Love to Christ

The point: If you have heard about repentance unto life and remain impenitent, you have only increased the possibility of your damnation.

Repentance and faith are likened to a hinge on the door of salvation, illustrating their essential and interconnected role in entering salvation.

And in that series, I have sought to open up what the Bible teaches on the subject of that repentance which issues in spiritual life, and that faith which is unto salvation. Salvation. When we took up together the subject of repentance, I used the shorter catechism as a teaching framework, and the imagery of a tree as a visual object. And we saw together that repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner out of a true sense of his sin, and an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred,

2:50 - 3:34 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have heard about repentance unto life and remain impenitent, you have only increased the possibility of your damnation.

Repentance is visually represented by the imagery of a tree, used as a framework for teaching its various aspects.

And in that series, I have sought to open up what the Bible teaches on the subject of that repentance which issues in spiritual life, and that faith which is unto salvation. Salvation. When we took up together the subject of repentance, I used the shorter catechism as a teaching framework, and the imagery of a tree as a visual object. And we saw together that repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner out of a true sense of his sin, and an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred,

2:50 - 3:34 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have heard about repentance unto life and remain impenitent, you have only increased the possibility of your damnation.

The meeting of the sinner in need and the Savior in grace is described as direct, with 'no church, no water, no wafer, no personal worker, no instrument between them,' emphasizing the unmediated nature of saving faith.

It is a coming to Christ, John 6, 37. And it is an eating and a drinking of Christ, John chapter 6. The bottom line of all of those different pictures of faith, is that in saving faith the sinner in all of the nakedness of his need, and the Savior in all the plenitude of his saving grace, come together in the gospel with no church, no water, no wafer, no personal worker, no instrument between them. In saving faith, the heart and soul of the sinner lays hold,

6:19 - 7:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is no way to truly love him, but first of all to believe upon him. But if we truly believe upon him, it is morally, spiritually impossible not to love him.

The suffering of believers is compared to a crucible, where fire acts upon metals to prove their genuineness, burning up dross and revealing true faith.

Now then, he says in verse 6, wherein you greatly rejoice. That is, in this great salvation that is yours, all of you rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you've been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He knew. He had received information that the people of God in that area were in a crucible, of intense suffering.

15:30 - 16:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes four biblical aspects of this love. First, it is a conscious love, as seen in Jesus' questioning of Peter in John 21. Second, it is a supreme love, as Christ…

The conscious nature of love for one's wife is used as an example to illustrate that love for Christ is also a conscious affection, not something one is unsure about.

You don't say, well, give me a philosophical definition of love. Well, I'm not quite sure whether or not I understand the intention. Come on, cut the baloney, man. Do you love your wife?

32:28 - 32:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Test your love for Christ by examining your delight in communing with Him through His Word and prayer, and your delight in speaking about Him.

Martin shares his personal habit of frequent phone calls with his fiancée, illustrating that when you love someone, you delight to commune with them and speak about them.

know? Let me give you one little test. When you love someone, you delight to commune with them, to speak to them, and you delight to speak about them. You get around me for five minutes and you've got an illustration of that these days. Added to the hour

47:43 - 48:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Test your love for Christ by examining your delight in communing with Him through His Word and prayer, and your delight in speaking about Him.

The example of people knowing more about the Olympics and staying up late for them, but having no time for early morning devotions, illustrates a lack of love for the Savior.

I love her. When you love someone, you delight to commune. And there are some of you sitting here who say you believe on Christ, you'll talk about everything, and anything but the Savior. The Olympics, then you know about the outline of the book of Ephesians.

48:50 - 49:17 Read in full sermon

The point: If you do not love Christ, it is because you do not truly believe on Him, and you have never beheld His glory.

Christ is described as 'just a collection of propositions' or 'collation of theological and biblical notions' to those who lack true love for Him, contrasting with beholding His glory.

me because you've never beheld my glory or the glory of my Father in my face. I am just a collection of propositions to you. I am just a collation of theological and biblical notions. But Paul said God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

50:10 - 50:38 Read in full sermon

The point: If you do not love Christ, it is because you do not truly believe on Him, and you have never beheld His glory.

Examples of young adults being more excited about mixed drinks, sports, or CDs than about communing with the Savior illustrate a lack of passion and love for Christ.

And that you've never known. Young adults who know more about the taste of the latest mixed drink and can talk about it with greater fervor than they can talk about what the Savior said to them in the morning in their devotions. Young men who can get far more excited about this sport event and that sport event and others of you far more excited have you served this group and have you heard this CD? And you're never excited about the music of the Savior's ear coming to your

50:38 - 51:23 Read in full sermon

The point: When choosing a spouse, prioritize finding someone who obviously loves to speak to and about the Savior with passion.

Martin shares his experience of 48 years with a wife who loved the Savior with passion, and his anticipation of beginning a new marriage with another such woman, illustrating the value of a spouse who loves Christ.

Long after all of this skill of all of the plastic surgeons in the world can't overcome the bags and the sags. If she loves the Savior with a passion to make your journey a delight. I know. I spent 48 years with a woman like that.

56:36 - 56:58 Read in full sermon