In the Old Testament days, there
were three essentials of true worship. First of all, there was the place
of worship. To approach the Lord God of heaven,
these three things were ordered by him. There was the place of
worship, that was the tabernacle. God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. It was called Holy Ground. And
the people approached God in the tabernacle where He dwelt.
There they worshiped. The second thing that was essential
to true worship in Old Testament days was the priest. If you'll
open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 5, verse 1, it says, For every
high priest Hebrews 5.1, for every high priest taken from
among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he, the high priest, may offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins. Verse 4, And no man taketh this
honor upon himself, or unto but he that is called of God as was
Aaron." Now in the place of worship where God dwelt, the high priest
would go with the blood offering, with the sacrifice. He would
represent the people unto God and before God. And then he would
come out and represent God to the people. A certain king took
upon himself to offer incense in the tabernacle without the
high and he died a leper. God would not receive him. God
cursed him and sent him out of his presence as white as snow. Then the third thing that was
essential to worship, to true worship in the Old Testament,
not only the place of worship and not only the high priest,
but the sacrifice. Turn to Hebrews 9 verse 22. In
Hebrews 9.22, the Scripture says, And almost all things are by
the law purged with blood. Or under the law, during the
days of the law, they were purged with blood. And without the shedding
of blood is no remission. No man dare approach God without
the blood sacrifice. God said, The blood maketh atonement
for the soul. I have given it to you upon the
altar to make an atonement for your soul." No man approached
God without the blood sacrifice. Cain found this out. Now all
of this is a picture of true worship right now. Since our
Lord Jesus Christ has come into the world and fulfilled the law,
died for our sins, buried, rose again, ascended back to the Father,
No man dare approach the living God except, first of all, in
the place of true worship, and secondly, through the intercessory
work of the High Priest, and thirdly, with the blood sacrifice. Now turn to Hebrews 10, verse
19. Where is our place of worship? Where is our place of worship?
True worship. has three essentials, a place
of worship, a priest, and a blood sacrifice. And that was true
in the Old Testament, and it's true today. Where is our place
of worship? Well, it's not a building, it's
not a tabernacle, it's not a cathedral, it's not a temple, but it's within
the veil in the presence of Christ. who is our true tabernacle. In Hebrews 10, verse 19, having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into, to enter into
the holiest, the presence of God. That's the place of worship,
the presence of God, wherever He is, wherever we are. We enter into the holiest, into
the presence of God, by the blood of Jesus Christ. Well, what about
our priest? Verse 21, And having an high
priest over the house of God, let us draw near, not without
a high priest, but through Jesus Christ, who is our high priest.
Hebrews chapter 2, well, you look over there, in verse 16
of Hebrews 2, Verily he took not on him the nature of angels,
but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things
it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God." Now you remember I read back here in Hebrews 5, verse
1, when I talked about the Old Testament days. The place of
worship was where God dwelt, the tabernacle. And second, the
high priest must go into the presence of God, it says in verse
1 of Hebrews 5, for every high priest taken from among men is
ordained for men in things pertaining to God. And in verse 17 of Hebrews
2, which we're reading now, Jesus Christ is a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people he ever lived to make intercession. There's one God, and there's
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And he said, No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. So the place of worship is the
holiest. The place of worship is the presence
of God. The place of worship is Christ
our temple, Christ our tabernacle. The high priest is the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have an high priest. And thirdly, the sacrifice. And
John told us about that. He said, Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world. Christ is our Lamb. He's
the firstling of the flock. He's without spot or blemish.
His blood shed on Calvary puts away all our transgressions.
So true worship is in the presence of the Father through Jesus Christ
the Mediator, the Great High Priest, by the blood of the Son
of God. Our forefathers knew this. Somebody
said to the great Thomas Hooker, who lay dying, Mr. Hooker, you're
going to receive the reward of your labors. How many times have
we heard that? He's gone to his reward. She's
gone to her reward. Sometimes we use these statements
without thinking. But Mr. Hooker, even facing death,
was thinking. And when the man said to him,
Mr. Hooker, you're going to receive the reward of your labors, he
replied, and these were his last words, according to witnesses,
No, I certainly am not. I'm going to receive the reward
of Christ's labors. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He hath saved us. I'm going to receive not the
reward of my labors, I'm going to receive the reward of Christ's
labors, what He purchased for me, what He bought for me. what he by his death and righteousness
secured for me. I'm going to receive the inheritance
which he left me." Another great old Puritan, Donald Cargill,
who stood on the scaffold to die as a martyr June 27, 1681,
three hundred years ago. Before they executed Donald Cargill, he turned to
a friend and he said, I praise the Lord that these thirty years
I've been at peace with God, and I've never been shaken loose
from that faith. I am more sure of my interest
in Jesus Christ than I ever have been before. I'm not frightened
of death, and I'm not afraid of hell. any more than if I had
no sin at all. For as I stand in the presence
of the Holy God, my great High Priest, Jesus Christ, will stand
there for me and plead his blood, which cleanseth me from all my
sin. When I stand in the presence
of the Most Holy My great High Priest, Jesus Christ, will stand
for me, and he will plead his blood, which cleanseth me from
all my sins." There you have true worship. There's the simplicity
of worship. It's not in the candles. It's
not in the uniforms of religion. It's not in bodily prostrations.
It's not in the mammoth buildings. It's not in the choir's cantatas,
it's in the presence of the true and living God, with one great
high priest to stand for me and to plead his blood. My friends, Jesus Christ is a
victorious Savior. He is victorious in his life,
he is victorious in his death, he is victorious in his intercession. Turn to Isaiah chapter 53 with
me for a moment. In verse 10 and 11, and I want
you to look carefully at this, because I'm going to say something
following this that just may be a little shocking to some
of you, but to most of you I'm sure it will not. In Isaiah 53
verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, that is,
bruise Christ. He has put him to grief. It was
the purpose of God to send his son to the cross where he died.
Now shall make his soul an offering for sin. He was a successful,
effectual offering for sin. Now then, that's what God did.
The Father sent Christ to the cross, put his soul, put his,
put him to grief, bruised him, made his soul an offering for
sin. Now watch, this is Christ's reaction to it. And this is Christ's
confidence in him. He shall see his seed. He shall see his seed, his children,
his family, that which he purchased with his blood, his people. He
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall fail,
no sir, shall prosper in his hands. God the Father put his
purpose in the hands of a successful conqueror. God the Father put
his purpose, he put his will, he put his covenant in the hands
of Jesus Christ. And that covenant and that purpose
shall prosper in the hands of Jesus Christ. Not might prosper,
shall prosper. Read on. He shall see the travail
of his soul. He made his soul an offering
for sin. It wasn't only his body that suffered on that cross,
Christ's soul was an offering for sin. You know, when our Lord
said to the disciples, fear not them which kill the body, and
after that have no more that they can do, but rather fear
him who is able to destroy body and soul in hell. And when Jesus
Christ went to the cross, his body suffered and his soul suffered. And the travail of his soul is
the same as the birth pains of a woman's body when she brings
forth a child. And it says here that Christ
shall see the results of his suffering. Christ shall see the
children that are brought forth by his travail. Christ shall
see the family that is given life through his suffering and
his sacrifice. And this doesn't sound like the
Christ or the Jesus that's being preached today, but this says
he shall be satisfied. He shall be satisfied. We have
in the book of Isaiah chapter 53, we have the sinless substitute. Christ knew no sin. He had no
sin. We have the suffering substitute. He was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. We have the silent substitute.
He was led before his tormentors as a sheep before her shearers,
and he opened not his mouth. He didn't say a word. And then
we have the satisfied substitute, the satisfied substitute. He
shall see the results of his suffering and be satisfied, completely
satisfied. Jesus Christ did not, cannot,
will not, shall not fail. Everything that he came to this
earth to do shall be done. The task given him by the Father
to perform shall be performed, and every soul for whom Christ
died will be redeemed. Now you turn to the book of John,
if you will. I think it's chapter 6. In the
book of John, chapter 6, verse 39, verse 38, I came down from
heaven not to do my own will. I came down here to do the will
of him that sent me. And John 6.39 says, And this
is my Father's will, that which hath sent me, that of all which
he hath given me I shall lose nothing, but I shall raise it
up again at the last day. I deny the doctrine of backsliding. I deny it emphatically. These scriptures in the Old Testament
that warn of backsliding were not written to a redeemed people. Not one single time is a scripture
concerning backsliding ever written to a redeemed individual. Every
one of these scriptures that warn of backsliding were written
to an unsaved national people. most of whom didn't even know
God at all in their hearts. It was written to those who perished
in the wilderness. It was written to those who danced
around a golden calf. It was written to those who built
altars to idols and false gods in the hills of Judea. It was
written to unsaved kings. It was written to false prophets.
It was written to the Hebrew nation who were only called Jews. by national title and not by
spiritual birth. God has a divine purpose. God
has a definite purpose in the death of his Son. He has a definite
purpose and a covenant for believers, and that purpose shall be fulfilled
to the letter. It shall be fulfilled to the
glory of Christ. It shall be fulfilled in every
jot and And not one person whom he came to redeem, not one person
whom the Holy Spirit set out to call, not one person whom
God the Father ordained to save, shall ever be lost. He shall see the travail of his
soul, and he shall be satisfied. Now men talk today of trusting
the finished work of Christ. Our faith is not in the finished
work of Christ. Our faith is in the person who
finished the work. There's a whale of a lot of difference,
and you give it some thought. We're not trusting in an old
rugged cross. We're trusting in the one who
died on that cross. We look to and depend upon and
wait upon and hope in Christ. He is our salvation, not the
cross. Christ is our salvation. We're
complete in Him. The Jews back in the Old Testament,
Israel, they trusted in the election, they trusted in the covenant,
they trusted in the ceremony, they trusted in the prophet,
they trusted in the law, they trusted in the tabernacle, they
trusted in everything but a person. And we must not be caught up
in that. for we'll be as unsaved as they
were. Our hope is Christ. Our confidence
is Christ. Our salvation is Christ. Our
life is Christ, who is our life. It is Christ who saves. Now there's
seven scriptures in the Bible that give us a clear definition
of why the Lord Jesus Christ died on that cross. There are
seven scriptures, and I want to give them to you one at a
time, just very briefly. I won't dwell very long on each
one of them. I'm going to give you every one
of them, all seven of them, in the next few moments. There are
seven scriptures that tell us why Christ died on that cross. He came down here and died on
purpose. He didn't die down here to make
us savable. He didn't die to help us save
ourselves. He didn't die to make it possible
for God to save us. He died to redeem us. He did
something. He accomplished a purpose. He said, I came down here not
to do my will, but the Father's will, and He's going to do the
Father's will. And the Father's will is going
to be done. He works all things after the counsel of His own
will. He said, none can stay my hand or say unto me, what
doest thou? I declare the end from the beginning,
from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand. Christ shall be satisfied. He
finished the work God gave him to do, and the Scripture says
he sat down, waiting, until his enemies become his footstool.
And they're going to become his footstool. His children are going
to be redeemed, and his enemies are going to be destroyed. His
family's going to be saved, and his enemies are going to be damned.
That's so. That's so. In Romans 14, here's
the first scripture. Why did Jesus Christ die on that
cross? He wasn't a martyr. He was a
substitute. He came down here to do something.
First of all, it says in Romans, chapter 14, verse 9, For to this
end, Jesus Christ both died and rose and revived. This is why he died. This is
why he was buried. This is why he was raised from
the tomb. That he might be Lord. He died that he might be Lord. both of the dead and the living. My friends, Jesus Christ is the
King of kings and the Lord of lords of all men, whether they're
spiritually dead or whether they're spiritually alive. I'm standing
here in this pulpit and Jesus Christ is my Lord. He's my King. He owns me. I belong to Ronnie
Lewis just got through singing a glorious, wonderful song. My
Savior, first of all. Christ is his Lord. He's his
King. Every one of you sitting out
there, Christ is your Lord. Young people, Jesus Christ is
your Lord. He's Lord of the dead and the
living. That fellow sitting at home right now, in his easy chair
in the living room, Christ is his Lord. That robber down there
that's planning to rob the bank tomorrow morning, Christ is his
Lord. Those prisoners in San Quentin, Christ is their Lord.
That Arab chief standing out there on the burning sands of
the Sahara, Jesus Christ is his Lord. The Queen of England sitting
over there in Buckingham Palace, Jesus Christ is her Lord. He's her King. Not ought to be,
He is. It says He died for this reason. that he might be Lord both of
the dead and the living. Spiritually dead and the spiritually
alive, the physically dead and the physically alive, God turned
this world over to Christ. When he died on that cross, he
bought it. Every human being has been turned
over to Jesus Christ, either to save or to damn. But they're
in His hand. Now, I'm telling you the truth.
He's not in your hand. You're in His hand. God turned
the world over to Christ. I'm telling you the truth. Now,
you can sit around talking about poor little Jesus, and you can
talk about Jesus Christ Superstar, and you can ridicule and laugh
about all you want to, but He's the King of this world. That's
what it says right here. For this reason, He died on the
cross. that he might be Lord of the
dead and the living. You want me to show you that?
Turn to John 17. Now stay with me. John 17, verse 2. Here's
Christ praying. This is the Lord Jesus in the
hallowed, holy Garden of Gethsemane, praying that great high priestly
prayer. And these words spake Jesus and
lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, John 17, 1, the hours
come. The hours come. This is just
for the cross. Glorify thy son, that thy son
may glorify thee, as thou hast given thy son power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. They're in my hands, Father.
You gave them, turned them over to me. You turned them over to
me, and I'll do with them what I will. That's right, they're
His. Turn to Matthew 28. Let me read
you some more. Matthew 28. This is the Lord
speaking. In Matthew chapter 28 and verse
18, the Master said after the cross, before He went back to
heaven, standing there talking to his disciples, and he said
to them, Matthew 28, 18, All power, all authority is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. You reckon he meant that? I know
he did. He said, God the Father has given
me all authority. He's got authority over the satellites. He's got authority over the stars.
He's got authority over the sun and authority over the moon.
He's got authority over heathen nations. He's got authority over
America. He's got authority over the saved
and authority over the lost. He's got authority over the demons.
He's got authority over Satan. All authority is given unto Me
in heaven and in earth. That's why He died on that cross.
These preachers run around here saying the only reason Jesus
died on that cross is to keep you out of hell. That's because
they don't know anything about the Bible or God either one. For this reason Christ died on
that cross that he might be Lord! Both of the dead and the living.
Turn to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2 verse 9. Now listen to it. This is God's
Word. Philippians 2 verse 9. It talked
about in verse 8, he became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Verse 9 says, Wherefore, after
he died on that cross, therefore God hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth. A few grandmas are going to bow
to him, and there's a few preachers going to bow to him, and a few
folks that ain't got much sense are going to bow to him. No,
that's not what he said. He said every knee, every knee. in heaven, in earth, and in hell. Every knee in heaven, every knee
in earth, and every knee under the earth in hell is going to
bow. And every tongue is going to
confess that he is Lord, for that's what he is. I hear people
say, make Jesus your Lord. You can't make Jesus your Lord.
He's already your Lord. You just bow to him. God made
him Lord. You don't. You don't have that
kind of right. You don't have that kind of authority.
You don't have that kind of power. God made him Lord. And what you
better do is bow your knee and bend your old stiff neck and
say, He's my Lord. He's my Lord. I acknowledge it.
You're going to. It's not a question of if you
will. The question is, when are you
going to? After God sends you to hell? Or are you going to
do it now? John 5, 22, turn over there. I'm telling you the truth.
I'm not preaching for fun. I'm not preaching for glory.
I'm not preaching for money. I'm preaching to people because
God sent me to tell them the truth. And I'm telling you beforehand
that Jesus Christ is Lord. God made Him Lord. He died on
that cross that He might be Lord. And God the Father turned the
world over to Him. He's got it. It's His. He bought
it. he'll do what he will with it. And John 5.22 says, John 5.21,
For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them,
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judges
no man. He's committed all judgment to
the Son. Does that sound like poor little
Jesus to you? Huh? Oh, won't you come do something
for Jesus? Jesus just trying His best to
do something for you. You reach out to Jesus and He'll
reach out to you. Doesn't sound like a cooperative
program to me. It sounds like Jesus Christ got
the whole thing in His hands. And what we'd better do is fall
on our faces in the dust before Him and cry for mercy, because
God turned the world over to Him. He's Lord by eternal decree. He's Lord by eternal decision. He's Lord by eternal covenant. He's Lord by His death. He's King. He's King. I've got to hurry. Turn to Galatians
4. Here's the second reason why He died. in Galatians chapter
4. It says here in the fourth chapter
of Galatians, verse 4 and 5, that when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the law in God's good time, when God got ready, when it pleased
the Lord. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent his Son. His Son was made of a woman,
not of a man, He was a virgin-born son of God. He was made under
the law, under the ceremonial law, under the judicial law,
under the moral law, under the law of the home. He became a
man, took on himself our nature, and he did it for what purpose?
He did it to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. That's why he did it. When Adam
sinned against We were in Adam. He was our representative. The
whole human race was in that one man. When that man stood,
we stood. When that man rebelled, we rebelled.
When that man fell, we fell. When that man died, we died.
And Jesus Christ came down here and became a man, took on himself
the flesh of men under the sentence of death by the broken law. For
us who were without strength, Christ became our strength. For
us who were without hope, Christ became our hope. For us who were
without help, Christ became our help. For us who were without
righteousness, Christ became our righteousness. For us who
were without wisdom, He became our wisdom. Christ came down
here and not only restored what we lost in Adam by fulfilling
all righteousness, but He restored unto us more than we lost in
Adam. Through Christ, we have received
the adoption of sons without any possibility of falling. Adam didn't have that. When Adam
stood in the Garden of Eden, there was always the possibility
of Adam falling, because Adam had to establish his own righteousness. But as we stand in Jesus Christ,
who is our righteousness, we don't have to establish one,
we receive one. We don't have to produce one,
Christ has already produced it, and we stand complete. in him,
whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image
of his Son, whom he predestinated he called, whom he called he
justified, whom he justified he glorified. What shall we say
to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? The third reason why Christ died
in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14. For the love of Christ constraineth
us, because we thus judge, if one died for all, then were all
dead, and that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves. Christ died that we might no
longer live unto ourselves, but that we might live unto him who
died for us and rose again. When we lived in sin, we lived
to ourselves. We lived for ourselves. Now that
we live in Christ, we live for God, for the glory of God, for
the Father, for the Son, for the Holy Spirit. We live for
the We live for the glory of God, and we live for others,
not for ourselves. Christ's death was not only a
sacrifice, not only an offering. Christ's death for the believer
was an example. Turn to Philippians 2. Let me
show you that. In Philippians 2, verse 5, let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Christ pleased not himself. And he died in order that those
who live by his death should not live unto themselves, but
they should live unto him who died for them. And then the third
reason, in Galatians 1 verse 3. Now listen to this, Galatians
1 verse 3. Grace be unto you, and peace
from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. who gave
himself for our sins, that, in order that, he might deliver
us from this present evil world. There are two kingdoms in this
world. There is the kingdom of evil,
and there is the kingdom of God's dear Son. Someone asks the question,
And it's going to be dealt with on the radio this week by two
ministers, and then next week I'll have the privilege of answering
the question also, WCAK. The question is, are we becoming
a godless nation? Are we becoming a godless nation? Well, I answer that question
by asking you a question. When were we ever of godly nature? When were we ever a godly nation? Were we a godly nation in the
twenties? Were we a godly nation in the
nineties? Were we a godly nation when we
were slaughtering our sons on the Civil War battlefield? Were
we a godly nation when we were taking the land away from the
Indians to whom it belonged and driving them into reservation?
Are we now or have we ever been a godly nation? I say no. What nation has ever been a godly
nation? There's been a godly influence
in nations, but no nation on the face of the earth has ever
been a godly nation. No nation has ever turned as
a whole to God. Now that's so, even Israel. Even
Israel, whom God chose. Even Israel, who had the presence
of God. Even Israel, who had the pillar
of fire and the cloud and the tabernacle and the priesthood
and the law, they were not a godly nation. Now, it may be that the influence
of godliness and the number of godly people are becoming less
in our nation. But in every nation on the face
of the earth, there is the kingdom of evil. and the kingdom of God's
dear son. And the kingdom of God's dear
son is wholly godly, and the kingdom of evil is godless. The apostles said, We are in
Christ, and the whole world lies in wickedness. America has its
godly influence, but America is not godly. Even Italy and
Rome which was declared to be a Christian nation by the emperor,
was not a Christian nation. There were some people who knew
God in that nation, most of them didn't, and Rome has shed more
godly blood than any other nation on the face of the earth, which
is declared to be by the emperor a godly nation. You cannot merge
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil. You cannot merge the
state and the church. You cannot merge the kingdom
of Christ and the pagan political world. It cannot be done. And
God Almighty says here that Christ gave himself for us, that he
might deliver us out of and from this kingdom of evil into the
kingdom of God's dear Son. That's why he died on the cross.
Turn to John 15, 19. See if it doesn't say the same
thing. John 15, verse 19, it says here, if you were of the world, the
world would love you, but you're not of the world. I've chosen
you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. You're different. All right, in the next place,
and I've got to hurry, in the book of Ephesians, the fifth
reason why Christ died, in the book of Ephesians, chapter 1,
verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in
Christ. Christ died that we might have
all spiritual blessings in Him. And John 1.12 says He gave us
the privilege of becoming sons of God. What are the privileges? What are the spiritual blessings
involved in becoming sons of God? Well, God is our Father. We have an entrance into His
presence. All our sins are forgiven. All things work together for
our good. We are joint heirs of Jesus Christ. And as Paul
said in Romans 8, if God be for us, who can be against us? Now turn to Titus chapter 2.
Here's the sixth reason. In Titus the second chapter,
verse 11, for the grace of God, Titus 2, 11, that bringeth salvation
hath appeared. to all men, teaching us that
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, godly in this present world, looking for that blessed
hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem
us from all iniquity and that He might purify under Himself
a peculiar people. zealous of good works. Sometimes I think the enemies
of the grace of God have built a big straw man and they're beating
it publicly in saying that the people who preach salvation by
grace deny holiness. That's not so. We do not deny
it, we establish it. Practically every time that the
Apostle Paul mentions election or predestination, it's coupled
with holiness. Did you know that? He gave himself
for us that he might purchase for himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works. God had chosen us to salvation
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Turn to I Peter, chapter 1. Listen
to this. I Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. The apostle Peter said, according
to the foreknowledge of God through sanctification of the Spirit
unto obedience. Look at I Peter 1, verse 15. But as he which hath called you
is holy, So be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because
it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy." Every time you hear
Paul talking about election, he's talking about holiness.
Every time you hear Paul talking about God choosing a people and
calling a people and predestinating a people to be like Christ, He
points out that these people are chosen in holiness and called
in holiness and predestinated to holiness every time. And then
last of all, Ephesians 2, Christ died. In Ephesians chapter 2,
verse 4, listen to it. But God, 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
you are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. In order that,
in the ages to come, throughout the eons of eternity, that he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. He died that he might display
his glory. and display the trophies of His
grace. Did you know in the first chapter
of Ephesians about three or four times it is said, We're saved
to the praise of the glory of His grace. We're saved to the
praise of the glory of His grace. One of these great baseball players
or great tennis stars or golf stars will take you into their
trophy And they'll say, you see that trophy? I won that in the
British Open. You see that trophy? I won that
in the Augusta Tournament. You see that trophy? I won that
at Pinehurst. You see that trophy? I won that
somewhere else. And throughout the ages of eternity,
the Scripture says God Almighty is going to show off the trophies
of His grace. You see that fellow there? I
bought him with my blood. You see that one over there?
I saved him by my death. You see that one there? I called
him out of the dunghill and made him a king. God's going to show
off all the trophies of his grace. He's going to make known the
riches of his grace and his kindness for us in Christ Jesus. He's not going to lose any. There's
plenty of room up there, but no vacancies. No vacancies. Our Father, bless the Word. to
our hearts and to our prophet, but chiefly, blessed to the glory
of Jesus Christ. For we know that every knee shall
bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord. He is Lord. He is the King of kings and Lord
of lords. He has all power in heaven, earth,
and hell. He has authority over all flesh.
We are just so thankful you have revealed him to us.