Sermon For Crossroads Assembly In Weston – May 4th. “Christ Our Only Salvation and Hope”

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  (Romans 10:1-4)

These are very sobering words.  These Jews, of whom Paul referred, were some of the most religious people you would ever meet.  They were some of the most zealous people you would ever run into too.  And yet, despite all of this, they were not zealous according to knowledge.  And being entirely ignorant of the righteousness of God they sought to establish their own.  To the people standing before Him one day Christ said it this way, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”  And of them he went on to say this because they had placed all of their hope in the law, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?  So not think that I will accuse you to the Father.  There is one who will accuse you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.”  Then he finished by saying, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.  But you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:39-46)  Apparently, there will be no greater testimony used against men on the day of judgement than that of Moses.  The very one  in whom so many throughout our churches have trusted.  This being the case, I would like to take a little bit of time and lay out a biblical defense for trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.   It is all too easy for you and I to over time begin to trust more in other forms of righteousness than it is to cling solely and completely to the Lord Jesus Christ.  But perhaps you are here today and you are thinking that this is not a big problem.  I would challenge you to go out into the community and preach the gospel.  You will find that most are religious.  Most claim to be christian.  Yet, if you ask them how they are saved, they will not say, “Because of Christ.”  They will tell you it is because they pray, because they are basically good people, they go to church, etc.

We will begin our defense of Christ alone (solus Christus) in the the very first chapter of Isaiah.  It is here that we read, “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?  says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offering of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or of goats.  When you come before me, who required of you this trampling of my courts?  Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me.  New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations – I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.  Your new moon and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.  When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.” (11-15)  We begin here because sometimes we tend to get the impression that when God gave Israel the sacrificial system through the Levitical priest hood that this obligated God to forgive men whenever there was a sacrifice made.  When one reads the prophets carefully we find that they should have had no such assurance.

Here in these verses we read twice (1:10-11) that the Lord, Himself, is telling His people that He was not accepting their offerings , their burning of incense, their convocations, their assemblies (13),  and their feasts (14).  And the Lord emphatically tells them that they He will not hear their prayers.  And yet, these were religious people who offered to God their best well-fed beasts (11).  They assumed that they had a religious system that would allow them to live far from God in their hearts but would insure that they were forgiven and blessed if some religious observance was done.  Contrast the people of Isaiah’s day with David, a man after God’s own heart, in Psalm 51:16-17.  “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  David here seems to have a clear understanding that trusting in the sacrificial system to cover our sin is futile.  Instead he knew that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.  These sacrifices God would not despise.  (Psalm 51:17)

 (Let me use this candle to illustrate this point.  Light a candle and explain that this fire represents the fire at the alter on which the priests would offer sacrifices.  The men of Isaiah’s day would offer their sacrifices believing that they had done their duty and be forgiven but the the Lord says, “I do not delight in them.”  And in a sense, He extinguishes the flame.)

Now as we turn to the book of Jeremiah we see that the flame has been re-lit.  And in Jeremiah 14:10-11 we read, “Thus says the Lord concerning this people:  ‘They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.’  The Lord said to me: ‘Do not pray for the welfare of this people.  Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”  A solemn message to the prophet Jeremiah from the Lord.  As judgement loomed on the horizon their would be no mercy extended to that generation as had been offered by Jonah to that rebellious city of Nineveh.  Instead, though they would offer many offerings and fast and offer many prayers they would not be shown mercy.  And in a sense, God again extinguishes the fire upon the alter.

And now we turn our attention to the prophet Hosea.  We find him saying to his generation, “As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them.  Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.”  Again we find that the fire at the alter had been re-lit and offerings were being offered.  And yet, instead of finding forgiveness for sins we see that both the prophet Jeremiah and now the prophet Hosea are telling the people that their sins have not been forgotten; but, rather, have been remembered by the Lord.  That is absolutely horrifying.  And so, once again, we see the Lord snuff out the fire again on the alter.

Now we turn to the prophet Amos and we find him saying, I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals I will not look upon them.  Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.”  Again, we see that the fire at the Lord’s alter was re-lit and sacrifices were being offered and yet the Lord is not pleased.  Their songs were nauseating and He covered His ears and commanded them to leave.  And once again, the Lord snuffed out the flame at the alter.

Now let us progress in our survey to the last book of the Old Testament.  We will pass over the prophet Obediah who prophesied to a proud people.  We will skip by Micah and Zephaniah who prophesied to an idolatrous nation who worshiped in vain other foreign God’s.  We will fly of Haggai who prophesied to a people consumed with self and blind to the desires of God and the need to build his house.  And we will arrive at the small book of Malachi.  It is here that we find one of the most amazing texts in all of scripture (and no, it is not about the tithe).  It is in the opening portion of this book we read, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my alter in vain!  I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.”  (1:10)  Imagine this scene.  God looks back at all of the generations of faithless men offering their faithless offerings upon his alter, He looks at the present generation and finds no one worthy to please Him and cries out, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors (to the temple) and not kindle fire on my alter in vain.”  What a bleak scene.  And yet, it appears that God leaves the fire that man keeps re-lighting burning on the alter.  Man would continue to trust in vain that his self-righteous works would save him despite that his heart was faithless and his deeds were evil.   And yet, there is a sense in that God looked forward as well in that moment and saw that there would be a man who would shut the doors to the temple and extinguish the fire that men so loved to light.  He was looking forward to the day, 400 years later when Jesus Christ would come into the world.

Now let us turn to the gospel of John chapter one.  We read in the opening five verses this amazing testimony of Christ that captivated the early church fathers for over 300 years as they contemplated the person of Christ.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Here we see that God was sending his own light into the world.  A light that would overpower the darkness and the sin of men.  A light that would extinguish the useless fire that men would continually lite before God which would be life to men – life that is found only in the person of Jesus Christ.

(Now add another candle next to the one that is already burning.  This candle is taller and it is lit.  This represents Jesus our gift of Life from God) 

Later in this opening chapter of John we read these words of John the Baptist concerning Jesus.  He declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (1:29)  Here we find that God was going to offer his own gift to mankind.  He, the perfect giver, would offer His perfect gift, His Son – Jesus Christ, upon the alter for our sins.  Thus no more would the offering be a shadow and a mere facade of the true sacrifice.  No more would God find fault with the giver or the gift.  And by this perfect gift there is eternal life to all who come to Christ for salvation.  They come not by way of their own righteousness or by their religious works but by way of Christ.

When Christ died he shut the doors of the temple worship before God once and for all.  There is no access to the Father through that system any longer. Jesus Christ extinguished that fire and then in AD 70 that temple once and for all.  Now that fire is out.  Never to be lit again.  Now we see Christ, high and exalted far above all other things.  And this light has overcome the darkness and its radiance is ever increasing before those who come to Him.  We cling to Christ alone for our salvation.  We trust not in our selves or in any other thing for this hope.  He is our refuge.  And all who take refuge in Him will be saved.

Perhaps there is no clearer picture of salvation in Christ alone in the old testament than that of the prophet Jonah.  God sent this prophet to a wicked and brutal people.  His message was simple.  He preached repent.  The people did and they were shown mercy, much to the consternation of the prophet.  Please notice that the evil city of Nineveh did not find mercy through sacrifice or through a yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  They repented.  Friends, if we approach God in the same way there is salvation for us as well.  They found forgiveness without the shedding of a single drop of blood while Israel slayed their thousands and found no grace before God.  We have a great Lamb and savior in Jesus Christ.  Amen