Let's continue our service by singing Psalter 428, the 7th stanza. O how I love thy law, yea, thou canst see through all the days my meditation. And what's following, the 7th stanza of 428. you you The reading of the Holy Word of God can be found in the first letter of Peter, of the first chapter, 1 Peter 1, before the twelve articles and after the Lord's Day 6. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, I believe one holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. 1 Peter 1 Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. But if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Question 16. Why must he be very man and also perfectly righteous? Answer, because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin, and one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. 17. Why must he in one person be also very God? Answer, that he might by the power of his Godhead sustain in his human nature the burden of God's wrath, and might obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life. Question 18. Who then is that mediator who is in one person both very God and a real righteous man? Answer, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Question 19. Whence knowest thou this? Answer. From the holy gospel which God himself first revealed in paradise, and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the sacrifice and other ceremonies of the law, and lastly has fulfilled it by his only begotten Son. Let's seek to face the Lord in prayer. Oh, when we bow before thee and thy footstool, we have to confess that we are not worthy any of thy blessings. Look unto ourselves. Lord, we can easily say it, but we have forfeited all. Even thy people have to say who can stand before thee. There is only one. It is thy precious son, the first Adam, for the second was the first. And Adam in paradise was made after his image. That's what thy word says. therefore he was crucified already before the world began that's in thyself for thou art from eternity to eternity God we always think in time but thou art above time the eternal God with an eternal love for thy people because thou hast loved thyself eternally and all who are thine, thy dear son and all those who are in him, represented by him and today, to be thy wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. And we pray, Lord, that thou would hear us Out of the depths, crying unto Thee, answer us, Lord, that the word might be applied to our hearts, that Thy Son might be glorious, shining in darkness, in the darkness of our hearts to enlighten us with knowledge of self, knowledge of Thee, and knowledge of the Savior. Lord, we pray, hear us when we join together around Thy Word. Oh, give us the preach to speak according to Thy Spirit. But move it to the heart. Penetrate it in the souls. Convict and release. Bring down that we might have the experience thine with him, but also be enraged with him from death's dark and curse. Lord, extend thy kingdom, please, among us. Please, thou knowest thy own, but I beg thee that thou would extend thy kingdom among young souls and older to hold us sometimes. Have mercy upon us, Lord, and hear us while we pray, Thy will be done. As it is in heaven, that it might be also on earth. Remember the world around us in darkness, of evil, fear. While the powers of idolatry come over us, Well, the humanity of which they praise themselves is the formation of humanity. Killing children in the womb, a million in the States, 30,000 in the Netherlands, and now even they have bills that children born are killed. How long wilt thou delay? O ye God of mercy, but also of wrath. Lord, remember the congregation, separate us from the desires of the world, that we might long for a better patriot, for a better country, the new Jerusalem. Prepare us by true conversion in grace. Lord, we don't deserve it, but we plead upon thy word, and that word says that ungodly and enemies will be converted. Have mercy upon us, Lord. For Jesus' sake. Amen. Congregation we started with the second portion of the Heidelberg Catechism already in Lord's Day 5. The second part is of man's deliverance. And we come now to, it's remarkable that the Catechism teaches first the conditions of the Savior. Which conditions must he meet? to fulfill. It's strange that it doesn't start immediately with the mediator. But how he should be as a mediator? Well the Catechism says he must be very man and also perfectly righteous. We have dealt with it the last weeks in saying that salvation is substitution. Substitution means He takes the spot of his people and his people get the spot of him. Luther says faith is changing spots. He cursed that I might be blessed. He death that I might live and have eternal life. Therefore he must be perfectly righteous like Adam in paradise was perfectly righteous. And only the second Adam can substitute the first Adam. And only a righteous can pay for a sinner. That's the first condition. Second condition is he must be very God. I've said before that that's important and I come to it, I hope. Why very God? Well the wrath of God can't be sustained by a creature. He had to be God to sustain the wrath of his father. And at the cross he said for a little while. What did he say for a little while? Why has thou forsaken me a dark hour? And it seems to be that the father forsook his son for a while. He didn't. But the divine nature sustains the human nature by carrying away the wrath of God. Therefore he had to be truly God. And congregation, let's make it clear again. His person is divine. Listen to that. His person is divine. His divine nature adopted his human nature. So again, listen to what I am saying. His person is divine. But his divine person adopted human nature. And he didn't suffer in his nature. The Anabaptist believed, or believed, that his human nature became divine. No. Then the divine nature of God would suffer, and God cannot suffer. We have all kinds of theologians, especially today, They are telling me that the divine nature of God suffered, cannot suffer. Then God wouldn't be God again. When Christ wiped or cried about Jerusalem, did his divine nature? No, his human nature cried about Jerusalem. How many times have I sought to gather thee as a chicken? is a hen or chickens, well congregation. He had to be God and we come to it. Now who is that mediator then? Our Lord Jesus Christ, faith says it. But Boston says, not only faith says it, if in a little village you have only one doctor, says Boston, What do you say about a doctor? You say he is our doctor, but it's questionable if you ever needed him. When you're sick, sickness sick, do you need him? Do you need him? So when this text says our Lord Jesus Christ, surely that's faith. But only, also saying it's the only mediator, no one else, no other person than him alone. And well then the text is used from 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. who is of God, made unto us wisdom, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, who is made unto us of God, and I'll deal with it. This short text tells me that he is the image of God. The image of God is wisdom, righteousness and sanctification. And when you are in Christ Jesus you are restored in the image of God and have peace with God. Wisdom, righteousness and sanctification. And by it total redemption. Redemption is being set free from the bondage to the liberty of the children of God. How do you know it? Well we know it out of the Gospel. first preached in paradise, second by the patriarchs and the prophets, then by the ceremonial law, sacrifices and ceremonies. Why do you say it? Well, in the Old Testament, some people say to me the Old Testament is not a gospel, that's nonsense, that's nonsense. The ceremonial law is the gospel. The moral law convicts and the ceremonial law points to the Lamb of God sacrificed at the altar of God. Or you can say the Ark, where the law is under the blood cover, under the golden cover. That is His holy nature and His blood that shed for the sins of His people. Well, lastly fulfilled, all the Old Testament preachers pointed to him that fulfilled all the promises, all the ceremonies, lastly fulfilled by his only begotten son, his only begotten son Jesus Christ let's first sing 283, 283 and 4 283, 283 and 4 where we will sing together 283, 283 and 4 good is the Lord and full of kind compassion His love is like a father's to his children and forth. We fade and die like flowers grow, and dear, dear, what's following? 1 or 2, 3 and 4 to 83. Amen. This love is mine, and I'll never part with you. O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him It's better to be alive. I never thought that it would come to this. I'll never forget you Why must he be a very man and also perfectly righteous? Answer, because the justice of God requires that the same human nature, which has sinned, should likewise make satisfaction for sin, and one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. But let's start with the beginning. Salvation is substitution. Salvation is substitution, not substitution. The second Adam, but I believe he's the first, born before all ages, Adam was made in his image, says Paul. But let's use what normally is said, Christ, the second Adam, should be and will be the substitute of the first Adam. When Christ was born, God had his man back, his Adam back. And if no one would be saved, God had his Adam back. Therefore the angels sing glory to God. The Bible is clear, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30, that he is made unto us from God, with him righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Adam was created, and you remember still when I come to it, Adam was created in the image of God and after the likeness. There are two words, the first is be, in, and after the likeness is ke. It's not the same word. What does that mean? Now shortly, we have dealt with it in the past, it means that Adam had his life and light in God, John 1st, 1st chapter. He was the light and the life of man. He had not the light and life in himself, he had in the image of God, life and light in God. And therefore, when sin came in his life, He fell out of the communion with God. Dead, he fell dead, he dropped dead. Spiritually dead. It's what the Lord had said. But what does God? Secondly, I believe and I'm sure in it, that in paradise Adam was in the second person of the Trinity. He was the life and the light of man. So the communion with the true God even in paradise was in the second person of the Trinity. He was the light and the life of man. And now again congregation by salvation he God restored the image in Christ to be the light and the life of man. We are in Christ Jesus. you are restored into the image of God 1 Corinthians 1.30 and when you are restored into the image of God there is communion with God peace everlasting peace through the blood of the lamb by substitution he took my spot to hell that I might have his place in heaven. Substitution. Sacrifice is a substitution. Therefore Paul says, I know nothing else than Christ and him crucified. Do you know why he says it? They say, oh wonder, not me crucified, but Christ crucified for me. That's great. that's great therefore he had to be a man righteous secondly he couldn't pay if he was for himself a sinner if he was a sinner he had to pay for himself and he couldn't even pay for himself You, a brother, can't give the ransom to God for a brother. A brother can't give the ransom to God for a brother. Only Christ, righteous, could be the ransom for his people. God, a man, his precious blood that covers the sins of his people, his righteousness that covers the people of God. Well congregation, if you're a sinner you can't satisfy, you can't give your brother the ransom. You can't give and pay God the ransom for your brother. It's strange that the Sabbath day Adventist believe that Christ paid the ransom to the devil. Have you ever heard about it? No? Then you should look into it. No, God need the ransom to be paid and we have sinned against God. We have sinned against God. He needs to be satisfied. His righteousness needs to be satisfied. For him by him who had no sin to be made sin that we might receive the righteousness of God. Now, congregation, that's experimental theology. May I ask you, may I ask you, has it happened to you in the twinkling of an eye that from a hell worthy sinner you were made a new creature in Christ Jesus? and all the past, all old things passed away and it became all new in Christ Jesus. May I ask you, do you know the thing? Do you know him who is your substitute? The only one that can please God and you only can please God in Him, in Him, in Him, not outside of Him. Now why must it be then to be in one person? There are mysteries. The Trinity is a mystery. The Trinity is a mystery. 3 in 1 and 1 in 3. I can't explain it, I can only believe it. God has revealed himself in his word like it. But it's a mystery. The Bible only speaks about it in the way of salvation. We have sinned against our Creator. We need grace by the Son of God. and the application of the Holy Ghost, the Trinity, we call it economical, economical knowledge of the Trinity. That's the Catechism. Sin, grace in Christ, sanctification by the third person of the Trinity. Sin against our Creator, first, grace by the second person of the Trinity. make man, and then the third person of the Trinity is the Holy Ghost. He sanctifies and applies it to the hearts of the children of God. It's a mystery. People have said, and Luther sometimes even, speaks about the ubiquity. Ubiquity, what's ubiquity pastor? Luther believed that after the resurrection of Christ, his human nature got divine powers. He says, everywhere where the divine nature is, is his human nature. We call it ubiquity, the everywhere presence of Christ. Not only in heaven, but also on earth. Therefore he believed, and I am not going to fight all these things, but he believed that Christ was with the bread. Rome says he is in the bread, transubstantiation. But Luther says he is with the bread. probably I shouldn't even mention it because it needs more explanation. But let's say it's a mystery that the divine nature of the second person of the Trinity took upon him and we have dealt with it in the days of the birth of the Lord Jesus remembrance, the Holy Spirit, the third person prepared his body to make him wise, righteous, and holy. Therefore, the angel says that holy thing that is born of you will be called the Son of God. Not only according to his divine nature, but also to his human nature. God was his father, like we read it in the beginning of the Bible, that God was the father of Adam, creation-wise, creation-wise. Thou hast prepared unto me the body. How? In the unity of the person, with two natures. One person, two Can you explain it? I can't. I can only believe it like it is revealed. But the divine nature was necessary in the first place not to sin. He strived like us. He is a high priest with no suffering mercy. but his divine nature protected him to sin, not to sin. If he would have sinned, it's over. The unity of his divine nature and human nature was the surety of my salvation. The divine nature was united with the human nature and that's in heaven. That's the foundation of my salvation. Now pastor, I don't understand it. That's up to you. I hope God gives you knowledge of these things. Therefore his divine nature could never be separated from his human nature. That's the surety of salvation. The human nature is in the Trinity and therefore a conglomeration of eternity can never be divided. Surety of the salvation of the people of God. But his divine nature didn't become a human nature and his human nature didn't become a divine nature. He suffered in his human nature, not in his divine nature. As the second Adam was made sin that the people of God might be righteous in him. Secondly, while he suffered God put his wrath upon him and sustained him and he broke him. Therefore God was in Christ reconciling the world with him. It was between the father and the son in his human nature. congregation, you're outside of it. Not a scramble of your nail is involved in it. Nothing. Nothing. Oh my grace. If you think that your tears are part of it, nonsense. Your conversion, that's a fruit of Christ, not a condition for Christ. Faith, fruit of grace. Sanctification, fruit of grace, not a condition for grace. It's free sovereign grace, free eternal purpose, good pleasure of God. It's the origin of every salvation. So is divine nature sustained in human nature? I always said, let's say a piece of concrete and a needle, that whole weight of the wrath of God came on his human nature. And if his father hadn't sustained him, he couldn't have bared it at all. But I said already, that on the cross he said, why hast thou forsaken me? One moment, and he bowed his head and gave up. the ghost. But also you need his divine nature to apply the salvation to your soul. He who merited the salvation is the same who applies it by his work and spirit. If he only had merited the salvation, what would happen to us? But he who merited the salvation, he merited for his people and applies it to his people. That's the Lord's parents. And no one else than only the people of God. No one else. He didn't suffer for the whole world. Arminians say that He fulfilled the law for the whole world. And only my faith as an action of my own will saves me. No. For whom He merits its salvation, He applies it. God's people can be saved, must be saved, must be saved. People who say to you, you can be saved, that's not true. God's people must be saved. Therefore he had to go through Samaria. He had to go for one woman that walked all by herself and had no friends, then only sin and guilt to save her. So for he merited for his people and he applies it to the same by the preaching of the word, law and gospel and the application of the Holy Ghost. Giving you true faith and implanted you in Christ Jesus to restore to us the righteousness and life. that I am righteous in Christ and have in him, John 3 verse 16, eternal life. I could say more about it, I am not doing it. It must be plain and easy going, not easy going but plain for little children even. He is my substitute if I am a child of God. And he gives me and is for me what I not am and not have. To him be the glory forever and ever. Then you come to the question, who is this then? That mediator who is in one person both very God and a real righteous man. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith has it. Already here. But I start, like I said, with Thomas Washington. He said, if you have a little village, and I rehearse it again. I was a pastor in and in Nader Hamed we had only one doctor. But if I would say to the people of Nader Hamed, our doctor, they knew it was, forget the name, I know the name but I am not telling the name. They knew he was it. So when this text says, Our Lord Jesus Christ, it means there is only one saviour, not five. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one saviour given by the Father by which we must be saved, only one. Therefore they hate Christian religion. You know Christian religion is way too absolute. don't recognize any other religion, they call it all idols. He didn't say, oh yeah, he has his God and they have their God. Only one doctor, one savior, given under heaven, by which we must be saved. Do you know why we have one doctor? One Savior. Do you know what the consequence is? Ultimately, one church. One hope. One faith. I hear people always saying when they read the twelfth article, say, church. No. No. It is not a church. When there is a church, there are many churches. It is the Una Sancta, the only one, the one church. The Belgian Confession says, the gathering of all the true believers, one church, one church. Not my church and not your church. Do you know what church means? Kirk. Kirk in Greek, in Scottish. In Hebrew, Kirk is Kyriaké. And Kyriaké comes from the word Curious Lord. Do you know what Kyriaké means? Kirk, which belongs to the Lord. That's the Kirk. If you belong to the Lord, you are a member of that work, of that church. And if you don't belong to that church, all the churches we met are no churches. Only Christ is the head of the church, of the body of the church, the head of the spiritual body of the church. Well, one mediator. but it's also our Lord Jesus Christ, listen, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we belong. Lord means Adonai, who owned us, our Lord. But listen, it's not because I say our Lord, but because he said to me, you are mine. The other way around. And then the church says our Lord. You know what the Bible says? We love him because he first loved us. We can say, my Lord. He first says, my child. And then you say, my Lord. my God and my Lord, Thomas. He first revealed himself to Thomas on that day, always. And he says, you're my Thomas, lay your hand on my nails. I prayed for you. You're mine, Thomas. And then he says, my Lord and my Savior. That's always the answer of grace. That's always the fruit of faith. No more and no less. Lord, He owns me, He paid, He got me from His Father. Already here it is said and confessed. And then Jesus, who saved me from sin in Christ, to teach me as a prophet, to pay for me as I praise, sacrificing His own body by His eternal Spirit, there is again prophet, priest and king he rules me by his word and spirit through the glory of his father and the true purpose of the children of God but let's sing 378 one and three 378 one and three. Give thanks to God for good he's been, and three, he helped us in our deepest woes and what's following. This wondrous birth, this grace divine, this grace divine, of all our foes, his mercy fails us never. He brings us peace, gives us support, The will of God is made unto us. God the Father made Christ unto us, for us. Faith has it. The children of God say it. God the Father made him unto us with the purpose of his people, what? Wisdom. And wisdom is applied knowledge. That we might get to know God. in Christ and all his works of grace and providence. Wisdom for those who are fools. If he is my wisdom I am a fool. And by the foolishness of preaching that wisdom is preached into you. he is made the wisdom for his people by God so if you know anything outside of him you're a fool and if you don't know him you're still a fool he is made wisdom And if you need wisdom, he supplies it without reproach, isn't it? I speak to the children of God, he makes you many times a fool. Not knowing where to go, nor what to say, nor what to do. But he is the divine wisdom. like I had knowledge in paradise and I heard the Lord in the wind by the day. In him I know the Father. He is made the wisdom and to his people. Congregation outside of that wisdom There is no wisdom. But secondly, listen, it's not that I get to be wise, that's Christian centred. But He is my wisdom, it means that's outside of me, in Him. I read an interview, and the man says, that I experienced, and that I experienced, and that I experienced, and that... He is the wisdom in a person. And if you are united by your true faith with Him, you are wise in Him. With the divine wisdom. If you are in Christ Jesus as Paul, you know all things. Oh man, man. but not me. I remember the story of Joseph, Joseph by the grace of God explained dreams, and he could. But the last time when he was called to the Pharaoh, then he knew what his spot was. Then he said for the first time, it's outside of me. So, it's outside of me. I'm the fool and still wise. I'm blind and I see. I'm dark and light in him. with the light of divine wisdom I hear some people saying I have it and I say you don't have it he has it and by uniting faith with him is your wisdom and I believe when you are really a Christian you are starting to confess I am a fool I am foolish, I don't know anything but I have my precious saviour, he is my wisdom. You see that's different, that's different. It's in the person, it's in the image. Do you want to be wise? It's in him, for a fool. Man who don't know so much, doesn't know so much. And I believe the more you get grace, the less you know. Therefore Paul says, At the end of his life, he says, I know not anything than Christ and Him crucified. We have all kinds of wise people, they know it all. But if you don't know Him, you know nothing. You're a fool. Secondly, he has made righteousness unto us. I am a sinner, undignified. But my righteousness is outside of myself, in Him, the Lord, our righteousness. And again, I hear the people saying, I want to be righteous. If you are of Christ, you are a covered sinner with the righteousness of Jesus, clothed like Adam in paradise, with the skirt of the Lord Jesus. the white robes, which are the righteousnesses of the children of God. Do you see the 144 at the throne of the Lamb covered with the white robes from the chin to the feet? That's the righteousness of Christ. They are covered. Dominic Hoffman in Sweden said this, and I've said it many times there. If you are a Christian, you are covered with Jesus. He covers you. And in him, you are righteous before God, as if you had never sinned nor done any evil. Now, if that's not it, And then you say, ah, that child of God is a righteous man. I say, oh no. Paul at the end of his life said, I was the chief of sinners. No. No. What did he say that verse? He says, I am the chief of sinners. But my dear, Christ is my righteousness. Do you need more? Do you have more child of God? The Lord, our righteousness. It's in a person. It's in that person, the mediator, made unto us from God, righteousness. Therefore I have said many times, and I hope you might really understand it, I'm not pleading for sin. Sin is horrendous. It's an assault, an offense to God. But I hope we have a church of sinners covered by the Lord Jesus. My right is this. Yeah, Pastor, I have this and I have that. Oh, man, don't believe it when you're saying nonsense. it's outside of yourself. Our, you need to know the person and then the fruits of communion. My sanctification, Holbrooke is right, when he speaks about the surety of sanctification, There is a book that writes about Colbert and he said, the unholy saint, if Christ is my sanctification, I am holy in Him. You are clean by the word which I spoke to you, ye unclean are clean in me. I believe when you are a child of God, you are more and more unclean, dirty. Because you didn't only sin against the law for fear, you started sinning against love, uncleanness, dirtiness. But He is my sanctification. Therefore the Bible always say saints. Now when Paul writes a letter he says to the saints in let's say Ephesians. But if you read the letter carefully they are dirty sins. But saints in Christ called to be saints says the Bible. I call you my saint. You are my saint. My dear Savior Jesus Christ. If that's not it, we live in a time and age that the law seems to rule. You have to increase. The sanctification needs to increase. But that's not what Paul says. Paul says, I have to, John the Baptist said, I have to decrease that he might increase to me. I am not more obedient than in the past. Then you have the wrong creature, he is not more obedient. It's an unclean sinner covered by the sanctity of Jesus. And I don't know another name to confess than Christ and him crucified. I know when I preach these things I cut away all your sanctifications. If you read carefully this text by people who explain it, they speak about the surety of the first two, wisdom and righteousness. But if they explain the sanctification, they say it is by the Spirit. No, Christ is my sanctification. You are clean because of the word that I speak to you. That's it. You unclean are clean unto me, in me and by me. And then redemption. Redemption means to set free from slavery if you are in Christ Jesus you are a child and you are redeemed he paid the penalty to his father the ransom and if you are really a child of God you hear what Christ prays our father which art in heaven my father and your father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name if you are a real Christian you know what is the liberty of the children of God released from bondage traveling through the desert to the new Jerusalem and his spirit and my spirit testify that I am his spirit a child of God and where the spirit is of Christ there is liberty and if there is no liberty you don't know him God set you free from bondage to be a child of Him. And don't you, says Father Liberty, for the pleasing of the flesh. Say, now I'm free and I can do what I want. The love of Christ constrains you to be a child of Him. One knows this out of the Word of God. Christ reveals himself by his word. He reveals himself in his word. Therefore the word has to be preached. And we know it out of the word of God. First prophesied after fall. in the Gospel, Pro-Gospel, Proto-Gospel, where the Lord spoke about the seed that would crush the hand of Satan. The congregation afterwards by the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when God revealed to himself, let's say Genesis 22, And God revealed to Abram the Lamb of God that was sacrificed instead of his son and instead of him. Substitution. But also the prophets, Isaiah 53, the Lamb, the prophets, Jeremiah 31, the new covenant, and represented by sacrifices and that's important. Some people have said to me that in the Old Testament it's always law, that's not. Well in the Old Testament you have the moral law, the Ten Commandments. But where were the Ten Commandments placed? Now first God gave them to Moses and they rebelled. Do you know what he did? He broke the law in peace. And then the second time God gave the law again and he said put it in the ark and cover it with gold. and blood of the lamb. Here, Psalm 40, I come to do thy will, for the law is in my intestines, in my heart. The whole Old Testament in the ceremonial laws preach the gospel of substitution, of sacrifice. We had in the congregation last week a bit of a discussion about public confession of sin. And one is for it and the other says you don't need to do it, but that's not true. In the Old Testament they made confession of sin. When they had sinned in a special way they had to sacrifice a sin sacrifice. When they had stolen, They had to, and it was public, they had to sacrifice a sin sacrifice. And they had to confess their sins before the priest and then the sacrifice was sacrificed. It was made public. So don't tell me that in the Old Testament and in the Bible that you shouldn't confess public sins publicly or before the consistory. It was already in the Old Testament. But that sacrifice is fulfilled. You don't need to sacrifice, but confess. And if you confess your sins, and don't do it again, and it's probably my not understanding of English probably, it will be forgiven to you. But hidden sins need to be confessed hiddenly. I once preached somewhere, I think in the Old Reformed Church, and there stood a man up and he says, I have sinned. He publicly started to confess his sins and I said, stop it! Stop it! Go home and confess your hidden sins to your God and ask for mercy. But if you have publicly stolen, do you know what Huntington does? There was a man in his congregation, I read it in his sermons. He had stolen publicly. Do you know what Huntington said? You man there sitting, stand up, he said. You have stolen, go out of the church until you repent and then you can come back. And he stood up and went. He wasn't afraid of people. Today we are afraid of people. We shouldn't be saying, they say, too rough. But God doesn't allow a teetle or a yota. And if we allow a teetle and a yota, we are not God's servants. We are not. Sacrifices. And I'm not going, yeah, pastor, I'm so thankful, oh yeah? Don't believe me? You're a murmuring child. No, man, no, no, man, no, no. You are. But therefore in the Old Testament there was a sacrifice for thanksgiving. Christ had to pay it for your unthankfulness, child of God, your murmurings. Oh, how precious. is his sacrifice. Lamb of God. Another ceremony of the law. Great feast day, Passover. Pentecost. What's Pentecost? It's the 50th day after Passover. Pentecost means 50th. Now what happened on Pentecost? God gave the law. But what happened on Pentecost in the New Testament fulfilled? God wrote the law in the hearts of the children of God. And they repented and believed and were satisfied with the Lamb of God. is the only salvation of their souls. They were pricked in their hearts, died, and were raised with Him. God writes, Jeremiah 31, the law in the hearts of the children of God. Which law? Love, love, love. For love is the fulfilling of the law. And lastly, he fulfilled everything. In the Old Testament it's promised, in the New Testament it's fulfilled. Therefore, I told you last week, baptism is the fulfilled sign of circumcision, not bloody anymore. But water, to die with it, 2 Corinthians 11. and to be raised with him to newness of life. You might dissent, you might say, oh I don't agree with you, that's up to you. But this is what the Bible says, it's fulfilled. Therefore Christ was circumcised and baptized. For he paid the price with his precious blood. And baptism shows us the finished work. of the Lord Jesus. May God bless His Word. Amen.