Union With Christ, #1

The point: Make yourself acquainted with theological terminology, as it is the 'currency' of the discipline.

Martin compares theological terms to 'currency' to explain why students should familiarize themselves with new terminology, as it's essential for serious study.

So let me assure you that if some of the terminology is a little bit new to you, don't complain. Make yourself acquainted with that terminology because, in a sense, some of the terms used are the currency of theological, and you ought to have a working acquaintance with those terms. However, in the evening, assuming that we will have a more popular audience, we will have people whose primary occupation is not the study of theology and the study of the Word of God, hence the broad division of the subject matter, union with Christ in its practical implications.

1:09 - 1:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: just as surely as it is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing he has blessed us with no spiritual blessing apart from union with Christ

He describes Ephesians 1:3-14 as the Holy Spirit allowing us to 'put our ear to the mind and heart and lips of the Apostle in a great hymn of praise,' conveying the intimate and worshipful nature of the passage.

is not a treatise in systematic theology. The Holy Ghost has allowed us, as it were, to put our ear to the mind and heart and lips of the Apostle in a great hymn of praise, or engaged in a great hymn of praise. He begins with the words, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he is blessing and magnifying God for the greatness and the magnitude of the salvation of the world. And he is blessing and magnifying God for the greatness and the

9:31 - 10:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be indifferent to the glorious concept of union with Christ; prod yourself to arduous mental and spiritual activity.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'uncharted waters' to describe the difficulty of exploring new theological realms, explaining why he provides a lengthy introduction to prod listeners to mental and spiritual activity.

I'm working up a terrible sweat here already. Thank you. Now why have I gone to the lengths of establishing these two fundamental axioms? Well, for the simple reason that it's difficult to think in uncharted waters, if I may mix a metaphor. When we're moving into a realm which we've never

16:00 - 16:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be indifferent to the glorious concept of union with Christ; prod yourself to arduous mental and spiritual activity.

To illustrate the danger of being outside of Christ, he states that 'a canopy of pure and holy wrath hangs over your head,' emphasizing the imminent judgment for the unconverted.

And if you are not in Christ, you are yet in your sins. And if you are not in Christ, you are yet in your sins. As surely as this roof is over your head this morning, a canopy of pure and holy wrath hangs over your head, and it is only the infinite mercy of God that keeps it from breaking down upon your head and pressing you to the lowest hell. For the scripture tells us in Romans 8 and verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are where?

17:34 - 18:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Always acknowledge your sources to maintain integrity and the confidence of your people, especially as young preachers.

Martin recounts an experience of hearing a preacher plagiarize John Charles Ryle's 'Remember Lot's Wife,' using it as an example to young preachers of the importance of acknowledging sources to maintain integrity.

and I don't know where Professor Murray ends and I begin, so I make that acknowledgement without any reservations. But in case some of you are familiar with that, I would never want my own integrity as a servant of Christ to be brought into question as a plagiarizer. And may I say to you young preachers, never forget that. Far better, if there's any doubt, to make an acknowledgement than to have the confidence of your people eroded by apparent plagiarism.

28:48 - 29:14 Read in full sermon

The point: For those who appreciate divine election, spend more time on your face before God, saturated with wonder at being chosen in Christ before the world began, rather than debating it with a 'red face'.

He quotes another servant of Christ who said, 'ultimately all your terms explode' when grappling with 'before times eternal,' illustrating the limits of human language when confronting infinite and eternal truths.

in Christ Jesus before times eternal as one servant of Christ said who was with us giving some lectures recently on the person of Christ he said ultimately all your terms explode what is before times eternal what kind of verbal gobbledygook is that well you see ultimately when the finite seeks to grapple with the infinite and the temporal with the eternal all of our terms when we trace them back ultimately they explode and we're lost in wonder love and praise

42:42 - 43:25 Read in full sermon