TRUTH: FIRST NEGATIVE - THEN POSITIVE
The Word of God often sets forth truth in a
dual fold fashion, first negatively, then positively. For example it says: "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit," "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them," “Not I, but Christ,” “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever,” and “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Sometimes we find truth set forth in the reverse order such as "put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof."
Let us this morning consider three instances of this negative then positive approach. I want us to look at three passages which form a three-fold cord of blessed truth.
"Forasmuch 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" (I Peter 1:18, 19).
I. WE ARE BOUGHT WITH AN INFINITE PRICE
With His own precious blood God bought us and bought us to set us free. Salvation is free but not cheap.
It costs us nothing, but it cost God His Son and it cost the Son His life.
A. THE PLAN OF OUR REDEMPTION
In 1 Peter 1:20, where we are told that redemption was planned by God in eternity. Before Creation, God made the blue-prints relating to our redemption. Redemption was no afterthought in the mind
of God; it was His eternal purpose and plan.
God was never caught off guard ; He was never surprised by man’s need. Calvary was something He deliberately planned.
B. THE PAYMENT OF OUR REDEMPTION
A London newspaper once offered a prize for the best definition of money. The winning definition was “Money is an instrument that can buy you everything but happiness and pay for your way to every place but heaven.” You may sell your soul for money but you cannot redeem your soul with money.
The payment for our redemption was "the precious blood of Christ."
It was precious because there has never been any other blood like it.
1. It is INNOCENT BLOOD.
Judas confessed in Matthew 27:4, “I have betrayed the innocent blood.” Our Lord was innocent. He became like us in all things except for one thing - HE WAS SINLESS.
Instead of a human father, He was conceived by the DIVINE FATHER. As a result biologically He had DIVINE BLOOD, SINLESS BLOOD.
2. It is INCORRUPTIBLE BLOOD.
Sin made human blood corruptible. Soon after death, decay sets in, and it begins in the blood. That is why meat must be drained well of its blood. That is why embalmers place embalming fluid in the blood.
David said that Jesus body should "see no corruption." Though three days and three nights, His body did not corrupt because He was sinless.
3. It is IRREPLACEABLE BLOOD
There is no substitute for the Blood of Jesus. Years ago, August Van Ryn was preaching in what was then Royal Palm Park in Miami, Florida. After he got through, a gentleman came up to him and handed me a card, announcing that he was giving infidel lectures in one of the city’s theaters. Then he said, "I heard you say that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. Now, that is nonsense. How many sins could a gallon of blood wash away? And besides what difference is there between the blood of Christ and anybody else’s blood? If you could take a vial filled with the blood of Christ and one filled with my blood, and take them to a chemist, you’d find that they both consisted of the same chemical elements."
Van Ryan held out a $10 bill to man and asked him whether he would like to have it. "Well, yes, why not?" said he. "But," said Van Ryan , "it is only a piece of paper with a picture on it. Why should an intelligent-looking gentleman like you want to bother with that?" "Because it’s worth $10," said he.
"Well, I understand they print these things for something like a cent and a quarter a piece," said the preacher. "I’ll take it for $10, though," said the
infidel. "But why?" asked the preacher.
"Well, you know why. The government
issues them, and they are worth $10.00,” declared the infidel "Yes, that is certainly true," the preacher replied. "Now, if you issued one of them, instead of its being worth $10, it probably would be worth ten years in jail for counterfeiting. The same $10 bill, you might be able to print it just as well as does the Government; but, nevertheless, if you print it, it would be a crime. If the Government prints it, it is currency.
“If you present your blood to God, He’ll send you to hell for it. If you present the blood of Christ, He’ll take you to heaven for it. It is not a question of the blood as such, but of whose blood it is. ....It all depends on who stands behind it.”
It is who Christ is that makes the blood irreplaceable. In spite of the price of our redemption, there are far many who act as though we were redeemed by silver and gold, by their own righteousness, by joining a church, or by being baptized.
May God help us to get the full force of the negative, this glorious, two-fold pronouncement ? We are not redeemed, and we never can be redeemed by anything we are or have or do. We cannot make one single down payment on our salvation. One thing and one thing only can we do:
"Just as I am, without one plea,
BUT THAT THY BLOOD WAS SHED FOR ME.
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
0 Lamb of God, I come!"
__________
Though Christ’s work is indeed a finished work
and we have been saved, we still face an enemy.
While we think of the Infinite Cost, let us not forget that when we are saved we enter upon an Invisible Conflict.
Let us consider another negative-positive, and this time from Paul.
(Ephesians 6:12)
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
II. WE ARE BESET BY INVISIBLE POWERS
We are not up against mere flesh and blood. We need to stop looking at the instrument and look at the hand that moves the instrument.
A. Personal fight
“Wrestle” When we talk about wrestling, we have to understand that it is not a team sport. It is a one-one-one battle.
B. Supernatural fight
“Not against flesh and blood”
It is imperative that one recognize their enemy.
1. Shrewd Enemy He is crafty and deceptive.
2. Spiritual Enemy
Too often, we are guilty of fighting the wrong foe! We will get at odds with our fellow believers, when the real enemy is the devil! Our enemy is the prince of the power of the air, the devil. We need to be careful not to be wrestling with the Devil’s instruments, but to wrestle with the Devil himself!
While there is but one devil, there are many demons. The devil is assisted by legions of wicked spirits and evil angels.
Any Christian who gets down to business in spiritual warfare soon learns that he is up against an unseen world of dark and sinister powers. Our papers are filled with accounts of crime by men and women and, even young people that can be explained only by demon-possession.
There is a ruthless, cruel underworld system that wars against our welfare, happiness, and joy. The Mafia and crime bosses of this world are but amateurs compared to this syndicate, ruled by the Prince of Darkness and the Master of Deception who wears many disguises and has many aliases. Satan and his demons are out to disable the body, deceive the mind, and discourage the spirit.
We are in a battle with the devil and his demons. It is a battle against darkness and wickedness. It is a battle against an adversary that is ruthless and heartless. As Christians, we are not on a playground. We are on a battleground! We have an enemy that seeks to destroy us.
We are in a battle with an adversary who wants to sift us, shake us, subdue us, stop us and sink us. C. Futile fight Futile if we fight in our own strength. The enemy is far greater than we are. No human power can withstand our enemy. Conventional tactics will not work. 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” The normal means of combat are not sufficient. __________ A story from the Korean war will preface our introduction to our next point. As enemy forces advanced, Baker Company was cut off from the rest of their unit. For several hours no word was heard, even though headquarters repeatedly tried to communicate with the missing troops. Finally, a faint signal was received. Straining to hear, the corpsman asked, "Baker Company, do you read me?" "This is Baker Company," came the reply "What is your situation?" asked the corpsman. "The enemy is to the east of us, the enemy is to the north of us, the enemy is to the west of us, the enemy is to the south of us." Then after a brief pause, the sergeant from Baker Company said with determination, "The enemy is not going to get away from us now!" Although surrounded and outnumbered, he was thinking of victory, not defeat. Though we are beset by an Unseen Foe, we have also an Unseen Friend. Great is our Adversary but greater Paul is our Ally! Let us consider another negative-positive, and this time from. We are beset by invisible powers, but thank God it is "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6). III. WE ARE BLESSED WITH AN INVINCIBLE PRESENCE "If God be for us, who can be against us?" The blessed Holy Spirit is now our Paraclete, called alongside to help. We are in a spiritual conflict, and we win not by might nor by power but by His Spirit. 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” In this verse John explains that the secret to overcoming is that "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." A. The people who are indwelt All Christians and only Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Romans 8:9 “.... Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The absence of the Holy Spirit is an evidence of an unbeliever. However, a believer has living within him or her One that is greater than the world. The Holy Spirit indwells every single believer B. The power for those who are indwelt The greatest power available to the Christian is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit of God. However, because we so often think we can manage on our own, the power of the Holy Spirit is restricted. God has given us the secret for being adequate for anything, and it is found in the person of the Holy Spirit. In the lives of too many Christian the Holy Spirit lives as a prisoner without power. Having received Him at the moment of our conversion, the Holy Spirit must be released and set free to do in us that which only he can do. It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit residing within us, and it is another to have Him presiding within us. How is this power of the Holy Spirit released in us? 1. There must be an assent to the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives - a willingness. It all begins with an attitude of total willingness for the Holy Spirit to do in me what He wants to do and what He has been sent to do. There will be no restriction imposed on His activity; there will be no restraining hand stretched out by me. In order to be experience the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in out life, there must be utter willingness, this complete readiness for anything and for everything He asks us to do. D. L. Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody.” 2. There must be an assent to the authority of the Holy Spirit in our lives - a submissiveness. We are not out own the Bible says; we have been bought with a price; our body is God’s. But how often are we unwilling to yield to the Holy Spirit’s authority in our lives. It is as if the owner of a house has appointed a servant to look after our house and carry out his wishes, but then as the owner comes and want to do this or that with his house that he has purchased, the servant forbids the owner to do this or that and blocks the desires of the owner. What a ridiculous position for the owner and the servant to be found. However, this is often what happens in the lives of Christians who have been purchased and possessed by God. How often must the Holy Spirit become grieved when we fail to allow Him to do in that for which he has been given. The power is available; it is more than adequate, but it is often restrained because of our unwillingness.
Conclusion:
We have looked this morning at truth first negatively and then positively and have discovered that we are
BOUGHT WITH AN INFINITE PRICE
BESET BY INVISIBLE POWERS
BLESSED WITH AN INVINCIBLE PRESENCE
