[0:00] Let us turn to the Word of God written by the Apostle John and chapter 1, the same chapter your minister read in our hearing.
[0:16] The Word of God written by the Apostle John, John's Gospel, chapter 1, and our text is verse 29. I shall read the verse.
[0:30] The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
[0:47] John, that is, John the Baptist, was no little preacher.
[0:58] And if we examine the preaching of John the Baptist carefully, we will notice that there are certain distinct notes in the preaching of John that is not found in modern preaching today.
[1:22] And if I were to sum up the preaching of John according to the context here in John 1, I would sum it up in these words.
[1:39] John's preaching was powerful and sound. John's preaching was powerful and sound.
[1:52] Therefore, there are simply two things we need to look at. The powerfulness of his preaching and the soundness of his preaching.
[2:06] Having introduced the subject in this way, let us look at then the first point. John's preaching was powerful.
[2:17] By that I mean, the preaching of John the Baptist affected almost everyone in the community where God placed him.
[2:33] There wasn't a person, it appears, that the preaching of John the Baptist did not affect. Now, having made this statement, let me substantiate my assertion biblically.
[2:52] Firstly, John's preaching affected the royal household. Mark tells us in chapter 6 of his gospel that John's own monarch, Herod, could not resist the preaching of John.
[3:14] He could not resist the powerful preaching of John the Baptist. And Herod manifested some rare qualities.
[3:27] He protected John. He listened to John. He feared John. He loved John. And he listened to his preaching gladly.
[3:42] Until John applied his sermon to the king. That the illicit relationship that is going on in the royal palace is contrary to the word of God.
[3:59] And no sooner, John said that, that meant he was a marked man.
[4:10] And finally, his head was cut off. Secondly, John's preaching affected the religious leaders of his day.
[4:29] The religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees and the elders, could not resist John nor his preaching as irrelevant.
[4:40] Nor could they dismiss him easily. They were forced to set up an ecclesiastical or a religious or a church inquiry to ascertain what manner of man was John and what kind of ministry he had.
[4:58] And so in chapter 1 and in verses 19 to 27, we find a delegation coming to John to inquire from him, from the ecclesiast, who he was.
[5:14] And John bore cogent, clear and distinct testimony that he was not the Christ. Thirdly, John's preaching affected the militia, the soldiers.
[5:31] Luke particularly tells us that the soldiers sought John to inquire of him concerning their lifestyle. There seemed to be some problem they had with their pay.
[5:48] And therefore, John said to them, be contented with your wages. Furthermore, there was a fourth class.
[5:58] Namely, his majesty's collector and inspector of taxes. Or collectors and inspectors of taxes.
[6:09] These group of unscrupulous men, hated by their own Jewish people for defrauding the nation, defrauding the people, they came to John to seek directives.
[6:27] John did not say to them to give up their calling. He simply pointed to them, warned them not to defraud anyone.
[6:39] Finally, his preaching affected the rank and file of ordinary men and women in the street. We are told that they came to him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins, and they were baptized.
[6:57] So, these five strands, so to say, these five constituent elements, if you like, to demonstrate how powerful the preaching of John was, tells us that John's preaching was powerful, and that it aroused a tremendous sensation, a tremendous spirit of expectancy.
[7:25] John was first or headline news in his city. Ain't so preaching. The preaching. The preaching aroused in some, a tremendous sense of guilt.
[7:44] No sooner the Lord Jesus came on the scene, and words went round about him, we are told that Herod had a twinge of conscience.
[7:55] Then he concluded, it was John. Herod's own mistress was bitter against John.
[8:08] But, however, John preached to move men. John preached to move them to think about the state of their souls.
[8:21] John preached to move them to action. So, we find Herod, the religious leaders, the tax collectors, the soldiers, and the common people, were moved by the preaching.
[8:46] John preached for a verdict. And he got the verdict. His preaching was definite. His preaching was direct.
[8:58] His preaching was precise. If I may use the colloquialism, John did not beat about the bush. So then a man who preached like that, had the consciences of men and women on his side.
[9:22] So this is why I say, that John's preaching was powerful. But secondly, John's preaching was sound.
[9:34] John's preaching was sound. The subject and content of John's preaching was Jesus Christ.
[9:48] And if you like, and of him crucified. Observe the language of verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
[10:11] His preaching was crystal clear. And we need to understand this carefully. In three simple ways.
[10:22] If we are to ascertain, in how be it, a small measure, the thrust and purpose, the underlining emphasis on that, of that preaching.
[10:34] When I say, that his preaching was sound. Firstly, he preached, the uniqueness, of Jesus Christ.
[10:48] He preached, the uniqueness, of Jesus Christ. The only of Jesus, it can be chronicled, that he is, the Son of God.
[11:05] Observe Ojan puts it in verse 34. And I have seen, and testified, what?
[11:17] That this, is the Son of God. His unique sonship, is further described, in verse 14.
[11:30] that is called, the only begotten, Son of God. Observe that in verse 14. The word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.
[11:43] Whose glory? The glory, of the only begotten, of the Father. Furthermore, his incarnation, establishes, his own uniqueness.
[11:57] uniqueness. He became, in time, what he was not, throughout eternity. And in the same, verse 14, John tells us, the word, became flesh.
[12:12] He became man. Here you have the, enfleshment of deity. The word, became flesh. And then, see what he did.
[12:23] He, tabernacled, the whole idea, of teaching a tenth, among men. Again, his uniqueness, is opened up, in the whole context, of John 1.
[12:39] He is, God. Observe that, in verse 1. In the beginning, was the word, and the word, was God, and the word, heritage, was God.
[12:52] Here then, is the uniqueness, of the Son of God. He is uniquely, the almighty creator, of this immense, and complex universe.
[13:04] Because we are told, in verse 3, all things were made, through him, and, without him, nothing was made, that was made.
[13:17] He is the everlasting one. In verses 1 and 2, we have the same. In the beginning, was the word, God. He had no beginning.
[13:28] He had no origin. John goes, all the way back, to eternity. He possesses, unique qualities. He is described, as life, as life, and fullness, permanently, resides, in him.
[13:48] Verses 16 and 17. And he possesses, inexhaustible knowledge. He is God. He knows all. We are told, in verse 18, no one has sinned God, at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom, of the Father, he has declared him.
[14:08] And this uniqueness, or the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, these unique qualities, and this unique person, in order to be identified, John needed special, supernatural revelation, to identify the unique person, called the Lord Jesus Christ.
[14:37] Christ. And John tells us, that God did that. Observe in verse 31. He said, I did not know him, but he, but that he should, be revealed to Israel.
[14:50] Therefore, I came baptizing with water. And John bore with this saying, I saw the Spirit, descending from heaven, like a dove, and resting upon him.
[15:01] I did not know him, but, he who sent me, to baptize with water, said to me, upon whom you see, the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is he, who baptizes, with the Holy Spirit.
[15:19] And I have sinned, and I testify, that this, is the Son, of God.
[15:36] Secondly, not only he preached, the uniqueness, of the Lord Jesus Christ, he preached, that his unique title, he preached, his unique title.
[15:52] Observe that, in verse 29. We are told, the next day, John saw Jesus, coming toward him, said, Behold, the Lamb of God.
[16:05] Here is the title. Behold, the Lamb of God. Now, what does that title, say to us?
[16:15] What does it teach? Here we find, Old Testament, Christology, if you like. Old Testament, preaching and teaching, referring to, sacrifice.
[16:31] That's the first thing, the title tells us. The very fact of Lamb, remember, according to the context, John did not give, the people, an explanation, for the title.
[16:44] The people, themselves, did not ask John, for an explanation. Remember, John was the son of a priest. And remember, his audience, his congregation, were Jews.
[16:56] And the very language, of the Lamb, would remind them, of nothing, and nothing else, but sacrifice. But what kind of sacrifice, it would remind them of?
[17:13] It would remind them, not of sacrifice, generally. But this Lamb of God, would remind them, of particular, sacrifice, if you like, of particular, redemption.
[17:29] That this, particular Lamb, comes to die, for a particular people, in a particular way, to purchase them, to purchase them, for God, men out of every, kindred, and tribe, and people, and tongue, and to make them, a kingdom, of priests, and of saints, unto God.
[17:53] But this, title Lamb, also means, substitution. In the Old Testament, when a person sins, and that sin, was against him, or her, the worshipper, brings his lamb.
[18:12] There was the laying, of the hand, and there was the confession, of sin, upon the head, of the innocent animal. The animal, then died, in the place of, instead of, the person.
[18:29] The animal, took the liabilities, the responsibilities, the sin, of the person. And here, John is saying, this Lamb of God, is the great, substitution, is the great, substitute, who must die, if sinners, must be saved.
[18:51] But the Lamb, also tells us, of imputation. That if that, perfect Lamb dies, we who have, no righteousness, as our sins, would be imputed, to him, or put to his account, so therefore, his righteousness, will be put, to our account, and we would be, acceptable to God.
[19:15] But the title, also speaks, of representation. You know, ladies and gentlemen, as far as, God is concerned, I want you, to get that clear. As far as, God is concerned, there have, only been, two, and two persons, that have ever, lived before him.
[19:36] Adam the first, and Adam the second. Adam the second, meaning, Jesus Christ. Here is the, great doctrine, of federal union, that all humanity, is divided, into two, distinct categories.
[19:54] Either, we are grouped, behind Adam the first, or we are grouped, in and behind, Adam the second. This Lamb of God, is the representative, of the new humanity.
[20:08] Furthermore, the Lamb speaks, of propitiation. In the Old Testament, to propitiate, the basic idea, was to cover, to cover sin.
[20:20] In the New Testament, the basic idea, has to do with wrath, to turn away, to hush, and to appease. But how, how will God, or how, is God's wrath, going to be, turned away, from us?
[20:40] He was made, a propitiation, we are told. That God, made his son, a propitiation, for sin. The only way, the wrath of God, the anger of God, could be turned, away, that his son, the Lamb, must be, a propitiation.
[20:56] Then the language, speaks of expiation. That the blood, of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth, from all sin. Now when all, these have taken place, these persons, who are saved, by the Lamb, are preserved, are protected, are separated.
[21:18] They become, the people of Jesus. No sooner, Matthew, opens his gospel, the angel said, call his name, Jesus. Why?
[21:29] For he shall, save, his people, from their sins. As in Exodus 12, no sooner, the sacrificial lamb, was offered, God said, not a dog, is going to bark, against my people.
[21:47] Now therefore, he redeems, the people. And then, the title, and finally, speaks of, salvation, from sin, to holiness, and fellowship, with God.
[22:04] So when John says, remember, the atmosphere, was charged. Remember, all eyes, saw on John. He was the most, vivid preacher.
[22:14] He was a popular preacher. His preacher, was arresting. Get the picture. Thousands, of people, gathered, on the bank, of the river Jordan. Whether it be, the east bank, or the west bank, it doesn't matter, which bank, it was the bank.
[22:29] They were high. They were expecting. They say, all these dignitaries, coming. Royalties, hanging up on every word. Soldiers, hanging up on every word.
[22:41] Tax collectors, hanging up on every word. The common people, hanging up on every word. People would conclude, this must be the Messiah.
[22:59] But then John did, what every true preacher, must do, to turn away, all eyes, from themselves, and to turn them, to the Lamb of God.
[23:16] And that's, what he did. So, John preached, his unique, title. Thirdly, John preached, his unique, work.
[23:36] Not only, his preaching, let us review, his preaching, was powerful. Powerful in the sense, that it affected, almost every person, in the community, in which, God, placed him.
[23:51] But secondly, his preaching, was found. He preached, the uniqueness of Jesus. He preached, the unique, title of Jesus. Now, he preaches, the unique, work, of Jesus.
[24:07] Observe that, in verse 29. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away, the sin, of the world.
[24:17] God. So then, we must deal here, with three things. One, his unique work was, to take away, sin.
[24:31] To take away, sin. Now, the little, word, translated, here, take away, the meaning, the meaning is, to take a thing up, take it up, upon yourself, and you take it away.
[24:51] For instance, I will take my Bible up, and I take it away, so it would disappear. That's the idea, behind, John's word.
[25:03] To demonstrate that, in Mark chapter 2, the same word is found, when a paralytic, was brought to the Lord Jesus, then the Lord said to him, arise, take up your bed, or your mat, and go away.
[25:17] And we are told, he got up, he took his mat, and he, departed. Now, when John says, that Jesus Christ, came to take away sin, he's saying to us, that he came, into the closest proximity, imaginable to sin, and yet he remained sinless, if sin, had to be taken away.
[25:46] And Peter said, he bore our sin, carefully, in his own body, on the tree. Now, you need to bear this in mind, carefully.
[25:59] So then, the preaching of John, is precise here. Now, having explained the word, let me, show you the implications of it. To take away, sin, involves, bearing the penalty, that is due to sin.
[26:19] The apostle tells us, that he, Christ, was made, sin. He, his own self, another apostle, bore in his own body, our sin on the tree.
[26:33] he suffered, he suffered the penalty, that sin deserved. Now, what was the penalty, that sin deserved? The penalty, was death. And Jesus, died.
[26:49] But you say, how could he die? Because he had no sin, he could not sin, because he was sinless. He could not sin, he separated, and made higher than the heavens.
[27:02] And the scriptures themselves, teach us, that he, or in him, there was, no sin. And even on the cross, we find the Lord Jesus, could not die, until he dismissed, his own spirit.
[27:21] We find in the gospel, he said, no man takes away, my life from me, I have power, to lay it down, and I have power, to take it up again. The Bible tells us, he was delivered up, by the determinate counsel, and for knowledge of God.
[27:43] But when he stood, as the substitute, and the wages of sin, involves death, it involves also, the curse of the law, that is to say, the actual wrath, of God.
[28:05] Remember in the garden, get the picture vividly, here Jesus is frustrated, in the garden, and is crying, my father, if it is possible, please, remove this cup from me.
[28:23] He's trembling, the father has the cup, the father is handing, handing over the cup to him. Yet, nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
[28:36] But the only way, the cup could be removed, was that you must die, my son. The only way, my righteousness, is to be satisfied, my justice, is to be satisfied, my wrath, is to be satisfied, you must die.
[28:53] I must not spare you. And he stretched his hands, so to say, and he took the cup, full of the dregs, of the wrath of God, and he exhausted it, to its bitter dregs.
[29:09] And when on the cross, he said, triumphantly, it is finished. And he bowed his head, and died.
[29:29] Furthermore, he was actually made a curse, for us. Not the curse of man, but the curse of God. He who hangs upon a tree, is accursed, to redeem us, to redeem us, from under the law.
[29:53] For the law, that involves, abandonment from God. This perhaps explains, the darkness, and the cry, of desertion, the cry, of abandonment, the cry, of anguish, where we find, our Lord Jesus, and I say it reverently, almost, at the point, of despair.
[30:22] My God, Eli, Eli, Leba Sabat Feli, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[30:34] But what the answer would be, simply this, sin, must be taken away, and as the substitute, you must be forsaken.
[30:49] But he was not abhorred, mind, by his father. Furthermore, to take away sin, in the Old Testament, meant, to be cut off, to be cut off, from the covenant community, to be cut off, from all the privileges, of that covenant community, all the provisions made, all the blessings made, that soul, that sins, it shall die, that soul, shall be cut off, from among his people, and Jesus was cut off, that was the explanation, of the darkness, he died outside, of the city, and that is significant too, but also, to take away sin, involves, innocency, and guilt, now, let me explain, let me explain, carefully, what I mean,
[31:53] Jesus was both, innocent, and guilty, let me explain, in so far, as he standing, before men, was concerned, he was innocent, let me give you documentation, Luke 23 tells us, that Pilate said, to the Jews, I have found, no fault, in this man, he further, reminded them, that their own, king, Herod, found no fault, in the man, referring to Christ Jesus, Matthew tells us, whilst Pilate, was sitting, on the judgment seat, the messenger came, with, a message, to Pilate, a message, from Mrs. Pilate, and the message, was this, have nothing, to do, with this, just, man, furthermore, there were, two malefactors, crucified, with him, one, said to the other, we, are receiving, in our bodies, the just reward, for our sin, but, this man, has done, nothing amiss, after the crucifixion, we, we are also told, that the Roman, centurion, testimony, was this, surely, this, was, a righteous man, and, even the people, bore, a mute, testimony, look tells us, they went away, beating their breasts, that was, the human court, but, let us take, the supreme court, the court, of heaven,
[34:24] Jesus, is standing, before the bow, Jehovah, is judge, and, Jesus, is guilty, he is guilty, not because, of the sins, he has committed, for he had no sin, he is guilty, not because, he had any sinful food, for he could not, think sinfully, he is guilty, because, he stood, as the substitute, in my place, condemn this tomb, and the apostle, tells us, that God, did not, spare his own son, who, delivered up, Jesus, to die, it was not, Herod, because, he looked upon,
[35:28] Jesus, perhaps, as a threat, it was not, Pilate, because of all, the trouble, he had, with the emperor, in Rome, and all the reports, that the Jews, would be brought, to the emperor, against him, it was not, Judas, because, he was a lover, of filthy, the emperor, of filthy, the emperor, of filthy, luke, neither, was it, the high priest, Ananias, and Caiaphas, the elders, the scribes, and the Pharisees, no, who, who, delivered up, Jesus, to die, Isaiah, tells us, it pleased, the Lord, to bruise him, he, has put him, to grief, why, because he, stood as the, substitute, before, Jehovah, therefore, to take away sin, means, to remove it, out of sight, now, let us go, to the illustration,
[36:45] I give to you, now, in terms, of Mark, chapter 2, when the Lord, said to the paralytic, get up, take your bed, and go home, he got up, he took his bed, and he went home, there was no bed, in the presence, of Jesus, there wasn't a bed, in the presence, of the multitude, the bed, was taken away, now, when John says, sin, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away sin, this is Old Testament language, but we need to ask, out of whose sight, is sin taken away, the only answer is, sin, is taken away, from the sight of God, God, and the only way, sin could be taken away, from the sight of God, is that Jesus must die, for sin, remember what Habakkuk said, you who are of purer eyes, than to behold evil, you cannot look upon iniquity, sin, sin, is a horrible evil, sin, is horrible wretched, sin, is a wretched evil, it is a horrible evil, and God, cannot look upon it, and if sinners, are to be forgiven, sin must be removed, and the only one, competent and qualified, to remove the sin, from the sight of Jehovah, is the Lamb of God, so this is why,
[38:37] John, used the term, he takes away, yet we must observe, secondly, what, he uniquely, took away, observe verse 29, John tells us carefully, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away, observe, the sin, of the world, now that is important, if you have a good translation, that translation, would have sin, in the singular, and not sin, in the plural, this is important, because, here, we have, what I call, biblical, singular tense, it shows us, the completeness, of the work, of Jesus Christ, now let me explain, why did he use then, the singular, rather than the plural, for this simple reason, all the sins, plural, of all his people, throughout all the ages, were regarded, as one gigantic, one big conglomerate sin, sin, and that implies, sin, in its collectiveness, sin, in its aggregate, sin, in its entire, sum, and substance, sin, sin, in all its, horrible, ugliness, sin, in its, lock, stock, and barrel, the entire, weight, the entire, load of sin, the entire, mass, the entire, tonnage, of sin, in other words, all the sins, of all his people, throughout all the ages, were, as it were, placed in a single sack, or put in a single sack, and placed upon the back, of the son of God, and the whole, titanic load, that entire weight, he began to carry, this is why John used the present tense, from the moment of his incarnation, to the day of execution, he carried the weight of sin, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
[42:19] overwhelmed, overwhelmed, overwhelmed, overwhelmed, and Jesus was overwhelmed, and the bible tells us, he fell down, he sweated, great drops of blood, he was almost, crushed under it, and what do people say, they say, well he could, suffer, because he was God, that is true, but to be consistent, with our theology, the father had made provision, in Isaiah's prophecy, and in Matthew's testimony, that the father, was going to uphold, his son, behold my servant, to my uphold, sin, was not going, to have the better of him, death, was not going, to grip him, he was going, to conquer death, through death, and therefore, the whole, titanic load of sin, the whole assemblage, of sin, crushed, crushed him, and caused him, to sweat blood, my friend, can we play, with sin, when this wretched, horrible, sin, killed, the son of God, that we might live, can we,
[43:34] I ask you, can we, play with sin, can we, when the smallest sin, can damn us, into blackness, and darkness, and horrible tempest, can we, I do not think, we realize, the full, horrible, of that evil, never, never, never, ever, was so much sin, placed upon, a single head, and never, ever, will it be placed, upon, any other head, so, John, is very careful, to tell us, of what Jesus did, he took away, sin, what he did, took it away, what he took away, sin, the third aspect, of the uniqueness, of his work, is, the intent, and extent, of that work,
[44:56] John, is very careful, to point out, observe the verse again, behold, the lamb of God, who takes away, the sin, of the world, now, it is the word, world, that we must come, to consider, all that I have said, to you, perhaps, has been relatively easy, relatively easy, it is in, in the interpretation, of the word, world, that people seem, to score, rounds, and every person, turns, and they make, all kind of things, now my purpose, is not to go, religious, witch hunting, no, no, that's not my purpose, I am going, to give you, what I consider, to be, the interpretation, and, if you do not, believe it, you are entitled, to your own interpretation,
[46:08] I am not going, to fight with you, I am not going, to quarrel with you, I am not going, to say, I am not going, to speak to you, you need to remember, that, John the Baptist, was, chronologically, the last prophet, in the Old Testament, we need to be others in mind, because without that, we will misinterpret, what he is saying, and he is preaching, in unity, with the Old Testament, and there is also, a continuity, with the Old Testament, so there is, tremendous harmony, in the preaching of John, and with that, of his predecessors, others, but what do we find, in the Old Testament, in the Old Testament, we discover, that God, established, an exclusivism, when it comes, to his worship, when it comes, to the blessing, that is, the saving blessing, upon the community, it was, only for the Jews, to them, belong the covenant, the prophets, the blessings, the temple, the privileges, you name it, they had it, and, this middle wall,
[47:43] God erected, this middle wall, of partition, but, within the same, Old Testament, we have, a divine promise, and a divine promise, that God is going, to break, that middle wall, and that the mystery, is going to be revealed, which is Christ, among you, Gentiles, the hope of glory, in so doing, God is going, to bring about, an inclusivism, that is to say, his salvation, is going, to include, the Gentiles, because not only Christ, is a light, and a glory, to Israel, but also, a light, to the Gentiles, he is given, as a covenant, to the people, now to this end, said the apostle, Peter, when it comes, to the salvation, of Jew, and Gentiles,
[48:48] God, who knows, the hearts, of all men, acknowledge Gentiles, by giving them, the same Holy Spirit, justifying them, in the same way, he justified, the Gentiles, he justified, the Jews, setting them apart, in the same way, he set apart, the Jews, giving them, the same Savior, he gave to the Jews, and therefore, he purified, both the hearts, of the Gentiles, and the hearts, of the Jews, by faith, here John was, years ahead, of his time, if you like, therefore, we believe, that it is, through grace, through the grace, of the Lord Jesus, both Jews, and Gentiles, are saved, but they are saved, in the same way, through the same Savior, there is no longer, that exclusivism, through his death, he has made, of two peoples, one people, he has redeemed, the people, to show forth, the praises, of his glory, the praise, of him, who has called them, out of darkness, into his marvelous light, whether they be, in Bithynia, whether they be, in Palestine, whether they be, in the Tropic of Cancer, or in the Tropic of Capricorn, whether they be, in the East, or whether they be, in the West, whether they be,
[50:20] Eskimo, or whether they be, African, it doesn't matter, there is, one Savior, and therefore, John is saying, the Islam of God, takes away, the sin of the world, the exclusivism, God will remove, and there will be, a tremendous, inclusivism, and Jesus himself said, now is the prince, of this world, cast out, and I, if I be lifted up, from the earth, I will draw, all kinds of men, unto myself, all kinds of people, and so therefore, John himself, tells us in Revelation, that, he has redeemed, for God, a people, out of every tongue, out of every tribe, out of every kindred, out of every people, out of every nation, and he has made them, a kingdom of priests, and of saints, unto God, so then we find, in the whole scripture, old and new testament, there is tremendous unity, tremendous continuity, tremendous harmony, and then to explain this away, and to shoot out with it, as if John is teaching, a different doctrine, is mishandling, the word of God, this, my friends, is what I take it to be, the intent, and extent, of the atonement, that he died, for all his people, and this is why, we as Gentiles, glory, in the gospel, of the grace, of God, you see that, so do not, wash away, your own confidence, now what does that tell us, that tells us, several things, it tells us that, the gospel, has a peculiar way, in leveling us, you know, we are living in society, where there are structures, and departmentalizations, and classes, and what have you, the gospel of Jesus Christ, levels us, in other words, as, we are equal, image bearers, as, we have an equal, father, in Adam, as, we are equal, transgressors, as, we are equal, in the fall, so, all those, who are in Christ, have, that spiritual, equality, this is why, the apostle could say, in Christ, there is no barbarian, there is no Scythian, no bond, no free, all one in Christ, this is the leveling, influence of the gospel, so we cannot say, as it is reported, by a certain respectable lady, if I am to be saved, in the same way, with my coach man,
[53:36] I will not have, this salvation, my friend, we need, to be very careful, wherever God has placed you, in the structure, in society, bless God, for it, and the Bible say, rejoice with them, that do rejoice, and weep with them, that weep, but there is one thing, we have in common, our union, with Christ, now said John, that is, the interpretation, Jews, and Gentiles, are equal, in redemption, and therefore, in the preaching, of John the Baptist, we have seen, summing up his preaching, his preaching, was powerful, and sound, and I explained to you, what I mean, by the powerfulness, of his preaching, I gave you five, constituent elements, then we looked into, his preaching, was sound, he preached, the uniqueness, of the son of God, the uniqueness, of his title, and the uniqueness, of his work, and he tells us, he takes away, what he takes away, and whose sin, he takes away, so we must come, hurriedly, to one or two conclusions, and because I have been asked, then to preach evangelistically, it is pointless, getting your emotions, all worked out,
[55:16] I don't do that, but having, established the basis, having established, the foundation, I have every right, and every duty, before God, and before your own consciences, to plead with you, whether you are Jew, whether you are Gentile, whether you are Caucasian, whether you are Mongrel, whether you are Negroid, whether you are Rupee, it doesn't matter, the fact remains this, I ask you, has the Lamb of God, taken away, your particular sin, has he, then if your sin, sins, sins, have not been taken away, my friend, you are in a most dangerous position, you say,
[56:24] I'm in no danger, physically, you may not be, but spiritually, you are, the sheer brevity of life, and the sheer uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death, and its lack of prejudice, is enough, to cause you, to drive you, to cry unto God, the Lamb of God, Lord Jesus, take away my sin, but my friend, my responsibility, is to show you, or to win you over, so to say, to plead with you, yea, I go even further, to beg you, to be reconciled to God, that's a biblical term, don't get me wrong, because the apostle said, we implore you, we beg you, we plead with you, be reconciled to God, and if the apostle Paul, was a beggar, begging men and women, to turn from their sins, and to turn to the living God, should I come to you with pride?
[57:53] No, we shouldn't do that, therefore Jesus said, all that comes to me, I will on no account, turn away, he said on another occasion, if any man first, let him come unto me, and drink, my friend, sin has created a death, a death that is worse, than the famine in Ethiopia, sin has created, such an emergency, such an exigency, sin has stripped us, of everything, sin has exposed us, to the wrath of God, sin is threatening us, and we carry our sin, but Jesus, the Lamb of God, died to take away sin, and my plea with you tonight, is this, give me, give me one good reason, why you must continue, in your sin, you say, yes I can, it is sweet, and I like it, very well, there is, sweetness of sin,
[59:03] I am not disputing that, you say, well I like my sin, because it gives me, something to do, it gives me a kick in life, very well, it does give you, a kick in life, but you know, sometimes the kick is fatal, let me explain, there was a young businessman, 45 years of age, who died, when they took him, to the cemetery, the people were inquiring, oh, what a shame, a young man like that, what a waste, and they turned to the vicar, they said, well, what happened, he said, very simple, he was kicked, by the golden calf, and he never revived, that a strange way, to put it, but it was a true way, let me give you, one illustration,
[60:17] I, hesitate to give it, but it is so close, to my heart, that I must give it to you, especially those of you, who are young people, and who think, you have life before you, my friend Jeffrey, we were good friends, Jeffrey was 16, flamboyant, easy going, the natural thing for youth, and I used to meet with him, a likable young man, intelligent young man, and to plead with Jeffrey, concerning his sin, and it is time to get right with God, his argument was, well, Mr. Bless, I am still young, I have lots of time before me, and I pleaded with him, because knowing the family well,
[61:22] I left Jeffrey, Jeffrey left home, at eight o'clock, to go to a disco, by ten o'clock, there was a telephone call, that the parents, should come immediately, to the London hospital, when they got there, Jeffrey was dead, I tell you, I was shaken, the community where he lived, was shaken, his school, shaken, my friend, there is something urgent, there is something serious, and I plead with you, do not continue, to harden your heart, now, is the day, of salvation, seek you the Lord, while he may be found, call upon him, while you is there, let the wicked, forsake his way, and the unrighteous man, his thoughts, and let him return, to the Lord, and he'll have mercy, upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly, pardon him, can you, can you, can you give me, one good reason, why you must perish, can you give, one good reason, why you must perish, when there is such mercy, such kindness, such grace, when God, in Jesus Christ, offers to you, a full, and free gospel,
[63:43] I plead with you, my friends, be reconciled, to God, for your own soul's sake, for your own, eternal well-being, John preached, to the people, the people, he did the preaching, some hardened, their hearts, some repented, some turned, the king decided, he will continue, in his sin, but then John, was a burning, and a shining light, they were willing, to rejoice, in his light, for a while, my friend, what I'm asking, I'm not saying to you, Christ has died, to make it possible, for you to be saved, no, that will be insulting, your intelligence, he died, that you might live, I am not offering you, a possibility of salvation, no, that is risky,
[64:50] I'm offering you salvation, Christ offered himself, he said, come to me, all you who are weary, and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you, learn of me, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, so I ask you, behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away, the sin of the world, and I plead with you, in the language, of an old, Puritan preacher, come, welcome to Jesus, us, we shall conclude, our service, by singing, to God's praise, in Psalm 45, the second version, of the Psalm, and reading, from verse 2, the tune is Milan,
[66:13] Psalm 45, the second version, of the second verse, singing verses 2 to 5, thou farest of all men, grace in thy lips, doth flow, and therefore, blessings evermore, on thee, doth God bestow, verses 2 to 5, to the tune Milan, and perhaps, we'll stand up, to sing this Psalm, of the children, on thee, Oh Oh Oh
[67:30] For meekness, truth, and right, my cross must be in state.
[67:48] And I, I am, shall teach to thee things terrible and great.
[68:02] The nation shall pierce thy heart and pose thy to thy King.
[68:17] Whereby in whose salvation the people shall reign.
[68:33] Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit the Comforter rest upon and abide with you now and ever.
[68:47] Amen.