The Unchanging Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to the unchanging truth, the verse by verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jared Gilcher, lead pastor of Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. Through the living and active word of God, the unchanging truth exists to encourage your soul, transform your life, and help you trust and treasure Christ as redeemer, savior, and king. Now, opening the scriptures and proclaiming the truth that never changes, here is Dr. Jared Gilcher.

Dr. Jerod Gilcher: You see, as God, he must value supremely what is supremely valuable, and his own glory is supremely valuable. Thus, if God gives his glory to another, or if he acts in a way that seems to call his glory into question, then he would for that very reason be unrighteous and cease to be God. Why? Because he acts as though his glory is inferior. He doesn't seem to mind if his reputation is tainted, that it isn't that big of a deal if his glory is profane. Do you see? Which is exactly what everything before the cross seemed to do.

God is soft on sin, and if sin's not a big deal, then God's not a big deal. And yet, when Christ was on the cross and the brutal and bloody agony of that moment, not only to redeem wrath deserving rebels from destruction, but also in that moment he repaired the infinite glory of God, and in that moment God set the record straight, didn't he? Didn't he? The cross was a public service announcement for all the world that this is a God whose glory is supreme. This is a God who is righteous and holy and worthy of our worship.

I see the book before the cross could be for us, it had to be for God. And it was for God. Which means the question is what happened before the cross that profaned his glory, which we have covered. But but notice how Paul puts it. This brings us to cosmic fact number two. Cosmic fact number two, I call the deformation of God's righteousness, the deformation of God's righteousness. Because here is the problem. Even bigger a problem than our own sin and need for salvation. And notice notice how Paul frames it. Look at verse starting in verse 25.

God displayed Christ publicly as a propitiation through faith in his blood for the display of his righteousness. Here it is, because in the forbearance of God, he passed over sins previously committed. Do you see it? That's the reason. That's the reason he needed to rectify his reputation, because in his patience, in his loving forbearance, as a God merciful and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness, God passed over the sins previously committed. In other words, he he overlooked them. He he swept him under the rug, or so it seems. Don't worry, Adam, you're forgiven.

Here's a pair of pants. And don't worry, Israel. You offered a lamb. Now we're good. Don't worry, David. You said you're sorry. Now you're forgiven. That doesn't add up, does it? That that doesn't make sense. That's the scandal of glory. Because what did Paul do? Or what did God do? Paul says God passed over the sins previously committed. Do you see that? The word passed over literally means to disregard, to let the guilty go free. Right? Other than the flood, other than the the global flood, God rarely acted in a way that demonstrated that sin against him was an infinite outrage.

That's a problem. John Piper puts it like this. Listen carefully. This is this is a it's a it's a it's a pretty meaty quote, but but hang on if you can. This is really good. He says the problem when God passes over sin, like he did for all of history from Adam until the cross, when God passes over sin is that God seems to agree that those who despise his name and and that God agrees with those who despise his name and belittles his glory. God's relative silence on the evil of the world and his constant willingness to either forgive at will or extend forgiveness in exchange for such a very small sacrificial payment seem to condone the low assessment of his worth.

In other words, all those years and centuries and centuries before the cross in all the nations of the world, sin looked small and God looked cheap. Even in Israel. Even in Israel. I mean, do do you think the Jews were the only ones who offered sacrifices for sin? All the nations did that. All of them did. In fact, many of the sacrifices they offered were greater than Israel's in the sense that some of them even offered human sacrifices for sin. And the point is, and this is really crucial, hang on here that the the the point is God never required a payment for sin that seemed to show the glory of his worth.

He never went public in a way that demonstrated how infinite sin against him really is until the cross. Right? Until the murder of his son. And then God declared that that is how much sin matters. That is how much my glory matters. that is what it took to repair my righteous reputation. Now it's true. It's true. God could have done the same thing, repaired his righteous reputation, if he sent everybody to hell. Right? That would have done the trick. Just just blow the whistle, show up in his wrath, show up in vengeance, send all of us to the lake of fire all at once.

That would have done it. Then we would have seen the righteousness of God. But clearly that was not God's decree. It did not delight the heart of God to destroy us in that way. Now, church, before time began, God made a plan to save sinners from destruction. At the cost of the life of his son, God made a way to both display the infinite glory of his beauty and deliver wrath deserving sinners all at the exact same time. The question is could you do it? Could you do it? Could you could you worship a God who didn't value his glory as supreme?

Could you? Could you worship a God who agreed with sinners that sin against him isn't really that big of a deal? I mean, isn't there something deep in your soul that that reverberates with joy at the God-centeredness of God, that God is not man-centered, that God is God-centered, and yet in being God-centered, he does what's best for man. That's the most loving gift that God can give, namely himself. Which brings us then to cosmic fact number three. Cosmic fact number three, the vindication of God's glory. The vindication of God's glory. And here it is. Here it is.

The great two birds, one stone of the universe where wrath and mercy met together and solved the deepest problem, God's reputation and our redemption. Look at verse starting in verse 25. Look for the vindication of God's glory. God displayed Christ publicly as a propitiation through faith in his blood. Why? For the display of his righteousness. Why? Because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. Notice verse 26. The grammar's kind of gnarly, but he's saying the purpose of the death of Christ was for the display of his righteousness, so that now in the present time he would here it is be both just and the one who justifies, the one who has faith in Jesus.

Do you see it? That's the deepest meaning of the cross. Two birds, one stone. God repairs his righteous reputation. God redeems wrath deserving rebels, all at the same time. It's incredible. That's what he means when he says that God is just and the one who justifies, the one who has faith in Jesus. The righteous God made a way to righteously punish sinners, righteously punish sin, and pardon guilty sinners all at the same time. Because there, beloved, there in the those the hours of agony and torture of the cross, God repaired the damage to his glory and delivered wicked sinners to the praise of his glory.

And that is the deepest meaning of the cross. And that's a reason to worship. Isn't it? The cross is a reason to worship. You you understand that the death of Christ, we kind of think this way, but it's just not true. We kind of think well that that the the cross of Christ, the crucifixion, the the murder of Jesus, that is the entry point to the Christian life. And then once we get in, we move on to bigger and better and greater things. Right? The the cross is not the complementary bread they put on the table before you eat the entrée.

No, the cross of Christ is the entrée. It is the feast and the wine and the dessert and the all you can eat gourmet meal. And the more you eat, the better you worship. And the more you eat, the better it tastes. And the more you eat, the more you want. That's why I'm just going to end this morning with a survey of the menu. Uh the menu of redemption, the cuisine of the cross, that it may stir in you a hunger for more. Because here's the thing, beloved. I've said it before. We should be theologians of the cross.

Theologians of the cross. We should know with ever increasing specificity what it is that the death of Christ accomplished. Right? Because the question is what does what does a crucified Jew on a hunk of lumber 2,000 years ago, 7,000 miles away have anything to do with us? Everything. It has everything to do with us. Because you know in Adam, we were born guilty. We emerged onto the planet from the wombs of our mothers with all the guilt and sin of Adam imputed down to us. The cascading effects of our first father's sin were that we were born spiritually dead, slaves to sin and under the wrath of God.

But the second Adam, the true and better Adam, Jesus Christ has come to save the human race from the inside out. Like Peter said, to fix what Adam broke, to repair what Adam ruined, to regain what Adam lost when he gambled in the garden and believed the devil's lie. And so here is the menu of the cross. If you have those notes, they're there either way. Here are 10 features of the death of Christ. Number one. Number one, the cross of Christ absorbed the wrath of God. The the cross of Christ absorbed the wrath of God.

That's called propitiation. Isn't it? In this is love. First John 4:10. In this is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. And there it is. If you hear this church, hear this, if you are in Christ, there is no guilt or wrath to bear. It is gone. And what that does is free us, not to sin, but to fight our sin, knowing that even if we fail, God forbid, it doesn't rekindle the wrath of God. Number two. The cross of Christ freed us from the slavery to sin.

It freed us from the slavery to sin. That's called redemption. That's called redemption, which means Christ freed us from the slavery to sin by the payment of a ransom price. Although I live in the same world you do, I have the same fallen body that you do. Although sin is hard and life is war and the flesh is weak, in Christ we are freed from the shackles and bondage and dominion of sin. And that was purchased by Christ. First Peter 1 18 and 19. You were not redeemed with perishable things. You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your feudal way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ.

Precious the blood of the lamb, which means which means lasting satisfying victory over sin is not merely a possibility, but a profound and inevitable reality. Number three. The cross of Christ gives us his righteousness. It gives us his righteousness. That's justification. Isn't it? Second Corinthians 5 21. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him. We are not guilty anymore, beloved. In the cosmic court of the king, the father sees us with the very righteousness of his son. And are you ready for this?

Because of justification, the father loves us as much as he loves his own son. John 17 23. Number four. The cross of Christ purchased our forgiveness. It it purchased our forgiveness. That is our infinitely long criminal record of sins has been permanently deleted and canceled. Every single sin was worthy of eternal hell. But God buried them in an ocean of reconciling blood. Who was a God like this? Who pardons iniquity? Who casts our sins into the depths of the sea? Micah 7 verse 18. Number five. The cross of Christ purchased our adoption. It purchased our adoption.

Galatians 4 4. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Adoption. We're adopted. Don't you see? We're not microscopic organisms pounding on the door of some ogre's castle in hopes of mercy. Now we are beloved children of God, chosen and predestined, made in his image, washed in the savior's blood, adopted forever and ever. Number six. The cross of Christ destroys the works of the devil. Did you know that? The cross of Christ destroys the works of the devil, which if you remember, was the very first promise of the Bible in Genesis 3 that the son would come and crush the serpent's head.

Do you remember? That's exactly what happened at the cross. First John 3:8. For this reason, the son of God appeared that he might destroy the works of the devil. And when he comes again, he will land the final blow. And what that means do do you know what the word devil means? It it means slanderer. He's the great accuser. And and probably in all of his accusations against us, he's probably right. But in Christ, all of his accusations fall flat to the ground as nothing. Christ broke his fingers and freed you from his grip. His promises are lies.

His power is stripped and his doom is sure. Number seven. The cross of Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities. The cross of Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities. And by that I mean demons and the powers of darkness. Because we we don't have to consider how the cross of Christ conquered even the demons and the evil angels, but it did. It did. Listen to Colossians 2:15. This is incredible. He, that is Christ, he has canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us. In other words, that's all the things that God commanded that we didn't fulfill.

Guilty. And Christ canceled that out. And he says it was hostile to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Here it is. When he, Christ, disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame, having triumphed over them through him. Did you know that that the cross made demons blush and hang their head? It was the ultimate checkmate. They lost, and they knew it. They have no weapon that they can use against your soul. Nothing. Number eight. The cross of Christ freed us from the fear of death.

The cross of Christ freed us from the fear of death. Do you hear that, beloved? Do you hear that? No more fear of death in Christ. Hebrews 2 14 and 15. Therefore, since children share in flesh and blood, Christ also partook of the same. Why? Why did Christ become a man that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and he might free those who through the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. That was the only weapon the devil had. Dying with unforgiven sin.

And now his greatest weapon has been ripped out of his claws. No more fear of death. No more fear of death. And what does that do for us? What does that do but free us to live joyful, radical, selfless lives, knowing that no matter what we suffer or lose for the sake of Christ, we get it all back back 10,000 times over and live forever with him. Number nine. The cross of Christ empowers us to live righteous lives. It empowers us to live righteous lives, not merely moral, but righteous lives that put his glory on display.

It's exactly what First Peter 2 24 says. He bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we would die to sin and live to righteousness. Don't you see the cross didn't merely take care of the sins of the past, but provides the power to overcome sin and temptation in the present. Number ten. The cross of Christ will make us kings and priests in the kingdom of the son. The cross of Christ will make us kings and priests in the kingdom of the son. Because you knew that. Right? You knew that our role as people created in the image of God was to rule the earth as kings and queens under Yahweh's rulership.

Adam's sin foiled the plot, savagely dethroned man. But in the death of Christ, we are reinstated to our role. Revelation 5 9 and 10 and then I close. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy are you, Christ, to take the book and open its seals because you were noticed slain. And you ransomed for God with your blood some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And here it is. And you made us a kingdom and priests to our God. And we will reign upon the earth.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for the unchanging truth, the verse by verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jared Gilcher and Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. At Christ Community Bible Church, we exist to praise, portray, and proclaim the supremacy of Christ as we trust in his word and wait for his return. We hope today's teaching has encouraged your soul and helped you trust and treasure Christ as your redeemer, savior, and king. If you're in the DFW area and looking for a church home, join us for worship Sunday mornings at 10:30. To learn more about the mission of the church, meet the pastoral staff, or plan a visit, go to cc biblechurch.com.

You'll find ministry services and additional teachings there as well. Just click on the resources tab to get started. That's cc biblechurch.com. Join us again next time as we open the scriptures together and proclaim the truth that never changes. This has been the unchanging truth.