families at this time. We'll
observe the Lord's table after this morning's service, and we'll
have no evening service. We'll have dinner together. Seek the Lord's help for these
folks who've requested prayer. Kayana, how she's doing? Doing
good? Oh, put a plate in it? She must
have really crushed it. Yeah, okay. all right uh... let's begin our worship service
with hymn number forty five you servants of god your master proclaim Ye servants of God, your master
proclaim, and publish abroad his wonderful name. The name of victorious, of Jesus
extolled. His kingdom is glorious. He rules over all. God ruleth on high, almighty
Jesus. His presence we have. The great congregation is triumphant. ? Prescribing salvation to Jesus
our King ? ? Salvation to God who sits on the throne ? ? Let
all cry aloud and honor the Son of Man ? The praises of Jesus
the angels proclaim. Fall down on their faces and
worship the Lamb. Then let us adore and give Him
His right All glory and power and wisdom and might All honor
and blessing with angels above, and thanks ever ceasing and infinite
love. After scripture reading and prayer,
we'll sing hymn number 125. If you have your Bibles, turn
with me to the fifth chapter of the epistle to the Romans. Romans chapter 5. We'll read
the first 11 verses. Therefore being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience. Patience, experience, and experience
hope. Hope maketh not a shame, because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,
which is given unto us. For when we were without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for
a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from the wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only
so, we also have joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
we have now received the atonement. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
most merciful and gracious God, long-suffering, kind-hearted,
and tender, we thank you, Father, for what
you've done for your children what you continue to do for them.
We pray for those who are going through trials and tribulations
even now, sufferings of heart. We know that thou knowest the
case. We pray that you'll do what you can do and what we would
love to be able to do but can't, and that is give grace and mercy and comfort
and consolation. these times. We pray for ourselves
this day as we hear the gospel and take the Lord's table and
our eyes and hearts appear to be upon Jesus Christ, the object
of our faith. Help us, Lord, to worship you
in spirit and in truth. We pray in Christ's holy name. Number 125, Jesus paid
it all, all the debt out. I hear the Savior say, thy strength
indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and
pray. Oh, the debt I owe. Sin hath left a crimson stain. He washed me white as snow. Lord, now indeed I find thy power
and thine alone. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. ? For nothing good have I ? Whereby
thy grace to claim ? I'll wash my garments white ? In the blood
of Calvary's Lamb ? Jesus paid it all ? All the debt I owe Sin
had left a crimson stain. He washed in white as snow. And when before the throne I
stand in him complete, Jesus died my soul to save. Stan and Steve, you receive the
office this morning, please. Let us pray. well again we come in the name
of Jesus Christ mighty great glorified save what he accomplished
on Calvary's tree the salvation of his people and with him you
have given your people all things freely what we have we have received
let us not boast as if we had not received it Have the privilege
of returning unto Thee that which You've given us. Let us do so
with thanksgiving and praise in our hearts. We pray in Christ's
name. Amen. you Here in Romans chapter 5, these
first 11 verses, Paul declares what he calls in another place,
the full assurance of faith. These words, he proclaims the
wonder of God-given faith, and it is a wonder. These words cannot
be received apart from God-granted faith and understanding. And
when they are truly considered, we can understand the world's
adverse reaction to true faith. The world and its natural inborn
innate religion think that the faith of God's elect is utter
foolishness. Now the world does not consider
all faith to be foolish, just the faith of the elect. The believing
sinner does not desire, seek, after, and does not offer any
other proof that he believes or whom he believes except that
God has said, God has written, and that's what the basis of
our faith, the faith that God gives is subjective. Now it has
an object, the Lord Jesus Christ. but it's subjective in the sense
that it believes what God has said, not what the world says,
but what God has said. If it is written, faith believes
it, though the believer may not even be able to explain it. I
see men try often, as I look at these blurbs on Facebook,
men trying to explain the Trinity, God manifest in the flesh, The
Word made flesh, the instrumentality of the preached Word, and the
salvation of the elect. These things are wonders and
amazing. The believer knows that he did
not generate faith. He was not born with it. He did
not come up with the idea and was completely and amazingly
assured when he found out that he had it. I haven't got over it yet. The world cannot countless this
because they do not believe faith to be a sovereignly disseminated
gift. Religion believe faith to be
an offer, an available commodity, which by the great wisdom of
their own consummate intellect and their cerebral decision,
they exercise their will and they can embrace faith or not.
And often they say that it's up to them. Religion asserts that they've
exercised faith. They've flexed their decision-making
deltoids and exercised faith. Such cannot accept, cannot even
mentally process, that a believer did not come up with his own
faith because their experiences tell them that they surely came
up with theirs. That is why some who have embraced
the truth of sovereign grace The sovereign grace of God and
salvation still want to hold on to a religious experience
that transpired before they heard the truth. Ronnie Bell used to
say a man give you his car, his wife, his house, and everything
else, but he won't give up that old profession. Some have no trouble denying
the doctrine that they've embraced before they heard the gospel,
but suffer great anguish in letting go of when they supposedly began
to believe false faith is a true experience. I had it many times
in my youth, and a true experience cannot be denied even if the
experience did not result in believing the truth. It's still
an experience, and it ain't no use to fight with people about
the experience. True faith embraces the truth
of the gospel. True faith, according to Scripture,
is not given to a person until he or she hears the truth. Scripture declares you believed
AFTER you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Also that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,
and that those who come to Christ by faith and in faith do so because
God Himself has taught them what they need to know, and the result
of Him teaching them is they come to Christ. All who have
heard of the Father and have learned of the Father come to
Me, Christ says. Faith is the experience of grace
and the only evidence of it and is given in vital union with
the preaching of the Gospel. Faith is the evidence, the only
evidence given in Scripture. Faith is the evidence of things
hoped for. Faith is substance, evidence and substance. People
say, well, show me. You can't, because it's invisible
evidence and substance. Faith is the evidence. Faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. And you don't have it unless
God gives it to you, and you don't get it unless you've heard
the word of truth. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. How shall they call on him in
whom they're not believed, and how shall they believe on him
in whom they're not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher,
and how shall they preach except they be sinned? So faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Faith is also the
beginning of obedience to God. God has commanded that men believe
and has given his elect faith to do so. What God has required
of his people, he has supplied to his people. Never think that
obedience comes from any other aspect of life of the child of
God than the living principle of God-given faith. This is where
obedience comes from. By faith, the child of God understands. By faith, the child of God loves. By faith, the child of God acts.
And by faith, the child of God obeys. the enigma of faith, that
which the world does not and cannot get, is most clearly seen
in the things that the believer is sure of. The believer is sure
of some things. Paul is dead sure of some important
things and so is every believer in these first 11 verses of Chapter
5. The believer is sure he is justified
by faith. That's what it says, therefore
being justified by faith we have peace with God. Now this does
not need defending. and certainly does not need explaining
away. This is the truth and the world
will never get what it means. Paul has not come to this place
without first explaining several things. To come to this phrase,
therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. In chapters 1 and 2 and the first
23 verses of chapter 3, Paul declares in no uncertain terms
that man is not justified by anything that he is. anything
that he thinks, anything that he does. In Chapter 1 he declares
that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto all
who believe, whether Jew or Greek, and in that gospel the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. In the latter part of
that chapter he shows the end of Gentiles' pagan mind, reprobation. In Chapter 2 he shows the end
of the religious mind, the Jewish mind, the condemnation of self-righteousness
by the law. In the first 23 verses of chapter
3, it concludes, all under sin, Jew and Gentile alike, all under
sin, it reveals the utter depravity of man and his condemnation by
the law from which he cannot escape. For what the law saith,
saith him under the law, that the whole world might be found
guilty before God. Therefore, by the works of righteousness
shall no man be saved or justified. latter part of chapter three
makes it plain that man is justified freely by grace. That's what
he says, being freely justified by grace through the substitutionary
work of Jesus Christ and that part of that work was the giving
of faith to trust that work and he who performed it. Described
this way in verse 24 I think it is, through faith in his blood.
through faith in His blood. He concludes that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law, and sin is by faith,
that there is no other place but faith, and no boasting is
allowed, because it is God-given faith. And in Chapter 4, Paul
declares that from his works, Abraham, the father of faith,
was counted righteous by ceasing from his works. ceasing from
his works and trusting the merits of Jesus Christ. Now was Abraham
made righteous by works? No. If he was, then God would
owe him grace. God would owe him favor. God
is not a debtor to any man. Chapter 4 further explains the
fact that righteousness was not imputed to Abraham by the law.
The law represented by circumcision because he was declared righteous
before he was circumcised, before he circumcised anybody else,
before the law of circumcision was given. And that circumcision
for Abraham was a declaration that he was already righteous.
When did that happen? When he believed God concerning
the seed in Genesis 15, it was accounted to him for righteousness. Paul goes on to say that when
Christ rose from the dead, all who died were justified. Chapter
4, verse 25, who was delivered from our offenses and raised
for our justification. against chapter 5 with this declaration
of assurance. Therefore, after you've said
all of that, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God. Some might say, well, it's by
grace. Yes, it is. It's by resurrection.
Yes, it's by blood. It must really be explained sitting
forth here or someone may actually believe that they are justified
by faith as if the Holy Spirit was not clear. He said we're
justified by faith. If you know what true faith is,
you'll understand that. You'll understand that. Text determines context. And the first word of chapter
five is verse four, is therefore. And what he's talking about is
verses, is chapters one through four. Therefore, having said
all of these sins, These things are not set against each other,
faith and grace, faith and blood, faith and resurrection. These
are not against each other. I believe that I am justified
by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the blood of Christ,
by the grace of God, without the deeds of the law as declared
in the gospel and by faith. Faith is the experience of salvation. The experience of knowing that
you have been where you could not have naturally been. knowing
that you have done what you could not have naturally done. Know
that you have died when you did not naturally die. It is the experience of having
never sinned when all you know is sin and all you know to do
is sin. The believer sees that Christ's
work in election, substitution, redemption, calling, and justification
was absolutely necessary in his own case and fully accomplished
for him by Jesus Christ alone. And he believes that by faith. The believer is sure that he
has peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace with
God. There ain't no peace in this world. There ain't even
peace among men. This is no small thing, though
Christ, through Christ, that is to say by His blood and righteousness,
by His justice satisfying sacrifice, the believer has peace with God.
Peace with God. Every child of God at this moment
has peace with God. There is no adversarial relationship
between a believer and God. The believer does not have a
slavish fear and superstition that God is waiting to catch
him in some sin. sees God as his dear, gracious
Father, ever willing to receive him, who delights in him and
welcomes him in his presence with exceeding joy. Joy over thee with singing, he
said, with singing. This is one thing that is sure
to the believer. When all else around him falls
apart, When nations war against nations, crime and hatred and
all manner of concupiscence fill the airwaves, he has peace with
the Holy God all day, every day, without exception. Peace with
God. A believer does not fear judgment.
Religion does, and it should. But a believer doesn't fear judgment
because he is as God's Son in the world. That's what John said
in John 4, 17. Jesus Christ and the world suffered
the wrath of God for the believer's sin, so He'll have no wrath on
Him. God's wrath is taken care of. We just sung that. Jesus
paid it all. All the debt I owe, He paid it
all. That means you don't have to
pay anything. I know what it is to pay off something, don't
you? When you pay it off, it's yours,
you can bet for sure that, but you don't owe any more on it.
The mockery of religion is they say Jesus paid it all, and then
when some men get before the judgment, they're going to be
put in hell. They're going to have to pay again. Well, he must not
have paid it all. Well, he did pay it all. Scripture
says he paid it all for some folk, for his people. The result of that wonderful
transaction is the believers declared righteous. made righteousness,
essential thing, righteousness of God. Go figure, he believes
it. This is a strange thing about the elect. When you ask them
if they're righteous, they'll tell you, I'm the very righteousness
of God. You say, are you a proud individual? No. Ain't no pride
in that. Ain't no pride in that at all,
because I had nothing to do with it. You can only have pride if
you actually had something to do with it. We have pride about
a lot of stuff that don't make any sense. Pride of face. I don't have so much of that
anymore, but I had some when I was younger. What made you
look like you look? God did. You gonna be proud of
that? You had nothing to do with it?
Pride of race. Who made you the race you are?
God did. what do you have to do with it?
Nothing. Has nothing to do with my race.
Proud of place. Promotion belongs to the Lord
it says. He raises up and takes down. He brings up the low and
casts down the high and the other way around. He does all that. believer believes what God has
said about him, that he is perfected in Jesus Christ, that he is God's
righteousness, that he is sanctified, redeemed, and holy before God,
and he knows that it has to be all of God and none of him. The
believer is sure that there is nothing between him and God but
mercy and grace, kindness, and sweet, sweet love all day long. All day long. So sometimes I
feel condemned. I know why you feel condemned.
you're looking at you and not Christ. Pay attention to yourself. Stop
looking at you. You ain't worth looking at. Neither
am I. There's a desperately dark place inside this old heart and
mind. I don't need to dwell in there. A believer is sure that
by Christ he has perfect standing. with God and this assures him
that what may come there will always be sufficient grace to
bear him up and see him through. Verse 2 says, By whom we have
access by faith, that is by Jesus Christ, into the grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of God. The sovereign, loving,
irresistible, effectual grace of God meets every need. i will
supply all your needs. My grace is sufficient for thee,
told Paul. Everywhere and in every circumstance
and every second of the day the believer has, through Christ,
access. Come on in. Walk on in. Reside there. Access into this
wondrous grace. You will never deplete it. For as sin abounds, grace did
much more abound. The believer is sure that the
worst times, the greatest tribulations result in him having the greatest
hope and reason for glory. That's scary, but the world won't
see that. Your tribulations and your trials, the hard things
that happen, these are for the glory of God and for your good.
And He actually will help you. He says in verse 3 and 4, not
only so, but we glory in tribulations. Knowing that tribulations work
with patience, and patience, experience, or proof, and experience,
hope, and hope, make it not a shame. With glory in tribulations, there's
a saying that goes around, God will not give you any more than
you can handle. You can't handle nothing to start with. God will never give you more
than he can handle. You can't handle nothing. I mean,
it don't take nothing. to set us aside and put our minds
on things. Don't let me be there. We're
victims of circumstance and sometimes we're willingly so. When the
believer goes through great trial he may feel that the burden is
too great, the pain unbearable, but he finds that the grace of
God sustains him even when he wasn't feeling sustained. He's
always there when he's finished. He freely gives thanks to God
for what took place. really reassure that the hope
he has never resulted in shame and confusion trust in him shall not be ashamed
verse 5 says that and hope maketh us not ashamed cause the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost hope
is not a wish or a pipe dream. In the scriptures, hope is an
expectation of something that will most surely come to pass. It is not a wish. It cannot be
demolished by circumstance. It cannot be deceived or disappointed.
We can, but that thing God has given us can't. It always seems
to just pop up at the right moment, doesn't it? When you least expect
it, when you think all things are about to fall apart, all
of a sudden God is sovereign and He takes care of everything.
What a wonder! The believer is sure that his
hope is based upon the fact that God loves him. And that love
is proved by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It can't be
seen, it can't be proved. Don't try to prove it. you can't see the Holy Ghost.
And don't go running around on benches and acting like fools
and speaking in tongues. Try to prove it, because that
ain't the Holy Ghost. That's another spirit. The Holy
Ghost is in every believer. The Holy Spirit of God, actually
the Spirit of Christ, according to John 16. And that language is sweet and
poetic. The love of God. is shed abroad
in a believer's heart. Shed abroad. Reaching the deepest
recesses and wrapping and galloping and consuming and establishing
the heart. The believer knows this because
the Holy Ghost is given unto him. No man knows nor can lay
claim to the love of God unless the Spirit of God dwells in him.
And the world cannot understand that. Our Lord said the world
will not understand it. The world can't get it. The world
never discerned that. you can explain it to them, but
that don't mean they're going to understand it, because they
won't. The natural man receives not the things of the spirit,
but foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, nor discern
them, because the spirits are discerned. But the spiritual man discerneth
all things, yet he is discerned by no man. Beloved, what matters is this,
that we should be called the sons of God. We don't know what it shall be,
but we know when we see Him, we'll be like Him, for we'll
see Him as He is. And the world knoweth us not, because it knew
him not. It knew him not. The love of
God. Let the faithless world religion
speak of universal love of God. They boast of that which is mere
figment of their diseased, depraved imagination. There is no general
love of God, or anywhere else, really. What I have for my wife
is not a general love. I never said, I love you, sweetheart,
and all the rest of the women in the world. Why, she'd have
slapped me silly if I had said something like that. God doesn't
generally love anything. God loves, and whom He loves,
He says according to Scripture. Where the Spirit of God does
not indwell, the love of God does not reside. The love of
God is in Jesus Christ, according to Romans 8. Where the Spirit
of God does not indwell, the love of God where the Spirit
of God does not dwell, the love of God is not shed abroad in
the heart. Where the love of God is not shed abroad in the
heart, all hope is false hope and will be brought to shame
and confusion. The believer is sure that there is nothing about
him or in him that could recommend him to God or cause God to love
him and send his son to die for him. For he said, Scarcely would
a righteous man will one die, maybe, maybe this is a person
who does everything right knows all the answers discussed and
be around for right this man one maybe somebody would but
it ain't likely is yet for adventure for a good man somewhat even
good man whose kind generous helpful somebody might be willing
to give their life for them scarcely for a righteous man, peradventure
for a good man. Well, how about you? But God
commended his love for us while we were yet neither righteous
nor good sinners. Christ died for us. When Christ died for him, he
was without strength. What does that mean? say without a lot of strength
or without some strength. He had a little bit of strength.
He had a spark of divinity. No. Without strength. What does that mean? He's dead
and trespasses the city. Because if you're alive, you've
got some strength. But if you're without strength, better call
the boys club and get them to make you a box. If you're without
strength. John Godley. much more than now
being justified by his blood. He should be saved from wrath
to come. He died for the ungodly. Died for us. Ungodly. Not like God at all. A God-hater.
The believer is absolutely sure that he does not meet any qualification
that might cause anyone, much less the Son of the Most High,
to give his life for him. Does not meet any qualification.
God's love is the love of grace, unmerited favor, and the grace
of love because Christ died, He died for sinners. He died
for sinners. The believer is sure that he'll
be saved from the wrath to come because God's blood justified
him before God. Verse 9, Much more than being
now justified by His blood, we shall be saved rest again don't look at your life
you'll be sure that has to be some believe the Word of God
we say no rest you the guiltless no judgment do the innocent no
vengeance do the righteous and by God's word and grace we are
all the believer is sure the he was
not the friend of God when he was reconciled to God by the
death of Christ. It says in verse 10, for when
we were enemies, when we were enemies, natural man is at enmity
with God, the natural mind is, at enmity, wants to kill God,
wants to get rid of God, wants to be put in God's place. That's
what enmity means. While we were yet enemies, We
were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Think about
that. Before we knew God, while we
were still hating God, Christ removed from the center
that which alienated Him from God. While we were enemies, Christ
died for us. Scripture says in Colossians
1 to 20, God made peace and reconciled us by the blood of His cross.
Reconciled us to God. The problem was with us, you
see. We were sinners and are sinners. The problem is not with
God. He doesn't need to be reconciled
to us. We need to be reconciled to Him. Christ accomplished that. This is assurance. Before faith,
before birth, before newborn or the elect were reconciled
to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. They didn't know about
it. How'd they find out about it? You see, God's fixed this
thing in a strange and wondrous way. If you're one of his elect
and you walk around in your sin, hating God all your life, 2,000
years ago Christ had already reconciled to God. You don't
know anything about that. Totally oblivious to the fact. Somewhere
along in your trip down Rhodes' life, or life's road, somewhere
there's a there's a place we're going to run into one of god's
preachers and he's going to tell you about
jesus christ you know what you know god will give you faith
and you'll realize i was reconciled to god before i knew him christ reconciled me to god so
i couldn't have had anything to do with it while we were enemies who were
reconciled to God by the death of his son, by faith in his blood. The gospel which the believer
believes reveals to the sinner that all is well between him
and his God because of what Christ accomplished on the cross. You believed after you heard
the word of truth, the good news, the gospel, the good spell, the
good news what? Your salvation? What do you mean?
It's mine? It's always been yours. You just
didn't know it. But if you're his, you'll find
out one these days. The gospel reveals what God has
done. Since we were reconciled to God
by the death of Jesus Christ, we will most assuredly be saved
by His life. One fellow said we're not saved
by his life and his death, we're saved by his death and his life.
His death and his life. His life is his resurrection,
his ascension and intercession now in glory. A believer knows
that he enjoys a true relationship of love and grace with the glory
of God. relationship verse 11 not only
so we also have joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
we have now received the atonement that word atonement is not the
covering of the Old Testament it's reconciliation one fellow
says it's atonement with God with God this is speaking of
the experience of salvation How does a man experience salvation?
One way, God gives him faith. God gives him faith, the faith
that justifies. The believer has received this
reconciliation at one month. Faith is salvation experienced
through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a believer this hour,
it's because God has made you so, and no other reason than
that. if you are trusting the Lord
Jesus Christ right now as your only hope of salvation and freely
receive this table, joyously receive this table, joy in the
love of God for what He's done for you, because this table speaks
about what faith lays hold of, the blood of Jesus Christ and
His death for His people. This is what makes us differ
from another. nothing about us, everything about Christ. Steve Stan, did y'all have me
searched? The Lord instituted the Lord's
table on a Passover before he went to the cross. He said to
his disciples, I've been looking forward to having this Passover
with you. And he'd had others. He was a Jew, and he'd had Passover
many times in his life. He had observed, because he fulfilled
the law, he had observed all the laws of the Sabbath, and
one of them was the Passover. and he took the elements of the
Passover and he said a wondrous thing to his disciples. He had
told them time and time again that he was going to leave. And
Peter didn't want that. He said, no, you don't have to
leave. And then he said, well, if you're going, I'm going with
you. And the Lord said, well, I'm going. You can't go. You
can't go. That night he took that unleavened
bread at the feast and broke it. He said something wondrous. He said, hey, Eat. This is my body, broken for you. Now, he was handing them that
bread with his body, so it wasn't his real body, it was symbolic
of something. He said, breaking this bread,
picture breaking him who is the bread of heaven, breaking him
who is the manna from glory, my body is going to be broken
for you. And in a few days, it would be.
In a few days, it would be. Then he took the wine, the cup.
He said, something else wonders. Did all these Jewish men that
sat around the table with him, who had been under the old covenant
for so long, all they knew was that in order
to please God, they had to be obedient. And they hadn't done
a very good job of it. They had failed on every hand.
Those who believe they obeyed God were self-righteous fools,
vipers, cups dirty on the inside and clean on the outside, whited
sepulchers, damned to hell. This is how God described them.
But they were under that old covenant, and they was keeping
that old covenant. And he said, this cup is the new covenant. What? he said you won't have to tell
people to know God, they'll all know God. All my people will
know me. He said there's sins and I will
remember no more. I will remember no more. We know that happens when the
perfect sacrifice is offered by the Lord Jesus Christ and
we are protected forever then we are sanctified by His one
offering. So much so that God said I will
remember their sins and iniquities no more and where there mission
is in there is no more is the new what's the new your salvation
what was it will be it's true he fulfilled law god in his life
about make him He kept the law by dying. By dying. Because that's the
one thing the law requires. The law doesn't say be good.
The law says you're bad. And the fact that you must be
perfect and you must be good proves that you're bad. Because
you're not good. There's none righteous, no not
one. There's none good. So He fulfilled the law in every
aspect. Because He lived perfectly and
righteously. in this world and became the
perfect candidate as the sacrifice that God would accept. The new covenant said he was
obedient even unto death. The death of the cross. Therefore
God is highly exalted to him, giving him the name above every
name. Take this cup, he said, take this bread, broken for you,
represents my body broken for you, take this cup, it represents
my blood shed for you, my death, which instituted the new covenant,
full force, for a covenant is enforced when the testator dies,
says Roman, says Hebrew. Take this cup, and this bread,
and consume it, and when you do this, children of God, to
show forth something. What do you show forth? Do you
show forth that I'm a Christian? No. Do you show forth that I'm
righteous? No. You show forth the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, which satisfied God's law and justice
for you, the work of God. Let's receive the Lord's statement. Let us pray. In the name of Jesus
Christ, we come to you present in thanksgiving and praise, thanking
you for executing this ordinance where we can, when we take it,
commemorate the death of the Lord Jesus Christ that satisfied
all your requirements for our salvation. We bless you and thank
you. And let us now rejoice to take
this table and pray in Christ's name. The night our Lord was betrayed,
he took bread, the unleavened bread of the Passover feast,
and broke it, handed it to his disciples, and said, take ye,
this is my body broken to you, as all one nation through it,
do it in the name of Jesus. On the same night, he took the
cup, and said, this cup is the new testament, a new covenant
of non-blood. As often as you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you shall go not dead until I come again. As often as you do this, you will be saved. Last night at Hemp, my Lord went
out and was betrayed by Judas, accosted by the soldiers, and
the priests, and the elders of the community, who went on to
the cross to accomplish what we say is right. Let's stand together. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Well, let each other know that
you love each other. I want to tell you that I love
you. You're dear to me. I was thinking of you this morning,
46 years, when I saw you. I was just a pup when I did it. Y'all raised me, and I appreciate
it. You fed me, groomed me, and took
care of me for all these years. It's really good.