Let's turn tonight for our message
to the Book of Psalms, the 40th Psalm, if you will. I thought
my throat was a lot better than it is, so you'd be patient with
me tonight. I'll try to bring some thoughts
that I have down here on the subject more than can be numbered
more than can be numbered. When David thought upon the mercies
of God to his people, the mercies of God to sinners, he said in
Psalm 40, verse 5, Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works
which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward.
They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee, If I would declare
and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. He says,
your wonderful works and your thoughts of grace and mercy toward
us in Christ are so many and they're so wonderful, it's impossible
to put them in an order of greatness or importance. And he said, if
I would attempt to list them, Thy wonderful works and Thy thoughts
of grace and mercy and Thy goodness to us, if I were to attempt to
list them, they are more than can be numbered. So divine inspiration
advises me to leave off attempting to evaluate or to number the
benefits of God's grace and the blessings of His mercy. But tonight,
for the glory of our Lord, and for the encouragement and comfort
of his people, and for the instruction of those who have an interest
in his mercy, I'm going to attempt to praise God for his four greatest
blessings in Christ. Now remember that I preceded
this message with David's comment, your blessings and your mercies
and your grace and your wonderful works are so many they cannot
be numbered And they cannot be evaluated in order of greatness
or importance. And if I attempt to speak of
them, there more than can be numbered. But as I say, for the
glory of our Lord, and for the encouragement and comfort of
you who know him and love him, and for the instruction of those
who have an interest in his mercy, I'm going to speak tonight on
the four greatest blessings that we have in Christ. Now what would
you say, as far as you're concerned, is number one. Well, as far as
I'm concerned, we turn to Ephesians 1, and I give you what I believe
to be the greatest blessing that I have in Christ. The greatest
blessing that I have in Christ. Ephesians 1, verse 7, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin. according to the riches of his
grace. Our Lord put forth this question
to Simon the Pharisee, which of them will love him most? Which
of them will love him most? Spurgeon said, O Lord, let me
be among those who love thee most. And Simon said, I reckon,
Lord, the one to whom he forgave most. And our Lord said, Thou
hast rightly said. Thou hast rightly said, the one
to whom he forgave the most will love him most." And I say the
greatest blessing that God has given to us in Christ, number
one, is the forgiveness of our sins. And the greater you understand
your sins, and the more you feel your sins, and the more conscious
and aware you are of your sinnerhood, the more you thank God for forgiveness
of sins. Where sin did abound, and that
word is overflow, it's just like that old Ohio River when it gets
up over its banks and just overflows in destruction, all of the lowlands,
and you stand back helplessly watching that water take all
your possessions and overflow all of your property and your
houses and your businesses. Where sin did overflow and flood
and destroy, grace did much more overflow. much more about. His grace is greater than all
our sin. And let me just read this to
you. You can jot down the reference, Psalm 32, verse 1 and 2. And David said, Blessed, happy,
is the man whose transgression is forgiven. Forgiven. Whose sin is covered. Blessed
is that man. Blessed is the man, verse 2. under whom the Lord imputed not
iniquity. Blessing is that name. Why is it such a great blessing? Well, first of all, because of
what sin has done. Sin, it's sin that's caused all
of my problems. Sin brought death, spiritual
death, physical death. Sin brought judgment Sin brought
condemnation, sin brought disease. All human misery is the result
of sin, but greater than that, sin, it is sin that separated
me from God. It's sin that made me a stranger
and an alien. It's sin that separated you and
your God, and that's the reason the forgiveness of sin is the
greatest blessing because of what sin has done. And then secondly,
it's the greatest blessing because of what sin will do. Our Lord
Jesus said, if you die in your sins, you cannot come where I
am. So sin not only shuts me out
of communion with God now, but it will eventually, eternally
separate me from his presence. If you die in your sins, you
cannot come where I am. The wages of sin is eternal death,
not just disease and suffering and physical death, but eternal
death, eternally separated from God. That's why it's so great.
And then the forgiveness of sin is the greatest blessing because
not only what sin has done, and not only because of what sin
left alone will do, but it's the greatest blessing because
of what it costs to forgive it. Look at that text again, Ephesians
1, 7, in whom we have redemption through his blood, through his
blood. Listen to the prophet Micah,
over here in Micah 6, verse 6 and 7. He says, Wherewith shall I
come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall
I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year
old? Will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for
my transgression, the fruit of my body, my own son, for the
sin of my soul?" Well, if you did, it wouldn't put sin away.
10,000 rivers of oil, 10,000 blood sacrifices,
even if you were so desperate and so sincere, desiring the
forgiveness of your sin, that you were willing to offer your
firstborn upon an altar the fruit of your body for the sin of your
soul, he wouldn't put sin away. All of the blood of bulls and
goats slain through the centuries on Jewish altars, Paul said,
won't put sin away. All of the ceremonies and rituals
and traditions of religion won't put sin away. All of the resolutions
of penitence will not put sin away. And you hold on, as old
Shelton used to say, we're going to jump a creek here, even the
mercy of God can't put sin away. You think about that. Even God,
in all of his power and might and mercy and grace, He cannot
without blood put sin away. He cannot without the sacrifice
of his son put sin away. That's how much it costs to put
sin away. It costs him his life. The price of redemption is so
high. That's the reason this is the
greatest blessing. It's so high. You know, people
will have a diamond ring and they'll say, That's valuable.
Well, how valuable is it? You know what that costs? That
costs $40,000. The cost of it denotes the value
of it. This house, you want to paint
that house, pay $250,000 for that house. Ooh, must be a dandy. I haven't seen it, but it must
be a dandy. Why? Well, it costs. The cost of it
indicates something about the value of it. Well, this thing
of forgiving my sins. You know what it costs to put
away my sin? You know what it costs? The whole world couldn't
pay the price. Every son of Adam put together
with all of their religious works and deeds and promises and resolutions
and vows, and if every son of Adam together pooled all of their
spiritual and physical resources, they couldn't put away one sin.
The price is so high it can't be paid. by angels or men. It can only be paid by one. There's
only one person in all of God's universe who can pay that price. What it costs, let's say anyway.
And you know what it cost him? It cost him a whole lot more
than his power. It cost him a whole lot more
than his determination. It cost him a whole lot more
than his riches. It cost him a whole lot more
than his possessions. It cost him his life. cost him
his blood. That's how expensive it is. In
this scripture, I tell you, it astounds me when I read it, you
are bought with a price. Do we understand what those two
little words are saying? A price. A price. We talk about what it costs to
free this nation from British tyranny It cost about 10,000
men. What a price. What a price. But what it cost in World War
II to stop the aggression of the Japanese and the Germans,
it cost 200,000 men. What a price. But what the forgiveness
of Mass, this one sinner's sins cost, it cost God. It cost God the suffering and
humiliation of an ignominious, hateful death on Calvary's cross.
What a price! That's what it is. Alas, and
did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would he devote
that sacred head for such a worm as I? He didn't buy much, did
he? I'll tell you, those 10,000 men
bought a great nation. Those 200,000 men bought a great When my Lord died, he just bought
an old worm. That's all he ever bought. He
bought a worm. He might make something out of
him someday, but he bought a worm. He bought an enemy. Was it for
crimes that I had done that he groaned upon that tree? Amazing
pity and grace unknown and love beyond degree. Drops of grief
can never repay that debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give
myself to Thee. That's all I can do. That's all
I can do. But what's the second blessing?
Well, let's look back at verse 6 of Ephesians 1, and I'll show
you the second in order. If I were doing what David said
he wouldn't do, rendering or offering them up in order of
importance, he hath made us accepted in the You know what that's saying? This is what it's saying. God
has brought us into his favor. That's what it's saying. God,
God has endeared us to himself. He has forever returned us to
the bosom of his love. You think about that. Enemies
have been reconciled. Traitors have been forgiven.
The wandering sons have returned to their sonship and inheritance.
Lepers have been cleansed. Blasphemers have access to the
Holy of Holies. He hath made us accepted. God Almighty has brought us into
his favor. God has endeared us unto himself. and because he hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. In the Beloved accepted am I,
risen, ascended, and seated on high, cleansed and redeemed by
his marvelous grace, and with his redeemed ones afforded a
place. Christ is accepted for his own
sake. I am accepted because of him. Christ is accepted because of
who He is. Well, I'm not. I'm accepted in
Him. Christ is accepted because He's
righteous, and there's no cause for not accepting Him. But I'm
not. I'm accepted because of Him. I'm accepted. I'm brought into
God's favor. I'm endeared unto God Himself. I'm returned forever into the
bosom of His grace, for Christ's sake. for Christ's sake. And don't ever think there's
any other reason. At any stage of the journey, it's still for
Christ's sake. And then the reason? Look at
it. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Or, someone said
it better, to the end that his grace may be praised. to the end that his grace may
be praised, with trophies of his grace. Look over here at
Ephesians 2 verse 7. He talks about what we were and
what God did and what God's going to do for us. Verse 7, that in
the ages and eons and eternities to come, he might show to us
and to the angels and to all creation, that he might show
that we've been faithful that we held out, that we were wiser
than our comrades, that he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Throughout eternity, we're going
to be trophies of his grace. Throughout eternity, He's going
to show the whole universe how good He is, how great He is,
how gracious He is, how merciful He is. And then third, God's forgiven
my sins, and God's brought me in this favor. I'm in the favor
of God. I'm in God's favor, always, in
the beloved, in the beloved. to the praise of the glory of
his grace, or to the end that his grace might be praised and
glorified. But thirdly, now watch this.
Turn to John 8.36 and see if you see this with me. John 8.36. John 8.36. And if we could get
hold of this. If the Son therefore shall make
you free. free. You know, not long ago
a statement was made famous, and it's good, free at last,
free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free
at last. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed, indeed. There's several kinds of bondage. There's political bondage, there's social bondage, there's
spiritual bondage. And the womb of nature brought
us forth into the world into this worst state of all, spiritual
bondage. And in that state we have lived
our lives from the cradle, servants of sin. slaves to the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, in bondage. But there is a freedom to be
obtained, and this freedom is the prerogative of the Son of
God to bestow. That's what he says here. The
Son shall make you free. It's His to bestow. It's his
to give. He's the emancipator. He is the
one who can set the slave free. He's the only one who can. If
the son, now this freedom is no idle boast of the sons of
Abraham who said, We have Abraham, our father. We've never been
in bondage to anybody. That's what they said back here.
Back here, just a few verses. Why, they said, verse 33, We
be Abraham's seed. We were never in bondage. Now,
that's not the kind of freedom that the son gives. No idle boast
of the sons of Abraham. And no fancied freedom of religious
duties. I'm free, I go to church on Sunday,
and I tithe, and I serve God, and I do this, that, and the
other. That's not the freedom he's talking about. No empty
claim based on easy believism. I know I'm going to heaven because
I accepted Jesus when I was 12 years old and I was baptized.
And once saved, always saved. No, sir. If the Son himself shall
set you free, shall set you free, you'll be free indeed. You'll
be free indeed. That's who has to do it. The
Son has to buy you from the law. He has to buy you. He has to
pay the price the law demands and meet it fully in every jot
and tittle and set you free. The Son comes where you are,
bound in fetters and chains and inability, and He sets you free
by paying your debt and satisfying justice and going and taking
the hangman's noose in your place. He sets you free. Well, if He
does that, you'll be free indeed. Your freedom won't be based upon
the idle claims of those who look back to their heritage.
or those who look back to their works, or those who look back
to their ceremonies, or those who look back to their experiences,
but your freedom shall be based upon looking back to Calvary,
where God Almighty was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Free indeed, but my friends,
Christ does not free us from obedience to his word. David
said, I love thy law. O Lord. Christ does not free
us from the motions of indwelling sin. Not yet. Because Paul said, the things
I would do, I do them not, and the things I would not do, I
do. Christ does not free us from
afflictions and trials, for in this world, he said, you shall
have tribulation. Not yet. Christ does not free
us from sickness. And even the death of this body,
for he sets upon them to all men, wants to die. But Christ
does free us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us from the condemnation of the law. Who is he that condemneth
Christ's death? From the dominion and power of
sin, sin shall not have dominion over you. From the power of Satan,
Peter, Satan hath desired thee, but I prayed for thee. And from
the sting of death, Thanks be unto God, we have the victory. We face death, but we don't fear
death. We expect judgment, but we don't
fear judgment. Nor do we fear condemnation,
because if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. And every blunt-balled believer
Everyone who has received Christ, who is the only Redeemer, can
truthfully say, free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty,
I'm free at last. And then the last one turned
to 1 Peter 3, and I'll close with this. 1 Peter 3, verse 18. four greatest blessings that
I have in Christ are forgiveness of sins, accepted in the Beloved. The Son hath made us free. And
then the fourth one, verse 18 of 1 Peter 3, For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God, that he might Bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. This
is one of the great gospel verses. Look at it, just divided into
three parts or four. Christ, it says, also hath once,
once suffered for sin. Christ our Lord, that's the God-man. I said the other night, when
we were talking Sunday night, John, his daddy and Charlie and
I and a few others, man is here in his wretched, depraved and
wicked condition. John brought it up, original
Satan. And our thoughts of man aren't nearly as low as they
should be. And here is God in his immaculate, absolute holiness,
and our thoughts cannot even entertain a portion of the holiness
of God and the purity of God and the brightness of his glory,
they're too far apart. Now in order for these two to
ever meet, in order for these two to ever be reconciled, in
order for God in his holiness and man in his sinfulness to
ever have any communion, somebody who is God and who has access
to God and who is appointed of God, and who is ordained of God,
and who is elect of God, and chosen of God, and approved of
God, but who also is identified with man, has got to bring these
two together and bridge the great God. And that's what Christ did. That's who Christ is. He's the
God-man. He thought it not right for him
to be equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, and
took upon himself the form of a servant, and being made humble
and low in the form of a servant, he was obedient unto death, even
the death of a criminal. He might bring us to God. That's
what it says here. that suffered for sin, that just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. God did not
come down here. God came down here in the person
of his Son, as a man. But God, Elohim, in his holiness
and righteousness, we are going to have to be brought up here.
And Christ came down here and got us, and he brought us to
God. He came down there in the dunghill,
in the cesspool, in the mire of clay. He came down here in
the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. He was numbered
with the transgressors. He came down here and he destroyed
the power of sin and invoked the fetters of sin and took us
to God. He might bring us to God. That's
it. the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God. Brethren, there are so many things
implied here. First of all, if he's going to
bring us to God, the first thing that's implied is that we're
not there by nature, we're away from God. And the second thing,
if he has to bring us to God, it certainly indicates that we
have no ability in ourselves to get to God. And then thirdly,
if he's going to bring us to God, it indicates clearly that
he has to remove all obstacles between us and God. And then last of all, it indicates
that he not only will bring us to God in a spiritual sense,
but he's going to bring us to God by the resurrection of our
bodies out of the grave. He's going to bring us. You see,
this is me. He redeemed me body and soul. He doesn't take just
half of me to God, he takes all of me to God. And that's the
reason that Paul said your salvation is nearer than when you believe.
It's because the full and complete salvation of the believer will
not be fully accomplished until that believer stands perfectly
conformed to the image of God's Son, without a stain or a mark
or a taint of sin. And Christ hasn't realized all
that he bought at that cost until he brings every one of his sheep
home to God. That's what it says in Jude 24.
It says there that unto him that is able to keep you from falling
and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory. That's what he's going to do.
He's going to bring us to God. Our Father, we're grateful for
every blessing. O Lord, we say with David that
there's so many. We'd be here all of our lifetimes
and many more lifetimes if we were to number thy mercies and
blessings and thy thoughts to us. But we rejoice and we believe
thou hast spoken to us tonight instructively and thou hast comforted
us. Thou hast strengthened our hope.
as we look at these chief blessings which we have in Christ Jesus.
And yet, O Lord, even this privilege of praying, what a blessing. To call Thee our Father, what
a blessing. To be able to meet together without
fear, to meet in fellowship with our people, to have this assembly
here, what a blessing. Our wives and our children, our
friends, our grandchildren, what a blessing. And the food that
we had for supper. And the nice warm homes that
we have. And the help that we have. Oh,
how many blessings we have. Oh, Lord, many of Thy wonderful
works toward us and Thy thoughts toward us. deliver us from murmuring
and finding fault with our providence. Thou hast been good to us. From
this day forth, O Lord, make our lives to be filled with praise
unto our wonderful God. In his name we pray. Amen.