Connecting the Dots ... Post Resurection Issues

[0:00] Your Bibles, please, to John's Gospel, Chapter 3, and we are going to be filling in with some what I would call propositions that I want you to consider as we make our way through a portion of John's Gospel and also 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5. We will be in those two portions this morning. We're talking about post-resurrection issues, those things that began transpiring in connection with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So in essence, we are looking back at first century events, at the things that were taking place in Jerusalem, but for the significance of the entire globe, beginning approximately 30 A.D. to approximately 100 A.D., a period of about 70 years. In the midst of that 70 A.D., Jerusalem will be leveled, destroyed by the

[1:15] Roman army, and the General Titus, who will later become one of the emperors of Rome, and Rome will be, and Israel and the Jews will be scattered all throughout the Mediterranean area. Many of them will be subjected to servitude as slaves for Romans in different parts of the country. Many of them are just going to flee and take up residency in other areas wherever they can find refuge, and that is going to pursue, actually that's going to, I guess we would say, persist until about 100 to 105 A.D., when many will start returning and Jerusalem will be built up again and things will be returning to whatever kind of normalcy that there can be, until about 130 or 131 B.C., I'm sorry, A.D., when a man will arrive on the scene who will claim to be the Messiah of Israel, and there will be many many who will follow him, and as a result of his efforts,

[2:38] Jerusalem will undergo another sacking and another stoning, and this time it will be posted by the Romans that no one is allowed, no Jew is allowed within the parameters of this area under penalty of death. That was the Bar Kokhba revolt, and Rome came in with a very heavy hand to put down everything, and it was absolute decimation. The Jew was scattered all throughout the Mediterranean again, and to this day, in fact, yes, to this day, they have been known as the wandering Jew. They have been excluded from so many areas, only to go into a new area, set up residency, start families, and so on, and in no time become persona non grata, and they're on the road again, and this has been the plight of the Jew for the last 2,000 years. So all of these things are coming into play in connection with and having to do more with this than anything else, and that is the death, burial, and resurrection of

[3:45] Jesus Christ. That's right in the midst of everything. It is, after all, the central event. It is the pivotal point, the pivotal point for all of humanity for all of time, and there is no way that that can be overemphasized. So post-crucifixion and post-resurrection issues, these two events coupled together constitute the very centerpiece of all human history. The world would never be the same due to these two events, and precisely what it was that made these events so vital, so key to everything, was linked to the identity of the central figure whose identity to this day remains controversial, and that is Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Son of Man, the theanthropic God-Man, the Emmanuel, God with us. Question, is he is he or isn't he? So far as Israel and the Jewish people were concerned, the majority position was he is not. The minority said he was, and he is, and they stake their very lives on it. That controversy still exists among the Jewish people to this day. It is the last chapter of Luke's gospel that tells us that the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that was so critical and proclaimed by the apostles after the resurrection was explained at that time by the Jewish establishment, which I consistently referred to as the Jewish deep state, because that's exactly what they were, they took the position and made it official, and they told the guards, you are to say that Jesus' disciples came during the night while we were asleep and stole the body away. And Dr. Luke tells us that is the official Jewish explanation to the empty tomb of Jesus to this very day. And to this day, the year 2020, it remains the official

[6:27] Jewish explanation for the empty tomb of Jesus. His disciples came and stole it away. And I cannot resist offering this again because it comes up every time. And apparently nobody ever really examined this or looked into it because it must have been terribly upsetting and embarrassing. But one could only ask the soldiers that if they came and stole his body away while you were asleep, if you were asleep, how do you know what happened?

[6:58] Pretty germane question. Pretty simple question. And do you know, some of the most profound issues of life have rather simple answers once you explain and explore them a little bit. So this is just one more of those.

[7:14] It was only because of who Jesus was that he could do what he did. And that is to reconcile the whole world to himself.

[7:27] No exclusions. Everybody reconciled. How do we know everybody was reconciled?

[7:41] Because everybody needed to be. And God met man where his need was greatest. And that was in his estrangement from God. And we will look at this further later on in this message.

[7:54] When we talk about the whole world being reconciled to God, you must, you absolutely must make a distinction. We are not saying the whole world was saved.

[8:08] We are saying the whole world was made savable. Big difference. Huge difference. It meant that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God was able to fling open wide the door of access to himself.

[8:31] For whosoever will may come. Many have. Many did not. Many will not. They could have.

[8:42] They should have. But they did not. However, provision was made for them. That's the point. God did his part through Christ.

[8:54] And I would have you turn, first of all, to John's Gospel, chapter 12. Just a couple of verses, but they are very, very filled with meaning. John's Gospel.

[9:07] What did I say? Chapter 12? I guess it moved in my Bible. Okay. Chapter 12 and verse 32.

[9:23] Jesus is speaking and said, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.

[9:41] And the men, of course, is generic, and it's talking about all mankind. And the text goes on to say, But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die.

[10:02] And, of course, that's a perfect description of the cross and being lifted up. And that's exactly what he was talking about. And the text goes on to explain further about who he is and who sent him and so on.

[10:18] And that is all part and parcel of that same picture. Then, if you look at John chapter 3, In verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up.

[10:48] And again, that's a perfect description of the cross and what is going to be involved. Before his crucifixion and after his resurrection, The issue of his identity remains to this day linked to his identity, Directly linked.

[11:09] And why this is so important, And why you should consider it so important, Is because this is your whole future. This is your everything.

[11:21] Apart from the reality and the truth of which we are speaking, Apart from that, When you die, Physically, That's it.

[11:36] There is nothing else. Apart from what we are talking about, That's the only reason that there is something else. That's the only reason that your physical death doesn't end at all.

[11:50] You personally cannot find anything that is more critical than this content, That has greater influence, Greater effect, Greater determination, Greater outcome, For you, Individually, Than what we're talking about.

[12:09] Because if Jesus Christ Was not risen from the dead, You certainly have no reason to believe that you will be, And that your life, When this life is over, Is it.

[12:23] There is no heaven, No hell, There is just pitiful indifference. And we deal with that In the CD that was just recently released, Called The Ultimate Issue.

[12:38] And it is the ultimate issue. A stack of them are on the shelf where the bulletins are kept. If you're interested, They're just in paper sleeves, And you feel free to take one. Because it deals with the issue of the existence of God.

[12:52] And if God does not exist, And of course there is no creation, And there is no redemption, And there is no anything, Then we are all just a mindless fluke of nature. We're here by no purpose, Going for no purpose, Ending for no purpose, And there is nothing to it.

[13:08] It's all just one big nothing. That's the only alternative you have, If there is no God. So we try to spell that out as carefully as we can.

[13:22] If Christ be not raised from the dead, You have no reason or assurance that you will be raised. Prior to his death and resurrection, The dynamic message that Jesus brought, Via the message that was given to John the Baptist, Was for the nation of Israel to repent, Because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

[13:43] And this kingdom stuff, This is everything. This is tied to your eternal existence. Because when the time comes, That Jesus returns, In Revelation 19, And he literally decimates, And puts down the enemy, Not only of Israel, But the enemy of humanity, And Satan is cast into that pit, Where he will be incarcerated, For a thousand years.

[14:11] That is where you are going to be. And it's going to be a duration, For a thousand years. And if you are a believer, You will be there, In your glorified, Resurrected body, Living throughout the entire length, Of a thousand years.

[14:28] What's that going to be like? Well, That is covered in that insert, That we gave you, About the conditions that will exist, During the millennium. You ought to familiarize yourself with it, Because you're going to be dealing, With those issues on a day-to-day basis, For a thousand years.

[14:44] This is what we're going to be involved in. And it's all spelled out there, And you'll find it saturated, Throughout the Old Testament, Particularly, And also in the New. So this content, Is as critical, As it can possibly be, To you, As an individual.

[15:00] Because, You, Are going to be, Well alive, Functioning, Operating, In that kingdom, Hundreds of years, From right now.

[15:16] There is a tendency, On the part of some, To say, Oh, Come on. No, This is as serious, As it can be. We are, Destined for, Eternity.

[15:31] And when the thousand years are up, Guess what is installed then? A new heaven, And a new earth, For the first heaven, And earth, Will pass away, And there will be, No more sea, And then, Is the eternal state.

[15:53] If the thousand year reign, Of Christ, Is a thousand years, How long is the eternal state? It's, The answer is in the word.

[16:06] It is endless. It is just, Ongoing. So, You have, As great, A possible, Stake, In this content, That you could, Possibly have.

[16:22] This kingdom thing, Is not just a word, It's not just a concept, It is, The thing, And the world, Is going to move, From that thousand year, Reign of Christ, Literal reign of Christ, Where we will be, With him, As well as, Redeemed Israel, And the twelve apostles, Sitting on the twelve thrones, Judging the twelve tribes of Israel, David the king, Resurrected, And Christ on his throne.

[16:53] And that will continue, In perpetuity. So, I think it's worthy, Of your time, And interest, Because, This is where, Everything is.

[17:09] And to make that, As certain as it can be, This kingdom, Will demand a king over it, And of course, Jesus was, And is that king.

[17:20] And what was the big deal, About the kingdom anyway? Well, The kingdom was presented, As God's cure, For a sick, And sinful world, Comprised, Of sick, And sinful people.

[17:37] These are the only kind of people, That God had to deal with. The sick, Spiritually sick, And sinful. Simply because, There were no other kinds.

[17:48] That was it. He either dealt with us, Or he didn't deal with anybody. We were the only ones he had. And we had all fallen, Under that, Abominable curse, That brought sin, To the human race, And ultimately, Death, Destruction, And everything, That goes with the physical body.

[18:06] So the kingdom, Was presented as God's cure, For a sick, And sinful world. And God's plan for the cure, Was for his son, Who was of the same essence, Character, And nature as his father, To be the one, Who would, And who could, Balance the moral scales, Of the universe, And make a way, For sinful beings, To reconnect, With God.

[18:36] Thus Jesus became, The way, The truth, And the life. Those are all emphatic, In the Greek. It means, The way and the only way, The truth and the only truth, The life and the only life, So as to exclude, All other possibilities.

[18:53] And when he described himself, As the I am, He was identifying, With the God of Moses, In Exodus 3.14, When he was able to say, At the end of John's chapter, John's gospel, Chapter 8, Before Abraham was, I am.

[19:14] What a, What a statement, For him to make. And the audience, To whom he made it, Took offense to it, And said, Well this guy's crazy, What's he talking about?

[19:25] He's not even 50 years old, And he says, He's here, When Abraham was here, That's plain nuts. Well, It is plain nuts, Unless he is, Who he claimed to be.

[19:36] And he was here, Before Abraham was, Before Abraham was, I am. And he used that famous, Tetragrammaton, That four letter word, That indicates, The perpetuity, And eternality, Of the subject.

[19:52] He is the, I am. He's not the, I was, He's not the, I will be, He's the eternal, I am. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. And when I say this, I am fully aware, That absolutely, Everything I am saying, Is true, Or it isn't.

[20:18] There isn't any, Middle ground. It isn't true, Kind of. If it isn't true, It is the greatest, Single, Con job, That has ever been, Perpetrated, Upon the human race.

[20:36] And if it is true, It is the greatest, And grandest, Provision, That could ever be made, For an undeserving, Human race.

[20:52] And there isn't anything, In the middle. This is why Jesus said, He that is not with me, Is against me.

[21:06] No middle ground. Well, I don't have anything, Against Jesus, Mind you. I'm just not in his boat. You know, I just, I'm just, Well, You're in, Or you're out.

[21:19] There isn't any, Almost. God's plan, For a cure, Was for his son, To be lifted up, From the earth, So as to draw, All men to him.

[21:33] And you just stop, And think about this. We have to use, Human logic, Because it's the only, Kind we've got. How, Utterly, Bizarre, How wild, How unique, How completely, Otherworldly, For God to devise a plan, That out of, Someone, And not just someone, But out of, The someone's, Death, Life, Life, Could be realized, And provided, For the entirety, Of humanity, You realize, How many people, We're talking about?

[22:35] Billions, That's with a B, This is the, This is the concept, That is so, Humanly speaking, Strange, Wild, So, When Paul, Wrote to the, Corinthians, He said, To, The Greeks, Who were the Greeks?

[23:02] Well, The Greeks, Were the intellectuals, Of the day. The Greeks, That resided in, Athens, Constituted, The finest, Minds, That were available, Among humanity.

[23:16] And Paul says, Of the Greeks, That Christ, Crucified, Foolishness.

[23:29] The word, As I've shared with you, The word in the Greek, Is moronic. Well, That is the most stupid thing, I've ever heard of. You mean to tell me, That, The death, Of someone, Else, Is going to provide, Life, For the whole human race, Get out of here.

[23:49] That's crazy. Well, As Paul goes on, To address the issue, In first Corinthians, He talks about, The wisdom of God, And the foolishness of man.

[24:01] And he makes a comparison, And he says, The foolishness of God, Not that there is anything, Foolish about God at all, He's just speaking from, An academic standpoint, And he's saying, The foolish, What could be considered, The foolishness of God, Is wiser than the wisdom of man.

[24:20] That's putting it, In his proper perspective. In other words, We could say this, For lack of a better term, We'll use these terms, God's stupidity, Is smarter than man's brilliance.

[24:36] Well, There isn't anything foolish, About God, And there certainly isn't anything, Stupid about God, But do you know something? There are a lot of, So-called intelligent people, Who look upon the concept of God, Just that way, Just like some of these, Ancient Athenians did.

[24:55] And for the Jew, Paul says, For the Greek, It's foolishness, Moronic, It's stupid. You mean to tell me, That a man who wasn't even, Smart enough to keep himself, From getting crucified, Is supposed to be the savior, Of everybody else?

[25:07] Give me a break. And when you talk to the Jew, He is called, A stumbling block.

[25:18] That means, The Jewish people, Just can't get over it. They can't, They can't get beyond that, Blockage, That blinds their eyes, And their minds.

[25:33] They just can't, They just can't get into it. And this is what Paul is talking about, As he uses himself, As a perfect example, Because he says, I know where these people, Are coming from.

[25:48] My countrymen, I know where they're coming from. I was there. I was one of them. I assigned stupidity, And stumbling block to it, Just like they did. And then there was that, Day on the Damascus road, When everything changed.

[26:05] Who are you? I am Jesus, Whom thou persecutest. Hard for you to kick against the pricks, Isn't it Saul? Blinded, Confused, Led by the hand, Into the city, Where he had come to arrest people, And take them as prisoners, Back to Jerusalem.

[26:25] Wow. Folks, What we are talking about, Right here and now, Is the, Issue, The, Singular, Issue, Of the whole human race, For of all time.

[26:43] And there aren't very many things, In fact, There isn't anything else, That I can say that about. This is the only thing, I can say that about. This is the only one. This is it. So I guess, Bottom line is this, Compared to that, Nothing else matters.

[27:01] Do you get the point? Compared to that, Who God is, Who Christ is in God, What he did, And why he did it, Compared to that, Nothing else matters.

[27:14] Not where you work, Not what you do, Not, Not your life, Not your death, Nothing else matters. Everything is vested in this. This becomes, The centerpiece for all, The universe.

[27:32] And there's nothing, In prospects, That could ever equal it. And this is all, Reduced, To a simple message, Called, The gospel, The good news.

[27:52] Well, I guess, You've never heard anything, To compare with this. This is the ultimate, Good news.

[28:04] God loved you, In such a way, That he sent his son, Who was willing to be sent, So that you, Who are utterly, Undeserving, And unworthy, Could enjoy, Acceptance, The peace, The presence, The eternality, Of the creator God.

[28:32] What a piece of action. What a piece of work. I'd like to conclude, With 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. Would you go there please? 2nd Corinthians chapter 5.

[28:46] Hmm. This is such a precious passage.

[29:01] Well, Yeah, I've got time. Let's start with verse, Let's start with verse 6. Okay?

[29:12] 5-6, 2nd Corinthians. Therefore, Being always of good courage, Why? Why not?

[29:23] How can you not be, In light of what we're talking about? Always of good courage, And knowing, Not suspecting, Or hoping, Or thinking, Or even praying, But knowing, That while we are at home, In the body, We are absent from the Lord, For we walk by faith, Not by sight.

[29:47] We are of good courage, And I say, And prefer, Rather to be absent from the body, And to be present, To be at home with the Lord.

[29:59] Therefore, Also, We have as our ambition, Whether at home or absent, To be pleasing to Him. For, Or because, We must all Appear Before The judgment seat of Christ.

[30:16] This is the Lord, This is the Lord, This is not to be confused, With the great white throne judgment, Of Revelation 19. That's for unbelievers. This is for believers.

[30:28] We believers, Must all appear, Before the judgment seat of Christ, That each one, May be recompensed, Or rewarded, For his deeds in the body, According to what he has done, Whether good or bad.

[30:40] You mean to tell me that Christians can do bad things? Oh my, Sometimes we major on them. We're more than capable of doing bad things.

[30:53] Therefore, Knowing the fear of the Lord, We persuade men, But we are made manifest to God, And I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you, But are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, That you may have an answer, For those who take pride in appearance, And not in heart.

[31:17] For if we are beside ourselves, It is for God. In other words, If that's the way we appear, And if we are of sound mind, It is for you. For the love of Christ, Controls us, Having concluded this, That one, Christ, Died for all.

[31:38] That's all of humanity. Therefore, All of humanity died. Now you've got to understand this concept, Which is completely foreign to our way of thinking.

[31:49] But what Paul is saying here, Is exactly what he says, And what he means, That one died for all, Therefore all died.

[32:00] All of humanity, All of humanity, Was in a sense we cannot understand, In Christ.

[32:12] In the same way that all of humanity, Likewise in a way that we cannot understand, Was in Adam. As in Adam, All die.

[32:28] So also in Christ, Shall all be made alive. We can't make the first all mean all, And the second all means something else. The all means all, In both cases.

[32:40] And verse 15, And he died for all, That they who live, Should no longer live for themselves.

[32:52] And the no longer, Is simply, A presupposition, That this is where we are, Before we come to Christ. We are just interested in living, For ourselves.

[33:04] As we pointed out before, This is one of the first, And most basic consequences, Of the fall. That goes all the way back, To Adam and Eve. The fall, Rendered them, Moving their focus, From God, To themselves.

[33:25] And as a result, Of that fall, And our being in Adam, We are all, Conceived, In a self-centered mode.

[33:36] This is the curse of humanity. It is our self-centeredness. Every one of us is infected by this. And this is exactly what he's talking about.

[33:46] But he is saying, That once we come to faith in Jesus Christ, We are actually able to lay aside, That self-centeredness, And return to what our original, Parents had, Of living a God-centered life.

[34:04] That's what he is saying here, When he says, He died for all that. They who live, Assuming believers, Should no longer live for themselves, But for him who died, And rose again on their behalf.

[34:23] Greatest privilege, That you will ever be given, On the face of this globe, Is the potential, The possibility, The provision of your living, A God-centered life, Instead of a self-centered life.

[34:45] Not many do. But the potential is there, For everyone, Who is in Christ.

[34:56] And yet, If a believer, One who is definitely, Going to be in heaven when they die, If they, As a believer, Are willing, To settle, For a substandard, Standard existence, Where they are serving, Only their own interests, And dreams, And desires, If you're willing, To settle for that, You can, And many do, But you are shortchanging, Your life, And the potential you have, For there is no greater thrill, No greater reward, No greater activity, Than living for Jesus Christ, And making him, The center of your life.

[35:45] And, You can do that. If you aren't doing that, You can. And we cannot say, Well, That's just not my thing.

[35:57] I'm, I can't. No, It isn't a matter of ability. It's a matter of the will. Let's face it.

[36:09] We pretty much do, What we, Want to do. And, We tend to congratulate, Ourselves for it.

[36:21] That too, Is part of our fallenness. Therefore, From now on, Verse 16, We recognize, No man, According to the flesh.

[36:32] Even though, We have known Christ, According to the flesh, That is, In his fleshly being, When he was here, For those three and a half years. Yet, Paul says, Now we know him thus, No longer.

[36:43] So that, Therefore, Consequently, If any man, Or woman, Generically, Is in Christ, He's a new creature, New creation.

[36:54] Old things have passed away. Behold, New things have come. Life will never be the same. Now you need to know, Now you need to know, The source, And the substance of this, Which is in verse 18.

[37:05] All these things, Are from God. All of them. They're from God. Who reconciled us, To himself. That means, Brought us back, To himself, After being estranged from him.

[37:21] And he did it, Through, Christ, And, Gave us, The ministry, Of reconciliation. That's what, This is all about.

[37:36] To be reconciled, Means to be brought back, Into the good graces, In favor of. And we know, There are, Painful, Hurtful situations, Where husbands and wives separate.

[37:50] Where they are, No longer, Living together, Considering, Contemplating divorce, And she sees her lawyer, And he sees his lawyer, And over a period of time, After many people, Who care about them, Are praying for them, And trying to talk some sense, Into them, We hear, The wonderful news, There has been, A reconciliation, And the hurts, And the separateness, And the pain, And all of those things, Have been healed.

[38:31] And they're back together again, And you know what? They're even talking about, Renewing their vows, Because they want it to be, Different this time around.

[38:43] Reconciliation is a wonderful thing, And when a person, Is reconciled to God, It presupposes, His having been separated, There's no need for reconciliation, If there was not a separation, But there is, We are separated from him, And we can be reconciled, Through Jesus Christ, And there isn't any way, To do it other than that, Is who reconciled us to himself, Through Christ, Through no other means, And gave us, This is a bonus, This is a bonus, Gave us the ministry, Of reconciliation, I tell you dear friends, I as a pastor, Have, No greater opportunity, No greater responsibility, No greater joy, No greater satisfaction, Than to recommend, This savior, To you,

[39:44] Who is the great, Reconciler, To me, Paul said, To me is, This message, Or this gift given, That I may make known, Among men, The unsearchable riches of Christ, What privilege, What an incredible privilege, God gives us, And I can't think of anything, That I would rather do, Nothing brings me, Greater joy, Or greater satisfaction, Than simply, Holding out that principle, Of reconciliation, To men and women, Giving us the ministry, Of reconciliation, And here's what it is, This is the essence of it, Namely, What I mean by that is, That God, Was in Christ, Reconciling, The world, To himself, That literally means, He's canceled out,

[40:45] Everything that the world, Has against it, And has given the world, As it were, A clean slate, So that, They are free, And able to come, To God, Through him, And there's no other avenue, Available, Because he alone, Is the way, The truth, And the life, Not counting their trespasses, Against them, And he has committed to us, The word, Of reconciliation, And then, He says, Therefore, That is why, We, Are, Ambassadors, For Christ, As though God, Were entreating, Through us, We beg you, On behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God, Now, Earlier, As we pointed out before, Earlier, He says that, We were, Well, If he says that, We were, Earlier, Why is he saying here,

[41:45] That we beg you, To be reconciled to Christ, I thought you were, I thought I just told you that, Paul says, And the difference is dramatic, And the difference makes all the difference, When the humanity, The human race, Was reconciled to God, It rendered everyone, Capable, Able, If willing, Because the volition, Comes into play, God will not rob you, Of that which he has given you, He will not take your will from you, And make you do the right thing, You still have the power, To do the wrong thing, And the right thing, And that's why, This blanket reconciliation, This blanket redemption, Holds out, The opening, The possibility, The avenue, And all you have to do, Is exercise your will, And that's what Paul is getting at, In this verse, When he says, We beg you, We entreat you, On behalf of Christ,

[42:46] Be reconciled to God, That's subjective, Earlier, It was objective, The whole of humanity was, This didn't leave out anyone, This means, The vilest sinner, The most reprobate individual, The most poor excuse, For a human being, That ever walked the face of the earth, Is not greater in his sin, Than God is great, In his redemption, Wow, Man, I may tell you, That is something, In other words, I don't care who you are, Or how vile you are, You cannot out sin, God's grace, Because where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound, I'm dealing with an issue right now, Connection with the, Christianity clarified series, And it's not easy, It's just very difficult, Because, I don't want to be, I don't want to be condemning,

[43:48] Per se, I want, I want to be compassionate, I want to be understanding, But what I'm dealing with, Is the faulty assumptions, Of the Roman Catholic Church, And this follows on the heels, Of having dealt with, The faulty assumptions, Of Judaism, And it is in the, Christianity clarified series, And they're being aired, In about 20 different radio stations now, They're just three and a half minutes each, And then when we conclude, Dealing with the faulty assumptions, Of Roman Catholicism, We'll be taking, The faulty assumptions, Of Protestantism, Because Protestants, Have made a lot of the same, Faulty assumptions, That the Catholics have, And neither of us, Have been served very well by them, But in Catholic theology, And I've got their official handbook, It's about that thick, And it comes under the, Imprimatur of Cardinal, Joseph, Of, Can't think of the name of the Pope now,

[44:53] He's the Pope that just recently retired, And, Not the present Pope, But the one right before him, What was his name? I can't think of it, Anyway, The imprimatur of the book is, Is as official Roman Catholic, As you can possibly be, And the position that is taken there, Regarding, Regarding salvation, And, And the grace that is involved, Is that, Because, Of the grace of God, You are put in a position, Where you have the right, To strive, For salvation, And, The way you strive, For salvation, Is by way, Of the sacraments, So, Our Roman Catholic friends, Are able to say, That they too,

[45:54] Are, Saved by grace, Certainly sounds good, But when you ask them, Well, Would you explain, What you mean by grace?

[46:05] They say, Well, Grace includes, Baptism, Confirmation, The Eucharist, And partaking of the elements, And the other things, That make up, Part and parcel, Of the Roman Catholic Church, They are all under, The banner of grace, And when you, When you participate, And partake of those things, That is how God's grace, Gets to you, And you are able, To collect, Enough, Participation, So that you are, Building a case for yourself, And that will limit, The time, That you have to spend, In purgatory, Being purged, Of your sins, Because you cared, For most of them, While you were here, On this earth, So salvation, So salvation by grace, To the Roman Catholic, Means something entirely different, Than what it means, And this is where, Luther, And the Pope, Had their big,

[47:06] To do, It was over this very issue, And what Luther came to, Was the conclusion, That justification, By faith, Is an act, Of grace, And it is justification, On the basis, Of believing, Not on the basis, Of doing, The church split over that, Luther pulled out, Because of that, And Roman Catholics, To this day, Are separated, From Lutherans, And from other Protestants, On that very thing, That's the one issue, What is meant, By justification, By faith, And what we are saying, And this is so critical, And I don't know, That our Roman Catholic friends, Have dealt with this issue, But to me, To me it is everything, And that is this, When Jesus died, On that cross, And paid the penalty, For sin, He didn't leave, One smidgen,

[48:07] Of anything, For you to pay, It is the gift, Of grace, No strings attached, You know what, That isn't humanly, Reasonable either, It is divinely, Reasonable, But it isn't humanly, Reasonable, Because we humans, Are locked in, To the merit system, You get what you deserve, The only way, That you can extricate yourself, From that, Is by really understanding, The extent, The depth, The breadth,

[49:08] Of the accomplishment, That Christ, Experienced, When he died, On that cross, And to suggest, That there is anything, That needs to be added, To that, Do you see what that does, It denies, It denies, The sufficiency, The sufficiency, And the efficacy, Of the price, That Christ paid, It is, As if Jesus, Is hanging on that cross, And before he dies, He says something like this, To himself, Well, I hope humanity, Appreciates this, I've done most, Of what needs to be done, But not even I, Could handle it all, So they have to atone, For their own sins, To some degree, Even though, I've done the lion's share, There's something yet, For them to do, Now that, Is blasphemy, That is demeaning, And depreciating, And devaluing, The penalty,

[50:08] That Christ made, When he died on that cross, He didn't leave, One bit of anything, Left for you to do, Jesus, Paid it, All, All to him, I freely owe, Sin, Had left, A crimson stain, He washed it, White, As snow, This is the crux, Of the matter, It really relates to, Just how efficient, Just how effective, Just how thorough, Was the payment, That Christ made, On that cross, Because if he did it all, Then do you know, What that means?

[50:55] That doesn't mean, That that gives you, The right to strive, And try to add to it, And throw in your two cents worth, What that means is, Justification, Is on the basis, Of faith, Alone, Faith, Plus, Nothing, That's the gospel, Of the grace of God, And the moment, You contaminate that, By adding, A smision of human works, You have, Blemished the whole concept, I just wish, There were some way, That our catholic friends, Could see this, But do you know, Think about this now, They're pursuing this, The way they do, Makes, A priesthood, Absolutely, Absolutely necessary, Because they're the only ones, Who can offer those sacraments,

[51:58] They are essential, But what Protestantism, Historic Protestantism, Is built upon, Is the, Priesthood, Of the individual believer, What?

[52:15] Yes, There is one God, And one mediator, Between God and man, The man Christ Jesus, Paul said, And there is, That's one mediator, And Christ didn't pay most of it, He paid all of it, And that leaves us, With nothing but, Our belief, You mean to tell me, That a sinner, A sinner, Who is down and out, And a gutter type individual, That all he has to do, Is believe that he is a sinner, Acknowledge that he's a sinner, And put his faith, And trust in Jesus Christ, For the salvation of his soul, And he goes to heaven, That's exactly right, And the response to most people is, Get out, That can't be, That doesn't make any sense, Well it doesn't make any sense, If you're committed to the merit system, But if you're committed to the grace system, God does for you, What you cannot do for yourself, And he presented it to you, As a gift,

[53:16] A gift, You get that? A gift, Anybody gives you a gift? Christmas, Birthday, Whatever, Oh this is beautiful, Thank you, I really appreciate you, Oh you shouldn't have, Well, I was glad to do it, And I just want you to have it as a gift, And by the way, You owe me 50 bucks, What?

[53:41] Listen, What we're talking about, I agree, I absolutely, Totally agree, Doesn't make any sense, To human beings, This is otherworldly, Because it is otherworldly, And it isn't supposed to make sense to us, Don't you realize, Don't you see, Where what makes sense to us, Gets us into so much trouble, What makes, Good sense, Is what makes sense to God, And he's the only one, That really matters, As I said before, I'm not finished, But I quit, So let's pray together, Father, There is still, So very much, About this, In its depth, And in its breadth, That escapes us, That we can't escape,

[54:46] The simplicity, We can't, We can't, Deny the validity, Because of what, Your word records, And were it not for that, We would be limited, To human viewpoint, And human reasoning, That would surely, Lead us astray, But you've provided us, With your word, So that, A child, Need not err therein, Our hearts go out, To those today, Whether they are, Roman Catholic, Or Protestant, Or Jewish, Or atheist, We who have, Tasted of the Lord, And have found him, To be so, Satisfying, And so sweet, And so wonderful, And so forgiving, And so loving, We just, Really want that,

[55:48] For everybody, And our prayer today, Is that, As individuals, Completely apart, From whatever religion, They're loyal to, That they could just, See the simplicity, That is in Christ, And the totality, Of that payment, Leaving nothing, Nothing for us, But to accept it, For if the son, Set you free, You'll be free, Indeed, With a real freedom, And we who have that, Love it so much, And want so much, For others to have it, We want to make ourselves, Available to spend, And be spent, For any and every way, That we can, Bring this message to them, Thank you for this, Wonderful, Great, Loving heart of yours, That has, Sought us out, Has made yourself, Available, Presented Jesus,

[56:48] To us, As our only need, And graciously, Allowed us to accept him, As our payment, For sin, We'll just, Can't get over it, And we never expect, To get over it, And we don't want, To get over it, It's just too wonderful, To get over it, So thank you for it, And for each and every one here, Who may have already, Experienced that, We know how they, Rejoice in it, And for any who have not, Come to that place, Our prayer for them, Is that they will have, No rest, No peace, No satisfaction, In anything the world, Has to offer, Until they see, Jesus Christ, As the lamb of God, Who was slain for their sin, And put their faith, And their trust, In him, Exclusively, Apart from the Catholic Church, Apart from Grace Bible Church, Apart from any, And every church, But thoroughly committed, To the Savior, In whose name we pray,

[57:51] Amen.