Sermon
#1445[1] Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: Christ
Pre-eminent
as the Savior of His
People
Text: Colossians
Subject: The Pre-eminence of Christ as our Savior
Date: Sunday Morning --
Tape # W-17a
Introduction:
I want you to see, and see clearly, the pre-eminence of our Lord
Jesus Christ in all things. It is the purpose of the triune God that in all
things Christ be pre-eminent. This is what the Holy Spirit plainly tells us in
Colossians 1:18.
(Colossians 1:18) "And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence."
I want to pick up today right where I left off last Sunday
morning. The title of my message today is Christ Pre-eminent as the Savior of His People.
Clearly, it is in this matter of salvation that the glory and pre-eminence of
our Lord Jesus Christ is most fully displayed. He who is God's Salvation, that
One whose glory is great in salvation, is pre-eminent as the Savior of his
people.
It is the great glory and pre-eminence of Christ as the Savior
of his people which the angel Gabriel announced to Mary, when he made known to
her that she was the woman chosen of God to bring the Son of God into this
world (Luke 1:26-33).
(Luke 1:26-33) "And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of
It is the pre-eminence of Christ as the Savior of his people
which that faithful old saint, Simeon, spoke of when he took the Lord Jesus up
in his arms and lifted his heart to God in gratitude (Luke 2:29-34).
(Luke 2:29-34) "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy
salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
[32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
[33] And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken
of him. [34] And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother,
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in
Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;"
And it is the pre-eminence and glory of Christ as the Savior of
his people that the angel of the Lord declared to Joseph in our text this
morning (Matt.
(Matthew 1:18-25) "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his
mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. [19] Then Joseph her husband, being
a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to
put her away privily. [20] But while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. [21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, [23] Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us. [24] Then Joseph being raised
from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his
wife: [25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JESUS."
Today, we will focus our
attention on this one very familiar text of Scripture (Matt.
(Matthew 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."
I called this a very familiar text because its words are
familiar, not because its meaning is familiar. That certainly is not true.
There are few in this world who know the meaning of
these words. That is why I want to expound it to you this morning.
Before we proceed, I want to make a few very serious statements.
I make them after much thought, study, and prayerful deliberation.
Here is the first statement. I stand before you either as
the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, or as the servant of the devil. I must be
one or the other. In this day of religious pandering, self-serving
pragmatism, and compromise, that statement may sound very strange. But it is a
fact that cannot be denied or even reasonably questioned. I am either the
servant of Christ or the servant of Satan. Either I am working for Christ and
with Christ, or I am working against him. Either I am the messenger of Christ,
or I am the messenger of the devil himself. Is this, or is it not precisely the
doctrine of this Book?
(Matthew 12:30) Our Master said, -- "He that is not with
me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."
(1 Corinthians 9:16) "For though I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel!"
(Galatians 1:8) "But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed."
That awesome fact places a great burden of responsibility
upon my shoulders. Indeed, this fact places a great burden upon the
shoulders of every man who stands as a preacher to speak to eternity bound men
and women and boys and girls in the name of God. -- If when I preach I fail to
preach the gospel that Paul preached, the curse of God is upon my head! -- And
that man across the highway who is this hour preaching to eternity bound
sinners in the name of God, if he fails to preach the gospel that Paul
preached, the curse of God is upon him.
Isaiah declares, "To the law and to the testimony, if
they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them"
(Isa.
(Deuteronomy 4:2) "Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep
the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
(Revelation 22:19) "And if any man shall take away from the
words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the
book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are
written in this book."
In the light of these things, I stand here, as Paul said to the
Corinthians, "in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling"
(1 Cor. 2:3). Standing here, as the servant of God, as the minister of Jesus Christ,
as a steward of the mysteries of God, I am responsible to be faithful. --
Faithful to the Word of God! -- Faithful to the glory of God! -- Faithful to
your souls! That is my responsibility.
But you, too, have a responsibility. It is your responsibility
to "try the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false
prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). This is
what that means, in so far as your responsibility is concerned in this matter.
·
If I am the servant of Christ, you will be wise to hear and obey the
message God has given me for you.
·
If I am not the servant of Christ, if I am the servant of the devil,
you must not hear me, or even bid me God-speed (2 John 10-11).
(2 John 1:10-11) "If there come any unto you, and bring
not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God
speed: [11] For he that biddeth him God speed
is partaker of his evil deeds."
Perhaps you are thinking, --
"Bro. Don, How can I tell whether a man is the servant of Christ or the
servant of the devil?" The answer to that question is very simple. --
Compare what he says with what God says in this Book. See if the gospel he
preaches is the gospel of Christ, as it was preached by our Lord and his
apostles. I challenge you to compare what I say to you with the Word of God.
Search the Scriptures for yourselves, like the noble Bereans of old, to see if
the things preached to you from this pulpit are so.
Having said that, let's see what is revealed in our text today
about our Lord Jesus Christ and his great pre-eminence as the Savior of his
people.
(Matthew 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."
My mind is lost in wonder and admiration, when I think of the
fact of Christ's coming into this world. Is it not utterly astonishing to you
that the Son of God would condescend to become the Son of man, that he who
created all things would become the woman's Seed, that he who is God over all
and blessed forever would take upon himself the form of a servant, to be
despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, that
in the fulness of time he might die the painful, shameful, ignominious death of
the cross in the place of guilty sinners, the Just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God? These things simply astonish me!
(2 Corinthians 8:9) "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich."
(2 Corinthians 9:15) "Thanks be
unto God for his unspeakable gift."
(1 Timothy 3:16) "And without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory."
Proposition: Behold, a virgin conceived and brought forth a Son! His name is
Immanuel! -- God with us! -- God almighty has come down here in the nature of a
man to save fallen men! If that does not amaze you, nothing can!
Divisions: I want to raise four simple
questions, questions which are clearly answered in this one sentence of
Inspiration. -- "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins!"
1.
Why did the Lord Jesus Christ come into this world?
2.
Who is this man whose name is called Jesus?
3.
Who are his people?
4.
How does the Lord Jesus Christ save his people?
I. Why
did the Lord Jesus Christ come into this world?
Our text declares and declares plainly that the Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world for the specific purpose of saving his people from
their sins. He did not come here to establish a political state. He did not
come here to be a moral, religious reformer. He did not come to merely give us
a good example of how we ought to live. The Lord Jesus Christ was born as a man
at Bethlehem 2000 years ago, the Son of God invaded earth and time through a
virgin's womb 2000 years ago, to save his people from their sins.
The purpose of our Lord's incarnation, the mission upon which he
was sent and came into this world, the work he came here to perform was the
salvation of his people.
A. This is the Father's will
which he came to perform (Heb. 10:5-14).
(Hebrews 10:5-14) "Wherefore when he cometh into the world,
he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou
prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. [8] Above
when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for
sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered
by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He
taketh away the first, that he may establish the
second. [10] By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
[11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right
hand of God; [13] From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. [14] For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified."
B. This salvation of his people
was the stipulation of the covenant he came to fulfill (Isa. 49:8).
(Isaiah 49:8) "Thus saith the LORD, In
an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to
establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages."
C. This is the commandment of
his Father he came to obey (John
(John 10:16-18) "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. [17] Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. [18] No man taketh it from me, but I lay it
down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my Father."
II.
Who is this man whose name is called
"JESUS"?
That might appear to be a strange question to ask.
Perhaps you think, "Pastor, everybody in this day and age, at least,
everybody I know, knows who he is." You are sadly mistaken. The fact is, there are very few people in this world who know who the
Lord Jesus Christ is.
The Christ that is worshipped in the average church is nothing
but the idolatrous figment of man's depraved imagination. Our Lord himself
warned us of these days (Matt. 24:24, 23). That which we read in Matthew 24
makes this question a matter of immense importance.
(Matthew 24:24) "For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
(Matthew 24:23) "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is Christ, or there; believe it not."
Who is this man whose name is called "JESUS"? If we
would be saved, we must know him, we must know, trust, and worship the true and
living God, and the Christ of God by and in whom he is revealed, not a false
Christ and a false god (John 17:3).
(John 17:3) "And this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
If you, or I, trust a false god and a false Christ, no matter
how sincere we are, we are lost, under the delusion of Satan, and perishing in
the delusion of a hopeless religion. If you care for your soul, give me your
attention. I want to show you from the Scriptures who this man is who is called
"JESUS," of whom it is written, "He shall save his people
from their sins.".
A. This man, Jesus of Nazareth,
is himself God, the Son of God, God the Son, the second person of the Holy
Trinity
(1 John 5:7).
We who believe are the sons of God by adoption and grace; but
this man is God the eternal Son by nature. He is in every way one with and
equal with the Father and the Spirit. When the Scriptures assert that this man,
Jesus of Nazareth, is the Son of God, as they universally do, the meaning is
this. -- He "is over all God, blessed forever!" He is not just
a god, a likeness of God, an emanation of God, or a high and holy creature of
God. Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh (John 1:1-3).
1. All the attributes of
divinity belong to him.
2. He is the sovereign Creator
of all things! -- The Sustainer of all things! -- The Ruler of all things! --
The Disposer of all things!
3. Christ is God in human flesh
(Col. 2:9).
4. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
full, complete, absolute, perfect, and final revelation of the eternal God
(John
Let men argue, debate, fuss, and ridicule as they will, if the
man Christ Jesus is anything less than God almighty, we have no Savior, the
Bible is a cruel hoax, and our religion is utter idolatry of the basest kind.
-- If this man is not God, he is a liar and an imposter. -- If he is not God,
his obedience and death arte utterly meaningless, for none but God (God in human
flesh!) could make atonement for our sins!
Oh, yes, blessed be his name, that man who was born at Bethlehem
2000 years ago, who died at Calvary and rose again the third day, that man who
is seated yonder in glory is himself Christ our God!
B. This man called Jesus, the
Christ of God, this man who is God almighty, is the sinners' Substitute.
He is the Daysman, the Surety, the Representative, the Mediator, the Substitute by whose obedience and death
sinners are reconciled to God, without whom we could never be accepted of God.
Listen to me now. -- The key to understanding this Book is understanding the gospel doctrine of Substitution. When I
say that the Lord Jesus Christ is the sinners' Substitute, I mean that…
1. He stood before the Father
as the Substitute, in the room and stead of his people, as our Representative,
before the world began.
·
As the Lamb Slain (Rev. 13:8).
·
As The Mediator Accepted (Eph. 1:3-6).
·
As the Covenant Surety (2 Tim. 1:9-10),
(2 Timothy 1:9-10) "Who hath saved us, and called us with
an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, [10] But
is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel."
2. The Lord Jesus lived on this
earth in perfect obedience to the law and will of God as our Substitute (Rom.
3. The Lord of Glory died under
the wrath of God as the Substitute for his people upon the cursed tree (Gal.
3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21).
4. Our great Savior intercedes
on behalf of his people today, as our Advocate in heaven, as our Substitute
before the throne of God(1 John 2:1-2).
5. The Lord Jesus Christ will
stand as the Substitute for in people, in our room and stead, at the bar of
justice on the day of judgment, as the just, righteous
grounds of our eternal salvation.
Be sure you understand what this Book teaches us. If Jesus
Christ is indeed God in human flesh, God almighty, (and he is!), then all that
he has undertaken to do as our Substitute must be effectually and completely
accomplished by him. (Redemption -- Justification -- Salvation)-- All those
people whom he undertook to save must be saved. Hear the angel's words again.
-- "He shall save his people from their sins!" --
"He shall not fail!"
D. This Jesus, the Christ of
the Bible, who is God incarnate, is the Savior of his people.
I will say more about this later, but I will not mind repeating
myself. So hear me now.
1.Christ alone is our Savior.
2. Christ is our complete Savior (1 Cor.
3. Christ is our effectual Savior. -- "It is
finished!"
E. This man called Jesus, who
is the Christ of God, who is God the Son, in order to save his people is the
sovereign Monarch of the universe (John 17:2; Acts 5:31; Rom. 14:9; Phil. 2:9-11;
Heb. 1:1-3).
·
By Virtue of His Eternal Deity!
·
By Virtue of His Obedience!
Do you
understand who this man called Jesus is? He is…
·
The Son of God.
·
The Sinners' Substitute.
·
The Savior of His People.
·
The Sovereign Monarch of the Universe!
If the Christ you worship is not this Christ, your Christ is a
false Christ, nothing but the idolatrous figment of your own depraved mind.
Look at our text again. It declares that this man called Jesus,
the Christ, "shall save his people from their
sins." So, I want to know the answer to another question.
III.
Who are his people?
Who are those people who are here called "his people"?
Who are those people Christ came to save? This much is as obvious in our text
as the nose on your face: His people were his people before he came here
to save them. Our text says, "He shall save his people."
It does not say, "He shall save those who shall be his people."
Whoever his people are, they were his people before he came to save them (Ps. 110:3;
John
(Psalms 110:3) "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."
(John 10:16)
"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."
All men
are Arminians and will worshippers by nature. All men naturally assume that
Christ came to save everyone in the world. All men think, and all false religion
teaches, that Christ died at
·
He fails to do what he came to do.
·
His love can be turned to wrath.
·
His blood does not fully satisfy the justice of God.
The Son of God did not come here to save all people. If he had,
all would be saved. He came to save his people from their sins, his own
peculiar, distinct people. Who are his people? The Word of God describes them
like this. -- His people are…
·
His Seed (Isa. 53:10-12).
·
His Sheep (John
·
His
·
His Own Elect (Eph. 1:3-7).
In a word, "HIS
PEOPLE" are the objects of his love! His people are those who were
chosen in him to salvation before the world began, whom he loved with an
everlasting love, whom he predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will (Rom. 8:28-31).
IV.How
does the Lord Jesus Christ save his people from their sins?
This much I know. -- Whoever his people are, they
shall be saved from their sins. That fact cannot be disputed. But how does he
do it? Here are three distinct and distinguishing works of grace by which the
Lord Jesus Christ saves all his people from all their sins (1 Cor. 4:7).
A.Redemption -- He has saved all
his people from the penalty of their sins by the particular, effectual
redemption of our souls from the curse of God's holy law (2 Cor.
This is "how" Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3).
·
Voluntarily (Heb. 10:5-9)
·
Vicariously (Isa. 53:4-6).
·
Victoriously (Heb.
B.Regeneration
-- Christ Jesus saves each and all his people from the power and dominion of
their sins, at the appointed time of love, by the almighty power and effectual,
irresistible grace of his Holy Spirit in regeneration and effectual calling
(John 5:25; Eph. 2:1-5; Ps; 65:4).
·
Ezekiel's Infant (Ezek. 16:6-8)
·
The
·
Lazarus (John 11)
C.Resurrection
-- The Lord Jesus Christ shall soon save all his people from all
their sins, from the very being of sin and all the evil consequences of sin, in
the resurrection of the just (John 5:28; 1 Thess. 5:13-18).
There shall be
a resurrection of the just and of the unjust. The wicked shall be raised to
suffer all the consequences of their sins. But the righteous shall be raised to
be forever freed from all the consequences of their sins, and delivered into
"The Glorious
Application:
I want to know the answer to one more question. -- Do I have any
reason to believe that I am one of his people? Indeed, I do!
(1 John 5:9-13) "If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath
testified of his Son. [10] He that believeth on the Son of God hath the
witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. [11] And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. [12] He that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life. [13] These things have I
written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know
that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of
God."
[1] See
sermon #964 preached at Danville (PM) --