Heaven Came Down: The Story of the Cross Sermon Series

For eight weeks we discussed in detail the wondrous cross. There is nothing more central than the cross of Jesus Christ. Our focus during this series has been on a number of the motifs commonly used throughout the Bible to explain the meaning and work of the atonement of Christ. Though we did not look at all of them (we failed to discuss the temple and the home), we were able to highlight some that show us the wondrous truths of Christ, His cross, and the gospel. Below you will find the links to all of the sermons (and there notes) along with a number of other articles corresponding to the series. We now move from pure doctrine to a verse-by-verse exegesis of Colossians.


Sermons

May 26, 2013 | Why the Cross Matters
June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor  
June 9, 2013 | Jesus Won: Christus Victor
June 23, 2013 | The Courtroom: Sola Fida
July 14, 2013 | The Slave Quarters: Redemption (notes only)
July 21, 2013 | The Marketplace: Redemption (notes only)
August 4, 2013 | The Orphanage: Adoption
August 11, 2013 | Heaven Came Down: The Story of the Cross


Articles

The Bible Isn't About Us: Matt Chandler on David & Goliath
The Cross an Object or Example of Faith?
We are Slaves: MacArthur on What We Are Redeemed From
The Heart & Soul of Christianity: MacArthur on Redemption
A Victorious People: John Stott on Christus Victor & the Vocabular of the First Christians
Archeological & Historical Evidence of the Exodus 
The Heart & Soul of Christianity: MacArthur on Redemption
Sermon Notes: The Loved of God
"Precious Blood": A Review  
"Death By Love" by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears: A Review
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
"Blood Work" by Anthony Carter: A Review 


Other Series

The Sermon on the Mount Series
Matthew 1-18 | The King Has Come: The Gospel According to Matthew Series
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series
The Tempter and the Tempted: Overcoming Temptation With the Gospel of Christ Sermon Series
Jonah: Salvation is From the Lord Sermon Series
Faith in the Midst of God-Ordained Storms Sermon Series
Ruth: Where Providence and Grace Kiss Sermon Series
Haggai: Consider Your Ways Sermon Series
God: Proper Theology Proper Sermon Series
The Song of Psalms Sermon Series
Fruitie-Tales: Living By the Fruit of the Spirit
Basic Christianity Series
Revelation Study

June 23, 2013 | The Courtroom: Sola Fida

I am a little late in posting this, but our fourth sermon in the series "The Cross is the Crux" regards the motif of the Courtroom. It is there we find that though we are guilty before God the Judge, on account of Christ's work at the cross we are declared righteous.

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³ What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ⁴ May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,

“That You may be justified in Your words,
And prevail when You are judged.”

⁵ But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) ⁶ May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.

⁹ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷ And the path of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ 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; ²⁰ because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.


²¹ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 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.

²⁷ Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.





Audio
Notes


May 26, 2013 | Why the Cross Matters
June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor  
June 9, 2013 | Jesus Won: Christus Victor
June 23, 2013 | The Courtroom: Sola Fida


For more:
A Victorious People: John Stott on Christus Victor & the Vocabular of the First Christians
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
Its Not Just a Theory: Stott on Penal Substitution
John Stott on the The Human Enigma 
Allison: A History of the Doctrine of the Atonement
"Salvation Brings Imitation": Piper on Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 1 - Introduction
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 2 - Christus Exemplar and the doctrine of sin and depravity
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 3 - The History of Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 4 - Christus Exemplar and Humility
Sanctification Demands It: The Necessity of the Atonement
"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll
"In My Place, Condemned He Stood"
"It is Well"
"Precious Blood": A Review 

There is No Gospel Without Blood

Last Sunday I mentioned a number of things we would not have without the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  Here is that list.

1. No Church - “. . . shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

2. No Justification - “. . . we have now been justified by his blood . . .” (Romans 5:9)

3. No Forgiveness - "In we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses . . .” (Ephesians 1:7)

4. No Reconciliation - "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:17)

5. No Peace - “and through him to reconcile to himself all things . . . making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:20)

6. No Freedom - “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Revelation 1:5)

7. No Sanctification - "So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:12)

8. No Worship - “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9)

9. No Heaven - “He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:13)

In short, there is no gospel without blood. There is no Christianity.

MacArthur: Salvation is Divine Transaction & Transformation

This Sunday -- Resurrection Sunday -- we will be studying Romans 6:1-14 as it relates to how the gospel -- namely the cross and the resurrection -- transforms our everyday lives.  In other words, the gospel isn't just a transaction, but transformation.  This is the point John MacArthur makes in a sermon titled Dying to Live, Part 1 taken from Romans 6:1-14.  It is well worth the read and I encourage you to listen to the sermon (audio, manuscript)

Now listen to what I say. Holiness is as much a gift of God to the believer as salvation is in the redemptive act. I’ll say it again. Holiness is as much a gift of God to the believer as redemption is in the saving act. When a person is redeemed it is not only a divine transaction, it is a divine miracle of transformation. It is not only legal, it is real. It is not God just saying - Now you're saved. It is God transforming you. It is not only God saying something to be true, it is God making it true. It is not only God declaring you righteous, it is God recreating you in righteousness. You see, as I've been trying to point out earlier in the book of Romans, God doesn't say things that aren't so. And He's not about to call people righteous who aren't. And so, sanctification and justification are linked.  -MacArthur, Dying to Live sermon

This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - Salvation

What is the gospel? That is one of the most important questions we can ever ask.  Unless we answer this question, nothing else we think about, ask about, focus on, believe in, or do will matter.  The gospel identifies the Church, redeems the Church, and is the rock by which the Church is built on.  What is the gospel?

That’s essentially what the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 discusses next.  How is a person “saved?”  How does one get right with God?  What is the gospel?  The BF&M 2000 offer a rather theologically robust and technical answer to that question that at first glance appears rather difficult to understand.  Words like regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification aren’t exactly words we use in everyday conversation, but they are important nonetheless.  The BF&M 2000 says:
               
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.

Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. [1]

This confession of faith is well written and defines the issue pretty well, the problem is that to the average Christian, much of what is laid out here is difficult to understand even though each issue raised here is imperative and very much part of the gospel.  So what is the gospel? It begins with God’s holiness and our depravity.  We cannot save ourselves because our God is infinitely holy and we finite beings are depraved to our core.  Even the “good” things we do are tainted with sin, thus if we were to rely on our works alone, we would present God a filthy rag of righteousness (Isaiah 64:6).  God is so holy that He cannot ignore our rebellion.  What we need, then, is a substitute.  What we need is grace.

The gospel offers such grace through the substituting work of Christ on the cross by which our sins are imputed (there’s a big word) onto Him and at the resurrection of Christ His righteousness is imputed (there it is again) onto us.  In other words, “[God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Christ took upon Himself our sin so that when God sees us, He sees the righteousness of Christ.

The cross and resurrection does not just give us a clean slate for us to dirty up again, but a new self, a new life.  This is what we mean by regeneration.  God, through Christ, makes us “new creatures” (vs. 17) whereby we become more like Christ.  Therefore, the gospel says that we are both “saved” now (justification) and are in the process of being “saved” (sanctification) meaning that we are growing in Christ becoming more like our Savior.  Unfortunately man approach the gospel as fire insurance whereby after saying a prayer or getting baptized we’re promised heaven after we die.  That is only part of it.  The gospel is a reformation of who we are at our core.  We are no longer the old man, but a new man that seeks to be more like our Savior.  This means that to be a Christian we both are redeemed at the cross and live by the cross.  Look to the cross and resurrection in everyday life trusting that God will use us for His glory.  We need to seek to reflect Him who bought us at the cross making us children of God, siblings of Christ.  Look to the cross.  Repent.  Believe.  And you will be saved. 

That is the gospel.  Do you believe in this gospel?


[1]  See the following references:  Gen 3:15; Ex 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matt 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Cor 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Cor 5:17-20; Gal 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Eph 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thess 5:23-24; 2 Tim 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Pet 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Rev 3:20; 21:1-22:5.


For more:
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God
This is Who We Are  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Son
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Spirit  
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Man  

Mark 15: I Am Barabus

I did this twice in the same week and so decided to post both. Here you go:

What Is The Gospel?

I recently taught at our church and we are discussing the basics of Christianity. So what is the very basic thing in Christianity? The gospel. And that is what we discussed. What is good news about the good news?

To download click here.