Sermon #561 Luke
Sermons
Title: “Who is this?”
Text: Luke
9:7-11
Subject: How
do we know that Jesus is the Christ?
Date: Sunday
Evening –
Tape # W-46b
Introduction:
[Luke
9:7-11] "Now Herod the tetrarch
heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was
said of some, that John was risen from the dead; [8] And of some, that
Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen
again. [9] And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of
whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him. [10] And the
apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took
them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called
There are many in these
verses that deserve careful study. The Lord willing, we will look at the more
fully next week. Tonight I want us to focus on just one thing in this passage.
I want to answer from the Scriptures the question that Herod asked, when he had
heard of the great works Christ had done. In verse 9 he asked, “Who
is this, of whom I hear such things?”
All Christians rest the hopes of their
immortal souls upon him. He is the Foundation upon which we have built our
hopes of eternal life. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah,
promised by God in all the Old Testament prophets.
Peter's confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God" (Matt.
1. He is not the Son of
God.
2. His obedience to God
is of no benefit to us.
3. His death upon the
cross has no saving virtue.
4. And we are yet in our
sins.
Our faith says, "We believe and are sure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:69). But are
you really sure? There have been many others who have claimed to be Christ, the
Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Perhaps it would be good for
us to ask of Jesus what John the Baptist asked of him - "Art thou he
that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matt. 11:3) This is the
question I want to address in this message: -- “Who is this?”
Suppose you were witnessing to a Jew and
he said to you, "Show me from the Old Testament Scriptures that the Jesus
you worship is the Messiah." Could you do it? That is exactly what I want
to do in this message. I want to show you from the Scriptures of Old
Testament that...
Proposition: Jesus of
To answer Herod’s question, we will begin
in Psalm 40:6-8.
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou
opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I,
Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy
will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
It would be impossible to honestly apply these
words to anyone but the Messiah. Indeed, the Jewish commentators from ancient
times have said that this Psalm is a messianic prophecy. And, of course, the
Apostle declares in the Book of Hebrews (10:5-10) that this prophecy is
fulfilled in the Person and work of Jesus of Nazareth.
Divisions: In
these three verses the Prophet David tells us four things which will
identify the true Messiah of
1.
The
sacrifices and ceremonies of legal worship will cease.
2.
He
will be Jehovah's voluntary Servant.
3.
The
body of Scripture prophecy will be fulfilled.
4.
He
will perfectly accomplish the will of God.
I want you to follow me carefully through
the Scriptures as I show you that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. The types,
promises, and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures weave a garment that
is tailor made to fit only one man. That man is the Messiah, the Christ, the
Son of God. And that man is our Savior, Jesus.
I. First, David tells us that WHEN THE MESSIAH HAS
COME ALL THE SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES OF LEGAL WORSHIP WOULD CEASE -
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire."
The sacrifices, ceremonies, and laws of
the Mosaic economy were never intended to be a means of salvation. God never
had pleasure and satisfaction in them. They could not remove sin, satisfy
justice, or make men righteous before God.
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and
not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they
offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then
would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices
there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." -- Heb 10:1-4
The sacrifices and ceremonies of the law
were only useful as types and shadows of Christ, to show the nature and
necessity of his redemptive work. Once they were fulfilled they must cease to
be, because they have no other service.
The law given by Moses was designed by God
to identify and expose sin, to deter men from deeds of iniquity, and to show
the necessity of a Substitute. Once the law has served its purpose and been
fulfilled by Christ, it has no other use, and ceases to have power over men.
"For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." -- Rom 10:4
A. THE OLD TESTAMENT scriptures
CONSTANTLY REMINDED THE JEWS THAT GOD HAD NO REGARD FOR THEIR SACRIFICES AND
CEREMONIES, EXCEPT AS THEY TYPIFIED CHRIST AND WERE OBSERVED BY FAITH IN HIM.
"And Samuel said, [Hath the LORD as great delight] in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." -- 1 Sam 15:22
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O
"For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delight- est not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." -- Psa 51:16-17
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto
me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of
fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he
goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand,
to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination
unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away
with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed
feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them." -- Isa 1:11-14
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate." -- Dan 9:27
These five passages from the Old
Testament, read without comment demonstrate clearly that the sacrifices and
ceremonies of legal worship were never intended to be perpetual. They were only
temporary pictures of Christ.
B. EVEN THE MOSAIC COVENANT, AS SET FORTH IN what
men call “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,” WAS ONLY DESIGNED TO BE A TEMPORARY
COVENANT (Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Heb. 8:7-13).
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they
brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more." -- Jer
31:31-34
"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then
should no place have been sought for the second…In that he saith, A new
covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is
ready to vanish away." -- Heb
8:7-13
The law of God, as a covenant, a rule of
life, and the revelation of God's righteous requirements from men was designed
to lead us to Christ, by whom it is fulfilled (Gal. 3:24-25).
"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we
are no longer under a schoolmaster."
-- Gal 3:24-25
C. AND WHEN CHRIST CAME, THE SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT DID CEASE TO BE OBSERVED.
David, at least a thousand years before
Christ came, intimated that when he came he would accomplish that which no
sacrifice, ceremony, or law could accomplish (redemption - justification -
righteousness - and forgiveness). The laws, sacrifices, and ceremonies of
Israel were only scaffolding, temporarily necessary for the building of his
kingdom, but now removed.
1.
All
the Jewish sacrifices and ceremonies ceased to have virtue once Christ died.
2.
And
they all ceased to exist when God destroyed both Jerusalem and Judaism in 70
A.D.
·
The
Priesthood Ceased!
·
The
Temple Ceased!
·
The
Sacrifices Ceased!
·
The
Nation Ceased!
Here is the first evidence that Jesus of
Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah. When he finished his work the sacrifices and ceremonies of legal
worship ceased. To demonstrate it, the veil of the temple was ripped apart
(Matt. 27:51).
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent."
-- Mat 27:51
NOTE:
Though the Jews look for a future Messiah and deny that Jesus is the Christ,
their hopes are as foolish as they are vain. – Equally vain are the delusions
of those prophecies zealots who proclaim a coming return by God to Jewish
worship! -- How could the prophecy be fulfilled again?
II. Secondly, David shows us that THE MESSIAH, THE
CHRIST, MUST BE A MAN WHO IS JEHOVAH'S VOLUNTARY SERVANT - "Mine
ears hast thou opened."
The Law of The
Bond slave – (Ex. 21:1-6)
The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world
and performed his work as the voluntary Servant of his Father (Isa. 42:1-4; 50:5-7; Heb. 10:5-7). I
must be brief here. But this is so important. Be sure you get it.
A. HE WHO IS JEHOVAH'S VOLUNTARY SERVANT IS JEHOVAH'S EQUAL!
All angels, men, creatures, devils, and
events must serve God, because he is the Creator of all things. All rational
beings are morally obligated to serve God, because we live upon his bounty. But
Christ came to serve the Father voluntarily. He owed nothing and had
nothing to gain, for he is himself Jehovah. That Man who is the Christ
is himself God (Phil. 2:5-8; Psa. 45:6-7).
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of
thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest
wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows." -- Psa
45:6-7
B. JEHOVAH'S SERVANT CAME INTO THE WORLD WITH A SPECIFIC
MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH (Matt. 1:21).
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." -- Mat 1:21
Throughout the Old Testament Scriptures,
Messiah was promised, looked for, and trusted as that One who would come to restore
his fallen people to the everlasting favor of God, by putting away their sins
(Isa. 61:1-3; Lk. 4:18).
"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and
the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto
them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be
called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified." -- Isa 61:1-3
C. EITHER JESUS OF NAZARETH HAS EFFECTUALLY REDEEMED AND
SAVED GOD'S ELECT, OR HE IS NOT THE CHRIST.
The Christ of Arminian, freewill, works
religion is a false Christ. We know he is because, Messiah's eternal
glory and exaltation is dependent and conditioned upon the success of his
redemptive, saving work (Psa. 2:7-8; 65:4; 110:3).
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession." -- Psa
2:7-8
"Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to
approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with
the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."
-- Psa 65:4
"Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in
the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy
youth." -- Psa 110:3
"He shall not fail!" --
Isa 42:4
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of
him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
-- John 6:37-40
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,
and one shepherd." -- John
10:16
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." -- Heb 10:10
Here is the second proof of our Savior's
Messiahship: He
is...
·
Jehovah's
Voluntary Servant!
·
Our
Vicarious Substitute!
·
And
the Victorious Savior!
III. Thirdly, the Prophet David assured us that WHEN
THE CHRIST, THE MESSIAH, HAS COME THE VOLUME OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY WOULD BE
FULFILLED - "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book
it is written of me."
"The volume of the book"
may refer to the book of God's secret, eternal decrees (Rev. 5:1; 10:2). But it
certainly refers to the written revelation of God contained in the Old
Testament Scriptures.
The writings of the Old Testament prophets
abound in predictions of the Messiah, the Christ. God promised Abraham,
"In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
When Jacob blessed the tribe of Judah, he spoke of Shiloh to whom
the gathering of the people would be. Moses spoke of that Prophet
whom the Lord God would raise up, whom the people of God would hear. In the
Psalms and the prophets Messiah is given a variety of titles:
1.
The
Anointed Of The Lord
2.
The
King
3.
David's
Lord
4.
The
Child Born
5.
The
Son Given
6.
The
Mighty God
7.
The
Everlasting Father
8.
The
Prince Of Peace
9.
God's
Servant Whom He Upholds
10. Messiah The Prince
11. God's Elect In Whom He Delights
12. The Branch
13. The Lord Our Righteousness
14. The Messenger Of The Covenant
All these names and titles belong to the
Messiah; but are they all fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth? If they are, then he is the Christ. If
they are not, we must look for another.
The prophecies of the Old Testament give
us eight specific things that must characterize the Messiah. By these eight things the Christ is
identified. These eight things can be, with honesty, applied to no man in
history, past or future, except Jesus of Nazareth, who is indeed the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
A. 1st THE TIME OF MESSIAH'S COMING WAS CLEARLY
MARKED OUT IN PROPHECY.
God told no one the day and hour when Christ would come. But he
did identify the time in history. Those looking forward to the coming of Christ
could not predict it. But those looking back cannot mistake it. Christ has
come!
THE COMING OF MESSIAH MUST FIT INTO THIS
TIME FRAME:
1. Before the
destruction of civil government in Judah.
"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of
the people be." -- Gen 49:10
2. While the
temple was still standing in Jerusalem.
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a
little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the
dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall
come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of
this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts:
and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." -- Hag 2:6-9
3. About the
middle of Daniel's 70th week, which would be 453-457 years after the
rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem began in 33 A.D. The year that Christ
died (Dan. 9:24-27). 37 years later, 70 A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed.
"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy
holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to
seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore
and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and
threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even
in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm
the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of
abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that
determined shall be poured upon the desolate." -- Dan 9:24-27
The Messiah had to come into the world
during the time that Jesus of Nazareth lived upon the earth. He could not have
come at any other time.
B. 2nd THE PLACE WHERE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN WAS
PLAINLY FORETOLD.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to
be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." -- Micah 5:2
C. 3rd THE FAMILY FROM WHICH MESSIAH MUST COME
WAS THE HOUSE OF DAVID.
"The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn
from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne."- Psa
132:11
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:" -- Isa 11:1
The Jews debated about many things. But
they never questioned the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
D. 4th THE MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE LORD JESUS
DECLARE HIM TO BE THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, THE SON OF DAVID (Isa.
29:18; 35:5-6; 42:6-7).
"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the
book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." -- Isa 29:18
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears
of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert." --
Isa 35:5-6
"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the
prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison
house. -- Isa 42:6-7
Illustration:
John the Baptist (Matt. 11:2-4).
"Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on us!"
E. 5th THE MESSIAH MUST BE ONE WHO COMES AS A
KING DISTINGUISHED BY HIS HUMILIATION, MEEKNESS, AND LOWLINESS (Zech.
9:9; Matt. 21:1-9).
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." -- Zec 9:9 (See Matthew 21:1-9)
F. 6th IT WAS PROPHESIED THAT THE MESSIAH MUST
SUFFER AND DIE BY THE HANDS OF WICKED MEN - "Messiah shall be
cut off, but not for himself" (Dan. 9:26; Isa. 53:1-12).
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." -- Dan 9:26
NOTE: Our
Lord's tormenters used the very words and performed the very deeds he had
predicted by his prophets - (See Psa. 22).
NOTE:
Those words which describe the betrayal, shame, crucifixion, and death of
Christ could find fulfilment only in the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
G. 7th THE SCRIPTURES DECLARED PLAINLY THAT
MESSIAH WOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD BEFORE HIS BODY HAD BEGUN TO DECAY.
"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my
flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path
of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore." --
Psa 16:9-11
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto
death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors."
-- Isa 53:10-12
H. AND, 8th THE PROPHETS PLAINLY ASSERTED THAT
MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, WOULD SET UP HIS KINGDOM AMONG THE GENTILES BY THE
OUTPOURING OF HIS SPIRIT UPON THEM (Isa. 49:5-6; Joel 2:28-32; Gal.
3:13-14).
"And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to
be his se vant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet
shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up
the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel :I will also give
thee for a light to the Gentiles ,that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end
of the earth." -- Isa 49:5-6
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out
my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the
servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I
will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for
in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and
in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." -- Joel 2:28-32
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." -- Gal 3:13-14
Here are the evidences by which we know
and are sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God:
(1.)
He
put an end to the sacrifices and ceremonies of legal worship by fulfilling
them.
(2.)
He
came into the world as Jehovah's voluntary Servant.
(3.)
He
fulfilled the volume of Old Testament prophecy to the letter.
But I have saved the best until the last.
Here is the greatest, most blessed assurance we have. By this, above all else,
we know that Jesus our Savior is the Christ.
IV. David tells us that THE CHRIST, THE MESSIAH, WHOEVER HE
IS, WILL PERFECTLY ACCOMPLISH THE WILL OF GOD. -- "I delight to
do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."
When the Lord Jesus came into this world
he came with delight to do his Father's will. He delighted in that of which God
approves. He delighted in that which God had appointed. And the law of God was
in his heart, so that both inwardly and outwardly, he was perfectly holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sin -- He knew no sin!
We know that Jesus is Christ, the Son of
the living God, because...
A.
He
perfectly performed all the precepts of God's revealed will in the law. – He
brought in an everlasting righteousness.
B.
He
freely yielded himself to all the performances of God's providential will. --
"Not my will, thy will be done!"
C.
He
made complete satisfaction and propitiation to God's justice, satisfying the
penalty of the law.
D.
And
in doing these things he accomplished the complete salvation of God's elect
(Heb. 10:5-14).
"And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering
oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right
hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." -- Heb 10:11-14
Christ came to do the Father's will. He
came to save his people. And he has done it. We know that Jesus is the Christ,
because God accepted his work (Rom. 8:32-34).
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for
us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." -- Rom 8:32-34
Application: Lam. 1:12 - It is Everything To Me!
How do you know that Jesus is the Christ?
I answer, I know that Jesus is the Christ because...
1. He has fulfilled all that God said the Messiah would do:
(a.) Put and end to legal
sacrifices and ceremonies.
(b.) Came as a voluntary
Savior.
(c.) Accomplished all the
prophecies.
(d.) Performed the will
of God.
2. He has been revealed in me by the power of His Spirit in saving
grace.
3. His blood, applied to my heart, has purged my conscience of
guilt.
4. I prove his Divinity, Messiahship, and Saving Power by faith.
-- I trust him (John 6:69).
"And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God."
-- John 6:69