it was Henry that said
one time, the first two things you'll learn in the average Baptist
church, is that God loves you, God loves everybody, and that
Christ died for everybody, and neither one of them is true.
In fact, they're both absolute blasphemy, absolute blasphemy. If God before us, would you say
that sending his son to be the propitiation for our sins, even
while we were yet sinners, herein is love. Not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sin. Would you say that's God being
for us? Who's gonna be against you? How
are you gonna lose the benefit of that? How are you going to forfeit
it? He that spared not his own son
for you, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Would that include being with
him forever? Has he freely given us all things
if he's put us in hell? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? You see what we're talking about
now? God deals with us righteously. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. If I owe Todd some money and
he says, Chris, don't worry about it. And then Caleb says, wait
a minute. You need to pay that back. I
must say no. I'm not paying it back. Todd
said I didn't have to. He's the one I sinned against. It's God that we sinned against
and he said we're not guilty. What charge are you gonna bring? Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that doth. Yea rather that is risen, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. The reason, the reason I am just
in the sight of God, the reason that God deals with me in a just
and equal way in justifying me before himself is that Christ
died for me. That's it. His death does not make salvation
possible for me. His death does not make salvation
available for me. His death does not give me a
choice to make. I thought about when Greg was
talking about that. Did you know God never gave anybody
a choice? Not one, two. I can't find it.
Think about in the garden. God didn't give me any choices
in the garden, but you know who did? Satan. He still does. That's who's giving
you a choice. Well, I don't need a choice.
I don't need a chance. I need to be saved. That's what
Christ does. Well, he shed his precious blood
for me in eternity and at Calvary. He saved my wretched soul. He
made me before God without blemish, without spot. Poor God almighty. Have you ever thought about the
rest of Romans 8 in light of the false gospel that's so rampant
these days? When Paul writes of the love
of God in verse 35 of Romans 8, he hasn't changed the subject. What does he mean love? What
love is he talking about? It is Christ that died. That's
what love is. Herein is love. That's what he's
talking about. He's not changing the subject.
He died for me. And if he did, you see what happens
in all the rest of chapter eight, when Christ dies for you, when
he loves you. Nobody and nothing in heaven,
earth or hell can separate you from that love. May our tongues rot in our mouths
before God would ever allow us to utter a single word that even
reeks of universal atonement and universal love. Who and what is going to separate
you from the one that gave himself for you? It's Christ that died,
and that's the love he's talking about all in the rest of that
chapter. Him who is love. His infinite love is the reason
that your master in heaven is just and equitable in saying
to you, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou
into the joys of thy Lord. And that glorious gospel, that
soul-saving truth, when God reveals Him to us, and that He's all
in our salvation, He's all of our righteousness, He's all of
our sin offering before God, that will affect everything we
think, everything we say, and everything we do by His grace.