Calvary's Love

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Now what I'd like to do this morning, we're going to take a short break from our exposition of John chapter 5 in which we're going through God willing to return to our study of the five -fold witness of Jesus Christ next
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Lord's Day Today in our communion service. I would like for us to turn our attention and focus on The love of God in Christ Jesus Calvary's love and that was where God's love was demonstrated
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It's demonstrated in many many aspects, but it's demonstrated more there than anywhere else
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And this is where God poured out his very best All the attributes of God is clearly seen
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There at Calvary's cross on Calvary's Hill God got them We're gonna focus on Calvary's love and that means we behold the
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Lamb of God we behold the Lamb of God Jesus Christ who suffered and died in our place and then saying that I'd like to start with prayer so please bow with me in a moment of prayer as we seek our
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Lord within this hour of worship as We come before his presence to hear his word
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Let's pray Our Father in heaven as your son taught the disciples on the
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Mount That great sermon how to pray First and foremost was to hallowed be thy name
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Hallowed be thy name Holy is your name and actually it's holy holy holy
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Lord We come to glorify you exalt you to lift you up to honor you to glorify your son
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And Lord, we thank you for your word this morning. It's a lamp at our feet a light into our path And father we do pray
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With the psalmist this morning open our eyes that we may see wonderful things in your law in your word
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Open the eyes of our heart this morning that we may behold your lamb the
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Lamb of God Jesus Christ in him crucified Christ in him crucified buried raised again
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Ascended on high at your right hand of power and coming again Lord we come
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Not to be challenged but to be changed And Lord you are in the changing business
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Lord I pray that you would change us from glory to glory from faith to faith And we ask this
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Lord For your honor for your glory And we ask this in the mighty name of the
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Lord Jesus Christ Amen, and amen in my introduction this morning,
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I would like to briefly mention Something I believe is so important for all of us as believers to practice on a daily basis and That would be is to preach the gospel to ourselves.
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We're not only to preach the gospel to the world, but we need to remind ourselves on a daily basis of the greatness of the gospel
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If I'm not mistaken, it was Jerry Bridges who is now with the Lord that spoke
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About the discipline of preaching the gospel to yourself daily, I believe he was one that coined that Luther briefly mentioned it as well and he might have drew drew that from Luther, but He mentions this the gospel is not only the most important message in all of history.
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It is the only essential message in all of history The only essential message in all of history
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Preach the gospel to ourselves daily now
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Let me give you another quote and it concerns of the how and the why we should preach the gospel to ourselves and I think in this introduction here will give us a premises that will give us a foundation of Of The gospel in which we will hear but we need to hear it
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Because the gospel is everything it is the good news It is the glad tidings.
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It is the good. What is the good news the Lord Jesus Christ is it all in Christ and his works his his perfect works his perfect obedience his
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Perfect person and his perfect life. It's all in Christ. Is it not?
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Christ in Christ alone. So As I was researching this and I said wow
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I need a good opening here and I said Lord help me to stir up the encourage the Saints here today and this is what
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I was led to and It says this and this comes by the way of the writings of Jerry Bridges in the third chapter
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Of the discipline of grace in his book. He wrote the third chapter of the discipline of grace and this is so significant
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So basically what he says here is so biblical, but it's talking about the gospel He says to preach the gospel to yourself then means this that you continually face up to your own sinfulness
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Your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith and has shed blood and righteousness and his righteous life
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It means that you appropriate again and again by faith the fact that Jesus fully satisfied the law of God and That he is your propitiation and that God's holy wrath is no longer directed towards you
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To preach the gospel to yourself means that you take at face value the precious words of Romans 4 7 and 8
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Says blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered
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Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him
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It means that you believe the testimony of God that Therefore this is there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 8 1
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It means you believe that Christ redeemed you From the curse of the law by becoming a curse for you
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For it is written cursed as everyone who is hung on a tree Galatians 3 13
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It means you believe He forgave you all your sins
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According to Colossians 2 13 and now presents you holy in his sight Without blemish and free from accusation
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Colossians 1 22 And turning to the Old Testament He says to preach the gospel to yourself means that you appropriate by faith the words of Isaiah 53 6 we are all like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way and The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all
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It means that you dwell upon the promise that God has removed your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west
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Psalm 103 12 That he has blotted out your transgressions and remembers your sin no more
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Isaiah 45 25 but it also means you realize that All these wonderful promises of forgiveness are based upon the atoning death of Jesus Christ It is the death of Christ Through which he satisfied the justice of God and averted from us the wrath of God That is the basis of all
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God's promises of forgiveness We must be careful that In preaching the gospel to ourselves.
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We do not preach a gospel without a cross We must be careful
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That we do not rely on the so -called unconditional love of God With that realizing that his love can only flow to us as a result of Christ is atoning death in quote
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I Saw Wow, if that doesn't stir and move your heart
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Warm your heart as the Disciples that those two disciples on the road of Emmaus Did they're not your heart burned with you within you?
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As I was speaking to you my heart was just burning folks Stirs us up because it's all about Christ and what he did
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Nothing like Edward says the only thing that you and I contributed to our salvation is the sin
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That put that took him there Beloved this is what it means to preach the gospel to ourselves and we must do this
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This is a discipline folks and it is important that we do this we preach the gospel to others
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Yes, but we must preach the gospel to ourselves and in this last sentence in which
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Bridges Mentions, I would like to draw your attention to and make this the theme of the message this morning without realizing
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He says that his love his love Can only flow to us as a result of Christ's atoning death
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Think of that all that we have in Christ Jesus all the riches that we have in Jesus Christ All the riches in heaven all come to us through Christ atoning death
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His substitutionary death his atoning death all comes
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From that one great act That was given to us
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In a wonderful. It is the fountain God's love Calvary's love
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Calvary's love This is given to us and demonstration in Jesus Christ and the
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Apostle Paul Spoke of this in his epistle in Romans. So please turn with me to Romans chapter 5
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Romans 5 If you have a bulletin
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There are the outlines there for you this morning. So just follow me with that outline This helps me not to chase rabbits, so we're going to Just focus on Christ, right?
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It's so easy to get sidetracked on something wonderful and take off on that direction, but we're going to stay focused so as we look at Romans chapter 5
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We will see how salvation is secured for us to those who believe the gospel
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After all salvation is eternal salvations of the Lord and speaks in Jonah Salvation is of the
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Lord and by the way, I don't know if you ever thought of it like this Not only salvation is of the
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Lord salvation is God God is our salvation That's what the psalmist
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David says. He is become My salvation is He your salvation that like he says the
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Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want the Lord is my salvation and You know what?
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That's telling us. It's in God and God alone Nothing is to be subtracted from it.
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Nothing is to be added to it stands alone unique Well Faint across me put it this way.
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We're redeemed by the blood of the Lamb his child and forever I am and this actually is given to us in Scripture From Romans 8 you don't have to turn there, but listen to what
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Paul says, but what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who could be against us he who did not here it is folks.
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Here's the gospel He who did not spare his own son think of that he did not spare him
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But delivered him up for us all Question is how shall he not with him also freely give us all things
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Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies? It is
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God who justifies Who is he that who condemns it is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen who is even at the right hand of God Who also makes intercession for us?
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Oh Don't you love this next question And he answers it Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
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shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril sword as It is written for your sake.
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We are killed all the day long We're counted as sheep for the slaughter yet and all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved us
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There it is. He loved us And then he ends with this powerful accolade of just worship
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I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present or things to come nor height nor death nor any other created things shall be able to separate us
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From the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord The greatest thing that you and I could have today folks is the love of God in Christ Jesus that is that is really
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So much so much as packed and knowing the love of God in Christ Jesus So Paul Tells us much about this in Romans 5 and the verses
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I like to look we're going to glean through these This will not be a full exposition, but we're going to just glean glean their verse 1 to 11
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It tells us about the gospel after the
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Apostle Paul just wrote in Romans chapter 4 1 through 25 and all he said in that chapter and If you notice in his conclusion, he says this and Chapter 4 verse 23 now it is well
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It was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him But also for us it shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our
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Lord from the dead who was delivered up because of our offenses and notice what he says and he was raised because of our justification and As you will see that therefore is
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Therefore reason and he begins and takes off from there from What he just mentioned about justification that God justifies sinners
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He justifies sinners on the basis of faith alone. It's nothing added or subtracted to it.
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It's faith alone and nothing else He now by the Spirit of God he turns and directs the pin
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To counter the notion that although believers receive salvation by faith alone they
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Preserve it by continuing in it by good works Now I want you to keep in mind there that he's not talking about works of salvation for salvation.
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He's talking about continuing and sanctification justification is
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The standing that we have before God Sanctification is basically speaks of Working out the continuing the obedience and Our Sanctification is a development of our maturity and Growing in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ So let's look at this.
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Listen, what does the text say? well It says is therefore haven't been justified by faith.
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We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ now keep in mind we're justification and Sanctification begins
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Sanctification is the proof that we have been saved It's the evidence.
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It's the only evidence of our continuing Into what
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God has already done and purchased Let me speak a little bit here.
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He Paul argues that that They're bound eternally in the love of God in Christ.
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Jesus preserved by it by the power and not by human effort God's power preserves us so in this particular section
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Paul gives To us this great evidence of how salvation is secured for us in Christ Jesus and it is secured
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If I were to summarize everything here and what we're saying and it's fullness first there is peace with God Second there's standing in grace in verse 2
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Third there's this hope of glory in verse 2 through 5 there's his receiving of the divine love and 5 through 8 is and a
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Certain escape of the divine wrath in verse 9 and 10 and then he speaks about the joy in the
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Lord in verse 11 Well, let's look at how God has lifted us how has he lifted us he's lifted us by the salvation in which he wrought in Christ Jesus Now let's look at this
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Paul begins at once Right from the get -go Right from the start so to speak that with the fact that we have peace with God the peace of God is a continuing act of Sanctification but the peace with God is our standing now.
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Let's keep in mind. He begins with our standing with God Through Jesus Christ and has been wrought by the work of God Or the work of Christ in which he wrought is the
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Son of Man the Son of God Peace basically means what does it mean?
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It base. It basically means the war is over The war is over our war
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The arms of rebellion has been laid down and and Jesus Christ has won the war When he cried out and shouted with a victory on the cross it is finished paid in full
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The sin debt that we owed to God was paid in full by Jesus Christ and him crucified as he hung on the cross and he shed his precious blood and that's what purchased our salvation beloved
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Was that precious blood of Christ? It came at a high cost
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God's term Terms of amnesty have been accepted once and for all that is you see this all through the book of Hebrews Once and for all once and for all not twice once You see we see this in Romans 5 1 and 2
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Which is a preview of our? standing before God our standing before God How can one stand before a holy
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God how can one stand before a holy God justified Just as if he had never sinned as God would look at him and impute his righteousness upon him
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Our righteousness is not going to do is it no It's not because the scripture says in Isaiah our righteousness as that are as filthy
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Rags before God so many people think that we know when we die and go to and stand before God Here God has good works and here's there's bad works
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But God doesn't look at it like that, even though we will be judged according to our deeds No doubt about that, but at the great white throne judgment
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That would be a just judgment and all that stands at the great white throne are eternally lost
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They will stand before Jesus Christ and think of it The judge of all the earth will judge each and every single soul that ever lived and there will be no escape for those and they
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Will be sentenced to an everlasting hell in the lake of fire
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They'll be coming out of jail. We already looked at that and then there will be sentenced. It was stand on trial
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But what justifies us before a holy God we're gonna see this and this is what he talks about that this justification is
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Incredibly Wonderful and great There are two words which sum up Paul's teaching in these two verses and I like to bring it out and you see this in the outline it is acceptance and excess access
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Acceptance and excess first one we see acceptance again Therefore having been justified by faith.
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We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore haven't been justified by faith
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Paul is simply saying this here in this verse that He has in view the finished work of Christ Christ is finished work
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Which he was just presenting in Romans chapter 4 24 and 25 And we could be very sure of our standing before a holy
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God in Jesus Christ How can we be sure? Well number one the word says it if God says it it doesn't mean whether we believe it or not
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It's it's a sure foundation God it's impossible for God to lie That's one thing that God cannot do is a few others that he cannot do but he could do all things but he cannot lie folks
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Let God be true and every man found liar God cannot deny himself
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God is true to himself He cannot swear to a one higher because he is the highest he is the most high
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God And when he gives his word, it's true because he is true and faithful It's part of his character and you can be be sure of this that God will never change
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He's immutable. So whatever God is and who he is We can know that if it in his love and his justice and his grace and his mercy.
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It's Unchangeable folks, it would never change We change we need to change it and change comes to us, but isn't it great to know that our
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God is immutable never changes The believer in Christ is justified
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That means he's declared righteous before God God Almighty declares us righteous
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Because of Christ Not because what we have done The war is over there because of Christ because of Christ the word actually and the original here and the
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Aristotelian tense indicates the definite time in which each believer upon the
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Exercise of faith and by the way faith is that instrument to lay hold of God and God gives us that instrument
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So it's given by faith And we can't it's outside of ourselves.
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You see I'm saying it's a gift and when the scripture says in Ephesians chapter 2
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By grace or you say through faith that not of yourselves It is the gift of God that gift he is speaking is just not the grace the favor in Christ, but is the faith to lay hold of Christ That trust to trust him fully and solely was justified in the sight of God That's what justifies us that faith lays hold of who
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Christ is. I like what Spurgeon says in a sense even faith
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And of itself does not save us Do you see what
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I'm saying? I? He basically is saying it's the instrument in which we lay hold of the one that does save us
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Who saves us? Christ He alone is the Savior Faith is the instrument
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That would delay hold of Christ So it there's an exercise of that and the
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Holy Spirit and we will see that later Helps us in that he is at peace with God those that are justified by faith alone
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He is no longer striving to earn his salvation or try to get up the stairs the ladder like Luther Do once did he tried tried and tried did everything he could to try to fulfill the law and he found out he failed miserably and Luther found out that all he could see was the frown of God until Until he came to the book of Romans chapter 1 and that great verse verse 17
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And it says for in it and speaking of the gospel The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith that is as it is written that just Shall live by faith
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The just Those that are justified justified
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Salvation no longer struggling and rebellion and self -will. He is justified freely by Christ He has something the world cannot give him and he has something the world cannot take away
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Peace with God Peace with God. Do you have that peace with God today? That's everything folks
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Do you have that peace with God Do you have a right standing before God?
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So as a believer? We stand before God righteous because of Christ's righteousness
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Not only does it give us acceptance it gives us access We have access before God through whom we also have verse 2 have access by faith into this grace in which we shall we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God the word excess means a
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Bringing in it's an introduction. It brings it's a bringing in And here in Romans 5 to the thought is rather than That that of our acceptance with God and the enjoyment of his grace his favor as those who have been justified
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JB Phillips puts it this way Quote it is a glorious thing to have acceptance to know that the war is over and That God no longer looks upon us with disfavor and wrath
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It is far better to have access and as those who have taken the pierced hand of the king of the king's son
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Have access indeed What a standing? What a standing you see that in Hebrews?
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All through Hebrews access before God before his throne You're allowed to come before his courts
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Because you are justified Through our
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Lord Jesus Christ now our standing before God through our Lord Jesus Christ and that's
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The standing not only is the standing we have our state like I mentioned earlier
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Our state before God and that is our sanctification and Here he speaks about the maturity
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That we are to have in Jesus Christ our maturity our growth and knowledge of the grace of God in the grace of God Our standing is perfect now keep this in mind
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Nothing could change your standing. It is totally completely perfect and our state is
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Progressive and it by the way, it would be progressive into as a believer until the day
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You go home to be with the Lord There will be a battle with the old sinful state
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And just read Romans 7 that's actually the next you have Romans 6 speaks about being dead to sin alive to God that whole chapter there and Then from slaves of sin to slaves of God and then in Romans 7
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Freed from the law of God and sins advantage in the law and there's a struggle with that We because we are incarcerated in Human flesh we are battling against that constantly because our spirits are redeemed but the flesh will give us fits folks
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Martin Luther again says the Reformer says I Found out I'm dead with Christ and I'm alive with Christ, but I found out that the old man still swims
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And that the truth if you found that out there's a battle that you still continues within But thanks being to God we can be victorious in that not that that that will be completely eradicated by no means
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But we can have victory in Jesus Christ as we battle from faith to faith from battle to battle that Jesus Christ is our victory and we can gain the victory we could gain ground and Gain ground.
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In other words, there should be a direction the MacArthur says the best evidence of salvation is is the direction
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Not the perfection Well, we're justified our standing is perfect and our state is progressive justified forever now
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Paul cries out and basically what he's saying here here is only to maturity. Let's get on with it
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Let's be mature Verses three to five deals with this now.
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I like to break this down. First of all how maturity is displayed How is displayed how it's developed and we see this all packed together
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Let's look at it maturity is displayed verse three and Not only that that we also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulations
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Tribulation produces notice what it says produces Perseverance that means endurance.
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It's not By us not only that we also glory in tribulations and Basically what he's saying there's a cross and there's a crown and that cross and the crown to get to the crown there must first be a cross
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There must be first grief and then there's glory You cannot have one without the other other everybody wants the crown
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But let me tell you there must be a cross If you don't hear that It's not the gospel
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If you hear that is somewhere else that they're not preaching if they're preaching all a crown and all the rewards and bypass the cross
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I Don't think that's biblical and that's actually what Satan was
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Tempting Christ to do as the Son of Man as he was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by the tempter
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Satan bypassed across turn these stones into bread do these miracles if you be the
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Son of God if you be the Son of God cast Yourself down and and and the angels would catch you all the kingdoms of the world
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Satan tells Christ I give you do that I give all this to you if you bow down and worship me and time and time again in his perfect obedience
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Jesus comes back again. It is written and he places it in context But you see what the point is
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Satan was trying to get Christ to bypass the cross and by the way, he would do the same for you
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He will do the same to you and tempting you to try to try to bypass a cross
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But there will be no crown unless there's a cross the glory and tribulations is a real sign beloved of maturity
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To rejoice Even when you if you're to the point
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Where you are physically in pain? You're physically deteriorating.
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You're physically battling and whatever comes at you You can rejoice because There's faith that triumphs and trouble you could go to James 1 on that and he speaks much about it
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But he talks about but how is let's go to the second if it's displayed
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But how is the maturity attained? He tells us it is developed in us
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Not only is it displayed but it's developed There is fortification of the character and notice what he says here knowing that tribulation produces
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Patience character character Inward fortification your inward being the inner man must be renewed day by day
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Hope Now this was no mere theory with Paul folks as you will know for he knew much about tribulation
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Turn with me very quickly to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 and we will see this just briefly
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Notice what Paul says? 2nd
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Corinthians the theme of that is basically Paul defending his ministry and he really
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Was on the spot doing this because he was he was taken so much Accusations and lies about his character in his ministry and the false teachers were basically accusing him of being false he's in the ministry for wrong reasons and so forth and so forth and This is what he says in verse 3 chapter 6
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We give no offense in anything that our ministry may not be blamed But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God listen what he says in much patience and tribulations and needs and distresses and stripes and Imprisonments and Tomas and labors and sleeplessness and Fastings and by purity by knowledge by long -suffering
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By kindness by the Holy Spirit and by sincere love by the word of truth by the power of God by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left by honor and dishonor by evil report by and good report as deceivers and yet true as Unknown and yet well known as dying and behold we live as chastened and yet not killed don't you love these paradoxes as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing as poor and yet many rich making many rich as Having nothing and yet possessing all things
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Now go with me just a few chapters over chapter 11 Listen to his own personal testimony as he speaks about sufferings sufferings of Christ in chapter 11
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Listen to what he says here verse 22. He's defending his ministry again against false teachers.
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Are they Hebrews? So am I are they Israelites? So am I are they the seed of Abraham?
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So am I? Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more and labors
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More abundant and strikes above measure in prisons more frequently and Deaths often but wait, you know what he's doing here.
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He's giving the marks and the evidence That he is an occult apostle born out of due time in Which Christ chose him and he defends his
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Apostleship because of the false teachers throwing accusations and lies against him and notice what he says.
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Here's the marks folks From Jews from the Jews five times. I received 40 strikes minus one
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Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked shipwrecked a night and a day
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I have been in the deep and journeys often imperils of waters and perils of robbers and perils of my own countrymen and perils of Gentiles and perils in the city and perils in the wilderness and perils of the sea and perils among the false brethren and weariness and toil and sleeplessness often and Hunger and thirst and fastings often and cold and nakedness
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Besides the other things what comes upon me daily my deep concern for all the churches
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I'll stop right there. That's that's so much of what he's saying. Notice there is a cross
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There's a cross and And it's like this drew him closer to Christ as God even told him
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Christ told him that you will suffer many things for my sake an Apostle, this is how it's developed.
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His character was developed. This is the fellowship of sufferings in Jesus Christ in which he came to It's developed it's displayed it's developed in us fortifying
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Through tribulation maturing power tribulation. And by the way, this is also illustrated in the case of the patriarch
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Joe Job is a good Illustration here, but we don't have time to look into it
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But I'll briefly tell you something I I read about and I thought I thought was marvelous. You can outline that complete that complete book by Job that was tested by his faith was tested and the
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Providence and the sovereignty of God and first and first of all he was tested in the hands of Satan didn't the hands of men and Then finally in the hands of God because God was the one that allowed the testing at the hand of Satan Job received tribulation to develop his patience and God stripped him, you know
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Everybody's talking about God giving and giving and giving and he does give and that's what a lot of people say
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Oh, give me God give me God, but what about God that strips? What about God that takes away?
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Now I want you to keep in mind that Job Didn't have all this revelation we had And matter a matter of fact in his time periods.
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There was no Bible And I like as one preacher said all he had was
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God and that was sufficient Job received tribulation wrought him patience at the hand of man his patience was
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Sorely tried and through it all he gained experience and in the hands of God Job came triumphantly through the last to that hope which makes not ashamed and that's what
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Paul talks about in Romans 5 So Maturity is displayed by us.
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It is developed in us and third it is determined for us It's determined for us
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Aren't you glad of that? It's determined for us Verse 5 now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the
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Holy Spirit who was given to us Hope does not disappoint
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Has been poured out Shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that's been given to us
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What a gift the Spirit of God himself, that's that's what happens in regeneration Spirit of God enters and inhabits us dwells within us
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Christ in you the hope of glory Transforms us we've become a new creation Old things have passed away behold all things become new here.
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We had the first mention of the love of God Here in this particular text agape in that sense the first Formal mention
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I should say of the Holy Spirit in this epistle God's purpose is to give us full assurance of our salvation beloved full assurance and The agent is the
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Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit of God God's purpose for each and every one of us is to become like his son the
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Lord Jesus Christ This is given in Romans 8 once again, I Read to you earlier verse 31 to 39, but listen to Romans 8 28 for we know that all things we know
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That and all that note that all things work together for good
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To those who love God see it's not given to everybody else's to those who love
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God and To those who are the call that's the effectual calling folks.
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There's two callings There's the general call to those that are lost to the
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Gentiles and to all that are non -believers Christ has come unto me all you labor and heavy laden.
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That's a general call But the effectual call as those that God has chosen to bring in Jesus said he the fall that the father gives will come to me
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And Jesus says he that cometh to me. I will no wise cast out Those that are called according to his purpose and notice the order here
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Here there's a we will see the five links of the golden chain of redemption
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For whom he foreknew he also predestined he marked out that word predestined means
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God marked out to be conformed to the image of his son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren moreover whom he predestined
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These he also called whom he called these he also Justified and whom he justified these he also glorified in other words.
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They will make it to the end They will endure and God's purpose think of it
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That whatever hardship that you're going through whatever trial that God has ordained for you.
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It's all for you to be like his son It's hard. I know
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The Lord never said it would be easy, but I'll tell you what beloved.
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Oh how sweet it's going to be on the other end and That's why Paul goes he goes this and it goes to this in Romans that there's no comparison to those eternal things
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To the sufferings that we will have here. That's only temporary and The glories that wait us is eternal in that glorious Eternal way to glory well
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That's God's plan for each and one of us to have maturity and that maturity comes through That which the
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Holy Spirit has given us perseverance character character Hope and that hope does not disappoint it
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There's no disappointment in it because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the
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Holy Spirit That's been given to us Being Confident of this very thing where he's
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Paul saying Philippians 1 6 that he which has begun a good work in you He will perform it and to the day of Jesus Christ to the day you see his face
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We're I like to think of it like this there's no half measures with God he doesn't do a half measure our state
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Will one day be as perfect as our standing and now glorious and think about that You're you're standing before.
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God is perfect right now because of justification that cannot change but one day one day your state your sanctification it will eventually come to a
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Fulfillment and we will stand before him and that is bearing fruit now.
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I need to hurry up Second point if God has lifted us in Justification Peace with him with God through our
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Lord Jesus Christ. The second point is oh How God has loved us and it's all this is the motive this is why
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God Has selected those from the foundation of the world to be his to believe
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To have those that are conformed to the image of Christ to justify them to sanctify them That they will one day stand before him and and He will be so I like what washer says, you know, we have a desire to see
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Jesus his desire to see us as far greater Because of his great love to us
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It's staggering And the love of God that guarantees our eternal security through his son
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Jesus Christ for God so loved the world That he gave his only begotten Son Christ loved the church and gave himself for Ephesians 525
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Galatians 2 20 I'm crucified with Christ Nevertheless, I live yet not
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I and the life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who what loved me and gave himself for me
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Paul made that personal we should do For me he for me.
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He died for me. He lives That's the gospel folks preach this to yourself every day
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He gave and he gave and he gave We could strip us to and he wants to strip us of ourself and our pride and our sin
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So that we will be more like more like Christ It comes through tribulation, too
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Well Much could be said here. Look at verse 6 for when we were still without strength in due time
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Christ died for the ungodly. I want you to think of that Here is the infinite love of God the infinite love of God always
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Infinite Jesus cries out for the first time from the cross to the ungodly
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To the ungodly that nailed him on the cross to crucify that crucified him
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That hated him The ungodly who's what does he say?
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He prays and he says father Forgive them for they do not know what they do
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Forgive them It is an incomparable love it's an infinite love
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It's incomparable verse 7 through 8 for scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet perhaps for a good man
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Someone would even dare to die but God There's there's the revelation folks, but God That that could be the
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Martin Lloyd -jones says that's the gospel in two words But God but God who is rich in mercy, but God Demonstrates he demonstrated it
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He proved it By Jesus dying on the cross God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners
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Christ died for us And that glorious He died for us
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Jesus says I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
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Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came into the world to save sinners first Timothy 115
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Sin by the way has ruined us through Adam's fall, but Christ has Lifted us.
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He's loved us. He's rescued us. He's redeemed us Through his precious blood
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You see this in Colossians chapter 1 For it pleased the father in verse 19 that in him all the fullness
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Should dwell and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him whether things on earth or things in heaven heaven made peace through the blood of his cross and And then he says in you and you
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Who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet? Now he has reconciled see
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Christ died for the ungodly and in the body of his flesh through death
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We're gonna have communion in a few minutes and that's part of it His body was broken and the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and blameless and above Reproach in his sight think of that you're standing before God is perfect if indeed notice what he says then the
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Sanctification if indeed you continue in verse 23 in the faith grounded and steadfast
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Are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard which was preached to every creature under heaven of which
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I Paul Became a minister must continue in it obedience to the faith well
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Next we see the provision of God's love the provision Look at verse 9 to 10
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Much more. He says this many times by the way much more much more much more Then having now been justified by his blood.
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We shall be saved from the wrath through him for if we were if we when we were
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Enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by his life and Not only that but we also rejoice in God through our
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Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received the reconciliation Notice that how many times he speaks about reconciliation we were both justified and Reconciled I want you to listen to this
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W. E. Vines as I was searching this this wonderful meaning out of reconciliation
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Says this not once Not once in the Bible is God said to be reconciled the enmity is alone on Our part it was we who needed to be reconciled to God Not the other way around Do you see the grace?
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The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In other words. God was not obligated to reconcile us to himself
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He did it because of pure love Not of anything that you do or I do he does it because he is love
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That's his nature He goes on to say this it was we who needed to be reconciled to God not
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God to us and it is Propitiation atonement, which his righteousness and mercy have provided that makes reconciliation possible
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To those who receive it we're saved from the wrath to come that's what he saves us
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It's like as if God saves us from God He saves us from himself by Christ by his mercy and his love and his truth and he saves us from his wrath
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Hallelujah, what a Savior Christ gave his life for us
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Christ gave his life to us Christ gave his life and He gave and he gave so that we may be saved from the wrath to come now the products of God's love is given and It's given in verse 11 and Now and not only that we also but we also rejoice in God through our
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Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have received the reconciliation the word atonement here is
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Reconciliation in verse 10 as in verse 10.
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I think of the prodigal and Luke 15 the return from the far country that was reconciled
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He was restored he exulted in his father's great love and really that's the point that Jesus is making in that powerful those really three parables the lost
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Sheep the lost coin the lost son But what
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Jesus is saying is the father is so loving He's so loving and that's something the
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Pharisees could not get they looked at God as this this Oh, he's honorable.
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He's holy. And yes, he is. Holy Yes, he is to be honored, but they did not understand the love of God and as we go back to Chapter 5 if you remember that one particular verse
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Jesus told the Pharisees and the religious people there He says I know you you do not have the love of God in your hearts.
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You do not have the love of God They did not they had a twisted view of God God was this righteous honorable dictator and judge and that he is righteous.
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He is holy. They got that they understood that from the law and Actually, they they did everything they could to give honor to God But they missed who
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God was in his great love and when think of it He just threw a tailspin and threw a curveball on him completely when he told him the parable of the lost son that God would receive a sinner like this and All that he did against his father
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The father he basically said I wish you were dead and he gives the inheritance and he goes to a wayward country
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He's a prodigal he's wasteful he spends everything he has he goes with prostitutes and then as things happen and Providence he loses all of it and then that's a you know, he's eating with the swine, which is the worst place to a
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Jewish mind He could be to Waller and with pigs eating with pigs
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Then he comes to himself and he repents and he goes back to his father and he rehearses basically what he's gonna say to his father and Folks, you see the father just running as he sees his son coming
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He embraces him and he kisses him a kisses and kisses him. Oh how great the love of God is toward the ungodly
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How much more should we exalt our God and our Heavenly Father Let me give a quick application is before we go into communion turn with me to Ephesians chapter 3 and this actually is a good application because The Apostle Paul prays a prayer here
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That's absolutely staggering This is what we need to see when it comes
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To the love of God in Christ Jesus and and he prays this for the believers
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That they would get this how how can how can we get it? How can we apply this and he has an appreciation of the menace the mystery here
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He says this in verse 14 of chapter 3 For this reason
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I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ and from whom the whole family and heaven and earth is named and That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened
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He did you see he wants us to be strengthened with might
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Through his spirit. See it's not by our strength. It's God's Spirit Through his spirit in the inner man
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That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love and Listen to this may be able to comprehend
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With all the Saints What is the width and the length and the depth and the height?
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To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge
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Basically, what he's saying is comprehend the incomprehensible That you may be filled with all the fullness of God all because of the love of Christ to comprehend that one thing as A believer in Jesus Christ to meditate on that and that's why we should preach the gospel to our sister
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It's all because Christ loved us Christ loved us with an everlasting love an
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Everlasting love Jesus Christ can save to the uttermost if you do not know this love of God today
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It's to you It's to you And Paul prays for the believers here that you may know it
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That you may comprehend it the width the length of depth the height the great love
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God to know the love of Christ Which passes knowledge that you may be filled With the fullness of God what a prayer what a prayer
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May this be ours as well. Let's pray Father we thank you so much for your word.
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We thank you for the glories. That's in Jesus Christ We father all that is in Christ and dwells all the fullness and the
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Apostle prays By your spirit That our hearts through faith in which we're justified by faith alone through faith that we personally
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Be rooted and grounded in the love of God and even to comprehend it
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The width and the length and the depth and the height of it To Know Christ is loved to us to dwell on that great love that loved us with an everlasting love that took
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Jesus and was determined beforehand to go all the way to a
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Crucifixion a criminal's cross to bleed and died because of our rebellion because of our sin because of our waywardness because of Lord our our rebellion and You loved us
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While we were yet without strength Christ died for the ungodly Praise your holy name bless this time now father of This communion and we praise you we bless you
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May you be honored. May you be glorified in and through all of it and we ask this in Jesus name