Let's turn back now to 2 Corinthians
5. I think sometimes, and get a
little bit discouraged about it and even
blue about it, I think sometimes that that the people here must
get weary of hearing the same preacher over and over and over
again. I'm serious in that. That what can he say? He said
about all that he knows or can say, and perhaps it would be
well if a new voice or a new pastor, a new leader was brought
this way, and I went somewhere else. I feel that way quite often.
for the good of the church, for the glory of God. Because you
come to this place on a regular basis, and I step up here again
and again and again now, going on 31 years, 150 some odd times
a year. That's a lot of times. But the
gospel is always new. I remind myself of that. I remind
myself that we're not trying to say something new. We're trying
to tell the old story again, again, and again, and again.
Those that have heard it will rejoice afresh. Those who haven't
heard it, God may enable them to hear it. So we'll put forth
one more effort in 2 Corinthians 5 this morning, beginning with
verse 8. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 8 says,
we are confident. Now, I believe Paul when he wrote
this was no beginner. He was a man up in years. He
may have been about my age. He may have been approaching
60 years of age. There's a good possibility he
was thinking about death. He was thinking about the end
of his journey, the end of his life. And he says in verse 8
that he was confident and willing rather to be absent from the
body as to be present with the Lord. You see, the believer,
the true believer, for him to die is to be with Christ. It's
no loss, it's gain. For the true believer to die,
it's gain, it's a promotion. The sting of death is sin, and
this Christ has removed, so he's taken the fear out of death.
He's taken the victory away from death and from the grave. He
turned to the thief on the cross and he said, today shalt thou
be with me in paradise. He said to his disciples, I go
to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also. And this is what Paul is saying,
I'm confident, he said. I'm confident and I'm really
willing to be absent from this body and to be present with the
Lord. Now we have folks in the congregation
even older than I am and nearer to that day of departure, nearer
to that day of death. And we need to adopt this same
attitude toward death that Paul has here. I'm willing. I'm willing. I'm confident that to be absent
from this body is to be present with the Lord. And I'm willing. I'm willing to leave here and
to go to be with Christ, which is far better. And the only way
we can say that is to know that Christ has removed the fear.
Christ has removed the judgment. Christ has removed the sin. Christ
has removed any obstacle between us and eternal glory and an eternal
inheritance. Now, the next verse, he said,
but wherefore we endeavor, we labor, endeavor, that whether
we're here on this earth or whether we're absent from the body and
present with the Lord, here is our one goal, here is our one
objective, to be in Christ. to be accepted of Him. That's my one goal. Whatever
your ambition or your goal, I'll state mine this morning. I want
to be in Christ. That's what Paul said in Philippians.
He said, I count everything but loss. I count it even but rubbish
that I may win Christ and be found in Him. That I may know
Him and the power of His resurrection. So he says in verse 8, I'm confident
to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord.
And I'm willing. But whether God leaves me here
for another 15, 20, or 25 years, whether God leaves me here or
whether God takes me home, whether I'm here on this earth or whether
I'm in his presence in glory, this is the one thing that I
labor for and endeavor toward, and that is to be in Christ.
I want to win Christ and be found in him. And then verse 10, he
says, for there's a day of reckoning coming. There's a day of judgment. It's appointed unto all men once
to die and after that judgment. There's a day of reckoning. We
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And we're not
going to be tried by our opinions. We're not going to be tried by
the opinion of our friends. We're not going to be tried by
our religious standard. But we're going to stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. will be judged by our relationship
with him. That's what he's saying. Now
personally, I do not believe that what he's talking about
here in verse 10 is a judgment of believers and God's going
to weigh how many sermons they preached and how much money they
gave and how many souls they won and how much work they did
and mete out rewards accordingly. I don't believe that's what he's
talking about at all. Apostle Paul, this is what he's saying.
I'm just confident this is what he's saying because such a judgment
for rewards is not scriptural anyway. Whatever I do, if I preach,
if I preach, I preach with the gift God gave me. If I believe,
I believe with the faith God gave me. If I work in the kingdom
of God, I work with the talent or ability, Jim, he gave me.
So God's not going to reward me for something he did. Christ
is our reward, and Christ is all the reward we need and all
the reward we want. There are no degrees in glory.
There are no degrees of love before God. God for his children.
Now the scripture seems to teach that there are degrees of judgment
and punishment for the wicked. Our Lord said it'd be easier
for the cities of Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for the
cities of Capernaum or Bethsaida in which his mighty works were
done. If I were going to hell, I'd rather go to hell from Africa
than from Ashland. Because there's more light here.
There's more gospel preached here. There's more understanding. There are more opportunities.
He said, to him that knoweth to do his master's will and doeth
it not, he shall be beaten with many stripes. He that knoweth
not the master's will and doeth it not shall be beaten with few
stripes. And that seems to teach degrees of judgment and degrees
of punishment for the wicked. But God loves all of his children
the same. And in glory, the first shall
be last and the last shall be first. And the thief on the cross
is just as redeemed and just as sanctified and just as glorified
and just as righteous as the man who's been saved for 40 years.
Moses will have no more glory in glory than I'll have, because
the glory doesn't belong to Moses, it belongs to Christ. Now that's
the key. The glory doesn't belong to you, it belongs to Christ
Jesus. So this is not, this judgment he's talking about, here's what
he's saying. He's talking about his own ministry. He said, I'll
tell you where I'd rather be, I'd rather be with Christ. I'm
willing to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord.
I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better. I'm not quoting me, I'm quoting Paul. I wish I could
say that. I wish I had that grace this
morning. I wish I had that willingness.
I pray to God, you know, we're talking about, oh, I'd be ready
to die when I wait, hold on just a minute. Now wait just a minute. The summers just could come any
time, and so let's don't talk too much about that. But this
is what Paul says, I'm willing, and I'm ready, and I'm confident
to be absent from this body to be present with the Lord. And
that's my confidence and that's my assurance. But he says, I
tell you this, whether God leads me here or whether God takes
me to glory, my one endeavor, my one labor, my one goal is
to be like Christ. Because, and this is the reason
I want to be in Christ, I want to be accepted of him, I want
to be in him, I want to be redeemed by him, because everybody's going
to die. Everybody's going to die, and the judgment is going
to be based on not what you did or didn't do, but on Christ,
the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ.
You say, what about that where it says, and every man shall
receive that which is done in the body according to what he
had done, whether it be good or whether it be bad. Yes, men
who are brought before the judgment who don't have Christ are going
to answer for their sins. sins that they've done in the
body. But I'm not going to answer for my sins, Christ has already
answered for them. The believer is not going to
be called to account for his sins, Christ has already answered
for them. Actually, in Christ, for the
believer, there is no judgment. There's therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus the Lord. So Paul says, all men
are going to die. And all men are going to stand
before God and the basis of judgment is going to be their relationship
with Christ. If a man stands before God in
the judgment and he has Christ, then there's no judgment, there's
no charge, there's no condemnation, there's no punishment. If a man
stands before God in the judgment, he's going to be punished if
he has not Christ. God's going to say, depart from
me, I never knew you. Now watch the next verse. So therefore,
knowing this terror, The terror of the Lord. Knowing what it'll
mean to stand before God and hear Him say, I never knew you.
Can you imagine the terror? Knowing the terror of the Lord.
The terror of that day of judgment. The terror of that day of reckoning.
As men stand before God and say, now wait Lord, we preached in
your name and cast out devils and did, we've done many wonderful
works, I never knew you. I never knew you. Depart from
me ye that work iniquity. This is what the Apostle is saying.
I know the terror. I know the terror of the Lord.
I know what it means to hear God say depart from me. So knowing
that terror, I persuade men. Knowing the terror of the Lord,
I persuade men. I encourage you. I call upon
you to examine yourselves. Are you in Christ? Do you know
Christ? Now, to me, this is not difficult. I don't think we should
make something out of it that's not here. I said this last Sunday,
if you want to interpret Scripture, interpret Scripture in the light
of Scripture. If you want to interpret the
Word of God, interpret it in the light of the rest of the
Word. You see, all Scripture is God-bred. All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God. And all Scripture is profitable.
But no scripture is of any private interpretation. That is, you
cannot take verse 10 and teach a judgment of believers for rewards
when the rest of the Bible doesn't teach that. You just can't do
it. You can't take one verse of scripture
and teach a judgment of nations on how they treated the Jew.
God's not going to send men to hell for the treatment of the
Jews. God's going to send men to hell who know not Christ.
who have no righteousness, whose sins are not pardoned. And we've
just gone through the Bible and taken verses here and verses
there and tacked them up and taught them, but I believe very
sincerely what Paul is saying here is, brethren, I'm willing
to go and be with Christ and confident that Christ has taken
the sting and fear out of death. But he said, whether I'm here
or whether I'm in glory, he said, I have one end and one aim and
one objective and one goal. I want to be like Christ. I want
to be accepted of Christ. I want to be in Christ. Because,
he said, everybody's going to die. And they're going to stand
before the judgment seat of Christ. On the basis of Christ. They're
going to be judged for their relationship with Christ. And
men are going to be judged. Because of what? Because of sin.
The things done in the body. That's where sin is. Sin is an
act of the heart and the mind and the will, but the body expresses
that sin. And they're going to be judged
for those things. So therefore, he says, knowing the terror of
standing before God without Christ. Knowing the terror of standing
before God without a righteousness. Knowing the terror of standing
before God without a hope. knowing the terror of standing
before Almighty God without a high priest, without a mediator. I
persuade people. That's my ministry. I persuade
them. I persuade them. But we're made
manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your
consciences. We commend not ourselves. He
said, I'm not bragging on myself. I'm not commending ourselves
again to you. We're not bragging on ourselves.
We're not seeking personal glory. We're but sinners saved by the
grace of God. He said, Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief. He said,
actually, I'm not worthy to be an apostle. I persecuted the
church. I was a blasphemer and I was injurious. He said, I'm
less than the least of all the saints, chief of sinners. I'm not bragging on myself. He
said, I'm not asking you to brag on me, but I'll tell you what
I'm doing. I give you occasion. to glory on our behalf, that
you may have somewhat to answer, folks, who glory in appearance
and not in heart." Here's what he's saying. He said, what I'm
saying, I'm saying these things, that you may have an answer for
the false teachers and false religionists. Those people who
glory in appearance, in professions, in flesh, in numbers, and not
in heart. Salvation's a heart work. Salvation's
a work of grace. It's not just an outward profession.
And he said, the things that I'm saying, I'm not saying to
brag on myself or to brag on my ministry or to brag on the
things that are going on here. I'm saying it that you might
have something to answer these folks who are lying on God. It's time somebody answered. Now, we'll just give an example.
Somebody told me, he said, quit preaching on other people. Now,
quit talking about Preachers just talk about the Bible now.
Wait a minute Our Lord said beware of false preachers. Did he say
that Jim beware of false preachers? He said to the fact he said these
Pharisees are wolves in sheep's clothing And the Apostle Paul
said, I warn you about those folks that come and tell you
to be circumcised to be saved, and become a Jew to be saved,
and all this sort of thing. I warn you. He said, I warn you
about people who say, touch not, taste not, handle not. I warn
you about people who come to you saying, don't eat this, and
don't drink that, and you'll be saved. Keep this day. Keep
a Sabbath day. Keep a holy day. He said, they
glory in appearance. And they're lying on God. And
they'll take you to hell with them. That's what Paul said.
This morning I went on to turn my television on. I want you
to think about this. I want you to listen to it. And
there's a preacher on television. And all these fellas, I know
what they're doing. I'm on television. We're not
on like they are, you know, but we have a bill that comes in
here every month. And four television programs
cost $3,200. And every year, it costs $40,000.
And we don't get the money in. We get maybe $200 a week, average,
or $250. And that means $600 left for
you to pay. And it'd be nice if it all come in. And I got
a call from Cincinnati last week that offered me a program on
Cincinnati Station. We've got calls from other stations,
but we can't take them. We don't have the money. I want
you to give away something. Well, you see? Or why don't you
tell people if you don't see any money going off the air,
you really want me to do that? I won't do it. If God wants me
on Cincinnati, he'll pay the bill, I believe that. Or somewhere
else. I'm just saying, I know what
they're doing. They're trying to get more money.
And so this preacher said to all his thousands and millions
of listeners, he said, I'm going to the Holy Land. And he said,
tell you what I'm going to do. If you'll send me the name of
your loved ones that's lost, I'll take that name with me,
and I'll lay it on Calvary, on that hill, Golgotha. I'll take
that name. Last year, he said I took 40,000
names. That means about $100,000 at
least, or $200,000. That's what it means. It means
everybody sends in. I know people send in requests
and money. People that send in for tapes
send money. People that write and ask you
to pray for folks send money. Nine out of ten letters that
come in have some contribution in the envelope. These men know
that, that's why they do that. So I'm going to take these names
and put them on Calgary. Now he said, my wife and I make
this trip, and he said we go thousands of miles and it's worth
it. if God, as a result of my going over there and putting
that name on Calvary, will save a soul. You reckon God's going
to save a man because we took his name and put it over there
in the dirt in that land where Christ was crucified? You see,
this is what bothers me. And what Paul is saying, those
fellows operated during his day. They operated, false teachers
and preachers, they were everywhere. And what Paul is saying here,
he says, I'm saying these things to you, not to call attention
to myself, not to say I'm the only preacher God has. I'm not
saying that at all. I'm not bragging on myself. He
said, I'm not looking for your, but I'm telling you these things
that you might have somewhat to answer those fools. That's
exactly what they are. that you might have something
to answer them. They glory in appearance, they
glory in numbers, they glory in showmanship, they glory in,
you know what they're doing. And Paul says, that's the reason
I'm saying these things, and I've got more to say in verse
13. He says, if I'm beside myself, if I'm crazy like they say I
am, and that's what one fellow said to him, he said, Paul, much
learning has made you mad. If I'm crazy as they say I am,
it's to God's glory. if I'm beside myself, but if
I am sober, and if I'm in my right mind, it's for your eternal
good. That's exactly why God sent me
for your good. Now I'll tell you this, salvation
is in Christ. Salvation is to be in Him, to
be accepted of Him, to be redeemed by Him. Salvation is a personal
relationship, your heart receiving Christ. Knowing him in your heart. It's submitting to him. It's
receiving him. It's trusting him. It's believing
on him It's Christ dying for your sins. It's Christ putting
away your guilt. It's Christ as your high priest
It's Christ interceding for you. You are accepted in the beloved
this water Baptism in its proper place as a confession of Christ
is Commendable, but it cannot put away sin These wafers and
wine or bread or crackers or orange drink grape juice or whatever
people use Cannot put away sin walking an hour shaking a preacher's
hand making a confession of faith will not redeem your soul Turning
over a new leaf doing religious work serving God giving your
tithes will not going to church will not redeem you We're redeemed
by Christ That's where how a man is redeemed Now he said, if I'm
crazy, it's for the glory of God, because God's glorified
in Christ. But if I'm in my right mind,
it's for your good. Now look at verse 14. He says,
verse 14, for the love of Christ constrains us, we are motivated,
we are driven by the love of Christ. Christ's love for us.
Christ's love for us. He loved me and gave himself
for me. The Lord Jesus Christ loved me in eternity with an
everlasting love. He loved me with an infinite
love that brought him to this earth clothed in human flesh
as my federal head, as my representative. He loved me with an everlasting
love that took him to the cross to bear my sin and my shame and
my guilt in his body on the tree. He loved me even to enter the
tomb. and to rise again and to ascend
to the right hand of the Father where He ever lives to make intercession. He loved me. He forgives me.
He pardoned me. He puts away my guilt. He loves
us. And that love drives me, Paul
said, and motivates me. And I judge this. If He died
for all, now it says here, then we're all dead. And there's a
sense in which we were dead in trespasses and sin. But what
Paul is saying here, if Christ died for me, I died in Him. I'm crucified unto the world,
and the world crucified unto me. Verse 15, and if he died
for us, he died for us that we should not live henceforth unto
ourselves, but unto him who died for us and who rose again. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me. He bought me, I'm his.
Now verse 16, wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh.
This is not the, here's what one man said, from now on we
regard no man from a purely human point of view in terms of natural
standards or values. Our relationship is solely on
this plane, on the plane of Christ and the family of God. We know
no man on any other plane. We do not bow to any man rich
or poor, old or young, black or white, or whatever, Jew or
Gentile. We know no divisions. In Christ
there's neither male nor female, neither rich nor poor, neither
old nor young, neither bond nor free. There was a time when Christ
was here on this earth as a man. He lived a perfect life in the
flesh. But even Christ, we know him that way no more. We know
no man after the flesh. Therefore, now here's where I
want to get to this right here before I close. Therefore, if
any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, any man, Jew
or Gentile, old or young, rich or poor, male or female, moral
or immoral, if any man be in Christ, there is no difference,
if any man be in Christ. Preacher, what does it mean to
be in Christ? I know what it means to be with
a person, walking with them side by side. I know what it means
to follow a person. I know what it means to be acquainted
with a person. But you keep talking about being
in Christ, in Christ, accepted in the beloved. What does it
mean to be in Christ? Well let me see if I can help
you there. The Bible definitely says salvation is in Christ.
Turn to Ephesians just a moment. Ephesians chapter 1. What does
it mean to be in Christ? If any man be in Christ, here
in Ephesians 1 it says in verse 3, blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Verse 6, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, for he has made us accepted in
the beloved. Verse 7, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sin. Verse 11 says, in whom
we have obtained an inheritance. So all the way through the word
of God, that's just one chapter. It talks about being in Christ,
in Christ, in Christ. Well, what does it mean to be
in Christ? Well, let me give you four or five things. First
of all, it's to be in Christ as our covenant head. Now, let's
go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. In Christ as our covenant head. Call it federal head or covenant
head, but we're in Christ before we were ever born. Before we
ever came into this world, we were in Christ. Like Noah was
in the ark. Noah was preserved in the ark.
He was upheld in the ark. He was delivered from judgment
in the ark. He was in, God's mercy was upon
that ark and all who were in that ark. It's like the manslayer
who was in the city of refuge. If he accidentally slew a man,
then the brother or father of that man could slay him in vengeance
unless he ran to one of those seven cities of refuge and once
in the gate, and the gates closed, he's in the city and safe. Can't
touch him. He's in that city. As the vine
is in the branch, here's a vine, a branch is in the vine, here's
a vine growing, and there's a branch in that vine. It gets its nourishment
from it, its life from it, its fruit from it, and everything.
Separate from the vine, it's dead. Or as a stone is in the
building, it's part of the building. This is the way we're in Christ.
Now in Christ first is our covenant head. Now watch this. In 1 Corinthians
15 verse 21, listen. Since by man came death, by man
came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." When God
made Adam, he made the whole human race. He made the whole,
when he made that one man, when he made from the dust to the
ground, Adam, he made the whole human race. He was our federal
head. He represented us. When he stood,
we stood. When he obeyed, we obeyed. When
he sinned, we sinned. When he fell, we fell. When he
died, we died. That's federal headship. That's
representation. We were in Adam. All right, in
the same way, that's what he's saying here. In Adam, we died.
In Adam, we sinned. By one man's transgression, sin
came upon the whole world. Death, judgment, because of sin,
we died. Even so, in Christ, God chose
Christ as the head, the surety of the everlasting covenant.
His blood is the blood of the everlasting covenant. So back
yonder before the world began, this is what the scripture teaches.
God looked upon us in Christ. He regarded us in Christ. He
loved us in Christ. He accepted us in Christ. Even
Abraham, when Abraham was just a boy, He wasn't a believer. His father was an idol worshiper.
Abraham lived in a pagan country. His whole family worshipped idols. Even when Abraham was a young
man and married Sarah, they had a wedding ceremony. He didn't
know God. He didn't love God. He was bound
down before an altar of idols. Why didn't God strike him dead?
I tell you, he was in Christ. He was in Christ. He was regarded
in Christ. Even when Abraham was a young
man, you know, out earning his living, he didn't give thanks
to God. He didn't know. Solitarsis. He was persecuting the church,
putting people in prison who loved Christ. Why didn't God
strike him dead? He was in Christ. You see that, Bill? Christ was
his head. Christ was his covenant head.
Adam he sinned in Christ he was in Christ regarded in the purpose
of God in the plan of God in the in the covenant of grace
in Christ all right something else turned to Romans 5 19 was
it mean to be in Christ here's the second thing it means to
be in Christ as our covenant head and then it means to be
in Christ our representative now the Lord Jesus came down
to this earth now all the way through the Old Testament their
pictures of Christ their types and shadows and promises and
prophecies and pictures and all these things show Christ. Every
lamb, every sacrifice, every high priest, every ceremony pictured
Christ. But in the fullness of time,
God sent his son into this world. And Old Testament believers were
saved, were accepted of God, were declared righteous by looking
to the coming Redeemer. We're saved by looking back to
the Redeemer who came. So in the fullness of time, God
sent his son into the world, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that are born under the law. And it says
here in Romans 5, 19, as by one man's disobedience, many were
made sinners. That's by Adam's disobedience.
He was our representative. Even so, by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous. So when Christ was born of Mary
in Bethlehem, As a little infant, there, every believer was considered
in him. He was representing every...
When Adam stood over here in the garden and said, we're going
to be like God. I know God says don't take the
fruit, but I'm taking it anyway. I'm going to have my own way.
The whole human race was in Adam. The whole human race. Everybody
was in him. He represented them. He was their
representative. He was speaking for every one
of us. when he said, I won't have God to reign over me. Now,
when Jesus Christ came as an infant, he was speaking for every
one of his own. He was speaking for everyone.
He said, not my will, but thy will be done. That's me saying
that, and you. When Christ walked on this earth
and obeyed every law, every law of God, every ceremony law, every
Levitical law, when he was submissive to these things and when he loved
his enemies, prayed for them that spit upon him, Comforted
the bereaved and healed the sick and his hand went about doing
good and in and the father said I'm well pleased I was in him
In him see what in him is my representative art another turned
to Isaiah 53 Was it mean to be in Christ? Are you with me? Therefore if any man be in Christ,
Isaiah 53 now Paul said from crazy like to say it's for God's
glory because this way God's glorified and Or if I'm in my
right mind, it's for your good. I'm not defending myself. I don't
need to, he said. I'm just giving you some truth
so you can answer those false teachers. All right, look at
Isaiah 53. What does it mean to be in Christ?
All right, verse 4. In Christ as our substitute,
surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, but he
was wounded for our transgression. In other words, what Isaiah is
saying, I saw him, a root out of dry ground, despised, rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, everybody was anybody,
turned thumbs down on him. I saw all that, he said. I saw
him hated of the multitude. I saw him smitten of God, nailed
to a cross, but he was nailed there for my transgressions.
He was nailed there for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace
was upon him and by his stripes I'm healed. We had gone astray.
We turned everyone to his own way. The Lord laid on him our
iniquity. I was in Christ on that cross
as my substitute. God was punishing us. He wasn't
punishing Christ. Christ had no reason to be punished.
He was not judging Christ, he was not punishing his son, he
was punishing our sins that were laid on his son. So I'm in Christ
as my substitute. This is what the blessed apostle
saying all the way through these verses in 2nd Corinthians 5,
he said, I labor, I endeavor, I want to be in Christ, accepted
of Christ. And that's my concern, he said,
for you. That's my concern. What does it mean to be in Christ?
Turn to Ephesians 2, let's see something else. In Christ. Now I know that today's preacher,
I guess you just preach what you know, you preach what you've
experienced. And I hear them saying, if you
want to be saved, just come down the aisle and believe this, believe
that, believe the other. And they shake hands and they
cry and pat you on the back and come by and everybody shakes
hands. We're all saved now, we're all fixed up, you know, and the
fellow is as empty as he ever was. as ignorant as he ever was. And they got to beg him to be
baptized. They got to give him a card to
get him to give. And they have to send somebody
to his house to get him to come to church. They have to give
him a job teaching to keep him faithful and loyal. All this,
they have to get some, build a basketball court to keep his
children in church. And you have to do all these
things, you know. It's just about a social club. But if you want
to listen to that, it's all right by me. Find somebody to preach
it to you. But I know this, salvation is a miracle. It's a new birth. It's a resurrection from the
dead. It's a new creation. It's a new creation. Any man
be in Christ, he's a new creation. It has the same author. God created
this world. And it's created out of nothing. God spake the world out of nothing.
And when he created you in Christ Jesus, he created you out of
nothing. He didn't take your old heart and fix it up, and
your old garment and fix it up. He gave you a new heart, and
a new family, and a new nature, and a new garment. And this old
world is created by the Word of God. God spake and it came
into being, and we are created by the Word of God. He hath begotten
us again unto a living hope by the incorruptible seed of His
own will. He hath begotten us through the word of truth. And
when God looked at that first creation, He said, good. And
when God looks at us in Christ, He says, good. In Christ. That's so, in Christ. I know
that salvation is a miracle. It's a new birth. It's life from
the dead. It's a new creation. It's a work
of God that never ends. It's a continual work. And it's
all in Christ. It was done in Christ before
the foundation of the world. I want you to understand these
things. I want you to have some place for your foot. You say,
how do you know what you're saying? Well, I had experience. How do
you know what you're saying? Well, I joined the church. How
do you know what you're saying? Well, I did this. I did that.
How do I know that God Almighty is my Father and life is mine
by grace because I was in Christ in covenant mercies? In Christ. I was in Christ as a representative
when he walked this earth. I have a perfect righteousness
because I have the righteousness of Christ. I have a perfect standing
before, it's not a church standard, it's God's standard that Christ
obeyed, not something I've obeyed. Some of you can say the same
thing. When Christ died on that cross, I died in him. My sins
were laid on him and he paid the debt. And there's no debt
owed. There's no sins to be punished. There's no sins to be judged.
There's no reason for God to call me before the judgment.
I perfectly did what God Almighty required. That's what I can't
see about this Christians coming to the judgment. What's God going
to judge them for? He doesn't. Now, I tell you this.
Yes, sir, if God's going to hold us accountable for sins, and
for shortcomings. I tell you where we're going
to wind up, in His eternal wrath and darkness, because Almighty
God can only receive one thing, and that's perfection. Perfection. And even my best works and righteousness
are filthy rags, they're not perfection. So it's all in Christ. Look at Ephesians 2. What does
it mean to be in Christ? Alright, Ephesians 2, verse 4.
But God who is rich, he talked about what we were back in verse
2 and 3. But God, verse 4, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved, and hath
raised us up together, together with whom? With Christ, and hath
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Brother, let
me tell you something. The reason we're saved is not
because our names are written alphabetically on a church roll
book. We're saved because we are right now seated in Christ
on the right hand of God. That's where salvation is, in
Christ, seated in Christ. All right, one more. Let me show
you this. In 1 Corinthians 12, in 1 Corinthians 12, Verse 12
and 13, 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12 and 13. We're in Christ by regeneration,
by regeneration. You know what I'm saying? Regeneration
is the work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is when the Holy
Spirit, when the Holy Spirit makes us alive, when the Holy
Spirit quickens the dead sinner. and brings him into Christ. Now
watch this in 1 Corinthians 12, 12, and 13. We're talking about
the members of the body of Christ. Well, as the body is one and
has many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body, so is also Christ. It's talking about, here's
a human body. May I deal with this just a moment? And the human body is not one
big ear. It's not one big arm. It'd be
grotesque. It's not one big leg, not one
big nose, thank the Lord, you know. It has many members. Proportion is beauty. Proportion
is beauty. And God has put the human body,
many members. And the body of Christ is many
members. The members are different. They're different personality,
different characteristics, they're different in age, they're different
in all these different things. They're one in Christ. They're
one body. And they're baptized, look at verse 12, by one spirit
we're baptized into one body. Whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free, whatever, we've been made to drink of one
spirit. That's how we got in Christ, the Holy Spirit, Jim,
put us in Christ, baptized us into Christ. The preacher didn't
do it. The fellow going to the Holy
Land with my name didn't do it. The Holy Spirit of God called
me, quickened me, regenerated me, illuminated me, enlightened
me, brought me by his grace into Christ. I've got to give him
all the glory. By one spirit I was baptized in. It's a mystery.
It's what one of our young men was talking about last night
in his message. I can't explain it. I just know it's a myth,
but I can explain this next one now, Ephesians 3. And I'm dealing
with what is it to be in Christ. And I'm coming to this right
here. And this is a responsibility that now I lay on you. And we've
gone through all of this, and I hope you've, I've rambled a
lot this morning, but I believe God's in this message. Paul defends
his message. He said, I'm willing to stay
here or go there to be with Christ. But whether I'm here or there,
my one desire is to be in Christ. There's a day coming when to
be in Christ will be everything. And knowing that terror, I'm
warning you. And he said, you may think I'm crazy, but it's
for God's glory. But I tell you, if I'm sober
and in my right mind, it's for your good. And I'm persuading,
folks, because I know if any man be in Christ, in Christ,
He's a new creature. Old things have passed away.
All old things. Judgment's gone. Condemnation's
gone. Our own will is gone. Our own
understanding. The old family's gone. Everything.
We're a new creature in Christ. All things become new. What does
it mean to be in Christ? Well, it goes back yonder to
God's purpose. That's where you have to start.
When we're in Christ, our covenant is. He comes down here to this
earth. In Christ, my representative.
In Christ my substitute who died on the cross. In Christ my risen
justifier. In Christ my seated mediator
and reigning high priest. In Christ, that's where I am,
in Christ. And baptized into this body. I didn't come down
here and say I believe I'll be a member of the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit Danny brought me to Christ. The Holy Spirit
went out there and found God's sheep, and found one here, and
one there, and one there, and brought them into this body.
The Holy Spirit did it. But, look at Ephesians 3, 17. That Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith. Oh, now that's what we'll speak
on tonight. Faith, faith that you being rooted
and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know
the love of Christ that passeth human knowledge that you might
be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is
able to do exceedingly exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto
him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages
world without end." I'm in Christ by faith. By faith. By God's eternal purpose and
will. By Christ's obedience. and by Christ's sacrifice, by
the Holy Spirit's regenerating work.