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Ephesians 2:1-10 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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This morning I can think of two great benefits of getting to be the pastor of Christ Family Church.
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! Firstly, I get to make requests of songs, and the band actually does them. So if you didn't like that, I'm sorry, that was for me.
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Secondly, I get to preach to you the Word of God and the great blessing that it is. So please turn in your copy of God's Word to Ephesians chapter 2.
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Ephesians chapter 2, and follow along with me as I read to us verses 1 through 10.
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And you were dead in the trespasses and sins of which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air,
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the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
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carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
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But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,
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made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
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so that in the coming ages you might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
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For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God,
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not a result of work, so that no one may boast.
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For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
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This is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good. We would all do well to listen to it and obey it.
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Let's pray together.
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Father God, we praise you this morning for the risen and reigning Jesus Christ.
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It is in his person and work that we have the redemption of our souls,
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and it is because of what he has accomplished that you are forming us into a people for your possession,
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that you are making us into a temple as your dwelling place, with Jesus as the cornerstone.
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Father, today we want only to exalt him.
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I do not want to be exalted.
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People here, people on the stage, people sitting in the seats, do not want to be exalted.
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Father, we want Christ to be exalted.
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And Lord, all that we do, apart from the work of your spirit, would not exalt Christ.
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They would be mere motions.
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And so we pray that by your spirit you will work in us this day.
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That the preaching of your word will have power, not because my words have weight,
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but because my words speak of the word of God.
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Your very revelation to mankind.
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And that by your spirit you would take those words and you would apply them to our hearts,
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that we might be changed, not in degree, but in type.
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That we will belong to Jesus.
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And as a result, we will obey his every command.
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And we pray all of this in his matchless and wonderful name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Well, I know that it's not lost on any of you that today is Easter Sunday,
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the Sunday that the Christian church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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But I put forth to you that the church of Christ celebrates in each and every meeting,
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as well as in each and every action of every day throughout the week,
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the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Now, I'm not against us having a special Sunday in which we do that.
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I think that that is okay.
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But I want us to be mindful that this is not the only time of year that we should remember what Christ accomplished.
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His person and his work is what we praise with our lives.
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At least I hope that's true of you.
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But today we are going to take a break from our verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel according to Mark
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to look in Ephesians and to see some of the benefits that we gain by the resurrection of Christ.
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But first I want to ask the question, how can we know that Jesus was raised from the dead?
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How can we know that this is true?
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And I'm going to give you four reasons, and these are not exhaustive reasons,
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but just four reasons that I find particularly compelling.
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But let me say to you that ultimately and finally,
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for these reasons to become reasons for you,
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they must be accepted by faith.
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They must be accepted by faith.
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If we were to say that we ourselves stood in the empty tomb,
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we could still, with some reason of our mind, say that Jesus' body was stolen.
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We could say that somebody broke in,
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rolled a stone that could be not rolled away by a couple of men,
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but by an army of men, and took his body.
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We could somehow rationalize it away as the world does.
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We must accept these things by faith.
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But nonetheless, there are reasons and some very compelling ones.
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Firstly, Jesus stated that he would be raised from the dead.
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He himself knew that this was going to happen.
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Mark 8, verse 31.
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And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things,
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and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes,
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and be killed.
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And after three days, rise again.
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There was a prediction on Jesus' part that this would, in fact, take place.
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Secondly, the tomb was empty.
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We have a record of that.
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Luke 24, verses 1-3.
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We see three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and a woman named Salome,
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go and visit the tomb to bring more spices for the body.
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Verse 1 of chapter 24.
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But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb,
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taking the spices they had prepared.
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And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
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But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
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Thirdly, in a particularly compelling case, the disciples of Christ were transformed.
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Those closest to Him called the apostles.
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We have many accounts of their fearless proclamation of the gospel of God after Jesus' death.
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Acts 2, verse 32.
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This is Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.
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He says,
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And you recall, after the death of Christ,
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what the apostles and the larger group of disciples were doing?
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They were cowering in a room together.
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150 of them did not know what to do.
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This Jesus that they thought was going to come and reign politically and militarily,
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was going to overthrow the Roman government,
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had been put to death.
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And they did not know what to do.
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They feared for their very lives.
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Remember, Peter, who preached this sermon,
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was the one who had denied Christ because of his fear.
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They were turned from proverbial mice to men when they saw the risen Christ.
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Between the years of A.D. 34 and A.D. 74,
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all of 12 of the apostles, save Judas, who hung himself,
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and John, who died of natural death,
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all of them were martyred across a 40-year span.
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They didn't come together in a room together,
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get each other really psyched up to continue to try to promote a myth.
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And they all were excited about it for a couple of months,
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and they were all put to death.
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But across a span of 40 years,
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these men believed that Jesus lived,
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and they were willing to give their lives to it.
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Let me give you examples.
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Paul's first martyr, not an apostle,
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but Stephen, one of the early deacons,
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was stoned.
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As we know, Paul, Saul then, stood aside and watched.
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James was killed by Herod Agrippa with a sword.
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Peter was crucified upside down.
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There are extra-biblical accounts of all of these things.
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Andrew was crucified on an olive tree in a town called Petra in Achaia.
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Thomas was run through with pine spears,
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tormented with red-hot plates,
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and finally burned alive.
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Philip was tortured, then crucified in Phrygia.
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Matthew was beheaded.
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Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel,
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was flayed, split open, and then crucified.
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The other James, called the Lesser James,
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was beaten to death with a club.
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Simon was crucified in Syria.
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Judas Thaddeus, beaten to death with sticks in Mesopotamia.
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Matthias stoned while being crucified in Ethiopia.
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Paul was beheaded in Rome.
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And then John, as I mentioned previously,
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died a natural death,
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but it's rumored and fairly historically accounted for
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that he was scarred horribly by being burned in boiling oil.
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These men were willing to receive these types of torments,
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these types of death,
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because they had seen the risen Christ.
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Turn with me, if you will, to Acts chapter 5.
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Keep your finger in Ephesians chapter 2.
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Acts chapter 5.
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I'm going to read a little bit to you of an account
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of early on, in the early church,
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when the apostles were arrested.
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And I want you to see some of the peculiar response here,
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which helps fortify this reason
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why we can believe in the resurrection.
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Beginning of verse 27,
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So this is a council of Jews
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had brought them, the apostles.
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They set them before the council,
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and the high priest questioned them,
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saying,
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We strictly charge you not to teach in this name,
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the name of Jesus.
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Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,
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and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
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But Peter and the apostles answered.
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So here's Peter,
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fearful Peter,
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denying Christ,
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just days before.
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He says to them,
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to this council,
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We must obey God,
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rather than men.
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The God of our fathers raised Jesus,
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whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
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God exalted him at his right hand
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as leader and savior
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to give repentance to Israel
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and forgiveness of sins.
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And we are his witnesses to these things.
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And so is the Holy Spirit,
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whom God has given to those who obey him.
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When they heard this,
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they were enraged and wanted to kill him.
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But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel,
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right here,
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we need to have the same reason that he had here.
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A teacher of the law,
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held in honor by all the people,
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stood up and gave orders
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to put the men outside for a little while.
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And he said to them,
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the council,
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Men of Israel,
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take care of what you are about to do
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with these men.
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For before these days,
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Theodos rose up,
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claiming to be somebody,
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and a number of men,
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about 400,
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joined him.
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He was killed,
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and all who followed him
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were dispersed and came to nothing.
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After him,
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Judas the Galilean
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rose up on the days of the census
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and drew away some of the people after him.
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He too perished,
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and all who followed him
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were scattered.
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So in the present case,
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I tell you,
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keep away from these men
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and let them alone.
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For if this plan
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or this undertaking
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is of man,
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it will fail.
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You catch that?
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These Jewish people
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had been waiting
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for somebody
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who was going to come
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and conquer,
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who was going to fulfill
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the prophecy of the Old Testament
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as they saw it.
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Someone who was going to come
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and reign politically
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and militarily.
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Someone who was going to come
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and overthrow
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the Roman Empire.
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And some men had come along
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and said that.
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They were false in that way,
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and they were killed,
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and their followers dispersed.
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It will fail.
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Verse 39,
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But if it is of God,
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you will not be able
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to overthrow them.
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You might even be found
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opposing God.
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So they took this advice,
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and when they had called
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in the apostles,
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they beat them
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and charged them
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not to speak in the name
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of Jesus
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and let them go.
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So just the same,
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bring them in,
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they beat them,
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tell them,
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do not speak in the name
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of Jesus.
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Then they left
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the presence of the council,
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rejoicing that they were
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counted worthy
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to suffer dishonor
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for the name.
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Strange,
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if Christ was not risen.
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And every day
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in the temple
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and from house to house,
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they did not cease
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teaching and preaching
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Jesus as the Christ.
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This is great reason
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for us to believe
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that Jesus was in fact
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raised from the dead.
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John 2.22 says,
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When therefore
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he was raised from the dead,
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his disciples remembered
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that he had said this,
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and they believed
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the scripture
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and the word
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that Jesus had spoken.
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In Romans 8.18,
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Paul records,
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For I consider
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that the sufferings
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of this present time
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are not worth comparing
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with the glory
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that is to be revealed
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to us.
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Recognize, beloved,
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that if we believe
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the gospel
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in its fullness,
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Jesus Christ did in fact
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bear the wrath of God
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on our behalf
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and was killed,
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buried,
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and resurrected,
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he's seated at the right hand,
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we will be bold
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in this way.
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And we have no reason
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to be bold in this way
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if he was not
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raised from the dead.
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He was defeated
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2,000 plus years ago.
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Why would we think
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he can reign now?
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But he does in fact
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reign.
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Fourthly,
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the promises
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of the Bible
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hinge
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upon the reality
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of the resurrection.
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The promises
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of the Bible
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hinge
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upon it.
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If we are not
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willing to believe
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all of the Bible,
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we have no business
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believing any part
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of the Bible.
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This is revelation.
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This is God's
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word to us.
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It is inerrant.
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It is powerful.
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It is sufficient
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as the rule
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for our lives.
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Our experience
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can affirm
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the truth
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of the Bible,
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but it cannot
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define it.
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Does it not
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cause you fear
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that some people
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think that they can
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find truth
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within themselves?
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Do you not do this
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at points in your life?
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Think that you yourself
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can define what is
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and what isn't
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true?
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This is a fearful
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thing.
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I know myself
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too well
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to think that I
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can define truth.
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I need some
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external source
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of revelation.
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I need something
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absolute,
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something objective,
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and praise God
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we have his scriptures.
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He condescended
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to become an author,
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to write a book
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for us.
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There must be
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an objective reality
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outside ourselves
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which governs
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our lives.
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And I will tell you
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that if I cannot
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believe every word
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in this book,
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then I can't believe
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any of it.
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I have no grounds
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to believe any of it
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at all.
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And my salvation
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is at risk
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in that.
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Jesus himself
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affirms
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the validity
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of at least
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our Old Testament
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scriptures.
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He quotes it
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78 times
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in the New Testament.
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Jesus was a man
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of the word
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who believed
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in the revelation
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of God.
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These are great reasons.
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Great reasons
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to believe
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in the resurrection.
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And there are
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three ways
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that all
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that we believe
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to be true
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of the gospel
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would fall apart
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if the resurrection
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was not
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in fact
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a reality.
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And that was
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the introduction.
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So here we go.
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Three ways
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it would all
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fall apart.
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Without the reality
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of the resurrection,
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we would not have
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firstly protection
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from the wrath
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of God.
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We're back in
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Ephesians chapter 2
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now if you're
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tracking along.
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I'm going to read
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to you a few verses
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here again.
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And you were dead
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in the trespasses
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and sins
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in which you once
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walked.
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This is Paul
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writing to the church
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at Ephesus
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those who have
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claimed to be
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in the faith.
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We need to hear
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this this morning.
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We know that he
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is writing to
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believers.
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You were dead
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once you were
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dead in your
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trespasses and sins
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in which you once
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walked.
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Following the
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course of this
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world.
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Following the
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prince of the
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power of the
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air.
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That is Satan
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if you don't
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know.
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The spirit
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that is now
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at work in
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the sons of
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disobedience.
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Among whom
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we all once
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lived in the
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passions of
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our flesh.
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Carrying out
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the desires of
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the body and
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the mind.
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And we're by
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nature.
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By the very
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center of who
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we are.
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Our definition
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of who we are.
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Children of
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wrath.
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Like the rest
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of mankind.
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mankind fell in
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the garden.
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Original sin now
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permeates the rest
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of humanity.
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And therefore we
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are apart from
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Christ enemies of
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God.
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And as enemies of
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God, God is
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right.
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He is just.
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Not unloving, but
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just to punish
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sin.
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It's right for
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him to do it.
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We would not
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want to worship a
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God who's not
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just.
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Who one day will
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not make all
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things right in
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judging this world.
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We want to
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worship a just
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God.
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But because of
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that, wrath is
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due us.
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The weight of
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our sin, the
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very thing that
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it purchased for
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us, was the
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wrath of God.
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Saying to God,
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you are not
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God, but I
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am.
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I want to be
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like a God.
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I want to
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define truth for
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myself.
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It's due the
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wrath of God.
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Romans 1.18,
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Paul writes,
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for the wrath of
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God is revealed
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from heaven against
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all ungodliness
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and unrighteousness
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of men who
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by their
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unrighteousness
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suppress the
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truth.
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Here's the
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beautiful message
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of the gospel.
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It's not that
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God lays aside
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his justice.
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He doesn't
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cease to be
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just in order
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to be loving,
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but that in
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his perfect
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justice and
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in his perfect
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love, he
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punished for
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us our sin
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in Christ.
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He poured
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out his
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wrath on
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Jesus.
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We know
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that crucifixion
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is the most
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horrible death
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that man has
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ever imagined.
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I'm not going
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to take the
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time to get
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into the
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details for
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you this
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day, but
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it was a
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horrid, horrid
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way to
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die.
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But this is
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nothing.
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This has
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nothing.
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Look at how
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many of the
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apostles themselves
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were crucified.
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This is nothing
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compared to the
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fact that Jesus
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bore the wrath
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of God for
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our sins.
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It was
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punished in
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him.
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1 Thessalonians
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1, 9-10,
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Paul writes,
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And you see
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how in Paul's
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mind, Jesus'
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death and his
18:21
resurrection are
18:22
intertwined in
18:24
his ability to
18:24
deliver us from
18:25
the wrath to
18:25
come.
18:25
Right?
18:26
That he died
18:27
on behalf of
18:27
us, but that he
18:28
was raised and
18:29
conquered that,
18:29
that even the
18:30
consequence of
18:31
sin could not
18:32
reign over
18:33
Jesus Christ.
18:34
And now we
18:34
have deliverance
18:35
from wrath as
18:36
a result.
18:38
Again, Paul
18:38
writes in
18:38
Romans 5,
18:39
9-10,
18:41
Since therefore
18:41
we have now
18:42
been justified
18:43
by his blood,
18:44
much more
18:45
shall we be
18:45
saved by him
18:46
from the
18:47
wrath of God.
18:49
For if while
18:49
we were enemies
18:50
we were
18:50
reconciled to
18:51
God by the
18:51
death of his
18:52
son, much
18:53
more, now
18:54
that we are
18:54
reconciled,
18:55
shall we be
18:56
saved by his
18:57
life.
18:59
We have
18:59
life because
19:01
Jesus is
19:03
alive.
19:05
Praise God.
19:06
Without the
19:07
reality of the
19:07
resurrection, we
19:08
would not have
19:08
protection from
19:10
the wrath of
19:11
God.
19:11
But that
19:12
protection is
19:12
ours in his
19:14
death and
19:14
resurrection.
19:16
Secondly,
19:17
without the
19:17
reality of the
19:18
resurrection, we
19:19
would not have
19:19
our sin
19:20
pardoned.
19:22
The dismissal
19:23
of that, it
19:24
would not be
19:25
written off.
19:26
We would not
19:26
be justified
19:28
before him.
19:29
Again, Ephesians
19:30
chapter 2,
19:31
beginning of
19:31
verse 4, this
19:32
most precious,
19:34
my favorite
19:35
conjunction in
19:36
all of the
19:37
Bible.
19:38
For those of
19:38
you students
19:39
of grammar,
19:39
it's in fact a
19:40
discourse connective
19:41
in case you
19:42
care about such
19:43
things.
19:44
But you see
19:45
this picture of
19:45
who we once
19:46
were.
19:48
That what was
19:48
due to us was
19:49
the wrath of
19:50
God, eternal
19:50
destruction, eternal
19:52
damnation, misery
19:53
forever, and to
19:54
these precious
19:55
words, but
19:56
God, but
19:58
God, being
20:00
rich in mercy
20:02
because of the
20:03
great love with
20:04
which he loved
20:05
us, even when
20:06
we were dead in
20:06
our trespasses,
20:07
even when we
20:07
were those
20:08
children of
20:09
wrath, he
20:11
made us alive
20:12
together with
20:13
Christ.
20:14
By grace you
20:16
have been
20:17
saved.
20:18
And you have
20:19
to get this,
20:19
you have to
20:20
understand, you
20:20
have to see the
20:21
language of the
20:22
Bible, that it
20:22
speaks to us not
20:24
about degree, but
20:25
about type.
20:29
All over our
20:30
nation today, there
20:31
are people who
20:32
are guests in
20:33
churches, meeting
20:35
with the people of
20:35
God because they
20:36
think in some way
20:37
that gains them
20:38
some stance with
20:40
the Lord, that
20:41
that puts a
20:41
check in the good
20:42
box for them.
20:44
That would be a
20:44
thinking of degree.
20:46
I'm a little
20:47
better here, I'm a
20:48
little worse here.
20:49
If my good works
20:50
just outweigh my
20:51
bad works, I'll
20:52
find heaven.
20:53
That is not the
20:54
basis on which we
20:54
are justified.
20:55
We are justified
20:56
by type.
20:57
And that is that
20:58
God has made us
21:01
alive.
21:03
By grace you
21:04
have been saved.
21:06
In verse 6, and
21:07
here's the axiom
21:08
verse, and raised
21:10
us up with him, and
21:11
seated us with him
21:13
in the heavenly
21:14
places in Christ
21:16
Jesus.
21:16
Jesus, both the
21:17
language for raised
21:19
and for seated in
21:20
the Greek, it's
21:21
speaking as if it's
21:22
already happened.
21:24
Because of the
21:25
personal work of
21:26
Christ, these things
21:27
have been guaranteed
21:29
on our behalf.
21:32
Verse 7, so in the
21:33
coming ages, he might
21:35
show the immeasurable
21:36
riches of his grace
21:37
and kindness toward
21:38
us in Christ Jesus, so
21:40
that for all eternity,
21:41
that's what it's
21:42
saying, that God can
21:43
show his grace toward
21:46
us, to the world.
21:48
Verse 8, for by grace
21:49
you have been saved
21:49
through faith, and
21:50
this is not your own
21:51
doing, it is the gift
21:52
of God, not a result
21:54
of works, so that no
21:56
one may boast.
21:58
God gives to us by
21:59
his grace a gift
22:01
called faith, and it
22:02
opens up our heart
22:04
that we might believe
22:05
in who Jesus is, that
22:06
he is in fact the
22:07
Christ, the anointed
22:08
one of God, that he
22:09
is risen and that he
22:10
reigns, and it is by
22:11
this act that we are
22:13
made new.
22:14
I hope that we can
22:17
echo with Paul, Galatians
22:18
6, 14, but far be it
22:20
from me to boast, except
22:22
in the cross of our
22:23
Lord Jesus Christ.
22:26
This is important, this
22:27
is axiom that we might
22:28
understand that our sins
22:29
are forgiven because
22:31
Christ has been raised.
22:32
1 Corinthians 15, 17, and
22:34
if Christ has not been
22:35
raised, if he's not been
22:37
raised, if this is not
22:38
true, your faith is
22:39
futile, and you are
22:41
still in your sins.
22:43
Paul goes on to say,
22:43
we are to be most
22:44
pitied for believing
22:46
such foolishness.
22:47
If Christ has not been
22:48
raised, but because he
22:49
has, we have the
22:50
redemption of our souls.
22:51
1 Peter 1, 3, Peter
22:53
writes, blessed be the
22:53
God and Father of our
22:54
Lord Jesus Christ.
22:55
According to his
22:56
great mercy, he has
22:57
caused us to be born
22:58
again to a living hope
23:00
through the resurrection
23:01
of Jesus Christ from
23:03
the dead.
23:04
Beloved, we do not
23:05
differ in degree, but
23:07
we differ in kind.
23:09
We are those who
23:10
belong to God.
23:12
We are his people.
23:13
We have been made
23:15
alive eternally.
23:17
Luke 20, verse 36,
23:20
it says, for they cannot
23:22
die anymore because they
23:24
are equal to angels and
23:25
are sons of God.
23:27
There is that type, being
23:28
sons of the resurrection.
23:31
Romans 8, 11, if the
23:34
spirit of him who raised
23:34
Jesus from the dead dwells
23:35
in you, he who raised
23:37
Christ Jesus from the dead
23:38
will also give life to
23:40
your mortal bodies through
23:41
his spirit who dwells in
23:44
you.
23:45
Without the reality of
23:46
the resurrection, we
23:47
would not have our sins
23:49
pardoned.
23:51
Without the reality of
23:52
the resurrection, we
23:52
wouldn't have protection
23:53
from the wrath of God, our
23:54
sins pardoned, or thirdly,
23:56
the presence of Jesus
23:58
Christ.
23:59
The last verse that we
24:01
read there in chapter 2,
24:02
verse 10, for we are his
24:04
workmanship created in
24:07
Christ Jesus for good
24:08
works, which God prepared
24:10
beforehand that we should
24:12
walk in them.
24:13
We have been made now into
24:15
a new type.
24:16
Those who are disciples of
24:18
Jesus Christ, those who
24:19
are called Christian, those
24:21
who are sons of God, we've
24:22
been created in Christ
24:24
Jesus.
24:25
And not just to our own
24:27
ends, but for a greater
24:28
end, and that is for good
24:29
works.
24:31
Good works that God
24:32
prepared beforehand that we
24:33
should walk in them, that
24:34
he might be displayed in
24:35
this world.
24:37
And we do this by the
24:39
power of the Spirit that's
24:40
been granted to us now
24:41
because of the accomplished
24:42
work of Christ.
24:44
Romans 8, 9-11.
24:46
Paul writes,
24:46
You, however, are not in
24:48
the flesh, but in the
24:49
Spirit, if in fact the
24:50
Spirit of God dwells in
24:51
you, if you are in fact
24:52
believers.
24:53
Anyone who does not have
24:54
the Spirit of Christ does
24:55
not belong to him.
24:57
But if Christ is in you,
24:58
although the body is dead
24:59
because of sin, the Spirit
25:01
is life because of
25:02
righteousness.
25:03
If the Spirit of him who
25:05
raised Jesus from the dead
25:05
dwells in you, he who
25:07
raised Christ Jesus from
25:08
the dead will also give
25:09
life to your mortal bodies
25:11
through his Spirit who
25:13
dwells in you.
25:13
What is this life?
25:15
It is a life of pursuit of
25:17
Jesus Christ.
25:18
John 14, verse 15-19.
25:21
Jesus says,
25:21
If you love me, you will
25:24
keep my commandments.
25:26
And I will ask the
25:27
Father, and he will give
25:28
you another helper to be
25:29
with you forever, even the
25:32
Spirit of truth, whom the
25:34
world cannot receive, because
25:35
it neither sees him nor
25:37
knows him.
25:39
You know him, for he
25:40
dwells with you and will
25:41
be in you.
25:42
I will not leave you as
25:43
orphans.
25:44
I will come to you.
25:45
Yet a little while, and the
25:46
world will see me no more,
25:48
but you will see me.
25:49
Because I live, you also
25:52
will live.
25:53
Do you see the resurrection
25:54
language that's so spun
25:57
throughout all of the New
25:58
Testament?
25:59
If you love me, you will
26:00
keep my commandments.
26:01
And I'm going to give you
26:03
a helper.
26:04
The Spirit of God is going
26:05
to come and abide with you
26:06
because I have been
26:08
resurrected.
26:09
Because I have left, I will
26:11
send you a helper.
26:12
It's with this confidence
26:13
that he says, Jesus says in
26:15
Matthew 28, in the Great
26:16
Commission, verse 20,
26:17
Behold, I am with you
26:19
always to the end of the
26:21
age.
26:23
Paul writes in Romans 6-9,
26:25
We know that Christ, being
26:27
raised from the dead, will
26:28
never die again.
26:29
Death no longer has dominion
26:32
over him.
26:35
So because of the
26:36
resurrection of Jesus
26:36
Christ, we now have the
26:38
Spirit of God that dwells
26:40
within us, that gives to us
26:42
his presence in every moment
26:45
of every day.
26:48
So without the reality of the
26:49
resurrection, we would not
26:50
have protection from the
26:52
wrath of God.
26:52
We would not have our sin
26:55
pardoned.
26:56
And we would not have the
26:58
presence of Jesus.
27:00
Praise God for the
27:02
resurrection of Jesus
27:03
Christ.
27:05
Now what is the application
27:06
of all of this?
27:07
What does it mean for us?
27:09
Good, I believe.
27:10
You may be sitting there
27:10
saying, of course I believe
27:11
in the resurrection of
27:12
Jesus Christ.
27:13
I see the benefits.
27:14
I know what they are.
27:17
The application for us is
27:19
this day and every day
27:21
moving forward.
27:22
If we are those who claim
27:23
to know Christ, to have
27:25
placed our faith in Him,
27:26
is that we enjoy the
27:27
realities of the
27:27
resurrection in a way
27:29
that causes us to exalt
27:32
the name of Jesus Christ
27:33
in our experience, in our
27:36
display, and in our
27:39
proclamation.
27:40
That in everything we do,
27:43
we say to this world, we
27:45
worship a risen King.
27:47
He sits now and He reigns.
27:51
Beloved, this is the
27:52
kingdom that we are a part
27:53
of.
27:54
We should be less concerned
27:55
about the politics of this
27:57
world.
27:58
We should be less concerned
27:59
about amassing for
28:00
ourselves a kingdom, stuff
28:04
for our enjoyment.
28:06
We should be more concerned
28:07
about the name of our
28:09
Christ.
28:10
We should be more concerned
28:11
about exalting Him among
28:13
this world.
28:14
This is the application
28:15
today.
28:16
Knowing that Christ has
28:18
risen, should move us,
28:21
should give us boldness
28:22
like the boldness that the
28:23
apostles had.
28:24
For a 40 year span to
28:26
preach the gospel in the
28:28
fear of death.
28:29
To know that His kingdom
28:31
will advance because He
28:32
reigns.
28:34
This should be the great
28:36
cry of our hearts.
28:37
This should be the great
28:38
activity of our lives.
28:41
Let's pray together that
28:43
we will do that.
28:43
Let's pray together that