Faith In the Power of God

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation through Christ?

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, who satisfies God's justice and redeems sinners. The Scriptures reveal that salvation, redemption, and acceptance before God are found solely in Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, God's promise of salvation through the 'seed of the woman' points directly to Christ, culminating in His death and resurrection. Prophetic passages in the Old Testament, as well as the preaching of the apostles in the New Testament, emphasize that salvation is found in no other name but Jesus (Acts 4:12). The death of Christ was substitutionary; He bore our sins and offered us His perfect righteousness, allowing the justice of God to be satisfied while extending mercy to the sinner.

Q: How do we know Christ's death redeems us?

Christ's death is our redemption, satisfying God's justice and allowing us to be justified before Him. In His death, Christ not only served as our substitute but also fulfilled the righteous demands of God's law. His sacrifice was perfect and complete, paying the penalty for our sins fully. The apostle Paul emphasizes that through Christ, we are justified from all things from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39). By His death and resurrection, Christ's work ensures that believers are declared righteous and free from condemnation, thus establishing the profound truth that redemption is wholly in Him.

Q: Why is the doctrine of substitutionary atonement important for Christians?

Substitutionary atonement is vital as it underscores that Christ died in our place, allowing us to be forgiven and reconciled to God. The doctrine of substitutionary atonement teaches that Jesus took upon Himself the sins of humanity, suffering the penalty that we deserved. This doctrine is crucial because it illustrates the depth of God's love and justice; He did not overlook sin but dealt with it justly through His Son. As expressed in Isaiah 53:5, He was wounded for our transgressions and by His stripes, we are healed. Knowing that Christ bore our sins allows believers to understand the assurance of their salvation and the grace offered to them freely, confirming the truth that they are accepted based on Christ's work alone, not their own merits.

Well, I always enjoy the singing
and the special music and the instruments, but I don't know
when, Mike, I've enjoyed song services more than today. They've
been a blessing to me, and I know I speak for the congregation
in expressing our gratitude to God,
first of all, and then to you who bless us with your gifts.
We're thankful. It's been a good day. All right. Now, by way of introducing my
comments from the chapter we'll be looking at in a moment, I have this to say. The way of salvation eternal life, the way of redemption
and acceptance for the sinner before the living God, is revealed
in the scriptures in the plainest and clearest words. The way of salvation, redemption,
how God saves a sinner, the way of eternal life, how
a sinner is accepted before God is revealed in his word, in the
plainest, clearest word. First of all, in prophecy, in
promise. Go back to the very beginning. After Adam had fallen, sin had
come upon the human race through Adam. At that very time, in that time
of darkness depravity and sin. God said, God spoke and said
this. He said the seed of woman shall
bruise the serpent's head. The serpent being Satan with
all of the power of evil, the government of evil, and he says
the seed of woman shall bruise or destroy the serpent's power. That's the gospel. That's announcing
the coming of Christ, who's the only person who is the seed of
woman, virgin-born. And through his cross and through
his death, he destroyed the power of Satan. That's the way men
are saved. Then in the book of Isaiah, perhaps
quoted more than any other Old Testament prophet, that is, in
the New Testament, quoted more in the New Testament He said,
Behold, the Lord himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall
conceive and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Immanuel, God, with us. And then he went on to say, Unto
us a child is born, a son is given, and the government shall
be on his shoulders. And his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And he shall grow up as a tender
plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form or comeliness,
no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from him. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities,
the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we are healed. That's the gospel. Jeremiah, he said, and the Lord
shall raise up a king, a branch, and in his day Judah will be
saved and Israel shall dwell safely, for he shall be called
the Lord our righteousness. That's the gospel, that's clear,
plain language, isn't it? In prophecy and promise. And
then the way of salvation throughout the Old Testament is given to
us clearly and plainly in picture. In the very earliest time when
Abel and his brother Cain, the first, or among the first of
Adam's children, who were now grown men, who had been instructed
by their father, who had been instructed by God, when they
came to worship, to build an altar, and to offer a sacrifice,
a blood sacrifice, came in his rebellion, seeking to be accepted
of God on the basis of his works, came with the fruit of his hands,
of fruit of the field, the things that he had grown and made and
offered them to God as a sacrifice, and God rejected him. That's
the religion of works, that's the religion of human righteousness,
that's the religion of human deeds, God rejected it. And when he rejected it, Cain
became so angry, so infuriated, that he turned his wrath against
his brother who came before God as God instructed men to come
before him with a sacrifice of When Abel came before God, he
built an altar like Cain, and he put a sacrifice or an offering
on that altar like Cain. But God had respect to Abel and
his offering, and not to Cain, wherein was the difference. This
was blood. This was Christ. This was substitution. There it is. And when God would
deliver Israel out of Egypt, when he had sent those several
plagues and they only hardened their hearts against him, finally
the Lord said, now Moses, this is the last plague, and Pharaoh
will release the people. And you take a lamb, a lamb,
and that's the way our Lord Jesus is pictured throughout the world,
throughout the word of God, a lamb. Behold the Lamb of God. Even
in Revelation, I saw a lamb in the midst of the throne as it
had been slain. Take a lamb, the firstling of
the flock, without spot or blemish, that's the sinlessness of Christ,
and put it up four days and observe it to make sure it's without
spot or blemish. Christ was observed and tested
and tried in all points, yet without sin. Then slay the lamb.
put the blood on the door, and when I see the blood, I'll pass
over you." And in Egypt, there was death
in every home. There was death in every home.
There was death, even the firstborn of the cattle on the hillside
died. The firstborn died in the land
of Egypt. And there was death also in every
Israelite home, but it was a lamb who died and not the son. Substitution. There it is. And God told them
to keep that Passover all the way through until his Lamb came,
and when Christ came, they observed the Passover for the last time
in that upper room, and he gave to his disciples the Lord's table. And instead of the slaying of
the Lamb and the shedding of the blood and the eating of the
Lamb's body, we eat bread, unleavened bread. Christ said, this is my
body. And we drink the wine, which he said is my blood, which
is shed for the remission of your sins. I can't see where
anybody would miss that, at least up here. It's substitution. The tabernacle, the mercy seat,
I could go on and on. And then the way of salvation,
the way a sinner is accepted of God, is not only in prophecy,
promise, picture, but person. When God came to Joseph and told
Joseph, when the angel told Joseph that Mary was with child in fulfillment
of Isaiah's prophecy, a virgin shall conceive. And she was also
in the house and lineage of David, the heir to David's throne, and
from Bethlehem, that was their home city in which the Messiah
was to be born, the angel said to Joseph, Now, fear not to take
unto thee Mary to be thy wife, for that holy thing which is
conceived in her is the Son of God, the Son of God. And she'll bring forth a son,
and you call his name Joshua, Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. He'll save his people. He'll
save them. He'll save his people from their
sins. And when John wrote about it, he said, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and all things were made by him, without him was not anything
made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. And Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And Peter wrote,
he suffered the just for the unjust, that he might bring us
to God. I don't see how you can be any
plainer than that. And then in the preaching of
the apostles. Why don't you turn with me to the preaching of the
apostles. First of all, let's look at Acts chapter 4. Acts
the fourth chapter. And here the apostles are preaching.
This is their message. Acts 4 verse 10. Listen to it.
Acts 4 10. Be it known unto you all, and
to all the people of Israel, But by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him does this man stand here before you whole? I can
say that of myself. By him does this man stand before
you whole? You can say that about yourself.
By him does this man stand before you whole? This is the stone
which was set at naught of you builders, you religious leaders,
and he has become the head of the corner, and neither is there
salvation in any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." What
name? Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Just
turn over one page to Acts 5 and listen to the apostle Peter and
the other apostles here in Acts 5 verse 29. Then Peter and the
other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than
men. The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. And him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a prince, a savior, and to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sin. Could it be any clearer than
that? Well, I turn to Acts chapter 13. And listen to the apostle
here, Acts 13, this is the preaching of the apostle. In Acts chapter
13, listen to this, verse 38. Be it known unto you therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, Jesus Christ, his life
and death, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And
by him all that believe are justified from all things. from which you
could not be justified by the law of Moses." My friends, God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. And we are
ambassadors of God and we cry, be ye reconciled to God. For
he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. For in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete
in him." Ain't that clear? And yet, there's no subject in
the world against which more error and confusion reigns than
the way of salvation, the way of substitution, the way of redemption. through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There is no subject in the Bible or anywhere else against which
more error and confusion reigns than this subject right here,
how a man is justified before God, how God can be just and
justify sin. And it's not only the enemies
of Christ who are guilty. Sad to say, sometimes, too The
friends of Christ are guilty of confusing the issue. That's
right. Sometimes the friends of Christ,
sometimes people who love Christ are guilty of confusing the issue.
And they have to be reminded and reminded, come back to the
simplicity of Christ. Come back to the gospel. He says,
is that true? Well, let me show you. Turn to
Galatians, chapter 2. Let me show you. Galatians, chapter
2. Would you grant that Peter is
a friend of Christ? Oh, certainly, brethren. Would
you grant that Peter, the Apostle Peter, loved Christ? In Galatians,
chapter 2, verse 11, the Apostle Paul writing here says, when
Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face. because he was
to be blamed. For before that certain Jews,
leaders, came down from Jerusalem, from James, he did eat with the
Gentiles. But when they would come down,
these Jews, these, I guess, to a certain degree, lawmen, he
withdrew and separated himself, fearing them that were of the
circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him,
insomuch that Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation.
Barnabas loved Christ, loved the gospel. But when I saw that they walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto
Peter in front of everybody, if you being a Jew, to live after
the manner of the Gentiles. In other words, you're saved
by Christ and Christ alone. You're saved by the blood and
the blood alone. You're saved by substitution and satisfaction
and the death of the Son of God and the blood of the Son of God.
If that's the way you're saved, then why do you compel the Gentiles
to be Jews? Why are you confusing the gospel?
Why are you doing this? Why are you adding something
to Christ? Why are you bringing in the works of the flesh? subjecting
people to the bondage from which we've been delivered by Christ.
See? Sometimes we just have to take inventory, and even those
that love Christ. Paul said, I don't confuse the
gospel or frustrate the gospel. If salvation, redemption, righteousness
come by the law, Christ died in vain. That's how strong it
is. Then he had to write over here
in chapter 3 of Galatians, oh foolish Galatians. These people
loved Christ. I believe many of them did. Who
hath bewitched you? that you should not obey the
truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set
forth crucified among you. This only would I learn of you."
These people had gone back to Sabbath-keeping and circumcision
and tithes and all these things. They believed on Christ but felt
that these things were essential to the redemption of the soul.
He said, I want to ask you a question. Did you receive the Spirit by
the works of the Lord or by the hearing of faith? Well, by faith. Not by deeds? Well, are you so
foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect
in the flesh? Have you suffered so many things
in vain? I'm saying that this thing of redemption by Christ
alone, by the death of Christ, by the righteousness of Christ,
by the intercession of Christ, by the substitutionary work of
Christ, There's so much error and confusion
and even the friends of Christ have to be brought back to this
thing. Our redemption is in Him and Him alone. And the problem
is not with the scriptures. You take a moment ago when I
was reading these things, there was no confusion. It's only when
we start putting our two cents in it. You know, the problem
is not with the scriptures, it's with men, and sometimes the more
we talk and the more we try to explain the gospel, the more
confusing it becomes. The gospel doesn't need to be
explained, it must be proclaimed, the simplicity of Christ. The gospel doesn't need the wisdom
of men, it is the wisdom of God. And I know this, a thirsty man
knows what water is and he knows what water will do, tell him
where it's found. A hungry man knows what bread
is and he knows what bread will do, tell him where the bread
is. Christ is the bread of life. A weary man, heavy laden, worn,
troubled, he knows what rest is, tell him where it's found
in Christ. A naked man knows what Humiliation
is an embarrassment and shame. Tell him where the robe is. And a guilty criminal knows what
condemnation is. We don't need to spend 45 minutes
of every message telling him how evil he is. He knows. Tell
him how he can be justified. Tell him how he can be pardoned.
Point him to Christ. Isn't that true? Don't we need
to be reminded of that? I know what's wrong, tell me
where we can get straight now! I know we're in a mess, tell
me the way out!" Well, that's what Paul's talking about here
in 1 Corinthians 2, if you'd like to go look over there again
where Brother Gunderson was reading a moment ago in 1 Corinthians
2. And this is what Paul is saying
to the church at Corinth where he preached for a year and a
half. He said, brethren, and I, brethren,
when I came to you, I didn't come with excellency of speech.
or human wisdom, declaring unto you the gospel of God, the testimony
of God's grace. When I came to that great city
of Corinth, that city of philosophy and debate and the city of eloquence
and the city of this, that and the other, he said, I didn't
come with words of eloquence or of human wisdom, clever speech,
trying to impress anybody with my intellectualism or emotionalism. I didn't try to impress you.
When I came declaring the testimony of God, verse 2, look, I determined not to know anything among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Christ is the Redeemer. You see,
my friends, we were born in sin. We were born in sin. In sin my
mother conceived me. I was brought forth from the
womb speaking lies. I was born separated from God,
and Jesus Christ, my Lord, was made flesh. He was born of a
woman and dwelt among us as my representative, as the man, Christ
Jesus. And I was under the law, under
the law. What the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty. And Jesus Christ, my substitute,
my representative, was made of a woman and made under that law.
And he walked this earth in flesh, just like this flesh, tempted,
tried, tested in all points as I am, yet without sin. He obeyed
God, he obeyed the law, he obeyed every precept, every statute
of Almighty God, and he worked out for me and you whom he represented
a perfect holiness and righteousness according to the law of the full
God the Father, and gave it to us who believe. And I was in bondage to sin and
the justice of God, following the leadership of Satan, but
not in bondage to Satan, I was in bondage to the holy law of
God and to the justice of God. Justice had a claim on me. Justice
as the soul that sinneth must die. And I've got to die. The wages of sin is death. But
this substitute, this representative, this God-man, this man-crossed
Jesus died for me and for you. You say, how can one man die
for so many because of who he is? Infinite deity, infinite
glory, infinite wisdom, infinite power, indescribable, infinite
God. And he took our place, and he
died for us. And in his death, justice was
satisfied. Let him go, I found a ransom.
Let him go, the debt's paid. He paid it all, all the debt
I owe. He didn't pay most of it or some
of it or the greater part of it. He paid it all. I don't have
to add anything to what he did. I don't come to church and worship
God to make his death effectual. It is effectual. I worship God
and love God and preach and pray and read the word and give and
so forth because he is my Lord. He's my Father. Christ is my
Redeemer, and I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I don't know
how, I don't know when, but I just know I am. There's an appointment
I'm going to keep with death. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die. You're going to die. Somebody here may die tonight
or tomorrow, but we're going to die. We're going to be buried.
And this flesh is going back to the dust from whence it came. That grave is a prison. Is that
the end? Well, it would be, except for
the fact that that man, that representative, that substitute,
died and was buried. He saw no corruption because
he's the Son of God. He had no sin. See, our corruption
and decay is because we're sinners. And he died and he was buried
and he rose. for my justification. He's the
first begotten of the dead. He's the firstborn of those that
sleep. And because He lives, I'm going to live, and only because
He lives. You can't add anything to that.
I don't know why we'd want to. That's full and complete. You're
going to add your tithe, and add your Sabbath keeping, and
add your little ceremony, and your little Easter parade, and
all this do's and don'ts. You're going to add that to the
awesome work of my Lord? And when he walked into glory
and sat down, the word of God says he took every one of us
believers with him, and we sat down with him, and one day we'll
be there in person. We're there in representation.
Now, he entered within the veil. my anchors within the bay. As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." That's the simplicity
of Christ in the gospel. And that's what Paul says, I'm
determined to know. You don't have to explain that,
just proclaim it. And he said in verse 3, and I
was with you in weakness. Who is sufficient for these things?
This gospel is the very power of God unto salvation. I'm not
sufficient for these things, but my sufficiency is Christ,
so I'm here in weakness. I'm here in fear. I don't fear
men, I fear God. I fear God, and I fear for those
who don't know God. And he said, I was with you in
much trembling in view of the magnitude of this work and the
awesomeness of this message and the glory of God. Boy, I tell
you, in much trembling. Every man ought to face the pulpit,
any teaching or preaching with great fear and trembling. Because we have this treasure
in earthen vessels. And they are so earthen, but
it is such a treasure. And then he said, now watch this.
And my speech and my preaching was not with persuasible words
of man's wisdom. What's the first thing you think
of when you think of persuasible words? Nearly every preacher,
instead of declaring the gospel, preaching the gospel, declaring
the good news, oh, everyone that thirsteth, come to the water.
His water, there's plenty of water, His bread, His blood,
His redemption. We try to pull them. We try to entice them. We try
to persuade them. We try to use our wit and wisdom
and arguments and logic and illustrations and all these things to convince
men. Paul said, I didn't do that. I didn't do that. No, sir. My speech and my preaching was
not with these pulling, persuasive, enticing words of man's wit and
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power.
We preach the gospel, and the Spirit of God convicts the heart
and reveals the gospel to the sinner. I preached it this morning. A
man came up to me and said, I want you to baptize me." He told me,
I didn't tell him, he told me. God has put upon my heart to
confess Christ. God did it. Now, I didn't talk
him into that, so I don't have to keep him in there. The Holy
Spirit brought him to that place and the Holy Spirit will keep
him. If my voice is the only voice
you hear tonight, forget the whole thing. We've got to hear
him speak who speaks from heaven. Here's why, that your faith should
not stand in my wit and wisdom and cleverness and argument,
but in the power of God. Who is the power of God? Christ
is the power of God. Christ is the power of God. He
has destroyed Satan who had the power of death. He has spoiled
principalities and powers. He has made an end of sin. He
has redeemed his people. He has brought in a perfect righteousness. He has removed the curse of the
law. He has risen from the tomb. He has been exalted to God's
right hand. He lives and he intercedes. Your
faith and your trust must not be in this vessel of flesh, but
in him. He's the power of God. He's the
rock. Oh, Paul said, I'm not going
to try to persuade you to do anything. And I hear these preachers
and they say, now count one, two, three. I want you to get
up and come down here. And they say, well, if you want
this, raise your hand. Now, if you meant business and
you raised your hand, every head bowed, every eye closed, now
let me pray. They just persuade you. I said, I didn't do that. I'm not going to do that. I'm
going to tell you who Christ is. And the Holy Spirit of God,
if He is willing, He'll quicken whom He will. He'll bring you
to look to Christ. There was a brother, Dan Parks,
told me about an Irish preacher. A long time ago, there was an
Irish preacher preaching in England. And the English and the Irish
don't have a great deal of love for each other. But he was preaching
in the open air over in England, preaching the gospel. And there
was a heckler there. And the Irish preacher was preaching
the gospel and the heckler said, tell us about the shamrock. You
know what a shamrock is, that little clover, emblem of Ireland,
clover. Tell us about the shamrock. But
he ignored him, went on preaching. But the heckler wouldn't quieten
down. He said, tell us about the shamrock. He tried to put,
tell us about the shamrock. Finally the Irish preacher stopped
and he said, my hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
phrase. but holy lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is shamrock. That's it. That's the shamrock. And whatever any person is trusting
other than Christ is shamrock. that your faith should not stand
in the cleverness and wisdom and wit and arguments and all how we, I don't know whether
I'll talk about this or not, but you watch it in religion and everything is ordered and
planned to persuade, and to entice, and to lure people into some
kind of... That's the big flower arrangements,
all the big flower arrangements everywhere you know, and the
certain carpet, and the beautiful stained glass religious windows
everywhere, and the light shining through, and the soft music. This is psychological. And all
of the persuasive words and the clever preacher and he's all
fixed up and he has on a robe and some crosses here and the
crosses are there. It's psychology to get you influenced
and thinking. And Paul said, I preach Christ
crucified and I wait on the Holy Spirit to do what he will. And
when you leave here and leave all this atmosphere, you're going
to leave this atmosphere. Everybody, people go away from
those impressive meetings. And they go out and their faces
hit that cold rain out there. And that cold wind. And like
I've said many times, you get out there and the car won't start.
And you're back up in the tires flat. This is reality. And you
go home and they call and say Johnny fell and broke his arm.
Meet me at the hospital. Next morning you go out on your
job and there's a stack of business and labor waiting on you and
somebody's hollering at you here. That's reality. And you're going
to have to hurry back down there to church to get some comfort
and to get some, you know, some peace. You will if that's where
you got it. If you got it from that man,
you'll have to call him. Or got it from that atmosphere,
you'll have to get back in. But if the Spirit of the living
God brought you to rest on the rock, then when the wind blows
and the storm blows, that rock will hold you. That's what I'm
saying. That's what he's saying right
here. How be it, verse 6, don't think this is not wisdom now.
It's foolishness to the world, but we speak wisdom. We speak
wisdom. Among them that are perfect,
them that are mature, Yet it's not the wisdom of this world,
the cleverness of this world, nor the princes or leaders of
this world. It comes to nothing. But we speak
the wisdom of God. Who's the wisdom of God? Christ
is the wisdom of God. Look over here on the other page
at verse 24, the other column, right across 1 Corinthians 1,
24. Under them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Now watch this. Christ is the
power of God. to give you a perfect righteousness.
He's the power of God to satisfy the law. He's the power of God
to deal with justice and take every sting. He's the power of
God to meet Satan and conquer him. He's the power of God to
set you free. He's the power of God to win
the victory over the grave. He's the power of God to come
forth from the grave and ascend to glory. He's the power of God.
But he's the wisdom of God. in Christ that God can be merciful
and yet punish our sins. That's the wisdom of God. It
is in Christ that sin is condemned and yet the sinner set free.
It is in Christ that pardon is given and yet justice satisfied.
It is in Christ that God can be just and justified. It is
in Christ that the law can be honored and the sinner pronounced
righteous. It is in Christ that the very
nature that rebelled against God will be honored by God and
taken to glory. That takes some wisdom. I couldn't
figure that out. What if God handed you this order
to figure out a way to save sinners so that I can be God, my law
can be honored, my justice satisfied, that sinner changed, and heaven
not contaminated? I'd just throw up my hand and
say, I can't It takes the wisdom of God to do this, and the power
of God. You see, this thing of saving
a sinner, you're not going to get a sinner saved by sending
him down an aisle. You're not going to get a sinner
saved by him deciding to believe some scripture. You're not going to save a sinner
by him kneeling at an altar and praying through and deciding
he's not going to dope it and drink it and run around anymore. There's some awful powers to
be dealt with in this thing of freeing a murderer. Freeing somebody who killed God,
or tried to. Now come on. That fellow down there committed
those 27 murders. You figure out a way to get him
out, set him free, and satisfy the law and justice and the death
claim on him. and change his nature so that
he'll become a saint. Now, you figure out a way to
do that. It can't be done. Well, what's the difference between
him and you before God? But God Almighty in his wisdom
has brought forth a way, a way to lift you from the downhill.
Now, you know what a downhill is? It puts you on a throne changed
inwardly and outwardly, made like his son. And his law perfectly
has nothing against you, and his justice, no claim on you,
fully satisfied so that justice will do honor to you too. That takes the wisdom of God.
And yet preachers stand up and say, it's up to you. Under God,
how are you going to get it done? God's done all he can do and
it's up to you. Well, let's just close up and go home and get
ready to go to hell. That's right, because this is
awesome. But God did it by his power, by Christ, and
in his wisdom. And I'm happy with it. I'm hilarious. I wouldn't go back to, like you
said, Steve, to that trash for anything. There's nothing there.
There's nothing there. There's no hope there. It's a
treadmill where you work yourself to death and get nowhere. I like
what that black couple down in Alabama, I was down there, I
was just a kid but I remember it, just a young fella. And we
had a carnival, came to town. And the people riding the merry-go-round
and the Ferris wheel and all these things. And I saw this
elderly black couple and he wanted to ride the merry-go-round, old
couple. She said, that's foolish. He said, well, that just cost
a nickel. And so he paid his nickel and got on the merry-go-round
and she just stood there and watched him. Round and round
he went. Round and round he went. Finally that thing stopped playing
and he got off right there where he got off. She said, there you
are. Said, you spent all your money
and you got on that thing and you got off right where you got
on. You ain't been nowhere. And that's religion. You spent all
your money and all your efforts, and you got off right where you
got on. You ain't been nowhere. But now He, the power and wisdom
of God, will take you from the dunghill to the throne. It ain't
going to cost you a nickel. Not a thing. Verse 7, we preach this wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained
before the world. And none of the princes of this
world knew this mystery. If they'd known it, they wouldn't
have rejected him, wouldn't have crucified him. Let me read you
something Spurgeon wrote, and I'll let you go. He says, any
man can read the Bible and understand what are the gifts
of God in regard to forgiveness, heaven, eternal life, and resurrection. These gifts And these things
are communicated to the mind by words which we read. Like
I said a while ago when I started, the way God saves sinners is
clear. It's clear to any mind. But this knowledge is not sufficient. For the Bible says, with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, not with mental understanding,
not with acceptance of certain mental facts, which any man can
learn. We do not savingly know the great
things that God has prepared for them that love him simply
by reading about them. The head learns by nature, the
heart learns by revelation, by grace. So the way to know God
and the things which God has prepared for them that love him
is to have these things which are written in the word written
on your heart by the Holy Ghost. That's different. For example,
he said, I knew about sin, I heard about sin, but I never knew,
really knew sin until the Holy Spirit convinced my heart of
sin. He said, I'd heard about repentance, but I never repented
until the Holy Spirit revealed the guilt of my sin against God
in my heart. I heard about faith. I read about
faith, but I never had faith and believed Christ until his
gospel was revealed in my heart. And I'd heard about justification,
but I was never justified until I turned to Christ and received
him as my justifier with full consent. That's a hard word. May God be pleased to reveal
it. to all of us who are here.

Faith In the Power of God

What does the Bible say about salvation through Christ?

How do we know Christ's death redeems us?

Why is the doctrine of substitutionary atonement important for Christians?

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Faith In the Power of God

What does the Bible say about salvation through Christ?

How do we know Christ's death redeems us?

Why is the doctrine of substitutionary atonement important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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