Foundational Truth Part 4

Now thank you very much for coming tonight. We give everyone a very warm welcome and we're going to start in Romans chapter 3 tonight, the book of Romans and chapter 3. Now we're going to get a little bit into the weeds as they say, a little more doctrinal truth, but we'll have a little bit of gospel in here as well. What we're going to look at tonight, it was kind of hard today getting my mind to figure out just which way we're going to go, so we'll have to kind of go with it as it kind of develops in our mind, but I want to look at what really a summation of what we've been looking at for the last three nights.

We have been talking about the way that we're born into this world as sinners, we're in Adam, and then salvation brings us into Christ, and then there's the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and a person who is, these things we touched on over the past couple of nights, a person who is in their sins, they are not only in darkness, but the Bible says they are dark and they're under the power of the devil. How is it that God is able to take such a person? They got hatred in their heart to God, Ephesians, their enemies in their mind toward God. How is it that God can take that person, bring them over here in Christ, and now we open our mouths and we worship God? How can that be possible? Now, we touched a little bit on it one of the nights about the Lord Jesus, his death, but what we're going to look at tonight is this.

I call it salvation's gem, okay? You might be familiar with a diamond, any kind of a jewel that's on a lady's hand or whatever it might be. It never has just one side. There's many different facets to it, you know, and as it comes into contact with the light, it just literally sparkles.

You know, the death of Christ is so significant that God could not use just one word to describe it. Now, we can, because of our lack of study, we can read through the Bible and we can read words like saved, born again, justified, redeemed, redemption, reconciliation, justification, propitiation. Oh, well, that's just all speaking about the same thing.

No, it's not. It's speaking ultimately about the same thing, being saved, but it's looking at different aspects of the work of Christ. So, if you want to think of it as God's salvation summed up in his Son is like that gem, and then there's all of these different sides, words that he will use to try to convey just what the death of Christ has done.

And I'm sure you know this. You ever wondered in the Old Testament that God couldn't just use one animal to show the death of Christ? No. Bullocks, goats, lambs, turtle doves, pigeons.

God couldn't just use one mineral. No. Gold, silver, bronze, copper.

God couldn't just use one gem. There's all these different gems. Think of the 12 stones that are just on the breastplate of the high priest.

Rubies, diamonds, all of these different. God couldn't just use one color. No.

Think of the tabernacle system. All those different colors are bringing out something unique about the Lord Jesus, even when it comes to mankind. You ever wonder the different people God would use? I mean, God will use a Moses to take the people out, but a Joshua to take them in.

God will use a David to fight the battles. God will use a Solomon to picture the Millennial reign of Christ. And I mean, you could just keep on going.

That shows you that the completeness, the fullness of what is in the person of Christ our Savior. So what we're going to look at tonight is we want to take a few minutes to look at some of these sides of this gem called salvation. And maybe the next time you're reading through these things and you see a particular word like justification, take some time to study it.

It will thrill your heart just to look at the different ways in which God will use it. So we're going to start in Romans chapter 3, and we're going to read about... I mean, I like to put these things kind of in order. This is where everything starts with this word.

It's a big word. We don't often use it today. So let's read it in Romans 3 and verse number 20.

Well, let's start at verse number 23. Kind of sets the stage, which is often used in the preaching of the gospel. Romans 3 and verse 23.

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, I know this is a ministry meeting, but we're going to dip a little bit into the gospel as well, because we read verses far too fast. For all have sinned and come short.

Do you know what that means? See, when we... the Word of God will use different words to try to emphasize just what a sinner is. He'll use iniquities. He'll use transgressions.

He'll use lawlessness. He'll also use come short. Well, you say, isn't it all talking about the same thing? Not really.

It's a slight different shape. So whenever you might hear a gospel preacher on the platform, and he's preaching the gospel to sinners, this is something that happens to people in the audience that are listening, and they're not saved. And the preacher says, we are all sinners, just as we read.

For all have sinned. And you know what the person in the audience does? Well, I haven't done that. I haven't broken that law.

I haven't broken that law. But you know what this word means? This is you don't measure up. You come short.

You see, we're automatically thinking of transgressions. Like, I haven't committed murder. I've stepped over a line.

I haven't stolen. I've done some, taken something that's not mine. Yes, that means you're a sinner.

But what else means you a sinner is this. God expects you to live a certain way. And none of us live up to it.

None of us. I always give the illustration of the young boy that's gone to Walt Disney World, and the ride requires the little fella to be five feet tall to get on the ride. And he comes in at four foot six.

And he could be as sincere as he wants to be. He can have tears flick, cry me a river. But law insurance says, if you're not five feet, you've come short.

You're not getting on that ride. Same thing applies to getting into God's heaven. The way that we're born.

Yes, thank God we don't do this. We don't do that. But we don't do the things we should.

That qualifies us as sinners. So just sort of keep that in mind. Notice the different words that are used.

Look at verse now 24. Being justified. There's another beautiful word.

Being justified freely by His grace. Another lovely word you could search out. Through the redemption.

Another lovely word you could use. That is in Christ Jesus. We'll look at a few of these words later.

Whom God has set forth, here's the word, to be of propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. I want to think of that word propitiation. Big word.

It's really a word that is all taken up with God word. You see, only God, as we know this, is able to judge, understand just how horrible our sin is. Therefore only God knows what is required to take away our sin.

This word propitiation has three ideas behind it. It's the appeasement of God's wrath for our sin. It's the exhaustion of God's wrath for our sin.

And something has to consume it. That is what happened when the Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins. God's wrath was completely poured out for sin.

It's coming from God. God is the one measuring what sin is. What has to be done to take away sin.

And God therefore is meeting out, pouring out the judgment for our sin. There is the sacrifice, the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. And what is He doing? He's on the end of it, consuming the wrath of a holy God.

And what does He do? He exhausts it. It's done. That's tremendous.

That's why the gospel is so important. Let us, all of us that take part in gospel outreach, children outreach, I emphasized this the other night, let us always remember that the gospel message that we find in the Bible is not one of many messages to meet the need of sinners. It is the only message that a sinner needs to hear.

Okay? It's not that Jesus Christ is a brighter light than all the other lights. There are no lights out there. The Lord Jesus is the only one.

And what this Bible clearly teaches, I was speaking to my brother about it last night, he had a couple of people very sincere into his meeting and so on. You cannot get to heaven unless you believe that Jesus Christ is God. That's what the Bible teaches.

That's what the Lord Jesus taught in John 8. He says, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins and where I am you cannot come. So you can take all of these different religious systems around the world. I could mention just one but not in a sarcastic way or not in a derogatory way.

You could take the whole Islamic faith. Very, very sincere people. A lot of them very honest people, very upright.

You couldn't get a finer neighbor. I've spoken to people with neighbors with Islam. Very, very, very, very kind.

But they don't believe that Jesus is God. They don't believe that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore co-equal in the Godhead. It's not my words.

It's the Lord Jesus. If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins and go to hell. That's what the Bible teaches.

So friend, we stand here tonight firmly upon the inspired Word of God. It has outlived all its critics. And there's critics today and the Bible still outlive it.

It's the oldest book that ever existed on the face of the earth. And if a person takes time just to study the Bible and compare it, you'll find out that it's one cohesive volume. So this idea of propitiation, you know what it is? It's really the foundation of everything that God is going to do.

You go through the Old Testament. We mentioned it last night, a couple nights ago, in the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16. Where did the blood have to be put first on the mercy seat? Godward.

Then it was put on the front, manward. God always has to get his part first. God has to be satisfied first.

And I know this is simple, but even for the younger people, that is why the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is so important. That is why the ascension of the Lord Jesus is so important. Because if we're only able to preach a Savior that died, that's it.

We are all going to hell tonight. That's how plain it is. What is the point of a Savior that is dead? But the resurrection, you'll discover when you go through the Word of God, you'll discover that the Lord Jesus raised himself.

You'll discover that the Spirit raised him. You'll discover that the Father raised him. And you'll discover that God raised him.

What is it telling us? All members, all persons of the Godhead, fully satisfied with the death of Christ. The righteousness of God has been completely met in the death of the Lord Jesus. That's why it is such an affront to God to add something to it, as if to infer that God didn't do enough.

Christ didn't do enough. And when the Lord Jesus shouted those amazing words, it is finished. Now, you know, I feel like preaching right now.

I feel like going for ministry preaching the gospel. There's something wonderful about preaching a message that is able to save a sinner from all other sins. Nothing based on what they've done, but only based upon what Christ has done.

You see, I'm gonna tell you why the gospel is so important. Here's what people get confused, and this is what the Bible does for us. It clears up the confusion.

The Bible will address the situation of sin in two ways. There is the sinner, and then there are his sins. Two different things that have to be dealt with.

Now, I want you to, this might get a little complicated, but I want you to follow. Follow me for a minute. I want you to think of just sins.

That's the idea of fruit, deeds. But then sin, sinner, that's the root. That's the source.

That's where all of these sins are coming from. I could explain it to the young. I know there's some young people here.

I often explain it this way. A cat doesn't become a cat the first time it meows. That's quite a statement.

A cat meows because it is a cat. That's its nature. Does a cat cease to be a cat when you stop it from meowing? No, of course not.

You haven't done anything to affect the nature. So here's what all of religion does. When they focus on works, you have to do this.

Do you know all they're affecting? Just clean up your life. Sins. Just the fruit.

But they're not doing anything to the source. The heart of man, as we discovered last night. The wicked heart of man.

Do you know what God's salvation does? It not only deals with the sins, but it changes the sinner. And you're gonna discover as we go through this tonight, all of these different words are gonna deal with different aspects of the defilement and the deadness that sin brings. Not only to the sinner, but then to the deeds that come from the sinner.

So when you go through the Bible, when you run into a word like justification, what is that dealing with? It's not dealing with the sins. It's dealing with the sinner. Justification.

It means to make right. In a few minutes, we're gonna look at the idea of the new birth. Being born again.

What does that have to do with? Not the sins. This is putting a new life, a new nature in the sinner. You see, what would be the point of God coming to me and saying, Scott, I'm gonna take away all your sins and then do nothing to me? It will be just a matter of seconds and I'll have more sins than you have to deal with.

You see what I'm getting at? Christianity all around us, so-called Christianity, with all of its good intentions, by not preaching a clear gospel from the Word of God and just focusing on all of these rehabilitation things. Clean up your life. Take a course.

Learn to love people. All that's doing is affecting the outward, but it's not changing the source. When I got saved, April the 4th, 1990, at the age of 24, for the first time in my life, there was love in this heart for God.

There was a desire to serve him. There was. There was a longing to read his book, which I never had before.

There was... I remember the first thing I did after I got saved, after I discovered Christ died for me, on April the 4th, 1990. I'm going to it right now, Wednesday afternoon at a 3.30. I remember the first thing I did after I discovered, wow, Christ died for me. You know what I did? I prayed to God and thanked him for sending his son to die for me.

Worship! It was the first time in my life that I actually brought something good to God. Actually, let me back up. Just seconds before that, I did something else.

Do you realize that the first time you actually believe God, go to Romans chapter 4, Abraham. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him righteous. First righteous act is when a sinner believes God and then follows salvation, and then you worship him.

So it's marvelous. So where I'm starting tonight is this. Without propitiation, God can't reach out to the sinner.

Without God's wrath being consumed, exhausted by a sacrifice, he can't reach out to the sinner. His righteousness, his holiness has to be answered. Now I want you to carefully understand this.

Calvary did not turn an angry God into a God of love. No, the Bible teaches the opposite. Calvary, the death of Christ, is only the outworking of a God of love.

God always loved the sinner and really what time is not some random, coincidental, whatever you want to call it, events. Time is programmed by the Almighty God and when the fullness of time must come, Galatians chapter 4, God then sent his son into this world via the womb of the Virgin and he was born. And all of those different ages of the Old Testament, which we don't have time to go into, they're all building up to this tremendous climax when the Lord Jesus, God's son, died on a cross and shed his blood and God now is able to take a gospel message out to the entire world.

It's amazing. I don't have time to develop so many verses I'm thinking of. It absolutely delights the heart of God to save you in spite of all your sin.

It's amazing to go through the Word of God. He shed on us abundantly. I was enjoying just recently going through grace and mercy and you read about abundance of pardon, abundance of mercy, abundance of grace.

God who is rich in mercy. God is not some skimpy God. If you try to understand who God is by what this world tells you, you will be led astray.

But if you take time to study the Bible, you will discover a God that is so longing to save a sinner. Do you know where the problem lies? You won't let him save you. If you're here tonight not saved, you will not let him.

The holdup is never with God. The holdup is always with the sinner. So that lovely word, we'll just emphasize it one more time before we leave, propitiation.

I'm building this for a reason because I'm gonna make a statement here in a minute that you, I don't know why preachers shy away from it. Propitiation. God's wrath has been exhausted for sin.

Pour it out in all of his fullness. Go through the Old Testament and discover the pictures that are brought before us of that stroke of judgment. A fire from above, lamentation from above thou sent fire into my bones.

Zack, wake old sword against the Lord's anointed shepherd. Okay? There's so many. Go to Psalms.

You got the floods. They roll over his soul. You got the pit.

You got the darkness. All of these different metaphors are used to try to get us to grasp the awfulness of what took place when the Lord Jesus bore our sin. And it was such an event that God actually forsook the man, Christ Jesus, but never the Father and the Son.

They were in total unity. So, and that's something that, you see, I remember, dear child of God, what we're speaking on. We are speaking upon things that our natural mind just loves to try to comprehend.

But listen, for somebody to draw a circle on a board and put God in it and say, I'm gonna comprehend God. You're out of your mind. You and I can't comprehend God.

We can't encircle God by our mind. God is phobia. All we can do is try to apprehend more.

It's all we can do. And those of us that will be saved, taken off to heaven, eternity, will never come to a point where we'll wake up in heaven and go, I guess I'm kind of bored. I found out everything I need to know.

Never. So it's marvelous to be saved, huh? I tell you, the more I dig into these things, I was having a great time this afternoon, even though I was confused, kind of wondering, how am I gonna go about all this? But there's so much material and there's so many different sides and each little side of that gem is saying, preach me, preach me. And you say, I don't have time.

I just don't have time. Because every single word is so important. Now let's go ahead to another word.

Let's go over to 1st Timothy chapter 2. 1st Timothy chapter 2. You might remember the other night we were making a few comments about people who are called Calvinists or hyper-Calvinists and they try to limit the death of Christ and all these mistaken ideas. But look at this marvelous verse. Sometimes we think in trying to combat error, it's not enough to quote the Word of God.

Well, I want to tell you it is. That's all you should be doing. And we almost sink in today's tremendous enlightenment of reason and logic.

Well, we'll quote the Word of God and then I'll spend about the next 15 minutes trying to argue you into it. What a load of nonsense. The power is in the living Word of God.

That's where the power is. And sometimes we just confuse it. So 1st Timothy chapter 2. We'll just let the Bible speak for itself.

Look at verse number 3. Marvelous words. Lovely. We can look at it.

For this is good and acceptable. I would challenge you. Go home to your Bible study program and search good and acceptable.

That phrase only appears three times in the New Testament. Find out what is good and acceptable in the sight of God. I'll leave that for homework.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Notice who will have all men to be saved and to come on to the knowledge. Come on to the knowledge of the truth.

Here's the truth. Verse 5. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men. The man Christ Jesus.

Now here's what I want. Who gave himself a ransom. A ransom for all to be testified in due time.

Now you and I are all familiar with kidnap stories. And there's a ransom note sent to the family. And what is always on a ransom note? A price.

A price has been stated to free this person. Release them from being kidnapped. Well that's the idea.

You see the reason that God is now using this word of a ransom. I want you to come back to this story, this picture. You got the sinner.

I want to focus in on sins. You know one of the things that sins do to us? It brings us into slavery. Bondage.

We have been taken captive by our sins. You go through the Old Testament. That old culture.

There were three different ways that a person came into slavery. They were born into it. There was bankruptcy in the family and they were sold.

Or as a result of battle. You go back to the Garden of Eden. Adam bankrupt the whole human society.

There was a battle that took place. And then his very first child born into sin. So when you got this idea of a ransom, there is a price.

Now God is the one that has set the price. It's linking back to propitiation. And when the Lord Jesus died, he paid the price.

Notice what it says. For all men. What am I able to tell you tonight from this platform with this Bible in front of me? When Christ Jesus died, he died for every single person.

Whether you believe it or not. It's true. I can tell you friend tonight, if I'm looking at someone here tonight and you are not saved.

Not saved. Do you know what I can tell you from this verse? Christ Jesus died for you. That's how clear the verse is.

Now if that is not true, we have no gospel to preach. You get that? But it seems I've been with so many gospel preachers and they're almost hesitant to come right out and say, yes, Christ died for you. That's what the verse says.

When Christ died, he gave himself a ransom for all men. How is the verse preceded? God wants all men to be saved. So these people today called hyper-Calvinists or Calvinists, who try to take the death of Christ and they try to limit it.

Only a certain few are going to get it. That is totally against the Bible. I was thinking of a verse today.

Would there be a verse in the Old Testament that you could think of to prove the same point? How many are going to Isaiah 53? Verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now who's that cover? See these are verses that the Calvinist people have difficulty with because they'll never say, oh well the Old Testament, that must be the Jewish nation. They would never say that because they know better.

That verse, you could never say that only the Jewish nation has gone astray. Yes it has, but guess what? We Gentiles have gone astray too. Let's go over the verse again.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Friend in the meeting not safe.

How much clearer could God be? What other words could God use to make it clear enough so that you could say, hey that's talking about me. Do you know what we as gossip preachers tell sinners when we're preaching the gospel, even though I'm not preaching the gospel right now, enter in at the first all, exit at the last all. If you see yourself in the first all, see yourself in the last all.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. I preach the gospel a lot and I know there's lots of brethren here that do as well and we were talking about the darkness of being in one's sins and as plain as that is, sinners stumble over it.

Where's the problem lie? It's with you the sinner. It's not with God. God couldn't make it any plainer.

There's lots of people that would say, okay I agree I'm a sinner. How do you know that? Well you say the Bible says it. Yeah all we like sheep have gone astray.

Why is it that you can take God's Word for the first all but you can't take God's Word for the second all, the last all? Do you know what that proves friend? Something you've never faced. You're just a non-believer. You say I believe in God.

You believe in a God of your making. Select it. You have selected certain truths out of the Bible.

Oh I believe in a God, a creator God. I believe in a God that sustains. How would you handle this? If God was to send you to hell right now for your sins, would he be right? He would be.

Do you realize it happens every time we breathe in and breathe out. Two people die. Three are born and two die.

I don't know how many thousands of sinners have dropped into hell today because of their sin. Do you realize that God's character hasn't been marred one bit? His holiness hasn't been dimmed. Angels, get a hold of this now.

You go through the book of Revelation, brings before us the seven-year tribulation period when judgments are falling upon this world because of their sin. You go three and a half years into that tribulation period when 50% of the human population will be destroyed. Do you know what you find nine times recorded through that seven-year period? As judgments are falling from God upon this earth, the angels are actually worshiping God.

How many of us think that God can be worshiped in judgment? We don't often think that way, do we? Oh, we just worship God because of his grace and because of his love and because of his kindness. All of God's attributes are worshipable. Every single one of them.

People find that hard to believe, so I give them just a little earthly example. Let's say there's a serial killer on the loose here in lacrosse, and they've got a whole list of 20 people behind them dead. Don't you rejoice when the law captures them? Praise the Lord.

Feel safe. That threat is off the street, and then they're brought into a courtroom, and there the charges are laid out, and the evidence is clear as a bell, and the person is consigned or capital punishment or whatever it might be. Do you know what it does? The actual execution upholds the law.

You understand that when God judges sin and sends a sinner to hell, his very character is upheld. His very laws are upheld. His very person is upheld.

So that's so paramount for us to see. I'm coming back to this before I leave it. This Bible is so clear that when the Lord Jesus died, such is the value of his work coming from his eternal person.

How could you ever limit his work? How could you ever do it? What you got to realize when you come to Colossians chapter 1, not only is humanity under sin, but creation is under sin. All of creation has been affected by sin. It was put under sin after Adam sinned by God himself.

The Word of God tells us that even the moon and the sun, they don't shine as bright as a result of sin. The amazing thing about the book of Colossians chapter 1 is this. It's taken up with the whole idea that things will be reconciled to God by the death, the blood of the Lord Jesus.

Do you know where he goes to first? He uses the neuter. Creation. Then about verse 21 he comes out to you and I. So when you and I, I'm thinking now us as saints, when we start to look at the death of Christ and we just sort of get limited to, oh thank God he died for me.

What a pygmy you are. What small thoughts you have about the death and the work of Christ. My dear child of God, it's so vast.

It will absolutely affect everything. And here's the amazing thing to think. When we look at Adam and Eve prior to sin in the Garden of Eden and then you contrast that to the eternal state when Christ will have redeemed all things back to God.

Do you realize that God will have more then? Then you head way back here. You say how can that be? Because Adam and Eve were only innocent and they had the ability to sin. But Christ is not only going to take things out from under the grip of sin.

He's gonna bring it into a state which it will never be able to sin. Never. So Christ, like you're getting the point aren't you? He's the focus of everything.

He's the key. That's why I'm coming back to our young people again. Those that take the platform.

When you preach, make much of Christ. You could never make much. You couldn't overdo it.

If you get someone in the meeting that's offended by you, tell them they need to be saved. Because I love it when a preacher is preaching and he keeps on bringing the people to Christ. To Christ.

To Christ. Now here's another thing for those that like theology. Is there anywhere in the Bible where you're told to direct a sinner to the cross? The death.

I'll make you think. Like I said what good is a dead Savior? It's always looking at the one that's alive. The one that's on the throne.

And maybe this is something that even I should take notice of. It's amazing to go through the book of the Acts and find out how many times they preached and how many times they brought in the resurrection. Brethren, we are not mentioning the resurrection enough today.

In our gospel preaching. We're not. I'm thinking of the words of Romans.

He was delivered for our offenses. What's the rest of the verse? And raised again for our justification. There's where it comes from.

You could never take all of the different things that Christ did and you can never say okay that's enough. No. Everything.

Do you know why I mentioned I mentioned earlier about the ascension? Do you know why the ascension of the Lord Jesus is so important? Him going back to heaven 40 days after he was raised from the dead. Do you remember Acts chapter 2? Remember the Spirit of God came down in Acts chapter 2 and there was quite a noise and a commotion in Jerusalem and the people ran to see what was going on and they said what is this? What is going on? Peter the Apostle the disciple stands up and he starts to preach and he explains them what it is. Do you remember what the Lord Jesus said when he was on the earth? He said when I go back to heaven I will send the Spirit down.

Do you know what we're told there in Acts 2? The very fact that the Spirit of God has come down means that the Lord Jesus went in. That's that's so important because if he never oh sure okay let's say he died let's say he was raised from the dead and let's say he ascended up to heaven and he got to the door of heaven the father said no you can't come in here. We're all going to hell.

That's how real it is. But the father saluted him. Hebrews chapter 5 sit on my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool.

So every aspect of the whole work that Christ is going to do is needed. You can't take one out. If you take one out the whole whole chain breaks.

So it's so important. Let's go to John chapter 3 now for a few minutes. John chapter 3. Time is going for a thing I thought it was going to go.

I always seem to have trouble with that cotton-picking clock man. It's interesting for those that want to do a study the ransom the ransom the price okay the different words that are used I want you to I want you to look look these words up when you go home ransom remission forgiveness redemption they're beautiful words there they're like links in a chain ransom it's the idea that something has been paid okay then you come to the word remission do you know what that is something has been loosed from something then you have the word forgiveness that means it's been sent away and then you come to redemption something has been brought out so you can see how God is using all four different words to try to show what Christ has done the price for sin has been paid the grip of sin upon us has been broken then those sins have been removed sent away and then God has taken the sinner and taken them out redeemed them taking them out and you know yourself way back in when the Bible was written Roman culture Greek culture slave markets are very common and there would be a human being on an auction block in the middle of city being bid for and they were there were a captive there were a slave to somebody somebody's gonna buy them you know what the picture is dear child of God you and I were on that auction block of sin and the devil held us captive and into that marketplace comes the Lord Jesus and he puts down the price of his blood he bought us that great to know that I'm owned by him we touched on that the other night in Ephesians chapter 1 purchased possession marvels think that God owns me I could preach on that right now but that's good there's this enjoy it and then he broke the shackles think of the shackles that were on that but he took the shackles off and it's almost like he just threw them away and then you know what else he did he took me by the hand and he led me out of the market and then there's other words you can use he took me out to the edge of the city and then he said you're free to go but don't you just love serving the one who died for you and rose for you no one will ever love us like the Lord Jesus no one that's my favorite the favorite hymn of my father he's 85 he said I want this at my funeral no one ever loved me like Jesus he was an alcoholic he was in jail three times he was a hoodlum just a hoodlum that that is my pedigree my father was a hoodlum he carried a gun he actually held up a preacher do you know that you don't know that Herb Harris yeah my father used to drink and he used to get in their car and they used to pretend there were cops and they would pull cars over and rob them and he didn't know who it was he found it after he could save Herb Harris he was a gospel preacher and he pulled him over and grabbed him by the time he pulled to the window and he robbed him that's my pedigree there it is but God saved him and he lives to prove it wonderful anyway marvelous so John chapter 3 our time is just about gone John chapter 3 let's look at this word born again because there's something I want you to to notice this and I'll read verse 31 for a minute with me John 3 verse for 31 I'll emphasize the word he that cometh now it's two words in our English Bible but it's one Greek word from above I just want you to think of that word from above okay from above now come into the chapter and we're going to find the same Greek word is used a different way look at verse number one there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus now he was a religious ruler as we find here a ruler of the Jews the same came to Jesus by night and said unto him rabbi we know that thou were a teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him Jesus answered and said unto him verily verily means truly truly I say unto thee here it is except a man be born again that's the word let's back up except a man be born from above see that now if you don't study some of these Greek words you might not know that that's what that word means well let's keep on reading verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born from above again he cannot see the kingdom of God Nicodemus said unto him how can a man be born you notice what Nicodemus dropped he dropped thee again see all Nicodemus could see was a physical level it's all he could see he couldn't understand this spiritual aspect from above see you notice he dropped that when he is old can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born again no he just says and be born see how dark the natural mind is that's just being happy Jesus answered verily verily I say unto thee except a man be now the Lord is going to explain this from above now he changes it except a man be born of water and of the Spirit now you go through the Gospel of John this Bible we're reading from is likened to water and then you got the Spirit of God I don't have time but I could take you into first Peter where we're told there that we're born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed by the Word of God this book has not come from earth a it's from above and the Spirit of God who is from above is going to use this Bible to save you these people that it's amazing I'll pause for just a minute here and put my preaching hat on for a minute I meet all kinds of people who tell me they want to be saved they want to know their sins forgiven they want to know heaven is their home and here's my question are you reading the Bible no why do you expect to be saved this is what God uses this is life the Bible you say well I don't know where to read start reading John chap gone Gospel of John go ahead and then the next thing I say to them is this are you praying to God well not really what kind of a conversation would it be if you're on the phone and you're just listening to somebody you're not saying anything this is how God speaks to you that's the ear do you know God wants to hear from you tell him what you want am I speaking to someone here tonight you're not saved I want to ask you I want to challenge you it's very easy to tell another human I'm not saved but have you ever gotten down on your two knees and said to God I'm not saved and I want to be saved I'll tell you this all of heaven comes to a screeching halt seven and a half billion people in the world and God just focuses in on that one little sinner that's crying it for help so I'd encourage you to do that come back to verse 5 Jesus answered very very sanity except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God and then we have this lovely expression that which is born of the flesh is flesh that's why you and I are here and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit marvel not that I said unto thee ye must be born again he must be born from above you see our job is to preach the gospel but we can't save people we can't I want my younger brother to get a hold of this do not become a crutch to a sinner seeking a Savior where they're always coming to you and you're the one doing all the speaking get them alone with their Bible and God because you cannot be saved without the Spirit of God you can't I say this reverently I said the other night the Spirit of God is the ultimate birth mother Spirit of God births every single sinner into God's family only he can do it and I have absolutely no time for people who try to say say a sinner's prayer say this do this you and I are not the Spirit of God or not and as frustrated as you might be why aren't they getting saved you keep praying for them and you keep preaching the gospel you just leave it to the Spirit of God because the Spirit of God knows just when to birth them the sinner has to be accepting the Word of God and there's a tremendous thing that happens there cooperation that I'm not able to fully explain to you but it is it is a miracle can we can we just sort of go over that slowly in 2017 with and we think supercomputers are miracles and all this sort of stuff and the graphics and that listen nothing will ever compare to the miracle of when a sinner is brought out of darkness and they're brought into God's family go to the gospel of Luke chapter 15 you know why it's so important to see the chronology of Scripture Luke chapter 15 16 is all about a man in hell you know what you get in Luke chapter 15 one chapter before you're introduced to three persons you're introduced to a shepherd a woman and a father the shepherd is seeking a sheep the woman is seeking a coin the father is seeking a son that is a picture of all the persons of Godhead seeking you the father the Son of the Spirit you know why they're seeking you because God doesn't delight in anyone going to hell Luke 16 is all about a man in hell that missed his opportunity and now you're introduced to this tremendous search diligence but here's the amazing thing with the shepherd he finds the sheep here's what you read there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repents then when the woman finds the coin you read this there's joy in the presence of the angels of God a little different expression over one sinner that repented then when you come to the son being found you know what the father says let us rejoice do you know what happens in heaven it's happened many times today when a sinner on earth accepts the Word of God allows the Spirit to bring them into Christ the father literally explodes in joy and the angels who are in his presence it affects them and they they explode with joy and then it just ripples all through heaven hallelujah someone got saved not someone they know their name God knows my name he knows your name tells us in the Word of God that those that are us of us that are saying we're actually written in the Lamb's Book of Life I'm looking forward to the day I get into heaven I want to ask my Savior how did you write my name I want to see it I like studying signatures you know probably all of us as kids have tried to do a lawyer signature a fancy signature we've all done it right I'd like to see how God wrote my name in heaven sometimes people write my name they write it wrong they spell it wrong they still cash the check at the bank praise the Lord but I'll tell you this God did not make any mistakes and write my name down is your name in heaven it could be because Christ has died for you it could be yeah he's died for you and God has given us a book in our own mother language to tell us all about it so I'm gonna take it quickly just through a number of words here's another lovely word you're gonna read in the Bible reconciliation think of the sinner think of the sins do you know something that sins do they bring an awful separation but salvation the work of Christ reconciliation bring in the parties together there's another word you're gonna read this in a number of different ways purification purity purify do you know what sin does stains us awful dirty stain and the idea is it's able to remove that stain it even stains our very person defiles us it's able to you'll read about cleansing in the Word of God another word you'll read in Titus about the the washing of regeneration by the Spirit of God the idea of cleansing and and rejuvenating all these different words you'll read about the word I said justification there's words that are often going together justification sanctification they're they're they're like twins they happen that they're like that they're like a coin one side the other side justification satisfies the righteousness of God okay we have to be made right we have offended him sanctification satisfies the holiness of God we have to be set apart from a filthy world and they're all coming together so what happened the moment we got saved is like so many things happened when the Spirit of God came in we were cleansed we were purified we were forgiven we were brought near here's another lovely word adoption and this is this is no comment on those that are adopted listen what happens on earth is not what happens the day I get saved you know you take a mother a father they can't have children or whatever might happen and they go and they and they adopt somebody they can adopt that person bring them into their family they can give them their name they can give them all kinds of stuff but you know what they can't do they can't take their very nature and put it in that child the DNA is different we just have to face it do you know the truth behind the lovely word adoption son placing when God took me out of the Adam family and he birthed me by the Spirit of God into his family he not only made me a child of God but he put his very nature in me it's very nature that is what we read in 1st John chapter 3 his seed remaineth in us with this I end that is why salvation has to make a difference in your life if it doesn't you're not saved you need to be saved just that simple if you claim to be saved and your desires haven't changed you're not saved I often like what what one man said if what you profess can't keep you out of sin in time how will it ever keep you out of hell how salvation is real it is a real thing it can't be explained by human intellect there is a spiritual aspect to it that no church no matter how sincere they are no church can perform it that's why you only need what I enjoy every night I put my head on the pillow knowing that I'll be in heaven if I die God is my father and I go to bed thinking about versus praying to my father you realize that my father in heaven is closer to me than my earthly father he's closer to me than my mother hard to understand that isn't it my mother and father are gonna leave me one day and die he'll never leave me death will only bring me closer to him amazing isn't it wonderful I know you're all just dying to shout hallelujah I can see it on your face praise the Lord well it is marvelous to be saved anyway thank you very much for listening let's bow our heads