Two Natures in One Person, Part 1

Driving home: It is man's attempt to explain the unexplainable.

A guest from Switzerland describes a 20-minute ride down a winding mountain road. Pastor Martin contrasts that with cruising an eight-lane American highway. Studying the two natures of Christ is the Swiss mountain road, not the highway — drive carefully, mind the cliffs.

The Garlington's who are visiting with us this weekend, Mrs. Garlington happened to mention something of her experience when she was in Switzerland and had a 20-minute ride down a mountain road screaming all the way because the man went down that mountain in a controlled skid all the way with little narrow roads and jagged precipices. Well, you see, usually, at least in our country, when you come on such a road, there will be big signs saying, Sharp curves, deep grades, drive with caution. You don't enjoy the scenery going down a road like that.

10:49 - 11:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate the sanctification of your mind — be more concerned with what Scripture reveals and less with what is none of your business.

He demonstrates by speaking that vibrations from his diaphragm and larynx push out sound waves that physically move a paper. How does material air become a thought, an emotion, a will? You can't put it in a test tube — yet you believe it.

Certain sounds are being forced up out of my diaphragm, over my larynx, and my mouth and teeth, tongue, all the speech apparatus working. Certain vibrations are going out, and they're landing on your outer ear. And then they're getting transmitted to the inner ear, and then along the nerve to your brain. Now, that's a physical phenomenon.

22:24 - 22:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Embrace all that God has revealed; ask for nothing more beyond what is written.

Quoting an old saying — 'faith is reason at rest in God' — Pastor Martin pushes further: faith is reason transcended by humble dependence, embracing all God has revealed and asking for nothing more.

So if you don't even believe what you can fully comprehend, the object of your faith is pitifully small. As one has so quaintly said, faith is reason at rest in God. I would go beyond it and say, faith is reason at rest in God insofar as God has revealed Himself in Scripture. And what is faith?

23:40 - 24:03 Read in full sermon

A young preacher couldn't remember a single word for 30 minutes. The next day he confessed it to Broadus, who said, 'You spent half an hour desperately trying to remember the word for what is on every dinner table — salt.' Indistinct expression means no clear communication.

The next day he went into his study and said, sir, what comments do you have to make? He said, well, the major comment I'd make is this. Young man, you spent half an hour desperately trying to get something out of your own head rather than spending half an hour efficiently getting something into my head. And you see what his criticism was?

36:47 - 37:07 Read in full sermon

Pastor Martin pictures church history as a pendulum: an early heresy diminished Christ's humanity, then a counter-heresy elevated humanity at the cost of unity, then it swung back, each time settling closer to center until Chalcedon stabilized it.

He's the God-man. So when they sought to give statement to that era, what did they do? They pulled the pendulum way over here. And after a while, the church said, No, our Christ is not that Christ who is two persons.

38:26 - 38:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't despise precise theological language — it is what keeps you from being tossed by every wind of doctrine.

He recalls his childhood sailboats. One had no rudder — every puff of wind sent it in a new direction. Without doctrinal stability, Christians are tossed like that little boat.

You see the picture? Have you ever seen a rudderless ship? Some of you kids, some of us that once were kids a long, long time ago, I can remember one of my sailboats as a kid, and how I cherished that little sailboat. And we had a pond nearby our home And I can remember going down and trying to set the rudder and set the sail so it would go out and come back But if something happened that the rudder broke loose what happened Every little puff of wind would come this way, my poor little boat would go that way.

41:29 - 41:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Refuse mental laziness now if you love unborn generations who will inherit your inattention.

Teachers of error are like magicians: 'A hand is quicker than the eye.' While you watch one hand they do something with the other. Without trained eyes for precise definition, you'll buy the error.

Teachers of error are like magicians. A hand is quicker than the eye. Slight of hand. While you're looking at one thing, they do another.

42:54 - 43:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware lest you be carried away by the error of the wicked — give diligence to grow in grace and knowledge.

Peter says the unlearned 'wrest' the Scriptures — literally to stretch on a rack until it's out of shape. They keep biblical words but distort their meaning.

The ignorant and the unsteadfast rest. And that word rest literally means to put on a rack and to stretch it out of shape. See what they do? They come holding the form of Scripture.

47:00 - 47:11 Read in full sermon