The Lie of Final Justification (Part 2)

Welcome to No Compromised Radio Ministry. Mr. Stuffy Nose continues. That's just the way life goes. Hopefully after some leukemia treatments, my nose will get better. My arms will get better. My bones hurt.

Maybe they'll get better. Welcome to Duplex Gratia Radio, aka No Compromised Radio. I do have something in my hot little hand that I normally don't drink. You know how people say on shows what they eat, what they drink?

Well, I'm drinking something on the show that I have not drank, have drunk, drink, drank, drunk in 15 years. Now, I think I had it 10 years ago, but I've never had it on air. So I'm having an Earl Grey tea.

I don't know yet why. I don't know. That's a good question. I think Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek. See, I didn't say Star Trek. I'm gonna, I'm going to say Star Trek. I don't have any milk or milk in my tea, Earl Grey tea.

I don't know why I picked it. There's a little Keurig over there in the kitchen here at the church. I thought I'd give it a shot. What can I tell you? Oh, I don't know. I'd tell your millionaire friends about Patreon.

What else? Go read Jerry Bridges, Horatius Bonar, John Calvin. I have a new Michael Beck book. I don't even know what it's called. Covenant Lord and Consequential Treaties, Klein-Klein-Kleinian hyphens.

Michael, I'm sorry. I forgot your book name. I'm excited to read that. What else am I excited to read? I have a Kit Carson book. I'd like to learn a little bit more about Kit Carson. And if I have to sit in the hospital for infusions all day, I don't know what I'm gonna read.

I'm going to read probably something fun, some biography. I did get chirped the other day. The little podcasting books that are read and you can get it for 199 a book, 299 a book. They have deals. And sometimes I read my chirp.

I just got the story of Christianity by Gonzales, two parts. That was cheap. I thought I'd re-listen to that. Anyway, that's my life. Preaching through Luke. What else am I doing in my life? Grandson, Amos turned one year old.

Son's married in seminary, West Cal Escondido. He tells me how great the Clark classes are and the Horton classes are and Troxel classes. What else? I don't know. Are you signed up for the Shepherds Conference?

I heard it was $449 for overflow. I don't know who, I guess people pay. I guess your church pays. I guess if you want the fellowship, you could pay. Otherwise, I think I'm just, if I'm gonna be in town visiting family, I'm just gonna show up without a name tag.

And I figured if I paid for 30 of them, I should just be able to walk in, right? What are they gonna do? Kick me out? Maybe. A is for antinomian, Abendroth the antinomian. Sorry, Abendroth is the, Abendroth is A for anti, neonomian.

That's what that's for. All right. Heard this week that one of the speakers that you probably know, it's not talking about the Shepherds Conference because this person I don't think is at the Shepherds Conference.

Their rider is for $20 ,000 to come speak. First class airfare, et cetera. I think that was just some big deal on Twitter or something just a while ago about first class airfare and pastors. If you demand first class airfare because you have scoliosis or you have phlebitis or you, there's a health thing, a real health thing, fine.

Then the church doesn't wanna pay for your first class, then you don't go, right? You don't wanna risk your health. I think that's legit. I think it's legit if you don't put it in your rider and they, the church comp you and they say, well, we'd like to do that.

We have a special jet that we wanna come and pick you up with. I heard about jets, private jets, flying evangelical celebrities around. So if you wanna do that, that's fine. If you get a free upgrade, right?

Or points or let's say the church that I go to says, we'll pay for you to fly coach. And I say, okay, it's $500 round trip. I'll pay another 500 of my own to go first class. That's obviously legit, but to demand it.

And then some of these guys, I think this particular guy as well, he demands someone to go with him like a personal assistant or a spouse or whatever, a child. In my day, and of course I'm not one of these big shots, nor do I wanna be if I have to have riders.

In my day, I'd bring my children along and or a wife and I would, this is crass, I know, but I'd burn the honorarium. So if the church would give you $1 ,500, $2 ,000, 500, whatever they gave you, I would use that to bring my child.

And I took, and I don't know why it happened to be at 12 years old, but I took Haley to India at 12. I took Luke to Germany at 12. I took Maddie to Israel at 12. And I took Gracie to Thessaloniki and Athens.

And I took her to Greece when she was 12. Now they've gone other places as well, but you just, sometimes people say, well, we'd love to fly your wife. Actually, that's a kind thing to do. I'm not talking about me now.

So just other people, if you're having a conference, you should probably say, oh, you know what? We'd love to fly your wife in so you can spend some time with your wife. And we'd like to get to know her too.

Maybe she could speak at a lady's little breakfast or tea or something like that, pay for a flight. All that to say, no riders. I have no riders on No Compromise Radio. The only thing I've been saying lately is I'd like to be back on Saturday night so I can preach on Sunday here at the Lord's Day.

We'll see how that works. We'll see if we make it to Tennessee or not. We'll see how much I fly, everything else. I don't know if they're going to tell me I shouldn't be around crowds or fly. I know my immune system is already fighting itself.

My whites are high. And then if your immune system is further suppressed because of the medicine, then are you around people a lot? I mean, do I just walk in and preach and then slip out and not hang out with the people here at BBC?

I have no idea, first time. First time I've had leukemia. Second time I've heard the words you have cancer. And without being flippant, because I'm really not, but it's easier the second time they tell you than the first.

The first time they tell you is rocking the world. And the second time, while not fun, while still I'll remember where I was and who was with me, it's not quite as hard. So anyway, here we go. Buckle up.

Luke's Gospel and Certainty About the Right Jesus

In the providence of God, the Lord has Luke, the physician, skilled, detailed, articulate, historical, empirical, investigative. He has Luke put together the gospel of Jesus according to Luke so that you might have certainty of the things that you believe.

It was written to Theophilus. God lover is his name, God liker. And if you're a God lover, because he's loved you first, it applies to you as well, preachers would say. He, Luke, sorry, I'm hitting this thing here, making these sounds.

Then there has to be better sounds than this, right? Aren't there any better sounds on this board here? I was a kid when this came out. My kids know about it because they watched some stupid show. I can't stop this feeling

I am Groot. Who's that, B .J. Thomas? That's what it sounds like. Who did raindrops keep falling on my head? Maybe that was B .J. Thomas too, and I'm wrong on Blue Suede. No, that was Blue Suede that sang that.

One of the things that Luke wants you to do, he wants you to say, I have certainty because I'm believing in the right Jesus. And so the Holy Spirit brings along Simeon and Anna to testify, more than one witness, that in fact, this baby Jesus is the right Jesus, right?

We've already talked about the shepherds and born in a manger and everything else. And here we have Simeon and Anna show up in Luke 2. And what I'm gonna talk about today on the show, I'm not gonna give you a verse-by-verse exposition.

You can listen to my sermon that I'll preach this Sunday and it'll play some other time here on NOCO Radio. And again, sometimes I'm still thinking, do I change the name and do I change the format? If I'm sick and can't do much of this, it's gonna go back to, it'll go to one show live a week maybe, or I could just keep playing reruns.

Problems with reruns? Most of the stuff I think is probably okay if it was not more than 10 years old. Oh, some of these shows, on the Friday shows, sometimes I think, oh brother, what was I thinking?

Stinking thinking. Like Luke, when I was gonna give him a correction and I said, Luke, what were you thinking, before you did that sinful thing? He just looked at me and said, daddy, I wasn't thinking.

Okay, you can go. You're honest, I wasn't thinking. Isn't that the point where a bunch of non-thinking evangelicals feeling our way subjectively when we're not on our iPhones? I'm gonna check my mail here.

I haven't checked my mail here for quite some time. My text, my iMessenger, my Signal, my WhatsApp. People wanna talk to me. I have to make sure I'm on top of these things. Anyway, there are six names of Jesus in this section here with Simeon and Anna, and that's gonna be my little outline today for our show.

Let's talk about Jesus. Actually, there's a radio show by kind of a kooky guy. Some things he says are right, but the majority of them are pretty kooky. And I think it shows something entitled something like, let's talk about Jesus.

You know what? I wish more pastors, that'd be a theme for them on Sundays. Let's talk about Jesus. That's not too bad. Six titles about Jesus that make you think I'm worshiping the right Jesus. So there you go.

There's my plural noun proposition. Plural, six, noun, names, proposition. If you listen to this, you'll be resting more confidently that you believe in the right Messiah. Look at that, six plural noun proposition.

Come on. Heno. Remember, heno does not mean H-E-L-L, no. It means heno, like answer the phone. Hello, grandma. Nono would answer the phone, heno. Grandma, you just said heno. No, I didn't. I'll call you right back.

Heno. And so now if something is theological quirky or theologically quirky or weird, I just go hello, except it's radio. We have to have little tricks of the trade. So instead of hello, it's heno, heno.

Sometimes I'm on Twitter, I'll like search heno. There's a German singer on the cover of the album. He's got a weird hairdo, H-E-I-N-O, hino. And he's got some poodles. Somebody interposed my face on Hino's face.

The Consolation of Israel and the Lord's Christ

Simeon, verse 25 of chapter two, is waiting for the consolation of Israel. I don't know if you think much about that name, the consolation of Israel, the paraklesis, similar to parakleo, comfort, that God is going to come and rescue his people and give them comfort.

That's what Jesus is called. That's pretty much right out of the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Isaiah 49, the Lord has comforted his people. Isaiah 51, he comforts all her waste places.

Isaiah 57, I will lead him and restore comfort to him. Isaiah 61, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance to our God, to comfort all who mourn. And of course, Jesus comes and brings the ultimate comfort, that is forgiveness of sins, not necessarily from Roman oppression, although that will be gone in due time, but the spirit of God comes upon Simeon and he sees Jesus and he notices Jesus is the comfort or consolation of Israel.

And when we sin, of course, that's the ultimate thing we need is comfort that our sins have been dealt with, paid for, and we're still a child of God. I like it that it says in Luke 2 26, the spirit of God revealed to Simeon that he wouldn't see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So you're not gonna die until you see the Messiah. And I don't think he started jumping off ledges into the water around the Sea of Galilee, climbing up precipices in Precipice in En Gedi, jumping off the side of Masada.

I don't think he did. That's not how it works because he was a righteous and devout man. And we don't presume on the Lord's promises, but you think, well, I could probably take a few more chances, not too many risks, but a few more because I'm gonna make it until I see the Lord's Christ.

And this revelation had been given to him. Of course, we see revelation given to the shepherds. We see here, given to Simeon, and he's going to see him. He must've been waiting, hanging out at the temple every day, wondering, waiting, who's this person going to be?

Adult, teenager? Would he ever think? A baby? I don't know if I would. Mike, you're going to live to see the second coming. See, that doesn't really work, but let's say I'm living on earth this time. Mike, you're going to see the Messiah before you die.

I mean, isn't that what the text says? Been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Doesn't say child, but the Lord's Christ, the Messiah of the Lord.

You're not gonna die until you see the Messiah. So what are you looking for? Halos? Glowing? Neon? Lasers? I guess I'll know, I guess I'll know when I know, right? And he came into the spirit, he came in the spirit, into the temple, probably the precincts of the temple, not in the Holy of Holies, but you can say temple and it can be in the court of the Gentiles, court of the ladies, probably the court of the ladies.

And when the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God. Now the shepherds know, it's going to be the Messiah by finding a baby in a manger.

That's kind of an odd thing. And so there's a sign given to them. Here we have no sign from Simeon. What do you see? Well, you see a man, I don't know if you could tell he's a carpenter or not, Joseph, you see a young lady, you don't know their names and you see a baby.

And again, no halo over Jesus' head, filled by the spirit of God, so he knows. And he takes that little baby in his hand. Now God's got Simeon's life in his hand. And now the God of the universe is in Simeon's hands, the God-man in the spirit.

That's the revelation talk, by the way, the book of Revelation, spirit directs Simeon, guides him, and he finds the right child. And you think God's not sovereign? You think God's not perfectly orchestrating all this?

It's good to ask this question with Spurgeon. Did anybody who was not led by the spirit find Christ? I like that question. Took him up his arms and he blessed God and said, this is one of those blessings to speak well of God, right, like David blessed the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

And he's glad that he can depart. Verse 29, let your servant depart in peace, according to your word. You told me I would live until I see the Messiah. Now I've seen the Messiah. And so I can depart in peace.

Tradition says Simeon is 113 years old. Nothing in the Bible says that. I think he's older. And he says Lord or despot, which is a word that isn't used very often in the New Testament of God. And he sees the Messiah.

I mean, it's been a long time since God has spoken. 400 years. Then we start having things like the angels show up, Gabriel, and he talks to some people and the shepherds. And he now, Simeon says, I can be released.

I can be given freedom. I can just leave this earth. This is language of discharging a person from their earthly post. I'm out here. I'm a guard. I'm a sentry. And now you can be relieved. Relieved of my watch.

And of course, with you and with me, I think about this more now with my health problems. That's what ministry is. That's what my life is. You preach, you just keep preaching until you're relieved of your watch.

I don't know when that would be. I thought it was going to be a lot later. Some Jews would say to dying people, go in peace, go in peace so he can die in peace now. Matthew, Henry, Simeon bids farewell to this world.

How poor does this world look to one who has Christ in his arms and salvation in his view? See here how comfortable is the death of a good man. He departs in peace, peace with his own conscience, in peace with death.

That those that have welcomed Christ may welcome death. It's all according God to your word. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Not only consolation of Israel, but number two, salvation. Luke 2 .30, my eyes have seen your salvation.

This is the blessing continued. Best way to translate this is pertaining to salvation. Everything God has planned according to salvation. The sovereign plan of salvation. Everything pertaining to salvation, not used very often.

Used in Acts 28, therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. The deliverer, the one who grants deliverance. Salvation incarnate, the Lord Jesus.

The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. And of course, Simeon sees it and we see it through the pages of scripture and that salvation is a person.

Remember, salvation isn't what you do. Self-salvation, auto-salvation, self-salvation. It's something that God does to you. And here he sees the salvation, which is no other way to be saved, except this is the salvation.

And of course, this has been prepared in the presence of all peoples. God, you have prepared this. You have ordained it. It's before the foundation of the world. Man didn't come up with it. God had to come up with it.

Religion, I try to get to God. God comes down, of course, via the son, right? The father sends the son. I can't say the father comes to earth and becomes incarnate. That's an error. But I could say God comes incarnate, right?

Because I'm talking about God, the son there. God, the eternal son. This language of prepare is, there's a plan. There's a determination. There's a design. God's the one that designs salvation. And he will be in the presence of the peoples, all the peoples.

It'll be before the eyes of all. There's another name, light. Okay. It's going to be number three, light. Number four is glory. One's for the Gentiles, light. One's for Israel, glory. Let's do the light one first.

The Light for the Gentiles

Number three, light. Verse 32, a light for revelation to the Gentiles. So they're in darkness, spiritually depraved. Certainly Jews are as well. But they're even worse off as Gentiles because they don't have the oracles.

They don't have the promises. They don't have the temple. They don't have the special things that God gave Israel. And this is all language of Isaiah, the prophet. We'll see a great light. The people who walk in darkness, those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

That's Isaiah nine, Isaiah 60, arise, shine for your light has come. And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness, the peoples, but the Lord will rise upon you and his glory will appear upon you.

Nations will come to your light and the kings to the brightness of your rising. And at one sense, Worsby's right. This is like a missionary hymn. And Jesus is the one who's called the light. Think of any verses about that.

Yes, you can think a lot of verses about that. Jesus says that he is the light of the world and whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. What does light do? Well, you can see it's guidance.

It's exposes sin and evil. It takes over the darkness. It brings comfort and enjoyment. Here, Jesus says, I'm the light, right? The light goes on and you see that Jesus is the light. And of course, Jesus there in John chapter eight, John chapter seven is talking about the feast of tabernacles and what was going on during the feast of tabernacles and the big menorah that's lit up.

And certainly the lighting of the huge menorah lights up everything. And eventually after the feast, the menorah goes out and Jesus's light remains. John one, four in him was life. And the life was the light of men.

Gentiles need light. Israel needs glory and a glory to your people. Glory to your people, Israel. I mean, God is light. He dwells in an approachable light. He cloaks himself in light. His presence is light.

And here we have the glory of God, right? You have the glory of God. That's in the, in the temple, the Shekinah glory. You have the glory that's in the midst of the city and stood over the mountain. And as he killed chapter 11, you have John one 14.

I'm going to talk about Jesus is the glory and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory. Glory is the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. And of course the parents are marveling and wondering and thinking about this.

They are amazed. And now I'm out of time. I got two more to go. I've got, I've got sign slash divider and I've got redemption. Well, we're going to have to talk about that next time. I guess that's just the way things go in NoCo land, right?

You got, we got one more minute than you normally got when the old shows were 24 and a half minutes of talk. I'm already at 2540. Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. Today, like in many of our shows, we say this is about the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon, Christ for power.

Mike Abendroth, NoCo Radio.