God's Glory in the Accomplishment of Salvation #1

The point: Don't ever feel that learning about God and His salvation is like being taken back to school in a negative way; rather, it is essential to know Him and His ways.

The sun sending out its beams and light is analogous to God manifesting His inherent gloriousness; the beams are to the sun what God's glory is to God, an outshining of His perfections.

Let me illustrate. The sun, that burning star, off so many hundreds of thousands of miles from us, the sun sends out its beams or its rays. And we know that when we feel the warmth of its beams or we see the light of its rays. So the beams or the rays of the sun are to the sun what the glory of God is to God.

10:48 - 11:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides working definitions for key terms: 'glory of God' as the outshining of His perfections, 'redemption' as God's work of releasing sinners by payment, 'redemption…

God's deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery serves as a biblical picture of redemption, illustrating God's work of grace and power in releasing His people from bondage by payment of a price.

God's mighty work of grace and of power releasing sinners from sin and its consequences by the payment of a price. That's why Peter could write in 1 Peter 1.18, For you were redeemed, not with corruptible things such as silver, and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. And the whole biblical idea of redemption takes its starting point from that which God did with His people when they were down in Egyptian bondage.

14:00 - 14:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides working definitions for key terms: 'glory of God' as the outshining of His perfections, 'redemption' as God's work of releasing sinners by payment, 'redemption…

A young man's bail being posted (accomplishment) versus the jailer actually opening the door and letting him out (application) illustrates the distinction between redemption accomplished by Christ and redemption applied to the sinner.

You were in jail. Someone was going to post bail. And they posted your bail. Say this young man was, I don't know what you do so bad to land in jail, son.

18:56 - 19:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the necessity of understanding man's horrible condition as a sinner as the 'velvet backdrop' against which the glory of God in redemption shines most brightly…

A flawless diamond's intrinsic beauty is fully displayed when placed on a dark velvet backdrop with proper lighting. This illustrates how God's glory in redemption is best seen against the dark backdrop of man's horrible condition as a sinner.

Imagine, if you will, some of you young ladies, that a young man has set his heart upon you, and you have not only, quote, fallen in love, but don't ever get married because you just fell in love. All right? The divorce courts are full of people who fell in love and got married because they fell in love. Falling in love is not the basis of a good marriage.

22:02 - 22:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first facet of the backdrop is human guilt, originating from Adam's sin and compounded by personal transgressions, which provokes God's just wrath and makes every sinner…

God's direct commands to Adam and Eve in the garden, rather than negotiation, illustrate His sovereign authority and humanity's obligation to keep His law, establishing the basis for guilt.

And when God put Adam and Eve in the garden, he didn't sit down and say, now Adam and Eve, look, I've made you. And you see, he's happy about that. But now we need to negotiate on how we're going to operate around here. And you know, I wouldn't want to bully you and I wouldn't want to appear as though I was overbearing and overpowering and intimidating.

29:13 - 29:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Precious young ladies, do not buy into feminist ideology that promotes finding identity totally independent of men, marriage, and the home, as it is treason against God.

The story of a schoolteacher leaving her family for four months, despite her daughter's pleas, is used to condemn feminist ideology that encourages women to find identity outside of biblical roles, linking it to 'high treason against the God of heaven.'

This is not an innocent thing. I grieve that that schoolteacher lost her life. I'm not a hard-hearted man. She had no business leaving her family for four months and leaving a little girl crying, Muppet, please don't go.

31:19 - 31:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first facet of the backdrop is human guilt, originating from Adam's sin and compounded by personal transgressions, which provokes God's just wrath and makes every sinner…

Trying to butt one's head against a six-foot-thick concrete wall illustrates the futility of denying the reality of God's established order and the consequences of Adam's sin.

Nor was I. But that's reality and God runs His world, not you and not me. Reality is a stubborn thing. You might meet a six foot thick man in the garden of Eden.

34:17 - 34:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first facet of the backdrop is human guilt, originating from Adam's sin and compounded by personal transgressions, which provokes God's just wrath and makes every sinner…

Each sin is likened to putting money in a bank, accumulating 'capital of divine wrath' with interest, which God will one day open, leading to judgment.

No. He patiently builds one upon another, upon another, upon another, upon another, upon another, until Paul says, each sin is like putting money in the bank. You pray, but you're not allowed. Every sin, you're putting more money in the bank.

43:03 - 43:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third facet is human bondage to sin, where every person is a slave to sin, unable to break free by their own will, a reality that becomes evident when one attempts to obey God…

A man chained to a post with a 40-foot chain, thinking he is free when he breaks from the post, illustrates human bondage to sin; he is only as free as the chain allows, revealing his true slavery when he tries to stretch it.

And that's the withering reality of human bondage. Can you imagine going by a man who's chained to a post. With chain links. Two inches thick.

58:31 - 58:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There's no other spark of divine life in you that can be tanned into the flame of spiritual life. We are spiritually as dead as Lazarus was in that tomb.

Lazarus's spiritual death is compared to his physical death in the tomb, emphasizing that he needed an omnipotent voice to impart life, not self-effort, illustrating humanity's utter helplessness in spiritual death.

There's no other spark of divine life in you that can be tanned into the flame of spiritual life. We are spiritually as dead as Lazarus was in that tomb. And what Lazarus needed was not somebody to come and put a warm cloth on his head and rub his wrist. And he didn't need to have somebody come and speak some sweet words in his ears. He needed a voice of omnipotence that could say, Lazarus, come forth! He needed a voice that could impart the power to a ghost. Lazarus didn't come out of that grave patting himself on the back saying, hey, you know, I decided to have you pray today. He didn't com...

61:15 - 62:02 Read in full sermon