A text once again, Ephesians
4 verse 32, And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. These three words are the most
important three words to be found in the Word of God. These words
are the most important words in a believer's vocabulary, for
Christ's sake, for they are the foundation of faith. They are
the foundation of faith. We believe because of Christ.
We come to God through Christ. We are chosen in Christ. We are
redeemed in Christ. We are accepted in Christ. We are raised and seated in the
heavenlies in Christ. This is the foundation of faith.
Without Christ there is no communication with God, for Christ said, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh under the
Father but by me. These three words, for Christ's
sake, are the foundation of faith. These three words are the foundation
of prayer. For Christ said, Whatsoever you
ask the Father in my name, he shall give it unto you. In my
name. These three words are the foundation
of forgiveness, as the text declares, even as God, for Christ's sake,
has forgiven you. These three words are the foundation
of healing. When Peter and John came to the
crippled man at the gate called Beautiful, they said to him,
In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk." So these three
words I say to the believer are the most important words in the
Bible. They are the foundation of faith,
the foundation of prayer, the foundation of forgiveness, and
the foundation of healing. And then these three words are
the most important words in the Bible because, first, secondly,
they are the center and essence of all that the Father is doing
and has done and will do. Turn to Colossians 1. Creation
is for Christ's sake. Look at Colossians 1, verse 16. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven the angels, the cherubims and seraphims,
the throne of glory, the mansions of glory, created for him on
earth, all things in heaven, all things that are in the earth
are created for him and by him. Visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him, for Christ's All
things were created for Christ's sake. That's why they were made,
for his sake. All that God has done, all that
God is doing. Turn to Romans 14, verses 6 through
8. Romans 14, verses 6 through 8. All that God is doing for you
and for me. Paul said, I am 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." Now, Romans 14, verse 6, "...he that regardeth the
day, regardeth it unto the Lord. And he that regardeth not the
day to the Lord, he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth
to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not
to the Lord, eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of
us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself, whether
we live We live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto
the Lord. So whether we live, therefore,
or die, we're the Lord. It's for Christ's sake. All things
were created for him, and all things now. We are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus. And then all things that God
will do. Turn to Acts 17. for Christ's
sake. This is the essence and center
of all that God has done. All things were created for his
sake, for Christ's sake. And the new creation is for Christ's
sake, eternalized for Christ's sake, salvation is for Christ's
sake. In Acts 17, verse 31, listen
to this, Because God hath appointed a day into which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. He will judge the world in righteousness
by that man." That man is the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Ephesians
chapter 1, verse 10. He shall judge the world in righteousness
by that man, Jesus Christ. The Father judgeth no man. He
hath committed all judgment to the Son. Ephesians 1, verse 10. In verse 9, he said, "...God
hath made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ." All things in Christ. Heaven is before us. Christ is
the door. Hell is beneath us and only Christ
can deliver. The law is against us, only Christ
can justify. Death is awaiting us, only Christ
can remove its sting. The grave is our destiny, only
Christ is the victory. Bishop J.C. Ryle says, I am to
venture the whole salvation, the whole redemption, the whole
keeping of my soul on Christ. We are to cut loose entirely
from all other hope. We're not to rest partly on Christ
and partly on what we are doing. In the matter of salvation, Christ
is the Alpha and Omega. He is the beginning and the end. He is the author and finisher. For Christ's sake, turn to Philippians
3. In the third chapter of Philippians,
verse 9. Philippians chapter 2 it is,
verse 9. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, in earth,
and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. For Christ's
sake, the most important words in a believer's vocabulary, for
these words are the foundation of hope, faith, prayer, forgiveness,
healing, all things that God has to give to the believer.
And these three words are the very essence and center of all
that God ever has done. It's for Christ's sake. All things
were created by him and for him. And even now, I live, I live
unto the Lord. If I die, I die unto the Lord. Whether I live or die, I am the
Lord's. And in the future, God the Father
is going to gather together all things in Christ. and all things
that are not in Christ God is going to purge, and God is going
to melt away, and God is going to destroy. He's going to gather
together all things in Christ, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow in heaven, earth, and under the earth, and declare
that he's the Lord for Christ's sake. I want to give you three points
in this message today. based on these three words. First
of all, for Christ's sake, is the motive for mercy. Secondly,
for Christ's sake, ought to be the motive for obedience. And
thirdly, for Christ's sake, is the proper motive for any Christian
service. First of all, for Christ's sake,
that's the motive of mercy. When we do something for the
sake of another, there has to be a reason. So I'm asking this
morning, why is the Heavenly Father moved to show mercy to
me for Christ's sake? Who is Christ? And why is the
Heavenly Father moved to show mercy for Christ's sake? Why
are all things centered in and around Christ, all things in
creation, all things in providence, all things in the present, all
things in the future, why are they so closely associated with
this man called Christ Jesus? Well, here's the first reason,
because of his relationship to the Father. Now, twice the Father
spoke from heaven. twice the Father spoke from heaven
concerning Jesus Christ's work. One time down there when Christ
was baptized of John in the River Jordan, the Father spoke and
He said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. This
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." The second time
that the Father spoke was when Christ went up on the mountain
with Peter, James, and John, and was glorified before them.
Moses and Elijah appeared with Him, and again, again, the Father
identifies Him in the same way. When He spoke from heaven, He
said, This is my son, hear ye him."
And the Lord Jesus Christ said to the disciples one day, Whom
do men say that I am? They told him what the people
were saying. Then he said, Whom do you say that I am? And Peter
said, Thou art the Christ, the what? The Son of the living God. And Christ said, Peter, upon
this rock I'll build my church, upon this relationship with the
Father, upon this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell
can never prevail against it. The Father does all of these
things for Christ's sake because he is his Son. That's what the
Father said, this is my Son. This is my son. You listen to
him. This is my son, and because he's
my son, listen to him. This is my son, and upon this
rock I'll build my church, because he is my son, the only begotten,
the well beloved, the perfect son of God in whom he's well
pleased. That's who he is. He's the son
of God. Then secondly, Why does the Father
show mercy to sinners for Christ's sake? Not only because he is
his Son, but because of the glory of his person. The most excellent
seat belongs to whom? The most excellent person. The
best room belongs to whom? It belongs to the most important
person. Immediate service, right now. If I sin for you, you say, well,
tell him I'll be there after a while. If the President sins for you,
you go right now. The most important, most powerful
person deserves immediate service. How, then, shall I describe the
excellency of Christ, who far outshines the sun? who outranks
the angels. Turn to Hebrews chapter 1. The
Father will do all things for the sake of Christ because he
is his Son, and because of the glory of his person, the most
excellent person in all the universe. It says in Hebrews chapter 1,
verse 2, God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. There it is again. "...whom he
hath appointed heir of all things." There it is again. "...by whom
he made the world." There it is again. You see, I'm on good
ground this morning. I'm pleading the same logic and
reason that the Apostle pleads. This is the reason. He's spoken
to us by his Son, "...whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom he made the world." because he is the brightness of God's
glory. He's the express image of God's
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power. When
he had by himself, with no aid from you or anybody else, by
himself, with no aid from the law, by himself, with no aid
from the ceremony, by himself purged our sins, by himself. He sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath by inheritance, because he is God's obtained
a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels
did the Father at any time say, Thou art my Son?" The third reason why the Father
shows mercy to sinners for Christ's sake is not only because of his relationship
to the Father, not only because of the excellent glory of his
person, O bow down, kiss the sun, lest he be angry, but because
of his relationship to us. Turn to Hebrews 2. I'm just going
to read the scripture and make very little comment on this point.
Hebrews 2, verse 10. Now follow with me. I want you
to read this. The Father is going to show mercy to me because,
for Christ's And he does it because of who Christ is, because of
the glory of his person, and then because of his relationship
to me. Hebrews 2.10, For it became him,
for whom are all things, there it is again, and by whom are
all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through suffering. For both he that sanctifieth,"
who is that? That's Christ. "...and they who
are sanctified," that's me and you. Watch this next line now. "...both he that sanctifieth
and they that are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he is not ashamed
to call us his brothers." saying, I will declare thy name,
speaking to the Father unto my brethren in the midst of the
church, will I sing praise unto thee. And again I'll put my trust
in him. And again, behold, I and the
children which God hath given me." Where did he get his children? God gave them to him. For as much then as the children,
you and me, are partakers of flesh and blood, and we are,
he also himself likewise took part of the same." that through
death he might destroy him that hath the power of death, that
is, the devil, and deliver you and me who through fear of death
were all our lifetimes subject to bondage. For Christ didn't
take on himself the nature of angels, he took on himself the
seed of Abraham, our nature, your nature, my nature. Wherefore
in all things under the law before the justice of God in all things,
tempted in all things, in all points. It behooved him to be
made like unto his brethren, you and me, that he might be
unto us a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
That is, Jesus Christ God the Father shows mercy for his sake
because of who he is. He is the Father's Son. He shows
mercy to me for Christ's sake because of the glory of his person. If we had searched through earth,
heaven, the universe, we couldn't find a more excellent, more suitable
person than Christ. He is the most excellent one. Then the Father shows mercy to
us for Christ's sake because We're his brethren, and because
we're one with him, both he that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified are one. What Christ is, I am. What Christ
has, I have. Where Christ is, I am. And then,
fourthly, because of the worthiness of his work. Turn to Hebrews
10. Because of the worthiness of
his work. He cannot fail. You wouldn't
expect him to fail, would you? You don't expect an angel to
fail. You know, we're kind of hard on each other. We don't
expect one another to fail. Isn't that right? You children don't expect your
parents to fail. You expect them to be perfect,
don't you? You expect them to fulfill every
requirement. You expect them to come up to
your standard. You expect them to be perfect. We're so critical of our of our
leaders, our national leaders. We don't expect them to fail.
When one of them fails, we blast it all over the paper, the news
media, the television. We don't expect them to fail.
They're not supposed to fail. They're supposed to know everything
and have all the answers. We don't leave room for failure.
You wouldn't expect a preacher or a prophet to fail. He just
will fire him if he fails. If he shows one dent in his armor
or one hole in his shield, fire him. He's not supposed to fail.
We don't expect the angels to fail, but everybody does. But
he can't fail. He can't fail. The Lord Jesus
Christ fulfilled the law of God perfectly. He fulfilled the justice
of God. In Hebrews 10, verse 4, it's
not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away
sin. It can't be done that way. But
here in verse 12 of Hebrews 10, but this man, but this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on
the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever." By one sacrifice, by one offering, by the shedding
of his blood on one occasion, by the offering of the atonement
on the mercy seat of glory one time forever. He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." Forever. Then the Father will
show mercy for Christ's sake. Turn to John 6. Not only because
of his relationship to the Father, not only because of the glory
of his Not only because of the relationship which Christ has
to his people, they're one. Not only because of the worthiness
of his work, he cannot fail. But in the fifth place, because
of the promises the Father made to him. In verse 38, verse 37
of John 6, John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which
he hath given me he is not going to take any of them away. I'll
lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day." That's
the motive for mercy, for Christ's sake. Now, the second thing that
I wish to present to you in this message is, for Christ's sake,
is the motive for obedience. May I be perfectly candid here,
will you permit that? In your piety and religiosity,
would you let me be honest with you, and would you be honest
with me, would it hurt one Sunday morning in 1974 to be totally
honest and realistic. Do you reckon we could gain anything
by it? Let's be as realistic as possible.
Doesn't the Scripture say in 1 Samuel, turn to 1 Samuel with
me a minute, 1 Samuel chapter 16, we're afraid to be totally
honest, aren't we? There isn't a totally honest
person in this building, not a single one. But I want us to be as realistic
as we can in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Samuel 16,
verse 7, for is this not true? The Lord said unto Samuel, Look
not on his outward countenance, look not on his countenance.
That's as far as you can see. Or on the height of his stature,
the height of his stature as far as fame is concerned,
or ability is concerned, or strength, or morality. I've refused him,
God said. I have refused him. No matter what opinion you have
of him, God said, I've refused him. No matter how high a steam which
you may hold him, God said, I've refused him. Because, and here's
the reason I've refused him, God said, for the Lord doesn't
see as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Now, we'd better
be realistic, hadn't we? And then the apostle Peter, when
the Lord Jesus asked him, Peter, do you love me? Peter said, Lord, you know all
things. You know I love you. You know I love you. And because
you know all things, because you're not looking on my religious
smile and my religious actions and my religious ceremony. You're looking on my heart, and
God, you know what you see. You know all. You know I love
you. These fellows may not think I
do, and they may have a totally wrong opinion of me, but, Lord,
you know all things, just between me and you, and you know I love
you. Now, let's be honest. We don't want to die in our sins,
do we? Therefore, we seek the true way
of salvation. About 98 percent of us are here
this morning because we don't want to die in our sin. We go
to hear the true message of salvation, we go to hear the true gospel,
we go to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ because we don't
want to die in our sin. That's just about the essence
of it. We don't want to stand condemned
in the judgment. We don't want to come up short.
We don't want to stand in the judgment in that last day and
be condemned with the world, now do we? And therefore we plead
the mercy of God in Christ. That's why we plead the mercy
of God. We don't want to spend eternity
in hell, do we? Let's be honest about it. Let's
be realistic about it. Let's say, Lord, you know all
things. You know I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to
die in my sin. I don't want to face you in the
judgment without a Savior. I don't want to spend eternity
in hell. And therefore, we believe on
Christ and we try to live a life that is in keeping with the Bible,
keeping with God's law, to a great extent we are motivated in our
Christianity and our so-called holiness and our obedience by
fear. That's right, you know it now,
f-e-a-r, fear. Now, there's nothing wrong with
that. Turn to Proverbs. I'm not saying there's anything
wrong with it, I'm saying it's a good thing. I'm saying it serves
a good purpose. In Proverbs 3, verse 7, be not
wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil. Fear what? Fear the Lord. Fear
his wrath, fear his judgment, fear his punishment, fear his
condemnation, fear the Lord and depart from evil. Turn to Proverbs
16. In Proverbs 16, see if this is
not in your Bible, Proverbs 16, verse 6, by mercy and truth,
iniquity is purged by God's mercy, by the sacrifice
of God's Son, and by the fear of the Lord. Men depart from
evil by the fear of the Lord. by the fear of the Lord. A lot
of things you don't do because of the fear of the Lord, and
a lot of things we do is because of the fear of the Lord. That's
so. But I believe we ought to ask
God in his grace. I believe we ought to plead to
God in his mercy to give us, as we were singing earlier in
the service, more love to Christ. I don't want to be motivated
only by fear. I don't think that is a good
enough motive. In my obedience, in my holiness,
in my righteousness, in my dealing with others, I don't want to
be motivated by fear. Only, I do, because it's godly. The people who love God and the
scripture are called they that feared the Lord. Every time that
a true prophet was described or a good king He was described
in this way, one that feared God. And the fear of the Lord
in the Bible is synonymous with worship. That's true. You may
not have heard that before, but it's true anyway. We need to
ask God for more love for Christ, and we need to ask God to motivate
us in this walk of obedience and integrity and honesty and
love and compassion because we love Jesus Christ. And because
we prefer his way, not because we fear his judgment, but because
we prefer his way, we prefer his will. Oh, to come to the
house of God motivated, not by fear. Not because I ought to go to
church on Sunday. This is Sunday, and I ought to
go to church, and God's not going to be happy with me if I don't
go to church. And I'm just liable to die and go to hell if I don't
go to church. That's a pretty sorry motive. I'm glad it's there. By the fear of the Lord, men
depart from evil. But that's not enough. Oh, to
come to the house of God to enjoy his presence, to seek his face. David said, I was glad when they
said unto me, Let's go to the house of the Lord. Oh, to give my gift for Christ's
sake. Not because a Christian ought
to tithe. Well, I sure could use that ten
percent this week, but, you know, I'm afraid God will make one
of the children sick and the doctor fee will be more than
the tithe. That's a pretty sorry motive. Oh, to give my gift, to be able
to work with my hands so that I can give, as I read a while
ago, to those who have need. What a pleasure, what a pleasure
to be able to help. Oh, to love others for Christ's
sake. Well, I'm going to have to forgive
him because the Bible says if I don't, God won't forgive me.
Well, that's so. But I don't want to love him
for that reason. I don't want to forgive him because
I'm afraid if I don't, God won't forgive me. That's not why I
want to do it. I want to do it even if God doesn't
forgive me. Oh, to be able to forgive and
to forget for Christ's sake. Or to be kind for Christ's sake. Well, I'm going to have to be
kind. I'm going to have to be tender-hearted. That's what the
Bible says. Or to preach and to sing for Christ's sake. For
Christ's sake. Not because somebody asks me
to, or somebody forces me to, or because I can do it and nobody
else can. Because I want to do it. I want
to. For Christ's sake. But if I don't
use my talent, God will take it away from me. That's fear. I guess it's all right. By the
fear of the Lord, men depart from evil, but that ain't good
enough. That's not what we're seeking. For Christ's sake, the
motive for obedience. For Christ's sake. And then last
of all, in closing, three words. For Christ's sake, my motive
for service. Charles Spurgeon once said, Oh,
when I think what men have done for the sake of discovery and
adventure. While they left home and sailed
uncharted seas in small vessels, they fought with wild pagans,
they died in thick jungles, they starved to discover new worlds
for adventure's sake. When I think what people have
done for the sake of country, they have trained and marched
in armies into the mouth of cannons and died to preserve a flag,
a government, an idea. And they did it willingly. But
I think what men have done for science's sake, for the sake
of science, they've given their health and their homes and their
families. They spent weary hours burning
midnight oil. They've tried and failed and
tried and failed and tried and failed until they succeeded.
When I think what men have done for the sake of false religion. They crawled on their knees before
false idols, they prayed in the burning oriental sun until they
passed out, they marched in crusades to certain death, they threw
their babies to the fire to appease their cruel gods. What have we
done for Christ's sake? Well, some have done much. They're
missionaries with no weapon but the Bible who have landed on
foreign soil among cannibals and heathens with no hope of
reward except the life eternal which God had promised to all
believers. They've sacrificed. They've passed
through the furnace of suffering and poverty. They've given their
lives. Some of the old Moravian missionaries
sold themselves as slaves so they could preach to the slaves.
And there were a few Moravian missionaries who had themselves
confined in leper colonies so that they could preach Christ
to the lepers. For Christ's sake, what have I done? I preached a little, but with
not much fire. I prayed a little, but with not
much passion. I witnessed a little, but with
not much effort. I have given a little, but with
no real sacrifice. I worshipped a little, but oh,
how cold! For Christ's sake, for Christ's
sake, the motive for service seed from his head, his hands,
his feet, sorrow and love flow mingle down. Did ever such love
and sorrow meet, for thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole
realm of nature mine that were present far too small? Love so
amazing, so divine, demands my soul my life and my all. Our Father, thank Thee for the
Word. Thank Thee for Thy Holy Spirit
who rebukes us, who strips us. Thank Thee for Thy Holy Spirit
who wounds us that we may be healed, strips us that we may
be clothed. Thy Holy Spirit who slays our
pride that we may be exalted in Christ. Thank Thee for Thy
Holy Spirit who makes us face what we really are, takes away
that veneer of false religion, and lets us, by the searchlight
of Thy Holy Word, see ourselves as we are, but nothing, unworthy
creatures. And we plead for mercy and for
grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ our Lord, Christ our hope,
Christ our life. or when he shall appear, we shall
be like him. O God, deliver us from appearance
of religion, and create in us the very life and image of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.