Delivered for our offences, raised for our justification (Quality: Very good)

[0:00] Depending upon the health of God, I would direct your attention to Paul's epistle to the Romans chapter 4 and verse 25.

[0:14] The last verse in the Paul's epistle to the Romans chapter 4. Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.

[0:35] Who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.

[0:47] Have you ever considered this dear friends? By the blessed outpouring of the Spirit.

[0:58] Teaching you the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Do you know anything of this in your soul's experience?

[1:11] It is the whole need not a position it said over the hymn we've been singing. They that are sick. Do you know anything of this? I believe I felt a little of this this afternoon.

[1:25] In laboring for the meat that perisheth. Yes, God is a sovereign. And I believe he gave me to feel the exceeding sinfulness of sin in my soul's experience.

[1:39] I felt to be sick of sin. And I felt all to know this blessed remedy, dear friends.

[1:51] The Lord Jesus Christ himself. Who was delivered for our offenses. Do you believe it?

[2:03] Do you know anything of it? Do I? Do you know that Jesus Christ went forth out of the camp bearing the sins, the reproaches of his people?

[2:22] That they might live eternally? Do you know anything of it in your experience? Is it your desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ through all the changing scenes of life?

[2:38] To be enabled to commit, yes, all your ways to him, your sinful ways? Do you know anything of it?

[2:49] What it is to sin against a holy God? Have you caused offense to any of your fellow preachers that's come closer? And you know, my dear friends, if you and I dare, if we are left to do this, and we dare offend one of these little ones, it'll be woe unto us.

[3:11] Ah, but you might say to me, for these that have offended us, and yet you feel the remarks of grace in them.

[3:23] Well, my dear friends, if brethren disagree on a matter, solemn thing if they are left to have drawn swords, solemn thing if there's no repentance from one side or the other, I believe that the Lord will reward us by bringing us into a state of chastisement.

[3:50] And we shall, by these things, learn obedience. The Lord Jesus Christ, consider him in these things, delivered for our offenses.

[4:03] Well, we wouldn't in our right minds offend any, would we? And so how we need to look within, to examine ourselves, to see if there be any good thing in our heart toward this blessed Lord God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

[4:29] Now, have you got a little faith to believe in him? To believe that in spite of those greatest of sins, those idols in our experiences, idols in our homes, have we?

[4:49] Do we idolize our family, our offspring? We sometimes look at them, and rightly so, I believe. We seek that prayerful wisdom and guidance from them, for them in this life.

[5:08] And then if they're granted success, certain achievements, can we not be left to have that pride swell up within our hearts?

[5:19] All these things offend the Lord Jesus Christ. If you and I are real Christians, if we are those that have been washed in the dear Redeemer's blood, if our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, pride of the flesh, it offends the Lord Jesus Christ.

[5:42] So how we need in these things, I say that as a matter of just one instance concerning our lives.

[5:53] Or how we need grace that we might not be lifted up with pride. And then we would consider those things pertaining to the churches.

[6:08] The Lord may see fear to put us into certain offices in the churches. Does it leave us to be lifted up with pride?

[6:18] God forbid. God forbid that we should glory in anything, even the minute circumstance that works for your good in providence.

[6:30] Do you and I get lifted up with pride? Or do we seek to be delivered from glorying in it? God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ my Lord, who was delivered for our offences, for our sins, those idols.

[6:53] And we have to plead that he would rend each idol from our heart. and to make us live to him. That we might be obedient to his ways.

[7:10] Obedient to his holy word, to his commandments. We have all, we know, sinned and come short of the glory of God. We have inherited this painful condition, haven't we?

[7:27] by reason of the Adam Ford. But this blessed Jesus, by his love to poor sinners, was delivered into the hands of wicked and cruel men and crucified.

[7:45] He paid the price for the offences, for the sins, great and small, for his people. And so you see, this is, if you are brought here to consider his sufferings, to consider what he endured, then I believe this will humble us.

[8:12] this will cause us to walk in a lowly path. It will cause us to cry out unclean, to show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive.

[8:25] Let a repenting rebel live. Are not thy mercies large and free? may not a sinner trust in thee? cannot be justified, dear friends, in our good works.

[8:41] even though we may make sacrifices in our pathway, in our walk, we may make sacrifices for the house of God.

[8:54] I hope we do. We may make sacrifices for one who is in need. I hope we do. But in all these things, dear friends, there's no salvation.

[9:08] it is by grace ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works.

[9:20] Lest any man should boast, we come back to boasting again, to glorying in our flesh. And you see, my friends, one of the cause, one of the reasons I would say today why we are so few in number that desire to fear God is because we are so blessed with bountiful benefits in the land.

[9:51] You see, truly it is a land whereby there is much prosperity amongst men. there is no necessity for men, for the most part, there are cases, but for the most part men have all their needs supplied and still they want more.

[10:17] Such is the solemn condition by the reason of sin in men's hearts, this sin of covetousness. and oh, how we need to be given grace, to be content with such things as we have.

[10:36] If we were brought here to consider the Lord Jesus Christ, to consider this lowly path that he walked in, and yet, in his lowly condition, in his humble condition, and walk in life, yet, he went about doing good, healing the sick, removing the scales from the eyes of the blind, and oh, how we need to be brought here that he would unfold to us the mysteries of the gospel, that the needs be to be led into this narrow way.

[11:22] And how can he unfold to us these mysteries? Why? By removing the scales from our eyes, and so giving us a faith view of his humble pathway.

[11:35] I'm persuaded of this, dear friends, that none of us will be very exalted in ourselves, in our achievements, if we have any.

[11:51] We shall not get very exalted in them if we view the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our offenses, delivered for our offenses.

[12:08] And so our desire will be to follow him through all the changing scenes of life, whether we have many years as we think before us, there will still be that prayerful desire that we might follow him, that we might be given this grace of humility, that we might be unable to confess.

[12:37] That's it. Confess our sins before him. And oh, what a mercy if you and I know something of it. And with my burden I begin, Lord, remove this load of sin.

[12:55] I've sinned and come short of thy glory. I have done wrong to this character or that one. I haven't walked as honestly as I ought to have done in the business.

[13:10] I haven't done the things that I ought to have done and the things that I ought not to have done I seem to do. And the devil seems to tempt me to go on in this and that way, which must prove unprofitable to my soul.

[13:32] Yet, yet there is a voice, there is a voice, this blessed voice of God as he sees his sheep and he calls them and he gives them that godly sorrow and repentance.

[13:51] that they are taught by blessed faith to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And though you and I may look to ourselves and look to the law, there will be no profit in it.

[14:07] We look to those ten commandments and we soon have to acknowledge that we are guilty of breaking all ten commands.

[14:18] Is this an offence to you to hear me speak in this way? You say, what, guilty of adultery, guilty of stealing, I've never done such things.

[14:33] But the word declares unto us if we are guilty in one offence we are guilty of all. So then where are you and I looking to self, to self-righteousness and pride, to our attendance upon the means of grace, it is right for us to assemble ourselves together.

[14:58] But oh, we want more than this, dear friends. We want to seek the peace, the peace which flows through the precious blood of Christ, that we might be by faith delivered from our offences and be persuaded that Christ is able to impute this righteousness of his to us.

[15:26] Oh, do you consider these things in your pathway, that you see nothing shall enter heaven that defileth or maketh alive?

[15:38] how shall you and I escape the wrath that is due unto us? God is going to pour out the cup of his fury upon mankind, but, but for those who are in this everlasting covenant, who have been delivered from this vile body and to be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

[16:13] Well, these are they that are in the covenant. They shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body and they shall be justified by living faith in exercise.

[16:31] And this blessed Jesus who was delivered for our offenses was raised again for our justification.

[16:43] I wonder how many ever those in the world, however they consider their latter end in a natural viewpoint, how solemn it is to go blindly on and then death is upon them.

[17:05] As one queen said of old, she would give half of her kingdom for an inch of time. But the soul that is in Christ Jesus is watching and waiting for his appearing.

[17:23] They are seeking that they might be ready when the bridegroom cometh. they are seeking that they might be one of those that shall have oil in their vessels, numbered amongst the wise virgins, numbered amongst those who shall be made wise unto salvation.

[17:49] Oh, how solemn to be away from this, dear friend. Do you not, do you not consider these things? The Lord Jesus Christ who was delivered for your offences, yet the grave could not hold him.

[18:10] The grave will contain our vile bodies, but if we are in the everlasting covenant, the resurrection day will declare whose we are, and this vile body, this corruption shall then put on incorruption, and we shall be raised and created anew in our bodies, in Christ Jesus.

[18:42] What a glorious prospect for you and I, dear friends, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

[18:54] This blessed Jesus raised again for our justification, to be justified in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.

[19:08] You see, we've been reading it, Jew or Gentile alike, Christ will be there all and in all. Do you esteem him more than your necessary food, do you?

[19:26] Well, there are those occasions, I believe, it may be, it may be only once in the lifetime of the saints, but I believe there are those times when you can say, I could from all things parted be, but never never Lord from there, to be wholly taken up with him and to prove that you are complete in him, proving that Christ is your redeemer, that he is your ransom, that he has paid the price for your sins, or what suffering, dear friends, to consider the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he bore it all for a chosen race, and thus became their hiding place, is he yours?

[20:26] I say, is he your hiding place? Hide me, oh my Saviour, hide, safe into the haven guide, oh receive my soul at last, are you looking, are you looking to the end of your life, dear friends?

[20:47] Are you watching and waiting, be you young in years? Do you consider these things, and desire that you might be ready, when the bridegroom cometh, that you might be numbered amongst those, who shall sing the worthy praises of the Lamb, one who has been raised before you for your justification, justified by faith in the Son of God, and his righteousness, well then my friends, the just shall live by faith, and there won't be any looking back, there'll be looking forward, there will be that pressing toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, there will be seeking that he would guide you by his counsel, and there will be that pleading with him, that he would keep you from evil, that it may not grieve you, that it may not grieve him, that you might be found a chosen vessel unto honor, and you will be like this concerning the world, and ye are dead, you will be dead to the world, you may have to do with it, to do business with the world, and ye are dead, but your life is hid, with Christ in God, all to have their lives, their lives hid with

[22:37] Christ in God, proving to walk in that tender fear of God, proving that we shall live by faith and exercise, to cast all their cares upon him, those burdens that you and I, you may have them with you this evening, great burdens as mountains before you, but who art thou great mountain, can you not say it, with a little faith in exercise, you know the burdens that you've got here this evening, maybe in your circumstances, in your concerns, in your bodily condition, who art thou great mountain, bebooked before the rubble, thou shalt be made a plain, oh, what a great and a mighty saviour we have in the

[23:40] Lord Jesus Christ, raised again for our justification, and he knows each tempted member's pains, for their afflictions his, touched with a sympathy within, ah, this is our mercy, he knows our feeble frame, he knows what sore temptations are, for he has felt the same, and this blessed Jesus was raised again, for our justification, and we shall be seeking by faith that he would reveal to us that he has borne our sins away, he bore it for this blessed chosen race, and your desire is to know that you are one whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world, chosen in spite of all your sins, chosen, chosen in him, and oh what, what mercy it is to feel it, to feel the love of Christ in our souls' experiences, and to say, thou, oh Christ, art all

[25:00] I want, ah, if we can consider him, dear friends, and what he has done, and feel it in our souls, there'll be this, thou, oh Christ, art all I want, all in, all in thee I find, hold me up, Lord, keep me from evil, guide me by thy counsel, do bless me in my soul, and enlarge my coast, show me these tokens, tell me that I'm born of God, and my treasure is above, fix my heart on that treasure, and don't leave me to slip by the way, to turn back, to walk no more with thee, lest I prove to be a passed away at last, raised again for our justification, and so, dear friends, as you and I prove to be justified with, with faith in him, we shall prove our peace, peace with

[26:06] God is made, through the Lord Jesus Christ, peace by his cross as Jesus made, the church's everlasting head, so you see if he's the head of the church, your desire will be this, to know that you're a member of that mystical body of the church, and you won't want to offend him, you won't want to do anything that is contradictory to his holy word, and to his commandment, and so your desire will be to walk in love, to be kind, tenderhearted one to another, forgiving one another, even as God you humbly hold, for Christ's sake has forgiven you, and there is forgiveness with him, that he might be feared, for what love dear friends do you ponder, the love of Christ is rich and free, fixed on his own eternally, and you'll feel it,

[27:20] I believe you'll feel it in time, you'll feel your bosom glow with love to Christ, and you know one of the first marks, that proves that you have love to Christ, prove that you have passed from death unto life, why, it's because you love the brethren, says John, we know we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren, and if you and I have natural love to those near and dear to us, we shall not want to be left to offend them, shall we, and so it is, if you and I feel this love to the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall want to walk worthily of him, we shall want to seek his face in all things, and it will be in all things by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, letting your requests be made known unto God, guide me, all thou great

[28:30] Jehovah, all that I might prove to walk worthily of thee, Lord, not to be left to my own sinful devices, to my sinful desires, to my lusts of the flesh, but all that thou wouldest deliver me from sinful self, and to grant that I might grow in grace, and all may this grace keep me in the evil day, keep me from following the vain fashions of the world, keep me from offending thee, and that we might be found at last, one of those who though walking through this veil of tears, through this valley of the shadow of death, yet shall we fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy star to comfort me, and so we shall seek prayerfully, that we might hear the joyful sound of the gospel, the gospel bears my spirit up, a faithful and unchanging

[29:46] God, proving that in spite of their unfaithfulness, he is a faithful God, God, and that he, that although our love through many changes goes, his love, no variation knows, or that we could walk closer with him, don't you feel it sometimes, you feel a little faith and exercise to trust him when in the deepest straits of trouble, and though the devil will prompt you to unbelief, and oh how powerful is the enemy, to bring us in that state of unbelief, and blind unbelief is sure to earth, and scan his work in vain, that God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain, you see my dear friends, that is that of needs be, for you to go through the valley of tribulation, the waters of affliction, through the fires of trial, that you might be one of those will find that your little living faith and exercise is tried, sometimes you feel it will be all consumed, you're tempted to turn back, tempted to come no more into his earthly courts, tempted to give up reading your

[31:25] Bible, and to venture to pray, but you see it's we're in an enemy's land, and that little spark of vital faith, if it has been implanted in your heart by the author of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, you'll prove that he will maintain it, but you see it's a pathway of tribulation, that you be of good cheer, said the Lord Jesus Christ, I have overcome the world, the world that lies in the wicked one, Satan tempting you, with this smoother pathway, tempting you with some, something would make life a little easier for you, but you see my dear friends, if it's not the Lord's will, and you walk contrary to his will, the Lord will bring you into a pathway of chastisement, as many as I love,

[32:37] I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent, and so you see the enemy might draw you aside for a season with his temptations, as you see he drew Job aside with those temptations, I know you'll say to me, but Job still estude evil, yes he did, but he was tempted to say he wished he'd never been born, and you know my dear friends, if you and I are vessels of honour, we can be tempted in that way, when we go through the weary, feeling to be weary, days of life, the weary rounds of life, when there seems to be nothing but trouble and burdens, and the enemy seems to persecute you, and you wonder really where the scene will end, you've thought the

[33:44] Lord's face, that he would undertake for you, and now it seems to be tried, and you're pressed down beyond measure, and you cannot escape in and of yourself, and you feel, is this religion, is that temptation to flee from it, if this is preaching the gospel, we have felt, I fear, if this is it, if this is it, oh Lord, I'm tempted sometimes to give it all up, well my dear friends, they that know no God, they that fear not God have no changes, and I believe in this, these temptations, we prove that in a measure, it's a conformity to the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what a mercy if we're unable to look to him who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification, now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, what a warning, what a warning dear friends, you who are on the main of temptation tossed, what a warning, if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him, and so we prove, though pressed down on occasions beyond measure, on the main of temptation tossed, sorrow swelling as the sea, for their mercy is this, none of the ransomed, none of the ransomed shall ever be lost, for the righteous shall hold on his word, and you see my dear friends, far better to have a little that a righteous man had, than to have the many riches of the wicked, you see their riches will never save them at the end, never save them from that predeterminate counsel of

[36:10] God, but if you and I have been quickened, if you and I have heard his voice, my sheep are they that hear my voice, you won't want to follow any strangers, but my sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me, following him through this wearisome world, through darks and paths, through the valley of the shadow of death, literal death, yes, but I was thinking of that felt sense of death upon your soul, yet we should prove this, the Lord is faithful at promise, and if he has given you a promise, he will fulfill that promise, though tried, and we shall prove that the

[37:16] Lord Jesus Christ was raised again for our justification, we shall prove that he has that robe of righteousness to impute to you, and faith will hope for it, hope which will make you not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us, for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, and so you see, it's not of him that willeth, or of him that runneth, that God that showeth mercy, and that mercy is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, do you plead it?

[38:13] I say, do you plead this precious blood, this supreme sacrifice for the sins of his people, all to know and feel it more, to have it sprinkled upon our consciences, to be blessed with their plunging beneath this fountain, open for sin and uncleanness, and you see, John speaks of this, if we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, so how we do need to be quickened into life, and convinced of our sins, and led to view a precious Christ, who was delivered, for the offences of his people, and was raised again for their justification, and so you will be looking unto

[39:16] Jesus, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, so pour not on thyself, lest it sink thee lower, look to Jesus, kind and strong, mercy joined with power, and so you see it is only his power that will do you and me any good, we may look at the word of God and say how beautiful, we cannot steal the promises, they are yea and they are amen in Christ Jesus, but my dear friends, if they are sweet to look on, you are unable by faith to plead them, and I believe this is their mercy, because he says, come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, feeling the burden of your sin, come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, and this will give you rest, won't it?

[40:28] But you see, it's a laboring to enter into that rest, that remain to the people of God. Do you know what it is to labor, by prayer and supplication at the throne of grace, to plead the precious promises, to plead that he would say unto your soul I am thy salvation, to tell you that you are born of God, to tell you that your sins are pardoned, for if sin be pardoned, I'm secure, security in this, dear friends, for life and for death, if sin be pardoned, I'm secure, death hath no sting beside, the law gave sin its damning power, but Christ my ransom died, are you seeking a knowledge of this dear redeemer, the dying thief, only sought the knowledge of it in his dying hours, but better then than never, dear friends, or may you and

[41:39] I be given grace then, to consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners, lest we be faint and wearied in our minds, to view a precious Christ by faith, who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification, may the Lord add his blessing, for his name's sake, Amen.