Redemption: Man's Greatest Need

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is the second sermon in a series of messages on Redemption. It takes a look at the problem of sin as the reason redemption is needed.

Written Excerpts:

Romans 3:23-24 (KJV) For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Introduction:

Last Sunday we introduced the series of messages on redemption by speaking about “Redemption: Heaven’s Greatest Song.”

I still get excited and choked up when I think about the creatures and elders in heaven singing a song about redemption… the wonderful plan God provided so human beings, created in His image, can be rescued, delivered and transformed into the glorious examples of God’s grace.

Today, we are going to continue our study by considering “Redemption: Man’s Greatest Need.”

When we speak about God providing a plan to rescue us and to transform us, it all implies and indicates that there must be something wrong with us. There apparently is a deep-seated need in us that must be addressed. That is the focus of our thoughts today.

I. The Need Simply Stated

We are slaves to sin and doomed to death. Humanity was hijacked, enslaved and condemned.

Romans 5:12 (KJV) ¹² Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

This is only one verse out of dozens or even hundreds that we could use. But this one tells us a few things about the condition of humanity.

·     All have sinned

·     All are condemned to death because of sin

·     It all started with one man

One question that has come to me: Why couldn’t / didn’t God limit the consequences of the fall to affect only Adam and Eve instead of the entire human race and the entire created order? I’m not entirely sure if there is a correct answer to this question, but it seems to me that part of the answer could be that mankind needed to understand the extreme seriousness of sin. Limited consequences would probably result in a very shallow and superficial view of sin.

II. The Need More Deeply Explained

A. Definition of sin

“hamartia” – the most common word for sin in the NT.

It literally means, “To miss the mark.” It suggests a target bullseye as the standard and anything outside that mark is a “sin.” Biblically, the “bull's-eye of the target” is the standard of God’s absolute holiness and purity. Anything that falls below that standard is sin.

There are several verses of scripture that help us to more accurately define sin.

1. It is a “transgression of the law.”

1 John 3:4 (KJV) ⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

This expresses the idea of target or standard that is missed. Sin is anything that doesn’t measure up to the standard of the law.

2. It is an attitude of lawlessness.

1 John 3:4 (NIV) ⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

This understanding expresses the concept of a sinful nature or sinful disposition, rather than sinful actions. It expresses attitude of rebellion, self-will, or insubordination.

3. It is failure to do what we know we ought.

James 4:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This expresses “sin of omission,” but also emphasizes the aspect that knowledge must be present for it to be properly understand as "accountable" sin.

4. It is anything that is “not of faith.”

Romans 14:23 (NKJV) ²³ But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

5. It is the germination of desire and will.

James 1:13-15 (NKJV) ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Important to understand as stated here in James that temptation is not sin, but consent of the will is sin.

When I listen to a lot of people express their view/concept of sin, I discover that they are describing temptation, not sin.

Two problems often encountered:

·     Too lenient of a view of sin. (Nothing is really sin.)

·     Too strict of a view of sin. (“Everything” is sin.) When everything is sin, then nothing is.

C. Important distinctions

Some distinctions that seem to show up in the Scripture  include:

·     Some verses emphasize the legal understanding of sin. i.e. Only sees/cares that the law has been violated. 

·     Other verses emphasize a moral understanding which seems to focus more on the person and whether they are accountable or not.  

For example, in OT, a sacrifice had to be offered whether the sin was intentional or not. However, knowledge and intent were important in deciding what to do with the offender, or what kinds of sacrifices, restitution, etc. would be required. These distinctions are also important for the discussion over whether it is possible to be victorious over sin or not.

D. Extent of sin

When we talk about the “extent” of sin we are referring to three things:

1. It is extensive – it affects every aspect of our humanity; physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually…

Isaiah 1:4, 6 (NKJV) ⁴ Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters…. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. ⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores….

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) ⁹ “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Romans 7:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

2. It is NOT intensive – that is, men are capable of further degrees of wickedness, and not all people are equal in their expressions of evil.

Related to this point is the fact that men still retain the image of God after the fall, even though that image is marred in all ways.

Gen. 6:5 – the reason given for capital punishment is because murder is the taking of a human life made in the image of God.

If the fall had totally destroyed the image of God in humanity, then the grounds for capital punishment are absent.

3. It is universal – it affects every human being in the whole human race.

Romans 3:9-10 (NKJV) ⁹ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. ¹⁰ As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

E. Consequences of sin

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. Spiritual Death

Isaiah 59:2 (NKJV) ² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Romans 7:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. (Yet, he is still physically alive or he wouldn’t be writing this.)

John 5:24 (NKJV) ²⁴ “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Can’t be referring to physical death or the person wouldn’t be able to hear and believe.)

2. Physical Death

Genesis 2:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Physically speaking, Adam and Eve knew nothing of physical death, but the day they sinned, they began to die physically.

When explaining the consequences of the curse to Adam, the Lord said:

Genesis 3:19, 22 (NKJV) ¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." ²² Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"—

God explains to Adam that returning to the dust of the ground is included in the curse as a result of sin. This does not mean that everyone who dies is being judged because of some sin they committed. It simply reinforces the fact that all of humanity is under the curse of death.

3. Eternal Death

Matthew 25:41 (NKJV) ⁴¹ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Revelation 20:10-15 (KJV) ¹⁰ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 (NKJV) ⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Conclusion:

You can see from what we’ve covered today that humanity is in a terrible condition.

Our condition of sinfulness and our sinful conduct have created a hopeless mess.

Not only is our situation hopeless, but our eternal destiny is hopeless unless God intervenes and rescues us.

It’s no wonder the creatures and elders in heaven are singing the praises of God for redeeming mankind!

Sin has caused havoc in us.

Our only hope is redemption, and God has wonderfully and marvelously provided the remedy needed.

May I say, dear friends, as I will be mentioning again in the future, before we understand what the good news of the gospel really means, we have to understand what the bad news of our condition really is.

We need to recognize our sinful condition and our need to be redeemed.

Redemption: Heaven's Sweetest Song

(To download an mp3 file of this sermon, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is a sermon that was given by Pastor Les on Sept. 4, 2016 and it is the first of a series of messages on the topic of "Redemption." It is an introduction to the series and stresses the text in Rev. 5:9.

Written Excerpts:

Revelation 5:9 (KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Introduction:

A few years ago I did a series of Bible study lessons on Wednesday nights regarding the topic of redemption. At that time I said if I was to reduce the message of the entire Bible to just one word, it would be the word “redemption.” For several weeks now I’ve been feeling led to develop a series of sermons on this same study of Redemption.

I want to introduce the series today by reading a story that was one of the favorites that Paul Harvey used to read on his radio program every year at Easter. (The Bird Cage)

This morning I want to give you some explanations of the term redemption, then I want to finish up by briefly looking at the verse in Revelation, which is the basis for the sermon title today.

I. The Meaning of Redemption

Earthly/material meaning or applications:

Buy Back – i.e. Pawn Shop  

Pay Off – i.e. a lien, ransom  

Turn in / Exchange – i.e. Lottery/Raffle Ticket; Store Coupons

Atone for – i.e. “He redeemed himself by bringing roses home the next day.”

Spiritual Meaning: Gal. 4:1-7. Context is 3:13ff; i.e. purpose of the law 

We were in “slavery” to elements of the world. (4:3) “Elements” = rudiments, principles; that is, material vs. spiritual principles. Understood in context, it means temporal, visible, or elementary understanding of the law. Now it’s time to “graduate” to spiritual understanding.

God redeemed us from condemnation of law. We now are no longer slaves, but sons.

(Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms.) Redemption - The process by which sinful humans are “bought back” from the bondage of sin into relationship with God through grace by the “payment” of Jesus' death. Redemption is one of the pictures or metaphors that the NT uses to give insight into God's gracious saving work in Jesus.

Oswald Chambers – The cross of Jesus Christ and his baptism express the same thing. Our Lord was not a martyr; he was not merely a good man; he was God Incarnate. He came down to the lowest reach of creation in order to bring back the whole human race to God, and in order to do this he must take upon him, as representative man, the whole massed sin of the race. (Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World)

(Charles Hodge, Quoted in Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary) The purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom…. There are many passages in the New Testament which represent Christ's sufferings under the idea of a ransom or price, and the result thereby secured is a purchase or redemption (Compare Acts 20:28; 1Co 6:19, 20; Gal 3:13; Gal 4:4, 5; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1Ti 2:5, 6; Tit 2:14; Heb 9:12; 1Pe 1:18, 19; Rev 5:9). The idea running through all these texts, however various their reference, is that of payment made for our redemption. The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is fully paid. Christ's blood or life, which he surrendered for them, is the "ransom" by which the deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured. It is the plain doctrine of Scripture that "Christ saves us neither by the mere exercise of power, nor by his doctrine, nor by his example, nor by the moral influence which he exerted, nor by any subjective influence on his people, whether natural or mystical, but as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin, and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God by making it consistent with his perfection to exercise mercy toward sinners" (Hodge's Systematic Theology).

Charles Hodge’s extensive definition here includes the same concept that was expressed in the story of the caged birds that I shared earlier. But, it goes beyond the mere deliverance from entrapment and slavery to sin and the Devil. It also delivers and ransoms us from the curse of the law, which condemns us to death because of our sin.

(The New Unger's Bible Dictionary) Redemption implies [prior] bondage. Thus the word refers primarily to man’s subjection to the dominion and curse of sin (see Galatians 3:13; 1 Cor. 15:56). Also in a secondary sense to the bondage of Satan as the head of the kingdom of darkness, and to the bondage of death as the penalty of sin (see Acts 26:18; Hebrews 2:14-15). Redemption from this bondage is represented in the Scriptures as both universal and limited. It is universal in the sense that its advantages are freely offered to all. It is limited in the sense that it is effectual only with respect to those who meet the conditions of salvation announced in the gospel. For such it is effectual in that they receive forgiveness of sins and the power to lead a new and holy life. Satan is no longer their captor, and death has lost its sting and terror.

God has paid the price of redemption for every human being, but it is only effective for those who recognize their need to be redeemed and receive the deliverance and freedom offered through the message of the gospel.

Leith Anderson, "The Lord Is My Shepherd," Preaching Today.   God Bought Back His Sheep - There's a line in the Old Testament written by Isaiah that tells the result of God's gamble, Isaiah 53:6: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." Although God has a right to own us because he created us, he gave us the option of freedom, and we all left. We chose sin and did not love him as he wanted to be loved. In response, he chose to send out his own son to look for us, to hunt us down, to find and redeem us at a terrible cost—the cost of his own life.

A shepherd notches the ear of a lamb born to his flock and has rightful ownership. That lamb deliberately walks away. The shepherd searches near and far to get that lamb back. A long time later, he finds not a baby lamb but a grown sheep for sale at an animal auction. The shepherd recognizes his mark on that sheep's ear. He goes to the auctioneer and says, "I can see the mark. That sheep is mine."

The auctioneer says, "Listen, you must bid and pay just like anybody else."

The shepherd bids and pays an outrageous price, far above any reasonable market value in order to get his lamb. He now has a double right to own this sheep: from birth, and from redemption.

God has a right to own us as creator and because he has paid the blood of his own Son—an outrageous price far above our market value—in order to redeem us back again. (Today's Best Illustrations)

Oh, dear friends, this passage in Isaiah and this illustration accurately depicts our plight. We rightfully belonged to God because of His act of creation. However, with the free will He created in us, we chose to use to walk away and seek our own happiness and satisfaction. We ultimately found ourselves in bondage and slavery to sin and under the curse of the law. In a very real sense we found ourselves on the devil’s auction block being sold for slaughter. Christ came along and offers to buy us back with His own life. All we have to do is once again acknowledge His rightful ownership and submit to His loving will.

(The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) The idea of redemption in the Old Testament takes its start from the thought of property (Leviticus 25:26; Ruth 4:4ff). Money is paid according to law to buy back something which must be delivered or rescued (Numbers 3:51; Neh. 5:8)….

In the New Testament the idea of redemption has more a suggestion of ransom. Men are held under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), or of sin itself (Romans 7:23f). The Redeemer purchases their deliverance by offering Himself as payment for their redemption (Ephes. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18).

I think this is illustrated by this OT passage:

Exodus 13:11-15 (NKJV) ¹¹ "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD'S. ¹³ But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

II. Heaven’s Sweetest Song

Revelation 5:9 (KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

“They” – The “four living creatures and twenty-four elders.”

The creatures and elders are described in 4:6-11. Elders – possibly 12 Patriarchs from OT and 12 Apostles from NT.

They sing a new song and it is a song of being redeemed. It is new because now redemption is completed; now merely planned.

It is a sweet song because it honors and acknowledges the Lamb.

It is a sweet song because it showcases God’s crowning work: Redemption of humanity; i.e. those who were created in the image of God.

God didn’t redeem the angels who fell.

God has redeemed people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

Conclusion:

Redemption is the theme of the entire Bible. From cover to cover, it reveals to us God’s wonderful plan and work to ransom His people from bondage to Satan and from the curse of the Law. He truly is worthy to receive the songs of worship and praise that is being sung in heaven. The song of redemption, I believe, is going on today, and it will go on forever! Hallelujah!

The Remedy for Error

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is a message that was preached by Pastor Les on August 28, 2016 and it is based on Matthew 22:29.

Written Excerpts:

Matthew 22:29 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Introduction:

In the text we have read this morning Jesus highlighted the fact that the Sadducees had made a serious error, and He lays the blame squarely on them.

Errors have consequences.

US News & World Report, “Our Medical Error Crisis” By Leslie Michelson, May 31, 2016.

This month the British Medical Journal published a report by Johns Hopkins researchers showing that preventable medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming almost 250,000 lives annually. That's 700 lives lost every day. These are frank medical errors, not the inevitable side effects of medically needed interventions….

More shocking is that the human toll is actually much worse than these findings suggest…. those figures only count inpatient hospital deaths. A 2013 Journal of Patient Safety study found that about 400,000 Americans die every year from inpatient and outpatient preventable errors.

It is staggering to think of 400k deaths per year because of preventable medical errors. This statistic alone shows us how costly an error can be. It truly can be a matter of life and death.

The president of Hobe Sound Bible College when I was a student there I remember, Dr. Steve Herron, told us in class one day, “A medical doctor buries his mistakes, but when a preacher makes an error it could mean a soul is lost for eternity.”

While that is certainly true, I also believe that no soul who stands before God at the judgment will ever be excused by saying, “My preacher told me…” Yes, it is my solemn responsibility to “rightly divide the word of truth.” But even though I may or may not effectively avoid error in my preaching and teaching, each one of us have the personal responsibility to search the Scriptures to learn the truth and avoid error.

For our time together today I trust the Holy Spirit will help us explore some important principles for avoiding error. (I probably should point out that I am specifically speaking about errors that are of a spiritual nature. I’m not all that interested right at this moment in helping you avoid errors on your income tax return, or errors on your crossword puzzle!)

I.    Many errors are actually based on Scripture.

You might be thinking, “Wait a minute. How can error be based on the Word of God that is described in John 17:17 as God’s truth?” Well, this is how I believe it can happen. When you read some of the principles and concepts that are taught in the Bible, they seem to contradict other concepts that you read in other places.

Sometimes we say that both principles exist in tension with each other. Error is created when one of the principles is emphasized and the opposing principle is neglected or completely excluded. The truth exists in the perfect balance between both principles.

A lot of the false cults and religions of our day exist because of over emphasis on one nugget of truth with the omission of the opposing truth.

There are many ways to illustrate this fact, but first let me share this story.

A professor and theologian by the name of Klyne Snodgrass wrote a book titled, Between Two Truths - Living with Biblical Tensions. In the book he gives this hypothetical account:

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. "What did he find?" asked the cohort. 

"A piece of the truth," the Devil replied. 

"Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?" asked the cohort. 

"No," said the Devil, "I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it."  (http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/truth.htm)

A.  God’s love (mercy) vs. God’s wrath (judgment)

Romans 5:8 (NKJV) ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJV) ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Hebrews 10:31 (NKJV) ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Proverbs 29:1 (NKJV) ¹ He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Revelation 6:16-17 (NKJV) ¹⁶ and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

Justice without love is harsh, and condemning.

When we emphasize the wrath and judgment of God to the exclusion of His love and mercy, we view Him as always condemning and judging us and never approving. We also will demonstrate this to others. We will view Him as the eternal “Ogre” who is standing over us with a great big club just waiting for us to make a misstep so He can beat us down and teach us a lesson.

Love without justice is “wishy-washy” and unprincipled.

When we emphasize the mercy and love of God to the exclusion of His judgment and wrath, He becomes nothing more than a condoning “old grandfather” in the sky that tolerates all kinds of behavior and attitudes with a casual wink and a “boys will be boys” kind of attitude. Then we become permissive and tolerant of sin and ungodly conduct in our own lives as well as in the culture.

The real truth is a healthy tension and balance between the two opposing facts.

B.  Legalism vs. antinomianism

Legalism - A slavish focus on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law, and a desire to line everyone else up who is missing the mark.

It is so important for us to learn that a performance mentality regarding the letter of the law never has and never will save anyone, nor gain them favor with God.  So much is said by Jesus and the Apostle Paul regarding the truth that the law has a purpose, but it is limited in its power.  Some of Jesus’ most harsh statements of condemnation were directed to the Pharisees and other “experts” of the law. The people of His day, as well as dogmatic legalists of today are repulsive, disgusting and always turn people away from God rather than to God. Paul’s entire epistle to the Galatians is a clear presentation of the fact that law cannot provide acceptance with God. It is the grace of God through faith alone that brings salvation.

Antinomianism - Totally disregard the commandments of God. “I’m not under law but under grace.”

Having stated the case against legalism, it is important to balance the “equation” by addressing the tendency to antinomianism. Some Christians today have completely bought into the idea that nothing is required for Christian behavior except whatever I want to do.

Listen to these verses:

Gal. 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another... 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Pet. 2:16 “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”

Rom. 6:1 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ²God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

God help us to understand and believe that our salvation is by God’s grace alone and by faith alone, but also help us remember that His grace will transform us from living like the devil into living like Jesus.

C.  God’s imminence (nearness) vs. His transcendence

God is near and Jesus is “one of us”. 

The Bible tells us that He identifies with our humanity. He knows sorrow, pain, temptation and disappointment.

When we emphasis the transcendence of God to the exclusion of this nearness, we lose sight of the fact that He knows and cares about what we are going through today. We lose the message of His ability to feel what we feel.

God is also infinitely beyond us in His nature.

His awesomeness and majesty cannot be comprehended. We err when we “create” God in our own image.  See Ps. 50:21 ...”You thought I was altogether such an one as yourself.”  God is above and beyond anything and everything we can ever imagine Him to be.

It is disturbing to me when I hear people talking about God as if He is just one of us; just “the man upstairs;” or attributing to Him the same weaknesses and passions that we have. God is infinitely greater and infinitely apart from who we are. His nature is incomprehensible in perfection and majesty and glory. God told Moses that man could not “look on His face” (i.e. see His full glory) and live.

The actual truth is the perfect balance of both emphases.

Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) – An error is the more dangerous, the more truth it contains. Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) – Errors to be dangerous must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation. Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World.

These examples I’ve just shared help us see that error can be caused by only emphasizing only one part of the truth. It is only a faithful and ongoing study of Scripture that can help us know the whole truth.

II.  The Devil uses Scripture for deception purposes.

The classic passage of Scripture in the Bible for this fact is the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. You remember that in one of the temptations Satan actually quoted a passage from Psalms 91 and used it in an attempt to get Jesus to follow his suggestion.

If you didn’t know this already, you need to learn it now. The Devil will use a nugget of truth to lead you astray more quickly than an outright lie would. The Devil comes up with many suggestions that sound really good and reasonable and scriptural. If we’re not aware of his devises and schemes we will likely be led astray into grievous error.

2 Corinthians 11: 14 (NKJV) ¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

III. There is a foolproof antidote for error.

Thankfully, Jesus gives us the assurance that there is an antidote for error. There is a solution or remedy so that we need not be deceived or mistaken on any important principle regarding our faith, our salvation or the nature of God. Going back to the text in Matthew 22, we read that Jesus gave the reason why the Pharisees had erred. They did not “know the Scripture nor the power of God.”

The remedy is a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures that produces an accurate understanding of God’s nature.

This knowledge that Jesus is talking about is not just a surface knowledge or a casual knowledge. It is a knowledge that digs deeper and deeper until it finally grasps the full implications of the truth.

(R.T. France, Tyndale Commentaries) - Of course the Sadducees did know the scriptures… in a superficial sense, but they had not penetrated through to their real meaning and thereby discovered the power of God; so there are not here two separate causes of error, but a failure to understand Scripture which leads to an inability to appreciate what God can do. Their outlook was essentially that of secular man, who cannot accept a God whose work goes beyond present human experience; a knowledge of Scripture (even only of the Pentateuch, from which Jesus will argue in vv. 31-32) should have taken them beyond that.

(Lenski New Testament Commentary) - This is… by no means… excusable ignorance on the part of the Sadducees. Their Old Testament plainly teaches the resurrection of the dead, and in spite of it… they "have not known," what they teach. In this way they came to abuse Moses' word. The Sadducees introduce a false premise, one that is absolutely foreign to Moses, namely that in the other world the same conditions prevail [as] in this world. Where does the Old Testament teach anything of this sort?

"Nor the power of God" have they known, i.e., from the Scriptures. This is not God's power to raise the dead but his power in regard to the dead bodies as he raises them, as though the only possible way in which he could raise them would be to make them exactly as they were in this earthly life.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) – It is easier to perceive error than truth, for error lies on the surface and is easily seen, truth lies in the depth where few are willing to search for it. Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World.

When Jesus goes on to explain the truth to the Sadducees, He quotes the passage where God reveals His identity to Moses. He tells Moses “I am who I am,” and “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” not “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Jesus implies that if they had truly searched the Scriptures and studied them intently, they would have learned that there is a resurrection and that the nature of resurrected life is distinctly different than earthly life.

Conclusion:

The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness. – A.W. Tozer. http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/truth.htm

How well do you know the Scriptures?

How much have you learned about God through the Scriptures?

How committed are you to knowing the Lord through His Word?

The greater our knowledge of God’s Word, the less our chances of being deceived and led astray into error. The less we know about God’s Word, the greater our chances of being deceived and led into error. I want to challenge you today to dig into His Word, but not just so you may learn so many facts about God, but so that you can truly deepen your relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit.

Hymn: Thanks to God Whose Word Was Spoken

This Is the Way

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is a message that was presented by Pastor Les on August 21, 2016 and it is based on Isaiah 30:21.

Written Excerpts:

Isaiah 30:21 (KJV) And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Introduction:

If you’re a parent, maybe you remember those times when your child was very young and perhaps had just learned to walk. As your toddler used his new-found freedom to explore new territory, you may have followed closely behind giving guidance and watching to make sure he didn’t roam into dangerous areas.

What about your teenagers when they were learning to drive? Which parent in your household primarily assumed the task of teaching your child to drive a car? (I assume it was the parent with the least anxiety issues!) Remember giving all-important directions – use your turn signal; don’t follow so closely; slow down on the curves; turn right… no not that right, the other right! This is the right way; don’t turn there, that’s the wrong way.

Our kids used to joke and even complain about Kris and I and some of our driving instructions. When I was riding with them I kept saying, “Don’t drive so close to the center line.” When Kris was riding with them she’d say, “Don’t drive so close to the white sideline!” It’s no wonder our kids are confused!

What about the rest of us? We all may remember those times in our own lives when we were in the process of making some monumental decisions and someone, whether a parent or trusted friend, gave us some very critical advice just when we needed it the most.

For the rest of our time this morning I want to speak to you about the voice of God saying, “This is the way.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the voice of God giving us such guidance and instruction? The Scripture lesson before us today is about the people of Israel & Judah and God’s desire to do exactly as I said… give them instructions and directions for the path of life.

However there were some serious barriers that hindered the Lord from leading His people. Sadly, it appears that some of these same barriers prevent the Lord from being able to provide much-needed direction for His people today.

I believe that this passage has some important lessons for us to learn and understand if we likewise hope to receive the sweet voice of the Spirit of God guiding us and instructing us about the path we walk each day. Let us examine this passage to discover some of the barriers that prevented God’s leadership and guidance. And then discover God’s remedy to remove the barriers.

I.    The barriers that prevent God’s constant guidance.

There are two basic barriers that are mentioned in our text today. There are other barriers that could be mentioned, but these are the two that are described here.

A. Wrong Attitudes

Rebellious

Isaiah 30:1-2 (NKJV) “Woe to the rebellious children," says the Lord…

Isaiah 30:9 (NKJV) That this is a rebellious people…

Unfaithful/lying

Isaiah 30:9 (NKJV) … Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; (Interpret in light of vv. 10-11)

(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary) No man, professedly, wished to be deceived; but many seek a kind of teaching which is deceit; and which, if they would examine, they might know to be such (1Ki 22:13). The Jews desired success to be foretold as the issue of their league with Egypt, though ill had been announced by God's prophet as the result; this constituted the "deceits."

The people of Judah had acquired some of the same attitudes of the pagans all around them. They had reached the point where they were just as opposed to God’s will and God’s purposes as the surrounding enemies. Yet, they continued to assume that God was going to bless them and everything would be fine because, after all, they were the Lord’s chosen people. They had privileges!

Far too many Christians have the same attitudes today.

B. Wrong Choices

Isaiah 30:1-2 (NKJV) “Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; ² Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

Not only did the leaders of Judah have the wrong attitudes, but they made really bad choices. They sought and entered into unholy alliances with pagans, which God specifically forbid way back in Exodus. They made plans that were not ordained by God nor were blessed by God.

These choices can also be applied to the people of God today. Far too many Christians have made unholy alliances with every imaginable source, and we go on living our lives according to the standards of the rest of the world and Hollywood without seeking the will of God. While we do that, God is patiently waiting and desires to guide us and bless us if we will only seek Him.

II.  God’s remedy for removing barriers.

Even though the people of God erect barriers that prevent the blessing of God, God has a way of getting through.

Calamity and judgment

Isaiah 30:12-14 (NLT) ¹² This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, ¹³ calamity will come upon you suddenly— like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. ¹⁴ You will be smashed like a piece of pottery— shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”

Conquered by enemies

Isaiah 30:16-17 (NLT) ¹⁶ You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! ¹⁷ One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”

Isaiah 30:3 (NASB) ³ “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.

The safety and security they sought will turn into shame and humiliation. God doesn’t always deliver His people from calamity and from the oppression of their enemies. When His people have forsaken His Word and His ways and have continued to seek their own sinful passions and desires rather than obey Him, then He allows them to go on until they suffer the consequences of their choices.

There is no argument that is more convincing than the misery of consequences from my own choices. The sad thing is, many people who suffer the miserable consequences of their choices never see the connection with their own actions, so they get angry at God and blame Him for all their pain.

III. God’s incredible assistance

Yes, God does allow calamity. God does allow judgment to fall and the enemies to prevail. But it’s only for the purpose of turning His people back to Him again. He stands waiting for them with outstretched arms. When they return to Him in sorrow and repentance He begins to offer what they’ve been seeking all along.

Isaiah 30:18-23 (NLT) ¹⁸ So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. ¹⁹ O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. ²⁰ Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. ²¹ Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. ²² Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!” ²³ Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.

God will be…

      Gracious – v. 19; Teacher – v. 20; Guide – v. 21 (Who wouldn’t want God looking over their shoulder and whispering in their ear, “This is the right way…”?) Blesser – v. 23; Defender – vv. 27-28, 30-33 (esp. 31)

When God’s people truly repent and return to Him with loyalty, then God will defend them against their enemies. God will provide for them the very thing they sought from Egypt – safety and security from threatening enemies.

All the things they sought in Egypt and from Egypt will be provided for them if they will abandon their own stubbornness; and if they will only return in faithfulness to God’s Word and God’s will.

Conclusion:

Do you desire to have guidance from the Lord in your daily decisions and your major choices?

Do you desire the grace of God and His blessing on your life?

Do you wish for God to defend you against all enemies that threaten to ruin and destroy your faith?

God longs to be all of that and more for each one of us.

He delights in being our faithful guide and instructor.

But, we must be totally devoted to His Word and His Ways. We cannot be clamoring after the worldly “alliances” that will dilute our loyalty to the Lord and lead us further away from Him. We can’t listen to all the heathen voices and still expect His guidance.

Let us purpose to be loyal and to listen for His still small voice.

Hymn: I Need Thee Every Hour

Before we leave this morning, I wonder if there is anyone who desperately needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit for critical issues you’re facing right now? I’d like to invite you to come to the front and join me in a special prayer for God’s guidance and instruction for these issues that are troubling you so much. Whatever it is, come on and let’s pray together.

The Signs of Conversion

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This is a sermon given by Pastor Les on July 31, 2016 and it discusses baptism, communion and transformation as being three of the signs regarding conversion.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

There is a word in the Bible that is a very important part to understanding the whole concept of salvation.

That is the word convert, along with it various forms of usage – converteth, converted, conversion, etc.

The word is a part of our everyday secular vocabulary and the dictionary gives the following definitions and examples of how the word can be used.

Convert - verb (used with object)

1. to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.

2. to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc.: to convert the heathen.

3. to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use: They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.

4. to modify (something) so as to serve a different function: to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.

5. to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement: to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.

6. Finance. To exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.

7. to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one: to convert a criminal.

The Bible uses the term in a spiritual context in various ways such as found in these passages:

Matthew 18:3 [Jesus] said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Acts 3:19 [Peter said] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 15:3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

James 5:19-20 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; ²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

As we consider these and other references regarding conversion, we can see that it is a word that basically describes the same thing we mean when we speak of salvation.

For a little while this morning I want to talk to you about the topic of conversion and how it is manifested in the life of a believer.

I.    The Meaning of Conversion.

As you can see in the bulletin, the title of the message today is, “The Signs of Conversion.” We are going to discuss those signs in just a moment, but first of all I want to describe what conversion really means as used in the context of Christian faith.

Author and professor, Keith Drury, said this about conversion, “When we speak of the church seeing conversions, we mean something more than witnessing the moment when a person prays to ‘receive Christ.’ We mean the entire process of conversion. When a child is born, we record on the birth certificate the first moment when he or she took a breath. But the mother and father realize that the moment of birth is just one part of a much longer process, including the discovery of pregnancy, nine months of expectation, physical changes in the mother’s body, birth, naming, announcing, and dedicating the child. Birth is a package deal. Likewise, spiritual conversion is a total package. The process starts when God’s prevenient grace draws a person toward Christ and he or she senses a growing conviction of sin and need for God. Like a fetus, this conviction grows until the moment of new birth… the instant when God forgives the person’s sin and the Holy Spirit enters in and regenerates the soul, creating a new life.

The process of conversion does not begin with the moment of regeneration, and it doesn’t end there either.”

I want you to especially notice two or three words or concepts that Professor Drury mentioned, which also happen to be important biblical concepts.

A. God’s prevenient grace draws a person.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

B. Senses a growing conviction of sin and need.

John 16:8 And when he [i.e., the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove (NKJV, convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Eventually, there will come a time when the conviction grows to the point when the unbeliever/sinner recognizes the need to repent and begins to do so. Repentance means to have a complete reversal or change of mind/thinking. Conversion means to have a complete change of life. My observation is this: there are too many people trying to come to Christ without ever having been convicted over their sin.

If I never realize and recognize the horrible condition of sin in my life and the judgment I deserve because of it, then I’ll never truly understand exactly what Christ has done for me and offered to me. In that case, “getting converted” or being “saved” means nothing more than deciding to change political parties on my voter registration. (Oh, I guess I’ll become a Christian today.) I can never experience a real conversion if I’ve never genuinely repented, and I’ll never repent if I’ve never sensed genuine conviction about my condition and my need.

When an individual places his/her faith in Jesus Christ and is truly converted, there are at least three outward signs that communicate that change to others.

II. The first sign is Christian Baptism.

I am excited that we have the first baptism scheduled since I have been the pastor here. I assume the responsibility/ blame for that. I should have been more diligent to stress the importance of it.

What is baptism all about anyway?

Well, in the short explanation, it is an outward sign and testimony to the fact that the baptismal candidate has been converted and is identifying with Jesus Christ and His followers/disciples.

It is a tangible way for the individual to say, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.”

(Keith Drury) While conversion can happen in private as a result of personal evangelism, baptism is always public. It is the sacrament ordained by Christ to make conversion a public matter… It is true, technically speaking, that the new convert was saved when he or she “prayed the prayer” at the altar or in [some other place]. But that person is publicly received into the body of Christ when he or she submits to baptism….

Baptism is a public affair. There is no such thing as secret discipleship. When people try to follow Jesus in secret, one of two things eventually happens. Either their following of Jesus eliminates their secrecy, or their secrecy eliminates their following of Christ. Baptism makes conversion public.

Philip the evangelist in Acts explained the Scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch. At the end of their conversation, the Ethiopian requests to be baptized. Why? To publicly, physically and outwardly demonstrate the inward conversion that had just taken place in his life.

III. The second sign is Christian Communion.

Communion is a sacrament just as baptism is. It is a physical and outward sign, as well as baptism is.

We have repeatedly noted what the emblems of communion represent – the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. We’ve tried to share a number of different truths about communion over the past few years as we have shared communion together.

One thing I want to say today in regards to communion that I don’t think I have ever said before, relates to this issue of conversion. If baptism is the sign that conversion has happened, a new life in Christ has begun, and I’ve been admitted into the family of faith (the church), then I think we can view communion as a sign that faith is still active.

The person who partakes of communion is essentially testifying, “I’m still believing in Jesus Christ and His shed blood for my sins. I am still a part of the church as a follower of Jesus."

IV. The third sign is a life transformation.

Baptism and communion are essential sacraments that every Christian believer should practice. There is one other sign of conversion that is not a sacrament, but it is no less necessary.

The third sign of conversion is the transformation of one’s life after they have put faith in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians and said, … if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor. 5:17)

New attitudes; New behavior; New vocabulary; New affections; Making amends/restitutions, etc. These are all traits that indicate transformation has taken place and is continuing to happen.

Conclusion:

Have you been converted? Has there been a time in your life when you committed your life to Christ and new spiritual life began? If so, come to the Lord’s Table today and once again identify with the family of God as we commune together.

Before we share the elements, let us sing two verses of the hymn,  I Will Sing of My Redeemer

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now, click on the play button of the audio player shown.)

This message was given by Pastor Les on July 10, 2016 and is based on Ephesians 1:4-8. It explains the spiritual blessings we have in Christ that causes the Apostle Paul to erupt in praise even when he is in prison.

Written Excerpts:

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) ³  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

Introduction:You’re writing a letter to some very dear friends. There is so much you want to say, you hardly know where to begin. You start off with the normal greetings you usually would use at the beginning, but then, your mind is so crowded with the wonderful blessings of the Lord, you just “erupt” into a really long expression of praise for all the gracious benefits God has given.

That description is a little like what we find right here in the first chapter of Ephesians.

A couple of weeks ago I preached from 2 Timothy and presented the background information that it was probably written from prison when Paul had been arrested the second time. This letter to Ephesians was probably written a few years earlier when Paul was “in prison” the first time. (The letters Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were also written during this imprisonment.)

Knowing that Paul is in confinement and awaiting some sort of trial, yet he is able to erupt into a burst of praise for all the spiritual blessings from God, should give all of us an example to follow when things aren’t exactly going in a positive direction for us. May God help us to realize anew today that no matter what the circumstances may be in our lives, we can always offer sincere praise to the Lord for the blessings He pours upon us so abundantly.

According to verse 3, these blessings are “in heavenly places,” meaning that they are spiritual blessings, not material or earthly blessings. (Tyndale) In the realm of unseen forces…

We also see that they are blessing “in Christ Jesus.” That is, we have been given these blessings because we are in Christ.

For the message this morning, I want to explore the specific things that Paul mentions as part of our spiritual blessings from God.

Blessing # 1 – We are chosen by God (v. 4)

Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

There has been a long-standing debate among theologians regarding the apparent tension between the sovereignty of God and the free-will of man; between predestination and personal choice.

The story is told of a group of theologians who were discussing the tension between predestination and free will. Things became so heated that the group broke up into two opposing factions.

But one man, not knowing which to join, stood for a moment trying to decide. At last he joined the predestination group. "Who sent you here?" they asked. "No one sent me," he replied. "I came of my own free will." "Free will!" they exclaimed. "You can't join us! You belong with the other group!" 

So he followed their orders and went to the other clique. There someone asked, "When did you decide to join us?" The young man replied, "Well, I didn't really decide--I was sent here." "Sent here!" they shouted. "You can't join us unless you have decided by your own free will!"  (Today In The Word, August, 1989, p. 35.)

Since this isn’t a theology class and we do not have the time to discuss and respond to questions, we will simply say that there is a mystery about how the two biblical truths work in concert without canceling out each other.

D.L. Moody – The elect are the whosoever wills, the non-elect are the whosoever won'ts. 

Someone else said - God sovereignly predestined all who would choose to believe.

If you made the choice to trust Christ and accept His salvation, you did so with the divine help of God’s grace and because God chose you.

He chose us before the foundation of the world.

He chose us to be holy and blameless in Him.

Blessing # 2 – We are adopted by God (v. 5)

Ephesians 1:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Chapter 2 talks about how we were strangers and aliens, apart from the household of God.

But we have been adopted and brought into the family and household of God through the blood of Christ.

We were someone else's kid! Like Jesus told the Jews, "You are of your father the devil."

We were abused by him and misused, but God took us in and made us one of His kids!

We enjoy all the blessings and privileges of being a member of the family – love, fellowship, full inheritance (we’ll talk more about it later), etc. etc.

Blessing #3 – We are redeemed by God (v. 7-8a)

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NKJV) ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

We have been purchased back from the power and control of the enemy by the precious blood of Jesus.

Apostle Peter says, “We are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold… but with the precious blood of Jesus, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

A few years ago I did a series of Bible lessons on Wednesday nights on the topic of redemption. I’m thinking of using that as the basis for a series of Sunday morning sermons sometime in near the future.

Songwriter says, "Redeemed how I love to proclaim it…."

Paul goes on to say Redemption provides the forgiveness of sins.

Think of the fact that through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, every disobedience, every rebellious action, every idle thought, and every kind of sin is forgiven and wiped away because we have been redeemed.

Why? Because of the boundless riches of His grace! Infinite wealth of grace!

Blessing #4 – We are taught by God (vv. 8b-9)

Ephesians 1:8-9 (NKJV) ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, ⁹ having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

God grants knowledge, wisdom and prudence.

He makes things known to us that we did not know before, i.e., the “mystery of His will.”

Heb. 1:1f – God spoke in the past by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken by His Son.

God did not keep the message hidden, but He has revealed it in varying stages and in various methods. He has taught us the “mystery” and we are the benefactors of His grace and blessing because of it.

The God of the Bible is one who Has revealed Himself.

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book, “He Is There and He Is Not Silent.”

Blessing #5 – We are bequeathed by God (vv. 11-14)

Ephesians 1:11-14 (NKJV) ¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

We…you – Jews first then Gentiles.

Inheritance – everything purchased by the blood of Christ… forgiveness now, salvation full and complete later.

Romans 8 - … the whole creation groans and labors… await the redemption of our bodies…

And, it is all accomplished for the purpose of giving all the glory to God.

Jesus, Our Stunt Double - Actor Kevin Bacon recounted when his 6-year-old son saw Footloose for the first time:

He said, "Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you swing from the rafters of that building? That's really cool, how did you do that?"

I said, "Well, I didn't do that part—it was a stunt man."

"What's a stunt man?" he asked.

"That's someone who dresses like me and does things I can't do."

"Oh," he replied and walked out of the room looking a little confused.

A little later he said, "Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you spin around on that gym bar and land on your feet? How did you do that?"

I said, "Well, I didn't do that. It was a gymnastics double."

"What's a gymnastics double?" he asked.

"That's a guy who dresses in my clothes and does things I can't do."

There was silence from my son, then he asked in a concerned voice, "Dad, what did you do?"

"I got all the glory," I sheepishly replied.

Joel Sarrault —That's the grace of God in our lives. Jesus took our sin upon himself and did what we couldn't do. We stand forgiven and bask sheepishly triumphant in Jesus' glory. In Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership. (Today's Best Illustrations)

Conclusion:

What wonderful blessings we have through Jesus Christ! It’s no wonder the Apostle Paul erupted in a doxology of praise! Here he is in confinement, awaiting trial, and he decides to write a letter of instruction and encouragement to a young church that he helped get started. He only gets a few words into the letter before he begins praising God for all these spiritual blessings.

These blessings were not only for Paul, and they were not only for the Ephesians. They are provided for every person; whosoever will!

Have you abandoned your sins and trusted in Christ?

Have you experienced the redemption and forgiveness of your sins?

If not, you can. You can trust Christ any time you admit you’re tired of running your own life.

You can trust Him any time you admit your disobedience against the will of God and the sins you have committed.

Any time you throw yourself on the mercy of God and accept the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross as a substitute for you.

Let’s close our service by singing the invitational hymn: Only Trust Him