The following is a presentation of Edward Reformed Baptist Church, West Monroe, Louisiana. For such a gracious introduction, and thank you for all those who are here with us today, all of those that by God's grace have made time to be among us today. I thank you for all of those, my dear brothers, who have gone before me in our conference and your kind words, especially your kind words about our ministry and what the Lord has been able to do here. I fear that I will not be able to live up to all of the kind things that you have said about me and about our church here. And it is only by God's grace that I stand before you today to speak to you about our Lord Jesus Christ. It is nothing of me, I can assure you. It is all by God's grace. Paul said, among sinners, I am the chiefest. And I think we all can resonate with that statement. And I certainly see myself in that light, that I am a great sinner. As John Newton said, I'm a great sinner, but Christ is a great savior. And so I praise the Lord Jesus for all that he has done and all that he is doing. And that, I think, is a wonderful backdrop to our time today in this session. We're discussing over this weekend the excellencies of Christ. And today I would like to speak to you for a moment about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of that one man. And I think as we survey the world around us, as we talk to people in our ministries or people that we come in contact with on a daily basis, that many people say they love Jesus. Would you agree with that? That many people say they love Jesus? And usually when people say that to me, I will quickly say, OK, well, can we visit for a moment about that love? And for the Lord himself told us that the evidences of our love for him are manifest, I think, in two primary areas of the love of his word and the love of his church. And so if we say we love Jesus, I have a firm commitment that we ought to love his word. Jesus said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments and that we ought to love this church. The writer of Hebrews says that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves, which is the habit of some. And in the context of that discussion, he's talking about the grace that has been poured out into the lives, to the hearts of every believer, that we've been forever changed. And how contradictory to the profession of a believer to say that we love Jesus, but then we don't love the others whom Jesus has saved as well. And so all of that is by grace, it's by God's grace, it's by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ. Now, Brother Bo earlier was talking about the very nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which I emphatically and wholeheartedly say amen. And the writer of Hebrews, Dr. Luke, throw that one in there, has done an eloquent job of displaying the very nature, the very ontology of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I was a little worried when Brother Bowe started talking about, by specific reference, the book of Romans, speaking of the mechanics of justification and sanctification and regeneration and glorification ultimately for my time today comes from that very same book. If you have your Bibles, I would encourage you to turn to the fifth chapter of the book of Romans. A text that many know, has been traveled, well traveled over many years, and in many ways does give us the mechanics, the details, the systematic presentation of what it means to be saved by the grace of God. And my time today is going to focus primarily on not the mechanics, But the uniqueness of the grace that serves to underpin all those mechanics, the grace, which is, in fact, the very nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, for by his nature, he is filled with grace. He is grace. And if we miss this uniqueness, I think that we really have missed the major import of what the Apostle Paul is trying to teach us, not only in this text, but in All the other texts within the Pauline corpus and as well as the other writers of the New Testament. You see, today, as we look at this text from Romans chapter five, we're going to be talking about the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the unique source of grace by which the sinner may receive justification. Justification is an important part of our faith walk. It is one that I think is sorely missing in much of Christian life today. We don't understand what it means to be justified. For many, they believe that their salvation is found in a rite or a ritual or some sort of membership. But the reality is that we are only saved, we are only in right standing with God By his gracious justification that he has declared us to be forgiven, he has declared us to be justified in a forensic sense, singly, instantaneously, we are declared to be justified. But then in a progressive sense, as we go through the doctrine of sanctification, so justification is a is a huge part of the Christian life. But I fear that many today, in their understanding or their misunderstanding of justification, just simply do not acknowledge the divine uniqueness of Jesus Christ in this area. That it is not the grace of the church, it's not the grace of the pastor, it's not even the grace of the person. It is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ or the grace of God, more aptly said, the grace of God poured out through the person of Jesus Christ that we find justification. See, there's this need for the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. As a result of this misunderstanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, many struggle with sin still today. The lost certainly struggle with sin. And I think in faith life, we very quickly run to, oh, yeah, he's talking about the pagans. He's talking about the lost who are lost in their immorality, they're lost in their paganality and we somehow detach this need for the uniqueness of Jesus and struggling with sin to the pagans and say, well, the pagans are struggling. But as a good church person, I certainly don't struggle with sin. Well, unfortunately, that's just not true. I would suggest to us today, perhaps the greatest sin that most good church going folk deal with, unbeknownst to many, is the sin of religion. that they think they have saving grace, they think they have justification, when in actuality, they're really just more like the Pharisees, living through a list of rites and rules and rituals. You see, there's this idea that we need to understand that only in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ can we be delivered from our sin, whether it's wanton paganality or whether it's faith-based religiosity. Only the uniqueness of Christ can deliver us from that. And so, today I hope, my prayer, my hope for us is this, that we would see that only through the free gift of grace that is offered by God, through the unique man, Jesus Christ, can anyone gain victory over their sin. Anyone. My comments today come to us from Romans chapter 5, verses 15 to 17. I wish I had time to read a greater portion of this text. I think it is probably familiar enough to most that you get the gist of what we're talking about. But in verse 15, the Apostle Paul, as he wrote to that church in Rome, says, But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God, and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of the one man's sin, for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. I'm fearful that in our understanding of this text, in our understanding of the first Adam versus the second Adam, that we tend to have this idea of the contrast between Christ and Adam being one of a quid pro quo, being one of a this for that, an equal exchange. We have it in Adam, but we're equally going to have something else in Christ. Yes, Adam is bad, and Christ is good, but I fear in many of our thought processes that we see them as being on an equal plane, equal power, equal terms. That quid pro quo idea. I want to dispel something for us very early on in our time today. The contrast between Christ and Adam is not a quid pro quo. It is not a this for that, a equal exchange. You see, for the grace that Jesus Christ offers us is far superior to anything that Adam ever gave us. And it is not that Christ necessarily labors to overcome the effects of Adam, for in his divinity, in his power, in that matchless grace, it is far greater. And as we saw just a minute ago, than all of our sin, Christ is much more superior. As we saw in the book of Hebrews, he is a unique savior. Kim Riddlebarger a number of years ago said this, although Adam's act of rebellion brought sin and death, the new Adam, which is Jesus, undoes the consequences of Adam's treason by the free gift, but the free gift is not like the trespass. The verse that we have under consideration today. The comparison of the free gift and the trespass is a broad one. The damage wrought by Adam pales in comparison to what Jesus Christ has accomplished on behalf of those for whom he dies. So I want to talk today about the uniqueness of this grace. And I hope today in my time that I've been allotted to visit with us on three primary points. And the first one is this, that the need for Jesus's grace is uniquely different because we are uniformly guilty of sin. That the uniqueness of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is dependent upon or is found in, not dependent upon, but found in the uniform guilt of sin. In our text today, Paul begins by saying, but the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. As Paul begins his discussion in this section, he says, for if many died. Now, the idea in this text that we tend to take it is that we put the if in the wrong place. We put the if in the section of, well, are many dying? If many died, as if it were somehow questioned that many people die. But the language of this text will not give us that latitude. It will not let us put the if on are many people dying. What the if is emphasizing is this, that the reality is that there are many people dying, and if that is true, which it is, then the reality that the grace of Christ can save many more, we need to accept that. Death is proof, isn't it? There's that saying that we're all familiar with, there are only two things sure in life, right? Death. and taxes and some people might get out of the first one. Well, you're not going to get out of the first one. Death is certain. I believe this is one of the greatest proofs that the Lord that the Lord has given to us to show us that sin is real. And that condemnation is real and that the word is real and the gospel is real and that Jesus is real. So the question is not, is this proposition true or should I accept it? The question is, is how quickly must I run to the proposition that that I will die in my sin apart from the Lord Jesus Christ? You see, the reality is. The reality is, is that, in fact, many die. But the greater reality here is that many will be saved. I don't know if you noticed that or not, but Paul says, much more have the grace of God. It's not just that some escape the fires of hell, but much more, many more will accept the Lord Jesus Christ, will come into the reception of that grace and be saved. But it's not so much the number of people that are saved that is in view, but the the magnitude, the power, the grace that underlines that salvation. It's as if Paul is saying, yes, people will be saved, but look at how powerful that message is that saves them. How much more have the grace of God? I think we have lost the power in our preaching at times. Paul did not say for about the gospel in Romans 1 and 16, for it is the polite suggestion of salvation. He said it is the power of God to salvation. There is great power in the gospel. And that power is only resident when we see Christ as being uniquely different than everything else that we come across in this world. There are many people in our world today who want to say that their salvation is found in their family heritage. that my grandmother was a Christian, or my mom and dad were Christians, or I went to a Christian church, or any number of things. But the reality is, is that only if Christ has done a work in your life have you received that justification that we're talking about. It's only through Christ. But I want us to notice something else here before we depart from this first section. The text says, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man. The original language here in that phrase, and the free gift by the grace of that one man, the preposition that is used there seems to indicate an abiding presence. You may be familiar with it. It's the Greek preposition in. And so the idea seems to be here that the free gift that is resident in the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ. that the gift is given to us as an overflow of who Jesus is. And so the important thing is that as we receive that gift through the overflow of who Jesus is, His nature, His character, then we begin to take on that nature and that character as well. See, I can't just say I love Jesus without being materially changed by the message which I say has saved me. You see, if that gift is the overflow of Christ's nature, if it is abiding in Christ's nature, and that gift is given to me, then that grace abides in me as well. See, there's a greater reality that I think many people need to hear. And that is that much more have the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, many more. will be safe. So I ask this question of us kind of as a diagnostic as we go along our journey together. If I'm willing to accept the reality of death, if I'm willing to accept that people die, and that one day I'm going to die, and that my friends and loved ones will die, and that there's death all around me, if I'm willing to accept that reality, why would I not be willing to accept the equal and greater reality That Christ has promised us life. This is not just an intellectual ascent, this is not an academic affair. This is the life and the death of souls. And we need to ask ourselves these questions. Am I willing to accept the promise of life that the Lord Jesus Christ offers to me? See, there's a need for Jesus's grace, which is uniquely different. Because we're all guilty of sin. I haven't highlighted that up until this point, but we know that Paul says that all have sinned to fall short of the glory of God. We're all in the same boat. We need the uniqueness of Jesus. But number two, the result of Jesus's grace is uniquely different also. The need for Jesus's grace is uniquely different, but the result of Jesus's grace is uniquely different also because our need of justification is uniformly applied. Now, I hope you're kind of getting the gist of the presentation. Christ is unique and we're just like everybody else, right? You got that? Christ is unique and we are like everybody else in sin. Christ is unique and we're like everybody else in our need for justification. We like to think of ourselves as being somehow special. And the reality is, is we're not. We're just like everybody else. Only Christ is different. Only Christ is unique. Paul goes on to say in our text today in verse 16, he says, And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. You see, we have a real need inherent in our nature. I'm kind of continuing on where I just mentioned a minute ago. All has sinned and falls short of the glory of God. Well, we'll prove it, Rusty. Right. Lamar said that I like to prove things from the scripture. So prove, prove that I'm a sinner. OK, thank you. I'm glad you ask. I will do my best. Paul tells us in this text here in verse 16 that the free gift that we're talking about, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, is not like the result of that one man's sin. That it is uniquely and materially different. Now, I want us to understand very quickly that that phrase, the result of that one man's sin, is speaking to an ontological condition. It's the ontological condition of sin. The language of this verse would indicate to us that the one man who we know to be Adam, in his sin, it wasn't just that Adam did something bad. It's that Adam's nature was corrupted by sin. That Adam, after the fall, did those things that were contrary to the Word of God because it was his nature to do so. Paul goes on to tell us that we have inherited that same nature. He says here at this point that the result of that one man's sin, well, the result of that one man's sin was that judgment followed after that one trespass and that judgment brought condemnation. And because we've all sinned, we're all under that condemnation. But the reality is, is that we have inherited that sin nature from that one man. that every last person born on this planet is born from that common ancestor and the sin that tainted his ontology, his nature, has been passed down to us as well. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we're born into this world as a sinner. We have an ontological precondition within us that predisposes us to do those things that are contrary to the holiness, the righteousness and the law of God. And that's just a reality. The truth of the matter is simply this, that all people have an imputed and an actual sin, and we'll see in just a minute, not everyone has an imputed righteousness, but I don't want to get to the back half of that just yet. It's it's the sin part that we need to pay attention to. We have an inherent problem. Well, in that inherent problem, we understand that anything less than 100 percent perfection brings death. Did you notice that Paul said this? The free gift is not like the result of one man's sin for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation. How would you feel if as you were taking a test, you missed one question and the teacher wrote death on your paper? How would you feel in your workplace if you missed one of just the minor benchmarks that your employer has set for your performance in the execution of your job and you were terminated? How would you feel if your children misbehaved one time and they were taken from you? Do you get the gravity of the situation? It's one trespass. And not necessarily just our one trespass, but the one trespass of the man, Adam, who has set the pattern for all people. But we can't just lay it all off on Adam, although he is our federal head. The reality is, is because we have this sin nature, we're guilty of perpetrating sin ourselves. You ever heard somebody say, well, no one's perfect. Right. Have we not said that of ourselves? Now, guys, I know that that's true. And the reason I know that's true for guys who are married, because there's always a situation where our wives tell us that we've done something wrong and we say, well, nobody's perfect. And they love us. But condemnation comes out of the fact that we're not 100 percent perfect. And Paul says that because we're not 100% perfect, that it brings death, it brings condemnation. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation. You see, the idea here is that all of the created order, all of the world, all people are brought under this judgment of sin. We all stand rightly accused of sin. And you say, well, Rusty, I thought this message was about the grace of that one man. Well, it is. But until we see ourselves completely devoid of any ability to do anything for ourselves, the uniqueness of Christ will make no difference whatsoever. We must see ourselves in the mirror of the Scripture, in the ugliness of our sin, before we see the unique ability of Christ to save us. And I fear that many in our world today just simply have never heard that message. And in the times they've heard that message, they really don't want to accept that message. We spend way too much time in the mirror trying to make ourselves look pretty, right? We need to see ourselves in the mirror as we really are. Anything less than 100 percent perfection brings death. R.C. Sproul, I was reading an article this week. Actually, I was trying to get Asher to go to sleep. And so I said, well, I just think I'll read some table talk to him. And so R.C. Sproul said something interesting in one of his articles. He said, many today believe that they are justified by death. And that struck me strange when I first heard that, when I read it. I said, well, I wonder what he meant by that. In fact, all that is required to be justified before God is just to die and go stand before God. Well, that's not true. If we die in our sinful condition and we will stand before God, we will not stand before God justified. We'll stand before God condemned. And so I ask us this question. If we're willing to accept this. If we're willing to accept that I have imputed sin through my federal head, Adam, and as a result of that, that I have actual sin, if I'm willing to admit that, then isn't it reasonable to admit that all of my efforts to save myself fall short? That all of my efforts to somehow justify myself will not work? And that in reality, I can't be good enough. Now, we as guys, we don't like to hear that, do we? That I can't be good enough or I can't do something. Well, there may be many things that you can do, but the reality of this situation is there's one thing you can't do. You cannot justify yourself for the judgment following one trespass has brought condemnation. But I want us to hear the good news. Christ has provided the perfection. that we need. Did you know that? That Christ has provided the perfection that we need? And as the free gift is not like the result of one man's sin, for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. See, Christ has provided perfection freely, but only by one action. By his death on the cross has he given us the grace, he makes that grace available to us, that he grants to us in those times of his ordination, that grace. It is the free gift following many of our trespasses. You see, in Adam, we die as sinners. But in our transgressions, we are brought to life through the free gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a very large contrast, don't you think? That as a result of my sin, I'm lost. But regardless of how deep and how dark, how grotesque my sin may be, that the Lord Jesus Christ provides the grace that I need to receive the justification that is necessary to stand before God and to have fellowship with him. Christ provides that provision, that perfection. You see, by the grace of that one man, And first Kings chapter 18, we find this. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and lift up the water that was in the trench. And you say, OK, Rusty, what does that have to do with anything? Well, again, I'm glad you asked. Thank you. Did you notice in that account of of Elijah on the mountain? that the prophets of Baal put out their sacrifice and they danced and they cut themselves and they went through their ritual and nothing happened. But yet, when Elijah began to pray, they wet the sacrifice and they filled the trench around the sacrifice. And when the fire from heaven fell, that not only did it consume the sacrifice, but it lift up the water out of the trench as well. Well, that's the grace of God. That's the grace that Christ gives. That's the free gift of Christ that he gives to those who are in need of his unique gift. It is not just that it saves us from our sins, but it removes and obliterates our sin out of the picture. It is grace greater than all our sins. It's not as if Christ had to work for many years to accomplish this. It is not as if Christ had to die multiple times to do this. No, He did it once on the cross. What a Savior! What a glorious Savior that He would freely give of Himself the power of the universe behind Him to save us from the very thing that has alienated us from Him. Paul says, oh, people might die for a good man. But we scarcely would be willing to die for somebody that we don't agree with or somebody that has transgressed us. But yet the Lord Jesus Christ did exactly that. Christ has provided the perfection that we need. You see the result of that grace. is uniquely different. The need for that grace is uniquely different. But I want us to visit lastly about one last thing. And that is the precondition of that grace. Precondition. You might say to me, well, Rusty, I didn't think there were any preconditions on the love of Christ. Well, yes, there is. I would suggest that God's ordination is a pretty big one, don't you think? The God's ordination is a pretty big precondition. Our text says, for if because one man's trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through that one man, Jesus Christ. Our text tells us two things here at verse 17. The first thing it tells us is that death is not just a reality, but death is reigning. Did you know that death is reigning? I think that's the reason why everybody dies. I think that's the reason why we see so much death and destruction in our world today. Death is reigning. It's not just a presence. It's ruling to a certain degree. Now, it's not beyond the sovereignty of God. I agree with you there. But God has allowed in this time for death to reign. You see, it's not just that people die. People are living in death. The need is dire. The moment is extremely urgent. There is a reality in our world that dictates that we see Christ properly, and that reality is that death is reigning. For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man. So it's not just that people die. Death reigns. But it's not just that we are saved, but that grace reigns. You ever thought about that? If death reigns on one side, then the remedy of that situation being grace, would it not be reasonable to say that grace is reigning as well? That we are no longer in bondage to sin and death, but we are become slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been enslaved to his grace. Paul says in our text here, much more. It's a repeated phrase from verse 15 where he says, much more have the grace of God. Well, here much more will those who receive the abundance of grace. That word received here in verse 17 is one of my favorite parts of the Greek grammar, and those who have heard me on many occasions know what that is. It's the Greek participle. As a matter of fact, this is a present active participle. And simply put, it's an ontology word. It's a nature word. It isn't just that somebody walked in an aisle and said a prayer, signed a card, and shook a pastor by the hand and prayed for about 30 seconds, but that they have become one who has, by their very nature, been prepared to receive. God has prepared their hearts to receive. It says, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace. Somebody asked me this past Sunday, we were talking about God's sovereignty versus man's responsibility and the question came up, well, how does that work? And the only way I know to explain that is this, that. We're lost in our sin and we're blinded to our depravity. We're blinded by the prints of this present evil age. We do not see Christ as we ought. We do not hear the gospel as we ought unless God moves upon our hearts and by the power of His Holy Spirit quickens our hearts, opens our eyes, opens our ears. We see Christ for the first time in a way we've never seen Him before. We hear the gospel in a way that we've never heard it before, and we run to the Savior because God has made us ones who receive the abundance of the gospel. But unless God opens our heart, we will just continue in our own same self-centered, wicked blindness until the day we die. You see, it's not just about being saved. It's about seeing grace reign. And grace reigns in the hearts of those who have been changed at the very core of their being, at the very center of their heart, their nature, their ontology is changed by God. And they have been made ones who will receive this grace that we're talking about. I trust when the text says that there will be many who receive this grace. I'm greatly troubled by what I see in faith life today that it seems like a lot of folks haven't, regardless of the profession that they make or the denomination they may come from. In events like this, venues like this, there always seems to be a discussion of the troubled church member or the deacon who stirs up trouble or this problem or that problem, which are not from outside the church, they're from within the church. Really, the issue is the sheep among the goats. You see, even in our own churches, there are people who have not received this grace yet. It doesn't mean that we excommunicate them necessarily or right away on the face of the argument, but that we lovingly preach the gospel to them. I believe Brother Earl had said last night that if they need grace, don't shy away from it. Preach more. And we need to. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It is God who opens the heart through the preaching of his word. But there are some who just haven't received it yet. And it isn't that they just have not opened their ears and haven't gotten the story, or it's not that we just need to use better illustrations or somehow coordinate our worship music to resonate better with the message. No, we need to be praying that God would open their hearts. That's what we need to be doing. Much more will those who receive. But I want us to see what they are receiving. Did you notice this in verse 17? They're not just receiving any old thing. They're receiving the abundance of grace. The abundance of grace. Not just enough grace to get us by. Not just an inkling to meet the moment, but abundance of grace. You see, the reality is this, that many of us have a sea of sin, right? Would you agree with that, in our lives, that we have a sea of sin? That our sin, our wickedness, our iniquity, our transgression, if we were to cause it to be manifest in a liquid form, we could fill the oceans ten times over with all of our sin. Would you agree with that? I hope you would. It's true. And if there is an abundance of sin, Why would there not be an abundance of grace? Christ has more than enough. And He doesn't just dole it out because He needs a little bit here and a little bit there, and He's got limited supply. It's not like if you're older, you get more, or you're wiser, you get more, or you're prettier, or you get more. No, it's abundance. More than what you need. I've often thought At many at many times and in many different ways about God's sustaining grace. We don't hear a lot about sustaining grace these days. But, you know, we are kept within the center of God's hand. That God grants to us the grace to sustain us. It comes from Colossians 1, where it talks about that through Him, for Him, and to Him, all things were created, and that He is the very center of the universe. Christ is the very center of the universe, that He created everything. And in Him, everything holds together. Well, if the created order is holding together by the power of Christ, why would we not be the same thing? Aren't we part of the created order? You see, we are sustained by God's grace, by the grace of Christ also. And so here's the idea. How many ever years the Lord would give to me, and I pray that he grant me a goodly number. There's a lot of instances in each individual day where I need grace, right? I need grace when I get up in the morning that I not be gripey and complaining that I'm tired, you know, for this is the day that the Lord has made and I will be gripey and complaining because I'm tired. No. But this is the day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it. I need grace for that. I need grace as I begin my day, and there are things that I really need to do, want to do, and have planned to do, but because of circumstances that are beyond my control, I'm not able to do them. And maybe my countenance can fall, and I can be kind of upset about that. You see, I need grace in that moment to be the husband to Nancy that God has called me to be and not take my frustrations out on her. I need grace as I am getting ready to come to work and as I begin to get into my vehicle and come and I begin to have wrong attitudes about the things that God has given to me, like I don't like my truck because the air condition is not as cool as I would like it to be. Or maybe it makes a squeaking sound when it backs up. Or maybe my neighbor down the street has a truck a lot nicer than mine and I would really like to have a truck like theirs. You see, in that moment we need grace. I need grace as I come to this place where God has placed me. He's assigned me in this church and has commissioned me for this place of service. And as I talk to my pastor friends who, in my perception, are doing much better than I am, and I begin to be malcontent about what the Lord has done in my ministry, in my life here, you see, I need grace. And I could go through circumstances in every day, every moment where there's doubt, there's worry, there's fear, there's exasperation, there's frustration, there's anger over the things around me, but if it were not for the grace of God, I would slip right back off into that wanton paganality. I'd act just like the world. And the reality of that is, is in those moments when I step outside of God's grace, that's exactly how I act. And you do it too. You see, we need the abundance of Christ's grace that is sufficient for those big things that we see in our lives, but also abundantly sufficient for those little things as well. You want to know what the good news is? Christ gives you that abundant grace. Amen? That that grace can sustain me in the mornings when I'm tired want to complain about today. That grace can cause me to see that things that the Lord has given to me are a wonderful gift. And He didn't have to do it, but He did it out of His mercy and His grace. That grace sustains me not to be fearful. That grace sustains me not to doubt. That grace sustains me to see the ministry in my life that the Lord has given to me as I ought and not to be covetousness or experience covetousness over what other people have. You see, it's an abundant grace. And that's just one morning of one day in one year of the rest of my life. It's abundant grace. Who among us at Christmas doesn't just love to give our children and our grandchildren as many presents as we can? Right. And they may not necessarily be a truckload of presents, but we always try to give one that if we can only give one, we try to give a good one, don't we? And if we who are evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more our Father who is in heaven. Do you see? The precondition of Jesus's grace is uniquely different. That precondition is the reception, being given a heart that will receive. And when we receive what the Lord has for us, when we've been prepared, He prepares us to receive it in its abundance. But I want us to see one other thing here. The free gift of righteousness. The free gift of righteousness. I promise you, brothers, I don't have it in me apart from Christ. You would be embarrassed. I certainly would be embarrassed if you knew all the things about me. Now, I try to live transparently and I try not to hide things to the best of my ability. But I just I'm not righteous. In and of myself, in and of my own merit, I'm not righteous. I'll never be righteous. I have no ability to be righteous. Praise God, Christ is righteous for me. He gives me that gift of righteousness, and it's in Him that I am seen as righteous. And I partake of that nature. I begin through that sanctification process, learn how to live in righteousness, and I trust that in that day when God glorifies all things, that I will see the fullest expression of that righteousness in my life. But all of that is because of the uniqueness of Christ. Not the uniqueness of Rusty. It's a free gift. We were talking at lunch, and I do believe this, and many of you all seem to agree that much of Baptist life today is sacerdotal, that we're trying to have little doses of grace, right? And if you think about the sacerdotal system, the Catholic system of grace, that those dispensations of grace, those little doses of grace, those little pills of grace are contingent upon the believer doing something. That I go to the priest and I confess my sins and I get a dose of grace. Or I pray to the saints or to the Virgin Mary. I get a dose of grace. I engage in communion. I get a dose of grace. Much of Baptist life, we have traded those terms for other terms. I don't necessarily go to a priest to confess my sins. I just go to Wednesday night prayer meeting. I don't necessarily have to pray to the Virgin Mary, but I certainly am not praying to Christ and to the Lord God in many of my prayers. I take communion, but I take communion wrong. We've got all these rites and rituals where we're trying to earn our salvation. We're trying to somehow say, God, look how good I am. Give me grace. But the reality is that this grace, this righteousness is a free gift. It's not dependent on you. Not depending on me, and praise God, it's not. I would have had to turn my gift in long ago if it were dependent upon me. It's a free gift. It's a free gift of righteousness, of holiness that Christ builds within us. And I want us to see one last thing, that this grace, this free gift reigns. Much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign. in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. I engaged in a discipleship program a number of years at a previous church, and our slogan was, don't just survive, thrive. Don't just survive, thrive. And that runs contrary to the way our world seems to view reality. For we have all these shows, you know, Survivor, right? The show Survivor, where they put people off on these islands or in the wilderness and they make them survive for a period of time. And there are other shows like it that I'm not going to mention the names because by their names they're very unwholesome. But there's this idea that we're just trying to get by. Well, that's not true for the Christian. As a Christian, we ought to reign. Now, I hedge and fearful what goes through your mind when I say that we ought to reign and that I'm fearful that people will begin to think that we're somehow part of the monarchy, the ruling class, or in Baptist life, we're a committee member. That we just sit around and tell other people what to do, right? Y'all do know that about committees, right? Committees. Committees are groups of people that sit around and make decisions for other people to fulfill, right? Did y'all know that? That's why we don't have committees here at Edgewood. We have teams. Teams are people who make decisions that they themselves will fulfill whatever action is required, right? That's for free, okay? We're not the monarchy per se. We are the bride of Christ and he is the sovereign ruler of the universe and we are his and he is ours. But our alignment is not one of just sitting on a throne and ruling, at least in this mortal life. But it is one of more than just surviving. is that in Christ we are reigning, we are thriving, that we are strong, that we are emboldened, that we are powerful in Him. And what I mean by that is that it doesn't matter what we face in this life. It doesn't matter whether it's good or ill, health or sickness. It doesn't matter if we're thought well of or whether we're despised by our community. In Christ we can reign, we can thrive. I would suggest to us that that is the primary reason why many people in faith life today avoid suffering like the plague. Maybe that's not a good way of putting it. We can't suffer, we can't stand to suffer, we can't stand to be uncomfortable for one millisecond. And many prayer meetings are devoted around, get us out of the hospital, get us a new job, get us out of this situation. Help us be comfortable when in reality, we ought to be praising God for the grace to live through those things. Against the black backdrop of our infirmary and our grief, our sickness, our disease, our persecution, the grace of God shines that much brighter. You see, that's what I mean by rain. That in the grace that has been given to us, this ontological change that has been brought about in our lives because of the work of God through the man Jesus Christ, this unique man, we've been prepared to receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. And those things in our life give us the ability to face whatever life throws at us. With the grace of God, with the glory of God on our lips, and the excellencies of Christ in everything that we do. We're testimonies, we're witnesses. Bo read for us earlier from the book of Hebrews that they joyfully accepted the plundering of their property. that they were joyfully being persecuted, that they were joyfully standing out apart from the Jews and apart from the Romans or the pagans, that they were out there on their own, on a limb, in full view of everybody, and no earthly protection around them, and they were joyful. I love the stories of the early church fathers. How many of those great men went to their martyrdom singing the hymns? That they didn't go begrudgingly with murders and threats under their breath, but they went praising God. How do you do that? By reigning in the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. But I want to highlight one last thing. I know this has been about the third last thing. Fourth, last thing. That's why I quit numbering points on outlines, I just say number last. Through one man, Jesus Christ. That. The seeing of this need. For Jesus Christ is through Jesus Christ. This result of His grace is through Jesus Christ. And the precondition to receiving this grace is through Jesus Christ. Through this one man and this one man alone. We sang the song in Christ alone a little earlier. And I just wonder in our lives as we face the things that we face every day, Can we truly say in Christ alone my hope is found? He is my strength, my joy, my song. Can we say that? I think it brings life into sharp relief for us that when we begin to falter and fail in our flesh, when we begin to lose sight that all of this is because of this one man, Jesus Christ, That if we will remember the words to those songs and say, you know what? I sang that song. In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my hope, my strength, my song. That reminds me where my hope comes from. That reminds me where my strength comes from. That reminds me where everything that I am comes from. It's not just that I need Him to help me through this like some kind of athletic coach that's on the sidelines saying, Go! Go! Go! No, my very nature is found in Him. I have partaken of His nature, His grace that He has given to me. That's why it must be through this one man, Jesus Christ. It must be through this one man, Jesus Christ. And if it's not through Him, you don't have it. Period. It's not just that people die. Death reigns. And it's not just that people are saved. But grace reigns through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 8 says this, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, How will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? That's a great question. If God gave us His only Son, If in the eternal covenant before time began, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit agreed in common that this was going to be the work of salvation, and that God said, I'm going to send you as an atoning sacrifice, and the Son said, Yes, Father, I will go, and I will do that for you, and the Holy Spirit said, I will make that active in the lives of your people. If God has done that, How will he not also graciously give us the things that we need to reign in this life? That's not prosperity gospel. That's not that's not health, wealth and prosperity. That's the truth of God's love for his people. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It's God who justifies. Who is it to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, the one who was raised. And more than that, the one who's at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us right now. No, Paul says, and all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved us. By the grace of that one man. We need to acknowledge the divine uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ. is Him and none other. There is none like Him. There is none as powerful Him. It can't even compare. There is none who can save like Him. There is none who has the grace like Him. There is none that provides the righteousness like Him. There is none that gives us the ability to reign as He is our head and we are His bride. And all these things were more than conquerors. Through him who loved us. Father. Oh, Father. Many times I don't understand why you have seen fit to give such a weak and a worthless vessel. The most astounding words of life. Father, I do not understand how you can take. Fractured and chipped pots, earthen vessels. And use them for your glory. But father, whether I understand it or not, your word says that that's exactly what you do. And father, I pray. That in the hearing of all these other pots. that, Lord, we would truly be the ones that are being used to take the marvelous truth of this one man, the unique grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Father, that you have purposed to those who need to see and to hear the truth of the gospel. Lord, I pray that you would help us as we labor To demonstrate the need for the unique grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Father, for your word tells us that we are all guilty of our sin. Father, I pray that you would use us to accurately and clearly communicate the result of this unique grace. For father, we all uniformly stand in need of justification. Father, I pray that by your grace, we would trust In the precondition of your love, the precondition of you calling your people unto yourself, that you are preparing our hearts by the power of your spirit. To receive the abundant grace and the free gift of righteousness that your son provides. And that father, you would cause your people not just to survive. But to reign. Lord, may we accurately and rightly and humbly live within that text, seeing that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. And that, Father, your bride would not be weak, she would not be worthless, she would not be marginalized. Though despised and rejected by many in the world, Father, I pray that she would boldly stand as a testimony of her husband. her only husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that you would move upon us in that way. And that, Father, by your grace, that you would bring much fruit from the hearing of your word. We love you, Father. We praise you. We thank you. And Lord, we certainly ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, that one man, Jesus Christ. Amen.