I've walked off the fire base knowing we were targets as soon as we got beyond the wire with less trepidation than I have standing here today with brothers and sisters in Christ. The fear of the Lord is an awesome thing. And we are, I am so absolutely inadequate. I'm shaking. Bear with me, please. You have what I hope you have, an insert. It might have been, it might have been alongside. If you didn't have it, you might even send somebody to pick one up at the back sermon discussion, this will serve as a little bit of an outline of what we're looking at here in this whole series on the Covenants. And I haven't even started to say anything about why this is called the Covenanter Church. The Covenants. If it were simply a matter of historical theology, I wouldn't waste your time. But it's not historic theology. Aside from my wife, is there anybody in the room who can tell me the title of the first sermon that I preached here? This is a test of me. Before the covenant. And covenant equals gospel, gospel equals covenant. It is not that we are not a gospel church, we are a real full gospel, not the charismatic stuff. Gospel from Genesis 1-1 to the very last verse, the last period in the book of the Revelation. The covenant is not There are two covenants, but multiple workings out of that covenant of grace. That working out of the covenant of grace, we would call the gospel or the plan of salvation. If you're taking notes, the first point is oops. That's a real theological term. God came down, talked with Adam, gave him a mission, and what did Adam do? He disobeyed. That is the cosmic oops. That is the source. of every heartache, every problem, every pain you and anybody else has ever had. He who had free will to choose both good and evil, chose the evil, chose to disobey God. And you know, who can blame him in a sense? How would he know what it means to die? He didn't. However, he knew what God said and he chose to disobey. Sin. And because he is our progenitor, our ancestor of all ancestors, his decision directly affects you and me. Humanity lost in Adam, the ability to choose the good, the right to choose, to be obedient. Always. We lost our ability to choose to be sinless. We are sinners. That's the first fact in, well, second fact, I guess, in the covenants. The covenant of works was Adam do this perfectly and it'll be great. And if you don't, you will die. And in him, as our progenitor, death, death, death, death. One of the books of the Old Testament has chapter after chapter, doesn't it? The recounting Claude did this and he died and Jake did that and he died over and over. What's the point there? God is hammering that in death is a consequence of sin. So the oops, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. See the first point of the covenant, first point of the gospel. The power of God unto salvation from hell. Yes. Sickness. Yes. Death. Yeah. All those things. Salvation to what? Salvation to the presence of God in heaven to be in once again, sons and daughters of God, most high to be brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a power of God under salvation for everyone that believe us. Hell will be half full of people who thought they were theologians. They knew this about him and they knew that about him. And it's not the issue to know how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It is, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior from the consequences that Adam chose when he chose death and disobedience? The gospel goes to the Jew first. but also to the Greeks and not very many of us here are full-blooded Jews. The gospel came to the Greeks. The Jews were the people of God in the old Testament. The church is the people of God in the new. Verse 17 of chapter, this is Romans chapter one. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. Adam wasn't righteous. We are not righteous. God is right. He always does that which is morally, ethically right. The righteousness of God is revealed for the just shall live eternally by faith, not by works. You can't do enough good things. It is either by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he did, or it isn't salvation. For the invisible things about God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, his eternal power and Godhead. There is enough in nature to tell you that God is there. There's not enough to be saved to be born again. But once you know he's there and see him in his beauty, there's a sweetness that will draw yourself to him. And there is a holy fear of the consequence that will drive you from serving Satan to the arms of a loving heavenly father who welcomes you warmly because of the work of his son. These folks who look at nature, Remember, follow the science, follow the science, except where it gets in the road of my politics. Have you been hearing that? Follow the science. Yeah, right. These people are without excuse because they knew God when they began to get into science and see things, but they didn't glorify him as God. They changed the truth of God into a lie. Evolution, and it just goes on from there, doesn't it? What are you getting? was mentioned in prayer, all these current things. Well, I need to, okay. The wreck that we are in. They changed the truth of a God into Satan's lie. Satan remember said, you will not die. They bought into it and we've been buying into lies ever since. And they worship the creature more than the creator. Who's the creature? Me. I'm God. I'm the center of the universe. And that's a fact for so many people. The huge percentage of Americans that I know, that's it. So there is the oops, the fact of sin, not a theological fact, a practical reality this morning in me. And I suspect maybe some others perhaps in the room. The second major point. If you're taking notes, ugh, ugh. It gets worse. I am a sinner. It isn't just kind of this, you know, there's a whole herd of sinners out there. I individually standing before the God of the universe. I'm a sinner. Romans three. The righteousness originating from God is by faith in Jesus Christ. That's how to be right with God, how to be right in your conduct and your life. Faith in Jesus Christ, and this is available to all, all them that believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I didn't just make a mistake. I'm a sinner in rebellion against the God who created everything and who loved us enough, he said, his son to die, and I'm busy telling him off, ignoring him, violating everything. That, folks, is serious. That is ugg. They sinned without excuse. Romans chapter 1. They have been able to see in nature clearly His eternal power and Godhead. So they are without excuse because they knew God, but they rejected Christ. Point three. Two facts, the ugly facts. Sin isn't just something to notice. Sin has incredible consequence. I'm a sinner, sin and death go together. Death is a consequence of sin. John chapter 3, Jesus answered, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see, can't even see the kingdom of God. Whoever believes in Christ will have eternal life, not the four score and 10 that we get, or if by strength, what is it? Old age can be a real blessing, but it's not eternal. Whoever believes in Christ will live forever in a perfected body, no longer all these things in a perfected society. We won't have the societal chaos going on. We will live eternally with him in heaven by faith. Death is the consequence, but John 3. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son. Remember back in, we talked about this, the very first Sabbath, I'm sorry, nobody else remembers it. Jesus, before time began, Jesus was begotten of the Father, the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God loved this Son and gave him everything As ruler, God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him in the sun will not perish. Yes. Physically, your spirit's going to leave the body, but your spirit, your soul, the real you, the person inside the body will not die, but have eternal life. Whosoever believeth in Christ. For God sent his son into the world that the world through him would be saved. You don't have to keep going down that road. You don't have to. You can be saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is still John 3, verse 18. He that believeth on Christ is not condemned. Now, there's some good news. We've had a whole lot of bad news, right? One oops and two uggs. He that believeth not is condemned already because he did not believe. He refused to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The great promise, whoever believes on him is not condemned, although the fact that sin leads to death. And what happens in the garden? God comes that second time that we have recorded there and he talks to Abraham, to Adam. One of the key verses in scripture, remember what happens at the end of the third chapter, and God set a cherry bin with a sword that turns all the directions. And what was that about? To keep them from going back into Eden, yes. But the text says to guard the way to the tree of life. He isn't saying, no, you can't come. No, you can only come one way. And Jesus said, I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And he says that not in a smug, self-satisfied way, like I've got the keys. No, he says it in a pleading way. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's a continuation there of the covenant in the garden. God comes and imposes the second covenant, the covenant of grace, where he says, I will provide the perfect righteousness. And so God's son comes and lives a sinless life, perfectly obedient to God, the father, and God will put that right doing of Jesus on your account. If you ask him, he will take your sin. And put that on the cross, nail that to the cross with Christ, there for that sin to die. The penalty is paid by Christ and His right doing. He puts on the account of all those who believe in Him, who trust Him for salvation. He that believes on Him is not condemned. That penalty is paid by Christ. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. How's this work for us? Obviously, I don't know the congregation terribly well. I'm sorry, but I see signs of grace. I'm loving my time here. Can't believe that a Kansas boy would say that, Freddie. I'm not being disloyal to the great state of Kansas. But I'm seeing the people of God here. Yes, sinners, but saints and loving, yes, all that great stuff. Romans 6, now beings made free from sin and become servants of God. And I know that I've met some folks here are serious about that serving God. And it can be done in a lot of ways from handing out the bulletin, typing a bulletin, all the things. And then the phone calls. Hey, how you doing? Checking up on each other. What can I do to help out? I think of a guy who provides rides. Serving the Lord by serving God's people. You have become servants to God when you're serving God's people. You have holiness and everlasting life because Christ has taken your sin if you asked him. And he gave you his right doing, his right standing before God and everlasting life. It does not end in hell for a believer. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let me check my watch. Point four for those who are taking notes. There's a solution. That's what the, this world is a mess. I'm a mess. Everything I touch is a mess. It's horrible. Get me out of here. No, there's a solution. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in eternity, yes, but also out of the mess we're in. Sometimes he saves us by death. And you have known, I have known people who prayed to die. Life was so insufferable, unbearable. We're saved out of that. Through death, for a believer, that's a great release. I got a pretty good here, far better there, and I get to go home and see my daddy and see my big brother and have the family reunion and be able to worship and fellowship with God purely and completely. But that you must have faith, you must believe, it does require this. biblical knowledge, Bible study. Don't bet your life, your eternity, on my understanding or that of any preacher or teacher. Read the book slowly, carefully, repeatedly, asking, who's talking here? Who's doing the action? And what are the verbs? What's happening? The last question in a Bible study always has to be, so what? So what? Doesn't mean anything to me. And walk off and totter off into hell. But he's revealed himself in the very words of scripture. He is the way of life. We must believe, but it isn't to have faith in faith. Or believe, and some of my friends, they believe if you do the sacraments right, you'll be saved. Another guy said, I've always done everything the church told me to do, so I know I'm going to heaven. I don't think so. The key is faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you probably maybe might be saved. I hope somebody disagreeing with me. What does it say? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The God who always was, is and always shall be. He who imposed the covenant of grace and paid for that covenant of grace with the death of his own son. He says, thou shalt be saved. If you believe in the biblical Lord Jesus, not your Okay, I've been told he was a nice itinerant rabbi with a messianic mental complex. No, that, Jesus, is not getting you anywhere. Read the book. And we read about who he is, what he has done. Romans chapter 10. Yeah, let me back up. So what was the ah in the garden? God set the second covenant into motion where he would keep it. He would fulfill it. Romans 10, the word of faith, which we preach that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shall believe." It isn't just data. You've got to know. You've got to say the right things. You've got to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. He's not subject to death. He can take us out of death. Believe that God hath raised Him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. What a great thing. For with the heart Man believeth under righteousness. It's not merely academic, although it is academic. It requires a certain amount of whatever. We believe it, and we begin to get our life straightened out. And amazingly, if you live a life consistent with the express will of God who made the universe, your life will get better in the world. Huh, who'd have thought? With the heart, man believes under righteousness. right doing in this life, the righteousness of Christ, the adequacy of his penalty paying death. With the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. To confess, to admit it publicly, talk to your mom and your dad, talk to your friends, your neighbors, talk to other people that they might begin to get the picture in their head. With the mouth, confession is made. What's a confession? I'm a sinner. Dead, I deserve hell. Lord Jesus, I love you, trust you. Will you save me? Will you pay the penalty for my death? The scripture says, whosoever, break that one down, three words, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. And I like seeing as racially mixed, can I say that? We're all one race, human race, but out of different whatevers, There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So then faith cometh by hearing, preaching, Bible study, reading your own, and so on. And hearing, you have to hear the word of God. We're told in Habakkuk, The just, the justified, those who have been brought to life, new life in Christ, will live by faith. It's a whole different thing. Some folks live for money, some live for pleasure, some live for, okay? And those all lead to death. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ delivers us out of death into life. Hebrews chapter 10 again, the just shall live by faith. The second awe, the double awe here. The Lord gave me the faith that he requires. Faith is to believe, to trust, to obey, to have complete confidence in, to respect. That's what it means to believe, to obey. Psalm 26, judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted in the Lord because of the faith. I will not slide. And briefly, the Hui, point six or whatever it is, the Philippian jailer, Said, what must I do to be saved? They said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Major problem in the Quinter church, no kids, old people. Thou shalt be saved and thy house. And Brad prayed about that. And I watched that and I've seen now. And I was glad to bump into an old friend I haven't seen for years. We've known the family forever and ever, it seems like. Yeah. I see God's covenant faithfulness within the Covenanter church. People come in and they stick. And then next week I'm seeing a grandkids. Conclusion. Our life in the future is great. It's in God's house forevermore, eternal life. Conclusion, Luke 10, old things are delivered to me of my father. No one knows who the son is except the father and who the father is except the son and any person to whom the son will reveal him. If you know this, Jesus Savior of whom I have been speaking and I hope we have been thinking. If you know him, praise him and thank him and tell others. If you don't know him, talk to some of the old saints here and ask them how it is that you can come to know him who died for you.