Jesus was a rescuer

JESUS WAS A RESCUER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Thessalonians1:10 10and to wait for his Son from
heaven, whom he raisedfrom the dead-Jesus, who
rescues us from the coming wrath.
Jesus the Rescuer
by Angela | Sep 6, 2015 | 417 comments
I woke up this morning to the sound of my phone ringing.
It was an early morning phone call… the kind you don’t ever want to get. The
kind you witness through TV or the movies but pray you don’t ever receive in
real life.
That was the kind of phone call I woke up to this morning.
On the other end was a loved one telling me a family member had passed
awayduring the night unexpectedly… much too young – way before his time –
leaving behind a young family of six.
My heart is broken and sad for those we love who are now hurting and left
without an earthly father, husband, son, and brother.
And I’m reminded as I type these words that our time here is limited. None of
us are guaranteedtomorrow. We must make the most of our time TODAY!
The Bible says it best: we are here but for a second…(James 4:14)

And we have been reminded of this truth day after day as it seems the world is
spiraling more and more out of control.
Refugee crisis.
Racialtensions.
Babies being murdered before they have a chance at life.
ISIS.
Pain and death seemto be all around us.
And I cry because our world is so broken and selfishly my heart just wants
heaven. I want all of this craziness to stop. I’m tired of seeing so much
heartache and pain. I’m tired of seeing a broken world filled with evil, pride,
and death.
My heart aches and my soul longs.
As I read and meditate on today’s passage witha heart that is hurting and
with eyes red and swollenfrom tears, this verse pops off the page:
…who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and
ever. – Galatians 1:4-5
Ohh friends, when did I as a Christian buy into this fairy tale lie that my life
should be pain and heartache free? Jesus came andsuffered in an evil, evil
world.
Why? To rescue us.
Why? Because itwas God’s will.
Why? For God’s glory.
If Jesus came to suffer and die, why do I think I deserve a life on easystreet?
Jesus GAVE Himself for our sins.

Jesus willingly went to the cross for you and for me. For your neighbor down
the streetand for those we see on TV who hate us and everything we as
Christians stand for.
Jesus gave His life for ALL sin.
Ahhh we serve a crucified Savior… we can’t forgetthat . How the world views
successand how God views success are completelydifferent. From the world’s
view, Jesus failed. He died. The cross was the end of Him…
But take heart, friend. We also serve a RISEN Savior, and the fact that He
ROSE from the dead changes everything. There will be times in our lives
when it will feel like death is all around us.
Dreams will die.
Hopes will die.
Friendships will die.
People will die.
But we must take heart and know that God IS in control. His ways are not our
ways and when we go through the “valley of the shadow of death,” our God is
with us. (Psalm 23:4)
He will not leave us.
He will not forsake us.
He is with us to the very end. (Matthew 28:20)
Jesus is our RESCUER
While other founders of religions came to teachpeople, Jesus came to rescue
them.
“Jesus is not so much a teacheras He is a rescuer. Becausethat’s what we
most need. Nothing in who we are or what we do saves us.”-Tim Keller

Jesus did what we cannot do for ourselves.
His death on the cross made us right with God.
He died in my place and He died in your place and because ofHis death, those
who acceptHis free gift of salvationare now free from the penalty and
condemnation of our sins.
“We did not ask to be rescued, but God in his grace planned what we didn’t
realize we needed, and Christ by His grace came to achieve the rescue we
could never have achievedourselves.” – Tim Keller
In a world that is crying out for help… Jesus is the answer.
BecauseofChrist’s death, we have been rescuedfrom the POWER of this
present evil age.
Greateris HE who is in me than he who is in the world…(1 John 4:4)
We must cling to that verse with all of our might – memorize it, hang it on our
walls in our homes and most importantly live it out in our lives.
This world is not our home, but until Jesus calls us home or comes back for
us, we need to be the Body of Christ here and NOW.
And just because we are a people who are rescuedfrom the power of this
world, that does not mean that God is taking us out of it. What it does mean is
that we are no longer enslavedto it. (Romans 6:6)
God’s WILL and for His GLORY
Jesus rescuedus to live for God.
There is a purpose for your life and it’s not to see who can getto heaventhe
safestwaypossible.
Jesus GAVE Himself up to RESCUE us and empowerus to live our lives now
for His GLORY!
https://lovegodgreatly.com/week-1-jesus-the-rescuer/

Jesus, Our Rescue andRefuge
Ryan Shelton | Mon, Jul 16, 2012 | Set 2 Week 29
Share | 0 Comments
Psalm91:3–4,
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowlerand from the deadly
pestilence.
He will coveryou with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
We learn two things about the shadow of the Almighty (verse 1) in our verses
this week. It is a place of rescue (deliverance), and it is a place of refuge
(safety.)
Our Rescue (verse 3)
The Psalmistexplains that in the shadow of the Almighty we are rescuedfrom
the snare of the fowlerand the deadly pestilence. Let’s explore eachof these
images:
A fowler is a hunter of birds, and a goodfowler will hide his snare amidst a
bunch of seedto entice the bird. The bird, lured by the seedgets caughtin the
snare until the hunter returns for his catch.
Our cold and ruthless enemy, like a skilled hunter, specializes in tricking
God’s people into sin. The snare the fowlerhides from his prey is the just
wrath of God for sin. He held forth the fruit to Eve and obscureddeath and
exile. Pestilencefrom God is promised as a consequencefor sin and
disobedience (Exodus 5:3, 9:15; Deuteronomy28:21, 32:24).
Satantried to deceive Jesus with seductive promises from this very Psalm!
(Psalm 91:11-12, cf. Luke 4:10-11). But, perfectly fulfilling verse 3, Jesus saw

the deceitfulness ofsin and perseveredin faithfulness to God, never
experiencing his wrath… until he bore all the sin and wrath that should have
been ours on the cross (1 Peter2:24).
Our Refuge (verse 4)
Not only is the shadow of the Almighty where we are rescuedfrom the enemy,
but it is a place of safety. A pinion is the outer part of a bird’s wing, and we
are promised to be coveredwith the pinions of our Rescuer. We are given
refuge under his wings.
The psalmist used a picture of a bird that is being hunted (verse 3), and now a
bird is protecting those who are being hunted (verse 4). In Christ, who
resistedtemptation unto death so that we might live, we are safe from the
wrath of God.
As PastorJasonMeyersaid, “We are savedfrom the fires of hell and the
wrath of God when we run to the cross and restthere, because it is the place
where God’s wrath already fell.” Our Christ, who was tempted as we are, yet
without sin, is now the one under whose wings we find refuge from the wrath
of God (cf. Hebrews 4:15).
Therefore, Jesus’sfaithfulness in resisting the deceitfulness ofsin, is now for
us a shield and buckler. It covers us like armor (cf. Ephesians 6:10-20)and it
is our only hope.
Reflection
1. What are some of the seeds around the snare that Satanuses deceive you
into sin?
2. Seriouslyconsiderthe bittersweetnature of dabbling with the lures of
Satan. Identify the difference betweenthe seed(pleasure) and the snare
(consequence).
3. Pray, and thank Jesus forresisting the devil so that He is now your rescue
and your refuge.

JESUS IS | Our Rescue
August 21, 2016
What did Jesus accomplish?
Have you ever wonderedwhy Jesus had to come to earth and die in the brutal
fashion that He did? We can all sympathize with Jesus when we see re-
enactments of the cross, in the movies, or passionplays. The question though
is why would God do this to Himself? What was gainedfrom the torturous
death of Christ?
Leviticus 16 holds some answers. Itdescribes the sacrifices thatwere made on
“yom kippur,” or as we know it, the “day of atonement.” The word
atonement means “to be at one with,” or “to be reconciled.” Godhad
delivered His people from Egypt, yet Egypt was still within His people
(Numbers 11:5). God can have no fellowship with darkness so He neededa
way to maintain His justice. At the same time, Godloves His people and
wanted to show mercy and grace to them (atonement). He provides sacrifices
in the Old Testamentto explain His ways. Sin costs life (Romans 6:23). Life
is shown through blood, the greatsymbol of life (Hebrews 9:22). When we
sin, blood has to be spilled to coverit’s cost.
Scripture teaches that “all we like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned,
every one of us, to our own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Since sin separates us from
God, what is a Just and Holy Godto do to “be at one” with His sinful
creation? Isaiahgoes onto say that, “the Lord has laid upon Him (Jesus)the
iniquities of us all.” God places our sin upon Jesus. Look atthe following
verses…
Isaiah53:12 – He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the
transgressors;yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercessionfor the
transgressors.
Romans 4:25 – (Jesus)was delivered up for our trespasses.

Romans 5:8 – But God shows His love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.
I Corinthians 15:3 – Christ died for our sins
I Peter3:18 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, and the righteous for the
unrighteousness, that He might bring us to God.
I John 2:2 – He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also
for the sins of the whole world.
Galatians 3:13 – Christ redeemedus from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us.
The Scripture is clearthat Jesus, the perfectman, substituted Himself and
died in our place for our sins. The Old TestamentsacrificesofLeviticus 16
were a shadow of this reality (Hebrews 9:23-10:10). Now, the fullness has
come. What did Jesus accomplish? Oursalvation! He exchangedHis
perfection for our sin. He stoodin our place and died for our sin. Jesus
brings us back into relationship with the Father. This way the righteousness
and justice of Godis upheld as wellas God showing Himself merciful and
willing to save sinners. What a goodGod we serve!
https://fourpointschurch.com/blog/jesus-is-our-rescue/
Jesus To The Rescue Series
Contributed by JefferyAnselmi on Sep7, 2001
based on 60 ratings
(rate this sermon)
| 10,892 views

Scripture: John 4:46-54
Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ
Summary: Are you ready for Jesus to rescue you?
1 2 3 4
Next
INTRODUCTION
A man went into a drug store and askedthe pharmacist if he could give him
something for the hiccups. The pharmacist promptly reachedacross the
counter and slapped the man’s face. The man said, "What in the world did
you do that for? The pharmacist said, "See, youdon’t have the hiccups
anymore!" And the man replied, "No, but my wife in the car still does!"
much would it costme to ask you three questions?" The lawyersaid,
"$1,000." The man asked, "Isn’t that kind of high?" The lawyer replied, "It
sure is. What’s your third question?"
thrown anchorto help drown us.
more out of life?
the very things in life that we think will keepus afloat and happy are the very
things that drag us down.
going to look at a
man who knew that he needed something from Jesus. Throughthis
experience, this man and his whole householdwill be impacted for eternity.

lot of pride because ofhis position.
very drastic to bring him to place where he would allow Jesus to rescue him.
SERMON
If you want Jesus to come to the rescue
I. YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE NEED 46-49
1. Introduction
Samaritans. He was traveling back into Galilee. Verse 45 tells us that the
Galileans receivedHim because ofthe things He had done at the feastin
Jerusalem(cleansing ofthe temple and the miracles that He performed John
2:23).
interesting was about to happen.
-49
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2. The man
This man is described in John as a man who was a Royalofficial. This could
mean that he is a part of the royal court, that he is of royal blood or that he is
a commanding officer of the military attachedto the royal court.
was a man that commanded respect.

out of touch with the people, what we deal with is nothing like was going on in
Jesus day.
t he told them.
man probably envied him because ofhis wealth and position. IF this man was
a military officer, he was a mans man that by his uniform would command the
respectand fear of those around him.
what it meant to be in need.
on the outside we seemto have it all together.
3. The problem
him.
must have been terribly sick for this royal official to make the 22-mile trip to
through the mountains to Cana of Galilee.
with it, coming to Jesus a carpenterfor help.
stop the death of his son? Verse 47 says that he heard that Jesus had come out
of Judea into Galilee. He either had witnessedJesus perform some signs
(According to Matthew 4:13 Jesus was atCapernaum before he went to Cana)
or heard of what Jesus had been doing.
cing something that his money, poweror respectcould do
nothing about. This man probably sat next to his son and was watching him
die. What a helpless feeling.

he taking this 20-25 mile journey on foot to come to Jesus?
finally facedsomething that he could do nothing about so he comes to Jesus.
Isn’t it sad that for many people it takes something drastic to getthem to see
the need in their lives for Jesus to rescue them.
happening, the parents would have done ANYTHING to prevent the tragedy
from happening.
4. The broken man before Jesus.
because he is about to lose his son to death.
people to come and heal his son. Can you feel the emotion of the moment? A
man with it all going for him reduced to begging this carpenterin plain view
of all the people Jesus is preaching to. Where is the mans’ pride now?
says unless “YOU” people..
rebuking this man and his request, but He is really talking over the man to the
crowdwho no doubt is getting excited about seeing a miracle from Jesus.
his man is persistently begging Jesus in the presence of the people to come
heal his boy.
we realize that we have a need. Then when we realize that without Jesus as
our Lord and savior, we will die and go to hell, our pride will not keepus from
coming to Jesus for salvation. We will not worry what other people will think

as we walk down the aisle to accept Jesus.We will not worry what anyone
thinks of us when we truly understand that we have a need for Jesus.
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what anyone thought of him. He did not care if begging Jesus in front of
people would not make him look “cool” to the other people. He could care less
what the people thought because he knew that without Jesus, his sonwas
going to die.
that we will not be popular or we are afraid that people might think we are
weak becausewe need Jesus. We are afraid that people will think we are not
as “enlightened” about things as they are.
If you want Jesus to come to the rescue
II. YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR HAND OUT AND OBEY50
1. Jesus responseto the plea.
after publicly begging Jesus for help, Jesus tenderly looks to the man and tells
him, “Go; your sonlives”
-25 miles through the
mountains to come to get Jesus.

that He can healhis
son. This man thinks that the only way that Jesus couldheal this boy is to be
at his side and not only that, he believes that Jesus must getthere before the
boy dies or it will be too late.
Jesus to come, Jesus tells the man to
go home because his son is healed.
2. The dilemma
with him, he would show that he did not believe Jesus’word and most likely
would not receive the benefit of Jesus healing because ofhis lack of faith.
to heal this boy. Now the dilemma, was this man going to reachout his hand
grab the ring of life Jesus was giving him and leave or because Jesus did not
do it the way he though he should, stayuntil Jesus comes.
day’s journey back through the mountains with NO outward assurance that
the boy would recover.
and exercising faith without any tangible proof to encourage him.
more interested in Jesus’ miracles that what He taught in contrastwith the
Samaritans who were interestedin what Jesus had to teach.
3. Our dilemma
who are Christians who are always seeking signs and wonders from God and
in the mean time their relationship with Jesus is weak because it is based
solelyon God performing for them.
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ideas about Jesus will reject Jesus trying to rescue them because He does not
do it the way they want Him to.
f us even in the church want Jesus to rescue us with little to no
strings attached.
Jesus?
you waiting for some concrete signor appearance from Jesus?
times gives us something.
After Jesus has come to the rescue
III. YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR THE GOD SHOT!51-54
1. Let’s look at verses 51-54.
some seemingly small thing to boostour faith or confirm our faith decisions.
These Godshots are not usually something spectacular, but they are just little
bits of encouragementthat God rewards us with when we acton faith.
s read verses 51-
54.
his mind. “Did I do the right thing?” Should I have stayeduntil Jesus came
with me? Is my sonstill alive? I bet his was one anxious trip for this man.

s man was making his way home, some of his slaves met him at some
point in the trip to give him the goodnews. You son is living!
slaves when the boy gotbetter. They told him at the 7th hour, which would be
7 p.m. Roman time or 1 p.m. Jewishtime.
boy did not just getbetter by coincidence.
o say
it was a coincidence? (MR. WALTON STORY)
find that this royal officialthen saw his true need in life was Jesus.
broken.
his slaves and children old enough to believe.
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All of us get them, we just need to open our eyes and see them.
CONCLUSION
throw all that awayso that Jesus would rescue his son.
Later when this man walkedthe streets and people would point him out
and whisper how they saw or heard this man of royalty begging Jesus, Ibet he
could care less because to him being rescuedby Jesus was more important
that his pride.

you back from giving you life to Jesus. I am not just talking
to people who have not acceptedJesus as their lord and savior, but I am also
talking to you who have been immersed into the kingdom of God. What is
keeping you from fully committing your life to Jesus? Is it your pride, are you
afraid you will not be cool, are you afraid you will not get that date or that job
promotion?
in life.
wer, popularity and prestige going
to get you when your life is over?
Jesus Is Our Rescuerfrom Death
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come
to have first place in everything.
—Colossians1:18
What is it that makes Jesus unique? Jesus is not only the revealerof the
invisible God and our reconcilerto God, but Jesus is different because He
alone is our rescuerfrom death.
It was Job who askedperhaps the most important question that has ever been
asked. “Ifa man dies, will he live again?” (14:14). Now whenyou think about
it, isn’t that the bottom-line question? When I die, is that it? Is there anything
beyond the grave? If I die, do I just go into nothingness or will I live again? At
this time of the year, every one of us can think of people we know, perhaps
even family members, who were with us one year ago but who are no longer
here. Why is that? The Bible says death is the consequenceofsin. Ezekiel
18:20 says, “The person who sins will die.” And the reasonJesus came was not
just to save us from sin, but to save us from the consequencesofsin, which
include death.

The life of Christ is bracketedby two impossibilities: a virgin’s womb and an
empty tomb. Jesus enteredthe world through a door marked No Entrance.
And He left through a door marked No Exit. And because Jesusexitedthat
empty tomb, the Bible says one day those of us who are relatedto Him by
faith are going to exit going to exit the tomb as well—because Jesus is our
rescuerfrom death.
Paul describes Christ this way: “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything”
(Colossians1:18). Notice that phrase “the firstborn from the dead.” That
word “firstborn” in Greek is “prototokos.”It is the word we get“prototype”
from. A prototype is the first of many that will be manufactured. And that’s
the word used to describe Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not the only one who is
going to receive a resurrectionbody that is free from sin and suffering
forever. No, He is the prototype. He is the first among many. And the Bible
says those of us who are related to Him by faith will also be delivered from the
consequencesofsin and death. That is the promise that awaits everybeliever.
Although you and I have betrayed God, the message ofChristmas is the Lord
Jesus Christ willingly gave Himself to die in our place. And when we trust in
Him as our Savior, believing that He died for our sins, then not only is sin’s
strangleholdover us broken, but death no longer has any power over our life.
That is why Jesus said, “I am the resurrectionand the life; he who believes in
Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25). Somebody has well said, “Jesus did
not come to make bad people good. Jesus came to make dead people alive.”
That is why we saythat Jesus Christ is our rescuerfrom death.
***
Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Have a Happy Holy-Day” by Dr. Robert
Jeffress, 2012.
Jesus is Our Rescuerand Our Savior

“Evento your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustainyou.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” – Isaiah 46:4
Purpose: To teach the children that Jesus rescuesus from death, forgives our
sins and saves us from eternal punishment.
Welcome/Introduction: Have a life saveror inflatable tube prepared before
the kids arrive. Presentthe tube to the children and ask them to tell you what
it is. Then ask them, “What would we use a life saverfor? What is its
purpose?” Allow them to answer….save you, rescue you, keepyou from
drowning…etc. Tellthe children that today we are going to learn about how
Jesus rescuesus from our sins and saves us.
Offering: Read John 3:16-17. Share with the children that when Jesus came
to this Earth….He came to save us and He GAVE His life for us. In the same
way, we should be willing to give ours back to Him and pour into His
Kingdom. Teachthe children that when we give to the church, we are really
giving it to Jesus. Ourofferings are to thank Him for all that He gave to us
when He rescuedus from our sins and forgave us. Collectthe offering and
pray for Godto use it to build His Kingdom. Ask God to give us eachhearts
that give cheerfully and thankfully.
Worship: Have one of the worship CD’s ready and prepared. Tellthe
children that we are going to worship God now. Remind them that when we
worship, our attention and focus is on God. It is a time to think about Jesus
and praise Him because ofhow awesome He is.
Message: Hold up the life saveragainfor the children to see. Sayagainto the
children, “Jesus came to rescue us from our sins.” His Word, the Bible, is like
this life saver. It gives us something to hold onto when we are drowning in the
darkness of this world. We canreach out and grab hold of the word of God
and be savedfrom drowning in the things of this world. (Demonstrate
reaching out and grabbing hold of the Word.

The Bible teaches us in Isaiah 46:4 that God would send someone to rescue us.
(ReadIsaiah 46:4) And we can see from John 3:16-17 (Read out loud) that
Jesus was the answerto God’s promise in Isaiah. He was sent by the Father
in Heaven to save us and rescue us from our sins.
Ask the children to tell you what a life guard is. (Someone who works at the
pool or the beachand keeps people safe….rescuespeople from drowning)
Show the children that Jesus is like the life guard….He holds the life saver –
the word of God- and shows us how to be safe and keepfrom drowning. And
because Jesusreachesout to us with the Word…we cangrab hold of it.
Have two children come to the front. Give one the life saverand tell the other
one to stand a distance awayand pretend that they are drowning. Tell the
child with the life saverto go and “rescue” the one who is drowning.
After they do so, have the children applaud the two who came to the front for
demonstrating a rescue.
Then, tell the children that Jesus took the Word of God and walkedin
obedience to it…even to death in order to rescue us from our sin. And in the
same way He wants us to take the Word of truth and “rescue” others and
teachthem about Jesus the Savior of the World. Ask the children to make a
commitment to be rescuers and take the messageofJesus to everyone they
know.
Altar Call: Have the children stand up. Give an opportunity for those who
do not know Jesus to receive them into their hearts. Pray with those who
come forward to pursue a relationship with Him. Then ask the children to
join you in a declarationor promise to God. Have them repeatthe following
phrase with you….break it up into short phrases if you need to.
Declaration: Jesus, thank You for rescuing us and forgiving our sins. Today,
we choose to follow You, Jesus. Todaywe decide that we will take Your Word
to our friends, our families, our teachers and our neighbors and “rescue”
them. Holy Spirit, Go before us, hover over us and fill us with Your power.
Help us do the will of the Father. In Jesus Name. Amen

Snack: Cross shapedcookies – remind the children that Jesus saidHe is the
Breadof Life. When we “eat” ofHim….we are taking in His word and His
presence and remembering all that He has done for us when He died on the
cross to “rescue” us. Give eachchild a cookieand juice drink.
Activity 1: Play Rescue Relay
Divide the children into 2 groups and assignone child to be the rescuer. Hand
eachrescueran inner tube with a rope attached. Have the rescuerstay on one
side and send the rest of the children to the other side. (In two teams) Tellthe
children that the “rescuer” will throw the inner tube to the first person in
their team and they have to get the tube around them. Then pull them to the
other side. The first team to “rescue” allof their team members wins.
Activity 2: Coloring Sheet (Attached) Have the children cut out the life
preserverand the scripture reference. Thenlet them paste it to a piece of
constructionpaper in the color of their choosing.
Closing: Pray with the children and ask God to continue stirring in them to
become “rescuers”to the world around them. Ask God to give them the
courage to take the messageofJesus to everyone they know.
https://northpalmkids.wordpress.com/kids-church-lessons/jesus-is-our-
rescuer-and-our-savior/
Romans 7:21-25 “So I find this law at work:When I want to do good, evil is
right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging waragainstthe law
of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my
members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of
death? Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christour Lord! So then, I myself in
my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of
sin.”

Now every single Christian has a fight on his hands, and the invitation of the
gospelis not an invitation to a life of easy, religious escapism. It is an
invitation to a conflict. The fight is first of all with the world that operates in
terms of anothergod, the spirit that is now at work all around us in a
disobedient generation. The world tempts us and would destroy us if it could.
We have to be on our guard againstthe world, but we are also, secondly, at
war with the devil, with principalities and powers, with spiritual wickedness
in high places. Sometimes you see explosions ofevil, men cutting off the heads
of other men, or burning them alive. Young girls are abscondedand forced
into ‘marriages.’Horrendous cruelty has been presentedto us in the past
months and no doubt much more will be shownto us in the days to come.
Such is not what I may callordinary wickedness, andagainthat is not far
from any of us. We are called to resistthe darkness ofunfettered evil.
However, the devil is a crafty fellow and sometimes he comes to us with a
shining face so that you could mistake him for an angel of light. But there is
also a third fight in which we are engaged, andthat is a battle that takes place
within our own hearts and souls.
In these verses you will see our inward enemy describedto us with more titles
than anywhere else in all of Scripture. We are not ignorant of the devices of
our inward rebellious self because Paulhas described it to us in such a
passageas this. See the titles he gives to it. Firstly he says “evil is right there
with me”; that is plain enough isn’t it, but I will tell you another. secondlyhe
refers to it as “anotherlaw at work in the members of my body”. You
understand? God has written his law on our hearts: “Love me with all your
heart and love your neighbour as yourself” it says. But there is another law
that says, “Pleaseyourself;do it your way.” That’s plain enough too, but I’ll
tell you another description of remaining sin. Thirdly he describes our inward
opponent as “the law of sin at work within my members.” It is working away
at this very moment. You think your problem is with me and my preaching
but that is a much lesserproblem than the one you have with yourself
working awayin you right now. Is that clear? There is more. Fourthly he calls
it “this body of death.” What a vivid phrase. In some primitive Asian societies
when a murderer was caughthe was punished in this fiendish way; the body
of the man he had killed was chained to his back and he could never be

separatedfrom it while he lived. It rotted and decayedaway. A body of death
attachedinseparably to him.. We have a body of rotten sin which we have to
live with until we are releasedatthe feet of Jesus. Is that striking enough?
There is more. Fifthly he says, “in the sinful nature he is a slave to sin.” Sin
command him to be unforgiving and resentful and to retaliate and to be mean
and hard and proud, and alas, there are times when he obeys the voice of sin.
He is sin’s slave rather than sin’s master.
That is your inner enemy. My telling you about it does not make it any worse.
The first means of victory in any conflict is to know your enemy. And this is
the holy war in which every Christian is engaged. Now we have seenfrom the
opening chapters of this letter that there is not one individual in the whole
world in any generationwho is not guilty before God, that every one of us
descendedfrom Adam and Eve has inherited guilt and sin, and we cannot
hold our heads high. Just the perfect and lovely man Jesus Christ – he stands
out; he is exceptional;he is blessedlydifferent; but as for the restof us the
divine verdict is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The
Christian is delivered from the condemnation of sin but he is not delivered
from the presence ofsin, and so he is always going to be involved in a conflict
with sin and many a fall, until he meets God and stands before Jesus Christ.
Let me begin by saying a few words about sin and the law of God.
1. THE IMPORTANCEOF THE LAW OF GOD.
You see in the text I’ve read to you the repetition of this word ‘law’ once
again. You find it here 4 or 5 times. Now one of Paul’s greatteachings in the
letter to the Romans is that you cannotbegin to understand the human
condition apart from a reference to the law of God. It seems a strange
phenomenon that when Christians want to downplay the law they still want to
talk about sin, and to preach a gospelfor sinners, in which Jesus saves sinners.
And I want to say that in any reading of the Bible you cannot have it both
ways. You cannottalk about sin and not talk about the law, because sin, by
any definition, is a breach of the law of God. And that was Paul’s starting
point in this letter, that there are the Jews who had the law at Sinai through
Moses,and there are the Gentiles who did not have that privilege, but still had

the things of the law written on their hearts. So all have brokenGod’s law. We
are all culpable; we are all law-breakers;we are all sinners and in need of a
salvationthat we cannotwork up to.
Paul struggledto understand how searching and humbling and condemning is
the law of God. He tells us that in fact he was awakenedto the inward
demands of the law of God by the tenth commandment, “Thoushalt not
covet.” You know how that particular commandment is a very insistent
commandment that goes into a lot of specifics in a way that many of the other
commandments don’t. They will say, “Don’t steal, don’t bear false witness,
don’t kill” but the tenth commandment exhorts you not to covetyour
neighbour’s house, or his wife, or the people who work for him, or his cows
and sheepor anything that is your neighbour’s. Is your heart frustrated
because ofwhat your neighbour’s got? Are you itchy and angry and
discontentedand envious? That is sin. That was the particular commandment
that went deep into the recesses ofPaul’s mind and will and plans and future,
and the law said to him, “You shan’t have feelings like that.” And Paul
realisedthat againsta standard like that he was defenceless.He was weighed
in the balances and found wanting. Until that day when the arrow of the 10th
commandment struck his affections Paulfelt he was blameless. He was
boasting that he was keeping all the commandments, but he was boasting
about it because he thought that his religious lifestyle gave him glory in Israel.
Like guides and scouts, and soldiers wearing awards and medals for their
achievements for all to see, so Paulthought he could parade ten medals on his
chest, and walk down the promenade with the sun shining on them and people
would bow to him as someone who was a very righteous man. Then God’s
Spirit came to him, and showedhim the inwardness of the law, that the very
desire to sin is to break a commandment, and the proud Pharisees died. What
he was doing was for his own glory and his ownbenefit, to be seenand
admired by men.
This is Iain D. Campbell’s happy illustration – You know how you fathers
have gone with your children to a little league match. Your son in playing and
you are cheering him on, and then another boy fouls him, he kicks your son.
And you shout to the ref, “Foul!Ref! He kickedthat boy!” You want the
weight of the law to come down on the player who kickedyour boy. There are

no antinomians at football matches. But when your boy trips up and fouls
someone else you don’t cry “Foul!” Then you turn a blind eye, or even give a
wry smile. You are alive without the rulebook, because youwant the rules
only in so far as they benefit yourself. Paul is telling us that that is how he
lived. He was keeping the commandments, and boasting about how he kept
them, but all the time he was alive without the law. Without its searching,
convicting, condemning powershowing him he needed to be saved from his
guilt. He needed a Saviour, the only one who did accomplisheverything the
law of God demanded, and the only one who could pay the penalty for other
people who were breaking the law, by taking their condemnation. Paul saw it
and fled from his law keeping to Jesus law keeping as his only hope in this
world or the next.
How did he do it? The Lord Jesus savedus by coming down to us by being
born under the law for us, and living under the law for us, and dying under
the condemnationof the law for us, and rising to justify us from the judgment
of the law for us. He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord
of all, and he did it to save us. We cannotgo up to it. Perish the thought that
any one of us can go up to God’s law and think it is God’s prescription for our
deliverance, God’s ladder for us to reachheaven, so that at the end of
climbing up those ten rungs he’ll acceptus. Many, many people think that.
They believe in justification by death. At the end of a decent life, generally
keeping God’s law, God will justify sinners at the point of their death. But the
New Testamentgospelis quite the opposite. If you are not justified in life, if
you are not forgiven and pardoned, and acceptedby God in life you will never
be acceptedat death, because thatlaw-breaking will not be reverses by death.
Deathis actuallyits consequence. You need to be delivered from the root and
the fruit of your sin to be delivered from your condition. You cannot find a
remedy inside yourself, you need to go outside of yourself to find a remedy.
You see it’s the very opposite of the kind of psychologythat is meant to help
you. Our culture says that if there is something wrong with you then the
problem lies outside of yourself. It is the fault of everybody else. It is all the
pressures out there, and all the difficulties out there. And you searchfor the
hero inside yourself, your inner resources, to dealwith the problem. But the
verdict of the gospelis opposite.

The problem is in yourself and with yourself, and the solution is outside of
yourself, and the glory of the gospelis that God is the GreatPhysician and he
has supplied the solution. There is a righteousnessapartfrom the law, apart
from our law-keeping and our goodworks and it is there in Jesus Christ. That
is the glorious conclusionto Romans 7. “Who will rescue me from this body of
death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v.25). He died
the death we deserve to die under God’s condemnation. He bore the penalty;
he paid the debt; he bore the guilt. He is the perfectSaviour of sinners
because he is God’s Saviour before he is anyone else’s Saviour, and he has
come into this world as the Lamb of God, and he has shed his blood, and he
has obtained a pardon full and free. That is Paul’s argument. That is his
gratitude and rejoicing. What happens when you are joined to him? There he
is in the glory of his dying, and in all the glory of his rising, and in all the
wonder of his atonement, and in all that he has done for sinners. There he is,
and here I am “a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members, living
in this body of death, in this sinful nature as a slave to the law of sin”
(vv.24&25), and on top of that a God who hates sin looking at me. But there is
deliverance. The Son of God came to earth on a rescue mission. He delivers
sinners who believe in him, who are joined to him by trusting in him, he
rescues them from this body of death.
I am pardoned . . . I stand before him and he says “Notguilty” . . . I have
peace with God (wherever else I lack peace)I have peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. I have accessby faith into the grace whereinI stand. In
him I am justified, and in him I am being given the victory over remaining sin.
In my inner being I want to do good. In fact I delight in God’s law. I cannot
live any longer in unbelief as once I did. I now belong to another, I belong to
Christ. I am married to him; I am in love with him and he with me. I am
under his protection; I receive day by from his provision. He supplies all my
needs. I am not governedby my sinful passions and by this other law that I
still find in my members, the law that says, “Pleaseyourself. . . live for
yourself . . . do it your way . . . if you both like it do it.” I find it telling me that,
and also waging waragainstthe law of Jesus Christ that is in my mind –
because he is in my mind, and often I give into it and immediately regretit. I
find no deliverance at all in me. Paul ends Romans 7 telling us, “I myself in

my mind . . .” five words with the personalpronoun three of them, “I, myself,
my” and he tells us that he personally is a slave to God’s law, he lives to serve
the law of God, but, he adds that he also lives, “in the sinful nature to the law
of sin.” (v.25).
Now there are those people who say that our need is to getout of Romans 7
and getinto Romans 8. Now that would have made no sense atall to the
people who first heard this letter, as the preacherin Rome gotup one Sunday
morning and told them that they had receivedthat week a letter from the
apostle Paul and that he was going to read it to them. There were no verses at
all, and no chapter divisions in the epistle. It was all one message.
But apart from that simple fact is it really advantageous forus to breathe a
sigh of relief and for us to say, “Great!The pastor has finished with Romans 7
and now at last we are into chapter 8”? Now I know that there are lots of
beautiful things in chapter 8 of Romans, but chapter 8 is the chapter that tells
you that you need to put to death constantlythe deeds of your body or you
will die. Chapter 8 is the chapter that tells us that we must suffer with him.
Chapter 8 is the chapter that tells us of the suffering of this presenttime.
Chapter 8 is the chapter that tells us that we are groaning. Chapter 8 is the
chapter that tells us that we don’t know what to pray for as we ought.
Chapter 8 is the chapter that tells us that we are going to have trouble and
hardship and persecutionand famine and nakedness and dangerand sword
that we are going to be killed all daylong and reckonedas sheepfor the
slaughter. I want to bury this cliché if it is still alive that somehow it is
advantageous to Christian experience to move as fastas possible out of
Romans chapter 7 and into Romans chapter8 because men and women I want
to say to you that you need to be alive and well in both chapters.
WHY DOES PAUL DELIGHT IN GOD’S LAW?
Hasn’t the law condemned you? Aren’t you guilty because ofthe law? The law
can neither save you nor sanctify you, but Paul you say that the law is holy
and spiritual and just and goodand you delight in it. Why Paul do you say
that you delight in it. Doesn’tit show you how guilty and helpless you are?
Why do you delight in it? Paul is certainly not pretending to be unregenerate.

If these are the sentiments of an unbeliever then there is no need of the new
birth! How could an unconverted non-born-again man have this exalted view
of the law of God? All that such a man would need would be helping grace,
not saving grace!Why such a high view of the commandments of God when
they have had such a devastating, killing effecton Paul? Three reasons.
i] The law is like the one who gave it. It is spiritual . . . like God. It is holy . . .
like God. It is righteous . . . like God. It is good. . . like God, and I delight in
the law because I delight in God. Wasn’tit the purpose of God when he gave
the commandments to remind his people that he was the Holy God of the law
that was being given to them! People describe the commandments, you know,
as the Judeo-Christianethic. As if this were something that men invented, as if
it arose from earth. Not at all! It is of the very characterofGod himself, these
greatcommandments that insist we should have no other god and that we
should worship God aright and that we should revere his name and honour
his day.
In all our relationships on earth give him all the honour and praise and glory
due to him by honouring truth and life and property and above all things that
we should be content with him, and that all these commandments breathe the
very characterof Godhimself. They have a divine aspectto them, and they
reflecthim and are holy and spiritual and righteous and good. God is all these
things and that is why we delight in the law.
ii] The law is holy and righteous and goodbecause it is perfectly embodied in
Jesus Christ. In one of his letters John Newtonanswers a man who was asking
Newtonwhat he thought of I Timothy chapter1 and verse 8, “The law is good
if a man use it lawfully.” What does that adverb ‘lawfully’ mean? John
Newtonsays, “Whenwe use the law as a glass to behold the glory of God we
use it lawfully for God’s glory is eminently revealedin Christ. We see the
perfection and excellence ofthe law of Godin the life of God the Son. He
glorified the law in his characteras a man, what a characterhe exhibited. It is
no other than a transcript of the law. Warfield says in his article on ‘Jesus the
measure of men,’ that Jesus is the very embodiment of the law of God, as if he
were setdown among men as a plumb line is setdown againsta wall. It is Iain
D. Campbell’s illustration again. If you were building a wall then you would

want to know that the wall was straight. Then you adjust it to the plumb-line,
not the reverse. You do not adjust the plumb line to the wall. You know what
I am talking about. You put a weighton a piece of string and you let it fall and
it is exactly vertical. If you want your wall to be absolutelyvertical then you
measure it to the plumb-line. You don’t build a squint wall, and then adjust
the plumb line to the wall you have built. That is what so many people do to
the gospel. You have to build the wallaccording to the perfectionof the
standard. And here God has let down his plumb line.
You want to know what sortof life we should be living? What does it mean to
live a God-honouring life day by day, week by week in all sorts of
relationships, then it is embodied for you in the characterand personality and
the history of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at him in all his relationships,
especiallyto his enemies, the priests and the soldiers and the Pharisees and
there is this absolute moral perfection of Jesus. It is there in one life, the
perfect moral embodiment of God’s standards in one life, all the
commandments in one life. It has never been there since Adam. But it is there
now in the life and thoughts and feelings and words and actions of Jesus. Peel
awayeverything. Go to the very core of his being, his rational, the reasons
why he does things and the reasons why he says things, and you will find that
it is all utterly and absolutely defensible in the sight of God.
Why? Because the life of the Lord Christ is the utter and entire embodiment
of God’s law. I look at the law and it is spiritual and it is goodbecause it is the
reflectionof God. The one is the perfection of the other. That has never been
the case since Adam, but now it is here and present in the lastAdam. Here the
finger of God is to be seenin Galilee, written in the life of one man Jesus of
Nazareth. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And never did
anything wrong. He is the perfectembodiment of the Lord. No wonderPaul
say “I delight in the law of God,” – holy and spiritual and good. It is the very
transcript of the characterof Jesus. Thenthere is another reasonwhy he says
he delights in the law of God.
iii] The law is holy and righteous and goodbecause it is a description of
heaven. Imagine you are selling a house and you approach an estate-agentand
he comes and supplies a descriptionof the house and he puts it in the best

possible light. He highlights all the finest features of the house so that when
you read it you open your eyes in astonishment. That is where we have been
living all these years? You think, “It seems a pity to be leaving it!” The home
report tells you what the home is like. The ten commandments are a
conveyance from heaven to earth describing what lies before us in glory. The
people of heaventhey have no other God than one, and they worship him
spiritually, and they never take his name in vain. They enjoy an eternal
Sabbath. And their relationships are honoured – no one does violence to
another, or bad-mouths him, or steals from him. Nobody covets whatbelongs
to somebody else in heaven. It is perfect.
Iain D. Campbell suggests thatthe Lord’s Prayer is a reflex of God’s law. In
the law the words came down from heavenso that the Lord’s people should be
holy as he is holy. And in the Lord’s PrayerJesus gave us words that we send
up to heaven. And in the Lord’s Prayer we are actually asking Godfor things
he requires of us in the law. So we address no other God but our Father. We
say, “Hallowedbe your name” because the law says, “Don’ttake my name in
vain.” We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” because he doesn’t want
us to stealor covet. We ask him not to leadus into temptation because the law
tells us not to go into sin. And at leasttwice in the Lord’s prayer we refer to
heaven. “Our Fatherwho art in heaven – that is where the law came from.
And in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to ask for grace that
they might be able to fulfil what the law demands. Augustine said, “The law
was given that grace may be sought. Grace was giventhat the law might be
obeyed.” So the law came down and grace has beengiven and he teaches us to
pray for the very things that he requires of us in the law.
So we desire that his will may be done . . . on earth as in heaven. What does it
mean that God’s will be done in my life on earth as it is being done in heaven?
It means that there is no law breaking in heaven. Why is that? Because
everybody there is entirely like Jesus Christ. What does it men to be entirely
like Jesus Christ? It means for you and me to be the entire embodiment of the
law. So I am saying that there is reasonwhy Paul is saying that in his inner
being he delights in the law of God. It is a thing to be prized and a thing to be
loved. And then;

PAUL AGAIN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HIS LIFE OFTEN FAILS TO
MEASURE UP TO GOD’S LAW.
“When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see anotherlaw at work in the members of my
body, waging waragainstthe law of my mind and making me a prisoner of
the law of sin at work within my members” (vv. 21&22). Paulis telling us,
“But I am not like the delightful law. I don’t live as the law requires. I am not
like God who is entirely holy and spiritual and good. I thought I was when I
was once alive without the law. I thought I was a righteous man. I was once
blind to the other law at work in the members of my body. I did not see what
the carnalmind, the fleshly mind, was doing. It was not subject to the law of
God neither indeed can be. I am a prisoner of the law of sin at work in my
members. “Paul, you cannotbe serious!How canyou use such language of
yourself when you tell us that you delight in the law of God?” “I do,” says
Paul, “aftermy inner being. But I see another law at work in me. It tells me to
do things my way and to tread all over my neighbour and his needs.” In other
words in this tension of these verses is presented to us the greatestconundrum
in the world concerning why having terminated sin’s dominion over every
single regenerate ChristianGod should leave its presence there in every single
Christian to agitate and wage waragainsthis mind and capture him time and
againas a prisoner.
What a wretched man that I am! “How is that possible Paul? You are
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, washedfrom every stain and spot of
guilt through the sacrifice ofthe Lamb of God, clothedin the righteousness of
Christ, adopted into God’s family, joined to Jesus Christ with sin no longer
dominating your life. How can you sayyou are a wretchedman? You are the
most blessedman in the world. Isn’t every creature in hell envious of you?
Why in the world do you think of yourself as a wretchedman?”
Paul tells us in this chapter. When I want to do good, because Idelight in
God’s law, evil is right there with me (v.21). I do not find myself doing good.
This body which is on its way to eternal life and glory, a new body and soul in
heaven I find to be now a body of death! The things I do not want to do –
that’s the thing I keepon doing. Tell me that that is not your experience!Tell

me that the conundrum is not there in your own life, that you know nothing of
this tension, this riddle, in your own heart! The very thing you want to avoid
is the thing you run into, and the very thing you do is what you don’t want to
do. You often find yourself a prisoner of the law of sin at work within your
members. The law is holy; it is spiritual and good, but I am not!
Men and women, God’s purpose in sanctificationis to model us into the image
of Jesus Christ. And that work is uninterrupted as far as he is concerned. He
begana goodwork in you and he will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
But from your point of view it is very frequently interrupted. There is this
excursus and that excursus when we seemto be serving sin, not God, when
iniquities againstus prevail from day to day. And from you perspective the
fruit of one day is met by blight the next. And the spirituality of your thinking
one morning is met by the carnality of your thoughts that evening. And one
day the greatlongings of your soul which are seton heaven seemto be on the
world the next. And every believer seems a trial to himself, and no Holy Spirit
baptism and no tongue speaking delivers him from that state. “In my inner
being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the members of
my body” (vv. 22&23). And again, “In my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but
in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (v.25).
4. PAUL THANKS GOD FOR DELIVERANCE THROUGH CHRIST.
“Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through
Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vv. 24&25). Don’tyou find there are times when you
are aware that there really is grace even in your life. You find some faint
desire for something that you don’t easily come across inyourself.
Peterwas grieved when Jesus saidto him a third time, “Do you love me?”
And the only response Petercould give to Jesus was anappeal to the highest
court of all. “Lord you know all things. You know that I love you.” The Lord
knows all things. One of the greatverses in the Bible is in the book of psalms
where the psalmist says, “All that I desire is before you.”
I look at the law and that is one thing. I know that I am releasedfrom its
condemnation and penalty and dominion. bUT I know that I am not released
from its righteousness. I read in Romans 8 that the righteousness ofthe law

would be fulfilled in me! That I shall live for God’s glory and go to heaven
and experience fullness of joy in God’s presence forevermore. But often these
longings are not paramount in me, and what I long for is what I do not easily
find. It was C.S. Lewis who said, “You might not even find the wish to be holy
. . . but do you find the wish for the wish?” “When I want to do good. Evil is
right there with me.” (v.21).
Thank God there is a rescue!Thank God there is one who can and does rescue
his people from their sin. What do you think of Jesus Christ our Lord? He
stands before us in the gospeland he says, “I know what you are like. I know
you’re sinful. I know you do what you don’t want to do. I know you don’t do
what you want to do.” But Jesus continues to speak and he says, “Satanhas
desired to have you, BUT I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail.”
There is Jobat the end of all his experiences “Ihave heard of you with the
hearing of the ear, but now I see you and I abhor myself . . . but I know that
my redeemerliveth,” “Woe is me,” says Isaiahin the presence of the glory. “I
am a man undone and a man of unclean lips,” but the Messiahis going to die
for Isaiah’s sins. Petercries, “Departfrom me for I am an unclean man.” He
also cries, “To whom else canwe go?” The same man who’d said, “Depart
from me for I am a sinful man O Lord.” And so he was, “but I have prayed
for you.”
Paul says in these last words of Romans 7 that he is “in the sinful nature a
slave to the law of sin.” And it is true! And not for Paul only but for every
believer. But for all those who can say those words the very next words are
also true, “Therefore there is now no condemnationfor those who are in
Christ Jesus”(Romans 8 v.1). Romans 7, all true to the jots and tittles, and
Romans 8, also completelytrue. You canhave all the rest, but give me Jesus.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.
Other refuge have I none. Hangs my helpless soulon Thee. And tonight if you
are not yet a Christian then I know that you do not delight in God’s law. It is
impossible. But Jesus died for a sinner like you, and you come to him, and you
trust in him, and let his law-keeping coveryour law-breaking, his

righteousness coveryour sin, his holiness coveryour unholiness, his
heavenliness coveryour worldliness. Let him be your everything! And my
Christian brother or sistertonight, struggling with sins old and new finding
new sins mixing in the best of what you can do – like Bunyan. You keep
coming back to the old fountain, to the one Saviour of men who can stand
before his righteous Father and ask for and receive all that the Father will
give him, no sin hindering his fatherly generosity. He sees a world of sinners
lost, but stretches out his hands and dies, the just for the unjust to bring them
to God. And one day we shall be like him. Amen.
2nd August 2015 GEOFF THOMAS
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Romans 8:1 (NIV)
This series is called RESCUED!because that’s the word Paul uses when he
describes the human struggle with sin: “What a wretchedman I am, who will
rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).
Faith is calling 9-1-1
A rescue is something that somebody else does for you. If you’re trapped in a
fire, or you have a heart attack, youcall 9-1-1 because you need someone else
to do for you what you cannotdo for yourself.
Calling 9-1-1 doesn’t save you. It is the fireman who saves you. It is the
paramedic that saves you. Calling 9-1-1 puts you in touch with somebody who
has the ability to save you. The one who answers your callis the one who saves
you. That’s important. The Bible says, “Believe onthe Lord Jesus Christ and
you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Saved” is another way of saying rescued.
Some people have the idea that believing is something we do to save ourselves.
But if you are able to save yourself then, by definition, you do not need to be
rescued. Believing is calling 9-1-1. It is the way that you callon the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it is Christ who saves you.

This series is about what Christ actually does in the rescue. We’re going to see
how Christ will rescue the whole of this planet, how His rescue will bring you
into the greatestjoy a human being can everknow, and how you canhave full
confidence in the total success ofHis rescue operation.
Under condemnation
“There is now no condemnation…” (Romans 8:1).
That means there was condemnationbefore. Some of us may find that hard to
believe. Our natural instinct is to go one of two ways:Either you feelyou are
so bad that you cannotimagine your condemnation ever being removed:
“How could God possibly love a person as bad as me?” Or, you feel that you
are so goodthat you cannot imagine ever being condemned. “How could God
possibly condemn a person as goodas me?” Either way the Gospeldoesn’t
seemthat great.
Human beings are born in a condition of alienation from God, rebellion
againstGod, and guilt before God that places us under the condemnation of
God. It’s true of every one of us. That’s why we need to be rescued. That’s
what we need to be rescuedfrom.
You find this everywhere in the Bible: David says, “SurelyI was sinful at
birth” (Psalm 51:5). Even though God describes him as “a man after God’s
own heart,” David says he was born in sin. This is not unique to David, it
crosseseveryracialand ethnic barrier. Paul puts it this way: “Jewsand
Gentiles alike are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). Notice the phrase “under sin.”
We are in a predicament that we can’t get out of, except through the rescue.
John makes this fascinating statement: “Whoeverbelieves in the Son has
eternal life, but whoeverrejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath
remains on him” (John 3:36). John does not say God’s wrath will come on the
person who rejects His Son. He says God’s wrath will remain on that person.
It’s alreadythere. By default we start out under God’s wrath. The question
isn’t whether God’s wrath will come on us, but whether it will remain on us.
Sin spreads

God will not let even a hint of sin into His heaven, because heavenis the home
of perfect righteousness.How big of a crack does it take to let waterin your
basement? The tiniest crack in your foundation wall will let moisture seepin
and soonthe whole place will stink! If God let one sin into heaven, it would
ruin the whole place.
How much sin did it take to ruin the whole world? Readthe story in Genesis:
One actof disobedience. Adam and Eve were told not to eat from the tree and
they ate from the tree. Was that such a big deal? Yes, because sin is like a
deadly disease.It is like a virus, like an epidemic. Once it gets started it
spreads and it multiplies like rabbits.
In order to enter into heavenon the last day, and not be condemned, you
would have to live a life of love, filled with the fruit of the Spirit… 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
That means you would have to be patient and kind, always, without hesitation,
or exception. You would never boastbecause there isn’t a hint of pride in you.
Peace wouldrule your heart, keeping you free from all worry, because you
have total confidence in God.
You say, “That’s impossible. I can’t do that. Not even close!No-one can do
that.” Now we are getting in touch with why we need this rescue, and what we
need rescuedfrom. We are sinners by nature and by practice, every one of us.
And the better you know yourself, the more you will know that is true.
Paul says that “the law was powerless”to save us, because “itwas weakened
by the sinful nature.” The law would be greatif it wasn’t for the flesh. The
law describes the goodlife God calls us to lead, and the problem lies in our
inability to do it.
God takes the initiative
“Forwhat the law was powerless to do in that it was weakenedby the sinful
nature, God did by sending his ownSon…” (v3)

The disease ofsin has takenawayour capacityto live a life that is pleasing to
God. That’s why we need the rescue. And here’s the goodnews:God has
takenthe initiative. He sent His Soninto the world.
Al Mohler, Presidentof Southern Baptist Seminary, says this well:
“The culture tells us that the problem is ‘out there’ and the answeris ‘in
here.’ The Gospeltells us that the problem is ‘in here’ and the answeris ‘out
there’—in Jesus Christ.”
The Father, the Sonand the Spirit are all involved in this rescue. The Father
sends, the Son atones, and the Spirit empowers. The Father justifies us
through the work His Son, and He sanctifies us through the work of His
Spirit.
The Atoning Deathof Jesus
“Forwhat the law was powerless to do in that it was weakenedby the sinful
nature, God did by sending his ownSon…” (v3).
God saw our need. He saw our plight. He saw that we were completely
hopeless. And He had compassiononus. The Father sent the Son to be the
Savior of the world. This is what we call “the incarnation.”
God sent His Son to rescue us
“…in the likeness ofsinful man…” (v3).
He was like us because his humanity was real. He was different from us
because He was without sin. He was close enoughto make the rescue, but
distinct enough to be the rescuer.
Jesus became our sin offering
“…to be a sin offering…” (v3).
Christ came into the world to be a sin offering. Here’s the job. Here’s what it
will mean for you to make the rescue:Leave heaven and be born as a man.
Live a perfect life 24 / 7 / 365. Live the life that none of them have ever lived.

Then offer yourself. Lay down that life. Become the sin bearer. Take on
yourself the guilt and the stenchof human sin. Bearthe condemnation in your
own body. Carry it utterly alone, suspendedon a woodenpole betweenheaven
and earth, rejectedby both. That’s what it will take to rescue them.
That is an extraordinary job description! And Jesus said, “I want that job.”
This is what He did: he became the sin-bearer, and he offeredhimself as the
sacrifice for our sins. Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree. He became
sin because ofour sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became a sin offering.
God condemned our sin in Jesus
“…and so he condemned sin in sinful man” (v3).
God rescues us from condemnation, by condemning our sin in Christ. “He
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The
punishment that brought us peace was upon Him…” (Isaiah 53:5).
The reasonthere is no condemnation for me is not that there is nothing in my
life worthy of condemnation. It is that the condemnationfor my sins has
already been passedon to Jesus. He stood in my place and took the
condemnation for me, when he died on the cross.
Charles Wesleycatches this in His greathymn “O, Fora Thousand Tongues
to Sing”:
“See allyour sins on Jesus laid; The lamb of God was slain.
His soul was once an offering made for every soulof man.”
Try to do that right now. Think about your sin. If the guilt of your selfishness,
pride, impatience, and all your other sins has really been transferred to Jesus,
and if he suffered the penalty for these sins on the cross, then the
condemnation has passed. It is no more. Nor can it ever be again.
That’s not all!
Here’s anotherverse from Wesley’s greathymn:

“He breaks the powerof cancelledsin; He sets the prisoner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.”
The Gospelis not simply that sin is cancelled, and hell is removed. We are not
simply forgiven. God’s rescue operationin Christ involves removing the
condemnation of sin’s penalty. It also involves breaking the condemnation of
sin’s power.
The Empowering Life of the Spirit
“He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of
the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature
but according to the Spirit” (v4).
The agentof this new life that pleases Godis the Holy Spirit. Some have
understood these words to be about justification—the righteousness ofJesus
being counted as ours, imputed to us. But if Paul had been talking about
justification, he would have said something like this: “the righteous
requirements of the law might be fully met for us, who live by faith in Christ’s
death on the cross.” Buthe didn’t say that, Paul said “the righteous
requirements of the law might be fully met in us…”
Savedfrom the penalty & the powerof sin
If God’s rescue only included saving you from your sins, saving you from hell,
and granting you entrance into heavenforever, what kind of rescue would
that be? What would it be like if God saved us from sin’s penalty, but not
from sin’s power?
To the man with a bad temper, someone who is always angry, God would be
saying “Here’s my rescue:I will not send you to hell for your bad temper. But
unfortunately your wife, your kids and your colleagueswillhave to endure
your anger, and you will go on having a bad temper for the rest of your life.
You are weakenedby the sinful nature and that’s not part of the rescue.”
To the person struggling with lust God would be saying “Here’s my rescue:
The blood of Christ covers your foul imagination. You will not go to hell

because ofthese things. I will grant you entrance into heaven, but you will
remain enslavedto your passions for the rest of your life.
What kind of rescue is that? The condemnation in eternity is removed, but
you are left with the condemnation of living with yourself as you are,
weakenedby the sinful nature! That would mean that you go on being
defeatedby sin until God takes you to heaven. That’s certainly not God’s kind
of rescue!
God’s rescue means not only that the condemnation of sin’s penalty is
removed, but also that the condemnationof sin’s poweris broken. This is the
Gospel!When God rescues you, He sends His Holy Spirit into your heart
giving you the powerto live a new life.
What is your mindset?
“us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit”
(v4).
Paul is not saying that there are two kinds of Christians—some Christians live
according to the flesh and some Christians live according to the Spirit. He is
saying that if you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you, and if the Holy
Spirit lives in you, you “live according to the Spirit.”
What does that mean? “Those who live according to the Spirit (that is, people
who are in Christ) have their minds seton what the Spirit desires” (v5).
When Karen and I were first married, she took a job as a teacherin North
London. The schoolwas run down, under-funded, in a really tough
neighborhood in North London. The schoolhad been without a principal for
some time. Morale among the staff was low.
A few months after Karen began, a new principal was appointed. When she
arrived, she calledthe staff togetherfor a meeting. “This school,” she said,
“has the reputation of being the worst in the area, and I intend to make it the
best!”
You can imagine the reaction. Some of the staff had been there through years
of decline. They didn’t like what she was saying, even though they must have

known it was true. Karen had just arrived, and inside she was cheering.
Here’s someone who is able to make a difference!
Over the next years, the new principal was as goodas her word. With
extraordinary energy, she setabout fund raising. New books appeared,
equipment was donated, classroomswere painted, carpetwas laid, morale was
lifted, and children’s grades improved. She sweptthrough that schoollike a
whirlwind! The whole environment was transformed under her leadership.
Under new management
That’s what God’s rescue looks like. The Holy Spirit puts your life under new
management. When God the Holy Spirit moves into your life, He moves in to
take over, and if you have seenyour need, that will be your greatestjoy.
“Those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires” (v5).
A goodprincipal coming to a bad school has desires, a plan, a vision for what
that schoolwill become, and she throws herselfinto making it happen. Do you
think that the Holy Spirit of God would do less?
When the Holy Spirit enters your life, He does not sit passively in an office
somewhere. He comes to do a massive renovation project. He has desires. He
has a plan. And He sets to work. His plan for you is that you should reflectthe
glory of Jesus Christ. And when you are converted, you have your mind set on
what the Spirit desires. That’s the mark of being a real Christian, and the joy
of the Christian life.
In Christ Jesus
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (v1).
Being “in Christ Jesus” is what really matters, knowing that the glorious gifts
of the Gospelare really yours. What does it mean to be “in Christ”?
When you came to church today, you started outside this building. There
wasn’t anyone who slept here last night. Whateverdirection you came from,
howeverfar you traveled, howevershort your journey, we were all outside.
We all start outside Jesus Christ.

But you came in. Some came in slowly, others came in quickly. Some came in
early, others came in late. But you came in. There was movement. All of us
moved from being outside the building to being inside.
Faith is the way that you move from being outside Christ to being “in Christ.”
Faith is the way in which the atoning death of Jesus, and the empowering life
of the Holy Spirit become yours. That’s why the Bible says:“Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Believing will put you
“in Christ” and Christ will save you.
So here’s the question: Are you ready to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Are you ready to believe that you need to be rescued, that you cannot save
yourself? Are you ready to trust Him to remove your condemnation by His
sacrifice onthe Cross?
If Christ were to say to you “Your life is the worst under heaven and I intend
to make it the best!” How would you respond? Would you be among those
take offense at that? If Christ offends you, your condemnation remains. Or
would you respond “The rescue I’m hearing about is exactly what I need!”
Believing Christ means saying to God, “I do not have the capacityto become
the loving, generous, patient, person you call me to be. I don’t have that in me.
I need to be rescued. Save me from sins’ penalty by Your atoning death and
save me from sin’s power by Your Holy Spirit. Take controlof this run down,
disordered life. Give me direction. Bring me resources thatI do not have. You
lead, and I will follow! Put me under the new managementof Your Holy
Spirit.”
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be able to say “There is no
condemnation for me now because I’m in Christ Jesus. I am a new person in
Christ. I have a new mind and it is set on what the Spirit desires.”
That is an amazing rescue. If God is doing this in your life it will be your
greatestjoy. If not, I invite you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today.
https://unlockingthebible.org/sermon/rescued-sin/

God Has RescuedMe
Tony Bullimore, agedfifty-six, was one of Britain’s most experienced
transatlantic yachtsmen. He was feareddead after his sixty-foot yacht, Exide
Challenger, capsizedamid the icy vastness ofthe Southern Ocean, two months
into the Vendée Globe round-the-world race.
The keelcame off in fifty-foot waves. The boatwent over. In his book, Saved,
Tony Bullimore describedit as being like the Niagara Falls upside down. For
four days he was entombed in a dark, noisy, wet and cold upside-down world
with fifty-foot swells and a temperature hovering around freezing.
He suffered the discomfort of seasicknessand drawing breath from a few feet
of air betweenthe water level and what was once the bottom of the boat. He
was more than a thousand miles from the nearestland. As the air supply
diminished he prayed that he would be rescued.
It was the Royal Australian Navy and Air Force that came to the rescue. With
modern satellite and surveillance the Australian government had pinpointed
the progress ofall the yachts and sent out a rescue team.
After four days Tony heard banging on the side of his yacht. He said
afterwards, ‘I cannever thank the Australian Navy enough, the captain and
all his personnel, for what they have done because theyhave genuinely saved
my life, there is no question.’ The first words when he emerged were, ‘Thank
God, it is a miracle.’He said, ‘I felt like I had been born all over again. I felt
like a new man. I felt I had been brought to life again.’
As one journalist put it at the time, ‘A rescue that succeeds againstall odds
and every expectationis the bestof all stories. It is pure and spontaneous joy.’
Supremely Jesus ‘gave himself for our sins to rescue us’ (Galatians 1:4a).
As I look back on my life I cansee many occasions whenGod has rescuedme.
As you face difficult situations you can trust that God will rescue you.
1. Trust God to rescue you

Psalm31:1-8
It is sometimes very hard to keeptrusting in God, especiallyif things seemto
go wrong in your life – with your relationships, work, finances, health or some
other situation. David’s prayer here is an encouragementto cry out to God to
rescue you and then to put your trust in God.
As Tony Bullimore prayed for rescue, so David prayed, ‘Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue’(v.2a), ‘I trust in, rely on, and confidently leanon
the Lord’ (v.6b, AMP).
David said, ‘Into your hands I commit my spirit’ (v.5). Just before he died,
Jesus echoedthese words. He calledout with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit’ (Luke 23:46). These are the ultimate words of trust.
In this psalm we see the results of God’s love for you shown supremely
through the death of Jesus. The Lord is:
Your refuge
The psalm starts with the words, ‘In you, Lord, I have takenrefuge’ (Psalm
31:1a). Later he says, ‘Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you
are my refuge’ (v.4). There are many trials, tests, traps and temptations in this
life. In all this, the Lord is your refuge.
Your rock
David writes, Lord ‘be my rock’(v.2b) and ‘since you are my rock and my
fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me’ (v.3). You canknow
God’s guiding and leading, by his Spirit. He is your security on which you can
depend.
Your rescuer
He prays, ‘Turn your earto me, come quickly to my rescue’(v.2a). He goes on
to describe how God saw the ‘affliction and… anguish of [his] soul’ (v.7b). Yet
God did not hand him over to the enemy (v.8a). He rescuedhim and has ‘set
[his] feet in a spacious place’(v.8b). In Jesus you receive the ultimate rescue.
He will set your feetin a spacious place.

Lord, thank you that you have rescuedme. In all the trials of life, help me to
keeptrusting in you.
2. Love your rescuerpassionately
Mark 13:32-14:16
Love for Jesus is even more important than love for the poor. Indeed it is our
very love for Jesus that overflows into love for others, especiallythe poor.
Love like this lies behind the anointing of Jesus’body. This woman actedout
of gratitude and love for Jesus. In light of this, her extravagance with very
expensive perfume (probably a year’s wages)was nota ‘waste’(14:4). Of
course, Jesus was notunmindful of the needs of the poor. However, he said the
money she spent was not wasted:‘She poured perfume on my body
beforehand to prepare for my burial’ (v.8).
That act would be remembered for all time (v.9). In Jesus’eyes, nothing you
do out of love for him is ever wasted(vv.7–8)or ever forgottenby him (v.9).
Rather, he sees everything you do out of love for him as ‘a beautiful thing’
(v.6).
Jesus’reference to his burial draws attention to the fact that the events of
Jesus’life are coming to a climax. As they do, it is clearthat the Passoverwas
the setting that Jesus chose forthe final events of his life.
Five times, in this passagealone, the Passoveris mentioned (vv.1,12,14,16).
Jesus clearlyunderstood his death in terms of the Passoverlamb that was to
be sacrificed(v.12). It was the blood of the Passoverlamb that rescuedGod’s
people from judgment and death. ‘For Christ, our Passoverlamb, has been
sacrificed’(1 Corinthians 5:7b).
We see here further evidence that Jesus thought of himself as the unique Son
of God. As he speaks abouthis coming againhe says, ‘About that day or hour
no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’
(Mark 13:32).
What gratitude Tony Bullimore felt for those who rescuedhim! He said that
he could never thank them enough. How much more gratitude and love

should we have for the one who has given his life to rescue us from eternal
death.
Lord, thank you that you gave your life as a Passoversacrifice to rescue me
from judgment and death. Thank you that every time I eatthe ‘Lord’s
Supper’ I am reminded of your sacrifice and my rescue from judgment and
death.
3. Marvelat God’s amazing rescue plan
Leviticus 15:1-16:34
Becauseofhis greatlove for you, God meticulously planned your rescue. The
rescue plan for Tony Bullimore took days of planning and preparation. Of
course, God’s greatrescue plan for humanity took far more planning,
preparation and prefiguring.
The regulations about ‘uncleanness’seemvery strange to our modern ears.
This is because they no longer apply to us. They were fulfilled and superseded
by Jesus.
The Day of Atonement (chapter 16)lays the backgroundto the death of Jesus.
St Paul writes, ‘God presented Christ as a sacrifice ofatonement’ (Romans
3:25). The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus ‘had to be made like them, fully
human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonementfor the sins
of the people’ (Hebrews 2:17).
The fact that the high priest’s own accesshad to be won by sacrifice was proof
enough of the priesthood’s inadequacy (Hebrews 5:3; 7:27; 9:7; 9:11–15).
In the sacrifice onthe Day of Atonement we see an astonishing foreshadowing
of the cross:‘He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goatand confess
over it all the wickednessand rebellion of the Israelites – all their sins – and
put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goatawayinto the wilderness…
the goatwill carry on itself all their sins’ (Leviticus 16:21–22a). This is the
origin of the English word ‘scapegoat’(‘the goatof removal’, v.8).

This prefigures your sin and my sin being ‘laid’ on Jesus (see Isaiah53:4–6).
The apostle Peterwrites of Jesus, ‘“He himself bore our sins” in his body on
the cross’(1 Peter2:24a). He is the one who sends our sins away‘as far as the
eastis from the west’(Psalm103:12). When John the Baptist saw Jesus he
said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes awaythe sin of the world!’ (John
1:29).
As a result, an amazing change has taken place in your relationship with God.
Through Jesus, you can now enter into the Holy of Holies everyday (Hebrews
10:19–20).You can come boldly to the throne of grace (4:16)and know that
you will always be welcome.
Lord, thank you that you have rescuedme by your blood and you died as a
ransom to set me free. Thank you that I cannow come boldly into your
presence everyday.
Pippa Adds
Psalm31:1–8
I love the picture of God being our ‘strong fortress’(v.2). Back in the time of
MedievalBritain, when raiders came to attack a village, the villagers would
run for safety to a fortress and, once they were all inside, they would pull up
the drawbridge. This would cut off the enemy’s accessandkeep everyone safe
inside. When times are tough we can take refuge in God who is our strong
fortress.
https://www.bibleinoneyear.org/bioy/commentary/2101
Jesus Christ and the Rescue ofJoy
Part 1
Park StreetChurch Bicentennial Celebration| Boston

Resource by John Piper
Topic: Joy
The following is a lightly edited transcript.
My plan is to try to remove two obstacles from your embracing Christ and his
understanding of the world — one this morning and another later this
afternoon. I’ll tell you right off the bat what the one is this morning, and then
later I’ll tell you what the one is that I’ll try to remove this afternoonbecause
the obstacle thatI want to remove later today is createdby the wayI remove
the one this morning.
The Massive Problemof Megalomania
The one this morning that I want to remove is one I have felt in my own heart.
I’ve seenit hinder C.S. Lewis from coming to faith, and then he got over the
obstacle. I’ve also seenit hinder another man in London from coming to the
faith, and he hasn’t gotten over it. It goes like this: One of the clear, obvious
truths about the Christian faith is that God is majestic, glorious, powerful,
wise, just, holy, and good. And he made the world, he made you and
everything else, in order to put all of that majesty on display for you to praise
and magnify. And that strikes a lot of people as a very unattractive case of
megalomania.
Let me read a quote from the London FinancialTimes by this fellow that I
mentioned. MichaelProwse is his name, and you’ll hear what I mean by
calling this an obstacle to faith. This is from the March 30, 2003 London
FinancialTimes:
“God, everywhere in the Bible, does what he does for his own glory.”

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Worship is an aspectofreligion that I always found difficult to understand.
Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us,
decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expectus
to worship him? We didn’t ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We
know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage.
But a morally perfectGod would surely have no characterdefects. So whyare
all those people on their knees everySunday?
C.S. Lewis said that, when he read the Psalms in his twenties — he was
convertedwhen he was 29 — and saw their continual litany of “praise God,
praise God, magnify God, extol God,” and he knew the Christian doctrine
that this book is inspired by God, and so understood that God saying, “Praise
me, praise me, praise me, praise me.” And he saidit sounded like an old
woman needing compliments.
So you have C.S. Lewis, who eventually did get over the obstacle. And you
have MichaelProwse who I don’t know whether he’s gottenover the obstacle.
I wrote him a long letter when I read this, to sum up this message. I didn’t
hear back from him. Forhim, he’s not even going toward Christianity
because Christianity is ruled by a megalomaniac.
We don’t like people that — megalomaniacs.If I stoodin this pulpit and said,
“The reasonI came to Bostonis to get your praise, so would you please
applaud a little bit, stand up and saynice things about me? Come on, talk
about me,” you would all say, “This fellow’s sick, he should go back to
Minneapolis.” But if God stands here and says it, we’re supposedto like it.
This is not a straw man. People stumble over this. I was talking to Don Carson
a few weeksago, andas he does what he calls these university missions around
the country, he said that there’s been a shifting of the gears in people’s brains
from 40 years ago to today. The kinds of questions that are often askedare
ones like, “How do you prove that Jesus was raisedfrom the dead?” That

would be 40 years ago. “How can you worship a megalomaniac?”Thatwould
be a question today. So that’s the obstacle I would like to help you over in
these next few minutes.
Createdfor His Glory
Let me underline the fact that it’s not a straw man in that it is really a biblical
problem. It’s in the Bible, it’s not like these guys are making this up. Let’s
look at a few passages. In Isaiah43:6–7, God says to Israel, “Bring my sons
from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called
by my name, whom I createdfor my glory, whom I formed and made.” What
does that mean? “I createdyou for my glory.” It doesn’tmean Godcreated
you to make him more glorious than he was before, like you’re now a
component, and without you he’s defective. That’s not what he’s saying. He’s
saying, “I’m creating you to display my glory, to magnify my glory.” And that
word magnify is tricky because microscopesmagnify and telescopesmagnify.
They do something very different.
Magnify with a microscope, youmake a tiny little thing look bigger than it is.
If you try to magnify God that way, you blaspheme. He’s not little. You can’t
make God look bigger than he is. You try, you blaspheme. A telescope,onthe
other hand, is designedto make things that are enormous, but look little, look
more like they are. That’s the way you’re supposedto magnify God.
God createdus to display his glory, to make it look more like it really is. You
are in God’s image with the gifts that you have for that reason. Believeror
unbeliever, that’s why you’re on the planet: in order to put to people’s eyes,
with the lens of your life, a telescopethat helps them see God for who he really
is. Mostpeople think he’s little, or totally insignificant. Now that’s one text
(Isaiah 43:6–7).
Lacking His Glory

Almost all Christians have learned Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” Isn’t that strange, that he would virtually define
sin as falling short of the glory of God? What does that mean — fall short?
It’s not a very literal translation. A very literal translationwould be “lack” —
“All have sinned and lack.” Whatdoes “lack” mean?
Romans 1:23 says, “We exchangedthe glory of the immortal God for images.”
So you all lack, you’ve all made that exchange. I make it every day. My
emotions get more excited about a new program on my computer than about
God. I am dishonoring God every single day of my life because my emotions
do not rise to the level of approval, joy, delight, praise, and admiration that he
is worthy of. And so I’m falling short of magnifying his glory all the time,
which means I am under his wrath, worthy of judgment — and so are you.
And he, according to the Christian gospelin the Bible, sent Jesus Christ, his
Son, to fix that.
Sent for Glory
Here’s anothertext that makes the problem more significant. Roman15:8–9:
“Christ became a servantto the circumcisedto show God’s truthfulness, in
order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”
So Jesus comes mercifully to lay his life down in our place so that all of this
failure to glorify, honor, magnify God the waywe should could be forgiven,
our righteousness ofperfectioncould be provided by another, counted as mine
if I would trust him. And then you getthis ruinous phrase at the end of verse
nine, “in order that we might glorify God for his mercy.” So there you are
back againwith the self-centeredGod. Even his Son is sent into the world to
get praise for him. And that is absolutelyright.
“Love seeks the greatestjoy of the beloved, and God is the greatestjoy in the
universe.”

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So, whereveryou turn in the Bible, C.S. Lewis was stumbling, MichaelProwse
is stumbling, and they’re stumbling over a real stone. We’re not making it up.
It’s not a straw man that I’ve stuck up here that has some easyway to knock
over. God, everywhere in the Bible, does what he does for his own glory.
We don’t like people like that. I don’t like people like that. If I’m talking to
you after this service, and I get the impressionyou’re trying to getme to say
something nice about you, or know a little more about your savvy, or pick up
on your intelligence, I don’t like you. You don’t like people like that either.
And I’m telling you, that’s the way God is. He is. If you were to talk to God
after this service, his main agenda would be, “Praise me.”
Not a Megalomaniac
There’s the obstacle. Whatis the answerthat would cause anybody to want to
really be with him, spend a day, let alone eternity with him? Let me put it in
my words, and then I’ll put it in C.S. Lewis’s words, and then I’ll get it from
the Bible so you cansee the realauthority behind it.
Here’s my answer. The reasonGod is not a megalomaniac in calling for all of
his creatures to praise him is because Godis most glorified in you when you
are most satisfiedin him. Meaning, if God’s glory is shown to be what it really
is through my enjoying him, being satisfiedin him, then his pursuit of his
glory is his pursuit of my joy, which means that God is the one being in the
universe for whom self-exaltationis the highest virtue and the most
magnificent act of love. That’s my answer. Here’s Lewis’s answer. He wrote a
book on the Psalms where he was describing this stumbling block of his, and
then he wrote this:
My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my
absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to

do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value. I think
we delight to praise what we enjoy not merely because it expresses, but
completes the enjoyment. It is its appointed consummation.
When I read that back in the late 60s, it absolutely changedeverything. This is
sort of like why you go to the Grand Canyon. Why do people go to the Grand
Canyon? It is not to increase their self-esteem. You feelsmall at the edge of
the Grand Canyon, you feelvulnerable, your knees wobble, especiallyif you
walk out on that crazy new gizmo they have out there that you cansee
through, one mile down under your feet. Nobody goes there to say, “I just
want to feel big.”
So why do they go? Because we’re notmade to feelbig, we’re made to admire
big. You all know it. Some of you have books on your coffee tables because
you can’t getthere. You just go look at it in a book, seeing rivers and
mountains — these glossy, big $40 books that you put out there. Why do you
do that, what’s that about? It’s about substitute worship. Not a sin, just you
would like to be at the river, at the mountain, at the canyon, and you can’t get
there so you’re going to look at the book.
We are made to delight in God, and Lewis says in calling us to praise the
canyon, he’s not adding on some little rule, he’s saying, “Bring your joy to
consummation,” which means that all these statements in the Bible, “praise
me, praise me, praise me,” are really translated, “Come to fullest joy in me.
Come to complete, consummate delight in me.” That’s what they’re saying.
This means he’s not a megalomaniac, he’s after your infinite good!
God is stuck with being the most admirable being in the universe. He can only
love you wellby having you know that. If he tries to do some kind of mock
humility, and direct you, say, to me, that is stupid. That would be really
wicked. If he’s going to direct you to that glory and beauty and magnificence
that will satisfyyou, and why you’re made, he must direct you to himself.
This is what love is. Love seeksthe greatestjoyof the beloved, and God is the
greatestjoyin the universe. So he has to be calling people to himself if he
would love them. Nobody can copy him in this. Nobody else may love this way.
I love you by telling you to look to him, and he loves you by telling you to look

to him. If he was to tell you to look to me, or if I was to tell you to look to me,
he and I wouldn’t be loving. We would be cruel. So that’s my answer, and
that’s Lewis’s answer.
Gain — All Gain
Now let’s getit from the Bible. Here’s the text, and I’m sorry it’s not from
Psalm16, I’ve changedmy mind. Psalm16 has those two verses at the end,
“You show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right
hand are pleasures forevermore.” There it is. Now I’m going to go to
Philippians 1:20–21:
“The major quest of the Christian life is, ‘Can I find satisfactionin him at
every point?’”
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It is my eagerexpectationand hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that
with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether
by life or by death. Forto me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Now, logic in the way propositions fit togetherin the Bible is absolutely
crucial. So getthis one. First statement: “My passionis to magnify Christ like
a telescope,to magnify Christ with the way I die,” I’m just going to leave off
the living half and just do the die half, “that I might so die as to make him
look great.” Is that your goal? It’s one of my goals. “I want to die in a way
that makes him look majestic, supremely valuable, glorious, worthy,” and
then he adds, “for to die is gain.”
Now, if I were teaching a class, Iwould just stop here and give you a test:
finish the logic for me, work that out. This is Boston. You’re supposedto be
smart. I read the statistics in the history of the church. So how do you work it

out? “My passionis that Christ will be magnified in the wayI die, in my
death, for,” and then he explains and underpins, “to die is gain.”
And the gain piece is explained two verses laterin verse 23 where he says, “I
would rather depart, die, and be with Christ, for that is far better.” So the
gain here is gaining more of Christ. So now let’s put it together. “My passion
is to magnify Christ in dying, for when I die I will getmore of Christ, and that
will be gain.”
This means Christ is made to look really goodif I geta lot of gain in him.
Christ is most glorified in me when I am most satisfiedin him. You will make
Christ look magnificenton the day you die when you look at your family that
you’re leaving, you look at your house that you’re leaving, you look at the
planned retirement that you will not have that you’re leaving, you look at the
grandbabies that you will not see grow up, and you look at Christ waiting, and
you say, “Gain.”
That will make him look better than family, better than house, better than
retirement. And if you don’t, he won’t, which means your quest for
satisfactionin him is the means by which he will be glorified in you. There’s
the biblical warrant for saying, “Godis most glorified in me when I am most
satisfiedin him, whether I live or whether I die.”
The Questof the Christian Life
The major quest of the Christian life is, “CanI find satisfactionin him at
every point?” This leads me to a stunning application that absolutely blew me
awayin 1968. The stunning application of that truth is, “Well, if that’s right,
if God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfiedin him, then you’re
saying I should devote all my energyand all my time, in every circumstance,
to being as happy as I can be in God.” And I’m saying, “Yes.”
I grew up hearing my dad say, absolutely rightly, “Whetheryou eat or drink,
or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). And I
knew that. I wantedthat. But inside, I’m saying, “I want to be happy. Can I

be happy? Is it okay to want to be happy?” I don’t think you cannotnot want
to be happy, any more than you cannot not gethungry, unless you’re sick.
So, Bible: “Everything you do, make God look glorious in it.” Piper’s heart:
“I want to be happy.” And now, they’re coming togetherwhen I’m about 23
years old. They’re coming together, that not only may I in some kind of
inadvertent result be happy, I must pursue happiness because Godis glorified
that way. If I am indifferent to him emotionally, he’s going to look cheapin
my life. And I don’t want him to look cheap. I want him to look expensive.
He’s rich, he’s glorious, and he’s great.
Pursue Joy— Always
So what we should do for the remainder of our minutes, I think, is spell out
biblically this implication. Becausethis is so shocking to people, I don’t know
if you’ve stumbled like I stumbled. “You mean joy, or happiness, or pleasure,
is not optional? It’s really required?” That has a double whammy. It’s utterly
liberating and utterly devastating.
“We’re commanded to pursue joy, not to be indifferent.”
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It’s liberating because “Youmean it’s okayto want to be happy? It’s okayto
pursue joy with all my might?” And then it’s devastating because we’re
talking God, God as the source and object of that joy, and none of us feel that
way about God until we are born again. A miracle happens in us, and all of
our love affair with the Internet, and our family, and our food, and our work,
all of that just switches places, andGod becomes our supreme treasure.
That’s what the new birth is, when the Holy Spirit turns your world upside
down and your affections are now fixed on your Creator, and not his creation.

Jesus was a rescuer

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