Membership Vows and Saving Faith

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We're going to continue with our Membership Matters series and we're doing that over a five-week period . There's five church membership vows , and it's always good to go back and think about the promises that God has made to us , but also the promises that we make to Him in light of His promises to us , and so the promises that we make to him in light of his promises to us , and so that's what we're doing together . If you've been a member here for a good while , it'll be a good review for you . If you're thinking about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian , these vows will help clarify at the most basic level what that means to be a follower of Christ according to the New Testament . Some of you youth and children you've been in the church a good many years talk each week about these vows with your parents , because if you understand them and you can affirm them in your heart , then it's time for you to come make a profession of faith . You can know that you're deeply thirsty , you can be aware that your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth and that your lips are all broken and chapped , and you can even get to the point where you realize if I don't get some water soon , I'm in very big trouble . In fact , if I don't get some water soon , I'm in very big trouble . In fact , if I don't get water , I may very well die . Well , it's one thing to know that you need water , right , but where you get that water makes all the difference . Not all water is the same . A person dying of thirst , you don't want to be drinking from the ocean , that would not be a good place to go . But a fresh spring now , that's a good place . Fresh spring water . You want to go there . There's where you'll get refreshment , there's where you'll get satisfaction and so forth . Well , and it's the same .

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When it comes to God's mercy , it's one thing to know that your only hope is in the sovereign mercy of God , as we talked about in the first vow last week . But where do you go for that mercy ? How do you receive that mercy ? How can you be assured you have that mercy ? That's a different question and that's what vow two makes clear . Last week we looked at vow one . Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God , justly deserving his displeasure and without hope saving his sovereign mercy ? Well , vow one makes clear about our sin . Vow two points us to the Savior , showing us how we receive that mercy through a Savior . Vow one makes clear our predicament . Vow two makes clear God's provision through Christ in the gospel . Vow two sounds like this Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners , and do you receive and trust Him alone for salvation , as he has offered in the gospel ?

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Well , with that brief introduction , if you're able , I would like to invite you to stand . I'm going to read three passages this morning from God's Word , more like three verses , or just a few verses at a time , because we're not so much interested in the membership vows of this church . We're interested in the biblical truth that undergirds those vows . That's what matters . And so in Acts , chapter 16 , we have here the apostle .

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Paul and Silas were on a missionary journey . This was Paul's second missionary journey , and let me find it in my Bible . Here's what it says . I'm going to back up to 27 . When the jailer woke and saw the prison doors were open , he drew his sword and was about to kill himself , supposing that the prisoners had escaped . And Paul cried with a loud voice do not harm yourself , for we are all here and the jailer called for lights and rushed in and , trembling with fear , he fell down before Paul and Silas and then he brought them out and said sirs , what must I do to be saved ? And they said believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved , you and your household .

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Over in Matthew's gospel , the 16th chapter , we come to verse 13 . Now , when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea , philippi , he asked his disciples who do people say that the Son of man is ? Now , the Son of man was Jesus' favorite designation for himself . It's rooted in the book of Daniel . It's a whole study in itself . But bottom line is Jesus used this self-designation , the Son of man , over 80 times in the Gospels to refer to himself . So he's clearly referring to himself here .

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So who do people say that the Son of man is ? And they said some say John the Baptist , others say Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets . He said to them but who do you say that I am ? Simon Peter replied you are the Christ , the son of the living God . And over in John's gospel , the very first chapter , john was Jesus' closest earthly friend . We read this in the 29th verse , then the next day that is he . John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world . The grass withers and the flowers fade , but the word of the Lord endures forever . God's people said Amen , you may be seated .

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So we come to this second vow . Let's pray , father , as we come now to your word , as we think about your biblical truth and your gospel , I ask that you would , by your Holy Spirit , illumine our hearts and minds to receive Christ and the good things you have for us here . It's in Jesus' name , amen . Well , if the first vow focused on sin , judgment and God's mercy , the second vow focuses on three things as well Saving faith , christ's person and Christ's work . I'm going to spend about half my time on saving faith , the other half more or less on Christ's person and work . Let's look at the first part of this vow and see what it reflects about the Bible . Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ , and do you receive and trust Him alone for salvation ? Notice here these three words believe , receive trust , believe , receive trust are all packed in there . They're all referring to the same thing with a little bit of a different slant . These are biblical words , new Testament words In Acts , chapter 16 , which I just read some of it a minute ago , luke records for us the conversion of the Philippian jailer .

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In that account , luke explains that the apostle Paul and his missionary helper Silas , they were in prison and they were praying and they were singing hymns to God about midnight , which was an amazing thing . They could have that kind of joy in such a situation . But the other prisoners ? They were listening to them when , all of a sudden , there was this great earthquake that occurred , and when this earthquake shook the foundations of the prison , in the midst of that big quake , all the prison doors swung open . And when the jailer awoke from the chaos , he saw the prison doors were all opened and he was about to fall upon his sword and do himself in . Why would he do that ? Because if you were a prison guard back in Rome and your prisoners got away , well too bad for you you were a goner it was most likely and almost surely they would execute you . So he was about to fall on his sword and the apostle Paul cried out to him not to kill himself because he said quote we are all here . We're all here . They could have run away , benefited themselves to this man's detriment , but they didn't leave . It was such a close brush with death . They were humbled . He was humbled in fear of the Philippian jailer before God .

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And so what does this Philippian jailer do ? He cries out Sirs , what must I do to be saved ? He was crying it out , crying that question out in desperation . And what do they say back to him ? You hear the word believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved . You and your household Believe .

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That's the beauty of the simplicity of the gospel . In a nutshell , right there , the gospel and in fact the basic message of the Bible . It's shallow enough for a child to swim in . It's been said . It's deep enough for an elephant to drown in , and I think that that's right . It's beautiful that a child can understand it , and yet the greatest scholars on earth continue to plummet depths for its riches . But the gospel shines so brightly here in its simplicity . Sirs , what must I do to be saved ? And so you'll notice how Paul answers him .

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He doesn't lay out this big , long , elaborated program for salvation , at least not in the narrow sense . Here Jesus makes clear if you're going to be a Christian , it's a call into discipleship . And Jesus makes very clear that discipleship is costly in this life and in this world , growing in grace , to be more and more like Christ . It takes effort , it takes discipline , it takes training , in fact it takes sacrifice . And God most certainly uses , sooner or later in all of our life , suffering to conform us more and more to Christ . Well , none of that's to be denied .

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But see this Philippian jailer . He wasn't talking about the Christian life per se . He wanted to know how to get right with God . He wanted to know how to be secured in his love . He wanted to know how to be saved from his sins , because he knew he would give an account at the judgment , like us all . And that's part of the subject of vow number one sin and judgment . And so he cries out to these men Well , he wanted to be saved in terms of being justified and when I say justified I mean that's a biblical word that simply means God declares us forgiven of all of our sins and covered in the righteousness of Christ , not just at that moment , but for all eternity .

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It's a wonderful state . It's like marriage there's a declaration , you're married , but then you remain in that state . Well , justification You're declared justified and you remain in that state , not only in this life , but through all eternity . So he's talking about saved in that sense . He wanted to be reconciled to God . And so Paul tells him believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved . Not might not could be , you will be . Aren't you glad for that ? Aren't you glad for that ? God is good , he keeps it simple . John says and John was his closest Jesus' closest earthly buddy John 1 , verse 12 , but to all who did receive him you hear the word receive but to all who did receive him , that is , who received Christ , who believed in his name , he gave the right to become the children of God , who were born not of blood , nor of the will of the flesh , nor of the will of man , but of God . And so receiving is something that faith , saving faith , does . When we're justified with God , when we're made right with him and reconciled with him , we receive , and in fact , at our reconciliation with God , it only receives . Salvation comes through believing in and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ .

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Now let's unpack this a little bit . What does this mean ? What , first of all , is saving faith ? Now let's unpack this a little bit . What does this mean ? What , first of all is saving faith . What is saving faith ? There's three aspects . Theologians have noticed through the years that in the Bible there's three aspects of what it means to have a saving relationship with God through faith , and the first aspect of it is knowledge . The second aspect is assent and the third aspect of it is trust . So you can think of cat with a K Knowledge , assent and trust .

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So saving faith begins with a basic knowledge of who the Lord Jesus is and what he's done for us . We're always going to continue to learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of God , but you have to have a basic knowledge of who he is . If some young man was going to get married and I told him , congratulations , tell me about her , and he says , well , I don't know anything about her , that would be very odd indeed . Right , and so , just like in marriage , you're going to have at least in our culture you're going to have some personal knowledge . You're going to have some basic facts and personal knowledge about the person that you are marrying . Well , that same thing is true about faith . It involves a basic knowledge about the person of Jesus , who he is and what he's done .

The Role of Jesus in Faith

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In faith , we're saved through the triune God , namely the Father , the Son and the Holy Spirit . But what's the important role of Jesus within the Trinity ? Jesus comes , and in his coming he reveals to us who the father is . That's why he could say in the gospels if you've seen me , you've seen the father , because God is three , but he's one . He's one in substance or essence , he's one in Godness . Whatever makes God , god is found in the father , the Son and the Holy Spirit . Yet they're three persons . There's a mystery , but what Jesus does is he reveals to us what God is like . And so if we understand Jesus , we understand the Father and we understand the Holy Spirit . And so Jesus is that perfect image of God .

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But saving faith is not merely knowing things about the Lord Jesus Christ . Although it may begin with that , it goes on to agree with those things about Jesus . You can know what the Bible teaches and think that it's not true . But we have to know about Christ and what he's done , and then we have to agree yes , those things are true . But even that's not far enough to have what the Bible would call saving faith , because even the devil knows who Jesus is and what he's done . And so in the Bible , what we see is the key aspect is the T in cat , it's trust . It's trust . We personally trust in the Lord Jesus Christ .

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Listen to Donald McLeod . We trust God as what ? As we trust our father . We trust Christ as a flock trusts its shepherd . We trust Christ as we trust a physician Trust its shepherd . We trust Christ as we trust a physician . We trust our doctor because we know certain things about him or her . He's been trained and studied , has experience and skills . Our trust is not divorced from these personal facts about him or about her , and it's the same with Christ . The Bible reveals certain personal facts about the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in and through this Bible that we come to know personally who God is , through Jesus Christ . And we come to know who Christ is as we come to know who he is . What does saving faith do ? It leans upon him , it trusts him , it embraces him , it receives him . Those are all metaphors and descriptors for what saving faith does .

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Listen to the Apostle Paul , 1 Corinthians 15 . For I deliver to you as of first importance . You see there that not all biblical truth is at the same level . Some of it's essential , it's all important , but some of it is critical and essential . Then there are secondary important truths and so on , but he says I've delivered to you as of first importance . So this is a top tier truth , what I also received . He says that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures , that he was buried , that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures In accordance with the scriptures means it was all prophesied in the Old Testament and that he appeared to Cephas , that is , the apostle Peter , then to the 12 , and then it goes on to say appeared to others and the 500 and so forth .

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And so what do we learn here in 1 Corinthians 15 ? Paul's saying there's certain historical and theological facts we understand about Jesus and what he's done , who he is and what he's done for our salvation . And what is it ? He died , he rose again and then he had these appearances . He was died , buried , rose again and then he appeared to these eyewitnesses . And these eyewitnesses are very powerful because many of them went on if not all of them went on to suffer greatly and many of them shed their blood for that testimony , very powerful witness .

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And so these are not just bare facts .

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What are they ? These facts reveal to us what God is like . Christ came in his person , did certain things , and in his person and in these things that he did , he's revealing to us what God is like . That's why he did it . They have theological significance . They're not just bare facts . Sometimes people look at history and it's like , well , that's just memorizing facts and dates , and but these facts have theological significance . They reveal something about God Jesus coming in the flesh and coming as flesh and bone , as a man , and God coming in the person of his son and he dies in our place as our substitute and as our substitute drinks the judgment that we deserved . We confess and vow and acknowledge the judgment of God , our sin and judgment . In vow number one and in vow two we see that we acknowledge that Christ is the one who took that judgment for us as our Savior . And so the man being saved understands this . And what does that do ? It begins to move his inner being and begins to live his life in accordance with who Jesus is and what he requires . And so saving faith involves the whole person . It involves our understanding , it involves our affections , which are desires and emotions . In other words , it involves our will .

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And so not many have dramatic well , I shouldn't say not many . Many do not have dramatic conversions , some do . Some know , some of you know , like John Wesley . It was about a quarter to nine . My heart was strangely warmed . Wesley said Some conversions are like that . Some conversions are like the Apostle Paul , where the risen Lord appeared to him and he was completely overwhelmed . Other conversions are just quiet , quiet like a gentle breeze and God just quietly works in your life . But everybody that comes to know the Lord is moved in their heart and mind to deeply love Christ . Now we grow in that love , but it moves us in a remarkable

The Nature of Saving Faith

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way .

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Some of you know the movie Saving Private Ryan . It's one of my favorites and in the opening and closing scene it's got a very moving elderly private . It's got a very moving scene where elderly Private Ryan's standing there and what he's doing is he's standing over the grave of the man who gave his life to save Private Ryan in wartime , when Private Ryan was a young man . And so here's this older Private Ryan standing over this man's grave , private Ryan standing over this man's grave , and you can see in the background behind Private Ryan is an old man , his kids and some of his grandkids , his wife , and so it's making a clear thing that here he was , he was able to go on and have a marriage and children and grandchildren and live a full life , while this man laid in the grave . And so the tears rolled down the elderly Private Ryan's face .

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And those tears , of course , what do they represent ? They're expressions of his humility , his gratitude for this man , his love for this man who sacrifices life so that he could be saved , so that he could live an abundant life that this man never got to live . And of course , he was saved physically , right . But what's the point ? Private Ryan knew the facts about this man . He understood what the soldier had done for them , but this was no bare facts . These were very moving facts of what this man had done for them . But this was no bare facts . These were very moving facts of what this man had done for him . And so it is with us in Christ .

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Private Ryan stood over the man's grave crying . Tell me it was worth it . He rightly felt he wanted to honor this man with what he had done , and that's what saving faith wants to do . Once we come to know God , we don't earn our salvation , but once we come to know Christ , we want to honor him for what he has done for us , as he drank the cup of hell for us that we could live . And so he had a sense of obligation . His mind , his emotions , his will , saving faith , leans on God .

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Faith rests in Christ alone , rests in his work alone , but it also responds to the voice of God . God's sheep hear Christ's voice and they respond to it . And so where do we find the good shepherd's voice ? It's through his word , it's through his Bible . And so Donald McLeod says faith responds to commandments . How , with obedience , faith trembles . How Faith trembles before , or when does faith tremble Before God's threatenings ?

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In Scripture , faith meets a doctrine , say when Christ came in the flesh , in the incarnation . And how does faith respond ? With belief and conviction . Faith meets promises in God's Word , and what effect does that have upon the person who has saving faith ? It brings us joy , does it not ? Don't the promises of God bring you joy ? Isn't that what we feed on ? And so faith is created by , and it lives by , every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord . In the word of God , there was a poor but discerning Christian woman . She was asked once what is faith , and she said I'm ignorant and I can't answer very well . But I think it's taking God at his word , and that's right . Sometimes a simple but answer is better than a complicated one . That's what faith is . Do you take God at his word ? Do you hear his voice ?

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In the scriptures , one of the famous illustrations of evangelism explosion , remember D James Kennedy's evangelism explosion . He talks in there about a chair and if he says , you know , you can be asked do you believe that that chair will hold you up , will support you ? And I can stand right here and say , yes , I believe that chair will support me . But theologians will call that intellectual faith , because I'm not yet willing to sit in the chair . I'll tell you , yeah , I think it will support me . But what am I going to find out ? If I really believe that when I actually sit in the chair and that's what saving faith is like we give ourselves , we don't just know the facts , we don't just agree with the facts we actually rest in Christ . We sit in the chair of salvation , so to speak . That's saving faith .

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And so do you , number one ? Do you believe in the Lord , jesus Christ ? Do you receive and trust him alone for salvation ? Believe , receive , trust that's saving faith . That's the first part of this second vow , but the second part is Christ's person . Notice what this vow says about the person of Christ . Do you believe in the Lord , jesus Christ , as who , the Son of God and the Savior of sinners ? But I want to emphasize the Son of God . Do you believe him as the Son of God ? That's his divinity here ? Do you believe Jesus is the Lord and do you believe he's the Christ ?

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In the Gospel of Matthew , the 16th chapter , we see here that Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi and he asked His disciples a question . He said who do people say the Son of man is ? Of course he's referring to Himself and of course they gave various answers . Some said well , I think some are saying you're John the Baptist . Others say you're the Old Testament prophet Elijah , come back . Some say you're Jeremiah or Testament prophet Elijah , come back . Some say you're Jeremiah or one of the other prophets .

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In our own day you can ask various people who is Jesus and they'll give you various responses . Some say , well , jesus was . He was a good man , he was a great moral teacher , he was a good guy . Well , that's 20th century liberal theology . You know that Jesus is just a good example and that's it . But see Jesus being a good example . What will that do us at the final judgment ? If Jesus was only our good example , he was perfect and sinless . We are not , so him just being a good example doesn't help us . Some say well , jesus was a political revolutionary . He came to liberate the poor and redistribute wealth , the wealth of the rich under the poor , and we know that as liberation theology . That's where Marxism meets the Bible . That's not true . Then others say we read in the scriptures about Jesus , but that's just a myth or it's a legend Made up from disillusioned early church followers of Christ . Well , what they're really just saying when they say that is they don't believe in the resurrection of Christ , and so on it goes .

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And after Jesus asked who do people say the Son of man is ? He turned to the disciples and he said who do you say that I am ? All that chatter is good about what people are doing out there , but how about you ? And the you here is emphatic it's the you's . Actually scholars point out in the original stated twice so it's . Who do you say that I am In ? So it's . Who do you say that I am In ?

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This passage , jesus is speaking to each one of us . Who do you say that I am ? Who do you say that I am ? That's what Christ is asking us here in this passage . And Simon Peter comes forward and he says you are the Christ that's how the Greeks would put it .

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The Christ , you are the Messiah , the son of the living God , the Messiah that's how the Jews would put it . The Christ , you are the Messiah , the son of the living God . The Messiah , that's how the Jews would put it . Jesus is the Christ , he's the Messiah . He's the long awaited , anointed one of God . The Old Testament was pregnant with the promise of a coming Christ , a coming Messiah , and in the fullness of time , mary gave birth to the Son of God . And so the whole Bible is about Jesus . And we see who Jesus is , this anointed one of God who was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be what To be God's people's chief prophet , eternal high priest and eternal king , the king of kings . We see , he's the chief prophet in Deuteronomy 18 . He's the eternal high priest and eternal king , the king of kings . We see , he's the chief prophet in Deuteronomy 18 . He's the eternal high priest in Psalm 110 . He's the eternal king in Psalm 2 . And we see the New Testament quotes those verses and applies them to Christ or alludes to them .

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What does it mean that Jesus is our chief prophet , our true prophet ? What means we believe or trust whatever he teaches fully with our life ? What's it mean that he's our eternal high priest ? It means we see that he is compassionate and we trust him for the forgiveness of our sins and we trust him to intercede for us in heaven above . We hear it come to me all who labor and are heavy laden . I'll give you rest . Take my yoke upon me and learn from me , for I am gentle and lowly in heart , and you will find rest for your souls , compassionate Christ . What does it mean for us to trust Jesus as our eternal king ? It means we gladly submit to his commandments . We trust his commandments that they're good for us , that they're good for his commandments , that they're good for us , that they're good for his glory , that they're the best way to live , and we also take confidence in his protection , both in this life , at our death , and in the life to come . That's what it means . And so Jesus is the son of God . We see his person in this second vow . But lastly and briefly , christ's work . Christ's work that's the third thing we see Saving faith . Christ's person and now Christ's work . Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ , the savior of sinners ? It's as if they want to make sure you don't miss . He's the savior of sinners .

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What does the apostle Paul say in first Timothy one ? I love this . This is one of my favorite passages in scripture . The apostle Paul's writing to his young minister , timothy . You remember who , what kind of a life Paul lived before Paul was converted . He was one of the great persecutors of the church , if not the head persecutor . He had the blood of Christians on his hands . Right Now , listen to what he writes to Timothy after he became an apostle .

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After Paul became an apostle , I thank him who has given me strength , christ Jesus , our Lord , because he judged me faithful , appointing me to his service , though formerly I was a blasphemer , persecutor and insolent opponent . You see , he was a blasphemer of God , he was a persecutor of the church and he was an insolent opponent of the gospel . But I received mercy . Isn't that beautiful ? But I received mercy , and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus .

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The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners , of whom I am the foremost . But I received mercy he says it a second time , but I received mercy for this reason that in me , as the foremost of sinners , jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life . Do you see what Paul is saying ? Why would God make me the chief apostle when I was the foremost of sinners ? So that there would be no doubt that if God could save me ? Paul says he can save anybody . If he can save somebody that's got the blood of God's people on their hands , he can save anybody . He was so full of hatred toward Christians and Christ .

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And then , at the end of this vow , it says as he is offered in the gospel . Do you believe in Christ as the son of God and the savior sinners as he is offered in the gospel ? Well , what does that mean ? Part of what it means is as he's offered in the bible , not as the Jesus we conceive of , but but as God has revealed him . But even more to the point , how is Christ revealed to us and how is he offered to us in the Bible , and it's that beautiful word freely , freely , that's how the Lord Jesus Christ and God's salvation is offered to you in the gospel . It is a free gift . It's not faith plus the merit of our good works , or faith plus circumcision , or faith plus baptism , or faith plus anything we get right with God by simply receiving from Christ freely . Knox Cummings says faith is doing nothing , it's receiving everything .

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John Calvin , I've not merited you by my love , o Christ , you have loved me of your free will . I come to you naked and empty and I find everything here . How beautiful . We come to God through Christ , through faith in Him , naked and empty and guilty and full of shame , and he forgives us and covers us and receives us and holds us forever in His love . Isn't God good ? And what does it cost us ? Isn't God good ? And what does it cost us ? Well , to get right with God , we freely come . We freely come to Him . It costs Christ everything . I love how Steve Brown used to say Christians are just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread . I think that's right . It's in Christ alone , no one else . There are many cisterns out there that have salt water in them and you'll die if you drink from them , but the freshwater spring is only found in Christ .

Invitation to Salvation and New Life

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Listen Isaiah 55, . Come , everyone who thirsts , come to the waters . And he who has what , no money , come buy and eat . Come buy wine and milk without what , without money and without price . Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts . Let him return to the Lord . Do you see that Not ? Go get your life squared away and then come to God . Just acknowledge you're not living right and return to the Lord . Why ? That ? He may have compassion on him , and to our God , for he will do what Abundantly . Pardon . Our God is good and he is great . Revelation 22, . And let the one who is thirsty come , let the one who desires take the water of life without price .

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I'll end with this practical application for you . What difference does it make for right with God ? Well , it'll make a huge difference on judgment day and for all eternity for one . But there's also another application here . Ji Packer says this God rest his soul . By the way . Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God , most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord . I think that's right . So with that , let me ask you to stand Because I have a question I want to ask you this morning , west Town Church Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners , and do you receive and trust Him alone for salvation , as he's offered in the gospel ? If you do say I do ,