The Central Place in Biblical Revelation

The point: Grapple with this multifaceted theme of forgiveness, not giving in to mental and spiritual laziness, to gain a well-formed, biblically-based understanding.

Martin uses Psalm 19 and Romans 2:14-15 to illustrate how God reveals Himself in the created order (above and around us) and in the human conscience (within us), establishing the context for special revelation.

Psalm 19 is a celebration of that reality. And you who are familiar with that psalm will know that in the opening verses, the psalmist celebrates the fact that God has revealed Himself in the theater of creation. That's what we call general revelation. The heaven.

9:40 - 10:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin argues that forgiveness is central to God's very being, starting with God's self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 33-34, where God proclaims His name as 'merciful and…

Martin describes Moses' 40 days of intimate communion with God, which, rather than satisfying him, made him 'insatiably thirsty for more,' leading to his prayer, 'Show me your glory,' to illustrate a deep spiritual longing.

Now think of it. This man had been shut up with God in face to face communion. In a way no other human being had ever been for 40 days and nights. And yet what he had seen and known.

16:58 - 17:13 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are an unconverted friend, take your sin and God seriously, and believe that God is kindly disposed to forgive, despite it seeming 'too good to be true'.

Martin notes that artists, 'their proper restraint notwithstanding,' do not depict crucified felons with the indignity of nakedness, to emphasize the brutal and shameful reality of Christ's crucifixion.

He hangs naked. Buck naked.

29:36 - 29:38 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are an unconverted friend, take your sin and God seriously, and believe that God is kindly disposed to forgive, despite it seeming 'too good to be true'.

Martin explains that for a convicted sinner, God's offer of mercy 'seems too good to be true,' illustrating the difficulty of grasping God's forgiving disposition when one takes sin and God's holiness seriously.

For they know not what they do. The central place of forgiveness is in the character and disposition of God Himself. And listen, my unconverted friend. Once you take your sin seriously, and begin to take God seriously, this will be the most difficult thing in the world for you to grasp.

30:34 - 31:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin argues that forgiveness is central to the initial experience of grace, or conversion. He cites Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:13, and Acts 26:18 to show that the forgiveness…

Martin quotes Pastor Blaze, 'It takes the whole Trinity to save one sinner,' to illustrate the majestic and comprehensive nature of salvation as described in Ephesians 1.

Extending from verses 3 to 14. He demonstrates it's a Trinitarian salvation. As Pastor Blaze used to say. And many of us affectionately remembered.

43:18 - 43:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Live the alternate lifestyle of God's people by being kind, tenderhearted, and continually forgiving each other, even as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Martin uses the metaphor of the world 'seething in its grudges, stewing in the vile, bilious juices of ill and determination, I'll never forgive,' to contrast the world's disposition with the alternate lifestyle of God's people.

And one of the crucial elements. Of not walking like the world. Seething in its grudges. Stewing in the vile.

51:51 - 51:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin concludes by highlighting the organic relationship between God's forgiving character, the gospel's provision of forgiveness, and the community of forgiven and forgiving…

Martin shares a personal anecdote of a moment in sermon preparation when 'everything you've been laboring over comes together,' to illustrate the experience of receiving divine illumination and seeing the organic relationship of truths.

There are times when in study. We hardly know what we're doing. And where we go. And we just do it and go there.

54:14 - 54:19 Read in full sermon

The point: If you claim to be a Christian, you must revel in God's gracious gift of forgiveness and allow that reveling to make you a forgiving sinner.

Martin uses the strong metaphor, 'There is no such beast' as an unforgiving Christian, to emphasize that an unwillingness to forgive is fundamentally incompatible with true conversion and the experience of God's forgiveness.

Is a misnomer. There is. No. Such.

57:05 - 57:08 Read in full sermon