Colossians 1:21:23

And this week we will look at Paul's further explanation of the doctrine of reconciliation.

! But we should remember first, recall that Paul did not establish the church at Colossae.

! He was not the one who preached the gospel first to them and set up the church there.

It was likely established by Epaphras, who was with Paul in Rome at the writing of this letter,

and had probably traveled there to inform Paul of some heresy that was encircling and within the church at Colossae.

We do not know the exact nature of this heresy, but Paul's letter gives us some clues to it as it is heavily doctrinal,

as most of his writing tends to be.

But what he's doing here is he's trying to establish proper doctrine amongst the church in Colossae.

Paul's letter to the Colossians is very timely for our day,

as there exists today much error encircling and within the church in America.

One particularly troubling error concerns the means and nature of salvation.

You have heard me say before, and I try not to be this person.

I want to be a glass half full kind of a person.

I'm definitely glass half empty or maybe 10% full kind of a person.

But I think with some accuracy that this comment is true that most people who think they're followers of Jesus Christ,

who sit this morning in Sunday services, are not.

They have not been regenerate.

They've had a false gospel preached to them, and they have believed that false gospel,

and that are being led astray as such.

Listen to what the Scriptures have to say concerning this.

You can mark Colossians.

I invite you, though, to turn to the book of Matthew 13 with me.

I'm normally not much for long intros, but this morning we'll have one.

Matthew 13.

I'll begin reading in verse 24.

For Jesus put another parable before them, saying,

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds or tares among the wheat and went away.

So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him,

Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

How then does it have weeds?

He said to them,

An enemy has done this.

So the servant said to him,

Then do you want us to go and gather them?

But he said,

No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest.

And at harvest time I will tell the reapers,

Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,

And gather the wheat into my barn.

And this parable was meant to teach the disciples that this will be the nature of the church.

There will be false converts amongst us.

What he's trying to encourage them with is that this will one day be sorted out.

Final judgment will sort out who is truly in Christ and who is not in Christ.

This is meant to be a comfort to them.

However, this wheat and tare analogy,

The wheat would have been much more plentiful in this field.

It ought not be accepted on our part,

A, well, that's the way it's going to be sort of mentality.

Because in other places we're warned against this type of thing.

Turn a couple pages back to Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

In the conclusion of what we call the Sermon on the Mount,

Beginning in verse 21, Jesus says,

Not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,

But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

He's saying, not just the one who gives me lip service,

But the one who is obedient to the will of the Father.

Verse 22,

On that day many will say to me,

Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in Your name,

And cast out demons in Your name,

And do many mighty works in Your name?

Fantastic things to be witnessed.

Jesus says in verse 23,

And then I will declare to them,

I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

This is a warning against this type of apostasy.

Sitting in amongst churches,

Calling yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ,

And yet not being so.

Listen to what Dr. Jim Binney wrote in Issues of the Heart

Concerning the State of the Church.

He writes, and I quote,

Dr. Rod Bell,

President of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America,

Estimates that 50% of church people are without Christ.

His estimate concurs with that of Bob Jones Sr.

In the 1940s, he also fixed the estimate at 50%.

Dr. B.R. Lakin estimated that 75% are lost.

W.A. Criswell would be surprised to see

Even 25% of his church members in heaven.

Dr. Bob Gray,

Longtime pastor of the prestigious Trinity Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida,

Once said that probably 75% of those he baptized were not saved.

Billy Graham puts the figure at 85%,

While A.W. Tozer and Southern Baptist consultant Jim Eliff raise it to 90%.

These are shocking figures, to be sure, but not surprising.

Many such lost people find their way into the roles of the church

through evangelism methods that are less than thorough.

In a country boasting of coast-to-coast Christianity

with thousands of church buildings and millions of members,

it is hard to realize the depth of the problem.

The reason that so many who think they are saved may actually be lost

is traceable to a misunderstanding about the means of salvation.

Many religious people are misled into believing they are genuine Christians

because of some external criteria.

This may be the form of their prayer at the time of salvation.

It can also include a dependence upon feelings going forward at a public meeting

or meeting someone's expectations in any regard about the means of salvation.

The Bible warns against dependency upon the wrong things for salvation.

End quote.

This is a serious issue before us.

And so, Paul sets right their understanding and ours

concerning the means and nature of salvation

by teaching on the doctrine of reconciliation.

So back in Colossians 1, if you're not already there.

It's our text for today, beginning in verse 21.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death

in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast,

not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,

which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,

and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

This is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Now, there are five very important words used in the New Testament

to speak of salvation.

The Scriptures tell us that we are justified.

We stand before God guilty and condemned or declared righteous.

We are redeemed.

We stand before God as a slave, but we are granted freedom.

We are forgiven.

We stand before God as a debtor, but the debt is paid and forgotten.

We are adopted.

We stand before God as a stranger, but are made a son.

But perhaps the most rich of all these explanations is that of reconciliation.

We are reconciled if we are in Christ.

We once stood before God as his enemies, but we are made his friends.

The Greek word for reconcile means literally to change in relationship.

Our status with God Almighty has been changed if we are found in Christ.

It is of great importance that we rightly understand the means and nature of our salvation.

The eternal state of our souls and of those who we minister to depend upon it.

This is an eternal, weighty matter before us.

And as such, I believe that the proper application of this text,

which I normally give to you at the end of the sermon, should be given to you now.

I want you to think with these filters on through what we're going to study together.

So the application is to firstly, be sure of your reconciliation.

Know for a fact this morning that you are eternally secure.

That you have placed believing faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

That God has in fact changed your heart.

Called you a friend.

Made you his son.

That you have been saved from the wrath to come.

Secondly, contend for the faith.

The last half of Jude verse 3 says,

Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

In the name of the truth, so many are being led astray.

They're hearing this is what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ.

And they're being taken down a wide path.

We must warn them to flee from the wrath to come.

We must preach a pure gospel.

That people may believe and be saved.

Even those who already think that they are.

And so with those filters on, with those applications,

we'll study our text together in the following outline.

And I'll give this to you again as we work through.

But firstly, the need for reconciliation.

Second, the means of reconciliation.

Third, the goal of reconciliation.

And fourth, the evidence of reconciliation.

It is of great importance we rightly understand the means and nature of salvation.

And firstly, we need to look at the need for reconciliation.

Verse 21 says,

We once were separated from God because of who we once were if we're found in Christ.

There are many people and issues in our time that seek to divide humanity for a variety of criteria.

Gender, race, nationality, political party.

Some of these are helpful for certain conversations, to be sure.

I'm not discrediting them altogether.

But the Bible makes the most helpful distinction to aid us in understanding the world,

its nature, and the part that we play in it.

That distinction is whether or not we are a people in fellowship with God or not in fellowship with God.

Where is our status?

One of two most important.

We're saved or we're lost.

There are many other descriptors for these two categories.

Here with the doctrine of reconciliation,

you're either God's enemy or you're reconciled to Him as His friend.

Your relationship has been made right once again.

And Paul gives some understanding of what this without God,

this cut off from fellowship with Him relation looks like.

He uses the terms alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.

To be alienated means to be cut off, to be separated or estranged from.

The Colossians and all of humanity are estranged from God apart from Christ.

The metanarrative of humanity.

We all share this problem apart from the solution of Jesus Christ.

Paul writes elsewhere, like Ephesians 2.12 of this,

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ.

Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise.

Having no hope and without God in the world.

The creation separated eternally from its Creator.

We're also hostile in mind,

which means to be hateful toward God in thought and attitude.

It's not just that we are not particularly concerned with who God is and His ways,

but that if we're not found in Christ,

we are actually hateful toward God in our thoughts and our attitudes.

The Colossians and all humanity, apart from Christ,

hate God and His holy standards,

and express so by doing evil deeds.

That is the outcome of hearts that are evil and bent towards God.

Living in contradiction to God and His holy standards.

John 3.19-20 says,

People loved the darkness rather than the light,

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light,

and does not come to the light,

lest his works should be exposed.

So there's these important two distinctions.

Without Christ, we are cut off,

separated from, estranged from God.

We have no point and purpose in our life

because we cannot properly worship the Creator.

We cannot do the thing we were created to do.

This is the bad news of this condition.

People are either in fellowship with God or they are not.

It's bad news, beloved.

To not be reconciled to God is bad news

because God hates sinners.

And yes, you heard me right.

God hates sinners.

His wrath burns white hot

against those who are His enemy.

I do not want to be on God's bad side

on the day of judgment.

God hates sinners.

Psalm 5, 5 and 6.

Listen carefully.

This is the holy writ.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes.

You hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies.

The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty

and deceitful man.

In the book of Psalms alone,

14 times in the first 50 Psalms,

it is stated that God hates sinners.

God is also love.

And He is perfectly love.

One time, a young lady asked Charles Spurgeon

how to reconcile the doctrines

of the sovereignty of God

and the responsibility of man.

And his response was,

why would we need to reconcile

two doctrines that are friends?

The same could be said here as well.

There's no real need for reconciliation

between the two.

God is also love.

And as such,

He has made a way

for our reconciliation in Christ.

He has made a way

to extend His love to humanity.

But you must know,

if you're not found in Christ,

God's graciousness in a particular way

is not extended to you.

In a general way, it is

because you're still alive.

You haven't already faced His wrath.

But in a particular way,

His love has not yet been received

because it must be received

in Christ.

If you're apart from Christ,

God hates you.

You have to hear it.

People want to make our sin

exterior to us, right?

The adage, the cliché term.

God doesn't hate sinners.

He hates their sin.

But if we are apart from Christ,

the sin that we do is who we are.

It's an outflow of who we are.

We are evil.

We are His enemies, right?

We with our actions say to Him,

I hate you and I hate your ways.

And God in turn says,

likewise.

And one day I will punish

and destroy you for eternity.

This is the judgment of God for sin.

We need to take sin seriously.

This false gospel

creates God's love

and never talks about

wrath and the consequence of sin

is what caused so many people

to be led astray.

The beginning of knowledge?

Fear of the Lord.

That we may know

that He will not tolerate

those who will not worship Him.

It is of great importance

that we rightly understand

the means and nature

of our salvation.

We have a need

for reconciliation.

We have a means

of reconciliation.

God's love

graciously extended

to us

in the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

The fear of God

enters into your heart.

Look to the cross

and see the love

of God

for you.

Many people today

believe that you must

simply believe

believe in something.

That right motivation

and sincerity

are the proper measure

of that belief.

And that belief itself

in some way

is salvific.

You talk to many people today

and they're spiritual people

and they believe

that they're good people.

And the measure

of that goodness

is found in the sincerity

of those affection.

But the road to hell

is paved

with good intentions.

The Bible

is constantly

and consistently

stressing

the proper

object

of belief.

Belief itself

is not enough.

You can believe

that a rock

will save me

from my sin.

But it has no benefit

to me.

There's no power

in the rock.

We must have

the proper

object

of belief.

Jesus Christ

and His sacrificial

work on the cross.

The first part

of verse 22

says,

He, being Christ,

has now reconciled

in His body

of flesh

by His death.

If we have believed

in Him,

He is reconciled

in His body

of flesh

by His death.

Us to God

and God

to us.

The sacrificial system,

the Old Testament

sacrificial system

was all meant

to prefigure

the ultimate

sacrifice

of Jesus Christ.

The way in which

animals were being

slaughtered.

The temple worship

was constant.

It was ongoing.

There was always

a flow of blood

coming from the temple

because of the sins

of Israel.

It was meant

to show us

the perfect sacrifice.

Prefigure

point to

the one

in whom

we believe.

Do you think

that God

doesn't hate sinners?

You need to listen

to Isaiah 53,

5-7.

Consider the way

in which God

turned His back

on Christ,

His Son,

perfect in every way

without sin,

laid on Him

the sins of His people

and poured His wrath

out on Him.

Hated Him

to death.

Isaiah 53,

5-7.

But He was pierced

for our transgressions.

He was crushed

for our iniquities.

Upon Him

was the chastisement

that brought us peace

and with His wounds

we are healed.

All like sheep

have gone astray,

every one of us.

We all need reconciliation.

We have turned

everyone

to His own way

and the Lord

has laid on Him

the iniquity

of us all.

He was oppressed

and He was afflicted

yet He opened

not His mouth

like a lamb

that is led

to the slaughter

and like a sheep

that before it

shears a silence

so He opened

not His mouth.

Beloved,

we have to understand

that Jesus Christ

is the means

of reconciliation.

He is the only

means of reconciliation.

His perfect life

imputed to us

that we may be found

righteous in Him

and His bearing

of our sin

on the cross

that we would be

forgiven

of those sins.

Apart from that,

the wrath

that was poured out

on Jesus Christ

will one day

be poured out

on you.

If Christ

is not born

your sin

because you have not

placed believing faith

in Him,

then it will be

one day

poured out on you

for eternity.

Christ drank up

the wrath of God

for the people

of the church

for all eternity.

And then He said

it is finished.

And He sat down

at the right hand

of the Father.

The author of Hebrews

in chapter 13,

11, and 12

reiterates this point.

For the bodies

of those animals

whose blood

is brought

into the holy places

by the high priest

as a sacrifice

for sin

are burned

outside the camp.

These animals

that were slaughtered

for the sins of Israel

burned outside the camp.

So Jesus also suffered

outside the gate

in order to sanctify

the people

through His own blood.

We've been reconciled

in His body of flesh

by His death.

Because of that work,

we have been reconciled.

Because of His activity

and His accomplishment

on the cross,

we can be,

I hope,

have been reconciled.

That we might join

with the writers

of the New Testament.

Romans 5, 11,

we also rejoice in God

through our Lord Jesus Christ

through whom we have now

received reconciliation.

Through Jesus.

What does that mean?

John 14, 6,

Jesus said to Him,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes to the Father

except through Me.

Ephesians 2, 8,

for by grace

you have been saved

through faith.

Faith

in the person

and the work

of Jesus Christ.

Rightly setting our belief

on the proper object.

This is the way

that we are reconciled

through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2, 8,

goes on to say,

and this is not

your own doing.

It is the gift of God.

Charles Spurgeon said,

reconciliation of man

to his Maker

is never achieved

by man,

but is the work of God

from first to last.

And to God

must be all the glory.

We've got to get this right.

It's of great importance

we rightly understand

the means and nature

of our salvation.

We have a need

for reconciliation.

Jesus Christ

is the means

of that reconciliation.

And there's a goal in mind.

There's a goal

of reconciliation.

The last part of verse 22.

In order

that to present

you holy

and blameless

and above reproach

before Him.

The right state

that we must be in

to enter into

the presence of God.

Set apart

from sin.

Taken away from it.

Sanctified

from sin.

To present you

holy and blameless

and above reproach.

All of these

have both

present

and future

implications.

They are realities

for this life

and

in the hereafter.

Paul says

that if we are

reconciled to God,

we are

holy,

separated from sin

and set apart

to God.

As a result

of faith

in Jesus Christ,

God sees

Christians

as united

with Christ

in His holiness.

This is that

imputed righteousness.

Jesus'

perfect life

given to us

by faith.

Ephesians 1.4

states that

God chose us

in Christ

before the foundation

of the world

that we should be

holy and blameless

before Him.

In 2 Corinthians 5.21

it says,

For our sake

He, being God,

made Him, being Christ,

to be sin

who knew no sin,

gave our sin

to Jesus

so that in Him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

So that in Christ

we are given

Christ's righteousness.

This is what

Martin Luther called

the great exchange.

Our sin given to Christ.

His righteousness

given to us.

We are also to be

presented blameless

this is without blemish.

Reconciliation gives us

a blameless character

and above reproach

which goes beyond

this idea

of being blameless.

No one

can bring a charge

against us.

Those who are found

in Christ.

Those who have been

reconciled to God.

No one can even bring

a charge against us.

Romans 8.32-34

He who did not

spare His own Son

but gave Him up

for us all,

how will He not

also

so with Him

graciously give us

all things.

Who shall bring

any charge

against God's elect?

It is God who justifies

who is to condemn.

Christ Jesus

is the one who died

more than that

who was raised,

who is at the right hand

of God,

who is indeed

interceding for us.

Because we have

a great intercessor,

the person Jesus Christ,

and because we are

found in Him,

we have been

reconciled

to God.

And because God

has reconciled us

to Himself,

He has declared us

righteous in Christ.

And no one can leverage

a legitimate accusation

against us

that has eternal weight.

It is an accomplished,

finished work

that we would be presented

in this way

before God.

So we have a need.

We have the means.

There's a goal.

There also ought to be

evidence

of our reconciliation.

Evidence.

of that reconciliation.

And beloved,

you need to hear this.

The church today

needs to hear this.

Paul's words in verse 23.

If indeed

you continue.

If indeed

you continue.

This has been accomplished

on your behalf.

You were once

alienated

and hostile mind

and doing evil deeds,

but now

Jesus Christ

by the work of His blood

has reconciled you

to God

to present you

blameless,

holy,

above reproach,

before Him

if indeed

you continue

in this faith.

If you have

professed faith

in Jesus Christ,

His person

and His work,

and then you

continue

in this faith.

Stable

and steadfast.

Not shifting

from the hope

of the gospel

that you heard,

which has been

proclaimed in all

creation under heaven

and of which I,

Paul,

became a minister.

If you

continue

in the faith,

then here is presented

the doctrine

of the perseverance

of the saints.

Those who are truly

in Christ,

who are saints,

will

persevere

to the end.

The doctrine states

that all those

who are in Christ

will persist

in holiness

until the end,

their death

or Christ's return.

They will persist

in holiness.

Progress

in holiness.

Not found perfect

on our own.

Certainly found

righteous in Christ

before God.

Not living perfect lives,

but persisting,

moving on

in holiness.

Continually hating

more of the world

and loving more

of the things

of God.

Turning from sin

and turning to Christ.

You've heard me say

many times before

our trajectory

should be heavenward.

We should be working

in that direction.

Zoom out

from our lives

and that's the way

the graph should run.

Zoom in on any

given moment?

Maybe not.

But in a general sense,

we ought to be

pressing towards

holiness.

Some prefer to call

this doctrine

the perseverance

and preservation

of the saints

in order to express

both the proper activity,

that is,

a pursuit of holiness

of the Christian,

as well as the timeline

for that.

That God will take us

all the way

to the end.

That we are

eternally secure.

We've been sanctified

and we are being

sanctified to express

both of those things.

This must be true

of the Christian.

To know that you're

reconciled to God.

There must be some

evidence of such a claim.

Simply, those who claim

to be disciples

of Jesus Christ

follow Him.

They must follow Him.

The very definition

of the Word.

To say,

I follow Jesus Christ

and then to not

follow Him

is idiotic.

If we are disciples

of Jesus Christ,

we do what He says.

We're obedient

to the call

of the Gospel.

We take up

the promises.

We obey the commands.

We press in

to the truth.

John 3.36

Jesus says,

whoever believes

in the Son

has eternal life.

True.

Right?

Fantastic.

Oh, those words

are precious.

Whoever believes

in the Son

has eternal life.

But He helps us

understand this Greek

word belief,

which is not simply

mental cognition,

but rather the type

of belief that

changes you.

Right?

And it reorients

the way in which

you live.

And He helps us

with that in verse 36.

He goes on to say,

whoever does not

obey the Son

shall not see life,

but the wrath of God

remains on Him.

There are too many

people who claim

to know the Gospel

of Jesus Christ

and believe it

and live in

contradiction to it.

Luke 6.43-45

Jesus says,

for no good tree

bears bad fruit,

nor again does a bad

tree bear good fruit,

for each tree is known

by its fruit.

Now certainly,

occasionally,

an apple tree bears

an apple that's not

delicious.

But still it bears

apples.

For figs are not

gathered from

thorn bushes,

nor are grapes

picked from a

bramble bush.

The good person

out of the good

treasure of his

heart produces

good,

and the evil person

out of his evil

treasure produces

evil.

evil.

How do we know

this then?

How can we possibly

know,

how can we have

some indicator,

some measure of

whether or not

we have been

reconciled?

Whether or not we

are found in Christ?

We've been given a

book that you can

read,

and you can see

how it is that the

Christian is supposed

to live.

And you can not just

read the book,

but let the book

read you,

and show how you

fail at these

things.

Even though I'm

not perfect,

I have a great

confidence that I

am of God,

because when I read

the things that I

don't do well,

I am convicted by

those things,

and I want to do

those things.

I don't want to

continue in the

old Nathan ways,

the old self.

I want to be the

new self.

I want to live by

the power of God

within me to do

the things I am

supposed to do.

I love His Word.

I treasure it.

I want to be

sinless.

I so desire that,

to cast off the

burden of my sin

and all of the

consequence that

comes with it.

I want to be

perfect,

so I press at it,

and I go after it,

and this is the

evidence that Christ

is at work within

me.

Pick up the book

and read it,

and let it read

you.

Ask that God

would work in

your heart by the

power of His Word.

This is the tool

that the Spirit

of God uses in

our lives,

not your feelings.

Never your feelings.

He uses the Word

of God.

It is precious to us

for this,

that we might

measure our lives

by it.

1 John,

if you are doubting

whether or not

you have placed

believing faith in

Christ,

go read the book

of 1 John.

It is just

constantly saying

to you,

hold yourself up

to this.

Look at your life

in comparison to this.

Be sure you are

found in the faith.

Beloved,

eternal consequence

is at play here.

Don't think you're

good enough.

Know that you're

found in Christ.

That you'll never

be good enough,

but that you're

found in Christ.

And as such,

your affections have

been turned.

You're moving in a

different direction.

You have repented,

turned from sin,

and you've been

turned to God.

I have been accused

of heresy

teaching such a thing.

1 John 5.1

given as the

counterpoint.

Now I recognize

the danger in telling

you that there has

to be some measure,

some outwardly

visible thing

that's going to help

you know you're

found in Christ.

I get that.

I get the fear

it may even cause

you,

but that's a good

thing if you're

not found in Christ.

I hope the majority

of you this morning

are saying,

I'm good.

I fail,

but I'm good.

I know that I have

this eternal security

in Him.

1 John 5.1 says,

Everyone who believes

that Jesus is the

Christ has been

born of God,

and everyone who

loves the Father

loves whoever has

been born of Him.

There's the text,

the counterpoint

to this thing.

Everyone who believes,

who has professed

faith in Jesus Christ

has been born of God.

But verses 2-5

go on.

By this we know

that we love the

children of God,

when we love God

and obey His commandments.

For this is the

love of God,

that we keep His commandments.

And His commandments

are not burdensome.

For everyone who has

been born of God

overcomes the world.

And this is the

victory that has

overcome the world,

our faith.

Who is it that

overcomes the world

except the one

who believes

that Jesus

is the Son

of God?

You see what

John does for us

there?

He says,

if you believe

that Jesus is the

Christ,

you've been born of God.

But then he tells us

how it is that we're

meant to give expression

of that.

That we're supposed

to actually show

evidence forth

of that.

And then he

encapsulates with

verse 5,

who is it that

overcomes the world?

Except the one

who believes

that Jesus is

the Son

of God.

We have to hold

our lives up

to the great truth

of the Scripture.

We must

see evidence

that we're good

trees or we're not.

And then repentance

and faith.

Right?

You can be confident

this morning

that you're found

in Christ.

Repent of your sin

and turn to Him.

It's of great

importance that we

rightly understand

the means and nature

of our salvation

because we need

to be reconciled

to God

and Jesus Christ

is the only means

by which this is

possible.

We need to be

presented before God

clothed in Christ's

righteousness.

We need to ask

ourselves if we are

truly saved

and we need to

lead others

in doing the same.

Beloved,

there is a ripe

harvest to be had

in the church.

Those who are

churched,

many,

many people,

your friends

and your

co-workers.

I know very few

people who won't

say,

yeah,

I go to church.

Yeah,

I'm a Christian.

They need to be

asked smart,

probing questions.

You need to spend

time with them

and you need to

show them what

pursuing Christ

looks like.

You need to

experience it for

yourself and you

need to display it

and proclaim it

in your living.

The supremacy of

Jesus Christ in all

things to all

peoples.

will you labor

with me in that

proclamation?

I hope that you

will with our

living and with

our words in all

things to all

peoples.

I'm going to

close by reading

to you again

another prayer.

You can tell I

poked around in

this book this

morning.

This is a

prayer from,

again,

from the Valley

of Vision.

It's a collection

of Puritan

prayers entitled

Reconciliation.

Reconciliation.

Lord God

Almighty,

Thou art

beforehand with

men,

for Thou hast

reconciled Thyself

to the world

through the cross

and dost beseech

men to accept

reconciliation.

It is my

responsibility to

grasp Thy

overtures of

grace,

for if Thou,

the offended

part,

act first with

the word of

appeasement,

I need not

call and

question Thy

willingness to

save,

but must

deplore my

own foolish

maliciousness.

If I do not

come to Thee as

one who seeks

Thy favor,

I live in

contempt,

anger,

malice,

self-sufficiency,

and Thou

dost call it

enmity.

Thou hast

taught me

the necessity

of a mediator,

a Messiah,

to embrace

in love

with all my

heart,

as King

to rule me,

as prophet

to guide me,

and as priest

to take away

my sin

and death,

and this by

faith in Thy

beloved Son

who teaches

me not to

guide myself,

not to obey

myself,

not to try

to rule and

conquer sin,

but to cleave

to the One

who will do

all for me.

Thou hast

made known

to me that

to save

me is

Christ's

work,

but to

cleave to

Him by

faith is

my work,

and with

this faith

in the

necessity

of my

daily

repentance

as a

mourning

for the

sin which

Christ by

grace

has removed.

Continue,

O God,

to teach

me that

faith

apprehends

Christ's

righteousness

not only

for the

satisfaction

of justice,

but as

unspotted

evidence

of Thy

love to

me.

Help me

to make

use of

His work

of salvation

as the

ground of

peace and

of Thy

favor to

and acceptance

of me,

the sinner,

so that I

may live

always near

the cross.

Let's pray

together.