The Cost of Salvation

If you don't know me, my name is Alan. I'm one of the staff here at Watermark.

It's an incredible joy, an incredible privilege to bring God's Word to us this morning.

Before Annabelle and Catherine comes and reads the Scripture to us,

I thought of just recapping a little bit.

We've been going through, for about four weeks now, we've been going through 2 Samuel.

And one thing we've been looking at is this David, right?

David, the glorious king in his glorious kingdom, which because of sin,

just feels like there's a lot of stuff happening because of the consequences of sin.

Even though David repents, we see the consequences at working itself throughout the story.

Now, we see him being very passive. We see him being very quiet, not bringing justice.

And finally, if you remember last week, we start seeing some changes in David.

More of he was going back to who he was.

Now, David, we start seeing him praying a little bit, him surrendering to God last week.

But what we find in the story last week was that his son, Absalom, was chasing him

because there's almost like a coup, a rebellion to get rid of David

so Absalom, his son, can steal David's throne.

What we're going to see today is God is going to finally rescue David.

God is finally going to, in many ways, bring salvation to David.

And what I mean by salvation is he's going to save David.

Now, it's not going to be a great story. It is a great story.

But what you're going to find is that salvation, that David's deliverance,

is going to come at a very deep cost.

So in many ways, it is a great story. It is a very sweet story.

But it ends on a very, what we call a very bitter and sweet ending.

So, hey, let's listen to God's word.

This is God's word. This is what's going to change our life.

God's word is God in spell, speaking to us, revealing who he is to us.

So let us sit under God's word.

Let us receive as Catherine and Ann go.

We'll read that in one.

So, guys.

The scripture for today comes from 2 Samuel, chapter 18, verses 1 to 5, 9 to 15, 24 to 33,

2 Samuel 18:1–5

and chapter 19, verses 1 to 8a.

So do follow along on the screen in your bulletin or your own Bibles.

Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

And David sent out the army, one-third under the command of Joab,

one-third under the command of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother,

and one-third under the command of Ittite, the Gittite.

And the king said to the men,

I myself will also go out with you.

But the men said,

You shall not go out, for if we flee, they will not care about us.

If half of us die, they will not care about us.

But you are worth ten thousand of us.

Therefore, it is better that you send us help from the city.

The king said to them,

Whatever seems best to you, I will do.

So the king stood at the side of the gate,

while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittite,

Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.

And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David.

Absalom was riding on his mule,

and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak.

And his head caught fast in the oak,

and he was suspended between heaven and earth,

while the mule that was under him went on.

And a certain man saw it and told Joab,

Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.

Joab said to the man who told him,

What? You saw him?

Why then did you not strike him there to the ground?

I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.

But the man said to Joab,

Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver,

I would not reach out my hand against the king's son.

For in our hearing, the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittite,

For my sake protect the young man Absalom.

And on the other hand,

If I had dealt treacherously against his life,

and there is nothing hidden from the king,

then you yourself would have stood aloof.

Joab said,

I will not waste time like this with you.

And he took three javelins in his hand

and thrust them into the heart of Absalom

while he was still alive in the oak.

And the ten young men,

Joab's armor bearers,

surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

At verse 24 we read,

Now David was sitting between the two gates,

and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall.

And when he lifted up his eyes and looked,

he saw a man running alone.

The watchman called out and told the king,

and the king said,

If he's alone,

there is news in his mouth.

And he drew nearer and nearer.

The watchman saw another man running,

and the watchman called to the gate and said,

See, another man running alone.

The king said,

He also brings news.

The watchman said,

I think the running of the first one

is like the running of Ahimeaz,

the son of Zadok.

And the king said,

He's a good man and comes with good news.

Then Ahimeaz cried out to the king,

All is well.

And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said,

Blessed be the Lord your God,

who has delivered up the man who raised their hand against my lord, the king.

And the king said,

Is it well with the young man Absalom?

Ahimeaz answered,

When Joab sent the king's servant,

your servant,

I saw a great commotion,

but I do not know what it was.

And the king said,

Turn aside and stand here.

So he turned aside and stood still.

And behold,

the Cushite came,

and the Cushite said,

Good news for my lord, the king,

for the lord has delivered you to this day

from the hand of all who rose up against you.

The king said to the Cushite,

Is it well with the young man Absalom?

And the Cushite answered,

May the enemies of my lord, the king,

and all who rise up against you for evil

be like that young man.

And the king was steeply moved

and went up to the chamber over the gate

and wept.

And as he went,

he said,

Oh, my son Absalom,

my son,

my son Absalom,

would I have died instead of you,

O Absalom,

my son,

my son.

And in chapter 19,

it was told that Job,

Behold,

the king is weeping

and mourning for Absalom.

So the victory that day

was turned into mourning

for all the people.

And for the people heard that day,

the king is grieving for his son.

And the people

stole into the city

that day

as people steal in

who are ashamed

when they flee in battle.

The king covered his face

and the king cried

with a loud voice,

Oh,

my son Absalom,

Oh,

Absalom,

my son,

my son.

Then Job came into the house

to the king

and said,

You have today covered with shame

the faces of all your servants

and have this day saved your life

and the lives of your sons

and your daughters

and the lives of your wives

and your concubines.

Because you love those who hate you

and hate those who love you.

For you have made it clear today

that commanders and servants

are nothing to you.

For today I know that

if Absalom were alive

and all of us were dead today,

then you would be pleased.

Now,

therefore arise,

go out,

and speak kindly to your servants.

For I swear by the Lord,

if you do not go,

not a man will stay with you

this night.

And this will be worse for you

than all the evil

that has come upon you

from your mouth,

from your youth until now.

Then the king arose

and took his seat in the gate.

And the people were all told,

Behold,

the king is sitting in the gate.

And all the people

came before the king.

This is the word of God.

Thank you guys.

Hey church,

why don't we pray

before we start.

Father God,

we come before you

this morning.

You're a God

who's gracious and kind,

who's good

in all of your ways.

Lord,

as we sit under your word,

Father,

we pray,

may your spirit

work in our hearts

to receive

what you say this morning.

Would you

help us

not just understand,

but

also would you

change our hearts

to live a life

that's

pleasing to you,

that brings you glory,

that brings you honor

in all ways.

Father,

we pray,

come do your incredible work

through your word

in our lives

and in our church.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So,

as you saw,

that was quite a

reading,

wasn't it?

Okay,

this mic,

I'm just going to move away

from this mic.

I wonder if how many of us

have been in that kind of situation

where you know

what is the right thing to do,

but you find it so difficult

to do it

because it comes

with a very heavy price

or a heavy cost.

You know,

maybe if you're a youth there,

it's standing up for

something that you believe

is right,

something that is right,

but the cost is

you're looked at

as if you're very arrogant

or ignorant

or very weird.

Or maybe

if you're working in office,

maybe if you,

your boss is being

very unjust

to a colleague

and the right thing to do

is to stand up

against your boss,

but the cost is

you might have a target

on your back now.

Or maybe

a promotion

comes your way

and you know

the right thing to do

is reject it

because that takes

time away from your family,

which is already tight,

but the heavy cost is

you're going to miss out

on a higher salary,

which might be,

could have been helpful

for your family.

You see a situation

where you know

what is the right thing to do,

you know what has to be done,

but it's very difficult

because of the heavy cost

that comes with it.

In today's story,

that's what we find

in David's life.

David finds himself

in a very similar situation

and if I may,

actually a much more

difficult situation.

So why don't we dive

straight into God's word.

Let's dive into God's word

and the first thing

you're going to see

is this tension

that David has.

David's tension.

So if you have

your Bible with you

or if you have

the bulletin,

just follow along

the scripture.

So verse 1 and 2

in chapter 18,

right?

What you're going to find

is this battle

between Absalom

and David's people,

David's servants,

army,

that's going to start

and you can see them

organizing this army,

thousands and hundreds

and it almost feels

like this,

like a lot of the rings

kind of final war

kind of thing,

right?

They're marching outside

and this huge,

feels like,

oh,

something's going to happen.

Something's going to go on

and then you come down

to verse 2

and David comes

and he says,

hey,

I'm going to join you guys

as you go out

in the battle.

David says,

hey,

I'm going to go out

and fight this battle

with you.

But verse 3,

if you calm down,

what do they say?

Verse 3 says,

hey,

you shall not go out.

David,

you shall not go out

for if we flee,

they will not care about us.

If half of us die,

they will not care.

But you,

you,

David,

you are worth

10,000 of us.

In other words,

David's men

really value David

because it's something

that they understand

and they understand this,

that the king

is important

for the kingdom.

There cannot be any kingdom

without this king.

So David

has to be alive.

So,

which is why,

if you think about that,

which is why

what David says

in verse 5

is pretty ridiculous.

Right?

What does he say?

He calls them,

he calls the three commanders

and in front of,

as the army's marching on,

he calls them

and he says,

hey,

deal gently

for my sake

with the young man

Absalom.

I mean,

it's like,

it's like telling the doctor

who's doing

a cancer operation

on you,

telling the doctor like,

hey,

can you deal gently

with the tumor?

Like,

don't,

just don't fully cut it,

okay?

Deal gently with it.

Or imagine you're going

for a volleyball

final,

final match

and then the coach

calls you guys

and says like,

hey,

deal gently

with the other team,

okay?

Just don't play too hard.

We don't want to hurt them

or something like that.

And that's exactly

what's happening here,

right?

It's like,

imagine you're marching

up in the battle,

you're marching out

and the king,

you hear the king say,

hey,

deal gently

with the enemy.

Like,

hey,

if you see them,

like,

yeah,

you know,

just let them

kind of go.

But the thing is,

Absalom had to go

in the same way

the tumor has to go

if the person had to,

if the man had to live.

Absalom was out

to kill David.

Absalom was not around

playing.

He was out

to kill David

and if you remember

Absalom's track record

of murder,

there's no doubt about it.

I mean,

we skipped chapter 17

but chapter 17

is a lot about

receiving counsel

about how to get rid

of David.

How can we get rid

of David?

Now,

Absalom was out

to kill

and murder David.

And you see,

if the kingdom of God,

if this kingdom

was to live on,

if God's chosen king

was to live on,

then he needed

to be alive.

You cannot have

Absalom around

if you want the king

and the kingdom

to be around.

So it was this tension.

But,

but then Absalom

was not just any enemy,

was he?

He was not just

another one

of David's enemy.

You see,

and this is where

David's tension

comes in

because Absalom

was his son.

But Absalom

had to go

if David

was to live.

But that was his son.

But,

but the thing is,

David and Absalom

didn't have the greatest

father and son

relationship, right?

I mean,

they spent like

almost two years

not speaking to each other.

Absalom spent

most of his,

about four years

of planning

and working

to kill David.

Now,

it's not the best

father and son

relationship,

but nonetheless,

this was David's son.

And the tension

was that of

having Absalom

to die,

but the tension

was David

did not want

that to happen.

David did not want

that to be sin.

And this tension

is something

we're going to see

throughout today's

scripture,

throughout today's

word.

But I want us to

just sit on that

for a while.

You know,

a situation

where you know

what is the right

thing to do,

but it's difficult,

but it comes

with a cost.

That kind of

situation.

And if you think

about it,

whenever we are

in those kind

of situations,

it tells us

a lot about

our own heart,

doesn't it?

In the same way,

it tells us

about David's

affection towards

his son,

Absalom.

I mean,

the last chapter

of chapter 19,

it talks,

I mean,

Joab scolds

David about that.

He says like,

man,

you love

your son,

Absalom,

more than you love us.

We have fought

and given our lives

to save you.

And think about

our lives.

Whenever we are

in those kind

of situations,

does it not tell us

about our heart?

Think about

that example

of standing up

to your boss,

but it comes

with the cost

of having a target

on your back.

Maybe it tells us

that our heart

treasures our own

comfort and security

more than justice.

How about

for the promotion

that can take away

time?

Maybe it tells us

about our heart

that we would

rather love

our family

with money

than actually

spending time

with our families.

You see,

these examples

are of course

very complex,

right?

It's more,

it's not just

black and white.

But what I'm trying

to push us

to see is that

whenever we find

it difficult

to do something

that is right

because it comes

with a cost,

it actually tells us

a lot about our heart.

Maybe it's something

as simple as

getting out of your bed

to read your Bible.

Maybe the cost

is getting out

of your bed.

But does that

not tell us

about our heart

that we would

rather enjoy

our comfort

in our bed

rather than

sitting in God's

word?

So that's something

to think about.

But now coming

back to the story,

as we see this

tension

and all the people

hear of David's

request,

they hear,

hey,

deal gently

with Absalom,

deal gently

with this young man

Absalom.

Now what we're

going to find

in the next act

of this story

is the battle

starts.

The battle

begins

and through

this battle

what we're

going to see

is that

David is

going to be

delivered

which leads

us to the

second act

of the story.

So if you're

on your bulletin

look at from

verse 6 onwards.

Verse 6

and 7

it tells us

about the battle.

Now this battle

is devastating,

is brutal.

About 20,000

people are killed

and because

the battle

is in a forest,

the forest itself

takes more

life.

I don't know

how that was,

maybe it was

branches and

swamps,

but it's a very

brutal and

devastating war.

And what we're

going to see in

this battle

is that

God's hand

in delivering

David

is fully

in control.

God is fully

in control

throughout this

battle.

Now in the

midst of the

battle,

what do we

find?

We find

Absalom

riding his

mule.

Now we must

wonder,

why is

Absalom

in the

middle of

the battle

when the

army of

his enemy,

King David

is not even

in the

battlefield?

Why is he

there but

King David

is not

there?

And for

that we

got to go

back to

chapter 17.

And if you

look at

chapter 17,

God actually

had a hand

in bringing

Absalom to

the forest.

It's not in

the bulletin

but if you

look at

17 verse

14 it

says,

for the

Lord had

ordained to

defeat the

good counsel

of Ahithophel.

Now basically

what happened

was Absalom

was taking

counsel on

how to

kill or

how to

defeat David.

And Ahithophel

was this one

counselor,

one consultant

who had the

best consultant

firm at

those days.

And he

and he

his counsel

was basically

defeated by

God.

But then

Absalom

took the

counsel of

another man

which told

him to

go out

into the

field.

You see

the reason

Absalom

was there

in the

field in

first place

was because

God

had put

him there.

And what

happens if

you look at

verse 9?

And Absalom

happened to

meet the

servants of

David.

Absalom

was riding

on his

mule and

the mule

went under

thick branches

of great

oak and

his head

was caught

fast in

the oak

and he

was suspended

from heaven

and earth

while the

mule that

was under

him went

on.

In many

ways that

looks very

comical.

Imagine you're

out in the

battlefield,

you turn

around the

bush and

boom,

your enemy

is there

hanging on

a tree.

Like that.

It's sad

but it

feels like

wow,

that's so

much easier

than I

thought,

right?

But if

you think

about it,

this is

not a

coincidence

because in

God's word

there is

no coincidence.

God was

very much

in control

because if

you remember

in Deuteronomy

21,

it says that

anyone that

is hanging

from a tree

is cursed

by God.

Absalom

was cursed

by God.

In other

words,

if you look

at the

verse we

looked at

chapter 17,

it said that

God had

ordained to

bring harm

to Absalom.

God was

out to

bring justice

against

Absalom.

So we

find Absalom

hanging on

the tree,

unable to

do anything

and here

again we

see this

little bit

of tension,

right?

A soldier

comes in

and he's

like,

oh man,

I cannot

kill,

this is the

king,

king said

don't kill

him and

Joab is

like,

why don't

you kill

him?

And there's

this whole

tension and

finally,

Joab comes

in,

the commander,

he knows

what needs

to be done

and he goes

in and he

takes the

life of

Absalom and

it was done.

So the

question is,

what was

done?

What did

Absalom's

death mean

for David

or for the

kingdom of

God?

So I want

us to look

at verse 19

onwards and

that's where we

find our

answer.

Verse 19,

we do not

read in our

scripture reading

but what

happens here

is,

now the

battle's

finished,

Absalom is

dead,

now who

is going to

go and tell

David the

news?

Who is

going to

go tell

David that

the battle

is won but

his son is

dead?

And there's

this whole

tension again,

right?

There's one

guy who's,

Ahimez says,

I want to

go and tell

the king.

And Joab in

all his wisdom

says,

I don't think

it's a great

idea,

it's not the

best news and

he sends

another guy but

Ahimez is

like,

no,

no,

no,

no,

I want to

go and

finally Joab

was like,

fine,

go and

Ahimez takes

a shortcut,

wins this

other guy

to tell the

news.

But what I

want us to

notice here is,

I want us to

notice the

news that

they were

bringing.

See what was

the news,

what had

actually happened

from their

mouth.

Look at

verse 19

on the bulletin,

it says,

then Ahimez,

the son of

Zadok,

said,

let me run

and carry

the news

to the

king.

And what

was the

news?

That the

Lord has

delivered him

from the

hand of

his enemies.

Now,

this is not

just a

random message

because this

is a message

that's repeated

two more

times,

in a total

of three

more times

and anything

that's repeated

in God's

word is

important.

Okay,

look at

verse 28.

28,

he says,

again,

the news

is,

who has

delivered up

the man

who has

raised their

hand against

my lord,

the king.

Look at

verse 31

again.

The good

news is

what?

For the

Lord has

delivered you

this day

from the

hand of

all who

rose up

against you.

So,

what has

God done

for David?

God has

delivered David

from the

hand of

his enemies,

those that

have raised

their hand

against him.

Those,

they are

all defeated.

David is

saved.

David is

delivered.

Man,

that's the

great news,

isn't it?

That's the

great news

for the

kingdom.

God's

kingdom,

God's

chosen king

is saved.

I mean,

all these

people that

had to run

away because

of the

rebellion,

that had to,

as they were

running away,

being mocked as

they ran away,

being cursed as

they ran away,

being stoned as

they ran away,

being exiled

because of their

sin away from

God's kingdom,

all these people,

all this situation

is finally

over.

God has

delivered David

and his people.

But then,

it doesn't

really feel that

way,

does it?

It doesn't

feel like it's

a great and

joyful moment.

Look at

verse 28.

Ahimez comes

with the same

joyful attitude,

right?

He comes with

this like,

woohoo,

it's done.

Let's go and

tell the king.

And Ahimez says,

yeah,

God has

delivered you.

And David

asks him,

hey,

but what about

the young man

Absalom?

What happened?

And Ahimez was

like,

whoops.

And he knows

what happened,

but he tells a

lie,

right?

He says,

I don't know,

there was a

crowd there,

something was

happening,

not exactly sure,

but yeah,

I don't know.

And David

tells him to,

why don't you

stand at the

side?

The second

messenger comes

in,

David,

God has

delivered you

from the

enemies,

the young

man Absalom?

Ahimez must

have been at

the side,

like,

don't tell

him.

And he

says,

basically,

Absalom was

no more.

And then in

verse 33,

David goes

back to his

room and

he grieves

and he mourns.

Now,

I don't think

David was

shocked by

the news.

he knew

that this

was going

to happen.

If you

remember

verse 1

to 5,

the whole

army,

you cannot,

as the army

was going

out against

Absalom,

we know

that war

isn't over

until the

enemies are

defeated.

It's not

a shock

that Absalom

was going

to be

defeated

and that

his life

was going

to be

taken.

You see,

but then

still,

David,

for some

hopeful

reason,

he gives

this request

of deal

gently

with this

young man

Absalom.

But if you

think about

it,

this whole

ordeal,

this whole

thing,

David kind

of knew,

he was not

shocked by the

news,

and yet it

comes and

he's in

his grieving

and mourning.

Yes,

he was

delivered,

but then

there was

this whole

sadness

to it,

which leads

us to

our last

thought,

last act

of the

story,

which is

the cost.

If you

look at

from verse

33 all

the way

till chapter

19,

verse 4,

we see

David

grieving,

David

mourning.

I mean,

yes,

he was

delivered from

his enemies,

yes,

he was

allowed to

come back

into God's

kingdom now,

but

nonetheless,

the deliverance

of him

was very,

very costly.

You see,

we see here

David mourning

his son,

but maybe,

not maybe,

but perhaps,

David was

also mourning

his role

in that.

You see,

because this

whole story

is an

outworking

of the

consequences

of David's

sin.

You see,

his sin

in being

very passive

when there

was abuse,

and murder

David's

sin in

being very

passive

and not

bringing

justice

when this

was happening

among his

son.

And more

than that,

his sin

right from

the beginning

of,

with Bathsheba,

where he

took a

woman that

was not

his wife

and murdered

her husband.

And outworking

of his sin,

we see it

throughout the

story.

And look

at the end

of verse 33

in chapter 18,

he says,

would I

have died

instead of

you?

And that

seems to be

a mourning,

yeah,

both of his

son,

but also a

mourning because

of his role

in this whole

event.

Now,

this does not

mean that

Absalom was

completely innocent

and guiltless.

I mean,

Absalom had

raised his hand

against the

Lord himself

by opposing

God's

appointed king.

Right?

If you remember

the story of

David,

when he was

running away

from King

Saul,

David never

raised his

hand against

King Saul.

Why?

Why?

Because he

was God's

appointed,

anointed one.

He was God's

chosen and he

would not raise

his hand against

God's chosen,

no matter how

much injustice

he was facing.

And in the same

way,

but what we see

here is Absalom

is raising his

hand against

God's anointed

one,

which is similar

to him raising

his hands against

the Lord himself.

Not only that,

he was someone

who planned a

murder for two

years.

And after that,

he was planning

a rebellion for

four years,

put it to work

and done it

and out to

kill David.

You see,

he's not like

most people.

Most people get

angry,

they do something,

they say something

and then they

regret it.

Right?

It's very

impulsive.

But Absalom

was a type of

man who gets

angry,

who plans it

out for two

years,

holds on to

it,

and then commits

and executes

it.

In many ways,

he's a very

evil man.

Very angry

and very

out to

kill man.

And justice

has come

upon him.

But going

back to

David's

deliverance,

we still see

that it came

with a cost.

We see that

what was broken

between David

and God,

his exile,

and for him

to come back,

it came with

a cost.

But if you

think about

it,

isn't that

what life

is like?

Isn't that

reality?

I mean,

if someone

breaks a

cup,

it's going

to cost

someone to

put it

back together.

Someone

got to

spend some

time and

money and

glue and

stuff.

I mean,

even if

someone buys

you a

cup,

it's not

free.

Someone pays

the cost

for that.

It's a

reality in

human

relationship.

When a

husband cheats

on his

wife,

for there

to be

reconciliation,

there is

a cost.

The wife

pays it

by choosing

not to

think about

it,

by choosing

to forgive,

learning to

trust again.

There's a

cost when

there's a

conflicts,

when one

person has

to forgive

in the

midst of

pain.

One

person has

to pay

the cost

of saying

it's okay,

I forgive

you.

You see,

it's a

reality in

life,

it's a

reality in

human

relationships,

and it's

a reality

with God.

God cannot

just forgive

us.

It comes

with a

cost.

There is

a cost

for our

sins to

be forgiven,

and who

is going

to pay

that cost?

And in

this story,

we see

that David

were in the

wilderness,

exiled,

very symbolic

of being

exiled away

from God's

kingdom because

of sin.

what is

going to

bring them

back?

And we

see the

cost that

David goes

through.

But the

question is,

how about

for you?

How about

for us?

Who is

going to

pay the

cost of

our sins?

Who has

the capacity

to pay

that cost?

You know,

by God's

word tells

us the

wages of

sin is

death.

Who here

has the

capacity to

pay that?

Who is

pure enough

to pay

that?

Well,

if you

are in

Christ,

I want

us to

think about

this.

You and

I,

we can

stand

before a

holy God

and ask

for forgiveness

and have

the assurance

of being

forgiven and

be forgiven

because that

cost has

already been

paid by

Jesus.

You see,

when a

criminal

murders

or kills

a person,

we cannot

just say,

oh,

it's okay,

that's fine,

don't do it

again.

He has to

pay the

price.

And it's

the same

for us.

Our sin

is a sin

against God.

And the

one who

is supposed

to pay

is us,

no one

else.

But when

we come

to the

cross,

it was

not us

who pays,

but it

was God,

the one

who we

sin against,

He is

the one

who pays

the cost

of our

sin.

Isn't

that

incredible?

You see,

God was

the one

who pays

it.

In fact,

2 Corinthians

5 tells

us,

for our

sake,

God made

Him,

Jesus,

who knew

no sin,

to become

sin,

so that in

Him,

we can have

the righteousness

of God.

In other

words,

because He

took the

cost,

now we can

have the

righteousness

of God.

we can

be forgiven,

washed,

and have

the right

standing

before God.

Because

Jesus,

Christ Jesus

paid that

price,

paid the

cost.

Isn't

that

incredible?

Isn't

that an

amazing

grace?

In a bit,

we're going

to sing

this song,

and there's

this line

in the

song that

says,

because

the

sinless

Savior

died,

my

sinful

soul

is now

set free.

For

God the

just is

satisfied,

to look

on Him

and pardon

me.

That's

something to

really ponder

upon.

That God

will look

at Christ

and would

pardon us

and unworthy,

undeserving

sinners,

because Jesus

paid that

price.

And if

you're new

here today,

or if you

have not

really given

your life

to Christ,

this is an

incredible

invitation to

come and

receive His

love,

isn't it?

You see,

because on

the cross,

the price

has been

paid,

which means

that you

don't have

to perform,

you don't

have to

do a

thousand

good deeds

to be

accepted

by God.

You don't

have to

sort out

yourself

and get

your life

in place,

sorted,

and come

before God,

because we

can all

come before

God with

our brokenness

and sin,

because when

we give our

life to

Christ in

faith,

we can

know that

the cost

has been