The Perfect Son Who Became Our Perfect Savior 1

Introduction to Grievous Times and the Series on Parental Obedience

0:03 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, March 23, 2003, at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I urge you to turn with me to 2 Timothy, and Chapter 3. We'll not be focusing upon this passage, but I want to read it in conjunction with my introductory comments. 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, and I shall read in your hearing verses 1 through 5.

0:37 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. From these also. Turn away. Now let us again see God's face for His health and blessing upon the preaching of His Word.

1:48 Our Father, as often as we have come, we thank You that You are not weary of our coming. And so once more we bow in the consciousness that we need the present powerful ministry of the Spirit. I need His ministry, if I am rightly, to preach Your Word. Those gathered in this building need His ministry, if they are to hear, if they are to feel the impression of divine truth.

2:20 And so together we cry to You, send Your Holy Spirit upon us, O God, to accomplish Your own purposes. For You have said that Your Word, going out of Your mouth, shall not return unto You void, but shall accomplish Your purpose. And so we pray that You may accomplish that whereunto You have sent it. We rest in that promise and plead for its fulfillment in Jesus' name.

2:50 Amen. Now we're informed in the passage that I read in your hearing that when disobedience to parents becomes a prevailing sin in any society, we have entered upon that which the Apostle calls grievous times. And surely we need not highlight any of the other patterns of sin identified in 2 Timothy 3, 1 to 5, to know that such a grievous time has come upon us in our own American society. And with a deep pastoral burden that you, young people, children, in this place, not be drawn into this sin of disobedience to parents, I have embarked upon a brief series of studies entitled Now Concerning Obedience to Your Parents. Today's message is the fourth in this series,

4:08 and God willing I will complete the series with a fifth message two weeks from today. I remind you very briefly, by way of review, that in the first message we considered several key passages from the Word of God that set before us the clear commands respecting, obeying, and honoring father and mother, some encouraging promises, and some frightening threats, all regarding obeying and honoring father and mother. Then in the next two messages, I set before you three very important, important exhortations to which you must give heed if you are to obey and honor your father and your mother, especially in a society in which a prevailing sin is disobedience to parents. Exhortation number one was this, beware of being drawn into the youth subculture of our day. Exhortation number two, Exhortation number three, Exhortation number four, Exhortation number five, Exhortation number six, Exhortation number seven, Exhortation number two, beware of any person or anything that erodes your affections for and your obedience to your parents, your teachers, and your pastors.

The Entreaty: Behold the Perfect Son, Our Perfect Savior

5:30 And exhortation number three, never be ashamed to acknowledge that what you do and don't do is because you want to please your parents and make them glad that you are their son or their daughter. Now, today, in this, the second to last message in this series, I want to set before you not so much an exhortation as an entreaty. Now, don't ask me what the difference is between an exhortation and an entreaty, except to say that, generally speaking, we think of an exhortation having some negative overtones. And what I want to say this morning, I want you to think of it as, in respect of any negative overtones, it is my bent-knee appeal to every one of you children and every one of you young people. It is an earnest request of each of you, and this is what it is. Behold with wonder the perfect suitability of Jesus to be our Savior because He was the Son who perfectly obeyed and honored His earthly parents. That's my entreaty.

6:54 My entreaty is to behold with wonder the perfect suitability of Jesus to be our Savior because He was the Son who perfectly obeyed and honored His earthly parents. Or to state it more briefly, behold the perfect suitability, behold the perfect Son who has become our perfect Savior. Behold the perfect Son who has become our perfect Savior. And as I attempt to open up this wonderful subject with you, I will eventually do it under three headings, God willing and time permitting, I take up the first two this morning. And here's the first. And I want you to think with me. Kids, you're going to have to think.

7:50 I'm going to try to illustrate. I'm going to try to enforce with applications. But I can't do your thinking for you. And remember, you are called upon by God, not just by me, but by God, to love Him with all your mind, all your noggin, as well as with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your strength.

8:10 God gave you your mind to think. And that mind never is more nobly engaged than when it thinks about God and about Jesus. And about Christ. And about the truth of the Word of God.

8:23 So I entreat you to think with me as I try to help you to behold the perfect Son who became our perfect Savior. I'm going to try to help you to behold with wonder the perfect suitability of Jesus to be our Savior because He was the Son who perfectly obeyed and honored His earthly parents. And here's my first heading. In order to be our Savior, by becoming an acceptable sacrifice for sin, Jesus had to be without sin, including the sin of disobeying or dishonoring His earthly mother or father. In order to be our Savior, by becoming an acceptable sacrifice for sin, Jesus had to be without sin, including the sins of disobeying or dishonoring His parents. Or to state it more briefly, to be our Savior from sin, He had to be perfectly free of sin, even in relationship to the fifth commandment,

To Be Our Savior, Jesus Had to Be Without Sin

9:52 including His relationship to the fifth commandment. Jesus the Savior had to be Jesus, the sinless Son of Joseph and of Mary. Now I want to work my way through with you, to establish this very basic truth. Now the Bible is clear that wherever God finds sin, God must punish sin.

10:38 Now that is a fundamental premise of the Bible. You can't open your Bible anywhere from Genesis to Revelation without coming to the conclusion where God finds sin, God must and shall punish. Remember the familiar text of Romans 6.23.

11:01 For the wages of sin is death. Where sin is, wages will be paid and the wages are death. Or Ezekiel 18 in verse 4. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

11:22 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Where sin is, death will come in its train. Or take Galatians 3 and verse 10. Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things of the book of the law to do them.

11:44 Where there is anything short of perfect obedience to God's law, the individual who falls short in any area is under the curse. Of Almighty God. So if God is to be true to His word, either you and I must suffer the just penalty for our sins, even one sin, or someone worthy and willing to suffer for us must be provided. And that person must have no sin of his own for which to suffer the punishment of God.

12:24 And that person must have no sin of his own for which to suffer the punishment of God. It must be one who is perfectly innocent, who somehow takes the place of the truly guilty and pays the penalty of sin on their behalf. And God was underscoring this truth again and again in the Old Testament religious rituals.

12:49 You'll remember that under the Old Testament priesthood, God said that when there was to be a sacrifice, it had to be either a lamb or a bullock or some other animal that was without blemish. And I took my concordance yesterday and looked up the little phrase without blemish just in the book of Leviticus. And you know how many times it occurs? It occurs more than a dozen times without blemish.

13:19 Without blemish. Without blemish. What is God saying? God is saying, when, there is one to be the sacrifice, one that is to bear the guilt of another, that one that bears the guilt must be guiltless, without blemish, without spot.

13:42 And we are told in our Bibles that Jesus, whom John identified as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, John 1.29, was utterly, completely, unreservedly, without any sin whatsoever. 2 Corinthians 5.21 He who knew no sin was made sin for us.

14:14 He knew no sin. In His own experience, in the depths of His being, there was no sinful nature, there was no sinful attitudes, no sinful tendencies. He was utterly, completely, without sin. It is described in Hebrews 7.26, such a high priest became us who was holy, harmless, separate from sinners, utterly, totally, unqualifiedly, holy, separate from sinners. 1 Peter 2 and verse 22,

14:55 speaking of Christ, Peter says, who did no sin. Simple statement. But oh, how profound in asserting that Jesus as God's Lamb was utterly, totally, without any sin whatsoever. In 1 Peter 3.18, Peter describes Him as the One who died for us, the just, the righteous, for the unjust or the unrighteous. He was utterly, totally, completely, righteous and just. Or in 1 John 3.3 and 3.5, everyone that hath this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure. And in verse 5, and in Him there is no sin. You see, God could not make it any more clear to us. Again and again, the testimony of Scripture is that Jesus was utterly, totally, completely, unqualifiedly, without sin.

Defining Sin and Jesus' Perfect Sinlessness in Daily Life

15:59 Now children, I hope you're learning the Shorter Catechism as well as the Children's Catechism. The Shorter Catechism asks the question, well, what is sin? And the answer is, sin is any lack of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. Sin is any failure to come up to what God requires, or stepping over the law of God.

16:26 Sin is any failure to come up to what God requires, or stepping over the law of God. It is a boundary of what God forbids. Let me illustrate it this way. Let me illustrate it this way.

16:31 Imagine that I took a large, thick chalk, the kind you write out on the parking lot with when you're going to play hopscotch, et cetera. And I drew a line here on the platform. That line is God's law that says, children, obey your parents, honor your father and your mother. That's God's standard.

16:55 Now, if I fail to obey God, that's a good thing. Now if I fail to obey God, that's a good thing. Now, if I fail to obey God, that's a good thing. That's a good thing.

16:57 obey them. If I refuse to honor them, I'm sinning because I have not come up to the line of what God requires. If I flat disobey them, if I do things that dishonor them, I step over the line. I sin whether I come short or step over. That's what sin is. Any lack of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. That's why most people don't have a clue of how horrific sin is. The first and great commandment is what? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength. If that's the first and great commandment, what's the first and greatest sin you can

17:43 commit? Failure to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Failure to passionately love God is wickedness of the highest order. Sin is failure to do what God requires. Sin is engaging in what God forbids.

18:08 Now I want you to think with me concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Remembering that God's law touches not only our deeds, not only our words, but our attitudes, our motives, our thoughts, the intentions of our heart. And what I'm trying to get you kids to see this morning is this. I want you to behold the perfect Son who became our perfect Savior.

18:46 He was utterly sinless. He had to be sinless if He was to be God's spotless Lamb to die for the sins of others. He must have no sin of His own for which to die. But what did that mean in the concrete reality of being expelled from Mary's womb as a baby? Being a dependent infant upon Mary's breast? Being a toddler in the home up in Nazareth? Being a young boy going out to the carpenter's shop with his daddy? What did it mean when he entered adolescence and his, quote, teenage years? What did it mean when he entered adolescence and his, quote, teenage years? What did it mean for Jesus to be utterly, totally sinless that He might be our Savior? Remembering that in Jesus there was not the factor that is in all of us. Every one of us is born with a large steel plate in our souls. And sin

19:55 and temptation is like a powerful magnet. And when the magnet passes by, it has the something in our souls that is drawn toward it. As the steel plate is drawn to a powerful magnet in the physical realm. James says in James 1, every man sins when he's drawn away by his own lust and enticed. And sin when it is conceived brings forth, I'm sorry, lust when it is conceived brings forth sin. And sin when it is finished brings forth death. Jesus had to be sinless. He had to be sinless. He had to be sinless. He had to be sinless.

20:32 He had no large steel plate in his soul. His soul was utterly free of any predisposition to sin. His soul was utterly without stain. He had no internal disposition toward sin.

20:51 There's a fundamental difference. But nonetheless, to think of Him from the time He was born to the time He hung upon the cross. Never once in thought, in motive, in attitude, in desire, in disposition, let alone in word of deed, never once did He fail to give all the honor that was due to His earthly parents and to obey them in ways appropriate to parental will and desire. Never once. Now think with that mind. Here He is, a little baby in arms. He never cried out of petulant anger. He only cried when he had legitimate physical need. If Mary poked him with a pin when she changed

21:50 his diaper, he would have cried just like any other baby. You parents know it isn't long before you can tell the difference between the cry of legitimate need and pain and the cry of self-pity. Never once did Mary or Joseph hear a cry that was born of petulance and selfishness. And as a little boy, never once did his lower lip come out and say, when given direction by Mary and by Joseph. Think of it. Never once did that lip come out. Never once did that lip come out and say, when given direction by Mary and by Joseph. Think of it. Never

22:39 once. Never once. Never once did he even feel a disposition to stick out his lower lip and to pout when he couldn't have his own way. Never once did he throw himself on the floor in a temper tantrum. Never once did he whine to try to manipulate his parents to get his own way. Never once. Had Jesus pouted once, you would be on your way to hell with no hope. Just once. If he dishonored his mother and father with a pout, with a whine, you and I would be done for it. We'd have no Savior. No Savior. There would be a spot upon that lamb that when God examined him, he would say, no, that lamb cannot bear the sin of the world. That lamb has a blemish. It must be a lamb without spot and without blemish.

23:41 As an adolescent, he began to develop his own independent judgment, and he did. And we shall see, God willing, two weeks from today, as I try to open up the passage of his time in the temple and what appears to some to be a bit of cheekiness in the way he dealt with his parents. No. Never once did he show disrespect. Never once did he raise his eyebrows and give that look. You know what I'm talking about?

24:16 Hm? Never once. He didn't even do it in the privacy of his own room. Never once did he sneak behind Joseph and Mary's back to go out and spend time with his buddies. Never once did he start an argument with them. Never once. Never once. Never once. Never once did he fail to say, please, when that was part of honoring. Never once did he fail to say, thank you. Never once did he fail to help Mary on with her cloak when that was part of honoring her. Never once did he fail to pick up every piece of wood when Joseph told him to clean up the carpenter's shop before he came to supper.

25:08 I want you to think of what it meant for real humanity in Jesus to be utterly, absolutely sinless in the light of honoring. And obeying his mother and his father. Never once. Never once.

25:29 And as an adult son, he did not shrink from what I trust to demonstrate was the burden of being the main provider. And the main head of the home. There's every evidence that apparently Mary became a widow.

25:48 And Jesus bears the burden of the eldest son. Never once did he fail to bear that extra burden. When it meant he couldn't have the same degree of fun the other kids had because he had the burden of guiding and providing for the household.

26:10 As a young adult, never once did he shirk from the burden and responsibility in that home.

Jesus' Obedience to God Supersedes Parental Will and His Care for Mary

26:19 And I want to demonstrate next week, I'll only touch on it here, never once did he make an idol of the will of his parents. At age 12, he stood again. Against their will. Because an obedient son or daughter does not make an idol of his parents.

26:42 And the parental will, when it crosses the will of God. Didn't you know I must be about my father's business?

26:54 Mary, you say your father and I were looking for you. Jesus said there's a father whose will supersedes Joseph. I hope to open that up. I only touch on it today.

27:09 Never once was he indifferent to his widowed mother's needs. He's hanging on a cross. Bearing the sins of his people. In the excruciating, indescribable pain of the nails through his wrists.

27:28 Through his feet. Extixiating as his lungs fill up with fluid. And the wrath of God. Pressing down upon him.

27:39 And he sees his mother. And he's concerned that somebody take charge of her protection and provisions. So he says to John, Behold your mother. Woman, behold your son.

27:59 Sinless. In the light of the fifth commandment, dear children. Young people, do you see what sinlessness meant for this one who was bone of our bone. Flesh of our flesh.

28:13 Who came into our human existence. Passed through every stage of development. From infancy to little boy. To adolescence.

28:23 To adult son. Never once did he fail. To honor father and mother. And obey his parents.

28:34 Now it's because of this that he could say in John 8, 29. I do always the things that please my father. Not speaking of Joseph. But of his heavenly father.

28:53 He was conscious that when he stood before every commandment of God. There was nothing for which his conscience accused him when he came to commandment five. I do always the things that please my father. There's the line that says you must honor.

29:14 You must obey them. And he says my father knows that I come up to that line. I've never fallen short. Furthermore, I know and my father knows I've never stepped over the line.

29:28 And disobeyed and disrespected them. I do always the things that please my father. And the father two times bears witness for me. And bears witness from heaven that that's so.

29:44 At his baptism and on the mount of transfiguration. John 3, 17 and John 17, 5. The voice of the father speaks. This is my son.

29:55 My beloved one. In whom I am well pleased. My eye that searches the length and breadth and height and depth of the demands of my law. And searches to the very inner texture of the soul.

30:10 Of my son. Where only my eye can go with motives and attitudes and desires and disposition. Everything I see pleases me. This is my beloved son.

The Father's Approval and the Unblemished Lamb

30:27 In whom I am not merely pleased but well pleased. Well pleased. So when it comes for him to die. If I may use this imagery.

30:40 The father looks into the full extent of the demands of his law. And puts his hands into the fleece of the lamb of God. And he pulls it back in the eye of God that can scrutinize every item. Looks for any blemish.

30:59 Pulls back the wool of the moral texture of the son of God. And he finds no blemish. He says the lamb. The lamb is without blemish.

31:14 The lamb is without spot. This lamb is fit to die. For those young people. For those children.

31:22 Who have broken my law. Who have disobeyed their parents. Who have failed to honor them. This lamb is the perfect lamb.

31:32 And dear people. That's not just preacher's imagination telling that. There are two texts of scripture. And now I'm not just going to quote them.

31:40 I'm quoting a number of texts. But I want you to see them with your eyes. 1 Peter 2 and verse 19. Look at the language of this text.

31:51 To show that this imagery is not the flights of the imagination of the preacher. But this imagery is demanded by scripture itself. 1 Peter chapter 1. I said 2.

32:07 I mean chapter 1. Verse 18. To show that you were redeemed. Not with corruptible things.

32:14 With silver or gold. From your vain manner of life. Handed down from your fathers. But with precious blood.

32:23 As of a lamb. Without blemish. And without spot. Even the blood of Christ.

32:34 As of a lamb without blemish. And without spot. Then in Hebrews 9 and verse 14. The language comes before us again.

32:46 How much more shall the blood of Christ. Who through the eternal spirit offered himself. Without blemish unto God. Take away that phrase.

33:02 And God would say. The sacrifice is unacceptable. The sacrifice has a blemish. If Jesus had.

33:14 In the slightest degree. In any way. Failed fully. To obey.

33:21 To honor. Father and mother. He would not be suitable. To be our savior.

33:30 But because he was. The lamb without blemish. Without spot. He can be what John said he was.

33:39 The lamb of God. To take away the sin of the world. For he had no sin of his own. For which to die.

Behold the Cross: God's View of Disobedience

33:48 And so I say to you children and young people. Behold with wonder. The perfect savior. Who was the perfect son.

33:58 Behold with wonder. This perfect savior. Who was the perfect son. He was dying for all the sins of those who will trust him.

34:10 Yes. Hear me now. The sins of failing to honor your father. And your mother.

34:18 How does God look upon them? Go to the cross. What does God feel about the times. When you've rolled your eyes.

34:29 And when you've mumbled under your breath. And you've not respected your mom and your dad. When you've talked back. And when you've bad mouthed them.

34:40 And you've resisted their legitimate authority. What does God think about those things? Go to the cross. I dare you in your mind's eye.

34:51 I dare you to go and think what is there. See that bruised immolated body. See the crown of thorns pressed down upon his head. See the lumps and the bruises where they struck him with blows of their fists and with rods.

35:10 See the lacerated body. See the lacerated back from the scourging. See the nails through his wrists. See the hollow eyes.

35:22 Hear the sighs. Hear the groanings. And then see the heaven shrouded in the blackness of midnight. See God himself pulling a shade over this scene.

35:39 And then hear the cry. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?

35:48 Why have you abandoned me? Why have you cast me into hell? That's what your failure to honor your mother and your father looks like. Stripped of all the dulling influence of a generation marked by rejection of their authority.

36:12 By rejection of any sense of honoring them. Stripped of all of the rationale. The rationalizations of your own heart and your own friends and your own peers. I beg you children and young people.

36:28 Look at the cross. There you see what God thinks about your failure to honor your father and your mother. There you see what God thinks about your disobedience to your mother and your father. And if that sight does not make the sins of dishonoring and disobeying your parents ugly and vile.

36:56 And make you want to say with John Newton. A bleeding savior I have viewed. And now I hate my sin. Then what else can God do if you go on in that disposition but send you to hell?

37:18 What else can God do? And still have the praise of sane moral creatures. Such as angels and cherubim and seraphim. If you can look at that sight.

37:28 And say I'm still going to buck my parents. I'm still going to defy their government. I'm still going to dishonor them. In the light of the cross.

37:40 If that doesn't break your heart. And bring you to the feet of Jesus. Saying oh Jesus. Perfect Lamb of God.

37:52 Send us savior. Dying for my sins. Of disobeying and dishonoring mom and dad. Oh Jesus.

38:04 Have mercy upon me. Behold. Behold. A perfect savior.

To Be Our Sympathetic High Priest, Jesus Experienced Real Temptation

38:18 Who was the perfect son. Then I must hasten and far more briefly. Urge you to behold him. In another light.

38:37 In order to be our perfect savior. He had to be the perfect son. But secondly. In order to be our sympathetic high priest.

38:48 Our advocate. Our lawyer. Our intercessor. Jesus experienced.

38:54 Real. Real. Temptation. To sin.

39:01 As surely as Jesus could not be an acceptable sacrifice for sin. Unless he was without sin himself. So he could not be our sympathetic high priest. Our advocate.

39:14 Our intercessor. Unless he had been really and truly tempted to sin. The Bible is clear. That we are not only saved by the perfect sacrifice for sin.

39:27 Made by Jesus the Lamb of God. But we are saved by the continuous ministry of the risen glorified Jesus in heaven. As our priest. As our advocate.

39:40 As our legal representative. And our intercessor. Do you know. That you need the ministry of Jesus in heaven.

39:48 To take you to heaven. As much as you need the ministry of Jesus on the cross. To take you to heaven. Let me give you three texts that make that clear.

The Essential Ministry of Christ's Intercession

39:58 Romans 8 in verse 34. Romans 8 in verse 34. Who is he that condemns? Where is there anyone in the moral universe.

40:12 That can justly lay a sentence of guilt at the feet of the true believer. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ Jesus that died. Yea rather that was raised from the dead.

40:26 Who is at the right hand of God. Who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Paul says his confidence of salvation rests down.

40:42 Upon the fact that Christ died for us. Christ was raised to vindicate. That his work was accepted by the father. He has been exalted to the right hand of God.

40:54 To validate he is the messianic king. And there he intercedes for us. Securing our standing in grace. Which otherwise our sins would cause us to forfeit.

41:09 His intercession. Is essential to our salvation. Hebrews 7 in verse 25. Similar emphasis.

41:19 Hebrews 7 in verse 25. Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost. Not from the uttermost. Often this is used of people that are down and out.

41:32 And derelicts. And people say well God can save to the uttermost. No. That is saving from the uttermost.

41:39 And that is a biblical truth. But that is not what this text says. The text is saying he is able to save to the uttermost. To the consummation.

41:47 To bring us all to heaven. Who trust in him. He is able to save to the uttermost. Them that draw near unto God through him.

41:55 Why? Seeing he died on their behalf. Well that is true. But that is not the emphasis of this text.

42:03 Seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. My salvation rests upon his intercession. As well as upon his sacrifice upon the cross. He is able to save to the uttermost.

42:17 Those that draw nigh unto God through him. Seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 9 in verse 24. Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands like in pattern to the true.

42:32 But into heaven itself. Now to appear before the face of God for us. He is appearing before the face of God on our behalf. To secure our consummate salvation.

42:48 And then 1 John chapter 2 in verse 1. My little children these things I write unto you. That you may not sin. But if any man sin.

42:59 We have an advocate. We have a helper. One called alongside to represent us. We have an advocate with the Father.

43:09 Jesus Christ the righteous one. And he is propitiation for our sins. These texts show. That as much as we cannot be saved without.

43:21 A perfectly spotless. Blemishless lamb to die. We can't be saved. Without one at the right hand of God.

43:33 To be our intercessor. Our advocate. And our high priest. And each of these overlapping ministries of Jesus in heaven.

43:44 For all who trust in him. Has a direct bearing on the problem of ongoing sin. In the life of the child of God. Sin is no less abhorrent to God after you are saved.

43:55 Than it was before you were saved. Sin does not change its character. In the face of God. But the difference is.

44:05 We have one who died for us. And bore the just penalty of God. Against our sin. And one who lives.

44:12 And represents us. So that our ongoing sin does not disenfranchise us. And disinherit us. And while he is there.

Jesus' Sympathy in Temptation and How to Approach Him

44:24 This is the point I want to make. We have one. Who though he didn't have the metal plate in his soul. So that temptation was like.

44:36 The powerful magnet drawing something out of him. He knows what temptation is. So that as you children and young people. Are tempted to dishonor.

44:48 And to disobey your parents. And you struggle with it though. As best you know at this point in your life. I'm trusting in the Lord Jesus.

44:56 I'm not trusting in myself for salvation. I've committed myself into his hands. I have reason to believe that I'm his child. And I want to serve him.

45:07 But I find that I have problems. That metal plate hasn't been totally taken out of my soul. And I'm tempted to pout. And I'm tempted to buck.

45:19 And I'm tempted to grouse. And I'm tempted not to honor and obey. What do I do? Well let me give you two passages that tell you what to do.

45:30 And it all centers upon Jesus being perfectly suited. For people like you and me. Look at Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2.

45:40 The writer to the Hebrews has been demonstrating that Jesus is better than the angels. He has taken upon himself true humanity. And in that humanity is perfected our salvation. Verse 17 of Hebrews 2.

45:58 Wherefore it behooved him in everything to be made like unto his brethren. Why? That he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. Jesus became what he was that he might do what he does.

46:15 You got that? He became what he was and is that he might do what he does. And he took on him this likeness to his brethren in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest. And what does he do as a priest?

46:32 Well the first thing he does is he makes propitiation for the sins of the people. That is he bears the wrath of God. Swallows it up in himself and thereby turns it away. So that God may be just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus.

46:50 God doesn't wink at the sin. God doesn't just brush it aside. God punishes it in the full fury of his holiness and his justice in the person of Jesus as high priest. But there is a second thing he does as high priest.

47:05 Look at verse 18. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted. He is able. The word succor means come to the timely aid of them that are tempted.

47:19 In that he has suffered being tempted. He is able to come to our timely aid. He hears our cry. Son of David have mercy upon me.

47:31 The cry of a Peter when he is sinking beneath the wave. Lord save me. Son do this. You feel that rising up in you.

47:41 Why do I have to do it and not my brother? Lord Jesus you were tempted. I am not saying he was tempted in that particular area. But he had real temptation.

47:52 He knows what real temptation is. And he suffered in that temptation. He resisted and it was the strength of his resistance that was his glory. And we can say Lord Jesus you know what it is to be tempted.

48:08 To disobey your heavenly father. Lord Jesus help me in this temptation. Same emphasis in chapter 4 of Hebrews that we read this morning. Verse 14.

48:20 Having a great high priest passed into the heavens. Jesus the son of God. Let's hold fast our confession for. We do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

48:36 The sympathetic. Sympathetic identity with our infirmities. But one that has been in all points tempted like as we are. Yet without sin.

48:48 That doesn't mean that every single temptation that any human being has ever had to the vile sin Jesus had. That's an abuse of the text. What it's saying is that temptation to him was real. But in that real temptation.

49:04 There was no indwelling sin in him. Yet he resisted the inducements of the devil. To draw him aside from the will of the father. He's no stranger to temptation to sin.

49:17 Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace. That we may receive mercy. And find grace to help in time of need. Find grace to help in time of need.

49:33 And there in that phrase. You have the noun form. Of what is in the verb form. In chapter 2 and verse 18.

49:41 He's able to succor. He's able to give timely compassionate help. It's exactly what is promised here. So dear children and young people.

49:53 You don't need to say how can I come to God through Christ. When Christ was sinless. So much above me and beyond me. And around totally foreign to me.

50:05 No, no. He suffered being tempted. He knows the pressure of temptation. He knows the inducement of temptation.

50:16 He went out into the wilderness forty days to be tempted of the devil. So we go to him. In order to be our sympathetic high priest. Advocate and intercessor.

50:31 Jesus experienced real temptation to sin. So dear children who are trusting in Jesus. As your perfect sin bearer. You must know and believe.

50:44 That he's also your high priest and advocate and intercessor in heaven. To carry on his work of salvation for you. Until you're brought safely to heaven with him. When you're tempted to dishonor and disobey your parents.

50:58 Go to him and say Lord Jesus. You were tempted. You were tempted Lord Jesus. You were tempted to disobey your father's will.

51:06 You were tempted to look for another way other than the cross. Oh my father if it be possible. Let this cup pass from me. That temptation was real.

51:17 Sweat drops of blood came out his pores. You go to one to whom temptation was real. And you say Lord Jesus. My temptation is real.

51:29 Have mercy upon me Lord Jesus. Help me. And then when you sin. In this area.

51:37 You don't say well I've blown it. There's no hope for me. No. John says.

51:42 If any man sin. We have an advocate with the father. Jesus the righteous one. And you go and say oh God.

51:50 I'm sorry. God I'm sorry. I've blown it again. I rolled my eyes again.

51:56 Lord I'm in such a habit of doing it. Lord forgive me. Jesus. You are my advocate.

52:03 You plead my case before the father. You're not going to throw me aside. Like junk. I've done this so many times Lord Jesus.

52:09 I can't count them. But your word says. If I sin. I have an advocate.

52:14 And you go to him. You go to him kids. You go to him. Go to him.

52:18 Go to him. Go to him. Go to him. A thousand times.

52:22 You go to him. And believe that he turned away the wrath of God. That the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse from all sin. And by the grace of God more and more.

Final Exhortation: Love the Perfect Savior and Keep Going to Him

52:36 By the power of his spirit. You become an obedient parent honoring son or daughter. So I lay before you this exhortation this morning. Dear children and young people.

52:52 And I trust there's been something for you adults to feed upon. Behold with wonder. Have you had a little glimpse. Even just a little glimpse of the glory.

53:04 Behold with wonder. The perfect suitability of Jesus. To be our savior. Because he was the son who perfectly obeyed and honored his earthly parents.

53:17 Behold the perfect son. Who's become the perfect savior. And in order to be that savior. He had to be utterly sinless.

53:29 Even in the light of the fifth commandment. And thank God he was. Don't you want in your heart to fall down at his feet. And say my Jesus.

53:43 I love you. I know you are mine. For you all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious redeemer.

53:54 My savior thou art. If ever I loved thee. My Jesus it is now. Dear young people.

54:05 Children. How can you help from loving a savior like that. Sinless spotless lamb of God. That you might have a savior.

54:17 To die for your sins. Of disobeying. Dishonoring your parents. And then as you trusted.

54:25 And in the struggle of the Christian life. You still sin. What do you do? You have a high priest.

54:33 Sympathetic. Tempted in all points like as we are. Yet without sin. In that he himself has suffered being tempted.

54:41 He is able to succor. He is able to lend timely compassionate help. To those who are tempted. So you go to him.

54:51 And you go to him. And you keep going to him. Until one day you are with him. That is the Christian life.

54:58 You keep going to Jesus. Until one day you are with Jesus. And then you don't need to go to him anymore. You are with him.

55:05 And no more sin. No more distance. No more grief. No more pain.

55:15 That gets you excited. How in the world can you sit there. And not feel excited. That is our destiny dear people of God.

55:26 And for some of us as adults. The issue is not the fifth commandment so much. As maybe it is the seventh commandment. You struggle with impurity of mind.

55:37 It is the ninth commandment. You struggle with a wagging tongue. That is all the time. Stretching the truth.

55:42 That is always shining. Shaving the truth. Speaking things it ought not. Maybe it is the tenth commandment.

55:49 You got a covetous heart. You can't see anything anyone else has got but what you want it. But whatever it is. If you are trusting in the Lord Jesus.

55:58 He is a merciful. Compassionate. High priest. Advocate and intercessor.

56:07 Don't wallow in your much. Go to him. Go to him. Keep going to him.

56:13 Until sin is gone. Until sin is done. And we don't need to go to him anymore. But we will live in his presence.

56:21 Bask in the light of his countenance. Beholding the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Following the Lamb wherever he goes. That is heaven.

Prayer for Grace and Embrace of the Savior

56:32 May God grant that together we will be brought there. Let's pray. Oh our Father. There are times when we feel as though we see the edges of your ways.

56:51 And what we see fascinates us. It captivates us. It lifts us above the mundane. And the sordid.

57:02 And the temporal. And our hearts yearn. Oh Lord they yearn. To expand and to lay hold of realities that we know are there.

57:14 We pray that your spirit would graciously deal with every heart in this place this morning. We ask you in mercy. To hear the pleadings of your people. We think of the appeal made in the previous hour by your servant.

57:32 Especially to the young people. To go to this savior. Who can cleanse and forgive the most vile murderous dictators. And make them fit for heaven in an instant.

57:45 Oh God we pray. May some this day embrace the offered savior. May we your people come to new levels of constantly living in communion and fellowship with him who is our high priest. Our advocate and our intercessor.

58:07 Seal then your word to our hearts we pray. In his worthy name. Amen.