LIVE | Sola Christus | Colossians 1:13-20

the options who will never let them go is he is your your voice [Music] he is is and tenderness you saw me weary [Music] [Music] again is [Music] [Music] the grace that brought me to the god grace that brought me [Music] [Music] he whispered you are sure [Music] [Music] oh oh god [Music] [Music] [Music] with all is [Music] days oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] grace that brought me [Music] [Music] nothing but the blood of jesus what can nothing but the blood of jesus [Music] but the blood of jesus for my [Music] is [Music] this is all my righteousness jesus oh precious nothing but the blood of jesus oh precious [Music] so right so [Music] [Music] and on his shoulders [Music] the grace that brought me to the gods he died for me while i [Music] me [Music] it made [Music] [Music] oh [Music] upon his grace ponder [Music] good morning you guys go ahead and rise with us [Music] and i searched the world but it couldn't fill me a man's empty prayers and treasures of faith are never enough then you came along and put me back together and every desire is now satisfied and hearing in love oh there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you and i'm not afraid to show you my weakness my failures and flaws lord you've seen them all and you still call me friends cause the god of the mountain is the god of the valleys and there's not a place your mercy and grace won't find me again lord there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] you turn morning to dancing you give beauty for ashes you turn shame into glory you're the only one who cares you turn morning to dancing you give beauty for ashes you turn shame into glory you're the only one who cares you turn graves into gardens you turn bones into army you turn season to highways you're the only one [Music] lord there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] lord there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] [Applause] you turn graves into gardens you turn bones into armies you turn season to highways you're the only one who cares [Music] [Music] lord you're so faithful lord you are you are such a good father to us lord when we are undeserving you just consistently show us your love and your mercy so lord you are worthy of all of our praise [Music] think your life but i've heard the tender whisper of loving the dead of night and you tell me that you're pleasing that i'm never alone you're a good good father to you it's who you are it's who you [Music] who i are i am it's who i am [Music] many searching for answers far and wide but i know where all searching for answers only you provide because you know just what we need before [Music] it's who you are it's who you are by you it's who i [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] who i am [Applause] your good good father it's who you are it's who you are [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's who i am because you're perfectly [Applause] [Music] you are perfect in all of [Music] undeniable i can't hardly speak be so unexplainable i can hardly think as you call me [Music] deeper still as you call me deeper still as you calm me deeper still into love love love you're a good good father it's who you are it's who you are and i'm loved [Music] [Applause] [Music] in all of your ways you are perfect in all of your ways you are perfect [Music] too [Music] [Music] are you hurting and broken within overwhelmed by the weight of your sin jesus is calling have you come to the end of yourself do you thirst for a drink from the well jesus is calling oh come to the altar the father's arms are open wide [Music] jesus christ [Music] leave behind your regrets and mistakes come today there's no reason to wait jesus is calling bring your sorrows and trade them for joy [Music] from the ashes a new life is born jesus is calling oh come to the altar the father's arms forgiveness [Music] the precious blood of jesus christ [Music] is [Music] hallelujah [Music] bow down before he [Applause] [Music] sing is oh come to the altar the fathers [Music] the precious blood of jesus christ [Music] bear your cross as you wait for the crown [Music] tell the world of the treasures you found [Music] well good morning glacial church you may be seated it is good to have you with us today uh grace hill kids so birth there's nursery up to two-year-olds and up from that to kindergarten y'all are dismissed now so if you all want to head back that way you're welcome to go right now pastor tim's going to continue as we continue to look at the five solas of the reformation so question let me pray for you as we look at solace father we come before you lord father we thank you for who you are lord thank you that salvation is in christ alone father this morning lord as we hear your word preached lord we're in power pastor tim lord as he's he's studied this week thank you for his time in the word in the study and lord that we might be hearers and doers of the word or that we might hear it we might be transformed by your power today lord thank you for the way you love us we ask all these things name of jesus amen amen thanks bro and so we are going to be in colossians chapter 1 13-20 this morning and i have a question why aren't you all in colorado we have some guests from colorado and i was telling them nobody was going to be here and so i'm quite surprised and you know i'm always reminded on labor day weekend this was our first weekend here uh what is it 16 years ago now because we were discussing i'm bad with numbers i thought it was 15. it's 16 and so our first sunday if i'm not mistaken it was like this crowd right here right like 10 of us then our kids all rowdy in the back row with you right stuff and so i'm thankful that you're here because obviously you could be elsewhere but you're here and we're going to be in the word we're we are in the fourth of the five solas sola christus and let me begin by reading our text for us colossians chapter 1 13-20 and i know we just recently you know finished colossians and so you're thinking immediately like this is just going to be a repeat i assure you i i didn't even look at that sermon because there's a different emphasis here and so we're going to be looking at this a little bit differently in regards to application and so just bear with us here verse 13 he meaning jesus has delivered us from the domain of darkness or rather god the father from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins he is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church he's the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross now then here's the question in light of all of that because what we find in there over and over again is reference to who jesus is and what he has done for us yeah if you look at that again you see it he is in him we have this all the things that he's done for us and so here's the question in light of that is jesus the only way to god to salvation to heaven now according to a research group revival outside the walls an incredible 70 percent almost three-quarters of americans affiliated with the church today say no 70 percent this is in direct contradiction to god's word specifically john 14 6 these are the words of our lord himself he said jesus said to him i am the way and the truth and the life no one let that sink in just for a little bit no one comes to the father to god to heaven to salvation however else you want to nuance that no one comes to the father except through me but never mind all that says the new and improved enlightened church we have to be more open-minded more tolerant more accepting and compassionate towards other views if we want to remain relevant if we want to remain liked you know people like us instead of persecuting us if we want to remain cutting edge and above the fray of all this fundamentalism we have to be all these things and i would add that they are more wrong than ever before and so this morning we're going to look at the fourth of these five solas sola christus in christ alone this doctrine is both timeless and timely because our culture and the church even as a whole have increasingly rejected rejected the exclusive nature of authentic christianity and yes i use that ugly intolerant word exclusive we're not supposed to use that anymore it's been canceled like 10 years ago my goodness anything that smacks of an absolute truth an objective truth tends to make us cringe anymore doesn't it like he said exclusive we can't be exclusive we have to be tolerant we have to be open all of this stuff it sounds elitist it sounds unloving uncaring which of course is complete nonsense because what it is in fact is biblical look at what jesus said again john 14 6 i'm not saying this jesus said it and it is exclusive if you will it is elitist it's like yeah it's just us the only way to the father is just through me look at what he says again jesus said to him i am the way the way to where who god i am the truth not a truth the exclusive one and only objective absolute truth you can throw all sorts of adjectives on top of that that pertain to him being exclusive in regards to the truth and you would be correct i am the absolute truth and i am the life in other words eternal life there's no hope of eternal life outside of christ no one comes to the father except through me and so i'm in accord with the words of an old english preacher one of the last of the puritans really j.c ryle and it's found in his commentary in the gospel of john here's what he says about this particular verse john 14 6 it's a lengthy quote but here it is here our lord teaches that he is not merely the way to our father's home in heaven but that there is no other way and that men must either go to heaven by his atonement or not go there at all it is a clear distinct limitation of heaven to those who believe on christ none else will enter in there rejecting christ they lose all we should mark carefully what an unanswerable argument this sentence supplies against the modern notion that it does not matter what a man believes that all religions will lead men to heaven if they are sincere this is what we believe nowadays by the way oh if you're really a good buddhist if you're really sincere about being a muslim you're going to get those 70 virgins and all the other nonsense that they talk about it's not true and that's what he's pointing out here doesn't matter if you're sincere let me catch up that all religions will lead them into heaven if they are sincere that creeds and doctrines are of no importance yeah let's just leave doctrine out it divides again complete garbage that heaven is a place for all men can mankind whether heathen muslim or christian and that the fatherhood of god is enough to save all at last all sects kinds and characters our lord's words should never be forgotten there is no way to the father but by me god is a father to none but to those who believe in christ in short there are not many ways to heaven there is only one way j.c ryan and yet despite the clear teaching of scripture the words of christ that we just quoted from john 14 6 despite a couple thousand years of church history consensus and biblical insights from great scholars and preachers such as jc ryle again 70 percent of us today go that's not true i'm a christian go to church sit under preaching all the time and there's other ways to god wow what are they preaching now then either sola christus is true and we're going to define this in a moment and i think you already know what it is it points to that salvation is found exclusively in christ alone no other ways period either sola christus is true or everything you've ever believed or ever done in the name of christ is a lie if sola christus is false then your life my fellow christian has been nothing more than an exercise in futility now then last lord's day we looked at solafide salvation by faith alone the simple act of this god-given gift of faith as we've seen in ephesians 2 8 you are saved by grace through what faith all of which is a gift from god and that faith then is exercised of your freedom volition your freed will because before that your will was enslaved to sin and so now of a freed will and now you were brought to spiritual life you trust in jesus christ that's what we learned about last time in our text was found really in philippians chapter 3 1-9 where we were warned of the enemies of the true faith who put their confidence their faith if you will in their flesh or their works to save them rather than trusting in christ's person in perfect work we are fascinated with keeping rules or having mystical experiences that somehow affirm our sense of accomplishment i did this and god will have none of it because the moment you do that you're robbing him of his glory the salvation that is yours in christ alone and when you add to that as so many do nowadays rest assured what you've done is you've denied not only god his glory but you denied that you're even saved because you're saying hey i get to play a role in this i i get to have a part in this and indeed we have not denied as we've gone through this that you that you exercise faith of course you do of course you trust in jesus christ that's not the question the question is why do you trust in him when you're spiritually dead when you're totally depraved why do you even go there it's because god is merciful he's gracious he loves you and he gives you the gift of grace and faith so that you can trust in christ alone so building off that we are now going to look at two reasons salvation is found in christ alone and my intent this morning is to move you to believe that there is salvation in no other name than the name of christ there's simply no hope for you outside the person and the work of jesus christ you can be as sincere and disciplined as humanly possible at whatever religious endeavor you choose but without christ you are lost and you will be judged for rejecting him so let's get to it as we look at these two reasons salvation is found in christ alone here's reason number one christ alone redeems sinners or is able to redeem sinners verses 13 and 14 let's read that again he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins now i want to begin by unpacking this word redemption because everything else that surrounds it in verses 13 and 14 basically tells us what our redemption looks like its causes and effects so to speak and so this is the key word for us right now in these two verses it comes from the greek word apollotrosis which in this context it refers to the release of someone from captivity or enslavement through the payment of a ransom there's an exchange you're imprisoned and someone's going to pay something there's going to be a cost and an exchange and then you're going to be freed ransom is paid redemption is accomplished all right so this brings up several questions for instance what bondage or enslavement were you released from or maybe you're currently in and you're not even aware of it but what what is it that has you in chains we can point to two sin and death they own us pre-christ pre-salvation we cannot help but sin psalm 51 says we're born in sin king david talks about this born in sin ephesians 2 1 tells us that we are dead in our trespasses and sins what can a dead man do nothing and that is the correct question to ask of that and so what this tells us is that we are under and there's more verses that we're going to point to but even with that said we we have this implication that oh my goodness i'm i was born a slave to sin and as a result of our sin what are the wages of sin by the way death and so death owns us too there's there's a date and there's a time and we know it's inevitable it's coming because what it owns us we are enslaved to sin and death so before god saved you these were your slave masters sin and death here's a few more verses that prove this point romans chapter 3 verse 9 there we're told all people that means us as well but all people whether jews or gentiles are under the power of sin in other words we're dominated by it we can't get out from under it we cannot escape its influence and yes we have a will but it's a will that's enslaved to sin we choose to sin every time even if it looks good on the outside the pharisees you know what a lot of their stuff looked good right what did jesus say about the pharisees and all their so-called good works he says you guys are like a bunch of vipers you look you're like a whitewashed tomb looks nice on the outside nice and white inside there's nothing but rotting corpses this is what our good works our so-called works before god looked like and so we are under the power of sin so what is the result of being under the power of sin again romans 6 23 the wages of sin is death and so we see that don't we sin and death owns you and for some of you here it owns you right now you've never even understood it you've never even thought about it but if you do not repent and trust in jesus christ alone exclusively rest assured despite all the good things that you do well i've given that poor guy some money for food i've done this i've done that of course but it means nothing in the eyes of god if it's not done out of faith towards him love for the father and love for those that you're serving most of us do those things out of love for self i feel really good about being good god must be really good with me too that is not true not at all we do not find that in scripture so sin and death own you and you're powerless to escape them now redemption makes sense right now we see who owns us sin and death slave masters i'm chained to the wall in a prison cell and i get here's my the extent of my freedom sin sin sin just in this little cell block that's it steph and i years ago we went to alcatraz now i worked as a detention officer for a number of years so i knew what it was like to mistakenly be locked into a cage you know into a prison cell and it was a real bummer but you know we we did the alcatraz thing and they did that they were like go ahead this is where al capone was at and step inside and clang and they lock you in there and it's just this little bitty thing for years for for some of you all of your life and you don't even realize you're in a prison cell because sin and death own you and i want to impress upon you your absolute need for redemption you are imprisoned and you need somebody to come and pay a price and free you from that prison from sin that causes you to give into temptation over and over again and the threat the absolute certainty of an eternity in hell if you die in those sins you need someone to free you from your enslavement to sin and death by paying your ransom taking your place your punishment for your sin dying for you now then i'm going to throw a big theological term at you real quick because it's appropriate at this juncture what we're really talking about here is what theologians refer to as the vicarious atonement of christ i know again that's a big word sounds a little catholic and so you're like what's wrong with you i thought your southern baptist but no it's really it's just it's just a theological term and so simply put it is the work of christ accomplished for you and his through his life and his death and the reason it's vicarious is because that latin term there vicar refers to somebody that stands in your place i'm going to take your place you know and so i'm going to take this one for the team and you just sit this one out and i'm going to do this and so this is what jesus did through his atonement and that word atonement by the way it means to cover something cover it up to where it cannot be seen anymore and so jesus did this he was your vicar by the life he lived it tells us in hebrews 4 15 that he was tempted in every way just as you are tempted in thought word and indeed and yet he never sinned and so he is your vicar he took your place he endured all of that temptation 33 and a half years every temptation you've ever had and you've given into time and time again jesus never did and now he is in your place and so god looks at him and here's the atonement part god looks at you you've put your faith in jesus christ and now jesus is christ jesus's perfect life covers your really messed up life and god looks at him you rather through his son and goes i declare you righteous not because you're perfect but you've believed in the one that is perfect isn't that good news by the way this is the meaning of the word gospel good news that's good news why because now i know god isn't looking at me directly and going 10. dude you missed the mark so bad not even close you know it's like some old dude throwing a pitch at the world series and like bump hits the first baseman or something you know that's how i would stand out you know it but jesus strike every time boom boom boom perfect obedience sinless perfection and by faith by trusting in christ this is the way god sees you because he's our vicar he has paid the price he is the atonement he covers up our imperfections and he does this as well on the cross there he's our vicar too he stood in your place he took your place on the cross where you and i we we justly deserve that right because we know we are sinners we're like those thieves on the cross we know we deserve to be punished like that and yet jesus willingly went to the cross he allowed them to torture him he allowed them to nail him to the cross he endured all of that pain and punishment because he was your vicar and when he shed his blood when that happened his blood covered your sins his death that's what it really means his death then covered your sins and now you trust in jesus christ and your sins are atoned for they're covered god looks at you and he's like are you a sinner of course you are but my son out of love died for you he took your place my justice is satisfied penalty penalties been paid you're redeemed you were imprisoned to sin and death and now my son has released you he has freed you and you are righteous i declare you righteous because of your faith in my righteous son i declare you forgiven because he died for you on the cross this is the good news this is what redemption is truly all about look at second corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 for god made christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sin so that we would be made right with god through christ that sums it all up he took his son lived a sinless life offered himself up on the cross and now you and i we are right with god if we have faith in jesus christ so our redemption our deliverance from sin and eternal death is found exclusively in christ alone so then what does this look like how did jesus accompl accomplish your redemption according to the text look at verse 13 he has delivered us from the domain of darkness the greek word for delivered is uh roh amahi to rescue somebody from imminent and extreme danger in short to save someone paul uses this same word in other places here's one romans chapter 7 24-25 notice what is said there wretched man that i am this is paul talking right here wretched man that i am who will deliver me there's that word rescue somebody out of imminent and extreme danger who's going to get me out of this extreme danger who will deliver me from this body of death i've explained this before but a quick refresher this was a form of punishment in ancient rome what they would do if you were accused of a crime and it was a death penalty one but they thought it was a really heinous crime what they would do is take a dead rotting corpse and tie it to you to your back and that's where it stayed until it seeped into you it could take weeks maybe months i don't know never seen it never want to but the fact of the matter is that this was a form of a death sentence in ancient rome where you would slowly but surely have all of that nonsense this dead corpse seep into you until you in fact were dead and so that's what he's talking about who will deliver me from this body literally strapped to my back of death he's already dead he's seeping into me and so he couldn't take it off he was in prison to sin and death and then he provides his own answer verse 25 thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord so then i myself serve the law of god with my mind but with my flesh i serve the law of sin so then what is the imminent and extreme danger that only jesus can save you from look back at our text in colossians verse 13 again from the domain of darkness now this is interesting phrasing due to the fact that as one author has stated it the terminology comes from warfare the terms rescue dominion and kingdom emphasize this truth so this causes me to pause and think make no mistake your redemption came at a cost a war was fought in one by christ to rescue you from sin and death he went to the cross he died and that seems like a defeat right like you know our savior died well no no no no he died so that you could have forgiveness and so that god's wrath would be satisfied he took what you deserved on pawn himself and then three days later he rose from the grave victorious over your slave masters sin and death now as a christian you have god living in you and you have the capacity now you have a freed will and you have the ability to look at temptation and go not today god lives in me i don't have to give into that there's something much more desirable and better for me now do we always do that no why because we still struggle with sin we're not perfect but we have the capacity to resist because god lives in us and then are we going to like somehow live forever from this point out no we're still subject to the fall and we will get sick we will die but we will rise again just as our lord and savior rose from the grave and walked away from it all of us will do that and you know as things speed up and the more time i spend on youtube and facebook and go the more i go oh wait a minute it's all cool we we're not going to be here for all of this our lord's coming back and even if they take my body now he's going to raise it up just as he rose 2 000 years ago this is redemption so what did jesus redeem you from this domain of darkness this rule of sin and death that both binds you to its its will and blinds you to its power paul recounts this be when speaking of his calling to ministry this is in acts chapter 26 verses 17 through 18. notice what it says i will protect you from both your own people and the gentiles yes i am going to send you to the gentiles to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light you see this is what redemption looks like you share the gospel with them suddenly they're no longer blind open their eyes they'll notice this is dark the way that i live the way it owns me like a dog blows a whistle and i come running jesus has opened my eyes to that and now i'm going from the domain of darkness and stepping into the light and so he says it right there so that they may turn from darkness to light from the power of satan to god then they will receive forgiveness of their sins and be giving a given a place among god's people who are set apart by faith in me it's all done by faith in jesus christ but you'll notice that our redemption is not limited to saving us out of danger god doesn't just save you out of sin and eternal death he also saves you to something look at verse 13 again he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us he's moved us out of that into something else transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son so god has moved you into this kingdom of christ now here's the question where is that i can't find it on a map i mean the puritans used to talk about building a city upon the hill it was supposed to be this earthly manifestation of the new jerusalem for all the world to see a literal community and later a country where the citizens conformed to god's will is expressed in scripture and these words were really spoken by a guy named john winthrop in 1630 and he had a small he and a small band of english puritans they were sailing for the new world and he preached this sermon that it had this phrasing in it and this emphasis this is what we're doing we're sailing to the new world we're going to build a new jerusalem a city upon the hill and the world's going to look and they're going to see the saints gathering living out god's will according to scripture and they did this as they established plymouth and later on massachusetts america today can trace its heritage back to those lofty words and as you can see we have failed miserably no god did not redeem you out of darkness in order to transfer you into an earthly kingdom no instead he has placed you in the kingdom that is the rule of christ in your hearts that's what's meant by the kingdom of god the kingdom of christ it's not an earthly place it's god's reign as king it's christ's reign as king in your heart in your mind which then transforms you and now you're different again not perfect but you love godly things you love god's voice is found in his word you love things that please him and yes you're still tempted and yes you still give in to them but when you see yourself obeying god and you see others doing likewise you've just seen a glimpse of the kingdom of god the kingdom of christ he's reigning in your life he's reigning in the lives of other brothers and sisters and you see a glimpse of it like that's what it looks like he could have given in to that temptation and he didn't and he didn't he he did so with joy rejecting that sin that's the kingdom of christ and so this is where it's found in the hearts and lives of everyone that have repented and trusted in jesus christ as lord and savior only jesus can do this rescue you out of spiritual darkness and transfer you into his kingdom where he rules in your heart in your life but it doesn't even end there look at the end of verse 14 and you'll see the most essential aspect if you will of your redemption look at what it says in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins this is the greatest piece of evidence that of your redemption of your salvation we always want to point to our behavior being modified right and how much happy happier we are now as christians that's not always true you know why because horrible things still happen to christians ask our brothers and sisters in kabul i mean we don't we don't feel it but plenty of people in fact most professing christians around the world they feel this on a daily basis they feel the threat they know what it's like to live in fear for their very lives and so it's not like the christianity you experience where you get to pick and choose you know am i just going to cruise on facebook or actually listen to the sermon am i going to no no no every word is essential because people are hunting them down and their families the greatest piece of evidence is not how happy you are how much stuff or junk god gives you like oh i must be really saved well how do you know well i scored that job got that car i've always wanted god loves me i need it it's the objective truth that god has forgiven me yes he loves me and look at the cost of that love his son lived and died for me i am forgiven i am redeemed that's the evidence the only problem with it is it doesn't come with the perks that american christians desire we point to those kind of perks because we want to have some sense of control a sense of accomplishment a sense of like tangible god really likes me but god's forgiveness is not something you can earn or deserve because of your accomplishments no it's a gift god gives you due to his son's perfections not yours his perfect life his perfect sacrificial death for your sins on the cross so then we are taken out of spiritual darkness we are placed into the kingdom of christ his reign in our hearts and at the foot of the cross drawn there by god's sovereign grace alone we receive through faith alone the forgiveness of all our sins that only christ alone can give you no other religion or belief system offers the redemption as described in scripture found in christ alone muhammad the founder of islam had no sense of redemption or salvation whatsoever and by the way he offered none for his people either there was no assurance in islam he said concerning salvation and i quote i know not what shall be done with me or with you by allah i though i am the apostle of allah yet i do not know what allah will do to me is there any hope there no just an insurmountable an unclimbable hill of rules and at the end of the day it's like maybe maybe if i blow myself up and kill infidels maybe i'll get 70 virgins yay me new age guru eckhart tolle puts it like this true salvation is freedom from negativity that's great now that may sell millions of books to millions of spiritually blind lemmings but it will not save you from the agony of an eternity in hell i'm guessing that's going to be a very negative experience so maybe he's right in that way the point is this redemption is found in christ alone hebrews 9 26 he came once for all time at the end of the age to do what to give me more stuff no to remove the power of sin forever from our lives by his sacrificial death for us our second reason salvation is found in christ alone is because christ alone is god now here's the question how is jesus uniquely and exclusively suited to redeem and save sinners just as we have seen described how has he been you know if you will he's the perfect one to do that what is it about jesus that separates him from other religious leaders such as confucius buddha muhammad bill nye the science guy i know you laugh but you know what atheium atheism is a religion believe me it's being shoved down your throat as we speak if biden and fauci will have you know if they have their way they'll have us all in quarantine camps before it's all over follow the science right to prison so then if islam cannot save us being a good buddhist cannot save you if being a good science guy can't save you who can and why is jesus different how come he can save us where all these others fail here's the answer because he is god in the flesh now to the biblical evidence look at our text beginning in verse 15 he is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of all creation and then to to give evidence of the fact because what he said right there and you guys know it as well as i do you're not dumb you're not ignorant of biblical things he just said jesus is god that's really what he said and then he offers this proof for this reason verse 16 for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him jesus and he is before all things and in him all things hold together so this first section reveals that jesus is god because jesus is the creator for instance in verse 15 we see that classic text that teaches his divinity he is the image of the invisible god paul characterizes god as invisible that in other words he's unseen it speaks to god's very being for instance god is not made up of pure thought although his thoughts are as we are told in isaiah 55 verse 9 just as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts furthermore god is not made up of pure energy and yet according to psalm 33 6 and 9 he spoke all of creation into existence notice what it says the lord merely spoke and the heavens were created he breathed the word and all the stars were born for when he spoke the world began it appeared at his command nor is god made up of pure love now of course god is love we have chapter and verse for that but we have a distort we have distorted what this truly means and we think it means that we can go on sinning and live fearlessly as though he will never discipline us never judge us and condemn us to hell no god's greatest expression of his love for you is not found in being tolerant of your nonsense it's found in those familiar words john 3 16 for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life so if god is not pure thought energy or love what is he john 4 24 tells us god is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth now then can we see or weigh or do any of those kind of things with spirit no it is invisible just as god is invisible as we are told in our text and he remains so until jesus until he showed up look at verse 15. he jesus is the image of the invisible god the greek word for image is icon meaning the living manifestation or the physical expression of something or in this case someone and so this means that jesus is the living and physical manifestation and expression of the invisible god i love church history and so i'm going to quote some here the necean creed written in 325 a.d puts it like this and i believe in one lord jesus christ the only begotten son of god begotten of the father before all worlds god of god light of light very god of very god begotten not made being of one substance with the father by whom all things were made who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate meaning he took on flesh by the holy spirit of the virgin mary and was made man in short jesus is god in the flesh so what is god in the flesh capable of verse 16 by him all things were created heaven and earth visible and invisible thrones to millions dominions rulers authorities all things were created through jesus and for jesus so christ possesses the creative power of god because he is god therefore all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made he is the source and origin of all life great and small he spoke it all into existence ex nihilo meaning out of nothing even now he holds and maintains all of creation in the palms of his hands verse 17 he is before all things and in him all things hold together that's his providence that's him saying you're going to remain this way i got you this is who jesus is and this is why he alone can redeem and save sinners like you and i where was buddha where was muhammad where was joseph smith where were any of these so-called great religious leaders when jesus spoke all of creation into existence the word of god to job comes to mind and is applicable here this is near the end of the book look at what it says it's job 38 there's various verses there but god is asking these questions and i think they're applicable to all these so-called great religious leaders too where were you when i laid the foundations of the earth tell me if you know so much because again muhammad and joseph smith and a host of others of these charlatans will tell you that they know everything they have exclusive rights to god and only their interpretation of the bible or their writings in the quran are correct and lead you to god and god himself and say hey where were you tell me if you know so much do you know how these dimensions were determined and who did the surveying what supports its foundation and who laid its cornerstone as the morning star sings sang together and all the angels shouted for joy have you ever commanded the morning to appear and cause the dawn to rise in the east have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth to bring an end to the night's wickedness do you realize the extent of the earth tell me about it if you know where does the light come from and where does the darkness go can you take it to its home do you know how to get there but of course you know all of this for you were born before it was all created and you are so very experienced where were they jesus was there because jesus is god our creator therefore he's our redeemer redeemer meaning salvation is in christ alone let's look at our last verse we're winding this up we can bring it all together actually let's look at verse 19 and 20 for in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell again jesus is god in the flesh and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross so we see this connection again don't we jesus is fully and perfectly god therefore he alone is able to look at whatever what it says there in verse 20 says reconcile to himself all things reconcile simply means to bring two opposing sides together into a right relationship what this implies is that without jesus your relationship with god no matter how hard you try it's not right in fact it's much worse than that you're at war you're at enmity with god without jesus you are living in open rebellion but i'm a really good buddhist pacifist you're at war with god open rebellion regardless of how religious you think you are if your religion is devoid of jesus as he is revealed in scripture fully god and fully man perfectly sinless having sacrificed himself on the cross for your sins and risen from the dead for your salvation if you do not trust and follow that jesus of scripture you are lost in this world and you are will one day on the day of judgment be held accountable for your false beliefs romans 5 10 tells us for if while we were enemies see it lost in this world waiting to be judged and condemned if while we were enemies with god we were reconciled to god how by trying really hard being really sincere about alternative belief systems that are devoid of christ or have a very distorted understanding of christ no the only way you can be reconciled with god is by the death of his son much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life his perfect life his perfect sacrifice on the cross his empty tomb by simple trusting in jesus you will be reconciled with god the point is this you can have peace with god right now that's what it promises at the end of our text verse 20 how by the blood of his cross by his death sacrificial death for your sins how do you have that well if you repent acknowledge lord i'm a sinner i've been doing this solo yeah i know i've professed jesus in the past i've professed that i believed in him but i was counting on my good works or my works more than his perf his perfected works so you have to repent you acknowledge you're a sinner you trust in christ's sacrificial death and you'll be forgiven you'll be reconciled brought back together into a proper relationship god will be your father you will be his son his daughter he will love you and you'll finally have peace with him from that day forward and so this is what we're going to do here's how we're going to end we're going to have a time of silence and during that time some of you need to do this you need to repent of your sins as i just described you just have a conversation with god say god i know i'm a sinner you don't have to go through the long list because we don't have that much time just go through the short list i'm a sinner you know it i know it most the people sit around me know it my wife definitely knows it my kids you can do that just acknowledge it and then secondly cry out to the christ that has been revealed in scripture and that hopefully i've prayed preached faithfully this morning cry out to the christ who is perfectly god and man in one cry out to the christ who lived a sinless life for you cry out to the christ who died on the cross for all of your sins cry out to the christ who rose from the grave left the tomb empty and you will be declared righteous in the eyes of god you will be forgiven of all your sins and you will have eternal life to look forward to from this day forward you can be saved you can be at peace with god if you will be broken and restored redeemed reconciled saved in christ alone and so let's have a time of silence for some of us to pray and be saved this morning and for others you just pray you pray for those pray for god's spirit and his word to do its work and then i'm going to end us in prayer and that's how we're going to end and be saved lord willing in christ alone you guys ready all right let's do this let's have a time of silence some of you pray and be saved as we continue to pray father we thank you that our salvation is in your son in his perfections alone christ alone there are some here this morning lord that have just realized that you have just opened their eyes their eyes and you have transferred them from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your son and now he is living and abiding in their hearts in their lives and from this day forward father they can be counted as the redeemed those that are reconciled those that are at peace with you not because of who they are or what they've done but because of who jesus is and what he's done for them and that simple gift of faith you have given them faith to trust in him and so we rejoice this morning in your power in your victory over sin and death and that you have brought more into your kingdom we thank you lord and we praise you in jesus name amen now i'm going to ask you to do something i never asked this i rarely do it but i'm not asking this to give you some kind of false sense of security it's really so that we as elders will know where to pour our energy and so look if god saved you this morning can you just do me one favor nobody here cares in regards to like we're going to embarrass you that's not the gig at all we just want to know so that we can serve you and your family if god saved you this morning could you do me the favor and just do this amen awesome so we want to talk to you man in private and and we're we're going to do that and so we are grateful that god has done this work in your life and maybe for others here you're just uncertain about that you're not sure about the gospel you come and talk to me brother clint or whomever and we're going to make sure you understand before you leave here today all right very good we're going to take a moment now and just pray and prepare our hearts for communion and look this is a picture of everything we preached about christ alone his perfect life his sacrifice offering up his body shedding his blood in the empty tomb all of this is encompassed in these elements and so you prepare your heart you confess your sins you repent of them and you come and you partake and you know that the gospel is good that christ is good and that your salvation is in christ alone you come [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] do [Music] in christ alone my hope is found [Music] he is my light my strength my soul this cornerstone [Music] this solid ground firm through the fiercest drought and storm what heights of love what depths of peace when fears are still when striving sings my comforter [Music] my all in all [Music] here in the love of christ i stand let's pray our father we thank you again for your son for it is in him alone that we can be saved indeed he is the way and the truth and the life no one comes to you except through him we give you praise in jesus name amen the body of christ offered up for you [Music] the blood of christ shed for you [Music] i'm in [Music] you guys want to [Music] in christ alone who took on flesh fullness of god in helpless baby [Music] this gift of love and righteousness scorned by the ones he came to save till on that cross says jesus died the wrath of god was satisfied for every sin on him was laid here in the death of christ [Music] oh [Music] light of the world by darkness then bursting forth in glorious day up from the grave he rose again and as he stands in victory since course has lost his grip on me for i am his and he is my bar with the precious [Music] no guilt in life no fear and death this is the power of christ in me from lies first cry to final breath jesus commands my destiny no power [Music] till he returns or calls me home here in the power of christ i'll stand [Music] hey man what a great morning to be together just a couple quick announcements so awana is 6 15 6 30. 6 30 on wednesday night youth are meeting at 6 15 on wednesday night so if you've got kiddos or youth that want to come participate that is wednesday night i don't think any of the home groups are meeting tonight if they are talk to your group leader typically take off labor day weekend so you'll have a great liberty day weekend let me pray and we'll be dismissed father we praise you for who you are lord thank you that salvation is in christ alone lord christ thank you that you're fully god fully man that our hope lies in you alone would be this as we go from this place lord that was we walk out into a world that denies who you are lord that we would be bold about the truth of the gospel we ask all these things in the name of jesus amen you're dismissed total serendipity it was like i had no idea what he was preaching on and i'm like yeah i think in christ alone is a good communion song and it was like i was sitting back there listening and i was like oh my gosh i picked the right song [Music] was born [Music] which was [Music] first believe [Music] i have already come [Music] his grace hath brought me saved us [Music] i've been set free my god is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] amazing grace [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the [Music] we'd first begun [Music] in the valley [Music] oh god [Applause] you'll never leave [Music] [Applause] [Music] in [Music] when i feel [Music] you need oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] you're alone [Music] [Applause] [Music] by your blood hope will rise as we become more than conquerors through the one [Music] [Music] hope will rise as we become more and conquer us through the one [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] stanford [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you're alone stance [Applause] [Music] [Music] my one comfort both in life and death is that i am not my own [Music] i belong to you alone by the father's [Music] [Music] set me free to follow me [Music] is [Music]

Channel: Grace Hill Church

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Id: _tYwQkt52ys

Length: 101min 16sec (6076 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021