I was speaking with a fellow recently who said, "All I want from God is Justice!" I replied, " I know you, if you get Justice from God it won't end well. What you really need is mercy!"

Today we are thinking about the Grace of God.

Packer 'In the New Testament, 'grace' is a word of central importance – the keyword, in fact, of Christianity. Grace is what the New Testament is about. Its God is 'the God of all grace' (1 Pet. 5:10); its Holy Spirit is 'the Spirit of grace' (Heb. 10:29); and all the hopes that it sets forth rest upon 'the grace of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 15:11), the Lord who upheld Paul with the assurance, 'my grace is sufficient for you' (2 Cor. 12:9). 'Grace,' says John, 'came by Jesus Christ' (John 1:17); and the news about Jesus is accordingly 'the gospel of the grace of God' (Acts 20:24).'

LORD'S DAY 24

62. Q. But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

A. Because the righteousness which can stand before God's judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God, whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.

63. Q. But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next?1

A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.

64. Q. Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked?

A. No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness

Packer 'It is often said, and truly, that the theme of the New Testament is salvation. But the New Testament salvation is of grace from first to last (Eph. 2:5, 8); it is the grace of God that brings it (Titus. 2:11), and the praise of the glory of God's grace that is the end of it (Eph. 1:6). It thus appears that, rightly understood, this one word 'grace' contains within itself the whole of New Testament theology. The New Testament message is just the announcement that grace has come to men in and through Jesus Christ, plus a summons from God to receive this grace (Rom. 5:17; 2 Cor. 6:1), and to know it (Col. 1:6), and not to frustrate it (Gal. 2:21), but to continue in it (Acts 13:43), since 'the word of his grace ... is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified' (Acts 20:32). Grace is the sum and substance of New Testament faith.'

Grace is God's undeserved favour, His unmerited love. The word translated 'grace' in the New Testament (charis) is used in the Greek Old Testament to render the Hebrew chen, also translated 'grace' in the KJV, which signifies the 'favour' that a suppliant 'finds' in the eyes of a superior person from whom he cannot claim favourable treatment as of right.

Dr Snaith (Theological word book of NT)rightly comments: 'Nothing impressed Paul more than the fact that God's love for men was a free gift from God, entirely undeserved on men's part, depending only upon God's own will' (op. cit., p. 176).

The theme of grace began before the creation of the world.

It is Electing Grace

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Election does not in any way depend on the foreseen faith or good works of man, as the Arminians teach, but exclusively on the sovereign good pleasure of God, who is also the originator of faith and good works, Rom. 9:11; Acts 13:48; II Tim. 1:9; I Pet. 1:2. Since all men are sinners and have forfeited the blessings of God, there is no basis for such a distinction in them; and since even the faith and good works of the believers are the fruit of the grace of God, Eph. 2:8,10; II Tim. 2:21, even these, as foreseen by God, could not furnish such a basis.    -  Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology

Robert M'Cheyne wrote:

Chosen not for good in me, Wakened up from wrath to flee

Hidden in the Saviour's side By the Spirit sanctified

Teach me Lord on earth to show by my love how much I owe

It is Redeeming Grace

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace8 which He lavished on us.

Packer 'The New Testament always connects grace with the person and work of the Mediator, the God-Man Jesus Christ. 'Grace ... came through Jesus Christ' (John 1:17; cf. 1 Pet. 1:10). 'Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus' (2 Tim. 2:1). 'Grace abounded ... so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness [Jesus' obedience to death] to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 5:20f.). It is in union with the person of Jesus, crucified and risen, and by virtue of His atonement, that men know grace, and it is faith in Christ – belief of the 'word of the cross' (1 Cor. 1:18), and trust in the risen Saviour – that is the means by which they enter into it.'

It is Enlightening Grace

In all wisdom and insight9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.

It is Merciful Grace For The Spiritually Dead

Ephesians 2: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Ryrie"Among [the sons of disobedience] we too all formerly lived" (2:3). We all lived among the dead, having the   same nature as they have. Paul then describes with a triple punch the kind of lifestyle all of us once experienced (2:3):

We lived in the lusts of our flesh (emotional depravity).

We indulged the desires of the flesh (physical depravity).

We indulged the desires of the mind (rational depravity).

These are not three completely separate things but three aspects of our human condition as totally depraved, spiritually dead people.

Emotional Depravity. When Paul says we once lived in the "lusts of our

flesh," he uses the word epithymia [1939], translated "lust," which is a neutral term that simply means "deep desire" (Mark 4:19; 1 Thes. 2:17). When governed by the flesh, these "deep desires" always lead us in a downward spiral. Uncontrolled desires and fickle feelings drive those who are wallowing in spiritual death into ever-deeper emotional instability.

Physical Depravity. Paul then says that the unsaved sinner had no choice but to indulge the"desires of the flesh." The word"desires" here is

the Greek word for"the will"—our decision making capacity (thelēma). When choices are presented to the lost person, he or she usually makes decisions based on physical, not spiritual, priorities. That's how the old nature thinks. Materialism, physical appearance, external beauty

—these things dominate the lives of those walking in spiritual death.

Rational Depravity. Finally, Paul mentions the intellectual sphere, the

rational capacity of a person. Children of disobedience indulge the desires "of the mind." Not only are their thought lives governed by self-centeredness, but they are also controlled by self-deception, rationalization, confusion, and irrational beliefs. Twisted thinking characterizes those who lack spiritual life from God.

As he continues to describe the horrible condition of fallen humanity, Paul

delivers a deathblow to the "we're all fine" philosophy. He sums up the

condition of lost people by emphasizing their nature and their end. They are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). By using the term physis [5449], "nature," he refutes anybody who might say, "Well, I'm basically a good person. I just have a few bad habits." He trumps those who claim, "We all have good and bad in us." Rather, all human beings apart from Christ are "essentially and unchangeably bad." Worse than this, our totally corrupt nature results in condemnation. Fallen humans are "children of wrath"—those who are, by default, under the wrath of God (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18).

It is Effectual Grace

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

It is Humbling Grace

9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

It is Transforming and Keeping Grace

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Packer 'he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:6), grounding this certainty on God's faithfulness to His plan, His promise and His people (2 Thess. 3:3; cf. 1 Cor. 1:8f.). In Romans 8:30 he spells out the plan: 'those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.' The past tense of 'glorified' argues that because it is fixed in the plan it is as good as done already; thus it is in effect a promise that it will certainly be done in due course. So Paul can say he is sure that God 'is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day', and exultantly declares: 'The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom' (2 Tim. 1:12; 4:18, NIV; cf. 2 Tim. 4:8). Christ's own promise undergirds this confidence: 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand' (John 10:27)

Toplady wrote: 

The work which his goodness began The arm of his strength will complete;

His promise is Yea and Amen, And never was forfeited yet.

Things future, nor things that are now, Not all things below nor above,

Can make him his purpose forgo, Or sever my soul from his love.

My name from the palms of his hands Eternity will not erase;

Impressed on his heart it remains In marks of indelible grace;

Yes, I to the end shall endure, As sure as the earnest is given;

More happy, but not more secure, The glorified spirits in heaven

It is Welcoming Grace

¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, ..reconciled . 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

The Grace of God

LORD'S DAY 24

62. Q. But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

A. Because the righteousness which can stand before God's judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God, whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.

63. Q. But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next?1

A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.

64. Q. Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked?

A. No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness

It is Electing Grace

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

It is Redeeming Grace

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace8 which He lavished on us.

It is Enlightening Grace

In all wisdom and insight9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.

It is Merciful Grace For The Spiritually Dead

Ephesians 2: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

It is Effectual Grace

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

It is Humbling Grace

9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

It is Transforming Grace

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

It is Welcoming Grace

¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, ..reconciled .. 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:35-58   You Can Have A Certain Hope

I believe in the resurrection of the body,    and the life everlasting.
A sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life

Some fixed points are needed.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, in the holy catholic Church, in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

LORD'S DAY 22
57. Q. What comfort does the resurrection of the body offer you?
A. Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head, but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ's glorious body.

58. Q. What comfort do you receive from the article about the life everlasting?
A. Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness, such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived – a blessedness in which to praise God forever.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you have given us a sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.
The Optimism of Always look on the bright side of life contrasts the Certainty of How Great Thou Art, and Great is Thy Faithfulness.

1 Corinthians 15 says Why You Can Have A Certain Hope:

1.You Can Be Sure The Power of Death Has Been Defeated

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." ⁵⁵ " O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God promised it, Christ performed it.

How Has The Power of Death Has Been Defeated?

The Lord Jesus Replaces Adam As Head ²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

  2. You Can Be Sure The Prince of Death Has Been Defeated

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb 2:14

His dominion is defeated             His sting is done

⁵⁴ "Death is swallowed up in victory." ⁵⁵ " O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. You Can Be Sure The Principle of Death will be Defeated

The promise fulfilled -54,55. at the cross

The promise guaranteed at the resurrection

The promise fulfilled at the return

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed ---⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

There will be the signal of triumph

There will be the swift transformation

You will have an incorruptible body

You will have an immortal body

As you have a certain hope

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Stand firm

Be faithful

Be fruitful

Growth Group Questions

How do Paul's words to the Corinthians in chapter 15 describe a person's new identity in Christ as a Jesus follower?

What important truths should you register in your mind to defeat the fear of death? What importance does Christ's death and resurrection have for us in our Christian walk?

What will it mean for you to abound in the work of the Lord?

1. Corinthians 15:35-58   You Can Have A Certain Hope

Slide 1 I believe in the resurrection of the body,    and the life everlasting.
A sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life

Our society has determined that everyone should be open- minded, except about those things the shifting currents of the society says you can't say! Open minded people, some are so open minded that the wind just blows straight through. There are some things we must not be open minded about.  The Apostle's creed tells us those things that are fixed. 

Navigation.. by stars  fixed!  Or light houses! Fixed!  Don't fly by the seat of your pants, or you will fly into a mountain!

Slide 2 Cartoon!

Slide 3  Some fixed points are needed.

The Apostle's Creed tells us the things that are important to hold.  In essentials Unity, in non essentials liberty in everything charity was a saying that emphasized how reformed churches could work together in our world of varying opinions.  Here in the Apostle's creed are the essentials.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, in the holy catholic Church, in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

And today we come to the last of the essentials in our messages through the apostle's creed.

Slide 4  LORD'S DAY 22
57. Q. What comfort does the resurrection of the body offer you?
A. Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head, but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ's glorious body.

Slide 5 58. Q. What comfort do you receive from the article about the life everlasting?
A. Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness, such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived – a blessedness in which to praise God forever.
Slide 6 Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you have given us a sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

Be fixed on things that are fixed! John Greenleaf Whittier

Within the maddening maze of things, When tossed by storm and flood, To one fixed trust my spirit clings; I know that God is good!

2. No offering of my own I have, Nor works my faith to prove; I can but give the gifts He gave, And plead His love for love.

5. I know not what the future hath Of marvel or surprise, Assured alone that life and death His mercy underlies.

I was talking with some folk who don't have a saving faith in Christ last week. They were talking about the different hymns sung at funerals. "From Highway to Hell" to "Staircase to heaven,"  One spoke of the Optimism of  what he thought was the most popular song at funerals: "Always look on the bright side of life". This vague optimism contrasts the certainty of "How Great Thou Art", and "Great is Thy Faithfulness." There is a whole lot of difference between a confident joyous Christian funeral and the most optimistic and my I say vague funeral that the secularists can produce.

Death. Not your favourite subject? It's not mine, either. Death is the ultimate fear and the ultimate confusion.

Woody Allen once said, "It's not that I'm afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens." "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I would rather live on in my apartment."

Joseph Bayly says that death is the great leveler of the mighty and the lowly. It plays no favorites and cuts no deals: "Dairy farmer and sales executive live in death's shadow, with Nobel Prize winner and prostitute, mother, infant, teen, old man. The hearse stands waiting for the surgeon who transplants a heart as well as the hopeful recipient, for the funeral director as well as the corpse he manipulates. Death spares none"

"It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

The fixed points that confront us in the apostle's creed help us not to plow into the mountain of fear that death presents to us. We need not fear death because of the truths revealed in the gospel, in the apostle's creed, in the Word of God, I 1 Corinthians 15.

I want to present biblical reasons that death should not be feared. You can replace your fear with biblical hope and assurance. You can live with a sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

Slide 7 1 Corinthians 15 says Why You Can Have A Certain Hope:

1 Corinthians 15 beautifully displays the glory of the gospel. In the context of 1 Corinthians 15, however, Paul's main concern does not first center on the denial of the resurrection of Christ but on the denial of the resurrection of the body. This explains Paul's logic in 1 Corinthians 15:12–20:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Christian Hope can take away even the fear of death!

Slide 8 1.You Can Be Sure The Power of Death Has Been Defeated

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." ⁵⁵ " O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God promised it, Christ performed it.

The prophet Isaiah, in an outburst of hope, predicts a day when the Lord will destroy death and restore His people: ISAIAH 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah, also foretells Christ's victory over death: I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! HOSEA 13:14 

These two prophecies are the first in the Bible to declare that death itself would die. The New Testament leaves no doubt as to the meaning of these words:

When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-57

God promised it, Christ performed it. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the proof that death is broken.  But death is broken for us!

Slide 8 How Has The Power of Death Has Been Defeated?

The Lord Jesus Replaces Adam As Head ²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Slide 9   2. You Can Be Sure The Prince of Death Has Been Defeated

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb 2:14

David Jeremiah writes "From the Garden of Eden until Jesus' sacrificial death, the devil used death to gain the upper hand and enjoy the last laugh. Satan stirred in people the desire to violate God's laws and then watched them reap death —the reward of their sin. Paul writes that "the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56). It was quite a system. We failed to be obedient, and we died for it —every time.

In His death and resurrection, the Son of God played the devil's own trump card. Just as David took the sword of Goliath and cut off his head with it, Jesus took the weapon of Satan and defeated him with it. The Cross must have seemed like the ultimate victory for Satan, but it was precisely the opposite. When Christ by His own death paid the penalty for sin, He took the sting out of the devil's condemnation.

When Jesus stepped from the open tomb on Resurrection Sunday, Satan's defeat was certain. His weapon of death had been destroyed. He is still alive and active, but his failure is a foregone conclusion. He must settle for winning the smaller battles, because the war he started has been lost forever.

Satan's last hope is to convince you to live as if the victory of Christ never happened. He would love for you to be enslaved to the fear of death. The first-century Jewish philosopher Philo wrote that "nothing is so calculated to enslave the mind as fearing death."  The author of Hebrews, undoubtedly a learned Jewish Christian, may have been aware of Philo's words, for he expresses the same sentiment, saying those who fear death "were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:15). If you do fear death, your fright is based on a lie. It is God's truth that will set you free (John 8:32)."

Slide 10  His dominion is defeated             His sting is done

⁵⁴ "Death is swallowed up in victory." ⁵⁵ " O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (vv. 24–25). At the coming of Christ, the end comes. Christ will overthrow every demonic rule and satanic authority. All the nations will crumble before him. Every enemy of his will succumb to his infinite power and unquestionable authority. All his enemies, including Satan and death, will be destroyed and put under his feet. Christ inaugurates a new kingdom where death is defeated and Satan cast away for all eternity. The final triumph of Christ over his enemies and his eternal reign comprises the incomparable end for which Christians hope and long.

Slide 11  3. You Can Be Sure The Principle of Death will be Defeated

"In this passage Paul told the Corinthians that when the day of the Lord comes, some who have not yet tasted death will transform into their new, glorious bodies. Thus, at the second coming of Christ, whether alive on the earth or six feet under, all those who are united to Christ by faith will undergo a glorious transformation.

Why must Christians undergo this transformation? Because, as Paul tells us, perishable must put on imperishable, and mortality must put on immortality. In that moment death, which lingers as the creation's and the Christian's final enemy, will be swallowed up. On that day of resurrection and transformation, the death of death finally occurs. The saints and all creation will cry out, "Death! Where is your victory? Death! Where is your sting?" The power of sin over all creation will be crushed to oblivion for all eternity, and the victory of Christ will inaugurate the new ages for God and his people. This transformation from mortal to immortal signifies to the universe that God has wrought the final victory of Satan, sin, and death. When Christians put on the new body, they put on the new age of an eternity without death."

The promise fulfilled -54,55. at the cross

The promise guaranteed at the resurrection

The promise fulfilled at the return

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed ---⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

There will be the signal of triumph

There will be the swift transformation

Though the pangs of death still loom on the horizon, Christians live in an absolute confidence that what was sown in dishonor will be raised in honor. What was sown in weakness will be raised in power. What was sown as perishable will be raised as an imperishable body.

You will have an incorruptible body

Yet what will this imperishable body look like? What attributes come with this new body? First, the resurrected body is a physical body. This may go without saying, but this must be explicitly affirmed. The physical body is part of what it means to be human. Christians, therefore, will have a corporeal, physical, bodily existence throughout eternity. Thus, a resurrected, glorious, physical body will have some continuity with the bodies we have now. There will be, however, stark discontinuity between the old perishable bodies and the new eternal bodies. What was weak will give way to power. What was dishonorable will give way to honor. What was natural will be transformed to spiritual.

You will have an immortal body

What was perishable will give way to an imperishable body that will never see or taste death. These bodies will live in immortality with Christ for all eternity. First John 3:2 exclaims, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." When Christ appears, Christians will live with him in a physical existence, in a physical body. Yet this body will shine in glorious perfection for all eternity, seeing and savoring Christ face-to-face forever.

Slide 12  As you have a certain hope

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Indeed, the labor is not in vain. Christians now see that this life presents grand and glorious opportunities to sow to that day to come.

Without knowing the culminating event of the final resurrection, Christians cannot function in ministry. If Christians fail to recognize the end for which God destines them, then ministry in the midst of sin, trials, and persecution will be impossible. Indeed, Paul said earlier that if the resurrection is not true, then we are of all people most to be pitied. Why? Because the Christian life is a life of difficulty. It constitutes a life of pouring out, laying down, fighting sin, bearing burdens. The Christian meets a hostile, sinful world under the power of Satan. Not only that, the Christian, even after a long and difficult struggle in life, must still face that final enemy, death. If then the resurrection and the hope to come exist as a mere fantasy, then all the suffering Christians endure only merits pity.

Yet this is not the truth, for the resurrection of Christ did happen. He secured our hope by His resurrection. The Spirit rests on us as a sign and a seal that indeed we, too, will be raised with Christ. Paul said that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and will give life even to our mortal bodies (Rom. 8).

Stand firm  

Courage: not be denying reality, but by banking on eternal certainty.

Christians then can endure suffering. Christians can face with boldness the harshest persecution. Christians can stare down death knowing that it, too, shall pass when Christ returns. The reality of the resurrection of our bodies frees Christians from all fear and emboldens them to lives of godly zeal. As Christians know where all history will culminate, they can gladly lay their lives down and be that grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies and bears much fruit. Thus, Christians must yearn for that day of the resurrection.

Be faithful

Without yearning for that glorious day, hardness of heart will set in and the fear of death will freeze the affections that should burn with holy passion. In order to live for that resurrection to come, Christians must yearn for it.

Be fruitful

Look  to bear that fruit that will endure for eternity. Think of it. You can't take your money with you to heaven. You can't even expect ongoing generations to even remember your contribution to society. I discovered my great great grandfathers headstone in the Glen Innes cemetery last week while I was up there conducting a funeral. I didn't even know he existed until 6 months ago! Who you are passes. So what can you keep for eternity? "knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." The Lord keeps the books. He knows what is valuable and what is vain.  Better be found doing what He determines is valuable that it might be rewarded in eternity.

"and the "life everlasting." The latter flows from the former, and both come together, postulating one glorious truth of the end times. Thus, "I believe in the life everlasting" affirms that all the dead shall be raised as well as reminds that there is a future judgment.

Earlier  a few weeks ago, we looked at the reality that Christ will come to "judge the quick and the dead." The life everlasting denotes that the final judgment has arrived. Christ, upon his final victory, will indeed judge all mankind. Jesus made it clear that he will separate the "goats" from the "sheep" (Matt. 25:31– 46). On that day he will say something very different to the sheep and the goats. He will essentially say to the sheep, "Come with me into my heaven." He will say to the goats in effect, "Go into a hell of everlasting torment." The judgment of Christ initiates a dual eternal destiny. All will inherit eternal life. Yet those who placed their faith in Christ will enter an eternal life of rest and joy. Those who did not come to the Savior will spend an eternity in the torment of hell. Both realities carry with them eternal sentences. It is vital that Christians read this creed as detailing both the joys of heaven and the dread of hell. Both are coming in that day of Christ.

Johannes Roth wrote:

1 Now I have found the ground wherein Sure my soul's anchor may remain--
The wounds of Jesus, for my sin Before the world's foundation slain;
Whose mercy shall unshaken stay, When heav'n and earth are fled away.

6 Fixed on this ground will I remain, Though my heart fail and flesh decay;
This anchor shall my soul sustain, When earth's foundations melt away.
Mercy's full pow'r I then shall prove, Loved with an everlasting love.

Peter wrote: 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

When earth and heaven are fled away, When earth's foundations melt away. Our foundation on that day is the same fixed foundation: death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. The wounds of Jesus, for my sin Before the world's foundation slain; loved with everlasting love!

Growth Group Questions

How do Paul's words to the Corinthians in chapter 15 describe a person's new identity in Christ as a Jesus follower?

What important truths should you register in your mind to defeat the fear of death? What importance does Christ's death and resurrection have for us in our Christian walk?

What will it mean for you to abound in the work of the Lord?

Forgiveness and Justification

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

56. Q. What do you believe concerning the forgiveness of sins?

A. I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins, nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life, but will graciously grant me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.

"How can a man be in the right before God?" (Job 9:2).

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:19-23)

HOW ARE WE JUSTIFIED?

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26)

We are justified by GOD.    -The Author

We are justified by GRACE.  –The Principle.

We are justified by BLOOD:  - The Grounds.

We are justified by FAITH:  – The Condition.

WHAT DOES JUSTIFICATION DO?         Romans 5:1-11

Justification Produces Incredible Peace

"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 1). "We were God's enemies" (11)

Justification Produces Unlimited Access "Through [Christ] also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand" (v. 2).

Justification Produces Eternal Hope

"We exult in hope of the glory of God." .9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Justification Produces Reconciliation to God

"10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."

GOD'S GRACIOUS INVITATION
Isaiah 1:18 "Come and let us reason together: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

GOD'S ATTRACTIVE OFFER
(1) Forgiveness for the worst sinner
(2) He invites you to come because all need to come

Why is the reformed view of justification by faith essential to salvation?

How do other traditions miss this essential truth and what is the result?

What is the relationship between forgiveness and justification?

Why are :" the five solas" (grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, scripture alone, glory of God alone) important? When did it become important for you?

Psalm 130    "I believe in … the forgiveness of sins"

56. Q. What do you believe concerning the forgiveness of sins?
A. I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins, nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life, but will graciously grant me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.
"But there is forgiveness with You."

Forgiveness Is The Best News Because

Those who know the depths know their need!

"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord."

Praying people are awakened to their need.

"Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications."

You must feel that your iniquities condemn you.

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?"

But there is forgiveness with You..

Forgiveness Is Possible Because

1.It is consistent with God's very nature.

"He delights in mercy."

2.God has pledged forgiveness by giving His Son.

"For God so loved the world that He gave.."

3.God has promised forgiveness.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

4.The very essence of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins.

The first preaching  Acts 3:18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away,

5. The declaration is in the present tense:

"There is forgiveness. "When?" Now,  2 Cor 6:2 "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

6. You can go to God now to get it.

"But there is forgiveness with You."  God is everywhere present: you don't need a priest, nor a saint..or anyone else.. God alone gives it.

7. It is unlimited forgiveness. 

There is no expiration date. It is forever.

There is no sin so dark it can't be forgiven except the sin of rejection forgiveness.

This Forgiveness Changes Us

It Produces Reverence: No Pardon No Fear!

But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. 

It Produces Longing For Communion with God

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

It Produces Trustful Hope

O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.

It Produces Assurance

And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Growth Group Questions  Read Romans 5:8–11.

a) Who initiated restoring your relationship with God?

b) How did God reconcile you to Himself?

Assimilating forgiveness is demonstrated in our attitude to ourselves and others.

Answer the following questions as honestly as possible to see how well you have assimilated the sense of forgiveness of your sins.

I am afraid of what God may do to punish me. _____

After I fail, I worry about God becoming angry with me. _____

When I see someone in a difficult situation I wonder what they did to deserve their problem. _____

When something goes wrong, I have a tendency to think God must be punishing me. _____

I am very hard on myself when I fail. _____

I find myself wanting to blame other people when I fail. _____

I get angry at God when someone immoral or dishonest seems to get everything he wants and never gets punished. _____

I can't keep myself from criticizing others when I see them doing something wrong. _____

Instead of complimenting others on their strengths and accomplishments, I tend to focus on their mistakes and failures. _____

Psalm 130    "I believe in … the forgiveness of sins"

56. Q. What do you believe concerning the forgiveness of sins?
A. I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins, nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life, but will graciously grant me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.
"But there is forgiveness with You."

T Tennet 'This We Believe' "Jewish believers who were the first followers of Christ saw that the law was only "a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves" (Heb. 10:1). The writer of Hebrews goes on to demonstrate why forgiveness in the Old Testament is dependent upon Christ's later work on the cross and cannot stand on its own feet apart from Christ.

First, the sacrifices had to be endlessly repeated, whereas Christ offered up Himself once for all. The Scripture says, "But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God (the Father)" (Heb. 10:12), because "by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (10:14).

Second, the sacrifices merely covered sin up, they did not actually take it away. In the Old Testament the word "atonement" means "to cover," whereas in the New Testament the word "forgiveness" means "to take away or to remove."

Third, the Old Testament focused on forgiving outward acts of disobedience, whereas the New Testament focuses on cleansing the heart of all guilt and shame.

The Old Testament focused on pardoning rebellious acts. The New Testament focuses on restoring a broken relationship. The Old Testament is symbolized by the tablets of stone and the heavy veil which separated the holy of holies from the worshipper. These are external things. The New Testament focuses on the transformation of the human heart and restoring the believer into intimate communion with God and His Church. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the promise of the Old  Testament and to which th Law and the prophets pointed (Jer. 31:33)."

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Packer "Forgiveness is pardon in a personal setting. It is taking back into friendship those who went against you, hurt you, and put themselves in the wrong with you. It is compassionate (showing unmerited kindness to the wrongdoer), creative (renewing the spoiled relationship), and, inevitably, costly. God's forgiveness is the supreme instance of this, for it is God in love restoring fellowship at the cost of the cross."

1.Forgiveness Is The Best News

For those who know the depths know their need!

"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord."

For praying people who are awakened to their need.

"Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications."

A man distressed about sin wrote to Luther. The Reformer, who himself had suffered long agonies over this problem, replied: "Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him and say—Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; you set on me what was yours. You became what you were not that I might become what I was not." Compare Paul: "For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Link up with Jesus, the living Lord, by faith, and the great exchange is fulfilled. Through Jesus' atoning death God accepts you as righteous and cancels your sins. This is justification, forgiveness, and peace.

Surely You must feel that your iniquities condemn you.

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?"

But there is forgiveness with You..

2. Forgiveness Is Possible Because

1.It is consistent with God's very nature.

"He delights in mercy."

2.God has pledged forgiveness by giving His Son.

"For God so loved the world that He gave.."

3.God has promised forgiveness.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

4.The very essence of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins.

The first preaching  Acts 3:18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away,

5. The declaration is in the present tense:

"There is forgiveness. "When?" Now,  2 Cor 6:2 "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

6. You can go to God now to get it.

"But there is forgiveness with You."  God is everywhere present: you don't need a priest, nor a saint..or anyone else.. God alone gives it.

7. It is unlimited forgiveness. 

There is no expiration date. It is forever.

There is no sin so dark it can't be forgiven except the sin of rejection forgiveness.

3. This Forgiveness Changes Us

It Produces Reverence: No Pardon No Fear!

But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. 

It Produces Longing For Communion with God

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

It Produces Trustful Hope

O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.

It Produces Assurance

And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Will you Conceal it or Confess it? 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Proverbs 28:13 "The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy."

Will you Continue that forgiveness to others?

Our lives will be profoundly impacted by our ability to ask for or to grant forgiveness. Paul points out that giving the gift of forgiveness will require 3 difficult decisions:

RECEIVE THE ONE WHO WRONGED YOU

RESTORE THE ONE WHO WRONGED YOU

RECONCILE WITH THE ONE WHO WRONGED YOU

Paul challenges Philemon to be sure that the account is settled in full. Onesimus was a slave. He did not have the ability to repay Philemon. Real reconciliation assumes . . .