In Luke chapter 7 down at verse
23, blessed is he that is happy and
blessed is that man whosoever shall not be offended or ashamed
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm taking the title for the
message from that verse entitled, Who is a Blessed Man? Who is a blessed man? Blessed is that sinner that is
not offended over the gospel, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Whosoever is not offended of
Christ, And his gospel, that man is a blessed man, a blessed
person. Now, this will be the last message
that I'll preach to you this year. The last message that I'll
preach to you this year. Next time we meet, it will be
January 1st, 2017. We will have and we will start
that year, January 1st, next Sunday, our 24th year here together
preaching the gospel, seeking to honor the Lord Jesus Christ
and rejoicing in him. We've been here 23 years and
we start our 24th year next year. I'm reminded of the words of
an old preacher of the past. His name was Richard Baxter.
He died in 1691, a long time ago. But still this saying is
said of Richard Baxter. He says, I preach as one who
may never preach again. I preach as a dying man. But I also preach to dying men. I preach as one who may never
preach again. I preach as a dying man, but
I preach also unto you who are dying. We're all dying. And that is so true. I think
of that each week as I prepare to bring a gospel message to
you. But I also think of this. Those who hear the gospel message
this morning, this too may be the last gospel message that
you hear. For you hear as one who is also
dying. Our days are numbered. The number of our months are
with the Lord. I've got a little machine at
home that I wrap around my arm and check my blood pressure.
And sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down, and sometimes it's
just scattered all over. But one of the things, when I
push the button on that, and you know how they squeeze, and
then as it releases the pressure, you can feel that heartbeat,
that heartbeat. And then on that monitor, I see
that little image of a heart, and you can hear it going beep,
beep, beep. I thought about this as I sat
there and looked at that. The scriptures teach us to number
our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, but each
beat of our heart is numbered. We have a number that God has
determined. Man's days are not in their hands. Man's days are in the hands of
the Lord and I want them there. It's appointed unto me once to
die and after that judgment Judgment. I preach as a dying man, but
I preach to you who are also quickly passing away. The scriptures
describe our life as swifter than a weaver's shuttle. Our
days here are few and full of trouble. Therefore, both preacher
and hearer should be most careful and zealous in who we preach,
what we preach, and what and how we hear. What I preach, how
I preach, who I preach, and how and what you hear. Now we want to preach the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ every time we preach. I'm determined
not to be sidetracked. I'm determined, as Paul said,
I'm determined not to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. But we also must be determined
as hearers to hear nothing but the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our Lord said this in Mark 4,
24, we are told to take heed what you hear. Take heed what
you hear. And then also we're going to
see in Luke chapter 8, he said, take heed how you hear, how you
hear. We hear this word and read this
word and treat it as a very word of God. And then James put it
this way, we're told to be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath, slow to anger. Swift to hear. Oh, our Lord said,
blessed are your eyes for they see, blessed are your ears for
they hear. Not all men see truly as they
should. Not all men hear. We're going
to talk about that in just a moment. If you look at our text today
from verse 18 down through verse 23. That is our message today
from verse 18 down through verse 23. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
coming upon this funeral scene. And he touches the bed of this
man that was carried out dead, this man of a widow. He was a young man, and the Lord
Jesus Christ speaks a word in power, because he speaks as God,
and he says, I say unto thee, young man, arise, and he that
was dead, set up and began to speak." Who can do that? None but God. And He delivered him to his mother. That's salvation. He delivers
us by His power, by His sacrifice. He delivers us fully by His grace. The result of that in Luke 7
verse 16, "...there came fear on all." The only place where
a sinner will truly worship is at the throne of the Almighty
God. This is a reverential fear. And the fruit of that was they
gave God all the honor and glory. They glorified God saying, what
did they say? A great prophet. is risen among
us, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise
in Deuteronomy 18, that God was raised up a prophet to declare
the testimony of God, and truly He is that great prophet. And
they said, secondly, that God hath visited His people. You know the Lord Jesus Christ,
that great prophet, is still visiting His people today. You say, well, I don't see him.
I don't feel him. Listen to the promise. He said,
where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in
the midst. God still visits his people in
mercy, and he still visits his people in grace. Evidently among
that crowd, there were some of the disciples of John, John the
Baptist. John the Baptist, who went and
told John of this rumor, as it says in verse 17, and this rumor
of him went forth throughout all Judea, throughout all the
region round about, and the disciples of John showed him all these
things, and John calling unto him two of his disciples, and
sent them to the Lord Jesus, art thou that he should come?
Or should we look for someone else. Perhaps some of John's
disciples here were jealous or even puzzled over the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They heard the people say, a
great prophet has risen among us. Wait a minute now. Isn't
John also a great prophet? Maybe they were envious, maybe
they were jealous, maybe they were a little bit puzzled as
to what was going on. The Lord Jesus Christ said of
John, the prophet of God, look right across the page in Luke
7 verse 28, and we'll look at this more carefully next week.
For I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there
is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist." Now, he was
God's prophet. He was a forerunner to the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was Son of God, who came to bear witness
of the light. But perhaps John's disciples
did not understand what all was involved here. Now I have three
points to this message this morning. The first one, found in verse
19 and verse 20, and we see here the faithful ministry of John
the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, he was a man sent from
God to bear witness of what? To bear witness of John? No,
to bear witness of the light, the true light that cometh into
the world. Now there was a question, verse
19, and John calling unto him two of his disciples, and sent
them to the Lord Jesus with this question, Art thou he that should
come? Or do we look for another? Verse
20, And when they were come unto him, they said, John Baptist,
has sent us to thee, saying, Art thou he that should come,
or do we look for another?" Now there was no question or no doubt
in the mind of John. John fully knew about the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember, John at this time
had been put in prison for declaring the truth. And John is not telling
his disciples to go ask if this one from Nazareth, Jesus Christ,
is indeed the Christ of God, for he full well knew that he
was." Don't turn. Let me just read this to you.
In Matthew chapter 3, the Lord was baptized in Jordan of John. Matthew 3 verse 13, Then cometh
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying,
I have need to baptize of thee. Comest thou to me?" And the Lord
answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." John always was pointing those
around him unto the Lord Jesus Christ alone. John in prison
knew that his ministry was about over. John wanted his disciples
to look To whom? He wanted his disciples to look
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. John was all about pointing sinners
to Christ. Now hold your place there and
find John chapter 1. John chapter 1. and I quoted
this earlier, his ministry was all about pointing sinners to
Christ. In John chapter 1 verse 6, there
was a man sent from God whose name was John, the same came
for witness to bear witness of the light that all men through
him might believe. He was not that light, but was
sent to bear witness of that light. When they came to ask
him, John, who are you? Look at John chapter 1 verse
23. He said, I'm a voice. Don't look
to me. They asked him one time, are
you the Messiah? Are you the Christ? Oh no, not
me. I'm a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight
the way of the Lord as said the prophet Isaiah. Again in John
chapter 1, look at verse 29. You see, John didn't send his two disciples
unto the Lord to see if He was the Christ indeed. John knew
that. He sent those two men not for the benefit of John, but
for their benefit. Look at John 1, 29. The next
day, John seeth the Lord Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Verse 35. John 1 verse 35, and
again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples
looking upon Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God,
and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed the
Lord Jesus Christ. Turn again in the book of John
chapter 3, John chapter 3 verse 27, John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from above. You
yourself bear witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I am
sent before him. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase. I must be put
out of the way. I must decrease. John was always
pointing centers through his ministry, and even while he's
in prison, he's still doing the same thing, isn't he? You go
to him, and you look to him, and you ask him, are you the
Christ? Yes. We're going to see that in just
a minute. John's ministry, therefore, was all about pointing sinners
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wise is that preacher, called
and said of God to always point sinners to Christ, to always
lift up the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, if I be lifted up, I'll
draw all unto me. That is what this ministry right
here at Zebulun has been all about since the spring of 1986.
We've been together This ministry was started in
the spring of 1986, when Pastor Henry Mahan came here the first
time and preached the gospel to you. I was here that very
night, that Sunday evening, and he took his text from Romans
chapter 1 verse 16, where Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. It's the power of God and the
salvation to everyone that believe it. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just
shall live by faith. The first message was preached
in this pulpit was a message pointing sinners to Christ who
has all power to save. There's salvation in no other
than the Lord Jesus Christ. And may it be true that there's
no other message that's come from this pulpit but that of
Christ in Him crucified. That's what I've been trying
to do for the last 35 years of my life. preaching the gospel,
pointing sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a charge
I take personally and seriously, and this is a charge that the
Lord's church takes personally and seriously. When Paul, sitting
there in prison, writes back to young Timothy, he said, I
charge you before God. and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
judged the living and the dead, to preach the Word, preach the
Word. And then Paul, when he departed
from those elders at Ephesus, he said, I'm not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. I kept back nothing that was
profitable unto you, but showing you from house to house repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, there
is no other. There is no other, is there?
Are Thou He that should come? Or do we look for another? Is
there another coming? Is there another Savior? Well,
listen to these Scriptures. There is no other salvation,
nor the name of their heaven, given among men, whereby we must
be saved. There is no other Savior. Call
His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sin. I know this, there is no other
Mediator between God and man than the God-man, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, I am God, and beside
me there is no other, and there's just one Mediator, the God-Man
Mediator. There's no other Redeemer but
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Redeemer that really,
truly does save His people with His own blood. I know this, there's
no other righteousness, is there? There's no other salvation. This
is the righteousness that we must have. Wise is that preacher. that would always point sinners
to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, look unto me and be
ye saved. All the ends of the earth, I
am God and there is no other. But wise is that person, wise
is that parent that would point their children to the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's exactly what The mother
and grandmother of young Timothy did, when Paul says here, Lois
and Eunice, they taught you the gospel. And then Paul said this,
and thou from a child hast known the Holy Scripture, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation. through faith which is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Wise is that preacher that would
always point sinners to Christ. Wise is that parent that would
always point their children to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wise is
that friend that would tell his friend salvation is in a person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. May it always be said here, this
ministry is all about preaching Christ, lifting up the Lord Jesus
Christ, giving Him all the honor and glory in salvation. Now here's the second thing.
Okay, there was a question. Are thou he that should come
or do we look for another? Now what's the Lord Jesus Christ
going to do and say? Here we have the divine evidence
truly given to us that Jesus of Nazareth indeed is the Christ
of God. That God indeed had visited His
people. Look at verse 21. In that same
hour He cured many, many, the many of their infirmities. and many that had plagues, and
many that had evil spirits, and unto many that were blind, He
gave sight." He spoke a word, and it was done. Now look at
verse 23. Then Jesus, entering in, said
unto them, so He healed many, He demonstrated that He is God,
and then He said this, verse 23, Verse 22, you go your way
and you tell John, you tell John what things you have seen and
what you have heard. Now two words here are very important,
how that, you see that, how that, how that the blind see, how that
the lame walk, how that lepers are really cleansed, how that
death Here, how that the dead are raised up, how that the poor,
the gospel is preached unto them. The Lord, beyond all doubt, clearly
demonstrated to all the people that He indeed, the only Christ
of God. the only Christ of God. What
He did in His earthly ministry was complete, the complete fulfillment
of all Holy Scriptures, the creed of God from eternity for this
purpose. Find Luke chapter 4. Do you remember
when He went to His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, and they
delivered Him the book of Isaiah? And He found the place, and He
opened the book, verse 17, He opened the book, he found the
place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord, this is from
Isaiah 61, is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captive, recovering sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. Now watch this. He closed the
book, gave it back to the minister in the synagogue, he sat down,
and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened
on him, and he said this, This day is this scripture fulfilled
in your ears." Everything the Lord Jesus Christ did in His
earthly ministry was foretold and prophesied of, and the Lord
Jesus Christ fulfilled every type, picture, and pattern, every
prophecy. And all bear him witness, and
wonder that the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.
And they said, Is not this the Son of Joseph? Oh no, this is
God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You go and tell John the things
that you have seen and heard, how that God gives salvation
to the Lord. People, the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ is not about the great things we have done for
God. The gospel is not about you.
The gospel is about Him. But rather the great things He
has done for us. He has performed all things for
us. All righteousness, all redemption.
Everything that is mentioned here in Luke chapter 7 verse
22. Everything that is mentioned
here is exactly what the Lord has done for every sinner who
He has wisely and powerfully saved by His grace. He mentions there six different
things. And we're going to go over each
one of these things. How God saves us by His purpose
and His grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. How that? He mentions six things
here. How that? First of all, he says
here, the blind see. Now, these things that are told
here are a description of what we are in ourselves, in our nature,
in our sin, in our depravity. By nature, we're what? Blind. Spiritually. Now, I can see with
these eyes, and that's a blessing, isn't it? To have good sight.
But by nature, I'm blind to the things of God. I don't have spiritual
eyes of faith to behold Him. I'm blind. He must come and He
must give us spiritual eyes to behold Him. And when He does,
when He says, Look unto Me and live, when He gives life, when
He commands the light to shine in our hearts, to give the light
to the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
when He gives life and light, what do we do? We see. Who do we see? We see Him. We
see Him with eyes of faith to behold the Lamb of God. He's
my sacrifice for sin. I'm no longer blind. I see who
He is and I love who He is. And then the second thing that
he mentions here, we were lame. We were lame. And that's a good
description of what we are naturally, crippled. Old Mephibosheth, lame on both
feet. We were lame, that is, unable
to walk the walk of faith. Unable to believe Him. He said, no man can come unto
Me except the Father which sent Me, draw him. But when He gives
faith, when He gives life, What do we do? We walk. We walk in
faith, believing Him, looking unto Him, and coming unto Him
always. Always looking unto Him. You
see, faith is a gift of God. When faith has legs, where does
it walk? It walks right to Christ. All
that the Father giveth to me shall come to me. How do we come
to Christ? By faith. By the legs of faith. By the eyes of faith. Now here's
the third thing that he mentions here. Lepers. Lepers are really cleansed. Now leprosy in this day was a
terminal disease. It was a vile disease. And this
is, this leprosy is a good type and picture of what we are before
God. Full of sin. From the top of our head to the
bottom of our feet. We are lepers through and through. There's nothing I can do to cure
my leprosy. There's nothing I can do to put
away my sin. But you know what the blessed
hope of the gospel is? Let me show you an example of
that. Find Matthew chapter 8. Here's a leper that was cleansed.
He came to the Lord Jesus Christ and he worshipped him. Matthew
chapter 8 verse 2. And behold, there came a leper
and worshipped him, a leper, and worshipped him, saying, If
you will, you can make me clean. And the Lord put forth His hand
and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. He was cleansed by the will of
God, by the power of God. By nature we're full of sinful
leprosy, and the Lord Jesus Christ, by His will, and by His power,
and by His sacrifice, what does He do? He makes us clean. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all our sin, does it not? The fourth
thing he mentions there, we were deaf, and the Lord gave us ears
to hear. By nature, we don't hear, will
not hear, will not have the truth of God, the way of God. We have
no ears to hear. Oh, but when He opened our ear,
opened our heart, He makes us to hear His voice, doesn't He?
He said, My sheep, they hear My voice, I know them, and they
follow Me. Blessed are your eyes, for they
see. Blessed are your ears, for they
hear. They're in tune to the Word of
God, to the truth of God. The sheep of Christ know when
the Gospel is declared. And they also know they have
a discerning spirit when the gospel is denied, when a false
preacher denies the gospel of God, they too, they have a ear
to hear. Oh, that man's not telling the
truth. The fifth thing he mentions there, the dead are raised. Now again, this is what we are
spiritually before God. We're born dead spiritually. Now I have physical life, but
I don't have spiritual life. Dead in sin. How dead? Graveyard dead. Graveyard dead. How is a dead man going to be
raised up? Not by his power. Not by his
will. Not by his work or doing. God
must raise us up. And that's exactly what the Scriptures
teach. We were dead in trespasses and
in sin, and He sovereignly passed by, as it says there in Ezekiel
16, in the time of love, when He saw that infant polluted and
dead, cast out of the field, and He passed by in the time
of love, and He said, you hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and in sin." And the last thing that he mentions
there, the dead are raised up. These are the things that God
has done for us in Christ. To the poor, the gospel is preached. You know what? By nature, by
our sinful nature, And by our birth and by practice and choice,
we are spiritually bankrupt sinners. We're in the poorhouse of sin.
We're bankrupt sinners. We have nothing, know nothing,
and are nothing. And you know what he does? He
makes us rich. He preaches the gospel unto us,
the gospel of His grace, and makes us to know that we are
heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
one of my favorite Scriptures, again, In 2 Corinthians 8-9,
he said, For ye know the grace of our God, that though he was
rich, yet for your sake, that you through his poverty, through
his sacrifice, through his humanity, through his impoverishment, that
we might be made, what? Rich. The poor have the gospel
preached unto them. We've been made heirs of God,
in joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have an inheritance
in Him, incorruptible, undefiled, that does not fade away, that's
reserved for us who are kept by the power of God. Now, the last point is found
in verse 23. Who is the blessed man? Are you a blessed person? Who is the blessed man? Now,
I know this for sure. It's not what most people think,
is it? It's not what most people think
it is. Blessedness does not reside in
health, wealth, popularity, prosperity, social status, or station in
life. That's not blessedness. That's
not blessedness. Blessedness is only found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. For all spiritual blessings are
found only in Him. Blessed is that man that believes
the gospel. You remember that scripture over
here? Turn back one page. Luke chapter
6, verse 20. He said, Blessed be ye poor,
Blessed be you, poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed
are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed
are they that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you
when men shall hate you, when they shall separate from you,
from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your
name as evil. for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice
in that day, leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great
in heaven. For in like manner did their
fathers unto the prophet." God's people are blessed abundantly
in Christ the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if you want to turn with
me, you can find Psalm 32. Who is that blessed man? Psalm
32. Blessed is he, verse 1, Psalm
32. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. That's the blessed man. Blessed
is that man whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, in whose spirit
there is no guile. That's the blessed man. That's
the blessed man. I'll show you one other Psalm.
I could read many of them, but turn to Psalm 65. Psalm 65, here's
the blessed man, verse 4. Psalm 65, verse 4, Blessed is
the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee,
that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple. Blessed is that
man whom God hath chosen that causes us to approach because
we are drawn by His everlasting love. Blessed is that man that
does not stumble over the gospel of His grace. Blessed is that
man that is not offended over the gospel of God's sovereign
mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, to you who believe He's
not a stumbling stone. To you who believe He's not a
rock of offense, is He? To you who believe He is precious
to you who believe. Now, blessed is that man, whosoever
he may be, that shall not be offended in me, not ashamed of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is altogether lovely. Now, men today are not offended
over a baby in a manger. They like that. But when you
preach the absolute sovereignty of God, the absolute authority
of God in creation, providence, and salvation, when you preach
and lift up the sovereign Christ of God on a throne of absolute
rule, reigning and ruling over all things, men left to themselves
will stumble over this. It will be a rock of offense
unto them. They will hate that because man
by nature hates the true and living God. When he's exposed
to it, they will often say, if Christ died only for the elect,
He's no Savior of mine. You see, men and women who are
taught of God, they love the sovereignty of God. They love
God who is sovereign. They love God who can raise up
dead sinners. You see, the carnal mind is enmity
against God. The carnal mind will not receive
the things of God. God's people, when they're taught
of God, they're not offended. They're not ashamed. The gospel
is not a stumbling stone. Now wherein lies the offense
of the gospel with the natural man? Paul said in Galatians 5,
And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision or works, why do
I suffer persecution? If I preach works, he said, then
the offense of the cross is seeth. Galatians 5.11. Again, he said
in 1 Corinthians 1.18, For the preaching of the cross is to
them that are perishing foolishness. but unto us which are saved is
the power of God, is the wisdom of God. For the Jews require
a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called, the called, both Jews or Gentiles,
Christ the power of God, and Christ the wisdom of God. Whosoever
is not offended or ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ hath to bless man. Now wherein is the offense? I'm
almost through. Just give me just a minute. Wherein
is the offense? Where is the offense of the gospel? It's offensive to man's religious
pride and his self-righteousness. Lost sinners, in some measure,
in some way, think that their salvation depends upon them or
determined by them. Salvation, as it's revealed in
the Word of God, is always dependent, determined, and accomplished
by the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner contributes nothing
to his salvation, nothing. Our Lord said, The Father hath
given me power over all flesh, that I should give eternal life
to as many as the Father hath given to me. When he had by himself
purged our sin, he sat down on the right hand of God." You see,
the man full of religious pride, he didn't want to hear that.
He thinks it really depends upon him. He thinks God has done all
he can do. Now, won't you let him have his way. The second
offense is this. It's offensive to man's intelligence
and wisdom when we declare that salvation is by divine and sovereign
revelation rather than human education. That we're totally
shut up to the mercy of God in this matter. You know, the gospel
is called a mystery that must be revealed. He's hid these things
from the wise and prudent and revealed them undebayed even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. Thirdly,
the gospel of Christ is also effective to the natural man's
will and his carnal mind. Our Lord said, it's not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. We preach the sovereign will
of God in salvation, not man's will. Not man's will, it's neither
free nor is it willing to come to Christ. It's in bondage to
his nature, it's enslaved to his sinful nature. We must be
made willing in the day of his power. You see, blessed is he
whosoever shall not be offended in me. And closing. Blessed is that sinner that is
not offended or does not stumble over Christ and Him crucified.
And we can say with Paul, I know whom I have believed, and I'm
persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him
against that day. Christ crucified is all our hope
for forgiveness of our sin, all of our justification before God. Being now justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath, through Him, blessed is He, the
Lord said, that's not offended in me." All that God has for
any sinner is in the Lord Jesus Christ, is it not? Salvation
is in a person. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son hath not life. God will demand nothing
more than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And God will receive
nothing less than that perfect sacrifice that he provided. This is God's lamb. If Christ
is all you have, Christ crucified is all you have, all your righteousness,
all your wisdom, all your sanctification, all your redemption, you have
all things. Is Christ enough? If He's all
you have, you have everything. In Him was all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, and in Him you stand complete. Christ is all and in all. Blessed is He whosoever shall
not be offended in me. In me.