NXR Podcast - THE SERMON - Fulfilling All Righteousness: The Active Obedience Of Christ
Aired: 2024-08-26
Duration: 55:38


=== Christ's Humility in Baptism (03:15) ===

[00:00:03]  Amen.
[00:00:04]  Please stand for the reading of God's word.
[00:00:06]  We're preaching through the book of Matthew, and right now, for this Lord's Day, our text is Matthew 3, verses 13-17.
[00:00:13]  Again, that's Matthew 3, verses 13-17.
[00:00:16]  I'll read our text for us in its entirety.
[00:00:18]  When I finish reading the text, I'm going to say, This is the word of the Lord, at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying, Thanks be to God.
[00:00:26]  One final time, our text for today is Matthew 3, verses 13-17.
[00:00:30]  The Bible says this, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John.
[00:00:36]  To be baptized by him.
[00:00:38]  John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
[00:00:46]  But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:00:55]  Then he consented.
[00:00:56]  And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove.
[00:01:08]  And coming to rest on him.
[00:01:10]  And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
[00:01:17]  This is the word of the Lord.
[00:01:20]  All right, please be seated.
[00:01:21]  Let's go ahead and dive right in.
[00:01:22]  Three primary points that I hope to express and espouse by the grace of God today.
[00:01:28]  Number one, the humility of John.
[00:01:31]  And yet, despite his humility, in the final analysis, his submission, which means that it was true humility and not false humility.
[00:01:41]  It was not Humility as a guise, truly masking his refusal or unwillingness to obey.
[00:01:49]  John was humble, and yet at the end of the day, with this humility, he still obliged the command of Christ.
[00:01:58]  He was taken aback.
[00:01:59]  Who am I?
[00:01:59]  I'm not worthy to baptize you, not worthy to unlatch even the straps of the sandals on your feet.
[00:02:09]  And yet, what does he finally end up doing?
[00:02:13]  He ends up baptizing Jesus.
[00:02:15]  Why?
[00:02:16]  Because his humility, and our humility also for that matter, so long as it is true humility, and not just humility as a euphemism for inactivity or apathy, so long as it is true humility, humility will never stand in the way of obedience.
[00:02:35]  John is taken aback because of his humility.
[00:02:39]  He says, I can't do this.
[00:02:41]  But in the end, he obeys, he does what Jesus commands.
[00:02:45]  Humility will never stop you.
[00:02:47]  From courageously obeying Jesus, whatever the commandment might be.
[00:02:52]  That's the first point.
[00:02:53]  The second is not only the humility of John, but the humility of Christ, as well as in his humility, his willingness to be baptized by a sinner, although he himself was sinless.
[00:03:05]  That is the humility of Christ.
[00:03:07]  And in that, the reason he's willing to undergo baptism to allow John, who needs ultimately the baptism of Christ, and yet Christ is willing to submit to the baptism of John.

=== Fulfilling Righteousness Through Obedience (10:28) ===

[00:03:19]  Why?
[00:03:20]  Because of the humility of Christ, but also because of his active obedience, which is an incredibly important doctrinal truth that we must understand.
[00:03:29]  It is not merely that Christ died as our substitute, that is, dying in our place, but the Bible teaches plainly that he also lived as our substitute.
[00:03:39]  He lived in our place.
[00:03:41]  And so, in dying in our place, he took our guilt, he took our sin, and he took the punishment due to our sin, that is, the wages of sin is death.
[00:03:53]  He took the death that you and I deserved, that we stored up by doing the work of sin.
[00:04:00]  We worked hard in our vocation of sin, and we earned rightfully the wage for that work of sin, which is death.
[00:04:07]  But Jesus took our sin.
[00:04:09]  He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf so that we might inherit the righteousness of God.
[00:04:14]  So Jesus, as a substitute, first, he takes our sin, our sin imputed to him.
[00:04:20]  Secondly, he then on the cross takes the wrath of God in his death, he takes the wages of sin.
[00:04:28]  And so that is the substitutionary death of Christ, penal substitutionary atonement, which is the linchpin of the gospel.
[00:04:38]  But it is also important that we understand not only penal substitutionary atonement, that behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that Jesus died in our place and took our sin and took the wages of our sin, the punishment we deserve death, but also he lived in our place.
[00:04:57]  It is not only that Jesus is our substitute in his death with our sin.
[00:05:02]  But he is also our substitute in his life with his righteousness.
[00:05:08]  So it is not only that by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone, all sin is removed from us in justification, but it is a double imputation.
[00:05:19]  That is, all of our sin is removed and imputed to Christ, but also all of his righteousness is imputed to our account.
[00:05:27]  So we don't just lose our sin and go from a state of guilt to a state of innocence.
[00:05:33]  No, we go from a state of guilt to a state of not mere innocence, but perfect fullness of righteousness.
[00:05:41]  And not only, as you've heard me say many times, but it bears repeating, not only the righteousness of angels.
[00:05:48]  Think about that for a moment.
[00:05:50]  All those angels who did not ultimately side with Lucifer, Satan, the great dragon who was cast down to the earth, all those angels who did not side with him, they still remain in heaven.
[00:06:01]  And those unfallen angels, those that are still in heaven, How many times over the course of their life, which has been thousands of years, how many times have these unfallen angels sinned or rebelled against God?
[00:06:16]  Zero.
[00:06:18]  And yet, the righteousness that you have, Christian, which is a righteousness that is not attained by your works as done unto the law, but a righteousness that comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, your righteousness infinitely supersedes the righteousness of sinless angels.
[00:06:38]  Angels that stand before God in His throne room night and day and have to cover their faces because they cannot fully look upon His holiness.
[00:06:49]  Those angels who have never lifted a finger, nor even has the thought crossed their mind of sinning against God or rebelling against Him.
[00:06:57]  Perfect, sinless angels, and yet their righteousness pales in comparison to yours.
[00:07:03]  Because you have not been clothed by grace through faith in Christ with the righteousness of cherubim or seraphim.
[00:07:09]  Or the four living creatures covered in eyes, or the 24 elders on 24 thrones, your righteousness is the righteousness of God.
[00:07:18]  Not an angelic righteousness, but a divine righteousness.
[00:07:22]  It is the righteousness of the second member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the God man, who is for you.
[00:07:28]  And this is because not merely his death in taking your guilt and sin, but because of his life in giving to you the fullness of his active obedience.
[00:07:38]  The passive obedience of Christ is that he was willing to humble himself.
[00:07:43]  To the point of death, even death on a cross.
[00:07:45]  The passive obedience of Christ in theological terms is his willingness to submit to the Father in his death, to die as the Lamb of God slain for the sin of the world.
[00:07:56]  The active obedience of Christ is everything from the moment of his birth up until his death.
[00:08:02]  It is not only that Jesus obeyed God in his willingness to go to the cross, Jesus obeyed God from the moment he was born to the moment that he died.
[00:08:13]  He obeyed God in everything.
[00:08:14]  And that's precisely why, in our text today, he obeyed God not merely in the end and going to the cross, but in even subjecting himself to John's baptism.
[00:08:24]  What is the reason that Christ gives in our text today for his baptism?
[00:08:29]  It is fitting, that is, it is necessary and appropriate, it is good and right for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:08:41]  That in the mind of Christ, in his purpose, In his calling, it was not merely necessary that he should avoid all sin, but that he should fully engage in all obedience.
[00:08:55]  Not merely avoiding all sin, but fulfilling all righteousness.
[00:09:00]  Why?
[00:09:01]  Because in his death, he takes your sin and guilt.
[00:09:05]  But through his life, you receive not only innocence, but perfection.
[00:09:12]  Not only a freedom from guilt.
[00:09:14]  But a presence of the active, perfect, righteous obedience of Jesus Christ.
[00:09:21]  He died in your place, but we must also understand that He lived in our place.
[00:09:28]  And both are important.
[00:09:30]  That's the second point.
[00:09:31]  The humility of Christ, willing to subject Himself to being baptized by a sinner, namely John, but doing this for the purpose of fulfilling all righteousness, that is, His active obedience, His perfect life.
[00:09:45]  Lastly, God's encouragement to his son and not only to Christ, but in Christ for all those who have union with him by the Spirit, by grace, and through faith, we find God's immense pleasure in his encouragement to his son, but also his pleasure and encouragement to us.
[00:10:07]  The final point, simply put, is the good news.
[00:10:11]  It is the gospel.
[00:10:13]  So, the first point, the humility of John and his submission, we find this in the first two verses of our text, to read them once more so that they're fresh in our minds.
[00:10:21]  Matthew 3 13 and 14 now says this Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, that is the river, to John to be baptized by him.
[00:10:31]  John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
[00:10:37]  First and foremost, Jesus does not correct John.
[00:10:40]  He doesn't say, No, no, no, you don't need to be baptized by me.
[00:10:44]  No, he does.
[00:10:45]  When John says this, John's not lying, and he's not theologically inaccurate.
[00:10:50]  What John says is absolutely true, and Jesus knows that it's true.
[00:10:54]  But that's not what needs to happen now.
[00:10:58]  The key is, verse 15, going on just a little further, but Jesus answered him, Let it be so now.
[00:11:06]  Later on, John, yes, John and all those who have union with Christ must receive Christ's baptism, a baptism of the Holy Spirit, a baptism that comes not by water but by fire.
[00:11:19]  But now, that is, in this present moment, as Jesus is standing before John, what needs to happen is that Jesus must receive John's baptism.
[00:11:28]  And not the other way around.
[00:11:29]  So when John says, I must be baptized by you, Jesus doesn't say, No, that's not true.
[00:11:35]  Implicitly in the text, we're meant to assume that Jesus agrees with John, saying, You most certainly need to be baptized in my baptism.
[00:11:43]  But for now, today, I must be baptized with your baptism, the baptism of John.
[00:11:51]  Why?
[00:11:51]  Because the baptism of John was a remission of sins.
[00:11:54]  It was coming and having your sins washed away.
[00:11:57]  Jesus had no sin.
[00:11:59]  So, what's the purpose of Jesus subjecting himself to the baptism of John?
[00:12:03]  It's not for the removal of sin.
[00:12:07]  It's to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:12:10]  It's to subject himself, as he did all throughout his life, to every jot and tittle of the law of God.
[00:12:16]  There's not one portion of the law of God that Jesus does not fulfill.
[00:12:21]  He's not just avoiding sin, he's not just keeping himself pure and clean by avoiding sin and maintaining innocence, but he is subjecting himself to every jot, every tittle, every commandment, every precept of the law of God.
[00:12:38]  He is fulfilling all righteousness.
[00:12:40]  Not merely avoiding all sin.
[00:12:43]  That's the difference.
[00:12:44]  Jesus is not just avoiding sin, but fulfilling righteousness.
[00:12:49]  And this is why the reason he gives that he subjects himself, submits himself in humility to the baptism of John that was a baptism for sinners, even though he himself had no sin.
[00:13:02]  Matthew Henry, the late great Puritan, in commentating on verses 13 and 14 of our text, he says the following.
[00:13:10]  The objection that John made against baptizing Jesus was similar to the objection that Peter made a little later when Christ went about to wash his feet in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John.
[00:13:24]  Remember, Peter says, I'm not worthy for you to wash my feet.
[00:13:28]  Jesus says, If you don't allow me to wash your feet, then you have no part in me.
[00:13:31]  And then Peter, classic Peter response, he says, Then wash everything my head and my hands and my body also.
[00:13:40]  But initially, Peter objects.
[00:13:43]  It's very similar to the objection that we see here with John.
[00:13:46]  I'm not worthy.

=== The Condescension of Jesus (11:22) ===

[00:13:48]  Note, Christ's gracious condescensions.
[00:13:52]  His willingness to remove his outer garment, wrap himself with a towel, get down on his hands and knees, and wash the feet of his disciples.
[00:14:00]  Or likewise, his humility and being willing to subject himself to the baptism for sinners, although he himself was without sin.
[00:14:08]  This is what would be known as the condescensions of Christ.
[00:14:12]  And just for the record, that word.
[00:14:15]  Very much used by reformers and Puritans.
[00:14:18]  It's an old word, which means it's a good word.
[00:14:21]  But that word does not mean what we typically think.
[00:14:24]  When we think of condescension, we think of demeaning someone.
[00:14:28]  He's being condescended.
[00:14:29]  Now, condescension just means to lower oneself to the level of another, of an inferior.
[00:14:35]  So, to condescend is only demeaning if it's someone who is your superior or a peer and you are treating them as though they are beneath you.
[00:14:47]  That's a demeaning form of condescension.
[00:14:50]  But any time that God, we see in reference to God or to Christ, who is God, we see this term condescensions.
[00:14:58]  It's not meant to be demeaning.
[00:15:00]  It's simply that's the only way that God can interact with man.
[00:15:04]  All of God's revelation of himself to us is a condescension.
[00:15:09]  All of it.
[00:15:11]  Every time God has spoken to us, be it by dreams and visions and the prophets of old, all the things inscripturated and kept for us in the canon, Of Holy Writ, all these things that God has done for us and that God has said to us and revealed to us, it is all underneath the banner of grace.
[00:15:32]  It is all a condescension.
[00:15:34]  God lowering himself in the way that a father would get on his hands and knees with his very young child.
[00:15:41]  Not to demean the child, but to condescend to their level so that they might be understood.
[00:15:49]  We condescend physically by getting down on our knees with a young child and speaking eye to eye.
[00:15:54]  We also condescend verbally, meaning that we speak on their level in a way that they can comprehend, in a way that is intelligible to a younger child.
[00:16:03]  And this is what God does.
[00:16:05]  With us.
[00:16:06]  This is what God does in the scripture.
[00:16:09]  Everything that God speaks about himself in the scripture is a condescension.
[00:16:14]  It's all true, for God is not a man that he should lie.
[00:16:19]  So God has never lied.
[00:16:20]  So everything he says in scripture is true.
[00:16:24]  But you heard me say this last week not all of it is literally true.
[00:16:28]  Well, then what's God doing?
[00:16:29]  Is he trying to trick us?
[00:16:32]  Is he trying to be unnecessarily complicated?
[00:16:35]  No, no.
[00:16:36]  He's trying to be clear.
[00:16:38]  When God speaks to us as finite creatures about Himself, He can't do so in any other means but by condescension, but by using the language of analogy so that we can understand something that is true about God, although it may or may not be literally true.
[00:16:59]  He's speaking to us in the way that we would speak to a child, in a way that can be understood.
[00:17:06]  When God says He has eyes that roam to and fro over all the earth, Well, we know that God is a spirit, and those who are to worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
[00:17:15]  This is what Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.
[00:17:18]  So, God does not literally have a body, and therefore, He does not literally have eyes.
[00:17:24]  But God's not lying.
[00:17:25]  He is telling us something true about Himself.
[00:17:27]  What He's saying is that He is all knowing, He is omniscient.
[00:17:30]  He is seeing everything that happens on the face of the earth.
[00:17:33]  His eyes roam to and fro across the earth.
[00:17:35]  So, He's not lying to us as His children.
[00:17:38]  He is condescending and speaking to us in such a way that we might understand, saying something true about Himself.
[00:17:44]  But it may not be literally true.
[00:17:46]  And he does this as a condescension, and that condescension is not demeaning and it is not deceitful.
[00:17:53]  It is grace, it is a humility of sorts.
[00:17:57]  And this is what Jesus did with Peter and the disciples and washing their feet.
[00:18:02]  And this is what Jesus does with John and subjecting himself to his baptism.
[00:18:07]  So note, Matthew Henry says Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising as to appear at first incredible to the strongest believers, so deep and mysterious.
[00:18:17]  That even they who know his mind well cannot soon find out the meaning of them.
[00:18:23]  John's modesty thinks this an honor too great for him to receive.
[00:18:28]  And he is right, and yet he must also oblige.
[00:18:32]  He thinks it an honor too great for him to receive.
[00:18:35]  John had now obtained a great name by this point in his ministry.
[00:18:39]  By the point that Jesus now approaches him at the Jordan River to be baptized, John has been baptizing for some time.
[00:18:46]  And John, his name, that is, his fame, has spread throughout the known region.
[00:18:51]  John is a celebrity at this point.
[00:18:54]  John is very great in the sight of men.
[00:18:58]  Even those who hate him dare not speak against John because they know that the people perceive him to be a prophet and that the people would oppose them.
[00:19:06]  So even the Pharisees are coming to John's baptism.
[00:19:09]  They hate it, but they have to play the man, they have to tip the hat.
[00:19:15]  And John, of course, speaks to them saying, Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
[00:19:20]  You brood of vipers.
[00:19:22]  John is not politically correct, John is a man.
[00:19:26]  Jesus even says this of John, speaking of his masculinity.
[00:19:28]  He said, What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
[00:19:32]  A man in soft clothing?
[00:19:34]  That is an effeminate man?
[00:19:35]  No, where do you find them?
[00:19:36]  You find them in Washington, D.C. Seriously, Jesus says, You find them in palaces.
[00:19:43]  Jesus, he's knocking on politicians.
[00:19:47]  He is.
[00:19:48]  He said, You want to find a soft man in soft clothing?
[00:19:52]  We call those politicians.
[00:19:53]  You find them in palaces or in our current structure, you find them in D.C. If you want a soft man, then go and find a senator.
[00:20:03]  Go and find a congressman.
[00:20:07]  But if you want a hard man, a masculine man, well, then you go out into the wilderness.
[00:20:15]  You find a guy dressed in camel skin who's eating locusts and honey.
[00:20:19]  John was a masculine man, and he referred to the Pharisees in masculine tones, and none of this was sin, for the record.
[00:20:26]  It was perfectly righteous, perfectly permissible in the sight of God for him to say, Oh, you're coming to be baptized too?
[00:20:33]  Who warned you to flee the wrath of God, you brood of vipers?
[00:20:35]  You're here.
[00:20:37]  On pretense.
[00:20:38]  You're here deceptively.
[00:20:40]  You're here to tip the hat and pretend because you know that the people are on my side.
[00:20:44]  You're outnumbered.
[00:20:46]  And so you're going to subject yourself outwardly to what would put you into the good graces of the people, but your hearts are wicked and hardened.
[00:20:55]  You're hypocrites and liars.
[00:20:58]  You're snakes.
[00:21:00]  That's John.
[00:21:01]  And by this point, when Jesus comes to John, that's his reputation.
[00:21:06]  And his reputation is not known amongst a few people in Israel.
[00:21:09]  He is known universally in the known world, even beyond Israel at this point.
[00:21:14]  He is, for all intents and purposes, a celebrity.
[00:21:18]  And he is not a TikTok celebrity, C.A. Soft men, soft clothing.
[00:21:23]  No, he is the type of celebrity who is known not only for his righteousness and not only for being a prophet, but for being a masculine man.
[00:21:33]  And yet, at the height of John's popularity, that is when Jesus comes to him.
[00:21:38]  And notice, despite all his esteem, all of his fame, John's Immediate response to Jesus is a response of humility.
[00:21:49]  And that's what Matthew Henry is getting at when he says John's modesty thinks that this is an honor too great for him to receive.
[00:21:56]  John had now, by this point, obtained a great name, and yet he was universally respected, and yet see how humble he still is.
[00:22:06]  Sadly, it is a rare occurrence for someone to attain greatness in the sight of men, and even perhaps greatness in the sight of God, true greatness, but to remain small in their own eyes.
[00:22:19]  As comes fame, often as comes as well pride.
[00:22:25]  But not so with John.
[00:22:27]  And so, in this instance, we should follow the example that he sets that he became great and yet he stayed low.
[00:22:36]  Low in his stature, low in his opinion of himself.
[00:22:41]  And one of the great defenses that we have in this age as we wage war against the three great enemies of the Christian that is, the world, the devil, and the flesh.
[00:22:51]  One of the great weapons that we have, I think, is a weapon of being able to laugh at yourself.
[00:23:00]  I have found that it seems to be an unbroken test of character.
[00:23:08]  Who can laugh at himself and who takes himself too seriously?
[00:23:14]  I've found that again and again.
[00:23:15]  I basically, at this point, I based virtually all of my life, especially when it comes to friendships, off of that principle.
[00:23:25]  Many of you are familiar with Brian Sauvet.
[00:23:28]  Brian Sauvet is a friend.
[00:23:30]  One of the reasons why is not just because I think he's smart or I think he's godly in this aspect or that aspect or whatever because he has podcasts that I like.
[00:23:38]  Part of the reason, one of the main reasons that Brian is my friend is because I think he's genuine.
[00:23:43]  I think he's the real article.
[00:23:44]  And the reason I think he's the real article is because I can say, hey, Brian, you're being gay.
[00:23:51]  And Brian will laugh.
[00:23:54]  John MacArthur would not laugh.
[00:23:56]  John MacArthur is not my friend.
[00:23:58]  Brian is.
[00:23:58]  Okay.
[00:24:00]  So, going further, Matthew Henry says, God has further honors in reserve for those whose spirits continue low when their reputation rises.
[00:24:12]  So, if God is exalting you, and you want, by the grace of God, to be exalted further, then become progressively more and more great by the grace of God, but stay low.
[00:24:26]  God will make you great, but your responsibility in your own eyes is to remain small.
[00:24:32]  What's going on with John here is precisely the opposite of what happened with King Saul, who was once, it's not that Saul was always arrogant.
[00:24:40]  There actually was a time when Saul was small in his own eyes, that he was, in fact, humble, that he regarded himself as of little account.
[00:24:51]  But as God made him great, he was not only built up by God, but puffed up by pride.
[00:25:01]  And so we must avoid pride if we desire, by the grace of God, to not only receive one honor, but to receive further honor.

=== John Filled With Holy Spirit (06:57) ===

[00:25:10]  If God has trusted you with little, be faithful and also be humble.
[00:25:15]  If God has given you some honor and you desire to expand and grow and receive more, then as you become great, also remain small.
[00:25:26]  That's the first point in the humility of John.
[00:25:29]  Further, Matthew Henry, now another quote in your notes.
[00:25:33]  He says this John thinks it necessary that he should be baptized of Christ.
[00:25:37]  I have no need to be baptized of thee with the baptism of the Holy Spirit as of fire.
[00:25:45]  Or, I'm sorry, I have need.
[00:25:46]  I said no.
[00:25:47]  I do have need to be baptized of thee with the baptism of the Holy Spirit as of fire, for that was Christ's baptism.
[00:25:54]  Though John was filled.
[00:25:56]  Here's the thing.
[00:25:57]  So John's saying, I need your baptism.
[00:25:58]  John knows it's a baptism with fire, a baptism of the Holy Spirit, not merely water, the remission of sin.
[00:26:04]  But the Holy Spirit coming upon him.
[00:26:06]  And this is John who does have need of that baptism, but take into account for a moment here that this is John who was filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, from the womb.
[00:26:18]  And this John who had the Holy Spirit from the womb is saying, Yeah, the Holy Spirit, I could always use more.
[00:26:28]  So, too, this is another example that John sets for us here in this instance the instance of Christ's baptism.
[00:26:35]  We see he who is filled with the Holy Spirit from birth saying, I always have need of more.
[00:26:42]  Subsequent refillings of the Holy Spirit.
[00:26:45]  More of the Holy Spirit's power, his anointing, and his grace in my life.
[00:26:53]  Yet, John acknowledges that he had need to be baptized with Jesus' baptism.
[00:26:58]  He was filled with the Spirit from birth, and yet he knows he needs more.
[00:27:02]  Continuing, note, they who have much of the Spirit of God, yet while here in this imperfect state, See that they have need of more and need to apply themselves to Christ to receive that more.
[00:27:14]  So, John has at least two things here.
[00:27:16]  One, he has the Spirit, but he knows he needs more.
[00:27:19]  And two, he knows that more of the Spirit comes from Christ.
[00:27:24]  He applies himself to Christ to receive the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:29]  He doesn't go around Christ or neglect Christ or emphasize the Spirit at the expense of Christ.
[00:27:36]  But rather, he says, I need more of the Spirit.
[00:27:38]  And that means leaning in to Jesus.
[00:27:41]  Where does the Spirit come from?
[00:27:44]  From whom does he proceed?
[00:27:46]  Eastern Orthodox hardest hit.
[00:27:47]  Christ.
[00:27:48]  From both the Father and the Son.
[00:27:51]  If I desire more of the Spirit, because I acknowledge that I have the Spirit, and yet I have need of more, then I need Christ, because the Spirit comes from Him.
[00:28:04]  Furthermore, Matthew Henry goes on and says John has need to be baptized, though he was the greatest that was ever born of women.
[00:28:14]  That's what Jesus himself said of John.
[00:28:16]  Yet, being born of a woman, he is polluted as others of Adam's seed, and owns that he has need of cleansing.
[00:28:24]  Note, the purest souls are most sensible of their own remaining impurity.
[00:28:29]  This is key.
[00:28:29]  I'm going to stop here for a moment.
[00:28:32]  And seek most earnestly for spiritual washing.
[00:28:34]  The best and holiest of men have need of Christ, and the better they are, the more they see of that need.
[00:28:43]  You've heard me give this illustration before, but this one, some things I repeat, you know, 17 times.
[00:28:47]  This one I think I've only said once or twice.
[00:28:49]  So this one definitely bears repeating.
[00:28:52]  It's not the best illustration, but it gets the point across.
[00:28:56]  The process, the lifelong process from the point of conversion, being born again, justification, to the point of death.
[00:29:03]  From the time you become a Christian to the time you breathe your last breath in this life, that is the process of not positional righteousness, which is justification, being declared righteous through faith, but that is progressive righteousness, the process of being conformed progressively, gradually, more and more into the image of Christ.
[00:29:22]  The work of the Holy Spirit in and through the believer.
[00:29:26]  Sanctification.
[00:29:27]  Not justification, but sanctification.
[00:29:29]  And here is what sanctification looks like if I was to make it a visible, something you could visualize in illustration.
[00:29:37]  It's like getting closer and closer to Jesus, being conformed gradually, further and further, progressively into his image.
[00:29:43]  But here's the way it works one, the Holy Spirit is dragging you to Jesus.
[00:29:50]  So it's not just you walking towards him because you're great.
[00:29:54]  No, it's you often digging in your heels, and the Holy Spirit is kind of, sorry, but you will be made more like Christ.
[00:30:03]  And praise God for the Holy Spirit and his gracious work, even against our willingness at times.
[00:30:09]  So the Spirit is dragging you towards Christ.
[00:30:11]  You know, it's been said the Holy Spirit is a gentleman.
[00:30:14]  Have you ever heard that?
[00:30:16]  Don't like it.
[00:30:17]  Not great.
[00:30:19]  The Holy Spirit was not very gentlemanly when he knocked Saul off of his donkey when he was on his way to go and murder more Christians.
[00:30:27]  The Holy Spirit didn't come and knock at the door of his heart and say, Would you like to invite me in and be a Christian?
[00:30:32]  He said, Hey, Saul, you murder Christians.
[00:30:35]  And guess what?
[00:30:36]  I don't care.
[00:30:37]  You're going to be a Christian.
[00:30:38]  Like it or not.
[00:30:39]  Here you go.
[00:30:40]  Blinds him, right?
[00:30:42]  We all know that that's a typical MO of gentlemen you blind people.
[00:30:48]  The Holy Spirit is not a gentleman.
[00:30:51]  Not in that regard.
[00:30:51]  The Holy Spirit, every time someone's saved, for the record, it's because God is not being a gentleman.
[00:30:56]  It's because God's saying, You hate me and love death.
[00:31:00]  All who hate me love death.
[00:31:01]  And yet I love you so much, like a father loves his child.
[00:31:04]  That child, that two year old child, their father could plead with him.
[00:31:08]  Blue in the face and say, Do not disobey.
[00:31:11]  Trust your dad.
[00:31:12]  Stop.
[00:31:13]  I know the ball just went into the street.
[00:31:15]  Stop chasing it down.
[00:31:16]  Trust me.
[00:31:18]  And the son could say, I don't care.
[00:31:21]  I don't trust dad.
[00:31:23]  And in this moment, I'm choosing not to love dad and I'm not going to obey dad.
[00:31:27]  And then what does a good dad do?
[00:31:28]  Well, he sits down and he watches that semi truck barreling down the street and he lets his son learn a lesson, right?
[00:31:35]  No!
[00:31:36]  A good dad runs over, grabs his kid, and says, I love you so much, I won't let you choose death.
[00:31:41]  Oh, but there can be no true love without free will.
[00:31:43]  Stop that!
[00:31:44]  Bad theology.
[00:31:46]  No, true love overrides the will of the child in order to ensure life.
[00:31:52]  What's best for the child, whether he wills it or not.
[00:31:55]  And then that true love, in the case of God, when it comes to regeneration, a work of the Spirit, changes the nature and disposition of the child in such a way that he actually now does become willing.

=== True Holiness Requires Humility (13:11) ===

[00:32:07]  He now does pursue holiness and righteousness with a desire, a bent towards righteousness, because his nature has been changed.
[00:32:17]  He's a new creature in Christ Jesus.
[00:32:19]  And as a new creature with a new nature, he has a new disposition and that affords him new choices.
[00:32:25]  This is the way the gospel works.
[00:32:28]  And all the pretty language to negate God's sovereign election and regeneration and salvation, all that pretty language is just that.
[00:32:39]  It's pretty language.
[00:32:41]  But it's not true, it's not biblical, it's not right.
[00:32:48]  So, how does this illustration work?
[00:32:51]  One, the Spirit is dragging you towards Christ, further and further.
[00:32:56]  And then Christ, in this illustration, is holding two things.
[00:32:59]  In one hand, he's holding a fire hose.
[00:33:02]  And as you get closer and closer, you're getting blasted.
[00:33:06]  And all the gunk and all the grime and all the sin that still remains is getting further and further washed away.
[00:33:13]  Again, hear me in theological categories justification, you've been clothed with the perfect, spotless, pure righteousness of Christ from the moment you believed.
[00:33:22]  And there are no further degrees of righteousness when it comes to positional righteousness, that is, justification being declared righteous in the moment you believe.
[00:33:31]  That's not what I'm talking about.
[00:33:32]  I'm talking about over here, not justification declared righteous, sanctification being progressively made righteous.
[00:33:40]  And in terms of sanctification, we do go from glory to glory to glory.
[00:33:45]  We do gradually, progressively be further conformed into the likeness of Christ.
[00:33:51]  We grow progressively in obedience.
[00:33:54]  And in holiness.
[00:33:55]  And so the Spirit is dragging us closer and closer to Jesus.
[00:33:58]  As we're being dragged closer to Jesus, He's holding a fire hose in one hand and it's blasting away the gunk.
[00:34:05]  The closer we get, the cleaner we get.
[00:34:09]  But in the other hand, He's holding a mirror.
[00:34:11]  And the closer you get, in objective terms, you are progressively getting more righteous.
[00:34:17]  But in subjective terms, you are becoming more aware of all the grime and the filth that still remains.
[00:34:23]  And that is why, in the category of sanctification, Progressive righteousness.
[00:34:29]  Although you are objectively becoming holier.
[00:34:32]  If you're a Christian, you are being sanctified.
[00:34:35]  There is no question there.
[00:34:36]  It's not like, hey, Christians are justified and some of them will be sanctified.
[00:34:40]  No.
[00:34:41]  If you're a Christian, you are being sanctified.
[00:34:43]  You are.
[00:34:44]  If you've been walking with the Lord for five years, by the grace of God, in progressive righteousness terms, you are holier than you were five years ago.
[00:34:55]  And yet, here's the thing that's objectively true.
[00:34:58]  But what is also subjectively true is although you are objectively being made more holy as you are sanctified and walking with Christ, you are also subjectively becoming more aware, painfully often, aware of all the unholiness and the sin that remains.
[00:35:16]  And that's why some of the holiest saints, like John, could be, in one instance, objectively, by the word of Christ himself, the greatest born of women.
[00:35:28]  And yet, also say, I'm not worthy to untie the sandals around your feet.
[00:35:35]  John, this isn't false humility.
[00:35:37]  This isn't false modesty.
[00:35:39]  John's not just saying that as pretty poetic prose.
[00:35:43]  No, John means it.
[00:35:45]  John is acknowledging how sinful he really is.
[00:35:48]  He knows that he is a vile sinner.
[00:35:52]  And yet, Jesus knows that he is the greatest man born of women.
[00:35:56]  John, at that time, was the most sanctified guy on the planet.
[00:36:00]  You have to wait a little later for the Apostle Paul.
[00:36:03]  He was the most sanctified man on the planet, barring Jesus, the God man himself.
[00:36:09]  And yet, John, not just saying it because it sounds humble, he meant it.
[00:36:14]  I'm not worthy.
[00:36:15]  Because that's the way true sanctification works.
[00:36:19]  You get holier by the grace of God, but you get more aware of the holiness that's still lacking also by the grace of God.
[00:36:28]  The most seasoned saints that you will find will be the holiest and the humblest.
[00:36:33]  Humility and holiness always come as twins.
[00:36:37]  As a pair.
[00:36:39]  Whatever holiness you might be gaining at the expense of humility is not true holiness.
[00:36:44]  Lastly, Matthew Henry says this with the will of Christ and this reason for it, John was entirely satisfied.
[00:36:52]  So he says, I'm not worthy.
[00:36:54]  But Christ says, Yeah, but we still got to do it.
[00:36:56]  And that's enough.
[00:36:57]  John says, Oh, it's Jesus.
[00:37:00]  He is God.
[00:37:01]  He's given his command.
[00:37:03]  I gave my reservation.
[00:37:04]  And he said, We still got to do it.
[00:37:07]  And at that point, what does humility do?
[00:37:10]  Humility doesn't balk twice.
[00:37:13]  Humility doesn't say, I'm unworthy, and then God says, Yeah, but you still need to do it.
[00:37:17]  And it says, No, but I can't.
[00:37:19]  At that point, it's no longer humility.
[00:37:21]  At that point, it's just disobedience.
[00:37:24]  And as I just said previously, holiness and humility, true humility, is always accompanied by true holiness.
[00:37:31]  So, whatever we might deem as humility, if that humility becomes a mechanism or an excuse to keep us from actively obeying Christ, And that's not actually humility.
[00:37:43]  We might call it humility, but what it really is is cowardice, fear, apathy, laziness.
[00:37:51]  It could be a whole host of things, but it's not true humility.
[00:37:56]  True humility will never hinder us from true obedience.
[00:38:00]  Never.
[00:38:02]  And yet, in the name of humility, a mere pretense to humility, many have made excuses keeping themselves from obeying God.
[00:38:11]  Do you know what false humility is?
[00:38:14]  False humility is not just one sin, but two.
[00:38:17]  It's both pride and deceit.
[00:38:20]  The person who has false humility is actually prideful and they're lying about it.
[00:38:26]  Better to be blazingly arrogant.
[00:38:29]  At least then you can be honest and prideful.
[00:38:33]  But the one who has false humility is a lying, prideful individual.
[00:38:40]  Let it not be so with us.
[00:38:42]  Yes, acknowledge that we are but unworthy, undeserving servants.
[00:38:48]  But in the final analysis, when Christ gives the command, we must obey.
[00:38:53]  And notice that one of the things that Jesus says, and this caught me off guard this week as I was studying, preparing for the sermon.
[00:38:59]  I knew, I know this text.
[00:39:02]  I reference it quite often when speaking of the act of obedience of Christ.
[00:39:05]  He doesn't just avoid sin, but he fulfills all righteousness.
[00:39:08]  But the text, it actually says, not only Jesus saying, it is necessary that I subject myself to your baptism so that I might fulfill all righteousness, but this one gave me pause for a moment.
[00:39:20]  He says, I need to be baptized by you.
[00:39:23]  And do you come to me?
[00:39:24]  That's the end of verse 14.
[00:39:25]  That's John speaking.
[00:39:26]  But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:39:35]  Now, Jesus is the one, by his substitutionary life, as I've already spoken of, he is the one who fulfills all righteousness for us in our place as a substitute.
[00:39:46]  You and I are not fulfilling all righteousness as the Lamb of God, as a substitute, in order to be accredited to someone else's account.
[00:39:54]  So, I'm not saying that.
[00:39:56]  Jesus is not saying that.
[00:39:57]  The text is not saying that.
[00:39:59]  But, in terms of a moral imperative of what we ought to do, it is fitting, according to Jesus, not only that He fulfill all righteousness, but it is fitting, which is the word He uses, for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:40:14]  And I don't believe that it just is in reference to Jesus and John.
[00:40:18]  But I think in this case, it is in reference to Jesus and all those who would be His disciples.
[00:40:24]  It is not only fitting that Jesus fulfill all righteousness, He does so on our behalf.
[00:40:29]  But all of us who claim to follow him, all of us who've been born again by grace through faith in Christ alone, we all should not merely avoid sin, but like Christ, following his example, seek to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:40:43]  What that means is that we must be active in our obedience as well.
[00:40:48]  Not as saviors of the world, but as those who are responding with gratitude for the free salvation we've already inherited because of Christ and his work alone, we too should not be merely content with avoiding sin.
[00:41:01]  But we should apply ourselves further to fulfilling all righteousness.
[00:41:07]  Waking up in the morning and not merely asking the question, What temptations lie before me today and how can I seek to avoid them?
[00:41:13]  but further asking, What opportunities in the providence of God stand before me today and how can I achieve them?
[00:41:21]  Going further, not just avoiding sin, but it is fitting for us, for Christ and those who would follow him to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:41:30]  Second point now.
[00:41:32]  The humility of Christ, we've seen John's humility, but now the humility of Christ and his act of obedience.
[00:41:37]  I've already covered much of this, so I'll just go very quickly.
[00:41:40]  This is verse 15.
[00:41:42]  Let it be so now.
[00:41:45]  My baptism, the baptism of Christ, it comes by fire, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
[00:41:49]  Yep, everyone has need of that.
[00:41:51]  But for now, it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness by me, that is Christ, subjecting myself not to my own baptism, but to the baptism of John.
[00:42:01]  That's what needs to happen now.
[00:42:02]  For what purpose?
[00:42:04]  Because Jesus had sin that needed to be washed away?
[00:42:07]  God forbid.
[00:42:08]  No.
[00:42:09]  For what purpose?
[00:42:10]  To fulfill every jot and tittle of the law of God.
[00:42:13]  To fulfill all righteousness.
[00:42:15]  The act of obedience of Jesus Christ.
[00:42:17]  Matthew Henry commentating on verse 15, he says it like this It was an instance of Christ's great humility that he would offer himself to be baptized of John.
[00:42:27]  That he who knew no sin would submit himself to the baptism of repentance.
[00:42:33]  The reason that Christ gives for it.
[00:42:35]  Thus, it is necessary for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:42:39]  Note, There was a propriety, that is a purpose, in every single thing that Christ did for us.
[00:42:46]  It was all of grace.
[00:42:47]  Hebrews 2, verse 10, and chapter 7, verse 26 tells us this.
[00:42:52]  It's all condescensions.
[00:42:53]  It's all gracious.
[00:42:54]  Everything that Christ does.
[00:42:55]  But not only was it all grace, it was all grace with a purpose.
[00:43:00]  None of it is unnecessary.
[00:43:02]  All of it is purposeful with intention, gracious intention.
[00:43:06]  And we must study to do not only that which behooves us, that is, that which we must, but if we're serious about following Jesus as we grow in spiritual maturity and further sanctification, we don't merely beg the question, what behooves us?
[00:43:23]  But that which becomes us.
[00:43:25]  The mature believer doesn't merely ask, What must I do? but what may I do?
[00:43:31]  As I seek to give God the most glory possible, how far can I go in honoring Him?
[00:43:37]  Not merely that which behooves us, but that which becomes us.
[00:43:41]  Not only that which is indispensably necessary, but that which is lovely and of good report.
[00:43:47]  Our Lord Jesus looked upon it as a thing well becoming of Him to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:43:55]  That is, to own every divine institution and to show his readiness to comply with all of God's righteous precepts.
[00:44:05]  And lastly, point three, which we'll see in verses 16 and 17 of our text, the point being this God's encouragement, his affirmation, reception of his only begotten Son, and that all that encouragement, that pronouncement, that reception, that affirmation is not only belonging to Christ.
[00:44:27]  To whom it belongs first and foremost, but also to us, all those who have union with Christ by grace and by the work of the Spirit.
[00:44:38]  Verses 16 and 17 of our text say the following When Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on him, not merely touching and then lifting off.
[00:44:59]  But resting, pleased to dwell with him.
[00:45:03]  And behold, not only was there the sight of the Spirit as a dove resting on Christ, but also there was heard a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

=== The Trinity Present at the Start (10:19) ===

[00:45:19]  So many things in this text, I don't have time to get to them all, but one, here we find the Trinity, the voice of the Father, the descent of the Spirit, And the baptism of the Son.
[00:45:32]  All three persons of the Trinity, not modalism, which is a heresy, not all three of the Trinity appearing at different times, not the Father then coming as a Son and then becoming the Spirit, but all three persons simultaneously at once Father, Spirit, and Son.
[00:45:50]  So we have the triune God present in this text.
[00:45:54]  And also we have the pronouncement of the good news of the Gospel that God the Father is pleased.
[00:46:02]  In Jesus Christ, the Son.
[00:46:07]  Matthew Henry says it like this The heavens were opened unto him.
[00:46:11]  Remember that the heavens previously had turned to bronze.
[00:46:18]  For 400 years, the word of the Lord was rare in Israel.
[00:46:23]  This is what we find throughout the biblical text that after the time of Malachi, there passes a 400 year period where the word of the Lord was rare.
[00:46:31]  And the scripture even says that the skies, the heavens, Had turned to bronze or brass, some translations say, meaning that there was, as it were, a barrier between God and man.
[00:46:44]  That Israel, that was always wicked and always, for the most part, unbelieving, had become particularly wicked and unbelieving, leading up to the proper time, the coming of Christ.
[00:46:57]  Remember that God has only ever forgiven sins on account of Jesus Christ.
[00:47:01]  How were Old Testament saints, such as Adam and Eve and Noah, Moses, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, saved?
[00:47:08]  By grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone.
[00:47:11]  The same way that we are.
[00:47:13]  They were saved by the finished work of Jesus, which chronologically at their time, Had not yet been finished.
[00:47:19]  But it was the work of Christ retroactively applied by the Spirit that God passed over.
[00:47:26]  Hebrew says this He temporarily passed over former sins so that at the proper time He could send Christ.
[00:47:32]  Now, there are many things about the coming, the timing of the incarnation of Jesus that made that time proper.
[00:47:40]  Part of it had to do with the sins of the people being stored up, part of it had to do with the Romans and this kingdom being brittle and fractured, iron mixed with clay.
[00:47:52]  And the particular techniques of crucifixion of the Romans, so that Isaiah and all these prophecies might be fulfilled.
[00:47:59]  But one of the things, the aspects or elements that makes this time of Jesus and his coming fitting and proper is because it was the height of Israel's sin.
[00:48:12]  That Israel progressively had become, in many ways, more and more rebellious.
[00:48:18]  That they had had this long standing pattern for centuries.
[00:48:23]  Of three generations being rebellious towards God, and then one generation that is okay, decent.
[00:48:30]  Never really great, but decent.
[00:48:32]  And then three or four or five more generations in rebellion against God, and then another generation that's decent.
[00:48:39]  But at the time that Christ comes, it's on the heels of 400 years.
[00:48:45]  And during that 400 years, from the accounts and extra biblical accounts that we have, it appears as though we don't have the typical Israel pattern.
[00:48:57]  That we've previously had.
[00:48:59]  Three bad generations and one good.
[00:49:01]  No, it seems as though, very likely, for 400 years leading up to the coming of Christ, you just have bad generations in Israel.
[00:49:11]  That the word of the Lord is rare, the skies have turned to bronze, that God, in many ways, has cut off his people, that he has severed and separated himself from them because of their hardened hearts, because of their unbelief.
[00:49:25]  And then Jesus comes into the world, and that moment.
[00:49:30]  And here we have in the baptism of Jesus, these skies which had been turned to bronze, all of a sudden broken open.
[00:49:40]  And the word of the Lord, which had been rare for four centuries, is now booming forth in such a way that all who were standing there present could hear it.
[00:49:49]  And after 400 years of virtual silence and separation from God and his people, God now bypasses Israel and speaks directly, not to them, plural.
[00:50:02]  But to Christ, singular, and says, This is my Israel.
[00:50:07]  This is my son.
[00:50:10]  In him I've always been well pleased.
[00:50:15]  And so, how do you escape the wrath that is to come?
[00:50:19]  There is a judgment that is coming to flood the earth, much like the days of Noah.
[00:50:25]  But there is an ark that God has provided, in which He Himself, just as in the case of Noah, is the Lord who seals up the door.
[00:50:34]  Christ is that ark.
[00:50:36]  He is the one in whom the Father is well pleased.
[00:50:40]  And all those who hide themselves in the cleft of the rock, who find themselves secure in Christ, have the eternal and perfect pleasure of God.
[00:50:49]  Outside of Christ, there is only wrath.
[00:50:52]  There is only judgment.
[00:50:53]  There is only destruction.
[00:50:55]  God had cut off Israel.
[00:50:58]  And in AD 70, all of God's severing was completely done.
[00:51:02]  By the time Jesus comes on the scene, you have 400 years of silence, of God's.
[00:51:09]  Divorcing of Israel.
[00:51:12]  Not full, but certainly underway.
[00:51:16]  But all of a sudden, the skies, which have been turned to bronze, are shattered and broken apart for God to say to Israel, I'm taking you back.
[00:51:23]  Nope.
[00:51:23]  To say to Jesus, You have always been the point.
[00:51:28]  You have always been the object of my desire.
[00:51:31]  Who is the apple of God's eye?
[00:51:33]  Jesus.
[00:51:35]  Who is the true Israel?
[00:51:36]  Jesus.
[00:51:38]  Where's the hope?
[00:51:39]  Where's the salvation?
[00:51:41]  Jesus.
[00:51:43]  At the time that Jesus comes, the word of the Lord for 400 years had been rare.
[00:51:48]  Or as John the Baptist says, the axe was already at the root of the tree.
[00:51:52]  And that tree that the axe was at the root of, that was the tree of the priestly, tabernacle, temple, animal sacrificial, Jewish system.
[00:52:07]  And the axe was laid at the root, and God was already cutting them off.
[00:52:12]  And by AD 70, they were cut off with finality.
[00:52:17]  The floodwaters truly came.
[00:52:20]  But before the floodwaters came, the ark was given.
[00:52:25]  And all those who were willing to hear the word of the Lord as he pronounces his pleasure in the sun, all those who were willing to get on the boat, all of them would be saved.
[00:52:38]  And I believe that leading up to AD 70, initially he came to his own, but they received him not.
[00:52:43]  Isaiah says this many Jews rejected Christ.
[00:52:47]  But leading up to AD 70, I believe there was a great revival because they saw the very words of Christ fulfilled before their eyes.
[00:52:53]  This generation, Matthew 24, will not pass away until all these things come to pass, including the destruction of the temple, not one stone left on another.
[00:53:01]  And all those things did come to pass.
[00:53:04]  And many in Israel who did not heed the word of Christ, they died and perished.
[00:53:08]  But many, I believe, repented of their sins, put faith in Jesus, were taken up into the ark, and the pleasure of God the Father towards Christ became his pleasure towards them as well.
[00:53:19]  And that same pleasure remains for all those today, for you and I, if we will trust in Christ.
[00:53:26]  There is no other ark.
[00:53:27]  There's no B plan.
[00:53:29]  There's no Christian adjacent.
[00:53:33]  There's Christ, and then there's Beelzebub.
[00:53:37]  There is Christ, and there's Satan.
[00:53:41]  There is Christ and truth, and then there are lies.
[00:53:45]  That's it.
[00:53:46]  There is no halfway house between heaven and hell.
[00:53:50]  There is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus Christ alone.
[00:53:55]  And outside of Him, all you have is a bunch of water slides that all end in the lake of fire.
[00:54:01]  You want to go do three turns before you go to hell, or you want to do two turns before you go to hell?
[00:54:06]  That's it.
[00:54:07]  Those are the options.
[00:54:09]  There is no halfway salvation for Israel.
[00:54:15]  No, no.
[00:54:15]  Muslim, damned.
[00:54:18]  Jew, damned.
[00:54:20]  Atheist, damned.
[00:54:22]  Hindu, damned.
[00:54:24]  Christian, saved.
[00:54:27]  Only in Christ.
[00:54:28]  He is the true Israel.
[00:54:30]  And he alone is the object of the Father's full pleasure.
[00:54:34]  And Jews can be saved in him, but only in him.
[00:54:38]  And we can be saved in him.
[00:54:40]  And the same offer that was made that day this is Christ, my Son, in whom I am well pleased.
[00:54:47]  You want to be saved?
[00:54:48]  You want to pass through the waters of baptism, which is likened to Noah and the flood in the ark by Peter elsewhere in the scripture?
[00:54:55]  You want to go through these waters of baptism without drowning, without being destroyed?
[00:55:00]  Then be taken up and sealed in the ark.
[00:55:03]  My pleasure belongs to him because he earned it and you didn't.
[00:55:07]  But if you want to receive that same pleasure, you can do so on the basis of his merit, not your own, which comes by faith and by grace and by the work of the Spirit, union with Christ.
[00:55:20]  And that is the gospel.
[00:55:22]  And we see that in the baptism of Jesus, the pleasure of God for him and the pleasure of God for us, so long as we are found in him.
[00:55:31]  Let's pray.
[00:55:32]  Father, thank you for your word.
[00:55:34]  Help us to trust in Jesus.
[00:55:36]  We pray this in his name.
[00:55:37]  Amen.