Humanity of Christ in the Epistles

Pastor Martin imagines a cult like Reverend Moon's where the leader privately claims to be Messiah but the public denials shield him. Christ, by contrast, was openly attested as Messiah by the entire community — His humanity is part of His public, verifiable identity.

And then when the inner circle goes out to try to bring you into the circle, and you say, I've heard that your leader says he's Messiah. Oh no, you've misunderstood us, a la Mr. Moon and his followers. And a la some of the so-called holy men and eastern thinkers, to their little circle they all let them know, the poor uninitiates don't know who I am.

26:29 - 26:50 Read in full sermon

Christ has 'real human bloodlines' — you can trace out his pedigree. The genealogies are not embarrassing extras; they are credentials authenticating Him as the promised Messiah of the prophets.

They are a further attestation. He's got real human bloodlines. You can trace out his pedigree.

28:00 - 28:08 Read in full sermon

Job 9 cries for a 'daysman' — Pastor Martin says the word means an umpire, one who can lay his hand on both parties. Job longed for someone near enough to God and near enough to him to resolve the dispute. Christ is that daysman.

closer and calls it umpire. Not in terms of a big league umpire who declares you out or safe. Notice the complaint of Job And then we shall see something of the tremendous significance Of the apostles teaching in 1st Timothy Chapter 2 and verse 5 Job is in a state of darkness He cannot understand nor figure out Why all this affliction has come upon him God has said of him that he was an upright man Upright above all other men Job has been seeking to walk in his integrity Yet affliction upon affliction comes upon him. His friends come and try to tell him the reason.

30:34 - 31:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Bible doctrine of salvation oozes with legal concepts.

Far from being a 'mystical, woozy, undefined sweet relationship,' biblical salvation is saturated with legal language: imputation, justification, condemnation. The humanity of Christ is essential to that legal transaction.

He must be a true man to establish a legal union with those whom he would save. You see, the Bible doctrine of salvation oozes with legal concepts.

34:38 - 34:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Bible doctrine of salvation oozes with legal concepts.

A Christianity that boils down to 'just a mystical, woozy, undefined sweet relationship to sweet Jesus' is heresy that damns souls by the tens of thousands.

You'll go to hell with it. This Christianity that's just a mystical, undefiled, woozy, and undefined, sweet relationship to sweet Jesus. It's heresy and it's damning souls by the thousands in our country. We are not saved by some sweet, undefined, indescribable, mystical kind of a flight into a lovely feeling about Jesus You will be saved if every charge against you in the court of God is met And if it isn't met, you will be lost If every legal demand of the God of heaven is met, you will be set free

35:27 - 36:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Joseph's open tomb is my answer.

Pastor Martin pictures an eagle-eyed angel hauling a record of sin before God's throne — and the answer is Joseph's open tomb. The empty grave declares that all the law's claims have been exhausted in Christ.

some eagle-eyed angel will not find that scrap of record and haul it before the throne of God and say to the father, How can you take this one to your present? Here is the indictment. Here are the sins. How do you know there is not some scrap of the record tucked away in some recess of the universe of God?

44:07 - 44:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Children, don't gather around the man who never smiles — gather around the Christ who modeled fully human warmth.

An elder told Pastor Martin of a man who never smiled because, he said, 'Our Lord never smiled. He was a man of sorrows.' To deny Jesus a smile, says Martin, is to deny him true humanity.

One of the elders was sharing with me recently. He knew a man, I believe it was in his younger days, Mr. Clark was sharing this. The man never smiled.

47:17 - 47:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Children, don't gather around the man who never smiles — gather around the Christ who modeled fully human warmth.

Pastor Martin explains why he squats down at the door when children come by — kids see him preaching in the pulpit and he looks 'like the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk.' He gets down low so he won't intimidate the little ones.

And I've noticed with kids, that's why some of you wonder why I sort of squat down at the door when your children come by. It's because they see me up here. And in their eyes, I look about seven feet tall, and they hear me. And one little kid, he went home, he said, Daddy, you tell me not to holler in church.

49:05 - 49:20 Read in full sermon