Longing for His Return, Part 5

The Certainty and Pattern of Christ's Return

0:01 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday evening, July 8, 2001, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. As we sit in this place together in the presence of God this night, can any of us have any sure and certain knowledge concerning the future of human history? Will the future always be a replication of the past, the rise and the fall of nations, the birth and then the demise of one generation following another?

0:44 Is history going anywhere, or is it a frustrating, meaningless cycle of life and death, the rising and the falling of nations, cataclysmic events, periods of ruin? Is it a cycle of relative peace and then of great disruption?

1:05 There are many in our day who would answer these and similar questions with great dogmatism and say that the only thing we can know for certain about the future is that we can know nothing for certain. Well, there were eleven Galilean men who would welcome questions of this nature. And were you to ask them, Can we know anything? Anything for certain about the future?

1:35 They would have answered, Absolutely. Without a doubt. And those eleven men were the men who stood in the presence of their risen Lord, and as they saw him levitate before their very eyes, enveloped in a cloud, they were conscious that standing by them were two men, two angels, visitors from the throne of God. And they were standing in the presence of the risen Lord, and as they saw him levitate And these visitors spoke to these men and asked them, Why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

2:09 This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. These men were certain that their Lord would return. They had the word of God spoken through these heavenly messengers. This same Jesus shall come.

2:36 But not only were they certain about the return of Christ, but they were certain concerning the pattern or the paradigm of his coming. For these messengers from God said, This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him going into heaven. He will come. He will come visibly.

3:01 He will come in glory. He will come with clouds. He will be recognized for who he is. For the scriptures tell us, Every eye shall see him, and the tribes of the earth shall mourn for him.

3:19 And this certainty of the coming of the Lord Jesus, his coming personally, visibly, physically, in power and in glory, was so much a part of the conviction of the apostolic band that when they went out preaching the gospel, those communities of believers formed by their preaching were marked as a community in which belief concerning the return of Christ was a major element of their faith, and living lives shaped by that reality was a major dimension of their faith. It was a major part of their Christian experience.

The New Testament Believer's Longing for Christ's Return (Recap)

4:03 And believing that this is the teaching of Holy Scripture, I have embarked on a relatively brief series of sermons on the subject of the second coming of Christ, or the return of Christ, in the faith and experience of New Testament believers. And we saw in the two opening messages, as we examined six specific texts of Scripture, that belief in and expectation of the return of Christ was indeed a vital element of ordinary New Testament Christian experience.

4:44 So much so that the little Aramaic phrase, Maranatha, O Lord, come, became part of the common verbal stuff of the churches, not only in Palestine, where Aramaic, would have been the major language spoken, but even throughout the Greek-speaking world, the consciousness that the faith of the Christian was a faith that looked forward to the consummation at the coming of Christ, so much a part of life and thought that it was natural to greet one another and to part from one another with the words, Maranatha, O Lord, come.

5:28 And then in the next two messages, we will see that the faith of the Christians we examined three of what will be four reasons why the New Testament believers eagerly awaited and loved and longed for the return of the Lord Jesus. And I stated the answer to the question, why did they, with this qualifying descriptive introductory part of the response,

5:57 New Testament Christians, that is, true Christians, in a healthy spiritual state, eagerly awaited the return of Christ because, and we looked at three reasons why they anticipated and longed for the coming of Christ. Number one, because they longed to experience the complete salvation which they and the whole creation will experience at the coming of the Lord Jesus. Secondly, because they, they longed to see the defeat of all of the enemies of Christ and of his church. And thirdly, because they longed to witness the public

6:41 and universal acknowledgement of the true identity and official position of the Lord Jesus. And we looked at a number of scriptures which demonstrate that these were indeed part of the complex of the answer to the question, why do true believers, in a healthy, spiritual state, eagerly await and love the appearing of the Lord Jesus? Now we come tonight to the fourth and final part of the answer. I am not saying that this exhausts the answer of scripture, but I do believe that this fourth part of the answer

Reason 4: Longing to See and Be With the Object of Faith and Love

7:22 will bring into focus at least a major dimension of biblical truth. Again, I state the matter, this way. True believers, who are in a healthy, spiritual state, eagerly await the return of Christ because, because they long to see and to be with the object of their faith and love. Believers, true believers, in a healthy, spiritual state, eagerly await and long for the return of Christ because,

8:02 they long to see the object of their faith and love. They long to be with the object of their faith and love. Now this statement assumes two very basic realities of genuine Christian experience. And I want to show from the scriptures that those assumptions are well-grounded in the word of God.

Christ as the Particular Object of Saving Faith

8:30 The first is this. himself is indeed the particular object of saving faith. I have stated in answer to the question, why do true believers in a healthy spiritual state long for the coming of Christ? I've answered by saying, because they long to see and to be with the object of their faith and of their love.

8:55 And that answer assumes that Christ himself is indeed the particular object of saving faith. And I want to demonstrate this from the scriptures. While there can be no saving faith in Christ without some measure of faith in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who sent him into the world, while there can be no saving faith in Christ if there is not some measure of faith in the God whose wrath was appeased by the sacrifice of Christ, and while Christ himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father

9:39 except by me. So there is in any act of saving faith a measure of faith in God the Father who sent God the Son. And there are a number of scriptures that highlight that reality, some of them very clearly. Very familiar to you, John 5, 24.

9:58 Verily I say unto you, whosoever hears my word and believes on him that sent me shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. And Romans 4, 23 and 24 has a similar emphasis in which the text points us to that faith in the God who raised Jesus from the dead. And the familiar words of Romans 10, 9 and 10, if thou shall confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10:39 However, the scriptures are equally and abundantly clear that Christ himself, in the glory of his unique person and in the perfection and power of his saving work, is the particular object of saving faith. Saving faith does not terminate on some aspect of the work of Christ or on some statement of fact. Constantly. Concerning the person of Christ, but saving faith rests upon Christ himself.

11:17 Christ in the uniqueness of his person and Christ in the perfection and power of his saving work, he is the particular object of saving faith. Look with me quickly now at several scriptures that do indeed state this in unmistakable clarity. Galatians. Chapter 2.

11:41 Galatians chapter 2, verses 15 and 16. We being Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ. And not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Now notice that repeated emphasis.

12:20 Knowing that a man is not justified, that is, declared righteous in the court of heaven by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we believed on Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ. So here it is evident that the object of saving faith is Jesus, Jesus Messiah, the Christ of biblical revelation in the uniqueness of his person and in the perfection of his work.

12:55 And therefore, we find this formula in several of the epistles. Ephesians chapter 1, Paul writes in verse 15, For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. Paul says, I was stirred to pray afresh for you with freshness.

13:25 Fresh confirmation that you are persevering in the Christian faith because I heard of the ongoing faith that is among you, faith that terminates upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus. We have similar words in Colossians 1 in verse 4. But then when Paul summarizes his three plus years of ministry at Ephesus, notice the way in which he summarizes the heart of his preaching. Acts chapter 20 and verse 20.

14:03 How I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God. That is a repentance which focused primarily upon God's rights. And God's place as creator, lawgiver, and judge. And faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

14:38 Now obviously, as we've already seen, saving faith does involve some faith content with respect to God the Father. That he so loved the world as to send his only begotten Son. That the Father who sent him punished him. That he hung upon the cross and made him a curse on our behalf.

15:01 That the Father raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand. But the apostle is clear in this passage that the great focal point of my preaching was this. Repentance toward God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. And you find this particularly throughout the Gospel of John.

15:25 In the most familiar verse. In the most familiar verses. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him. And you have throughout the Gospel of John, believing in him.

15:40 Believing into him. So that faith has as its peculiar and particular object, the Lord Jesus Christ in the uniqueness of his person as the God-man. And in the most familiar verse. And in the perfection and power of his saving work.

16:00 His death upon the cross as a substitutionary atonement. His resurrection from the dead. His being seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. So that when I answer the question.

16:17 Why do true believers in a spiritually healthy state. Eagerly await the return of Christ. And I answer with these words. Because they long to see and to be with the object of their faith.

16:35 I'm not importing my notions into that answer. Christ is clearly set forth in the scriptures as the object of saving faith. It is not the person of Christ divorced from his work. Nor is it the work of Christ divorced from his person.

16:54 But. But it is faith that terminates in Christ upon Christ towards Christ in all the glory of his person and in all the perfection of his work. Now this is not a matter of theological hair-splitting. We will not see the relationship between saving faith and eager waiting for the return of Christ unless we are clear on this issue.

17:23 The incarnation. The crucifixion. The resurrection and the ascension are events in the life history of Jesus. The devil firmly believes them clearly knows that they are historical realities.

17:41 And he even believes in their consequences.

17:46 The devil believes in the substitutionary death of Jesus.

17:53 The devil believes in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The devil believes in every single recorded incident in the saving work of Jesus Christ. But the devil is not a Christian. The devil is the devil still.

18:11 Why? Because the Savior himself and the salvation secured by those events are neither offered to the devil nor was he included in the intention of God in them. However, in the gospel, this unique person, the God-man, who has procured by his incarnation, his sinless life, his substitutionary death, his triumphant resurrection, and his session at the right hand of the Father,

18:45 this supernatural and unique person, the God-man, has procured by these saving acts in space-time history, a perfect salvation, and that salvation is freely and sincerely offered to any and every sinner to whom it comes as being in Christ the Savior. The salvation is in the Savior. It is not in his incarnation. It is not in his crucifixion.

19:21 It is not in his resurrection. It is not in his session. It is not in the manger in Bethlehem, belief in the incarnation. No, the salvation is in a person.

19:35 You shall call his name Jesus, for he it is that shall save his people from their sins. And so what is offered to us in the gospel is not the series of facts to be believed in isolation from the person, nor is it the person set before us. Divorced from his saving action, it is Christ in the uniqueness of his person as the God-man, and in the perfection and power of his saving work, it is Jesus who is offered to us in the gospel.

God's Illumination: Seeing the Glory of Christ in the Gospel

20:15 And when the Spirit of God is pleased to take away the blindness of the natural human heart, what happens? Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 for the answer. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. The Apostle has been writing concerning the nature of the Christian ministry, and with respect to that ministry, he speaks of his commitment and his companions to commend themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

20:50 Verse 3 of 2 Corinthians 4. And if our gospel it is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing, in whom the God of this world is a witness. In whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. The minds of the unbelieving are blinded.

21:10 Why? That the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. Why does the devil blind people's minds to this light of the gospel of the glory of Christ? The gospel is a gospel.

21:31 It sets forth the outshining of the perfections of Christ. It is a gospel in which we point to him as a savior perfectly suited to our need, bringing to his saving work all the might and the power and the purity of deity, and all that is necessary to take our place in order to live the life under the law we should have lived, to die a real death under the curse of the devil. Verse 3 of 2 Corinthians 4. For the curse of God that we should have died, that he might be a sympathetic high priest to perpetuate his saving work among his own while they live out their pilgrimage on earth.

22:12 He is truly man, as much man as though he were not God, as much God as though he were not man. And in the gospel it is the outshining of the glory of Christ that is set before men. He is the glorious savior in the uniqueness of his person. And then in the gospel we proclaim something about the perfection and the power of his work.

22:37 Paul says the gospel we preach to you is this. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And he was buried, and the third day he was raised from the dead according to the scriptures. And he was seen.

22:53 And then there follow five or six statements, he was seen, he was seen, he was seen. This was no fanaticism. This was a fanatical religious notion that floated across the minds of his overly zealous followers. And in the gospel the glory of Christ is displayed.

23:12 The glory of his perfect sinless life. The glory of his substitutionary death. The Lamb of God who bears away the sin of the world. The glory of his triumphant resurrection.

23:27 Conquering death. Putting his foot upon the neck of death. Saying, I am victor over death and over the grave. And in the preaching of the gospel we set forth the glory of the savior.

23:42 The glory of his unique person. The glory of his sufficient and completed work for sinners. But what happens? We set forth his glory and hearts go on in unbelief.

23:55 Why? They will not in the engagement of faith throw themselves upon this mighty, this glorious, this captivating savior. Why don't they? Look at the text.

24:08 If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing, in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. That the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. The last thing the devil wants you to experience is a sight Of the glory of Christ in the gospel. Because he knows once you do.

24:37 He's lost you. He's lost you. When the eyes of your soul.

24:44 The glory of God. In the face of Christ. In the gospel. You'll no longer be an unbeliever.

24:54 You will believe into Christ. And you will commit yourself. Your never dying soul. Your whole being.

25:02 Into the hands of Christ. To be saved by the virtue. Of his saving work. To be saved by the energy.

25:11 Of his almighty power. And Paul says. This is exactly what happens. When someone becomes a believer.

25:20 And is no longer an unbeliever. Read on with me. For we preach not ourselves. But Christ Jesus as Lord.

25:29 And ourselves. Your bondservants for Jesus sake. Seeing. It is God that said.

25:37 Light shall shine. Out of darkness. It is God who said. Light shall shine.

25:44 Out of darkness. An illusion to Genesis chapter 1. And God said. Let there be light.

25:53 And there was light. And light shone. Not into the darkness. But look at the text.

26:00 Seeing it is God that said. Light shall shine. Out of. The darkness.

26:06 How in the world does light come out of darkness? I know how light goes into darkness. You kids know that. Take a flashlight.

26:14 Go into a dark room. And you flick it on. And the light goes into the darkness. But this says.

26:21 Light shall shine. Out of the darkness. You can't make light shine out of the darkness. Unless you can create light in the darkness.

26:28 And that's exactly what God did. By his creative word. Light. Bang.

26:35 Out of the abyss of darkness. And Paul says that's exactly what happens when we get saved. Seeing it is God that shall shine out of the darkness. Who shined in our hearts.

26:48 To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. The Christ who's been preached to us. With his glory seen in the gospel.

27:03 And our eyes spiritually. Have been blind to that glory. The devil pulling the shades over our eyes. That we see nothing attractive in Christ.

27:15 Nothing worthy of our whole soul commitment to Christ. Nothing in him to capture our hearts. And see him as that treasure in the field. As that pearl of great price.

27:27 We still regard him as the prophet described it. No beauty that we should desire him. But when God speaks his gracious creation. With his creative word.

27:38 In conjunction with the gospel. And says light shall shine. Out of that darkened heart. I will penetrate the veils.

27:46 That the devil has thrown over the heart. What's the first thing. That the sighted eyes. Of that regenerate sinner see.

27:54 They see the very out shining of the perfection of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. And when the sinner sees that. It's all over.

28:05 No more does he walk by Christ. And his salvation. With indifference. No longer does he read the claims of Christ.

28:13 With hostility. And with unbelief. But the heart goes in the direction. Of what the eyes have seen.

28:21 Of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. Saving faith. Is the response of the heart.

28:31 Once darkened. But now illuminated. And faithful. Faith terminates.

28:39 Upon this person. Not merely on the fact. That he was incarnate. In Mary's womb.

28:48 That he lived and labored. Throughout Palestine. That he died upon a Roman cross. That he rose again.

28:56 That from the dead the third day. You can believe all of those facts. About his saving work. And be no better than the devil.

29:04 He believes them all. He believes them all. He sees no beauty in Christ. He sees no loveliness in Christ.

29:15 All he sees in Christ. Is a rival. To his own self determination. That's all he sees in Christ.

29:23 And that's all some of you see in Christ. He is that irritant. That comes before you. When the gospel is preached.

29:32 In this place. When it is preached around your table. Christ is nothing but an irritant to you. Because.

29:40 He stands as a rival. With no determination to run your own life. By your own values. And your own standards.

29:48 Indifferent to God. And to his law. Why do true believers long for the second coming? Because.

30:00 As true believers. They have been brought to faith. In, upon, into. Jesus Christ.

30:08 They have beheld the glory of God. In the face of Christ. And now that Christ is the object. Of their faith.

True Faith Always Leads to Love for Christ

30:16 They long. To see him. With their eyes. But the second assumption in my statement is this.

30:26 It is the fact that true faith in Christ. Will always lead to. And be accompanied by love. To the person of Christ.

30:34 I've said. That true believers. In a healthy spiritual state. Eagerly await and love the return of Christ.

30:42 Because. They long to see. To be with. The object of their faith.

30:51 And of their love. And I've demonstrated that the person of Christ. Is the object of saving faith. Now I want to demonstrate.

30:59 My second assumption. That true faith in Christ. Will always lead to. And be accompanied by.

31:07 Love. To the person of Christ. The scriptures are very clear. In declaring to us.

31:15 The unique place of faith. As the sole means. By which we appropriate and receive. Christ.

31:23 And all the salvation that's in him. We must never never budge. From a clear understanding. That faith is assigned.

31:31 A unique place. We are never said. That we are saved by means of repentance. By means of self denial.

31:39 By means of love. We are always said. To be saved by the instrumentality. Of faith.

31:48 That faith is real. It will be accompanied by repentance. Yes. As we shall see if it's real.

31:56 It will issue in and be accompanied by love. But we must never never never never never. Allow ourselves to move away. From the great watchwords.

32:04 Of the reformation. Our salvation is by. Grace alone. In Christ alone.

32:12 And received by. Faith alone. I don't know how to state the matter. More clearly than I've stated.

32:21 However. The same Bible which teaches this. Namely that we are saved. By grace alone.

32:29 By Christ alone. Through faith alone. Teaches with equal clarity. That the faith that lays hold of Christ.

32:37 And his salvation. Is a faith. In Christ. That will always lead to.

32:45 And be accompanied by. Love to. Christ. So that wherever there is a true believer.

32:53 In Christ. You will find a genuine lover. Of Christ. Several texts.

33:02 That make this unmistakably clear. First Peter one. And verse eight. First Peter one.

33:11 And verse eight. Peter seeking to encourage these suffering saints. We back up to verse six. Having set before them the glory of the salvation.

33:20 That yet awaits them. In the marvelous inheritance. He says wherein that is in this great reality. You greatly rejoice.

33:28 Though now for a little while if need be. You've been put in grief. In manifold trials. That the proof of your faith.

33:36 Being more precious than gold that perishes. Though it is proved by fire. May be found unto praise. And honor and glory.

33:44 At the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now notice. Whom. And that refers to Jesus Christ.

33:53 Whom. Having not seen. You love. On whom.

34:01 Though you see him not. Yet believing. You rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable. And full of glory.

34:09 When Peter writes to God's people. Indiscriminately. He identifies them. As elect sojourners of the dispersion.

34:17 Elect according to God's foreknowledge. And sanctification of the spirit. Unto obedience. He gives these generic descriptions.

34:25 Of all the believers in Asia Minor. Now he says. Of all those true believers. These two things are joined.

34:33 They love. An unseen Christ. They believe. On an unseen Christ.

34:42 But he assumes. That wherever there was true belief. In Christ. There was genuine love.

34:50 For Christ. He is not saying. You ought to love. You will eventually come to love.

34:58 Shame on you. If you don't love him. He says no. Whom having not seen.

35:06 You are loving. On whom. Though you see him not yet believing. They believe on Christ.

35:14 Christ is the terminus of their faith. And the Christ on whom they believe. Is the Christ whom they love. And I want you to look at two texts.

35:24 That are often overlooked. And throwaways at the end. Of two of Paul's epistles. First of all in 1 Corinthians 16.

35:32 We looked at this. A couple of weeks ago. With respect to the presence of those words. Or that word Maranatha.

35:41 And now I direct your attention. To 1 Corinthians 16. Paul has said in verse 21. This is indeed a bonified.

35:49 Sure enough real authentic. Pauline letter. This salutation of me Paul. With my own hand.

35:57 With my own scripture. And my handwriting. With previous correspondence. Nobody could fake it.

36:05 This is a letter from me. As he often dictated his letters. And he validated their genuineness. By writing something at the end.

36:13 Then he says this. At the end of this epistle. In which he's dealt with a broad range. Of problems in the church at Corinth.

36:21 And we could demonstrate. How in every single instance. Of immorality. To the problem of abuse of Christian liberty.

36:29 He keeps taking these Christians. Back to Christ. Back to the sufficiency. And the implications of the work of Christ.

36:37 And after showing that Christ indeed. Was the answer. To all the concerns he had to address. It's as though he says.

36:45 If after all of this. You do not find your heart running out. In love to this Christ. You deserve to be damned.

36:53 Look at the language of the text. If any man loves not the Lord. Let him be. And now he takes a word.

37:02 Which is the strongest word. At his disposal. To come under the fury. Of God's wrath.

37:10 And to be cursed. And he says. If anyone loves not the Lord. Let him be damned.

37:18 Let him be accursed of God. This is the family of words used. With respect to Christ. Bearing the curse.

37:26 Of the law. For us. For it is written. Cursed is everyone.

37:34 That hangs upon a tree. This is what Paul pronounces. On those who would tamper with the gospel. In Galatians 1.8 and 9.

37:42 We say unto you. If anyone bring any other gospel. Than that which we brought unto you. Let him be anathema.

37:50 Let him be accursed of God. Let the fury of God. And let him be cursed. In Christ Jesus.

37:58 If anyone loves not the Lord. Let him be accursed of God. Let him be cursed. In Christ Jesus.

38:06 Let him be accursed. And if anyone brings any other gospel. Than that which we brought unto you. Let him be damned.

38:14 Let him be cursed. The wrath of God. Is upon him. John 3.36

38:22 And if we would accept the validity. is saying, if you love not the Lord, you come under the curse of God. Why? Because there is no true faith in Christ, but that it issues in and is accompanied by love for the person of Christ. The other epistle is Ephesians chapter 6. Right at the end, having written

38:52 of the great salvation that is the indiscriminate possession of all true believers, all who are in Christ, he now comes to pronounce his apostolic blessing upon the people of God and notice his language in Ephesians 6.24. Grace be with all them, and how shall he think of the true people of God, towards whom the goodwill and favor of God comes as a constant blessing. They are under a canopy of grace. Who are they? What is their distinguishing mark? Grace

39:31 be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ. And then there's a great discussion among the commentators how to understand the last clause, with incorruptibleness, with undying love. It's irrelevant to our concern right now, so I bypass the discussion. Grace be with all them.

39:53 That love our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love the Lord, the one who came as the Lord of glory by way of Mary's womb and underwent the suffering and the shame and the dereliction and abandonment of Golgotha and was taken back to the right hand of the Father and given the posture of king over all things. If anyone loves the Lord, he is the Lord of glory. If anyone loves the Lord, he is the Lord of glory.

40:24 If anyone loves the Lord, he is the Lord of glory. If anyone loves not that enthroned Kurios, that enthroned Jehovah, Jesus, that is, the man, Christ Jesus, the Jesus of biblical record, who is God's Messiah, God's anointed prophet, priest, and king, grace be with all that love the Jesus of biblical revelation in the uniqueness of his person and in the perfection and power of his work. That's what's bound up in the in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, he says, towards all such. But what about those that

41:04 love not the Lord Jesus Christ? They're not under the canopy of grace, but under the canopy of wrath, under the canopy of wrath, because they believe not. And the wrath of God abides upon him that believes not. And how do we know that they believe not? Because if they

41:22 truly believe, they love. And if they do not love, it's because they are yet the unloved believing who've seen no glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There's glory in the approbation of my friends. There's glory in the clapping and the shouting of the crowd on an athletic field. There's glory in sporting the handsomest guy around or the nicest looking

41:44 chick around. There's glory in this and that, but no glory in Christ that captures the heart.

41:56 If that's you, you're not under a canopy of grace, but under a canopy of grace. And the most foundational text is found in Galatians. This is the last one we're looking at. I'm trying to demonstrate from the scriptures, you see, that Jesus Christ is not only the object of faith, but of love in the hearts of all of his true people. Paul has been in

42:22 a death struggle for the purity of the gospel in this letter to the Galatians. He is passionate. He is at times coarse. He is so angry that these people who say Christ is not enough, but you need circumcision and you need to keep the dietary laws and become a kosher Jew. And he just, he waxed angry, hot in his

42:47 spirit. He used language that is offensive to even our coarse society. So he would do nothing to undermine the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, in Christ alone. By faith alone, but now note what he says in chapter five and verse six for in Christ Jesus.

43:08 If we are united to Christ, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision. It's a non-issue whether you're circumcised and whether you keep Jewish dietary law, it's a non-issue with respect to your standing before God. If you're in Christ, maybe a cultural issue, maybe a social issue, that's fine. But you don't have to be circumcised. You don't have to be circumcised. You don't have to be

43:32 circumcised. You don't make it of any account when it comes to the question, on what grounds do I stand accepted before God? I'm either in Christ or out of Christ. So Paul says, in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith, but faith, now notice, working through love. The only faith that Paul envisions as saving faith is a faith that works

44:00 and it works by the medium of love. That is, when we believe upon Christ, that faith will be a working faith through the love for Christ that always accompanies it and flows from it. Do you see that? Circumcision, uncircumcision, irrelevant, but this is the matter of greatest concern. Are you a true believer

44:31 with the faith? That works through love, not a faith that says, I need my works to supplement what Christ has done. No, a faith that comes to Christ and in all the nakedness of Adamic need throws itself upon Christ and Christ alone. But no sooner does it throw itself upon Christ alone, but that it begins to work out of Christ alone.

The Nature of Faith and Love: Longing to See the Object

45:05 A motive of love to the Christ upon whom it rests. Now, have I demonstrated to your judgment that when I say, in answer to the question, why do true believers in a state of spiritual health eagerly await and love the return of Christ, they do so because they long to see the return of Christ.

45:37 And to be with the object of their faith and of their love. Have I persuaded you that true Christians do have Christ himself as the object of their faith, Christ himself as the object of their love? And if I have, and I trust I have, then the simple issue is this, something that every one of you can relate to.

46:10 Christian or non-Christian, faith is never satisfied until it sees its object. If faith is in an unseen object or an unseen person, it longs to see that in which it trusts. That's why Paul could say in Romans 8, we are saved in hope. That is, in the context of the knowledge that much of our salvation is yet to come.

46:42 Verse 24, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for that which he sees? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Whom having not seen, you love. On whom believing, we believe on an unseen Christ, and we love an unseen Christ.

47:12 And it is the very nature of faith. It is the very nature of faith and love that it longs to see and to be with its object.

47:25 When I was away last week and gave AT&T a good bit of business, calling 1-800-AT-T, whatever the things are, the 2258-225 or 5228.

47:41 On the other end was a woman who's been my wife for 45 years. When I heard these sounds coming through the earpiece, I was persuaded. That was my unseen wife, the object of my love. And so two to three times a day, punch the numbers in.

48:01 Never get a live voice. It's all the mechanized stuff, and thank you for using AT&T. And I just jokingly sometimes talk back and say, oh, you're welcome, if you can hear me.

48:11 But now the conference ends on Friday. And given the situation at home, I didn't want to be bucking rush hour traffic, so I skipped the last two sessions Thursday morning. Friday morning. And I made the approximately 200-mile trip back home.

48:29 Now, let me ask you something. All week long, I was in a framework where I was expressing my faith that my wife exists, that she was there at my home, that she was doing what she said she was doing. I didn't see her. I heard her over the telephone wires, but I didn't see her.

48:53 And furthermore, every time I spoke to her. . . .

48:57 Her last words were, I love you, dear. Love you, sweetheart. Her last words to me. We expressed our love one to another.

49:05 Now, what would you think if on the way home, I saw an advertisement for some particular tourist attraction, and I stopped and spent two or three hours there. And then got another 40 miles and another tourist attraction, stopped there. And then I staggered in, 9 o'clock at night, without ever calling my wife. And I greeted her at the door and said, oh, sweetheart, so good to see you.

49:27 I love you. She said, whoa, whoa, wait a minute now. You told me you're going to be home here at 11.30.

49:32 What happened? Oh, well, along the way, I saw an advertisement for such and such, and I killed two hours watching this and going that. Would she have reason to question the sincerity of my love?

49:44 Absolutely. If my professed love did not create enough yearning to be with her to make the strangest, most responsible line from Rhode Island to Cedar Grove, she'd have every reason to question the sincerity. She'd have every reason to question the sincerity of my professed love. It's of the very nature of love to desire to be with its object.

The Christian's Hope: Glorified Body and Full Display of Christ's Glory

50:08 And if time had not raced away from us, I had worked on a parable, but I don't want a parable to take the place of the Bible. Because I want to underscore that this is why true believers who love Christ long for his appearing. For though they know, now follow me closely, though they know that the intermediate state, that is what happens when? When we die, brings our spirits into a more intimate relationship with Christ.

50:40 That's clearly established in the Bible. Remember in Philippians chapter 1? I'm sorry, Philippians, yes, chapter 1. Paul says, and let's look at it together, because it's crucial that we lay hold of this distinction.

50:52 The apostle who has said that he has one great ambition in life, and that is that Christ be magnified in his body, whether by life or death, that is in his being and person. That he would be a magnifying glass to make Christ larger and more glorious before the eyes of men. We can't magnify Christ. He fills all with his glory, but our lives can be like a magnifying glass that in the eyes of others, Christ will appear more glorious.

51:22 Paul says, that's my passion. Whether by life or death, Christ magnified in my body. Why is that your passion, Paul? He says, I'll tell you.

51:29 For to me to live is Christ. That's why the whole rationale of my life is Christ, his person, his work, his service, his glory. And by the way, to die is gain. To die is gain.

51:46 To die, I get something better that I have when I'm living for Christ. And what is that? He's going to tell us. But if to live in the flesh, if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I do not know.

51:59 But I'm in a straight between the two. Having the desire. To depart. That's to die.

52:06 And be with Christ. Which is very far better. He piles up three superlatives. It's very much more better.

52:19 Bad English, good Greek. He says, that's my desire. To depart. To die.

52:25 That I might be with the object of my faith and love in a dimension. But I cannot now be with him as long as I'm in this body. You see that from the text? That's what takes the terror out of death for the Christian.

52:43 And gives to the child of God in a healthy spiritual state a perspective that looks upon death as a desirable discipline. Through which we shall come into closer communion with Christ. I desire to depart. And to be with Christ, which is better.

53:09 He says similar things in 2 Corinthians 5. He says that we know that while we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord. And he said, we would choose rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Now he knew the Lord's presence in the communion mediated in the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

53:32 But there is a heightened dimension of intimacy. There is an intimate communion with Christ the moment our spirits leave these bodies. And they are perfected in holiness. And then in a way that we cannot begin to conceive, we shall be with Christ.

53:52 We shall be at home with the Lord. And therefore, death for the child of God should not be some dim, murky, shadowy phantom from which we recoil. We ought to look death straight in the eye and say, You are a discipline of my Father to loose me into more intimate communion with Jesus. And if you are a true believer who has believed into Christ, you've seen some of the glory of Christ in the gospel, how you'll long to be with him and see the full display of his glory.

54:31 And to have a perfected spirit that will be able to take the shock of seeing him before whom the elders and the seraphim and the cherubim and innumerable angels bow and say, Worthy is the land that was slain.

54:49 But dear child of God, that experience is never called the Christian's hope. Never! It is his confidence. It is his assurance.

55:00 But the Christian's hope is never, never focused on the intermediate state. It is focused, on the second coming when in the integrity of redeemed humanity glorified spirit joined to glorified body with these eyes some continuity between this body and that one it is sown in dishonor it is raised in honor it is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption and these very eyeballs will receive light that radiates from the Lamb in the midst of the throne and it will register on glorified optic nerves

55:45 and send signals to a glorified brain and with these hands I shall raise them in worship to the Christ against whom I'll never sin again and these knees shall joyfully bend before Him and fall before the throne and come past His feet and say thank you Jesus for being willing to become one of us taking to yourself my humanity that in it you might live that perfect life and die that accursed death and undergo that mighty resurrection that you might be the first fruits of all of your people

56:29 that's our hope that's why Peter says in 1 Peter 1.13 set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ John says in 1 John 3 beloved now right now are we the sons of God but it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is Colossians 3.4 when Christ who is our life shall be like Him and when we shall see Him shall be like Him shall be manifested, the second coming,

57:10 then shall we also be manifested with Him in glory. I think I've quoted it one other time. It was C.S. Lewis who said,

57:21 If we could see now what we will be like then, it would be hard to resist the temptation to fall down and worship one another as gods. We shall be manifested with Him in a context of glory. Not only will the glory of God be seen in the face of Christ, but without in any way inferring whatsoever that we become partakers of deity and little Christ, but something of the very glory of Christ will radiate from us to one another. We'll be fascinated with one another as we stand back in amazement at God's workmanship when He's done with us.

58:04 And you see, you see, this is why the child of God can sit loosely to the things of this world. What in the world are the trinkets and the toys and the tinsel and the popcorn and the crackerjacks of this world when we are marked for that kind of glory?

58:22 And so I say, true believers, in a healthy spiritual condition,

58:28 long for and eagerly await the return of Christ because they will then see and be with God. With the object of their faith and of their love.

Application: Examine Your Spiritual State

58:44 For some of you, it would be psychologically impossible for you to long for Christ's return because you know He's coming as your executioner. And a man is psychologically sick who in his cell presses his nose between the bars eagerly anticipating the footsteps of the man that's going to lead him to execution. No. He heads the moment when he'll hear the footprints coming down the hallway.

59:16 And some of you sit here and the last thing you want is for Jesus to return because you know from the scriptures He will come in flaming fire to take vengeance on all who know not God and obey not the gospel. That's you. You don't obey the gospel.

59:31 You don't obey the gospel that calls you to repent and to believe. That calls you to stack arms against your God. Stop trafficking in the God business. Running your own life.

59:42 By your own standards. To your own ends. God made you for Himself. And He sent His Son.

59:49 That in His Son there might be a just grounds to pardon all of the fruits of your self-centered idolatry. Cleanse and wash you and pardon you. And credit you with a perfect righteousness. And then adopt you into His family.

60:06 But you have no desire for Christ's return because you're yet in your unbelief. And the curse of God is upon you.

60:14 May God grant that this night God through the preaching of Christ will pull the blinders away and light will shine in the darkness of your heart and you will see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And you'll believe upon Him. You'll cast yourself upon Him. Your heart will run out to Him.

60:42 And you'll be able to begin to say for to me to live is Christ. Amen. Amen. Amen.

60:48 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

60:50 Amen. Amen. And dear child of God, if you're not eagerly awaiting and loving His return, could it be that you're not in a healthy spiritual state? I've been reading a most moving book.

61:04 I saw the review in the New York Times a few weeks ago and I had one of my friends who is able to order things over the internet to get it from Amazon.com. One of the men here old enough with me to remember facts of the Second World War remembers that horrible death march. Of our soldiers over there in the Philippines, this is the account of that marvelous rescue from that Japanese prison camp where about two thirds of them had died or been butchered and murdered.

61:34 It's been a most moving, moving account.

61:40 And it was tragic to read what happened to some of these men with long-term vitamin starvation. Some patches of skin began to fall off, teeth fell out, hair went. The doctors there were all the time, time trying to make some accurate diagnosis, they were seeing diseases they'd never seen before, different kinds of amoeba causing various strands of kinds of dysentery, a most moving account, and I could not help but think as I sat at my desk this afternoon, is that the picture of some of you?

62:12 You're not in a healthy spiritual state.

62:16 You've got serious vitamin deficiency.

62:21 You heard in the morning hour, altogether too much dust has been gathering on this book. And too much of the images coming through your VCR and coming through your TV, and too many of the sounds coming into your ears from your Walkman and from your stereos, the things that are shaping and molding the texture of your soul, you're suffering from great vitamin deficiency, and you've also picked up some very serious amoebas that are giving you spiritual dysentery. We stuffed you full. We stuffed you full on Sunday, and it's all purged by Monday morning, because you've got

63:04 these amoeba in your spiritual gut, and they need to be purged by repentance and by renewal in the Holy Ghost. Dear people, this is no day in which to play games.

63:20 The forces of hell are being let loose upon our society in ways that at times are almost too difficult to take in. Some of us old enough to have been in the same situation. Some of us have seen what has happened from the 40s until now, and we say, Lord, how long before our nation will implode from the weight of its own abandonment to God-defying lawlessness. Child of God, the scripture says, because iniquity shall abound, the love of the many shall wax cold.

63:53 But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. This is life and death stuff. And if you're not excited about it, you're not going to be able to do it. If you're not excited about the return of Jesus, and yet have grounds to believe you're a child of God, ask God to give you a thorough examination and receive the statements of his word as to what it is that is eating away at the vitals of your spiritual health.

64:21 Until as a healthy child of God, you can say, Maranatha is the passion of my heart. I love the return of the Lord. I love the return of the Lord Jesus, because I long to experience the full salvation predestined for me and for this creation. I love his return because I want to see and experience the defeat of all of Christ's and his church's enemies.

64:53 I long for the return of Christ because I long to see him publicly and universally vindicated. And I long for the return of Christ because I long to see him publicly and universally vindicated. And I long for the return of Christ because I want to see and see who supports me and what God Rotberge will do for me, and God's presence works for me. Oh, may God help us!

Prayer for Illumination and Obsession with Jesus

65:11 Let's pray. Our Father, What can we say when our feeble, constricted little brains, have tried to focus upon such wonderful and glorious realities, such as you have purposed for those that love you and trust in your Son. And how our Yiddish offering to you, oh, Christ's name, may God soak the bending skin in your condescension. And how we pray as you pray with retained payer and gainer in Christ, so that we maylined we can see the form that God had established for us as He is represented Christian as the King of the Old.

65:39 God that in this place tonight you would do that creative work of grace shining in darkened hearts giving the light of the knowledge of the glory of your son your own glory in the face of your son Jesus Christ Lord we pray for the children and young people among us we long to see some of them become enamored with Jesus to see them as naturally speaking of him as they speak of who's cute and who's cool and who's seen this and who's heard that and who's been there and been the other place Lord we do not ask that you make unnatural freakish children among us but oh we

66:23 beg of you that the Lord Jesus will become more real than their closest friends more real than the clothes on their backs and what we pray for them oh God we ask for ourselves that we may set a pattern and blaze a trail of the kind of life that is obsessed with Jesus Lord forgive us we pray for our sloppiness for our lack of discipline forgive us for how easily we've caved in to the pressure to think like worldlings Lord you spoke to us this morning and we don't want that word to be in vain help us to pray it in and to work it out and by your grace to see

67:07 this coming week changes in our own lives as a result of your dealings with us today we pray now your blessing upon us as we leave this place oh Lord do not leave us but in grace and mercy continue to have dealings with our hearts we plead with thankfulness in Jesus name amen