Bless the Blesser: An Overview of Ephesians 1:1-14

There are many reasons for the believer to bless God with spontaneous praise. Ephesians 1:1-14 gives us some of those reasons. Below is a block diagram of the passage. May you be truly encouraged and blessed as you consider the blessings of the ultimate Blesser!

Steven




Bless the Blesser An Overview of
by Steven Long
A Biblearc published page

The Cup of Wrath: A Sermon

This is a sermon I preached at Capital City Rescue Mission on July 19, 2014.

 

Matthew 26:36-46 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

The point of this passage is the anguish, terror and suffering of of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Listen to His words spoken to His disciples in verse 38.

Verse 38 "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death."

The KJV says, "exceeding sorrowful." the word "sorrowful" in the Greek carries the idea of being "overcome with sorrow so much as to cause one's death." And this is exactly what Christ says in verse 38.

Why is He overcome with sorrow? Why is He suffering such extreme terror and anguish? The answer is found in the very next verse.

Verse 39, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me..."

What is the "cup" referring to? It refers to the cup of God's wrath.

The word "cup" that Christ uses often signifies the wrath of God in the Bible. For instance Isa 51:17; Job 21:20; Ps 11:6; Ps 75:8; Jer 25:15

Christ was about to suffer the wrath of God for sinners. He was about to drink the "cup" of God's wrath intended for you and me?

Think about it for a moment. This holy and righteous man. God in the flesh, who was from eternity in sweet fellowship and communion with His Father, One who had never sinned, nor had ever experienced any guilt over sin whatsoever was about to experience the full weight of His Father's wrath for sins that were not His own. And not just a a few sins, but the sins of the whole world!

This terrified Him. Why? Wayne Grudem in His book Systematic Theology

Now Jesus was perfectly holy. He hated sin with his entire being. The thought of evil, of sin, contradicted everything in his character. Far more than we do, Jesus instinctively rebelled against evil. Yet in obedience to the Father, and out of love for us, Jesus took on himself all the sins of those who would someday be saved. Taking on himself all the evil against which his soul rebelled created deep revulsion in the center of his being.

Having to take upon Himself our sins brought Christ overwhelming sorrow.

Think about the many times your own soul was overcome with sorrow from your own sins. Think about all the times you felt the weight of your own guilt and shame over the sins you committed. How horrible you felt. All of us with a conscience have experienced this.

Now imagine Christ, the holy One, Creator of the Universe, second Person of the Trinity, the God Man, perfect in righteousness and purity, about to take upon Himself the disgusting, putrid, rebellion and sin of the world "in his body on a tree," 1Peter 2:24, 2Cor 5:21

But not only did Christ suffer overwhelming sorrow over bearing our sins in His sinless body, He also trembled in anguish over bearing the full weight of the wrath of Almighty God. Listen again to Wayne Grudem:

As Jesus bore the guilt of our sins alone, God the Father, the mighty Creator, the Lord of the universe, poured out on Jesus the fury of his wrath: Jesus became the object of the intense hatred of sin and vengeance against sin which God had patiently stored up since the beginning of the world....at the cross the fury of all that stored-up wrath against sin was unleashed against God's own Son.

God's wrath against sin is so terrible that it brought Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, to such anguish that His sweat was like great drops of blood, Luke 22:44. If the wrath of God terrified Christ for sins that were not His own, imagine the terror that sinners will face as they suffer the full wrath of God for their own sins.

Now, I want to apply this passage to three potential groups of people:

1. To those whom the Holy Spirit has awakened. You know that you are a sinner, and that you deserve the wrath of God. The judgement of God makes you tremble and quake with fear. You may even be questioning whether or not God will forgive you because your sins are too great. I want to encourage you not to be afraid to come to Christ. The reason that you feel the terror and guilt of sin is because God has awakened you, and if He has awakened you He will definitely save you. The arms of Christ are wide open. He has already drank the cup of wrath for your sins. He has already had the punishment of God poured out on Him for your sins. He was your substitute on the cross. Since He has already suffered for your sins, it is impossible for Him to turn you away.

Listen to His comforting words in John 6:37. He promises that He will never drive away anyone who comes to Him. God requires two things from us. First, that we obey His Law perfectly, without flaw. And second, that their be punishment for every sinner who breaks His Law at any point. This is bad news because all of us have failed to keep His Law, and are deserving of punishment. But there is good news! Because the very God who demands we keep His Law has done for us what He requires from us. He sent His Son to keep His Law for us. And then to go to the cross and suffer the punishment for every time we broke His Law! Again, it is impossible for Him to turn you away, because He has already drank the cup of wrath for you. The Father will gladly receive you, because His anger has already been poured out on His precious Son. Now by faith and faith alone you may receive this precious gift of forgiveness free of charge because Christ has paid the full cost required for your forgiveness!

2. The Second group I would like to speak to are Christians who are struggling with sin. Every Christian struggles with sin, and any one who claims to be a Christian and says that they don't struggle probably is not a Christian, 1John 1:8. Christians can find great comfort and encouragement in this passage because Christ drank the cup of wrath. We never have to fear that because we struggle with a particular sin, or sins that God will put us on a shelf, or even abandon us. Satan however, often whispers in our ears saying, "Now look what you've done. You have gone too far now. God is angry with you beyond measure. He will never forgive you for this sin. He has given you chance after chance and you've blown it again! Don't even bother going to Him for forgiveness. You are ruined. You might as well just quit." Now it is true. When a Believer sins he or she does bring displeasure to the Father. But that should never discourage us from coming to Him forgiveness and mercy. Remember, He is no longer our great Judge, but our loving Father. His discipline in our lives is for our good. Hebrews 12:5. God will not put His children on a shelf, or abandon them. He will not waste the precious blood of His Son. Christ drank the cup of wrath for all the sins of God's people. We have the promise of Philippians 1:6. We also have the assurance of our election: Ep. 1:4. Those whom the Father elected, or chose before the foundation of the world He will not ever abandon. We have these preciouse promises that speak of our election and are meant to bring us great encouragement and comfort; Ro. 8:28-29; 2Th 2:13. Election is meant to give us great encouragement by showing us that,

1. Our salvation is not dependent upon us.

2. God will never abandon His elect children that He forknew before the creation of the world.

3. The third group that I want to speak to are those here tonight who could care a less about what I am saying up here. Christ means nothing to you, and sin is a small matter to you. You love your sin, and you hate your Creator. You may have had some seemingly godly desires in the past, but those desires have been for your own personal gain. God's wrath doesn't scare you, and there is no fear of God before your eyes. This should terrify you because it means that God hasn't awakened you to your sin. Jesus trembled over bearing the wrath of God for the sins of the world. The Holy, Righteous One, the Creator of the world trembled over the wrath of God for sins that were not His own; How much more should we tremble for the sins that we have committed. Pray that God will awaken your hearts tonight so that you will be saved. Pray that God would show you your sinful state and would grant you repentance, because repentance is a gift from Him; 2Tim 2:25; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18.

So again, tonight, you whom the Spirit has awakened, believe that Christ died in your place, repent of your sins and be saved!

And you who are saved, but are struggling with sin, remember, the loving arms of the Father are waiting for you, no matter how many times you have blown it! He will forgive you because Christ has already suffered for your sins. Don't be afraid to return to Him

And finally, you who are mocking this message in your heart, you have no guarantee that you will not meet your Maker tonight. "What is your life? It is but a vapor that appears for a moment and then vanishes away." I assure you, if you die tonight having rejected the only way of salvation you will stand in judgment before God for your sins, and be cast into hell until that final day when you will be thrown in the lake of fire. Repent, and turn to Christ that you may be saved! Amen.

 

 

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4 Things To Do When You've Blown It

How many times have you seen the bumper sticker that says "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven?" I understand what the first part of that phrase "Christians aren't perfect" is trying to say, but the second part, "just forgiven" really bothers me. "Just forgiven?" As if forgiveness is thrown in as an, "Oh, and by the way." Forgiveness is a big deal, not an afterthought. It’s how the believer stands before God. Our sins have been taken away through the death of Christ. We stand perfectly righteous before God because we have been given the righteousness of Christ. That being said, we aren't perfect. We do blow it. We sin everyday, multiple times a day. This can bring guilt, shame and doubt into our lives and can often times cause us to despair. So what should we do when we've blown it? Here are four things.

 

1. Confess

 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Once we have been born again God is no longer our Judge but our Father. So John is speaking of parental forgiveness not judicial forgiveness. Judgement for all our sins is past tense. It has already taken place at the cross. Through faith we have been adopted into the family as sons and daughters of God. Now when we sin we go to God our Father and ask for forgiveness, not because if we don't we will be judged by Him, but because sin hinders our fellowship with Him.

 

2. Repent

 

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Holding on to sin brings chastening. After David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and then murdering her husband Uriah to cover it up (2Samuel 11-12) he describes how the heavy chastening hand of God was upon him sapping his strength:

Psalms 32:3-4 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted awaythrough my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.Selah

But after he confessed and repented of his sin he found forgiveness (yes, even for adultery and murder) and the joy of his salvation returned:

Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

3. Remember

I believe this is the most crucial point. Because we are fallen creatures we tend to go back to our default mode of trying to make up for our mistakes. Guess what? We can't. One sin is enough to condemn us to eternal judgement in hell. This is why remembering is so important. Christ was our Worker. He did all of the work that God requires of us. We need perfection in order to be saved and Christ was perfect for us. There must be a penalty for every sin we commit and Christ paid the penalty, absorbing the wrath of God for every time we've sinned. All of our sins have been dealt with at the cross our past, present, and future sins have been punished.

4. Preach

In his book The Gospel for Every Day Life Jerry Bridges speaks of the importance of preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day. He reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus is not just good news for the unbeliever, but for the believer as well. Because we blow it every day the Gospel must be preached everyday, to ourselves. This is why it is so important to know the Gospel. Start by reading the epistle of Romans. It's only 16 chapters so it can be read straight through in a about an hot and a half. Make it your goal to read Romans every day, even if it's only 3 or 4 chapters a day. Know the Gospel and know it well. This way you will have the content to preach to yourself.

In this video John Piper speaks of the importance of preChing the Gospel to yourself:

 

 

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Nothing Left To Pay

Christ was our Worker. The two things that God demands from us, perfect obedience, and punishment for disobedience has been accomplished by God Himself. The infinitely valuable, infinitely holy, infinitely loved Son of God was sent by the Father to work on our behalf! Now, since the Creator of the Universe, the Second Person of the Triune God did the work that was required from us how much work is left for us to do? Our sins have been swallowed up by the Creator Himself. Christ drank the cup of God’s wrath down to it’s very dregs. There is nothing more for us to do but rest in the promise that Christ has paid the full penalty for our sins and failures.

Here is a portion of a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon on April 5, 1857. You can find the full sermon here. I hope that it is an encouragement and helps you to worship our Savior this Sunday morning.

 

Now, concerning this ransom, we have to observe, that it was all paid, and all paid at once. When Christ redeemed his people, he did it thoroughly; he did not leave a single debt unpaid, nor yet one farthing for them to settle afterwards. God demanded of Christ the payment for the sins of all his people; Christ stood forward, and to the utmost farthing paid whate'er his people owed. The sacrifice of Calvary was not a part payment; it was not a partial exoneration, it was a complete and perfect payment, and it obtained a complete and perfect remittal of all the debts of all believers that have lived, do live, or shall live, to the very end of time. On that day when Christ hung on the cross, he did not leave a single farthing for us to pay as a satisfaction to God; he did not leave, from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, that he had not satisfied. The whole of the demands of the law were paid down there and then by Jehovah Jesus, the great high priest of all his people. And blessed be his name, he paid it all at once too. So priceless was the ransom, so princely and munificent was the price demanded for our souls, one might have thought it would have been marvellous if Christ had paid it by instalments; some of it now, and some of it then. King's ransoms have sometimes been paid part at once, and part in dues afterwards, to run through years. But not so our Saviour: once for all he gave himself a sacrifice; at once he counted down the price, and said, "It is finished," leaving nothing for him to do, nor for us to accomplish. He did not drivel out a part-payment, and then declare that he would come again to die, or that he would again suffer, or that he would again obey; but down upon the nail, to the utmost farthing, the ransom of all people was paid, and a full receipt given to them, and Christ nailed that receipt to his cross, and said, "It is done, it is done; I have taken away the handwriting of ordinances, I have nailed it to the cross; who is he that shall condemn my people, or lay anything to their charge? for I have blotted out like a cloud their transgressions, and like a thick cloud their sins!"

 

 

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A Sinners Prayer

This is a portion from a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon on November 8, 1857. The Sermon was entitled A Call to the Unconverted. At the end of the sermon is a beautiful prayer. You can find the entire sermon here.

Men and brethren, Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was crucified, dead, and buried; he is now risen, and he sitteth on the right hand of God, where he also maketh intercession for us. He came into this world to save sinners, by his death. He saw that poor sinners were cursed: he took the curse on his own shoulders, and he delivered us from it. Now, if God has cursed Christ for any man, he will not curse that man again. You ask me, then, "Was Christ cursed for me?" Answer me this question, and I will tell you—Has God the Spirit taught you that you are accursed? Has he made you feel the bitterness of sin? Has he made you cry, "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner?" Then, my dear friend, Christ was cursed for you; and you are not cursed. You are not cursed now. Christ was cursed for you. Be of good cheer; if Christ was cursed for you, you can not be cursed again. "Oh!" says one, "if I could but think he was cursed for me." Do you see him bleeding on the tree? Do you see his hands and feet all dripping gore? Look unto him, poor sinner. Look no longer at thyself, nor at thy sin; look unto him, and be saved. All he asks thee to do is to look, and even that he will help thee to do. Come to him, trust him, believe on him. God the Holy Spirit has taught you that you are a condemned sinner. Now, I beseech you, hear this word and believe it: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." Oh, can you say, "I believe this Word—it is true—blessed be his dear name; it is true to me, for whatever I may not be, I know that I am a sinner; the sermon of this night convinces me of that, if there were nothing else; and, good Lord, thou knowest when I say I am a sinner, I do not mean what I used to mean by that word. I mean that I am a real sinner. I mean that if thou shouldest damn me, I deserve it; if thou shouldest cast me from thy presence forever, it is only what I have merited richly. O my Lord I am a sinner; I am a hopeless sinner, unless thou savest me; I am a helpless sinner, unless thou dost deliver me. I have no hope in my self-righteousness; and Lord, I bless thy name, there is one thing else, I am a sorrowful sinner, for sin grieves me; I can not rest, I am troubled. Oh, if I could get rid of sin, I would be holy, even as God is holy. Lord, I believe. But I hear an objector cry out, "What, sir, believe that Christ died for me simply because I am a sinner!" Yes; even so. "No, sir; but if I had a little righteousness; if I could pray well, I should then think Christ died for me." No, that would not be faith at all, that would be self-confidence. Faith believes in Christ when it sees sin to be black, and trusts in him to remove it all. Now, poor sinner, with all thy sin about thee, take this promise in thy hands, go home to-night, or if thou canst, do it before thou gettest home—go home, I say, up stairs, alone, down by the bed-side, and pour out thine heart, "O Lord, it is all true that that man said; I am condemned, and Lord, I deserve it. O Lord, I have tried to be better, and have done nothing with it all, but have only grown worse. O Lord, I have slighted thy grace, I have despised thy gospel: I wonder thou hast not damned me years ago; Lord, I marvel at myself; that thou sufferest such a base wretch as I am to live at all. I have despised a mother's teaching, I have forgotten a father's prayers. Lord, I have forgotten thee; I have broken thy Sabbath, taken thy name in vain. I have done everything that is wrong; and if thou dost condemn me, what can I say? Lord, I am dumb before thy presence. I have nothing to plead. But Lord; I come to tell thee to-night, thou hast said in the Word of God, "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Lord, I come: my only plea is that thou hast said, 'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.' Lord, I am a sinner; he came to save me; I trust in it—sink or swim—Lord, this is my only hope: I cast away every other, and hate myself to think I ever should have had any other. Lord, I rely on Jesus only. Do but save me, and though I can not hope by my future life to blot out my past sin, O Lord, I will ask of thee to give me a new heart and a right spirit, that from this time forth even for ever I may run in the way of thy commandments: for, Lord, I desire nothing so much as to be thy child. Thou knowest, O Lord, I would give all, if thou wouldest but love me; and I am encouraged to think that thou dost love me; for my heart feels so. I am guilty, but I should never have known that I was guilty if thou hadst not taught it to me. I am vile, but I never should have known my vileness, unless thou hadst revealed it. Surely, thou wilt not destroy me, O God, after having taught me this. If thou dost, thou art just, but,

"Save a trembling sinner, Lord,

Whose hopes still hovering round thy Word,

Would light on some sweet promise there;

Some sure support against despair."

If you can not pray such a long prayer as that, I tell you what to go home and say. Say this, "Lord Jesus, I know I am nothing at all; be thou my precious all in all."

Oh, I trust in God there will be some to-night that will be able to pray like that, and if it be so, ring, the bells of heaven; sing, ye seraphim; shout, ye redeemed; for the Lord hath done it, and glory be unto his name, for ever and ever.

 

 

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A Post for the Outcast And The Heavy Laden

This is part of a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon on August 25, 1855 called Law and Grace. I love how it begins: "Listen O heavy laden..."

 

Listen, O heavy laden, condemned sinner, while in my Master's name, I publish superabounding grace. Grace excels sin in its measure and efficacy. Though your sins are many, mercy hath many pardons. Though they excel the stars, the sands, the drops of dew in their number, one act of remission can cancel all. Your iniquity, though a mountain, shall be cast into the midst of the sea. Your blackness shall be washed out by the cleansing flood of your Redeemer's gore. Mark! I said YOUR sins, and I meant to say so, for if you are now a law-condemned sinner, I know you to be a vessel of mercy by that very sign. Oh, hellish sinners, abandoned profligates, off-casts of society, outcasts from the company of sinners themselves, if ye acknowledge your iniquity, here is mercy, broad, ample, free, immense, INFINITE. Remember this O sinner,—

"If all the sins that men have done,

In will, in word, in thoughts, in deed,

Since words were made, or time began,

Were laid on one poor sinner's head.

The stream of Jesus' precious blood

Applied, removes the dreadful load."

Yet again, grace excelleth sin in another thing. Sin shows us its parent, and tells us our heart is the father of it, but grace surpasseth sin there, and shows the Author of grace—the King of kings. The law traces sin up to our heart; grace traces its own origin to God, and

"In his sacred breast I see

Eternal thoughts of love to me."

O Christian, what a blessed thing grace is, for its source is in the everlasting mountains. Sinner, if you are the vilest in the world, if God forgives you this morning, you will be able to trace your pedigree to him, for you will become one of the sons of God, and have him always for your Father. Methinks I see you a wretched criminal at the bar, and I hear mercy cry, "Discharge him!" He is pallid, halt, sick, maimed—heal him. He is of a vile race—lo, I will adopt him into my family. Sinner! God taketh thee for his son. What, though thou art poor, God says, "I will take thee to be mine for ever. Thou shalt be my heir. There is thy fair brother. In ties of blood he is one with thee—Jesus is thy actual brother!" Yet how came this change? Oh! is not that an act of mercy? "Grace did much more abound."

"Grace hath put me in the number

Of the Saviour's family."

Grace outdoes sin, for it lifts us higher than the place from which we fell.

And again, "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound"; because the sentence of the law may be reversed, but that of grace never can. I stand here and feel condemned, yet, perhaps, I have a hope that I may be acquitted. There is a dying hope of acquittal still left. But when we are justified, there is no fear of condemnation. I cannot be condemned if I am once justified; fully absolved I am by grace. I defy Satan to lay hands on me, if I am a justified man. The state of justification is an unvariable one, and is indissolubly united to glory. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Oh! poor condemned sinner, doth not this charm thee, and make thee in love with free grace? And all this is YOURS. Your crimes, if once blotted out, shall never be laid to your charge again. The justification of the gospel is no Arminian sham, which may be reversed if you should in future turn aside. No; the debt once paid, cannot be demanded twice—the punishment, once endured, cannot again be inflicted. Saved, saved, saved, entirely saved by divine grace, you may walk without fear the wide world over.

And yet, once more. Just as sin makes us sick, and grievous, and sad, so does grace make us far more joyful and free. Sin causeth one to go about with an aching heart, till he seems as if the world would swallow him, and mountains hang above ready to drop upon him. This is the effect of the law. The law makes us sad; the law makes us miserable. But, poor sinner, grace removeth the evil effects of sin upon your spirit, if thou dost believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, thou shalt go out of this place with a sparkling eye and a light heart. Ah! well do I remember the morning when I stepped into a little place of worship, as miserable almost as hell could make me—being ruined and lost. I had often been at chapels where they spoke of the law, but I heard not the gospel. I sat down the pew a chained and imprisoned sinner; the Word of God came, and I went out free. Though I went in miserable as hell, I went out elated and joyful. I sat there black; I went away whiter than driven snow. God had said, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow." Why not this be thy lot, my brother, if thou feelest thyself a sinner now? It is all he asks of thee, to feel thy need of him, this thou hast, and now the blood of Jesus lies before thee. "The law has entered that sin might abound." Thou are forgiven, only believe it; elect, only believe it; 'tis the truth that thou are saved.

And now, lastly, poor sinner, has sin made thee unfit for heaven? Grace shall render thee a fit companion for seraphs and the just made perfect. Thou who art to-day lost and destroyed by sin, shalt one day find thyself with a crown upon thy head, and a golden harp in thine hand, exalted to the throne of the Most High. Think, O drunkard, if thou repentest, there is a crown laid up for thee in heaven. Ye guiltiest, most lost and depraved, are ye condemned in your conscience by the law? Then I invite you, in my Master's name, to accept pardon through his blood. He suffered in your stead, he has atoned for your guilt and you are acquitted. Thou art an object of his eternal affection, the law is but a schoolmaster, to bring thee to Christ. Cast thyself on him. Fall into the arms of saving grace. No works are required, no fitness, no righteousness, no doings. Ye are complete in him who said, "It is finished."

"Ye debtors whom he gives to know

That you ten thousand talents owe,

When humble at his feet you fall,

Your gracious God forgives them all.

"Slaves, that have borne the heavy chain

Of sin, and hell's tyrannic reign,

To liberty assert your claim,

And urge the great Redeemer's name.

"The rich inheritance of heaven,

Your joy, your boast, is freely giv'n;

Fair Salem your arrival waits,

With golden streets, and pearly gates.

"Her blest inhabitants no more

Bondage and poverty deplore!

No debt, but love immensely great;

Their joy still rises with the debt."

 

 

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God Does Not Give Second Chances

"God is the God of second chances." How often do you hear that phrase from well meaning Pastors, teachers and friends. Its a nice little phrase, but it is totally false. God is not the God of Second chances.

No do overs

His Word makes it perfectly clear that we get one shot at His Law, and if we blow it we are damned. And the bad news is that everybody blows it. No one has kept His Law perfectly. We all sinned in Adam. Not only that, but we blow it every day, countless times a day. Not only do we sin willfully, but we commit sins that we don't even know are sins. So even if God were to give us a second, third, fourth or hundredth chance we would blow them all.

Only perfection will do

Not one iota of our effort will bring us into right standing before God. Only perfection will make us right before Him. Only a perfect obedience to His Law can remove the damnation that we incurred. And the only way that we can have perfect obedience is if it's given to us. The most wonderful news in all of history is that Christ won that obedience for us. Christ became the Second Adam. Where the first Adam failed as our representative by breaking one command. Jesus, the Second Adam succeeded as our Representative by keeping all of God's commands. Christ came as a substitute for sinners. He lived a perfect life in the place of sinners. He went to the cross and died so that sinners like us wont have to. He kept the Law for us and then went to the cross and paid the penalty for every time we broke His Law.

Christ's work becomes our work through faith

The debt has been paid. Now, by faith in his work, we get all that He did credited to our account for free! And thats Good News. That’s Gospel! So God doesn't give us a second chance. As Tullian Tchividjian puts it, "God is not the God of second chances. He’s the God of one chance and a Second Adam."

 

 

 

 

 

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Jesus Paid It All So I Owe Nothing

"If it's too good to be true, it probably is" is not true when it comes to the Gospel. The Gospel is absolutely free. There are no strings attached. There are no ifs, ands, or buts with the grace of God. The Gospel is good news to the hearer. It is a declaration that all has been taken care of. Your sin has been atoned for. There is nothing left to be done.

 

An old hymn

An old hymn we sometimes sing at church goes like this: Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Jesus did pay it all. He took the wrath of God for every sin I have ever or will ever commit. When He was on the cross God treated His Son as if He committed all of my sins. Christ absorbed "in His body on the tree" all of the wrath of God that I will ever deserve.

Tetelestia

When Christ cried out on the cross "it is finished" OUR DEBT WAS PAID IN FULL! If all is paid what then is left for us to pay? Nothing! But what about the second part, "all to Him I owe?" The song is speaking about our service to God after He has so gloriously saved us. For sure it is not speaking about a sort of works righteousness. However, because Christ accomplished the work that I do owe God, I owe nothing. To even try to pay God back for His indescribable gift is an offense to his grace. He will receive all of the glory for our salvation. Even our works predestined for us to do are done by His grace. I owe God nothing. The debt has been paid in full.

Payment vs. gift

Paul makes this clear when he contrasts receiving payment for work we do and receiving a gift.

Romans 4:4-5 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

When I receive my paycheck at the end of the week I don't thank and praise my boss for his generosity. I take what I've earned. I worked for it. It's mine. However, if someone pays off a major debt that I owe I am filled with gratitude because of their generosity towards me. We have had our sin debt, a debt that is infinite, paid off in full by the death of an infinitely valuable Person, the second Person of the Trinity. So to try and pay God back, even in the smallest way is a great offense! Jesus paid it all so I owe nothing.

 

 

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Excerpt from Redemption Dan Long 10/16/13

Excerpt From Redemption 

"When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died." 

 The cross of Christ is the only place where the Christian can find true assurance. Looking inward we only find guilt and shame. We must look outside of ourselves to something objective, something real, something of fact. The cross where Christ accomplished our redemption is objective, solid, and sure. When sin haunts us, when our failures come looking for us, when our past starts to mock us, looking inward will only drive us deeper into despair. But looking outside of ourselves to the objective cross, where Christ bought our redemption, will give us peace, rest, and assurance. Why? Because our redemption was accomplished 2000 years ago. Atonement has been made. It is past tense. The sins that we commit today, tomorrow, and next week have already been dealt with. They have already been punished. No wrath or anger remains for those for whom Christ died! It is a done deal. The Father is pleased to call us His own because His wrath was appeased (propitiated) by His Son at the cross.

Here is an excerpt from one of my favorite books on subject of the Atonement, Redemption Accomplished and Applied. In chapter two entitled The Nature of the Atonement, John Murray gives "specific categories by means of which the Scripture sets forth the nature of the atonement." Speaking of reconciliation he writes:

The reconciliation of which the Scripture speaks, as accomplished by the death of Christ contemplates therefore the relation of God to us. It presupposes a relation of alienation and it effects a relation of favor and peace."

Notice two things that the death of Christ has done:

First, it has accomplished reconciliation. I put the word "accomplished" in bold because as I was reading this section, that word seemed to jump off the page. Reconciliation is a guarantee for all those for whom Christ died. Reconciliation does not have to be made. It already has been made! The word "accomplished" implies that no more work needs to be done in order for us to be reconciled to the Father. Christ has accomplished this work on our behalf!

Second, the effects are "favor and peace." "Favor" implies that where we were once alienated from God, only deserving His wrath, now through the death of Christ we have His continual love, kindness and mercy toward us. And "peace," meaning that God is at peace with us. He is the One that procured peace for us.

Over the next few weeks I will try to post different excerpts from the book Redemption Accomplished and Applied. I hope that each of these small excerpts will be an encouragement to you. SDG!