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Colossians 1:21:23 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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And this week we will look at Paul's further explanation of the doctrine of reconciliation.
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! But we should remember first, recall that Paul did not establish the church at Colossae.
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! He was not the one who preached the gospel first to them and set up the church there.
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It was likely established by Epaphras, who was with Paul in Rome at the writing of this letter,
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and had probably traveled there to inform Paul of some heresy that was encircling and within the church at Colossae.
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We do not know the exact nature of this heresy, but Paul's letter gives us some clues to it as it is heavily doctrinal,
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as most of his writing tends to be.
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But what he's doing here is he's trying to establish proper doctrine amongst the church in Colossae.
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Paul's letter to the Colossians is very timely for our day,
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as there exists today much error encircling and within the church in America.
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One particularly troubling error concerns the means and nature of salvation.
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You have heard me say before, and I try not to be this person.
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I want to be a glass half full kind of a person.
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I'm definitely glass half empty or maybe 10% full kind of a person.
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But I think with some accuracy that this comment is true that most people who think they're followers of Jesus Christ,
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who sit this morning in Sunday services, are not.
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They have not been regenerate.
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They've had a false gospel preached to them, and they have believed that false gospel,
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and that are being led astray as such.
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Listen to what the Scriptures have to say concerning this.
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You can mark Colossians.
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I invite you, though, to turn to the book of Matthew 13 with me.
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I'm normally not much for long intros, but this morning we'll have one.
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Matthew 13.
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I'll begin reading in verse 24.
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For Jesus put another parable before them, saying,
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The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
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But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds or tares among the wheat and went away.
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So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
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And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him,
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Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
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How then does it have weeds?
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He said to them,
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An enemy has done this.
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So the servant said to him,
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Then do you want us to go and gather them?
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But he said,
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No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
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Let both grow together until the harvest.
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And at harvest time I will tell the reapers,
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Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,
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And gather the wheat into my barn.
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And this parable was meant to teach the disciples that this will be the nature of the church.
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There will be false converts amongst us.
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What he's trying to encourage them with is that this will one day be sorted out.
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Final judgment will sort out who is truly in Christ and who is not in Christ.
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This is meant to be a comfort to them.
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However, this wheat and tare analogy,
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The wheat would have been much more plentiful in this field.
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It ought not be accepted on our part,
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A, well, that's the way it's going to be sort of mentality.
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Because in other places we're warned against this type of thing.
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Turn a couple pages back to Matthew chapter 7.
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In the conclusion of what we call the Sermon on the Mount,
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Beginning in verse 21, Jesus says,
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Not everyone who says to me,
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Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
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But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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He's saying, not just the one who gives me lip service,
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But the one who is obedient to the will of the Father.
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Verse 22,
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On that day many will say to me,
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Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in Your name,
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And cast out demons in Your name,
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And do many mighty works in Your name?
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Fantastic things to be witnessed.
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Jesus says in verse 23,
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And then I will declare to them,
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I never knew you.
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Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
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This is a warning against this type of apostasy.
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Sitting in amongst churches,
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Calling yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ,
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And yet not being so.
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Listen to what Dr. Jim Binney wrote in Issues of the Heart
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Concerning the State of the Church.
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He writes, and I quote,
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Dr. Rod Bell,
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President of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America,
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Estimates that 50% of church people are without Christ.
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His estimate concurs with that of Bob Jones Sr.
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In the 1940s, he also fixed the estimate at 50%.
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Dr. B.R. Lakin estimated that 75% are lost.
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W.A. Criswell would be surprised to see
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Even 25% of his church members in heaven.
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Dr. Bob Gray,
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Longtime pastor of the prestigious Trinity Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida,
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Once said that probably 75% of those he baptized were not saved.
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Billy Graham puts the figure at 85%,
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While A.W. Tozer and Southern Baptist consultant Jim Eliff raise it to 90%.
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These are shocking figures, to be sure, but not surprising.
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Many such lost people find their way into the roles of the church
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through evangelism methods that are less than thorough.
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In a country boasting of coast-to-coast Christianity
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with thousands of church buildings and millions of members,
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it is hard to realize the depth of the problem.
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The reason that so many who think they are saved may actually be lost
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is traceable to a misunderstanding about the means of salvation.
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Many religious people are misled into believing they are genuine Christians
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because of some external criteria.
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This may be the form of their prayer at the time of salvation.
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It can also include a dependence upon feelings going forward at a public meeting
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or meeting someone's expectations in any regard about the means of salvation.
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The Bible warns against dependency upon the wrong things for salvation.
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End quote.
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This is a serious issue before us.
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And so, Paul sets right their understanding and ours
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concerning the means and nature of salvation
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by teaching on the doctrine of reconciliation.
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So back in Colossians 1, if you're not already there.
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It's our text for today, beginning in verse 21.
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And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
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he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death
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in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
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If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast,
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not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,
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which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
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and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
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This is God's word to us.
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It was written for his glory and our good.
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We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises
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and obey its commands.
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Now, there are five very important words used in the New Testament
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to speak of salvation.
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The Scriptures tell us that we are justified.
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We stand before God guilty and condemned or declared righteous.
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We are redeemed.
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We stand before God as a slave, but we are granted freedom.
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We are forgiven.
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We stand before God as a debtor, but the debt is paid and forgotten.
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We are adopted.
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We stand before God as a stranger, but are made a son.
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But perhaps the most rich of all these explanations is that of reconciliation.
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We are reconciled if we are in Christ.
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We once stood before God as his enemies, but we are made his friends.
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The Greek word for reconcile means literally to change in relationship.
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Our status with God Almighty has been changed if we are found in Christ.
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It is of great importance that we rightly understand the means and nature of our salvation.
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The eternal state of our souls and of those who we minister to depend upon it.
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This is an eternal, weighty matter before us.
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And as such, I believe that the proper application of this text,
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which I normally give to you at the end of the sermon, should be given to you now.
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I want you to think with these filters on through what we're going to study together.
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So the application is to firstly, be sure of your reconciliation.
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Know for a fact this morning that you are eternally secure.
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That you have placed believing faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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That God has in fact changed your heart.
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Called you a friend.
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Made you his son.
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That you have been saved from the wrath to come.
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Secondly, contend for the faith.
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The last half of Jude verse 3 says,
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Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
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In the name of the truth, so many are being led astray.
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They're hearing this is what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ.
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And they're being taken down a wide path.
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We must warn them to flee from the wrath to come.
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We must preach a pure gospel.
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That people may believe and be saved.
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Even those who already think that they are.
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And so with those filters on, with those applications,
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we'll study our text together in the following outline.
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And I'll give this to you again as we work through.
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But firstly, the need for reconciliation.
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Second, the means of reconciliation.
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Third, the goal of reconciliation.
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And fourth, the evidence of reconciliation.
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It is of great importance we rightly understand the means and nature of salvation.
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And firstly, we need to look at the need for reconciliation.
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Verse 21 says,
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We once were separated from God because of who we once were if we're found in Christ.
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There are many people and issues in our time that seek to divide humanity for a variety of criteria.
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Gender, race, nationality, political party.
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Some of these are helpful for certain conversations, to be sure.
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I'm not discrediting them altogether.
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But the Bible makes the most helpful distinction to aid us in understanding the world,
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its nature, and the part that we play in it.
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That distinction is whether or not we are a people in fellowship with God or not in fellowship with God.
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Where is our status?
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One of two most important.
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We're saved or we're lost.
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There are many other descriptors for these two categories.
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Here with the doctrine of reconciliation,
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you're either God's enemy or you're reconciled to Him as His friend.
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Your relationship has been made right once again.
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And Paul gives some understanding of what this without God,
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this cut off from fellowship with Him relation looks like.
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He uses the terms alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.
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To be alienated means to be cut off, to be separated or estranged from.
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The Colossians and all of humanity are estranged from God apart from Christ.
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The metanarrative of humanity.
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We all share this problem apart from the solution of Jesus Christ.
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Paul writes elsewhere, like Ephesians 2.12 of this,
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Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ.
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Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise.
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Having no hope and without God in the world.
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The creation separated eternally from its Creator.
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We're also hostile in mind,
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which means to be hateful toward God in thought and attitude.
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It's not just that we are not particularly concerned with who God is and His ways,
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but that if we're not found in Christ,
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we are actually hateful toward God in our thoughts and our attitudes.
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The Colossians and all humanity, apart from Christ,
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hate God and His holy standards,
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and express so by doing evil deeds.
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That is the outcome of hearts that are evil and bent towards God.
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Living in contradiction to God and His holy standards.
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John 3.19-20 says,
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People loved the darkness rather than the light,
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because their works were evil.
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For everyone who does wicked things hates the light,
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and does not come to the light,
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lest his works should be exposed.
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So there's these important two distinctions.
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Without Christ, we are cut off,
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separated from, estranged from God.
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We have no point and purpose in our life
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because we cannot properly worship the Creator.
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We cannot do the thing we were created to do.
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This is the bad news of this condition.
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People are either in fellowship with God or they are not.
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It's bad news, beloved.
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To not be reconciled to God is bad news
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because God hates sinners.
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And yes, you heard me right.
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God hates sinners.
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His wrath burns white hot
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against those who are His enemy.
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I do not want to be on God's bad side
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on the day of judgment.
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God hates sinners.
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Psalm 5, 5 and 6.
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Listen carefully.
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This is the holy writ.
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The boastful shall not stand before your eyes.
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You hate all evildoers.
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You destroy those who speak lies.
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The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
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and deceitful man.
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In the book of Psalms alone,
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14 times in the first 50 Psalms,
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it is stated that God hates sinners.
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God is also love.
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And He is perfectly love.
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One time, a young lady asked Charles Spurgeon
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how to reconcile the doctrines
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of the sovereignty of God
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and the responsibility of man.
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And his response was,
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why would we need to reconcile
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two doctrines that are friends?
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The same could be said here as well.
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There's no real need for reconciliation
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between the two.
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God is also love.
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And as such,
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He has made a way
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for our reconciliation in Christ.
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He has made a way
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to extend His love to humanity.
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But you must know,
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if you're not found in Christ,
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God's graciousness in a particular way
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is not extended to you.
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In a general way, it is
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because you're still alive.
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You haven't already faced His wrath.
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But in a particular way,
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His love has not yet been received
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because it must be received
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in Christ.
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If you're apart from Christ,
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God hates you.
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You have to hear it.
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People want to make our sin
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exterior to us, right?
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The adage, the cliché term.
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God doesn't hate sinners.
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He hates their sin.
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But if we are apart from Christ,
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the sin that we do is who we are.
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It's an outflow of who we are.
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We are evil.
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We are His enemies, right?
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We with our actions say to Him,
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I hate you and I hate your ways.
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And God in turn says,
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likewise.
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And one day I will punish
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and destroy you for eternity.
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This is the judgment of God for sin.
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We need to take sin seriously.
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This false gospel
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creates God's love
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and never talks about
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wrath and the consequence of sin
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is what caused so many people
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to be led astray.
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The beginning of knowledge?
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Fear of the Lord.
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That we may know
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that He will not tolerate
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those who will not worship Him.
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It is of great importance
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that we rightly understand
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the means and nature
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of our salvation.
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We have a need
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for reconciliation.
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We have a means
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of reconciliation.
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God's love
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graciously extended
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to us
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in the person and work
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of Jesus Christ.
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The fear of God
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enters into your heart.
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Look to the cross
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and see the love
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of God
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for you.
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Many people today
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believe that you must
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simply believe
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believe in something.
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That right motivation
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and sincerity
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are the proper measure
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of that belief.
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And that belief itself
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in some way
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is salvific.
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You talk to many people today
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and they're spiritual people
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and they believe
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that they're good people.
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And the measure
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of that goodness
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is found in the sincerity
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of those affection.
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But the road to hell
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is paved
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with good intentions.
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The Bible
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is constantly
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and consistently
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stressing
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the proper
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object
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of belief.
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Belief itself
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is not enough.
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You can believe
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that a rock
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will save me
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from my sin.
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But it has no benefit
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to me.
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There's no power
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in the rock.
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We must have
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the proper
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object
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of belief.
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Jesus Christ
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and His sacrificial
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work on the cross.
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The first part
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of verse 22
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says,
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He, being Christ,
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has now reconciled
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in His body
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of flesh
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by His death.
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If we have believed
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in Him,
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He is reconciled
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in His body
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of flesh
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by His death.
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Us to God
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and God
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to us.
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The sacrificial system,
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the Old Testament
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sacrificial system
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was all meant
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to prefigure
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the ultimate
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sacrifice
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of Jesus Christ.
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The way in which
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animals were being
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slaughtered.
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The temple worship
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was constant.
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It was ongoing.
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There was always
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a flow of blood
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coming from the temple
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because of the sins
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of Israel.
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It was meant
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to show us
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the perfect sacrifice.
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Prefigure
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point to
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the one
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in whom
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we believe.
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Do you think
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that God
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doesn't hate sinners?
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You need to listen
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to Isaiah 53,
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5-7.
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Consider the way
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in which God
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turned His back
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on Christ,
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His Son,
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perfect in every way
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without sin,
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laid on Him
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the sins of His people
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and poured His wrath
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out on Him.
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Hated Him
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to death.
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Isaiah 53,
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5-7.
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But He was pierced
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for our transgressions.
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He was crushed
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for our iniquities.
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Upon Him
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was the chastisement
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that brought us peace
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and with His wounds
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we are healed.
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All like sheep
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have gone astray,
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every one of us.
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We all need reconciliation.
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We have turned
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everyone
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to His own way
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and the Lord
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has laid on Him
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the iniquity
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of us all.
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He was oppressed
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and He was afflicted
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yet He opened
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not His mouth
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like a lamb
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that is led
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to the slaughter
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and like a sheep
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that before it
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shears a silence
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so He opened
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not His mouth.
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Beloved,
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we have to understand
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that Jesus Christ
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is the means
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of reconciliation.
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He is the only
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means of reconciliation.
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His perfect life
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imputed to us
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that we may be found
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righteous in Him
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and His bearing
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of our sin
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on the cross
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that we would be
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forgiven
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of those sins.
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Apart from that,
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the wrath
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that was poured out
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on Jesus Christ
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will one day
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be poured out
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on you.
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If Christ
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is not born
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your sin
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because you have not
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placed believing faith
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in Him,
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then it will be
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one day
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poured out on you
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for eternity.
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Christ drank up
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the wrath of God
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for the people
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of the church
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for all eternity.
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And then He said
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it is finished.
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And He sat down
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at the right hand
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of the Father.
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The author of Hebrews
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in chapter 13,
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11, and 12
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reiterates this point.
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For the bodies
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of those animals
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whose blood
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is brought
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into the holy places
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by the high priest
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as a sacrifice
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for sin
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are burned
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outside the camp.
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These animals
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that were slaughtered
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for the sins of Israel
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burned outside the camp.
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So Jesus also suffered
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outside the gate
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in order to sanctify
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the people
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through His own blood.
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We've been reconciled
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in His body of flesh
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by His death.
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Because of that work,
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we have been reconciled.
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Because of His activity
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and His accomplishment
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on the cross,
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we can be,
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I hope,
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have been reconciled.
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That we might join
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with the writers
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of the New Testament.
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Romans 5, 11,
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we also rejoice in God
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through our Lord Jesus Christ
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through whom we have now
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received reconciliation.
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Through Jesus.
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What does that mean?
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John 14, 6,
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Jesus said to Him,
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I am the way
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and the truth
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and the life.
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No one comes to the Father
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except through Me.
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Ephesians 2, 8,
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for by grace
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you have been saved
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through faith.
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Faith
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in the person
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and the work
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of Jesus Christ.
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Rightly setting our belief
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on the proper object.
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This is the way
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that we are reconciled
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through Jesus Christ.
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Ephesians 2, 8,
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goes on to say,
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and this is not
23:57
your own doing.
23:59
It is the gift of God.
24:02
Charles Spurgeon said,
24:03
reconciliation of man
24:04
to his Maker
24:05
is never achieved
24:07
by man,
24:08
but is the work of God
24:09
from first to last.
24:12
And to God
24:12
must be all the glory.
24:17
We've got to get this right.
24:19
It's of great importance
24:20
we rightly understand
24:20
the means and nature
24:22
of our salvation.
24:23
We have a need
24:24
for reconciliation.
24:26
Jesus Christ
24:26
is the means
24:28
of that reconciliation.
24:30
And there's a goal in mind.
24:32
There's a goal
24:32
of reconciliation.
24:34
The last part of verse 22.
24:37
In order
24:37
that to present
24:39
you holy
24:40
and blameless
24:42
and above reproach
24:44
before Him.
24:46
The right state
24:47
that we must be in
24:48
to enter into
24:49
the presence of God.
24:51
Set apart
24:51
from sin.
24:52
Taken away from it.
24:54
Sanctified
24:54
from sin.
24:57
To present you
24:57
holy and blameless
24:59
and above reproach.
25:01
All of these
25:02
have both
25:03
present
25:03
and future
25:05
implications.
25:06
They are realities
25:06
for this life
25:07
and
25:08
in the hereafter.
25:11
Paul says
25:11
that if we are
25:12
reconciled to God,
25:13
we are
25:14
holy,
25:14
separated from sin
25:16
and set apart
25:16
to God.
25:17
As a result
25:18
of faith
25:19
in Jesus Christ,
25:20
God sees
25:21
Christians
25:22
as united
25:23
with Christ
25:24
in His holiness.
25:26
This is that
25:27
imputed righteousness.
25:28
Jesus'
25:29
perfect life
25:30
given to us
25:31
by faith.
25:33
Ephesians 1.4
25:34
states that
25:35
God chose us
25:36
in Christ
25:37
before the foundation
25:38
of the world
25:39
that we should be
25:40
holy and blameless
25:41
before Him.
25:43
In 2 Corinthians 5.21
25:45
it says,
25:45
For our sake
25:46
He, being God,
25:48
made Him, being Christ,
25:49
to be sin
25:49
who knew no sin,
25:51
gave our sin
25:52
to Jesus
25:53
so that in Him
25:55
we might become
25:56
the righteousness
25:57
of God.
25:58
So that in Christ
25:59
we are given
26:00
Christ's righteousness.
26:03
This is what
26:03
Martin Luther called
26:04
the great exchange.
26:05
Our sin given to Christ.
26:07
His righteousness
26:07
given to us.
26:10
We are also to be
26:11
presented blameless
26:12
this is without blemish.
26:15
Reconciliation gives us
26:16
a blameless character
26:18
and above reproach
26:20
which goes beyond
26:20
this idea
26:22
of being blameless.
26:24
No one
26:25
can bring a charge
26:26
against us.
26:28
Those who are found
26:28
in Christ.
26:29
Those who have been
26:29
reconciled to God.
26:31
No one can even bring
26:32
a charge against us.
26:34
Romans 8.32-34
26:35
He who did not
26:36
spare His own Son
26:37
but gave Him up
26:38
for us all,
26:39
how will He not
26:40
also
26:42
so with Him
26:43
graciously give us
26:44
all things.
26:45
Who shall bring
26:46
any charge
26:47
against God's elect?
26:48
It is God who justifies
26:50
who is to condemn.
26:52
Christ Jesus
26:52
is the one who died
26:53
more than that
26:54
who was raised,
26:55
who is at the right hand
26:56
of God,
26:56
who is indeed
26:57
interceding for us.
27:00
Because we have
27:01
a great intercessor,
27:02
the person Jesus Christ,
27:04
and because we are
27:05
found in Him,
27:06
we have been
27:07
reconciled
27:08
to God.
27:09
And because God
27:10
has reconciled us
27:11
to Himself,
27:12
He has declared us
27:13
righteous in Christ.
27:15
And no one can leverage
27:16
a legitimate accusation
27:17
against us
27:18
that has eternal weight.
27:19
It is an accomplished,
27:21
finished work
27:22
that we would be presented
27:24
in this way
27:25
before God.
27:27
So we have a need.
27:29
We have the means.
27:30
There's a goal.
27:32
There also ought to be
27:34
evidence
27:35
of our reconciliation.
27:38
Evidence.
27:38
of that reconciliation.
27:41
And beloved,
27:42
you need to hear this.
27:43
The church today
27:44
needs to hear this.
27:46
Paul's words in verse 23.
27:48
If indeed
27:50
you continue.
27:52
If indeed
27:53
you continue.
27:54
This has been accomplished
27:56
on your behalf.
27:57
You were once
27:58
alienated
27:59
and hostile mind
27:59
and doing evil deeds,
28:00
but now
28:01
Jesus Christ
28:02
by the work of His blood
28:03
has reconciled you
28:05
to God
28:06
to present you
28:07
blameless,
28:08
holy,
28:08
above reproach,
28:09
before Him
28:10
if indeed
28:12
you continue
28:14
in this faith.
28:16
If you have
28:16
professed faith
28:18
in Jesus Christ,
28:19
His person
28:19
and His work,
28:21
and then you
28:21
continue
28:22
in this faith.
28:24
Stable
28:25
and steadfast.
28:26
Not shifting
28:27
from the hope
28:28
of the gospel
28:28
that you heard,
28:29
which has been
28:30
proclaimed in all
28:30
creation under heaven
28:31
and of which I,
28:31
Paul,
28:32
became a minister.
28:35
If you
28:36
continue
28:37
in the faith,
28:38
then here is presented
28:39
the doctrine
28:40
of the perseverance
28:41
of the saints.
28:44
Those who are truly
28:45
in Christ,
28:46
who are saints,
28:48
will
28:48
persevere
28:49
to the end.
28:50
The doctrine states
28:51
that all those
28:52
who are in Christ
28:52
will persist
28:54
in holiness
28:54
until the end,
28:57
their death
28:57
or Christ's return.
28:59
They will persist
29:00
in holiness.
29:02
Progress
29:02
in holiness.
29:04
Not found perfect
29:05
on our own.
29:07
Certainly found
29:08
righteous in Christ
29:09
before God.
29:10
Not living perfect lives,
29:12
but persisting,
29:14
moving on
29:15
in holiness.
29:16
Continually hating
29:17
more of the world
29:18
and loving more
29:19
of the things
29:20
of God.
29:20
Turning from sin
29:21
and turning to Christ.
29:23
You've heard me say
29:24
many times before
29:25
our trajectory
29:26
should be heavenward.
29:27
We should be working
29:28
in that direction.
29:29
Zoom out
29:31
from our lives
29:32
and that's the way
29:33
the graph should run.
29:34
Zoom in on any
29:35
given moment?
29:36
Maybe not.
29:37
But in a general sense,
29:38
we ought to be
29:38
pressing towards
29:40
holiness.
29:42
Some prefer to call
29:42
this doctrine
29:43
the perseverance
29:44
and preservation
29:45
of the saints
29:46
in order to express
29:47
both the proper activity,
29:49
that is,
29:50
a pursuit of holiness
29:50
of the Christian,
29:52
as well as the timeline
29:54
for that.
29:54
That God will take us
29:55
all the way
29:56
to the end.
29:57
That we are
29:58
eternally secure.
29:59
We've been sanctified
30:00
and we are being
30:01
sanctified to express
30:02
both of those things.
30:04
This must be true
30:06
of the Christian.
30:09
To know that you're
30:11
reconciled to God.
30:13
There must be some
30:14
evidence of such a claim.
30:17
Simply, those who claim
30:18
to be disciples
30:19
of Jesus Christ
30:20
follow Him.
30:22
They must follow Him.
30:24
The very definition
30:25
of the Word.
30:27
To say,
30:27
I follow Jesus Christ
30:28
and then to not
30:29
follow Him
30:30
is idiotic.
30:32
If we are disciples
30:33
of Jesus Christ,
30:34
we do what He says.
30:37
We're obedient
30:38
to the call
30:39
of the Gospel.
30:41
We take up
30:42
the promises.
30:43
We obey the commands.
30:45
We press in
30:46
to the truth.
30:48
John 3.36
30:50
Jesus says,
30:53
whoever believes
30:54
in the Son
30:55
has eternal life.
30:58
True.
30:59
Right?
30:59
Fantastic.
31:01
Oh, those words
31:01
are precious.
31:02
Whoever believes
31:03
in the Son
31:04
has eternal life.
31:05
But He helps us
31:05
understand this Greek
31:06
word belief,
31:07
which is not simply
31:09
mental cognition,
31:11
but rather the type
31:12
of belief that
31:13
changes you.
31:14
Right?
31:14
And it reorients
31:15
the way in which
31:16
you live.
31:18
And He helps us
31:18
with that in verse 36.
31:19
He goes on to say,
31:21
whoever does not
31:22
obey the Son
31:24
shall not see life,
31:25
but the wrath of God
31:27
remains on Him.
31:30
There are too many
31:31
people who claim
31:31
to know the Gospel
31:33
of Jesus Christ
31:33
and believe it
31:35
and live in
31:35
contradiction to it.
31:38
Luke 6.43-45
31:40
Jesus says,
31:42
for no good tree
31:43
bears bad fruit,
31:45
nor again does a bad
31:46
tree bear good fruit,
31:47
for each tree is known
31:48
by its fruit.
31:50
Now certainly,
31:51
occasionally,
31:52
an apple tree bears
31:53
an apple that's not
31:54
delicious.
31:56
But still it bears
31:57
apples.
31:59
For figs are not
32:00
gathered from
32:01
thorn bushes,
32:02
nor are grapes
32:03
picked from a
32:04
bramble bush.
32:06
The good person
32:07
out of the good
32:08
treasure of his
32:09
heart produces
32:09
good,
32:10
and the evil person
32:11
out of his evil
32:12
treasure produces
32:14
evil.
32:15
evil.
32:16
How do we know
32:18
this then?
32:18
How can we possibly
32:20
know,
32:21
how can we have
32:22
some indicator,
32:23
some measure of
32:24
whether or not
32:24
we have been
32:25
reconciled?
32:26
Whether or not we
32:27
are found in Christ?
32:30
We've been given a
32:31
book that you can
32:33
read,
32:34
and you can see
32:35
how it is that the
32:36
Christian is supposed
32:37
to live.
32:39
And you can not just
32:40
read the book,
32:40
but let the book
32:41
read you,
32:41
and show how you
32:43
fail at these
32:44
things.
32:46
Even though I'm
32:47
not perfect,
32:48
I have a great
32:49
confidence that I
32:51
am of God,
32:52
because when I read
32:52
the things that I
32:53
don't do well,
32:54
I am convicted by
32:55
those things,
32:56
and I want to do
32:56
those things.
32:57
I don't want to
32:58
continue in the
32:59
old Nathan ways,
33:00
the old self.
33:01
I want to be the
33:02
new self.
33:03
I want to live by
33:04
the power of God
33:04
within me to do
33:05
the things I am
33:06
supposed to do.
33:08
I love His Word.
33:09
I treasure it.
33:10
I want to be
33:11
sinless.
33:13
I so desire that,
33:14
to cast off the
33:15
burden of my sin
33:16
and all of the
33:17
consequence that
33:18
comes with it.
33:19
I want to be
33:19
perfect,
33:20
so I press at it,
33:21
and I go after it,
33:22
and this is the
33:23
evidence that Christ
33:24
is at work within
33:25
me.
33:27
Pick up the book
33:28
and read it,
33:31
and let it read
33:31
you.
33:32
Ask that God
33:32
would work in
33:33
your heart by the
33:34
power of His Word.
33:36
This is the tool
33:37
that the Spirit
33:38
of God uses in
33:40
our lives,
33:41
not your feelings.
33:44
Never your feelings.
33:46
He uses the Word
33:47
of God.
33:48
It is precious to us
33:49
for this,
33:50
that we might
33:50
measure our lives
33:52
by it.
33:53
1 John,
33:54
if you are doubting
33:55
whether or not
33:56
you have placed
33:57
believing faith in
33:57
Christ,
33:58
go read the book
33:59
of 1 John.
34:00
It is just
34:00
constantly saying
34:01
to you,
34:02
hold yourself up
34:03
to this.
34:04
Look at your life
34:05
in comparison to this.
34:06
Be sure you are
34:08
found in the faith.
34:10
Beloved,
34:11
eternal consequence
34:12
is at play here.
34:14
Don't think you're
34:15
good enough.
34:17
Know that you're
34:18
found in Christ.
34:20
That you'll never
34:20
be good enough,
34:22
but that you're
34:23
found in Christ.
34:24
And as such,
34:25
your affections have
34:26
been turned.
34:27
You're moving in a
34:28
different direction.
34:29
You have repented,
34:30
turned from sin,
34:31
and you've been
34:32
turned to God.
34:36
I have been accused
34:37
of heresy
34:38
teaching such a thing.
34:41
1 John 5.1
34:42
given as the
34:44
counterpoint.
34:45
Now I recognize
34:46
the danger in telling
34:47
you that there has
34:48
to be some measure,
34:49
some outwardly
34:50
visible thing
34:51
that's going to help
34:52
you know you're
34:52
found in Christ.
34:53
I get that.
34:54
I get the fear
34:55
it may even cause
34:56
you,
34:56
but that's a good
34:57
thing if you're
34:58
not found in Christ.
35:00
I hope the majority
35:00
of you this morning
35:01
are saying,
35:02
I'm good.
35:02
I fail,
35:03
but I'm good.
35:04
I know that I have
35:05
this eternal security
35:06
in Him.
35:08
1 John 5.1 says,
35:09
Everyone who believes
35:10
that Jesus is the
35:11
Christ has been
35:11
born of God,
35:12
and everyone who
35:13
loves the Father
35:14
loves whoever has
35:15
been born of Him.
35:17
There's the text,
35:18
the counterpoint
35:19
to this thing.
35:20
Everyone who believes,
35:21
who has professed
35:22
faith in Jesus Christ
35:22
has been born of God.
35:25
But verses 2-5
35:27
go on.
35:29
By this we know
35:30
that we love the
35:30
children of God,
35:32
when we love God
35:33
and obey His commandments.
35:39
For this is the
35:40
love of God,
35:40
that we keep His commandments.
35:43
And His commandments
35:44
are not burdensome.
35:46
For everyone who has
35:47
been born of God
35:48
overcomes the world.
35:50
And this is the
35:51
victory that has
35:51
overcome the world,
35:53
our faith.
35:54
Who is it that
35:55
overcomes the world
35:56
except the one
35:56
who believes
35:57
that Jesus
35:58
is the Son
35:59
of God?
36:01
You see what
36:01
John does for us
36:02
there?
36:03
He says,
36:05
if you believe
36:05
that Jesus is the
36:06
Christ,
36:07
you've been born of God.
36:09
But then he tells us
36:10
how it is that we're
36:10
meant to give expression
36:12
of that.
36:13
That we're supposed
36:14
to actually show
36:15
evidence forth
36:16
of that.
36:17
And then he
36:18
encapsulates with
36:18
verse 5,
36:19
who is it that
36:20
overcomes the world?
36:21
Except the one
36:21
who believes
36:22
that Jesus is
36:23
the Son
36:24
of God.
36:27
We have to hold
36:28
our lives up
36:28
to the great truth
36:30
of the Scripture.
36:31
We must
36:32
see evidence
36:33
that we're good
36:35
trees or we're not.
36:38
And then repentance
36:39
and faith.
36:40
Right?
36:41
You can be confident
36:42
this morning
36:42
that you're found
36:43
in Christ.
36:44
Repent of your sin
36:45
and turn to Him.
36:47
It's of great
36:48
importance that we
36:49
rightly understand
36:50
the means and nature
36:51
of our salvation
36:52
because we need
36:53
to be reconciled
36:54
to God
36:54
and Jesus Christ
36:55
is the only means
36:57
by which this is
36:58
possible.
37:00
We need to be
37:01
presented before God
37:02
clothed in Christ's
37:04
righteousness.
37:05
We need to ask
37:06
ourselves if we are
37:07
truly saved
37:08
and we need to
37:09
lead others
37:10
in doing the same.
37:13
Beloved,
37:14
there is a ripe
37:14
harvest to be had
37:16
in the church.
37:18
Those who are
37:19
churched,
37:20
many,
37:21
many people,
37:21
your friends
37:22
and your
37:23
co-workers.
37:24
I know very few
37:25
people who won't
37:26
say,
37:26
yeah,
37:26
I go to church.
37:27
Yeah,
37:28
I'm a Christian.
37:30
They need to be
37:31
asked smart,
37:32
probing questions.
37:34
You need to spend
37:35
time with them
37:36
and you need to
37:37
show them what
37:37
pursuing Christ
37:38
looks like.
37:40
You need to
37:41
experience it for
37:41
yourself and you
37:43
need to display it
37:44
and proclaim it
37:45
in your living.
37:46
The supremacy of
37:47
Jesus Christ in all
37:47
things to all
37:49
peoples.
37:49
will you labor
37:52
with me in that
37:53
proclamation?
37:55
I hope that you
37:56
will with our
37:57
living and with
37:58
our words in all
38:00
things to all
38:02
peoples.
38:04
I'm going to
38:05
close by reading
38:06
to you again
38:06
another prayer.
38:09
You can tell I
38:10
poked around in
38:12
this book this
38:13
morning.
38:13
This is a
38:15
prayer from,
38:16
again,
38:16
from the Valley
38:17
of Vision.
38:18
It's a collection
38:18
of Puritan
38:18
prayers entitled
38:21
Reconciliation.
38:22
Reconciliation.
38:28
Lord God
38:30
Almighty,
38:31
Thou art
38:32
beforehand with
38:33
men,
38:34
for Thou hast
38:35
reconciled Thyself
38:36
to the world
38:37
through the cross
38:37
and dost beseech
38:39
men to accept
38:40
reconciliation.
38:41
It is my
38:43
responsibility to
38:44
grasp Thy
38:45
overtures of
38:46
grace,
38:46
for if Thou,
38:48
the offended
38:48
part,
38:49
act first with
38:50
the word of
38:51
appeasement,
38:52
I need not
38:53
call and
38:53
question Thy
38:54
willingness to
38:54
save,
38:55
but must
38:55
deplore my
38:56
own foolish
38:57
maliciousness.
38:59
If I do not
38:59
come to Thee as
39:00
one who seeks
39:01
Thy favor,
39:02
I live in
39:02
contempt,
39:03
anger,
39:04
malice,
39:05
self-sufficiency,
39:07
and Thou
39:07
dost call it
39:08
enmity.
39:09
Thou hast
39:11
taught me
39:11
the necessity
39:12
of a mediator,
39:14
a Messiah,
39:15
to embrace
39:16
in love
39:17
with all my
39:17
heart,
39:18
as King
39:19
to rule me,
39:20
as prophet
39:21
to guide me,
39:21
and as priest
39:22
to take away
39:23
my sin
39:24
and death,
39:25
and this by
39:26
faith in Thy
39:27
beloved Son
39:27
who teaches
39:28
me not to
39:29
guide myself,
39:30
not to obey
39:31
myself,
39:32
not to try
39:33
to rule and
39:34
conquer sin,
39:35
but to cleave
39:35
to the One
39:36
who will do
39:37
all for me.
39:39
Thou hast
39:40
made known
39:40
to me that
39:41
to save
39:41
me is
39:42
Christ's
39:42
work,
39:43
but to
39:44
cleave to
39:44
Him by
39:45
faith is
39:45
my work,
39:46
and with
39:47
this faith
39:47
in the
39:48
necessity
39:48
of my
39:49
daily
39:49
repentance
39:49
as a
39:50
mourning
39:50
for the
39:51
sin which
39:51
Christ by
39:52
grace
39:52
has removed.
39:54
Continue,
39:55
O God,
39:56
to teach
39:56
me that
39:57
faith
39:57
apprehends
39:58
Christ's
39:59
righteousness
39:59
not only
40:01
for the
40:01
satisfaction
40:01
of justice,
40:03
but as
40:03
unspotted
40:04
evidence
40:05
of Thy
40:05
love to
40:06
me.
40:07
Help me
40:08
to make
40:08
use of
40:09
His work
40:09
of salvation
40:10
as the
40:11
ground of
40:11
peace and
40:12
of Thy
40:13
favor to
40:14
and acceptance
40:14
of me,
40:15
the sinner,
40:16
so that I
40:16
may live
40:17
always near
40:18
the cross.
40:20
Let's pray
40:20
together.