Kingship of Christ in Romans 14:9

Introduction: Gazing on the Glory of Christ

0:04 I should like to begin our study of the Word of God this morning with asking a question of each of you, and I believe it is a legitimate question, for to my knowledge none of you present here this morning has been deprived of the faculty of sight, and so I speak to men and women and boys and girls who have eyes that function. You may have to have the help of glasses, as some of us do, and for each one of you who can see My question is this. Did you find it either difficult or wearisome to drink in the beauty of this summer morning? Did you find it either difficult or wearisome to find delight in the blueness of the sky and the lush green of the trees and of the grass? I speak to some who are in their 60s, some who perhaps are in their 70s,

1:03 And surely your answer to that question comes immediately. Why, of course not. As many times as I've seen a blue sky, as many times as I've seen the lush green of the trees as they open up in the early summer, I never grow wearisome. There is something that I see that each time it's as though I were seeing it for the first time.

1:27 Well, surely if that's true of the physical creation which declares some aspects of God's glory, there is a glory in that aspect of God's handiwork of which we never grow weary, then surely the child of God should never grow weary or find it wearisome to gaze upon that greater glory that is reflected in the face of His Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

1:57 In our morning expositions, we have been seeking to set forth the glory of Christ, that we as his people might gaze upon him, that some of you who are not yet his people might, by the blessing of the Spirit upon the Word, behold such glory in Christ, as utterly to spoil you for that which now is glorious to you, your sin, the world, ambition, pride,

2:24 and a host of other idols with which your heart is presently cluttered. In these expositions concerning Christ, we have been particularly occupied with trying to understand what the Scripture says concerning the one Redeemer of sinners, in terms of who He is and in terms of the offices that He occupies as the Savior of His peoples.

Entering the Period of Explanation and Confirmation

2:53 Having established and expounded some of the major passages relative to his office of priest, his office of prophet, we are now seeking to establish from the Word of God that the Redeemer of sinners also occupies the office of a king. The method we are using is simply to trace out the evidence as it comes to us in the Word of God. We have traced out the evidence in the Old Testament, which I have called the period of of preparation, the evidence of Christ's kingship in the Gospels, which I have entitled the period of manifestation. And then last Lord's Day we concluded our exposition of several pivotal passages in the book of the Acts, which I have entitled the period of proclamation. And now we come this morning to begin to consider some of the key texts in that section of the Scriptures which I am entitling

3:52 the period of explanation and confirmation. Now, I have a secondary reason for following this method. We have many amongst us who are new Christians, but unlike some of us who, when new Christians, we had much to draw upon from our Christian background. We were reared in Christian homes and brought up in Christian churches where the Word of God was taught. Many of you who are new babes in Christ come to the Christian faith with very little working acquaintance with the Scriptures. And one of my secondary goals in approaching the material this way is to give you some overall acquaintance with the interrelatedness of the Scriptures, so that you begin to see that the Bible, though 66 separate books, is yet one book. And though it has many themes, it does in reality have but one theme.

4:50 And that theme is Christ and His salvation. And I hope by these divisions you will be able to think through the broad content of Holy Scripture from the period of preparation, manifestation, proclamation, and now into the section that I am entitling the section of explanation and confirmation. Now, really, we shouldn't call it the period of explanation because chronologically,

5:20 most of the letters of the New Testament were written during the same time period as the period of proclamation. The book of Acts bounds broadly the dates of 30 and 65 or 64 A.D. Well, it is during that time period that almost all of the letters of the New Testament were written, the exceptions being, of course, the letters of John, the book of the Revelation, and and perhaps one or two other of the letters of the New Testament. But they were written basically to explain aspects of the Christian faith which either were coming under attack while the gospel was being proclaimed and churches were being established in these many parts of the Roman Empire,

6:09 An apostle or an authorized penman would hear of some aspect of the Christian's faith that was either confused or being attacked by heresy, and he would write a letter to explain the nature of the truth as it is in Jesus touching that point. Furthermore, it was their purpose to confirm, that is, to settle the believers in their faith even on points that were not disputed. And so I call the epistles that segment of the Word of God in which we have both explanation and confirmation of the churches of Jesus Christ. Now then, our purpose this morning is to examine the fact that Christ is King as that fact is set forth in the epistles or the section of explanation and confirmation.

The Stakes: No Savior Apart from Prophet, Priest, and King

7:09 And on the very threshold of our study, I remind you of the tremendous issues that are at stake. There is no salvation apart from receiving the one true Savior. John 1.12 says, As many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become the sons of God. No salvation from sin apart from receiving the one true Savior.

7:39 Furthermore, there is no true Savior apart from the one who saves as prophet, priest, and king. He never saves divorced from His offices as Redeemer. And furthermore, there is no snatching at one of the offices apart from all three of the offices. No salvation but in receiving the one Savior, That one Savior is prophet, priest, and king, and you cannot have Him as prophet without having Him as priest and king. You cannot have Him as priest without having Him as prophet and king. You cannot have Him as king apart from having Him as priest and as prophet. So it is the whole man receiving the whole Christ that brings a whole salvation from sin and its consequences.

8:37 And either you will have the whole Christ received by the whole man, or you will have none of Christ if you attempt to receive Him with just a part of what makes you a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl. So this matter of the kingship of Christ is not academic. We are touching the very nerve centers of personal salvation.

The Context of Romans 14: Weak and Strong Over Non-Moral Issues

9:06 in the contemplation of this great truth. Well, this morning, as time permits, I want to direct your attention to one, possibly two, portions in the first of the epistles as they come to us in our Bibles. After the book of the Acts, we have the book of Romans, Paul's letter to the church at Rome. One of the most

9:33 clear and powerful assertions of the present kingship of Christ to be found anywhere in the New Testament is given to us in Romans chapter 14 and verse 9. For you who are visiting with us, just this further word of explanation, we are simply seeking to establish now the reality of the present kingship of Christ. because there has been so much teaching that has asserted that Christ's kingship is very much in the background of the New Testament and awaits a future age when He'll sit upon a real throne, upon a real hunk of real estate somewhere in the Middle East, and then His kingship will become dominant. We have seen that the evidence of the New Testament is quite contrary to that mentality today,

10:29 that from the Old Testament prophecies, right through his own assertions, the preaching of the apostles, the dominant note is that the Messiah is King now, and He saves as King now. And it's that note we're simply seeking to ascertain as it is sounded in the epistles. Romans 14 then, and verse 9. For to this end Christ died.

10:57 died and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. I say this is one of the most powerful assertions concerning the present kingship of Christ in all of the New Testament. But now we must seek to understand in what relationships the Apostle Paul uttered or wrote this statement. So I back up with you to the opening words of Romans 14, and we shall study the context only so far as is necessary to enable us to feel the weight of the statement of verse 9 and properly to expound verse 9. So my goal is not to give an exhaustive exposition of Romans 14, but it is to give an accurate exposition of verse 9, which demands that we look at the context.

11:57 Alright? What is the problem the Apostle is dealing with in these verses? Verses 1 and 2 tell us, But him that is weak in faith receive ye, yet not for decision of scruples. One man hath faith to eat all things, but he that is weak eateth herbs. The Apostle is addressing himself to this very practical problem that there in the church at Corinth you had two categories of people in terms of the language of this passage. You have the weak and you have the strong. And these people are weak and strong with reference to a very specific issue. That is, they have differing convictions of conscience with respect to non-moral issues.

12:52 That is, there are some things that are neither intrinsically right or wrong. And there in the church at Rome, you had some people whose consciences were so influenced by a variety of factors that with respect to things that were not wrong in themselves, to them they were wrong because they could not partake of them with a good conscience. They were the weak. Then you had the strong.

13:20 They understood that certain things were non-moral issues, and they could eat of certain meats. They could indulge or not indulge in certain festive days, certain forms of eating and drinking. They could do it with a good conscience before God. They are called the strong. But in the one church, mind you, you had both categories. You had the weak and you had the strong. Now, wherever you have...

13:47 differing dictates of conscience on non-moral issues, you immediately have the seeds of a judgmental attitude leading to schism and faction within the church, so that the weak gather together and point their finger at the strong and accuse them of being libertines, and the strong gather together and look at the weak and accuse them of being overly scrupulous.

14:16 And human nature is no different. It's one of the things we continually wrestle with in this assembly. There are some of you, if you had your way, there are certain practices indulged in by certain of your brothers and sisters that you would completely strip those practices from their life forever and you'd love it if the elders would make a ruling saying such and such and such and such is a no-no. Oh, you would love it if that were true. There are others of you You look at some in the assembly and you say, it just galls me that they don't understand that God hasn't put those things as out of bounds. Why can't they enjoy all of God's gifts? And if you had your way, you'd force some of your liberty of conscience upon them. That situation is right here at Trinity Church. That makes us very much New Testament. Very much New Testament. Now that's the problem described in verses 1 and 2. Now how does the apostle seek to resolve the problem?

Paul's Resolution: Received by Grace, Governed by Grace

15:14 Well, look at verses 3 and following. The first thing he does is to give a commandment. Let not him that eateth, that is the strong. Here's the man who with good conscience can eat anything, no matter where it's been purchased, no matter what it is. Kosher, non-kosher, he can eat it as a gift from God. He's the strong man. Let not him that eateth, said it not him that eateth not.

15:43 Now don't let the strong just say, ah, that poor guy. When will he come out of his fundamentality and realize that all things in Christ are pure? You see, the tendency is for the strong to set him at naught. But he not only speaks to the strong, he speaks to the weak as well. Look, and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth. Don't let the weak brothers say, holy.

16:12 If that man is so spiritual as he claims to be, how in the world can he eat that meat that's non-kosher? How can he eat that meat that was bought in the idol shambles? How in the world can he be? Hey, says Mr. Weak Man, you just shut up and stop judging Mr. Strong Man. You see it? He speaks to both. He speaks to both. There must be no judgmental attitude. Why?

16:40 Now we're coming to see to what forms the beautiful substructure of the verse. I hope to expound verse 9. He says two things that form the basis of His commandment. The weak is not to judge the strong. The strong is not to judge the weak. Why? Number one, each has been received by God in grace. The latter part of verse 3. God hath received him.

17:10 Though the reference is directly here to the strong, it obviously carries over to the weak. He says, now wait a minute, wait a minute. How dare you set a brother at naught, the strong setting the weak at naught, the weak passing judgment on the strong? God has received both of you. The God of grace has embraced both of you within the orbit of His love and mercy,

17:38 Dare you put someone outside the orbit of that which God has embraced? Each has been embraced by God in grace. But now he says a second thing in verse 4. Who art thou that judges the household servant of another? To his own Lord he standeth or falleth. He says a second thing about each believer, strong or weak.

18:07 Just as surely as each has been received by God in grace, each is under the government of God through grace. Notice, he says, Who are you to judge the house slave of another? To his own Lord he standeth or falleth. The assumption is this.

18:34 One who's been received in grace is governed by grace. Weak and strong alike have become house slaves in the household of God under the Lordship of Christ. Now he's going to prove that point. And he does it in verses 6 to 8. He that regardeth the day...

19:01 that is, the person who with conscience feels he must keep this special feast day, regardeth it unto the Lord. He shows that Christ is really his master, because when he keeps that day, he keeps it conscious of the Lordship of Christ over him, and he believes that his Lord requires him to keep that day. So he says...

19:27 This statement that each one is the household servant of the Lord Jesus is no idle statement. The proof of it is right there in your own presence. He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord. And he that eateth, there's the strong man, he eats unto the Lord. When he eats of that meat that the poor weak brother can't touch, he bows and gives God thanks for it and he eats.

19:56 as unto the Lord, that is, receiving it as from the Lord's hand, pleading that he may be strengthened to serve his Lord. Furthermore, he goes on to say, For he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. The brother who can't touch that meat, when he gives thanks for his vegetables or only for his kosher meat, the very fact that he does so, he shows that he too is eating unto the Lord as much as the man who eats of that meat. And when a special holy day comes, the one man unto the Lord says, O Lord, help me to honor You in a special way on this particular fasted day. The other man gets up and says, Thank You, Lord, I'm free from all days but the claims of the Christian Sabbath. I have nothing to do anymore with Jewish holy days. Thank You, Lord, for my freedom in Christ. He says, Both of them acknowledge

20:56 Their conscience differs on these particulars that are non-moral. But on this point, they're agreed. They've been received by God, and they both are under the government of Christ in a way that is so practical that even in the areas where they differ, you see them regarding the Lord in those particular activities. Do you see it? I don't know whether it's me or you this morning. I can't read. Do you see that?

21:25 If you miss that, you'll miss the whole thrust of the text. So he goes on then to say, notice, verse 7, for none of us, this is a statement of fact now, none of us, that is, who is a believer, who is received by God in grace, under the government of God in grace, none of us lives to himself, and none dieth to himself. For whether we live We live to the Lord. Or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. Do you see how he makes that emphasis so clear? Why is it then that the weak brother regards that special day, has certain scruples about certain foods? It's because with all of his heart, he's living unto his Lord. The kingship and rule of Christ

22:25 is a real practical issue to him that touches what goes in his mouth and what he doesn't do and what he does do on certain days. And there's the strong brother. And the same thing is true to him. He is not living to himself in his conscience that is strong with regard to not keeping special Jewish holidays and with regard to scruples about certain meats and foods. Why, in all of that, He's not living as a libertine. He's not saying, I'm free in Christ and then live as a lawless man. No, no. He lives unto the Lord. And in the exercise of his strong conscience, he never forgets, I am under solemn obligation so to eat and live and keep every day that I bring praise and honor to Him who has brought me in loving bonds to His feet.

23:22 Even the Lord Jesus Christ. No Christian lives or dies to himself. All who are Christians live and die to Christ. That's the teaching of verses 7 and 8. Look at it again. None of us lives to himself. None dies to himself. And if you live to yourself, you're not a Christian because you don't fit this description. He doesn't say none of us ought to live to ourselves.

Romans 14:9 — The Rationale: Christ Died to Be Lord

23:52 It states it as a fact. None of us who is a believer lives unto ourselves. And surely none of us dies unto himself. We do not regard ourselves as the Lord of death. We place in the hands of our sovereign Lord how long we shall serve him. How and by what means we shall make our exodus into his presence at death. Now why is that so? What lies behind What lies behind the fact that every person received by God in grace, who is also under the government of God through grace, does not live to himself nor die to himself? What lies behind the fact that both the weak and the strong are under loving bonds of obligation to Jesus Christ as their Lord? What lies behind that?

24:53 Now we come to verse 9. For, here's the rationale for the whole thing. This is why there at Rome, with all the differences, here is this great common denominator of loving submission to the Lordship and Kingship of Christ. Here's the rationale. For to this end, Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. The New English Bible translates it this way, This is why Christ died and came to life again, to establish His Lordship over the dead and the living. You see, you might give the impression that what you had here was a noun and not a verb.

25:47 For to this end Christ both died and rose again, that he might be Lord or might become Lord. But the word itself is a verb which means to be and to rule as Lord. To have not only the name of authority and rule, but with that name to exercise that authority and rule. And now you see what the apostle has done?

26:16 He declares that the fundamental reason behind this common denominator of the weak and the strong, they have this in common, neither lives to himself, neither dies to himself. Each is living unto the Lord whose house servant he is. The reason behind this is that this was one of the supreme ends for which Christ died and rose again

26:46 And that end He will secure in all of His people. Now this rule is so real and practical that right down to such things as what is eaten and drunk and what is not eaten and not drunk, how days and what days are to be regarded, the rights and claims of Jesus Christ as Lord are supreme.

27:15 Therefore, in the further treatment of this subject, he can move right into this language of the kingdom without any additional explanation as he does in verse 17 and 18. Remember I said I'm only giving as much of the context as is necessary for a proper exposition. So we skip over the other material and it's not necessary to a proper use of these verses. For the kingdom of God.

27:44 Here he's treating this whole problem of the areas of difference and how to resolve and live with these differences. And he moves right into this statement, The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that herein serveth Christ is well-pleasing to God and approved of men.

28:11 He assumes that every believer at Rome is in the kingdom of God and is a servant of Jesus Christ the King. So the concept, you see, of the kingship of Christ is so firmly established in the apostle's mind that he does not write a doctrinal treatise to explain and defend it. He assumes it as the

28:46 of resolving a practical problem. Now, do you see the force of his argument? Just as when he writes to the Corinthians, he can assume they've all been baptized. He doesn't write a treatise on baptism. He's dealing with the problem of division. So he says, into whose name were you baptized? And assumes that common experience as the basis of a further argument. So here, this is not a treatise on the kingship of Christ. It is a treatise dealing a practical problem. What do you do when in the same congregation you've got equally earnest people whose consciences differ on non-moral issues? It's not a question now if conscience is differing on moral issues. Somebody's saying, well, you can commit murder. Someone's saying you can't. Someone's saying a Christian can commit adultery. No, no, no, no. These are non-moral issues. It pertains to the keeping of days not marked out

29:44 Perpetuity as is the Sabbath principle in the fourth commandment. Other religious days and feasts. It's not dealing with things that are sinful in themselves such as gluttony and drunkenness. But whether it's right to eat all meats and to drink all the gifts of God. Those are the issues. And the apostle in treating them assumes the validity and the reality of this glorious truth.

Principle 1: Christ's Rule Is a Present Reality to Him as Savior

30:13 that there is a kingdom into which every believer is passed. And in that kingdom, Jesus Christ reigns as sovereign, and He reigns as sovereign because this was the end for which He died. Now, in the light of that brief exposition of the context in the verse itself, I want to extract four principles by way of application this morning.

30:42 And I trust that God by the Spirit will write these things upon our hearts. First of all, according to this passage, the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a present reality to Him as the Savior of His people. The rule of Christ as Lord and King is a present reality to Him as

31:10 as the Savior of His people. This text says, to this end Christ died and lived that He might be Lord. Not sometime in the future, but Lord of the people at Rome right now, who manifest the reality of His Lordship in these practical nitty-gritty areas that the Apostle is dealing with. And so we learn from this text that the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a present reality to Him as the Savior of sinners. Just as surely as we read in Ephesians 5, He gave Himself for the church that He might sanctify it. And we know then that He will not be robbed of the end for which He died. He died

32:10 he might sanctify his people and present them to himself a glorious people. So likewise he died that he might be Lord, not in name, but with a reality.

32:41 And the Father will not rob him of that for which he died. That present throne of mediatorial kingship is his purchased right. And the Father has gladly given it to him. Wasn't that the great declaration of Peter on the day of Pentecost? This Jesus whom ye crucified. God has constituted him both Lord and Christ. He's exalted him.

33:11 his right hand, or the language of Philippians 2, wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that great reality. Do you see why we are spending so much time in establishing this biblical truth that the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a present reality? He is robbed in the eyes of multitudes.

Principle 2: Christ's Rule Is a Practical Reality in Every Recipient of Salvation

33:41 of that which is no little part of His present glory, that is, His enthronement as a present reality. And then the second great principle that is set forth in the text is this, the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a practical reality to everyone who is a recipient of His salvation.

34:10 You see, this is the counterpart of the first principle. If the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a present reality to Him as the Savior of His people, He is an enthroned Lord, then the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a practical reality to everyone who receives His salvation. Paul assumes that he's sure

34:39 is received by God. Verse 3b For God hath received him. Not shall receive him. God has received him. He speaks in the same language of actuality when he says in verse 7 None of us lives to himself. None dies to himself. Whether we live, we do live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die.

35:11 Whether we live or die, not we ought to be, we may eventually be, we are the Lord's. My friend, if that's not true of you, you've never received His salvation. It's just that simple. We are the Lord's, gladly, without reluctance, without equivocation. For the Spirit who has revealed to us the glory of Christ is the great priest.

35:40 who loved us and laid down His life for us, has revealed to us the glory of His kingship, that His yoke is easy and His burden is white, and we have gladly embraced His crown as well as His cross. And this text assumes that as a fact. Paul assumes that all received by God are submissive things,

36:10 Not once is he found exhorting people who believe to submit. No, his exhortations are based upon the reality of the submission and are calculated to give directions concerning the implications of that submission. See the difference? You come to one guy and say, hey man, I'd like to get you to join the army. That's one thing. It's another thing to say, hey look man, you're in the army. Shape up and act according to the rules and regulations of the code book.

36:39 Those are two different things. And I challenge you to find one exhortation in this passage to people saying, you ought to make Christ Lord to resolve this problem of division over scruples. He doesn't have one exhortation to make Him Lord. He says He is Lord. And the reason He's Lord is that's what He died to gain. The throne, a real throne in real hearts of real people there at a real place called Rome.

37:11 Now you see the tragedy of most evangelical churches that for at least 25 to 50 years have omitted this element of biblical teaching. Christ has been preached as a priest, and if you want to get saved, you trust Him as your personal Savior. And there has been no clear proclamation of the enthronement of Christ and the necessity to embrace Him not only as a priest to forgive, but a prophet to teach and a king to rule.

37:40 How in the name of anything that makes sense can you govern a church of people who are not submissive to Christ as Lord? So that when He speaks in His Word, what He says is final and authoritative? Do we wonder that our churches are in such a mess? Every man doing that which is right in his own eye,

38:09 And when pressed by the Scriptures, as some dear believer broke his heart to me just recently, said every time I speak to my fellow Christians in my church, it was nowhere in this immediate area, he said, I get told, you're a legalist, you're a legalist, you're a legalist. This person is as far from the legalist as night from day. He's just someone to whom Christ's Word is ruled.

38:36 And in most evangelical churches, you start taking the Word of Christ seriously in every area of your life. You're an legalist. You're a legalist. No, no. You see, a legalist is a man who thinks that by doing, he will find acceptance with God. Or who thinks he can do in the strength of his own carnal abilities. That's a legalist. But the man...

39:04 Who's embraced Christ as His priest and has found forgiveness through the blood of His cross. Who's embraced Christ as His prophet to teach Him and His King to rule over Him. And who is so meticulous that right down to what He eats and drinks and won't eat and won't drink and how He spends every single day His concern to do the will of Christ. Is that legalism? Then the whole church at Rome was legalistic.

39:33 because that's exactly what he assumes is true of that whole church. He says, the poor weak brother hears his crowning glory. He's doing these things unto Christ, or he's not doing them. When he keeps that special day, it's unto the Lord that he does it. And though his conscience is weak, his heart's right, because sitting on that heart is Jesus Christ enthroned and His Master.

Principle 3: Learning and Adjusting to Christ's Rule Is Christian Growth

40:01 And so I say this text sets forth that second great principle, that the rule of Christ as Lord and King is a practical reality in everyone who is a recipient of His salvation. Third principle is this. Learning the implications of and making adjustments to the rule of Christ are matters of Christian growth.

40:33 Learning the implications of and making adjustments to the rule of Christ are matters of Christian growth. Isn't that what he's doing in this passage? He's saying, now Christ is the Lord of the weak brother, now He's the Lord of the strong brother. Now in the light of that, you need to learn some implications. You need to work out some implications.

41:00 That's what Christian growth is. And I say to the weak among us, not weak in the sense of this passage, but the hypersensitive among us, who when you behold something less than perfect obedience to Christ, you're forever tempted to question whether or not you are indeed in Christ. No, no, my friend. Paul does not once cast any doubt upon the validity of their being in Christ.

41:28 So he must give them some very practical and detailed instruction concerning the implications of and the adjustments to the rule of Christ which are needed in this particular circumstance. And so I would speak to the overly sensitive this morning and say, no, don't sit in judgment on yourself because There are problems with respect to the outworking of the rule of Christ. If you can say from the heart, though I do not understand all that it implies, and though I'm sure there are a hundred areas in which I'm violating the proper implications of it, one thing I know when I read a passage like this, none lives to himself, none dies. Whether we live, we live to the Lord. Whether we die, we die.

42:24 the Lord's, whether we live or die, we're His. I find my heart at home in that passage. I'm gladly His. Oh, there's so many areas where I don't know what it means to manifest to the world and to my wife and to my kids that I am under willing, loving cords of service to my Lord. But that's where I am.

42:50 Now, if that's the disposition of your heart, dear child of God, don't go raking over your spirit and allowing yourself to come under a false bondage. No little part of Christian growth is learning the implications of and then making adjustments to the rule of Christ. Those are matters of Christian growth. And then the fourth great principle in this passage is this.

Principle 4: Embracing Christ's Rule Is a Matter of Life and Death

43:17 Coming to grips with the demands and the privileges of the rule of Christ is a matter of life and death. You see, making adjustments too, and learning the implications of the rule of Christ, that's a matter of Christian growth. But coming to grips with the demands and the privileges of the rule of Christ, that's a matter of life and death.

43:46 For the language of every unregenerate heart is the language of Luke 19, 14. They sent a message after him saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. My friend, that's the language of your heart if you're not in Christ.

44:10 whether you are openly and violently and manifestly a lawbreaker, or whether you're restrained by the pressure of society, reputation, constitutional sensitivity, parental restraint, conditioned conscience, you may be restrained from open abandonment to that disposition, but every unconverted man or woman, boy or girl, the language of your heart is...

44:47 See, it's a question of who's going to govern. And my friends, settling that question is not a matter of Christian growth. That's a matter of life and death. For in that very passage in Luke 19, there is the record of the anger of God to those who would not submit to the rule of His beloved Son. You see...

45:12 until the language of your heart is changed from we will not have Him to reign over us to the language of this passage, whether we live or die, we're the Lord's. My friend, you're not a Christian. That's the basic area of controversy, isn't it? With most of you, the controversy is not whether Jesus Christ is God or The area of controversy is not whether His death on the cross alone is the just grounds upon which God can forgive and accept sinners. You have no doubt concerning those propositions. But here's the issue. Who will you live to? Yourself or to Him? Who's going to be God in your heart? Self or Christ?

46:11 That's the issue, isn't it? That's the point of controversy. And my dear young man, young woman, young boy, young girl, older man or woman, adult, listen! That issue is an issue of life or death! Because Jesus Christ, who died to purify and cleanse and forgive, according to our text, died and rose that He might be

46:41 dead and of living. And He will never be Savior where He is denied enthronement as Lord, for both were the ends for which He died. And who is any man, any preacher, to say the sinner can snatch at one end of Christ's death while rejecting the other end? The Savior will have both ends realized in all for whom He died.

47:13 Now, my friend, isn't it about time you stopped just putting these issues out of your head and treating them like so much preacher's rhetoric? Isn't it about time some of you teenagers took a Sunday and got alone in your rooms, kept your record player off, kept your TV off, and sat or laid upon a bed and think, what is the language of my

47:53 My friend, I ask you to contemplate that question not in the light of the preacher that stands before you, but in the light of what we read from the 23rd chapter of Luke this morning. Contemplate that question in the light of the agonies of the Son of God. For this text says He died that He might be Lord. You see, it is a saving perception of the glory of His death.

48:21 that brings the heart in willing subjection to His throne. Oh, if you could but think for a moment with a mind illuminated by the Spirit what it was for the infinitely holy Son of God to be plunged into the abyss of darkness and damnation that rebel smart-aleck sinners such as you and such as I am

48:51 might be pardoned, you could not but fall at his feet and say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? What a lie the devil's breathed into your innermost ear, saying his yoke is not easy, it's hard, his burden is unreasonable. My friends, can the one who so selflessly gave himself to death upon the cross

49:20 Can He ever bid sinners come and take His yoke and then lay upon them a vicious, hard, unreasonable yoke? Impossible. Oh, may you take the Lord's Day and not profane it to your damnation, but sanctify it to your own salvation, coming to grips with the demands and privileges of the rule of Christ,

49:48 is a matter of life and of death. When the Spirit reveals to a man or woman, boy or girl, his sin, and through the Word reveals Christ and leads him to faith, it is always faith from the posture of submission to Christ upon the throne.

Closing: Christ Risen to Rule Over the Gentiles (Isaiah 11:10)

50:11 That's why as the Apostle further deals with this subject, and I'm not going to expound, I'm just going to refer now in closing. Turn over the page. There's no break in the Apostle's treatment of the subject. And because much of the problem arose from the differing backgrounds of Jews and Gentiles, he wants to show that rather than being an occasion of disruption, this ought to be an occasion of magnifying Christ because He came.

50:41 to save both Jew and Gentile. And he picks up that theme in verse 7 of chapter 15, Wherefore receive one another, even as Christ received you to the glory of God. For I say, Christ has been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that He might confirm the promises to the fathers, that is, that He might save Jews, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, And then both from Deuteronomy and the Psalms, he brings in verses to show that Christ is the Savior of both Jew and Gentile. And he concludes his argument by quoting, notice carefully now, from Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 10. And we have it in verse 12 of Romans 15. And again Isaiah saith, There shall be the root of Jesse, and he that ariseth to rule.

51:36 Over the Gentiles. And on him. Shall the Gentiles hope. The Christ. On whom Gentiles hope. Is the Christ. Who rises to rule. And all hope. That is valid. Is hope. That is under government. To this one. Who has risen. To rule in grace. Over.

52:05 the hearts of His people. And it's very interesting that Isaiah 11 is one of the passages most frequently pressed into the service to teach some future reign of Christ that is His true glory, whereas Paul says it is His present reign over the Gentiles in grace that is the true glory of the Messianic promise. Oh, my friend, has He risen to rule over you? Has He?

52:34 Has He risen to rule over you? Christ is King. And if you're ever to be saved, you'll be saved at His footstool. And child of God, if you're to grow in grace, you'll grow in that posture as the Spirit through the Word teaches you more and more what are the implications of that kingship of Christ.

53:02 And as He gives you grace to work it out in day-by-day experience. Is Christ King? Well, the witness of the Old Testament, yes. The only Messiah must be King. The witness of the Gospel, yes, He is King. The witness of the period of proclamation, He is King. And now when we come into the period of explanation, dealing with a nitty-gritty practical problem,

53:28 the Apostle can assume this great foundational principle undergirding the life and experience of the whole Roman Church, that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord and King, because that's the end for which He died. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

53:58 Oh, our Father, we thank You that we have such a glorious King as is our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that He is the great Priest King upon a throne. And we pray that this day some who came into this building with the language of their hearts expressed in those words penned by Luke I will not have him to reign over me. Oh, may that language be changed. Ere this day is over, may they be able to say with joy from the heart, whether I live, whether I die, I am the Lord's. Oh, God, bring rebel sinners broken to the feet of Jesus. And we pray for us as a congregation in all the diversity of our backgrounds, in all the

54:57 Differing levels of understanding in all the different ways that our consciences instruct us. We pray that in working out these practical problems, we may find the keys that are here in this chapter. Deliver us from setting one another at naught. Deliver us from passing judgment upon one another.

55:22 but realizing that Christ is our commonly owned Lord and that we ultimately are answerable to Him and to Him alone, may we find joy in forbearing with one another in our areas of difference. May we find great delight in pleasing not ourselves, but in pleasing one another. O God, have mercy upon us and teach us the implications of the rule of over this congregation of His people, to the end that we may bring praise and honor to Him, whom with the Father and with the Son we love and praise, and with the Spirit we love and praise and adore. Hear then our prayer. O God, hear our prayer this morning as we offer it in Jesus' name. Amen.