Transcript

Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. I’ve tried and tried and tried to outline this chapter and it just won’t do it. So I’m just going to preach what’s there. All right. Best I know how, hopefully the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 1:26. Actually, he’s continuing in the flow of his argument to the church at Corinth as to how they should not in any way, shape or fashion honor any man in any way. All the honor goes to Jesus. You know, they were saying, “well, we’re of Apollos,” or “we’re of Paul,” and others are saying “we’re of Peter.” Then you had a real spiritual group that said, “we’re of Jesus.” They were more carnal than the other ones. They’re all kind of giving honor to men. And Paul’s just wiping all of that out by saying, “listen, the only one that deserves any credit, any glory or any honor is Christ.” Men are nothing. Christ is everything.

Continuing that flow with that purpose, notice what he says in 1 Corinthians 1:26: “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not not many mighty, or many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'” I don’t know if it’s proper grammar or not, but I’ve given the message the title “Salvation: All of God, None of Me.” Salvation: All of God. None of me.

First of all, look at verse 26. He says, “For consider your calling, brethren.” Now the word “calling” there means that effectual call—that effectual call that God extends to those who are His. Effectual means that the call accomplishes what it set out to achieve. In other words, this calling here does not mean your mode of life; it doesn’t mean your profession in life. It’s not your vocation. It’s God who effectually sent out a call to you that drew you all the way to Jesus. And now you’re saved. So consider what God’s done there.

Now notice your calling, brethren. What kind of people was God calling? Well, he says that there were “not many wise according to the flesh.” In other words, there are not many of you that God has called to be saved who are among the intelligentsia elite of your culture. Not many of you would be the high learned and wise people of your day. God isn’t calling many of those to salvation, Paul says. And then secondly, he says, “not many mighty.” That means power and influence. He said, now you look around, you’ll find out that God is not calling to salvation very many people who are the powerful, influential people of the culture. Now, aren’t you glad I didn’t say God didn’t call any of them? He does call a few, but not many.

And then he says, “not many noble.” Literally, the word noble means well-born. It means you’re of a prestigious bloodline, like a good bird dog. He said, as you look around there, not many of you are so-and-so, son of the royal line of whoever. No, you don’t have much rank as far as the world is concerned. Let’s just look at it in here in our church tonight and see if this generally is not true. He says, consider those that have been called to salvation who make up your church. Look at what they are. First of all, he said, “there were not many wise according to the flesh.” Not many of you are of the intelligentsia elite of your community.

Now, I want you to raise your hand with me. All right. I want to see your hand. If you haven’t earned a master’s degree of any kind, raise your hand. Well, that’s a few, but that’s not many of us, is it? Now, I want you to raise your hand if you’ve got an earned doctor’s degree. All right. Get it up high. That’s just a small handful there. Now, if you’ve got work beyond a doctor’s degree, you’re really the intelligentsia. Raise your hand. Well, you know what that means. Most of us are just old common folks. Just old common rednecks. That’s what we are. And that’s what the church at Corinth was made up of. I mean, he says, man, as you look around, there’s not many, and you see that only a small handful of folks have those degrees. Out of all these folks—I don’t know, we’re roughly about 650 to 700 here tonight or so—just very, very few of us fit that description. Listen, God doesn’t see fit to call many who are of the intelligentsia elite. That’s just the way He does things; you have to take that up with God. In other words, a man and his intelligence and his learning can’t find God and can’t find salvation. That’s not the way true wisdom is found, through your great learning and your great education.

And then also he says, “not many mighty.” That means those of power and influence in the community. Now, just thinking about all of us in here, and maybe we won’t raise our hands this time, but I would ask you to raise the hand in your heart. Okay. How many of you right here, sitting here? You. You own your own business. I mean, of any size. Now just raise those in your heart. All right. How many of us are chairman of the board of directors of some corporation or company? How many of us literally handle millions in our companies? You know what? If we did raise our hands, it’d be just a very small minority of us here. That means, basically, we’re just ordinary old run of the mill folks. God is not calling many of the mighty according to what the world calls mighty. Now, he does call a few like Adrian Rogers said, to those who raise their hand in his church. Cheer up. God can still use you. He just has more trouble with you than he does the rest of the folks.

And that’s not necessarily true. But generally speaking, God didn’t call. In other words, God didn’t come to earth and say, boy, now that that’s the powerful, influential group I’m going to save all of them. Well, that that influence. I’m impressed. God’s not impressed. And then he says, look around in your church. There’s not many noble. Not many of the prestigious bloodline and great, honorable heritage who God’s calling to salvation, whom God’s calling to salvation.

You see, it’s not who you know. It’s who knows you that counts. So you say, well, I know so-and-so didn’t matter anything. Does he know you? That’s what really matters. How many of us sitting here tonight, and you’re a university president, or you’re a bank president or you’re the governor or anything like that? Be very, very, very few of us, if any of us. How many of us are related, are the son or grandson or great grandson of someone who was a university president, a bank president, a governor, a senator, a congressman, anybody? It’d be very, very few of us, wouldn’t it? And Paul writes here to the church at Corinth says, I want you to look, brethren. It’s not those are that are of high position, rank, esteem, admiration in the world that God’s calling to salvation. Matter of fact, the overwhelming majority of you don’t even fit any of those classes. Not at all. Now up in 1 Corinthians 1:26, in the original here there’s no verb. As you work through this verse, it’s an implied verb. And so you could word it this way: “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh called, and there were not many mighty called, and not many noble that are called”. When God calls those to salvation, he just doesn’t pick many of those. But, Jeff, I don’t understand that. I’m not asking you to understand it. I’m just telling you what the verse means.

All right, now look down there at 1 Corinthians 1:27. In other words, what we’re saying here is God is sovereign in the distribution of his grace. God is sovereign in the distribution of his grace. Look at 1 Corinthians 1:27. Now he wants to re-emphasize this thing again in case we don’t get it. But God has chosen. He could’ve used “called” again, but he wants to use a different word, means the same thing, basically. “God has chosen—[and he repeats it for emphasis]—the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong”. Now look, on the one hand, some are not chosen because they’re intelligent, or because they’re powerful and influential, or because they’re of high rank. And on the other hand, there are also those who are not chosen because they are not of the intelligent crowd and because they are not — of the impotent or the ones who lack power or are of no influence, because they’re not people of higher rank. In other words, neither one mattered to God. God didn’t respect either one over the other. He’s not saving a lot of us who are not of high esteem in the community because he favors us because there is something about us that he likes. And for years there’s been this lower class arrogance. We’re just common folks, but we’re better than those people at the top. No, you’re not any better. You’re a worthless, depraved, fully judged, condemned sinner before a holy God. Just like the folks at the top are. We’re all unworthy sinners. I mean, either state doesn’t get you any closer to God. It’s just that in his sovereign choice, he seems to choose more of the lower rank of the higher ranks.

Now he simply chooses who he pleases. Now notice what he says here in verse 27. “And God has chosen the foolish things”. That just means the things which the world would call foolish. It doesn’t mean they’re actually foolish, but the harps muckety mucks of the culture would look on that group and say, “that’s a foolish, insignificant bunch”. He says he’s going to use those to shame the wise. And then “God has chosen the weak things”. Those people have no real power in the community and no real influence, to shame the things which are strong.

Now when he says “put to shame,” there are two things are involved. First of all, he says he’s going to be convincing them of the little value of the things they trusted in. All of those people either trusted in their intelligence, trusted in power and influence, and trusted in the fact that they were of a special family line. God says, “I’m going to put all of that to shame”. They’re going to trust in that, and it’ll be shown one day that that was a shameful position to have and embarrassing position to have. And secondly, he’s going to shame them because he’s going to exalt over that crowd the ones that the crowd despised and held in contempt. In other words, those people who are of low esteem in the community that the high-ups look down on—one day, those in that lower group that gets saved are going to sit on the throne of the universe co-and joint heirs with Jesus, while the rest bow at his feet. He’s going to exalt over that group, the high group, with those that the world says are part of the low group.

Now notice how he words it there: the ones the world would call foolish, He’s going to use them to shame the wise. Let me give you some examples of this. The modern feminist feels like she is educated, she’s intelligent, and she’s found the secret to a fulfilled life. And she’d say, “man, put your husband last. Drop your kids off somewhere. Put yourself and your career first”. But she’s not fulfilled in her heart. And yet, the godly Christian lady who purposes to put her husband first and her home first can find fulfillment. So in their actual lives, in this day and time, the one that the world says is foolish actually shames the one that the world says is wise.

Take, for example, the modern male executive. I mean the young male executive says, “man, I know how you do it. You go for the gusto and you climb that corporate ladder and you put your career first and your advancement in the corporation first. You’ve got to do that”. But the godly man does work for his employer like he’s working unto the Lord, but he still puts his wife and his children first. And on down the road you’ll find the guy that lived for his career empty, hurting, and without peace, and the guy who trusted in God and put his wife and children first has fulfillment and peace. And in their very lives that one that the world said was foolish has shamed the one that the world says was wise and getting ahead.

Take the worldly teenager. The worldly teenager says, “man, live for yourself”. You know, it’s absolutely amazing, young people, how stinking selfish teenagers can be. I mean, totally obsessed with me. Totally obsessed with what I want, when I want it, the way I want. And they’ll say, “hey, you got to live for pleasure. You got to have fun. You got to violate God’s standards of morality”. And yet they’re empty and insecure and just want somebody to notice them. Folks, that’s all they’re doing when they get into rebellious things: they’re very insecure and they want attention. But the godly teenager that’s been accepted by the unconditional God of heaven has security. And they purpose not to live for pleasure, but to trust God’s Word. And they find more fulfillment and pleasure than the kid who’s looking for it. So what happens? The one the other kids would say is foolish for trusting God actually brings to shame the one that supposed to be wise and the world says is doing it the right way.

Then you have the humanistic psychiatrist. The humanistic psychiatrist will bring you in and he’ll tell you, “man, I can solve your problems,” and you keep going back and keep going back. And he gives you drugs and he shocks your brain out of your head, and he charges you thousands of dollars for doing it. And you still don’t have any answers. And he’s educated, but that same man can go down to the plant where he works. And if he can find one of the boys at the plant that truly knows Jesus, that boy at the plant can share Jesus with him, and he’ll find fulfillment and peace from a guy who may not even have graduated from high school. And so what happens in actual reality? The one that the world says was foolish—the boy at the plant that knew Jesus—shamed the one that the world thought was wise.

The secular therapist says, “man, if you’re going to be fulfilled, you’ve got to find yourself. You deserve to have your needs met. Put yourself first. Take care of yourself. Have a fling on the side. Leave your mate. If it’s not good for you, do whatever you need to do”. After all, that therapist is trained and educated. But if that lady sitting at that therapist just would go to her beautician—just a common beautician who knows Jesus—and that beautician can tell her about Jesus, who’ll tell you to deny yourself and then you’ll be fulfilled and have your needs met. Now the world will say, “man, that’s foolish”. But she finds that fulfillment in Christ and the one the world says is wise is put to shame once again.

Then we’ve got the anthropologist and the archaeologist, and they’re looking for the source and the meaning of life by digging in the dirt. And there’s some legitimacy there, because the first Adam did come from the dirt, didn’t it?. God made the first Adam out of the dirt. But you know what? You find a lot better answer by going out to a construction site and finding some boy with a shovel who knows Jesus. And you know what? He’ll tell you that the anthropologist and the archaeologists are digging in the wrong place, and they’re turned around backwards. They need to look up at the second Adam, not down trying to find the first Adam, because when they find the second Adam, Jesus, he is the source and the meaning of life. And what happens again? That one that the world says is unintelligent and unwise—his advice works, and he shames the ones that the world says is wise.

They tell us, “well, Christianity is just a crutch for the weak folks”. Christianity is just a crutch for the weak folks! No, it isn’t, it’s life for dead folks!. That’s what it is: it’s life for us dead folks. The worldly strong are simply glorying in their death existence. We’re going to live and reign with Christ in power and glory. They’re going to perish and have an endless eternity separated from God. The worldly strong—the religious leaders and the Roman soldiers of the day—in their strength took this insignificant boy from Bethlehem and Nazareth, named Jesus, and nailed him to a cross and wiped their hands and said, “we’re done with this boy rabble-rouser from Nazareth”. And in weakness seemingly, and in meekness and humility, Jesus submitted to the plan of the father, was buried in the grave. On the third day he arose, ascended back up into glory, and has sat down on the throne of the universe, and will judge the very ones who, in their strength, thought they were putting him to shame. But what happens? He’s now going to put them to shame. The verse says, “God has chosen what the world would call foolish to shame those in the world who think they’re wise. God has chosen the ones the world says are weak to bring to shame those what the world say are strong”.

Now, Paul’s not through with it. He wants to dig deeper in this thing and look at 1 Corinthians 1:28. There’s a digression in verse 28. In other words, he’s talking about a lot of those who are saved from the world’s perspective will fit the categories he’s going to outline to us in verse 28. First of all, he says, “and the base things of the world”. Now, the base people are those who have no nobility. It means the absence of rank or nobility. It literally means “no family”. In other words, base people are the people that the high up muckety mucks of this culture would look at and say, “you know, he’s a good guy, but he’s from a nobody family”. Just a base guy. Just a base.

And then there’s one even further down than that as far as the world is concerned: “the base things of the world, and the despised”. The despised. This is the kind of guy that those who are intellectuals, those who think they have power and influence, or those who believe they’re of high rank, they look down on with contempt and disdain on this fella. They have no respect for him whatsoever. In other words, he’s really a nobody from nowhere. And then the third one—and this is another digression—”and the things which are not,” last line of 1 Corinthians 1:28, “that he might nullify the things that are”. Now, those who are not are those who are totally overlooked. There are some folks God is saving that the intellectuals of the community, the power-influencers of the community, and those of high-ranker if the community — folks are so far down the ladder in their and their eyes, they don’t even notice they’re there. They totally treat them as non-existent beings. And God says, “I’m going to use all of those type people”. When I call them to salvation, and I give them the wisdom of God and the power of God in their lives. I’m going to use all of them to do what verse 28, and this is stronger than what he said in verse 27, “that he might nullify the things that are”. That means to render completely ineffective. God says I’m going to take the people of the world that the higher ups in the world totally ignored as worthless for existence, and I’m going to use them to bring those high ups to totally nothing when it’s all said and done.

Now, let me tell you the balance again of this thing. In one sense, Paul is saying you’re not saved because you’re intellectual, because you have power and influence, or because you’re of high rank. And you’re not saved because you’re not an intellectual, you’re not saved because you’re not of power and influence, and you’re not saved because you’re not of high rank. Neither one of them has any special thing before God. God, just in his sovereign purposes, is choosing to call more common folks than he is the high ups in the culture.

The bottom line: God gets all the credit. God gets all the glory. God does it all. Not man—not what man is and what he’s trying to be and become, and not what man is not, and what he has not been able to to become makes any difference before Holy God. Now listen, there are mistakes on both extremes in our culture today. There are those who are high up and think that gives them some special favor with God, and there are those who are the lowest of the low and feel like that gives them some special place before God. But neither one do. We’re all sinners before a holy God.

Now look at 1 Corinthians 1:29: “that no man should boast before God”. No man should boast before God. Why? Because we had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with our salvation. Hodge, the great systematic theologian that’s respected by all evangelicals, says “this should render the exalted humble, and the humble content”. That’s good isn’t it, “this should render the exalted humbled, and the humble should just be content”. Now look at 1 Corinthians 1:30, what a powerful verse. I want you to strap in and hang with me alright. Verse 30 “But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus”. Now, first of all, he says you’re in Christ Jesus. Being in Christ is your position if you will; it actually means united to Christ. When we are saved, God made us united with Christ. We’re united with Christ. You are in Christ representatively, just as you used to be in Adam representatively. Now here’s what I mean. Before you were saved, the Adam who sinned in the Garden of Eden, he represented you and your state before the holy God. And what did God do to Adam? He ran him out of the garden. The first Adam was under condemnation and sin wasn’t he. You used to be represented by that first Adam. Now when God puts you in Christ, now you’re represented by Jesus, the second Adam. He’s my representative. So God looks at me the way he looks at Jesus. And before I was saved, he looked at me the way he looked at the first Adam — as a condemned sinner.

Now that’s significant. That’s tremendous. And then, matter of fact, keep your ribbon in 1 Corinthians chapter one and look at Romans chapter five, would you do that? Turn over to the book of Romans 5:19-21. It says, “For as through the one man’s disobedience”—who is the one man of disobedience? The first Adam in the Garden of Eden—”the many were made sinners”. We all inherited a sin nature and stood as condemned before a holy God because we’re all descendants of our first father, Adam in the garden. Last part of Romans 5:19: “even so through the obedience of the One”—who’s the One who was obedient? The only one who has been, Jesus—”the many will be made righteous”. In the first Adam, we’re all sinners in-just and condemned. In the second Adam, Jesus, we’re all righteous before the same holy God.

And then look at Romans 5:20: “And the law came in so that the transgression would increase”. Now what does he mean by that? Before there was the law, we were all sinners before God gave the law to Moses — everybody that lived back there was — and then when the law came, you were even a worse sinner, because then you could see how much you really sinned. When you looked at the law. You could see how far short of God’s standard you really fell. “But where sin increased”—that means we were aware of more sin when the law was there in front of us—”grace abounded all the more”. That as sin reigned in death—we were sinners and we were condemned to an eternal death before a holy God. And we were spiritually dead in that we had no intimacy, our union with God. That’s the way we were. “Even so, grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Now one other one, turn to first Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15:22, he says, “for as in Adam, all die”. Now when before I was saved, I was represented by the first Adam. What’s the wages of sin? Tell me: death in Adam. I have to die. I’m spiritually dead before the Holy God. I’ll experience eternal death for eternity. If I die in that state. In Adam we all die. But what do you say? “So also in Christ all shall be made alive”. That’s what he means in first Corinthians chapter one, when he says, God put us in Christ, you’re in union with Christ. And now Christ represents you before the father. Just like beforehand, the first Adam represented you before the father.

Now notice, continue looking there in verse 30, first Corinthians one. How did you get in union with Jesus Christ? Well, I repented and believed well, right. But that’s not the whole story. Well, I gave my life to Jesus. Well, right. But that’s not the whole story. Well, I prayed the sinner’s prayer. Good. But that’s not the whole story. Matter of fact, Paul didn’t even mention those aspects. And we do know there’s a human side to the element of salvation and redemption — but Paul says that’s not the essential part of it, because  you got to have another part to get to that part. So what does he emphasize in verse 30? “But, by his doing you are in Christ”. By what God did and accomplished you got in Christ.

Now notice it here. First of all, how did you get in the first Adam? By his doing. Amen. You got in the first Adam because he just passed on the nature. Now you participated in it because when you got old enough to know good, bad, right and wrong, you participated in wrong, just like your father Adam did. By his doing you’re in sin and under judgment, in condemnation. And by God’s doing now you’re in Christ. And what does he say we have in Christ? He tells us: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I had death and judgment and condemnation in the old Adam, but now that God’s put me in Christ, I have what? True wisdom now that the world doesn’t have. They think they got it, but they don’t have any, because I’ve got it, because I’m in him and he’s wisdom. Amen. I have true wisdom, and I have righteousness, sanctification, and redemption because God did it. He put me in Christ. I want you to know I’m so saved. It’s pitiful. Amen.

Now, if I had to get myself in Christ, we’re all in trouble. If I had to get you in Christ, you’re in trouble. If some priest in some temple somewhere had to help you get in Christ, we’re all in trouble. If you had to get yourself in Christ, you’re in trouble. But if God put you in Christ, my friend, you’re saved to the uttermost.

Now let’s look at this one step at a time here. Now we’ve seen how the,.. what’s the origin of the union of being in Christ? God does it. Now, what are the effects of being in Christ, being in union with Christ? Well, notice he said, “who became to us wisdom from God”. In other words, he’s true wisdom. We know him in whom the fullness of wisdom dwells. You didn’t have any true wisdom till you came to know Jesus, because he is the wisdom of God. But after you got saved, you begin to see and understand true wisdom. I’m not saying you have all of it, but you have all of it available to you because you have all of him available to you.

And as you mature as a Christian, you understand more and more and more about God’s wisdom. What happens? Men, you start understanding more about God’s wisdom about marriage because he designed marriage and he’s got wisdom to know how husbands ought to act in marriage. Amen. Wives, you begin to understand what God says about marriage and to be a wife, because he is on marriage and is on how wife is to function in marriage. Business man, you begin to understand who owned your business and who it belongs to, because God gives you wisdom about finances and about business, and about how all that is supposed to function. Now, beforehand, you may have stumbled on to a few things. I mean a blind hog stumble on to an acorn, and every now and then. But once you got saved, you get on the pipeline of real wisdom. You’re plugged in to the truth. Now all the world out there exalts themselves as having wisdom and you as a backward, narrow minded ignoramus. But you plugged into Jesus. You’re starting to get true wisdom that they know nothing about.

John 1:18 says, “no one knows the father”. He is the source of all wisdom, my friend, who has more wisdom than God. The real question is who has any wisdom but God? Nobody. “No man knows the father but the son, and he whom the son shall reveal him”. In other words, you don’t get in on true wisdom till you’re in Christ. And once you’re in Christ, the son starts showing you the wisdom of the Almighty, omniscient, omnipresent, omniscient, Holy God. He starts giving you true wisdom.

Now notice there’s another thing that comes next. Not only do you get once God places you in Christ, in union with Christ, do you have wisdom. What’s the second one there? Righteousness. Righteousness. Now hang with me. I’m not trying to be deep. I’m not trying to be theological. But there are three types of righteousness when we talk about righteousness, how God, displays righteousness and what his standing of righteousness is.

First of all, there is mandatory righteousness. That means God says, I am righteous. That means God always does what is exactly right. Therefore, because he is in his character and nature righteous, he mandates that all his creatures be righteous. He cannot but mandate that all of us and all of his creatures be righteous. It’s mandatory righteousness.

Now secondly, there’s punitive righteousness. What that means is God as a righteous God has to punish all unrighteousness in his creatures. Now you follow me, punitive righteousness.

And then glory to the lamb,  there is redemptive righteousness whereby God finds a right, acceptable, just way to make righteous all of us who are unrighteous. That’s redemptive righteousness. In other words, when God makes you righteous and gives you a freedom into heaven and a right standing before him, he didn’t bend the rules a little bit to slip you into heaven. He perfectly satisfied the total demands of his just and holy laws to get you in heaven. That’s redemptive righteousness. He was righteous in redeeming the unrighteous.

Are you following me? Now we can call that imputed righteousness. What happened? Listen to me now. On Calvary’s cross. We talked about it this morning. Jesus became sin. He became my sin. And you know what else happened after he became my sin? I became his righteousness. My sin was imputed into Jesus, and Jesus righteousness was imputed back into me. Now listen. I become righteous because I’m in Christ, not because of what I’ve done or what I don’t do, or how good or am I how bad I am. I become righteous because God has placed me in Christ, and when he places me in Christ, I have Christ’s righteousness. And the righteousness of Christ assures my justification. Don’t go to sleep on me. Don’t go to sleep!

Now, what does that mean? Look, when you stand before God in Jesus righteousness, you know what God will do. He’ll inspect you with the flaming, piercing eyes of omniscience. And when he judges you with the flaming, piercing eyes of his omniscience, you know what? He’ll find. Well, you just as righteous as my son, just, justified. You’re just. You have justification in my sight. Amen.

The righteousness I get from Jesus assures my justification before. Holy God. How did you get there? God put me there. God put me there. Brother Jeff, I don’t understand that. You don’t have to. Just be glad you got in on it.

Well, something else. Well, I’ll tell you what. Let’s just preach over tonight. Turn with me. Amen. Come on. All right. I won’t be long. Turn to 1 Corinthians 5. See, some of y’all want to whoop, holler, shout and run. But you got to have some truth to stand down while you run. Amen. You got to know what you’re running about. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made him who knew no sin”. Who’s that? Jesus! “to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him”. Isn’t that good? All right. Now look at Romans chapter three. Bible drill time. Romans 3:21-22, “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets”. How has the righteousness of God been manifested? In a person, His name is Jesus. All right. Verse 22. “Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction”.

Now look at Romans 5:19, “For after the one man’s disobedience, Adam, the many were made sinners, even so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous”. How you made righteous? Because I did this. Because I did that. Because I didn’t do this, because I didn’t do that — wrong! Because the one Jesus was righteous and you’re in him and you have his righteousness.

Now one more Philippians 3:9. Philippians chapter three, verse nine. “And may be found in him”. Aren’t you glad you can be found in Jesus? Where can you be found? In Jesus! Where’s that guy found? He’s found in Jesus. “And may be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law”. Aren’t you glad of that? Go out there, get God’s law and you work you up a little righteousness. Get your own righteousness. You know what you’ll do? You’ll look at it and you’ll say, man, this is filthy, this is filthy rags before God. This isn’t righteous, isn’t righteousness at all. Middle of verse nine, Philippians 3:9, “but that righteousness which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”. What kind of righteousness is going to be acceptable before God on Judgment Day? The righteousness that comes from God. How do you get the righteousness that comes from God? You have to be chosen to be put in Christ by God. How did you get chosen to be put in Christ by God? God has to choose you. But Jeff, I don’t like that. You don’t have to like it. You just have to accept it. There has to be repentance and faith. But the other side is the God side. There has to be choosing and calling. And on the men’s side, there’s repentance and faith. Both are legitimate Bible teachings.

Now, what are we to do? What? To go out there and spread the seed. Witness to everybody we can. Preach to everybody we can. Share Jesus to everybody we can. And just let God deal with who’s the called and the chosen. Not our job to figure that one out. That would be sin.

Well, notice what we found. Look at First Corinthians chapter one again. First of all, he says, When God puts you in Jesus Christ, you have true wisdom. For he didn’t have any before. You have righteousness. And thirdly, he says, you have sanctification. Notice how he worded there very, very clearly. Verse 30 but “by his doing you are in Christ, who became thus wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification”.

Now Jesus came to live inside of you and the person of the Holy Spirit. And now that he’s living inside of you, he has progressively changing you to be more like him. And what is he like? He’s righteous. He’s holy. The Holy Spirit is within you. Drawing you, driving you. Convicting you when you get unlike him so that he can work on you to become more like him. Who does this sanctifying the setting apart and the holiness work? God does. God does. He does it in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit. Listen to me. Why is it that when you purposed to sin, God gets hold of you in your heart? Its the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in your heart? He said, hey, that ain’t who you are anymore, brother. You’re a new creature. Stop acting like the old creature you ain’t and start being the new creature you are. You’re in Christ, and once you’re in Christ, the Holy Spirit is put in you. And then what is he going to do? How do I know, Brother Jeff? If the Holy Spirit is increasingly making me more like Jesus? Galatians 5:22. There’ll be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Increasingly, the characteristics of your life. You know you can’t produce those things. The Holy Spirit produces them and flows them through you. He is the agent who’s working that sanctification in your life.

Ephesians 210 says, “for we are his workmanship”. I’m not working this thing out. Try to please God. He’s working me out. Amen. He’s working some of you out, too. I see it. Some of you. God’s working you over because he’s going to make you more like Jesus if he has to kill you to do it. He’s going to be about his sanctifying work. Listen, you can’t stop what you didn’t start. God put you in Christ. You didn’t choose Jesus. He first chose you, and he put you in Christ. And he said, now that I’ve got you in Christ, I’m gonna put the Holy Spirit in you and progressively make you more like me, because that would be better for you and bring glory to me, even though you don’t think it’ll be better for you, it will be better for you.

Now, some people get worried about folks in the church and get to living in sin. And we have biblical standards and biblical guys to deal with people who are in sin. And we’re learning to do that, and we have done that. But the best thing we can do, at least initially, is just tell God on them. Amen. Get on your knees somewhere and say, God, oh, brother Joe is willfully living in sin, and they’re disgracing your reputation in this community. Oh, God, work on their heart and see if the Holy Spirit doesn’t go to work.

Well, we’ve got to hurry on. The last one, he says. He says when you get in Christ, you get true wisdom, you get righteousness, you get progressively speaking — sanctification. And then lastly, you get redemption. Now the word redemption means deliverance from evil. And sometimes it’s used to outline all the benefits of salvation, like deliverance from guilt, deliverance from hell, deliverance from sin, deliverance from the power of Satan, deliverance from the grave and other things. But when it’s when it’s listed here with these others, particularly with righteousness and sanctification, I believe it points to the day of redemption. That particular point in time when we will have full consummated redemption, we will finally be totally separated from all the bad perishing part of us. I mean, the old nature in the old world still works on us and still is working around us, but one day we’ll be completely redeemed and separate from all of that forever.

Look at Romans 8:23. Romans chapter eight, verse 23. “And not only this, but also we ourselves groan. We ourselves, having the first fruit of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves. Waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons. The redemption of our body”. I believe that’s the redemption he’s talking about in first Corinthians one, when your old body will finally be redeemed from its fallenness, from its fleshlyness, from its desire to do what you don’t want it to do. Have you had that struggle? Your body wants to go over here one way, and the spirit in you says, no, let’s go the other way, and you’ve got that struggle. One day you’ll be redeemed from having that bad struggle. That bad pull, that bad draw. Your body will be redeemed and be glorified like Jesus. And you’ll enter into the liberty of the sons of God. Now this world talks about liberty, but you know what this world means when it talks about liberty. It means freedom to do what’s ungodly. It means a license for licentiousness. But when we’re free, here’s the freedom of the children of God. When we’re redeemed and we get to heaven, every single desire of our heart and our life will be in keeping with the holiness of God. So we can do whatever we want because it’s all holy. That’s liberty folks.

Listen, can you imagine waking up in the morning and not having one jealous start, one selfish thought, one angry thought, one self-serving thought, one dirty thought, one I want to be better than somebody else thought. That’s what will happen when your body gets redeemed. I’m going to tell you something friend. You need redemption. And so do I. Now I’m saved right now I’m so saved. It’s pitiful right now. But my body hasn’t experienced redemption fully yet. Now the Holy Spirit’s working on me. Amen. And he working on you. Remember some of you like Ruth. God didn’t bring you up to glean, but he’s brought you down to it, and he’s working on us to make us more like Jesus with that promise that one day, one glad morning, I’m going to take you on to glory. I’m going to get rid of the old nature. You’re going to have a new glorified body, and you have the liberty of the sons of God. Every single solid there desire and drive of your life will be in keeping with God. And never again will you have that old struggle. Never again will you have that old guilt. Never again will you ever sin. You’ll be free for all folks. I’m going to tell you. That’s going to be so glorious. Can you just imagine it?

I wish I could do it right now. Don’t you? I wish I could just do it right now, but I won’t. I still struggle with stuff on the inside of me and stuff on the outside of me. But one day I’ll be redeemed. And God said, how do I know I’m going to be redeemed? Because I’m working at it? Because I’m trying to be good? Because I was baptized? Because I joined the right church? Because I’m doing good, not doing bad. I’m a moral person? No! Because God put me in Christ. Why did God put you in Christ? Because you was intelligent? No! Paul blew that out of the water, didn’t it? I know it’s because you have power and influence? No! Well, it’s because you have high right of a royal bloodline? No! Well, I know it’s because you’re a you’re a nothing in society. I mean, all the high muckety mucks looked down on you and you’re a nobody and so God feel sorry for you! No, he chose me. Put me in Christ. That’s what Paul says.

Listen, it’s unmerited favor. There’s no way, shape or fashion that you deserve God to reach out and his grace and call you to Jesus and save you, God, in unmerited favor. Simply did it so that one day, for all eternity, you’ll sit on the trophy case in heaven, and God look up there and see that one right there, boy he didn’t deserve to be saved, did he? But I saved him by grace did it. And you’ll be a trophy of grace for all eternity.

Now, where is true wisdom? Where is righteousness? Where sanctification? Where it’s redemption. In other words, where is salvation? Only for those who are in union with Christ, only for those who are in Christ. God has to put you in Christ. And if you get in Christ, it’s because of unmerited favor. And if you want to be saved and be in Christ, you need to seek God to not in his unmerited favor, his grace and say, Oh God, save me. Save me a worthless sinner. Save me, an undeserving sinner. Save me, oh God, cleanse me and redeem me.

Seek his face while he may be found, and he’ll save you. Because on the human side he said, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, what shall be saved? If you call on him, he’ll save you, and you can know you’re forgiven. You can know you’re righteous. You can know he’s going to begin to make you more like Jesus. You can know one day I’ll be glorified and be with him for all eternity. Settle said, finished. Done. Why? Because God put me in Christ.

Salvation: All of God. None of me.