Know What You Believe

My Redeemer, My Savior

Col 2.6-15

[We have studied: 

[The Trinity – That there are three persons that compose the one and only God]

[Our Father – One of the three persons in the Godhead.]

[The Holy Spirit – Another person in the Godhead.]

[Our Lord Jesus Christ – The fact that He lived, claimed to be and was God] 

[Today we will study the Lord Jesus Christ in the sense of what He was and is to us as human beings.  It is essential that born again Christian have a clear Biblical understanding of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He does for all who will receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior.] 

The Lord Jesus Christ is,

A.     My Salvation (vs 10-12; 3.23; 6.23; Acts 4.10-12; John 10.7-9; 14.6; 2 Thess 1.5-10) [– And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: ¹¹ In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: ¹² Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. – When it comes to ones eternal salvation there is only one source of eternal hope, there is only one door that leads into the fold of faith, there is only one means for your redemption and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. ]

[Why do you need to be saved? – Someone might think or say, “Well, I’m a pretty good person.  I have never killed anybody.  I have not stole from my neighbor.  I have tried to be kind and generous toward other people.  I have been faithful to my husband or wife.  I have even tried to help those who were against me.  I am a pretty good person, so why do I need to be saved?  Why do I need a savior?”]

[Your sense of goodness has all been measured from a prejudiced point of view.  You compare yourself to other people and then come to the conclusion that you are a good person.  There will always be somebody worse off than you that you can compare yourself to and then say “I’m a pretty good person in comparison to that person.”  But Almighty God will never compare you to another human being; instead He only compares you to Himself and His character.  Our Heavenly Father compares us to the perfect and sinless Lord Jesus Christ.]

[When we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ we all must quickly admit that we are lost and undone in our iniquities and sin.  The Bible reveals,]

[Romans 3:23 ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;]

[Romans 6:23 ²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]

[Someone might ask, “Why is it that you think that Jesus Christ is the only means of eternal salvation?”  It is simply because there is no one else who is worthy or capable of saving a lost soul.]

[Acts 4:10-12 ¹⁰ Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. ¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.]

[John 10:7-9 ⁷ Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.]

[John 14:6 ⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.]

[There is just no way for a person to save themselves from the divinely revealed punishment for sin.  It only takes a single sin to be condemned to an eternity in the everlasting torments of the lake of fire.  For those of you who think there is a purgatory you need to know that purgatory or a place of purging that one can leave once they have paid their dues is a fabrication of religion and is not found written in the pages of Scripture.  The bible declares,]

[2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ⁵ Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: ⁶ Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; ⁷ And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, ⁸ In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: ⁹ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; ¹⁰ When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.]

[Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the judgment of God is anything less than eternal.  God’s judgment and condemnation of the lost, those who rebel against God and refuse to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, is perfectly just and final.  Someone might say, “I just don’t believe a loving God would be that cruel.”  What you fail to realize is that God in His perfect love has made His compassion evident in that He has warned you now about how to avoid this coming judgment.  It is not for a lack of God’s love that you will be eternally condemned.  Instead, it will be for a failure in your mind and thinking that you will be condemned, because when you were warned, you refused to hear and heed God.]

[Now You Know!  You need a Savior, and not just any Savior will do.  You need one that can specifically save you from your sin and its penalty.  God has declared that there is only one who can save you and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Through the Lord Jesus Christ you discover and receive,]

1.      Your Propitiation (vs 11; Rom 3.23-26) [- In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  - When I think of the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh the thing that comes to my mind is how the Lord Jesus Christ takes sins away from those who have accept him.  The Bible declares,]

[1 John 3:5 ⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.]

[Now God cannot just look over our sins.  That would make God unjust and God never has been nor ever will be unjust.  The Bible states,]

[Romans 3:23-26 ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ²⁵ Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ²⁶ To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.]

[God had to provide a way for our salvation that was just and that means that the penalty for our sins could not just be overlooked, it had to be paid.  So God sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins.]

a.       [Propitiation - ἱλαστήριον (gk) - 1) relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation]

[Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ took our place and paid the penalty for our sins.  Someone must pay the penalty for your sins.  If you pay the penalty yourself then you must go to hell.  But if you recognize what Jesus did on Calvary’s Cross then He becomes your eternal sacrificial Lamb and HE is the propitiation for your sins.  The penalty has been paid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ.]

[Which brings us to our next point.]

2.      Your Redemption (Col 1.12-15) [– Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: ¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: ¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: ¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: - Once Christ has satisfied the full requirement of the penalty of your sin then your redemption is made final for all eternity.  You are redeemed from,]

a.      [The Guilt of Sin – Through the redemption provided by our Lord Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven and those sins for which Christ died no longer hold any consequence for you.  Your sins have indeed been taken away by our Lord Jesus Christ.]

b.      [The Dominion of Sin – Romans 6:11-14 ¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ¹³ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.  – As long as a person walks under the penalty of their sin their sin will have dominion over them.  The penalty of their sins will always demand its payment and will always demand their allegiance. But through the redemption provide by the Lord Jesus Christ the dominion of sin is broken because the penalty required by sin has been paid in full.]

c.       [The Separation of Sin – Romans 3:24 ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: - You are justified and made righteous in the sight of God so that you can now have fellowship with your Heavenly Father.]

3.      Your Adoption (vs 11; John 1.12-13; Gal 4.4-7) [– “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, . . .” – Circumcision was a sign commanded of Moses by God that indicated that someone was one of God’s chosen people.  Hence, under the new covenant established by our Lord Jesus Christ there is another sign given whereby one knows that he or she is one of God’s chosen people.  It is the sign that results from our propitiation and our redemption; it is the sign of our adoption into God divine family.  The Bible reveals,]

[John 1:12-13 ¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.]

[When you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you then become a Child of God.  Paul wrote,]

[Galatians 4:4-7 ⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ⁶ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. ]

[So, we discover that through the Lord Jesus Christ we receive our propitiation, our redemption, and our adoption in to God eternal and divine family.]

B.     My Transformation (vs 12-13; 1 Pet 4.5-6; Rom 12.1-2) [- Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; - That word quickened means to be made alive.  Now you might think, “Preacher how can I be made alive?  I’m not dead!  I am a living breathing individual.”  You might be physically alive but, without Christ, you are spiritual and eternally dead.  The Bible declares,]

[1 Peter 4:5-6 ⁵ Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. ⁶ For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.]

[Notice that these verses speak of the quick and the dead.  One might say they speak of the living and the dead.  In life there are those who are alive but dead to God, they are lost in their sin and dead to God.  There are also those who are alive to God, they have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and they now live a new life in their Lord and Savior.]

[When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ there is a transformation that takes place in your life, some refer to this as your conversion.  Either way there is a supernatural change that occurs. The Bible says,]

[Romans 12:1-2 ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ]

In our transformation we discover,

1.      Our Purification (vs 13; 1 John 1.9-2.3; Eph 5.25-28,32) [– “. . . having forgiven you all trespasses;” – Jesus had paid the full penalty for your sins as your propitiation and has redeemed you from all of the consequences and demands of the your sins.  The blood of your Lord has washed your sins away.  The Bible states,]

[1 John 1:7 ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.]

Now that your Lord has washed your sins away what does He desire for you now?

[1 John 2:1-3 ¹ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. ]

[The Lord Jesus Christ has an incredibly noble and glorious life planned for you, in this life He desires,]

[Ephesians 5:25-28 ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. ]

[Ephesians 5:32 ³² This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ]

[Your Heavenly Father desires for you to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Your Lord and Savior desires for you to be a chaste, pure, and glorious bride and He starts you out with complete and total forgiveness from your sins.  ]

[You have been completely purified from all sin and iniquity and you stand fully accepted in the sight and presence of a holy and just God.]

[But what if you have sinned since you became a Christian, as we sometimes do?]

[1 John 1:9-2:1 ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ¹ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:]

[Your Lord not only cleansed you from your sin at the time of your salvation but He desires to keep you pure throughout your Christian Journey.]

2.      Our Sanctification (vs 12; John 1.12-13) [- Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. – Sanctification takes on two meanings in the New Testament.] 

a.      [Set Apart by God - There is the sanctification where by we are set apart by God through the supernatural act of God.  This is best described by our adoption into our Lord’s divine family.  It is the supernatural act of God apart from anything you and I could or ever will do.]

[John 1:12-13 ¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ]

[Perhaps this is what Jude alluded to when he wrote,]

[Jude 1:1 ¹ Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: ]

[This sanctification should speak to us of the newness and peculiarity of this life we now live through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are not what we once were, and we will never be able to be that lost individual again.  We belong to God and we ought to live as someone who walks with God.]

b.      [Growing apart for God – The second sense of our sanctification deal with the fact that we are continuously growing in our walk with God.  Each day we learn how to be a little more like our Savior.  We are a spiritually maturing in our spiritual walk and life.  Which brings me to our next discovery,]

3.      Our Consecration (Rom 12.1-2; Philip 2.5; Eph 4.22-24) [– I personally like to refer to the spiritual growth part of our sanctification as consecration because it helps me to realize the responsibility I have in bringing my mind to the same spiritual place where God has placed me.  I like to think of sanctification as something God has done as His supernatural act and consecration as my willful response to what He has already done.  In thinking of this consecration I think of scriptures likes,]

[Romans 12:1-2 ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ]

[Philippians 2:5 ⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ]

[Ephesians 4:22-24 ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. ]

[Many Christians struggle in their spiritual life because they have never purposefully gotten themselves psychologically and mentally into the same place where God has already placed them spiritually.  Their Heavenly Father has separated them unto Himself, but they are still trying to be just like they were before they accepted Christ and that just causes a struggle and strife in their life.]

[You have been transformed by God.  You are no longer of the world or a part of this world.  You are a child of God purified and sanctified by your heavenly Father.  Now you need to get your mind and life into the same place where God has already placed you.]

C.     My Glorification (vs 10,13-15) [- And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: . . . And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; ¹⁴ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; ¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. – Contentment and success are powerful motivators in our lives.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ we discover both contentment and success.  In these verses we are reminded of our Lord’s,]

1.      Authority (vs 10) [- And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: - Through our Lord’s authority we are assured that we are complete in Him.  We can be content because we are assured that He has given us everything we need to succeed and be satisfied. Our world will throw many things our way to tempt us into thinking that we could have much more.  But when we are confident of our Lord’s authority, goodness, and provision we will find rest and satisfaction in Him.  ]

2.      Victory (vs 15; 1 John 4.4) [– And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it - The world seems to measure their success in life by what they have or what they have achieved.  For the Christian success is not measured by what they have in this life, but success is measured by who they know, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. ]

[1 John 4:4 ⁴ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ]

CrossRoads Baptist, July 13, 2008