Your Judgment is Satisfied, pt 2

Your Judgment is Satisfied, pt 2

TEXT: John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world

Illustration: Bleeding to Death outside the Hospital

Christopher Sercye was playing basketball with his friends on May 16, 1998, when he was shot in the chest, and a bullet perforated his aorta. His friends helped him get within forty feet of the entrance to Ravenswood Hospital, and then he went inside and asked for help. The hospital staff refused to help Christopher, saying it was against the hospital’s policies to administer aid to those outside the hospital. Eventually, a policeman was able to get a wheelchair and wheeled Christopher into the hospital, where the hospital staff helped him. It was too late, however, and Christopher died about an hour later.

Often, churches seem to be surrounded by people who desperately need to hear the Gospel, yet Christians are content to share it only with those who manage to come inside their church.

SOURCE: Source: An Introduction to Healthcare Organizational Ethics, Robert T. Hall; URL: Source: An Introduction to Healthcare Organizational Ethics, Robert T. Hall

Introduction:

It is a belief system that is anti-biblical — Romans 10:12-13, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Today’s message will not be exhaustive nor comprehensive but concise enough to explain the Lord’s mind of grace and mercy as being given to all humanity.

He is a God who is not desirous of judgment but instead of grace and reconciliation.

He is a God Who seeks the heart and soul of every person to be steadfastly fixed upon Him.

Every person is given the choice to accept Him or reject Him.

This choice has consequences, but it is not forced upon anyone.

If you are not saved on this day, will you accept the gift of Jesus Christ?

Assertion of Principle:

Sermons Points:

Sermon Points:

Your Debt is Paid in Full

Your Duty is Propagating to All

Your Damnation is Powerful for Obstruction

Body

Your Debt is Paid In Full, verse 2

Grace/Salvation is a gift, not a wage GOD’s Character Is Tested

He Created Hell for Satan and his angels — Matthew 25:41 The wicked (enemies of God) who repent will receive mercy — Isaiah 55:6-7

God’s desire is for life, not death — Ezekiel 18:23, 32, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

God does not want to condemn — John 3:15-17, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

God is for Jew and Gentile — Romans 3:29-30

God wants us in His righteousness — 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

The Extent of Jesus’ Propitiation

A Messianic Prophecy about Christ — Isaiah 49:6, “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.”'

The speaker is God the Father. The Father speaks of Jesus Christ and His ministry to bring Israel back to their God and restore them. But, His ministry is further broadened to include the entire world.

John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

John 4:42, “And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” John 6:40, “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.” Acts 2:21 (cf 1 Cor 1:2), “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

God’s Goal

Make Jesus your Christ and call Him Lord — Philippians 2:11, “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” For you to be reconciled to Himself through Christ — 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Your Duty is Propagating to All

Illustration: He Asked at the Wrong Time

The story is told about a barber who had just been gloriously saved in an old-fashioned revival meeting. The next morning at work he wanted to share his new faith and witness to the lost. A customer came in, and the barber began to shave him. He was trying to muster up the right words to say. Finally as he stood with his razor poised over the man’s throat he asked, “Are you prepared to meet God?” State of man

The world is deceived — Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

The world lies in wickedness — 1 John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”

Responsibility of Believers

Who will tell the Good News of Jesus? — Romans 10:12-15, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Command is to “GO” — Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Command is to “GO” — Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Illustration: Rely on the Holy Spirit

Dr. Paul Brand was speaking to a medical college in India on Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” In front of the lectern was an oil lamp, with its cotton wick burning from the shallow dish of oil. As he preached, the lamp ran out of oil, the wick burned dry, and the smoke made him cough. He immediately used the opportunity. “Some of us here are like this wick,” he said. “We’re trying to shine for the glory of God, but we stink. That’s what happens when we use ourselves as the fuel of our witness rather than the Holy Spirit. Wicks can last indefinitely, burning brightly and without irritating smoke, if the fuel, the Holy Spirit, is in constant supply.”

Command is to Everyone (even those of low cultural standing) — Luke 14:16-24 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”

Illustration: The Photo Was Blotted Out

A man took a photo of men stealing grapes. He went to the owner of the grapes intending to show him the evidence, and found he had exposed the photo too long, and it had been blotted out. So God blots out the sin of those who come to Him for mercy and forgiveness.

Your Damnation is Powerful for Obstruction

The Jews hindered the Gospel to the Gentiles, and God’s wrath would be upon them — 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: 15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: 16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”

False teaching will deny the complete and absolute necessity of Jesus — 2 Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

They may add to Jesus’ sacrificial work. They may deny His work. They may relegate His actions as insufficient, so you must do something. Whatever the action, apart from His sacrifice being entirely sufficient, you distort and deny the Lord Who bought you from sin.

Some may say you need to accept Christ so that you can live as you please and receive a “Get Out of Jail Free” card and go to Heaven — Jude 4-5, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness (refers to unbridled and unrestricted sexual lust and practices), and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.”

This is cheap grace. Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

Conclusion

God’s goal for everyone is to receive the propitiation that Christ secured for them as a gift (verse 2)

God’s character is a revulsion of seeing people go to hell.

He has given out a gift that is for all people; Jesus gave us the gift of righteousness — Romans 5:16-17, “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Illustration: The Story of “Awful Gardner”

One of the most notoriously bad characters that ever lived in New York was Orville Gardner. He was the trainer of prize-fighters and companion of all sorts of hard characters. His reputation was so thoroughly bad that he was called “Awful Gardner.” He had a little boy, whom he dearly loved, and this boy died. A short time after his boy’s death, he was standing at the bar in a New York saloon, surrounded by a number of his boon companions. The night was sweltering, and he stepped outside the saloon to get a little fresh air. As he stood out there and looked up between the high buildings at the sky above his head, a bright star was shining down upon him, and as he stood looking at the star, he said to himself, “I wonder where my little boy is tonight?” Then the thought came to him quick as a flash, “Wherever he is, you will never see him again unless you change your life.” Touched by the Spirit of God, he hurried from the saloon to the room where he knew his godly mother was. He went in and asked his mother to pray for him. She did pray for him, and she led him to Christ. He went home to where he kept a jug of whiskey. He did not dare to keep it and did not know what to do with it. Finally he took it down to the river, got into a boat and rowed over to an island. He set the liquor on a rock and knelt down, and as he afterwards said, “Fought that jug of whiskey for a long time,” and God gave him perfect deliverance. But what should he do with the jug? He did not dare break it, lest the fumes set him wild. He did not dare leave it, lest someone else get it. Finally he dug a hole in the ground with his heel and buried it. He left the island a free man. He became a mighty preacher of the gospel. It was through listening to him preach that Jerry McAuley (a convict turned preacher and founder of the McAuley Water Street Mission) was set to thinking, and that thinking afterwards led to his conversion. Christ’s propitiation is for all to find freedom like the man in the story or like myself a young boy who found complete forgiveness in Christ.

Is this a story worthy of your time to tell? Is this a truth you are willing to accept, as well as place your eternal faith and security upon? (If you have never been saved?)