Thank you, Pastor Ronnie, for the thought-provoking song this evening. Certainly, if you and I were to sit down and determine how the redemption of mankind would be secured, we probably would not have come up with God's plan, but I'm so thankful for Jesus Christ and the plan that God threw into motion in eternity past, because he is the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. So thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll be continuing our look through the epistle to the Galatians this evening by considering Galatians 3, verses 6 through 14. So join me if you would there. In this epistle, Paul is arguing that salvation is completely a gift of the grace of God plus nothing. Salvation is not a product of an assortment of works that we must do, nor is it a product of the addition of our works to the work of God. It is completely the work of God offered to us by the free gift of His grace. In this doctrinal section of the book, Paul presented, in verses 1 through 5 of this chapter, the personal or the experiential argument. In other words, he spoke to the Galatians about the message of salvation that they received when Jesus Christ, in his crucifixion, was preached clearly and consistently among them. Now to the personal or the experiential argument, Paul adds the scriptural argument. You need to remember this truth. Experience alone cannot be judged as objective and absolute, but must be judged by the objective, absolute truth of God's Word. Experience alone cannot be judged as absolute and objective. We must take our experiences and run them through the objective, absolute filter of the truth of God's Word. How does this apply to salvation? I don't know about you, but I have personally communicated with a number of individuals who are holding on to an experience as the basis of their assurance in salvation. For example, I've heard things like, well, I had a vision of Jesus and he spoke to me. I remember since I've been pastor here at Cornerstone, I spoke with an individual who had visited our church a couple of times and questioned him about his salvation. And he told me that as he was living as a young adult, he experienced hell on earth. And one night he was in bed and Jesus, and he actually said it this way, a little Jesus, descended from somewhere up above, through the roof of his apartment, into his room, stood on the edge of his bed, and told him because he had lived through hell on earth, he would not experience that in eternity. I've spoke with people who simply said, well, I heard a voice, and the voice said these words to me. I once prayed for something and my prayer was answered. I once prayed for a family member that I knew who was going through a tough time and my prayer was answered. So apparently I am right with God. I'm a Christian. I'm saved. I've heard individuals say, well, everything was going wrong in my life, but then something happened and everything changed and now everything is going right. So apparently I have unlocked the truth of living a good life and even going on into eternity. I kid you not, I was watching a Christian video recently that was on YouTube. And you know how YouTube works. From time to time there is an ad that will come up. And this ad came up and it just It got my attention. It was this elderly gentleman standing in a beautifully decorated office. He was obviously very well dressed, and he talked about how everything was just going wrong in his life. He was on the streets. He was homeless. And one day, this very well-dressed man walked up to him and asked the man about his situation. And he told him, well, I'm homeless. I don't have a job or anything like that. And the man told him, well, I just lost my job. Can you lend me a dollar? Well, here was the homeless guy. He actually had $5, so he lent the nice, well-dressed man who had just lost his job a dollar. Well, later on, that well-dressed man that he had met came back and saw him again and was so thankful that he had lent him a dollar that he decided to share with him what this gentleman in the ad called an odd-looking bracelet. And he took the odd-looking bracelet and put it on, and shortly after that, got a job, started making a lot of money, traveling all over the world. But as he was traveling to one location, he lost the odd-looking bracelet, and then everything went south in his life again. This man was trusting this odd-looking bracelet. I'm not making this up. I've heard things like, well, I know this person, my parents were these people and did this or that, or I grew up in church. I've heard things like, well, I talk to God all the time, or I do or don't do these things, or I have done these things and I've not done these things. I've heard all of these different thoughts. People's experiences, what they are depending on for assurance of their salvation, or if you will, that they've merited some favor with God, that they're going to experience some utopian eternity because of experiences like these. It's not my place to judge anyone's experience. That's not the point. The point this evening is that my subjective experience should not be the basis of my assurance of salvation, but the objective, absolute truth of God's Word. And that's what Paul is going to discuss. He presented the Galatians with, here's what you experienced, but now In Galatians 3, 6 through 14, he's going to provide them the scriptural argument, and in doing so, God desires to lead these believers, to lead us to a lasting recognition and reception of the truth that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. And so let's read this passage together, Galatians 3 verses 6 through 14, and then we'll pray and ask God to help us as we study it together. Galatians 3 beginning in verse 6, Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. 4. The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Let's pray together. Lord, as we now look to your word, I ask that you would speak to our hearts. Use the word of God to convince, to convict, to challenge us, to comfort us, to give us assurance of your truth, And Lord, I pray that we would praise you that salvation is dependent not upon some experience that we have had, but it is dependent upon the objective truth of your word. Lord, I pray that if there is someone here this evening or listening by way of the webcast who does not know Jesus as Savior, that you would use the message in their hearts to draw them to Christ. And we will be sure to praise you for it in Jesus precious name. Amen. I want you to look with me at this passage through two different lenses. First of all, the scriptural basis of salvation. In verses six through nine of this passage, Paul speaks to the Galatian believers about the scriptural basis of salvation. He does so by connecting the Old Testament revelation with what was now being given, the New Testament revelation through Jesus Christ. He appealed to the Old Testament revelation connected to Abraham, which accomplishes two important goals. Remember that Paul here is dealing with a group that has infiltrated the church, who is teaching that salvation is not through grace alone, by Christ alone, but it is by works. It is Jesus Christ plus. So by alluding to Abraham and bringing out the truth of the Old Testament, Paul presents, one, the father of the Jewish people, which is held in high regard by the Jews. But secondly, he appeals to an example that predates the law. These Judaizers wanted to point to Moses, wanted to point to the law. By going all the way back to Abraham, Paul gives us an example that predates the law. What is the most important question of salvation? If you were to sit down and think about the different aspects of salvation, what might be the most important question? I believe that what Paul submits to us through this passage of Scripture is that the most important question of salvation is the question of justification, being declared righteous by God. How was Abraham justified? Paul declares that Abraham was justified by God on account of his faith. In Romans 4, verses 1-3, Paul writes these words, "'What shall we say, then, that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God. and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Paul quotes the Old Testament word for word in Genesis 15, verse 6, where the Bible declares that Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. Martin Luther, the great reformer, who himself was steeped in Roman Catholicism, trying every practice to find himself justified before God and yet finding no peace. In fact, it was while he was on a pilgrimage, doing what he thought would merit him some favor to God, climbing the steps of one of the great basilicas on his knees until his knees were bloodied, that suddenly the passage of Scripture that says, the just shall live by faith, came to his heart and mind, And right there, in that moment, Martin Luther stood to his feet, walked back down the stairs, knowing he was justified by God, not by his works, but by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his writing, he wrote these words, faith in God constitutes the highest worship, the prime duty, the first obedience, and the foremost sacrifice. Without faith, God forfeits His glory, wisdom, truth, and mercy in us. The first duty of man is to believe in God and to honor Him with his faith. Faith is truly the height of wisdom, the right kind of righteousness, the only real religion. Faith says to God, I believe what you say. And that's what Paul is driving home in this passage. Faith alone, in Christ alone, is the only certain basis of salvation. Using Abraham as his illustration, Paul makes three applications. Number one, the same faith. Look at verse 7 again, he says, This is such an important point because the Jews took great pride in being descendants of Abraham. John the Baptist and Jesus both combated that arrogancy during their ministries. Multiple occasions as the Jews would confront John the Baptist for his preaching or confront Jesus Christ for his preaching, they would even bring up this thought that they were the children of Abraham. And John the Baptist and Jesus both had to combat the arrogancy in the Jewish people for being descendants of Abraham. There were even some who believed that it was enough to be a descendant of Abraham to allow entrance into heaven. In fact, one writer writes that at that time, the time of Christ, the time of Paul, some of the Jewish rabbis taught that Abraham stood at the gates of hell just to make sure that none of his descendants accidentally slipped by. They actually taught that Abraham was standing at the gate of hell watching for any of his descendants who were on that path to hell, and he would stop and turn them essentially the other direction, send them back on toward heaven. What was Paul's biblical answer to this? Faith, not genetics, is the most important link to Abraham. It is faith that makes one a true child of Abraham, not genetics. Jesus alluded to that in his interaction with Zacchaeus. When he said these words in Luke 19 in verse nine, and Jesus said unto him, Zacchaeus, this day is salvation come to this house, for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. Jesus was not saying that salvation came to Zacchaeus because he was a descendant of Abraham. Jesus was saying that Zacchaeus was a true son of Abraham, a true descendant, because of faith that brought salvation. Paul added these words in Romans 4 in verse 11. And he, speaking of Abraham, received the sign of circumcision. a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also." What is Paul saying? A man is made righteous. He is justified, declared righteous by God. God's righteousness is imputed unto him, not by following the works of the law, circumcision, but by faith. This then brings this truth from Jesus to the Galatians right on to us. Abraham was justified by God on account of his faith. And this is how anyone and everyone who is justified by God is so, on account of faith. As the Jew is not saved because he is a physical descendant of Abraham, friends, so I am not saved by being a physical descendant of Christian parents who served God in full-time vocational ministry. Salvation never comes to anyone secondhand. Never does you and I cannot depend upon some experience. We cannot depend upon who our parents were. We cannot depend upon what we might have been brought up in to be the basis of assurance of salvation. Salvation only comes by faith and never is given out second hand the same faith. Notice the sure foundation in verse eight. Paul here in verse number eight gives personality to the scriptures. He speaks of the scriptures as foreseeing, as preaching, and as speaking, saying, He quoted here from the Abrahamic Covenant recorded in Genesis 12, 1 through 3, when he says, Do you remember the Abrahamic Covenant? God called Abraham to leave the earth of the Chaldees to go to a new land that he would show to him. God said to Abraham, I'll bless you. I'll make your family as the stars of the sky, as the sands of the seashore. I'll bless them that bless you. I'll curse them that curse you. through you and your seed shall all the families of the world be blessed." What does Paul say about that final part of the Abrahamic covenant here in Galatians 3 in verse number 8? He says this, in speaking that covenant to Abraham, what was God, the scriptures, declaring to Abraham? The gospel. Friends, don't miss this. In telling Abraham that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed, Paul says the scripture was proclaiming the gospel. The coming Messiah through Abraham's line. through whom faith brings salvation. It is the gospel. The gospel declares that God justifies through faith. And here's the wonderful part for us, not just the Jew, but all nations. Verse number eight, he would justify the heathen. All nations would be blessed. The same faith, the sure foundation. Notice verse number nine, the simple fact. This leads to Paul's conclusion. Those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham. Now, here's the question. What was Abraham's blessing? Now we might say, well, the entire covenant, and there's a sense in which that is true. But what was the ultimate blessing that Abraham experienced of the scripture's proclamation to him? It's this, that Abraham was declared righteous on account of his faith. The blessing that Abraham experienced was justification by God through faith. And that is the same way that those who are of faith are blessed. Justification by God through faith. Now, as Paul presents the scriptural basis for salvation, he is not questioning anyone's experience, but he simply pointed to the scriptural basis of salvation. Can I ask you this evening, what are you clinging to as the basis of your assurance of salvation? If we were to each question one another this evening, what are you holding onto as the basis of the assurance you have in your salvation? If I were to step into the living room or the kitchen or wherever you may be of those who are watching the stream this evening or at some other time and ask you, what are you holding onto as the assurance of your salvation, what would your answer be? Friends, it's not some experience. It is only the objective Word of God, not our subjective experiences, that is the only certainty that we can look to. When we do, when we look to the objective Word of God, we find that salvation, being justified by God, comes only by grace through faith. Salvation is not about an experience, heritage, obedience, church membership, or anything like these. God justifies those who believe in Jesus. Romans 3, 24 through 28. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remissions of sin that are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of him, which believeth in Jesus, where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law. Friends, salvation clearly is through faith alone, in Christ alone. If you've looked to an experience that is not consistent with the Bible message of salvation, believe in Jesus Christ. Faith alone in Christ alone is the only way of justification, the scriptural basis of salvation. But let's transition to the second lens that Paul presents in this text, the scriptural blessings of salvation. After plainly declaring the gospel of grace through faith, Paul spoke to show the futility of attaining righteousness by the law. He declared that the law puts man under a curse while faith brings a blessing. He quoted from the Old Testament to show that one must continue to live in conformity to the law at all times to achieve righteousness by the law. How many of you have ever broken a law of the city of Rocky Mount or of the state of North Carolina? Go ahead, raise your hand. All of us, that would be true of, right? I know I've sped at some point. I don't remember any recent times, but I know that I've sped in my vehicle at some point, along the interstate or along a state road or something. But I've broken the law of the city of Rocky Mount. I've broken the law of the state of North Carolina, and so have you. Now, what's true about the law? What's true about the law is this. If you go an entire year, we're nearing the end of 2020. I know, praise the Lord. I know, okay? Just get it out. We're getting close to the end of the year, and some of you might think back, and you might legitimately say, you know, I have not broken a law of the city of Rocky Mountain or of the state of North Carolina this year. Well, guess what? When we get to the end of the year, here is what will not happen. You will not have somebody knock on your door the last day of 2020 and say, I am here to present you with this medal for not breaking a law all year long. That's not gonna happen. What will happen is something like this. Calvin's gonna drive to school tomorrow in that nice red truck of his. And somewhere along the way, between here and Wilson, Calvin might step on it just a little too much. And if, I heard Dad said, better not, or something like that. And if he's not cautious, he might see some lights start flashing behind him. And a police officer will pull Calvin over and come up and he'll ask for Calvin's license and registration. He'll ask Calvin if he knows why he was being pulled over today. And here's what will not happen. Calvin might try, but this won't happen. Calvin might look at that officer and say, officer, I go to school in Wilson. I drive to and from five days a week, and officer, I promise you, this is the first time all school year that I've sped on the way to school. What will not happen is the officer will not say, oh, really? Okay, well, you know, that's fine then. I'm not gonna worry about it today. That won't happen, will it? No, unless Calvin's a better sweet talker than I believe him to be, that Calvin's gonna go ahead and write him a ticket and hand it to him and tell him to have a nice day. And Calvin's gonna say, yeah, whatever. You say, pastor, what is your point? My point is this. The law does not reveal who keeps it. It deals with those who break it. Isn't that true? The law is not a system that recognizes those who keep the law. The law is a system to deal with those who break it. You could keep the law for years and years and years, break one law after keeping the law for years, and guess what? You'll still be arrested and penalized. You'll still be ticketed. What's true of God's law? God's law reveals guilt. It does not recognize righteousness. Paul clearly explains in Romans chapter 3 that God gave his law that the whole world might become guilty before God to show us that we are law breakers. What did the Old Testament require? You look at the Old Testament. The Old Testament scripture required complete and consistent law-keeping for righteousness to come by the law. If you are going to achieve, attain righteousness by the law, you must keep the law completely and consistently. And if you failed to do so, the law recorded numerous curses for failure. So Paul came to the only logical conclusion. What was that? It is evident that no one is justified by the law. John Phillips wrote of a run-in he had with a religious individual who tried to impose the law on him as the means of salvation. He writes about this conversation at the time he was living in the far reaches of northern Canada. And as this man was speaking to him, trying to impose the law on him as the means of salvation, John Phillips asked him a question, how do you heat your home during the winter? He heated his home during the winter the same way that everybody does up there at that time, and that was by feeding the fire logs all day long. And John Phillips reminded this man that the law said that you could not do that type of work on the Sabbath day. They continued to converse and John Phillips pointed out that while this man was trying to force him to keep the laws, the means of earning salvation, John Phillips said to the man, you want me to commit myself to keep the Sabbath, to take upon myself responsibility to keep the Mosaic law, when you not only do not keep it yourself, but cannot keep it. It's not even possible. By not keeping it, you put yourself under its curse. And he said, you certainly aren't going to get me under that curse too. Friends, that's what Paul declares here in Galatians chapter three, verses six through 14. If salvation comes by the law, we're missing the truth, even of the Old Testament. It requires complete, consistent obedience without any failure to attain righteousness by the law. And so to put yourself under the law is to actually put yourself under the curse and condemnation of the law. But in contrast to the curse of the law, Paul enumerates the blessings of salvation through faith. There are three clearly identified in this text. Number one is life. Look at verse 11, he declares, shall live by faith. The just, those who are justified by God, shall live. This emphasizes not simply physical earthly life, but spiritual eternal life. And what does the Bible declare? The just shall live by faith. This is not only New Testament. It's quoted three times in the New Testament from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. in chapter 2 and verse 4, the just shall live by faith. The law says do and live, but this is humanly impossible. Think about this. The first and greatest sinner is not the murderer, adulterer, or thief. You and I measure sin that way. What's the greatest wickedness you can think of someone committing? Murder. Adultery. Theft. Something like that may be one of our answers. But friends, think about it. The first and greatest sinner is not the murderer, adulterer, or thief. The first and greatest sinner is the one who breaks the first and greatest commandment. What is the first and greatest commandment? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength." Who among us can claim that we have loved God with all of our being at every moment? None. If there's no one who can claim to have loved God with all of their being at every moment, then friends, we're all guilty of breaking the first and the greatest commandment. So when the law says, this do and thou shalt live, we find ourselves confronted with the humanly impossible. But where the law says do, grace says done. By the law, we are condemned and cursed, but by faith in the grace of God and what his grace has done, we pass from curse and condemnation to blessing in life. Jesus declared in John 5, 24, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death. unto life. The scriptural blessings of salvation, number one. Life, number two. Redemption. Look at verse number 13. Paul declares, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. One wrote about redemption that redemption points to the payment of a price that sets sinners free. Redemption comes from a practice in ancient warfare. In ancient warfare, in many cultures, after a battle, the victors would often capture some of the defeated. Among the defeated, there would be those who were poor, and the poor ones would usually be sold as slaves. But the wealthy and important men that were captured, who meant much to their nation or to the city, who mattered in their own country, these were held to ransom. They'd be captured and messages would be sent to their homeland demanding a specific ransom to be paid to win these lives back, to guarantee their safety and their life. And so when the people of the homeland had raised the required price, they would pay it to the victors and the captives would be set free. The process was called redemption. And the price that was paid was called a ransom. What does the Bible declare about Jesus? He has redeemed us. He gave his life as a ransom for many. This word beautifully depicts the transaction of salvation. We are cursed and condemned by the law, but Jesus paid the price that was demanded to purchase us from that curse and condemnation. Well, what was the price? What was the ransom? Christ himself. Paul again quoted the law when he spoke of the curse of anyone who hanged on a tree. That's a quote from the book of the Deuteronomy. Now here's what's interesting to understand. The Jews did not practice crucifixion. Here's what they practiced. They many times stoned, we understand that. But for a criminal, or someone who is especially despised, after they had been stoned, if that was the method of execution, often their bodies were hanged either by a rope in a tree or even on a stake of some kind, and their body was hanged and looked upon as despicable. Their executed body was put on a display as a mark of shame and hatred. Paul took that Old Testament principle and applied it to Jesus Christ, who went to the cross, hanged, suffered, and died there being despised and hated of those he loved and gave himself for. This was the most impressive fact about Christianity to the mind of the apostle. Before coming to Christ, Saul of Tarsus may have been able to imagine the Messiah giving his life, but certainly not in this shameful way under the curse of God. But now the converted Paul could see it. It was necessary for Christ to die under the curse because that was the only way that the curse could be removed. Jesus died as the substitute for every man, woman, boy, and girl under the curse of the law by dying under the curse himself. Thus, he has redeemed us by paying the ransom. We are free. Martin Luther again wrote, whatever sins I, you, all of us have committed or shall commit, they are Christ's sins as if he had committed them himself. Our sins have to be Christ's sins or we shall perish forever. God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Life, redemption, thirdly and finally, the Spirit. Verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Salvation through faith produces the reception of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is not received apart from justification by God through faith. You cannot receive the Spirit of God apart from being declared righteous by God through faith. Only those who have been born again by the Spirit of God, having been justified by God through faith, may and will receive the Spirit of God and all the promised blessings of the Spirit. John Phillips so concisely reminded us of the blessings of the Spirit when he wrote, the promise of the Spirit included the baptism of the Spirit, which puts each believer in the Lord Jesus into the church. The gift of the Spirit, which puts all of the wisdom, love, and power of the Godhead at the disposal of the child of God. The indwelling of the Spirit, which puts God back in man. The seal of the Spirit, which secures the believer eternally. the earnest of the Spirit, which guarantees the exceeding great and glorious future that rates every believer in eternity, the filling of the Spirit, which enables the believer to live the life of the indwelling Christ, and the anointing of the Spirit, which empowers the believer for service. It is only when we are justified by God through faith in Christ alone that we can receive the gift of the Spirit. Why would I want to depend upon myself to keep the law for justification or to go back to the law for life and living when God has given me his precious spirit as a blessing of justification through faith? If you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, which is what justification by God through faith comes by, then you have been blessed with life, redemption, and the Spirit of God. Don't look back to the law, and don't think that God deals with you on the basis of the law. He does not. live in lasting recognition and reception of the truth that salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone. And if you are not depending on justification by God through faith in Christ for your salvation as the Word of God declares, would you now receive Christ? During one of his great campaigns, D.L. Moody was accosted by a man who had been to a number of the services and who, although he had been convicted of his need for Christ, had kept postponing his decision. But now the last night of the campaign had come. The altar call was over. The people were going home, the work crew was busy folding up the chairs and dismantling the platform, and Mr. Moody himself was preparing to leave. The man finally worked up his courage and came to the evangelist and blurted out, Mr. Moody, what must I do to be saved? D.L. Moody looked back at him. I'm sorry, sir. You're too late. Too late, Mr. Moody? The man was desperate now. Surely I'm not too late. Yes, sir. D.L. Moody responded, you're too late. As a matter of fact, you're 2,000 years too late if you want to do something to be saved. All the doing has been done. But if you would like to accept Christ by faith as your personal Savior, you're just in time. You can do that right here, right now. Friends, that's the message of the gospel. It's not by works alone, nor is it by faith plus works. Being justified by God is through faith alone, in Christ alone, because of God's grace. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me this evening, no one looking around? Maybe you're here in this auditorium this evening, or you're watching this service, or listening to this service online, And you have depended upon an experience rather than on the absolute objective truth of the word of God for your salvation. If so, perhaps the Holy Spirit of God is convicting your heart right now of your need of Christ. If he is, I would invite you wherever you are whatever you may be doing in this very moment, to pause, to bow your head, and more importantly, your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, and ask him to be your savior. If you're a child of God who knows that your salvation is dependent upon the truth of God's word, that it is justification by God through faith alone in Christ alone. But there have been questions. There have been doubts. You've looked to your experience rather than to the truth of the Word of God. Would you right now call out to the Lord, making a commitment to Him to finally receive and recognize the truth that your salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. As we wait for just a moment before the Lord, if God is speaking to your heart, would you respond to him? Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this truth from your word. Thank you that salvation is not dependent upon me. Because if my salvation were dependent upon me, I would have lost the opportunity and the privilege long ago never to be earned again. Thank you that it is not of my earning, but it is all of what Jesus Christ has already accomplished in becoming the curse for me. Lord, I still cannot completely comprehend his sacrifice. I still cannot completely comprehend what he went through to be made sin for me. But I thank you tonight that my justification by you is not dependent on me, but is accomplished through what Christ has already accomplished. Thank you for the gift of salvation through your son. May each person under the sound of your word this evening be convinced in their heart and in their mind that salvation is through faith alone, in Christ alone. And we will be sure to give you the praise and the honor for it. In Jesus precious name we pray. Amen.