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The force, brutality, and hatred of its rejection.

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The cross of Jesus is all about giving.

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God giving Him the terrible punishment for our sins as Jesus was wounded for our transgressions.

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The cross of Jesus is all about giving.

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God giving to the world His Son that whoever believes on Him might not perish but have

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everlasting life.

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The cross of Jesus is all about giving.

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God giving to believers through Christ the necessary gift of righteousness that we might

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be given back to Him.

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We sing about the cross.

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We wear it as a replica in our jewelry.

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We talk about it and portray it in our dramas.

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We put it in our churches.

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We use it in our religious processionals.

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We paint it on canvases.

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We write books about it.

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And we treat it as the central theme in our evangelical preaching.

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But we can never comprehend the cross.

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No matter how hard we try, we can never fully realize the cost of the cross to God and the

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worth of the cross to ourselves.

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In the Gospels, the crucifixion scene is chronicled with its horror, its blood, its spittle, its

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darkness, mockery, loneliness, and death.

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But in other New Testament references like the one we look at today, the cross is simply

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factually stated as truth.

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I invite you to turn to Titus 2 verse 14 where we read that our great God and Savior Christ

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Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for

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Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

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Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, gave Himself for us.

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We see that it was a self-sacrifice.

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And it was an exhaustive sacrifice because He gave Himself everything that He was.

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He gave.

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It was a substitutionary sacrifice for He gave Himself for us.

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When Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, when He died on that cross, He had a purpose in

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mind.

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That purpose was the salvation of a new people whom He calls His saints.

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From His sacrifice on the cross there flow many blessings to us.

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This morning focusing on Titus chapter 2, we're going to look at but four of the blessings

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that come to the saints because of the death of Jesus Christ.

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The first blessing is that of a new relationship.

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The fact is that once I was a helpless slave to sin, but now I have a new relationship.

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I am now a willing servant to Jesus Christ.

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Once you and I were related to sin.

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Sin was our master, a terrible master.

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In chapter 3 verse 3, notice that Paul says, we also once were enslaved to various lusts

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and pleasures.

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Notice that once we were enslaved to sin, sin in terms of our own lusts and pleasures.

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We followed that master.

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We did its bidding.

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But something happened.

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There was a change in relationship and it's wrapped up in the word in verse 14 where it

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says, he gave himself for us, that's the cross, that he might redeem us from every lawless

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deed.

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In that word redeem or the noun redemption is the change in relationship.

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The word redeem means to release a slave by payment of a ransom price.

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Jesus Christ paid a ransom for you and for me.

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It was himself being sacrificed on the cross, the blood that he shed there.

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That price redeemed us from our old master sin.

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That old master sin caused us to follow lawless deeds, he calls them in verse 14.

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These lawless deeds reflect self-assertion on our part in rebellion against God.

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That's the idea in it.

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It is the defiance of self.

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It is our self-will that rejects the will of God.

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That describes how a sinner lives.

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But you and I have been rescued from that bondage to self.

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A price has been paid in the life of Jesus Christ which he gave at the cross.

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The price was paid that we might be purchased away and released.

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This whole idea has led to some false ideas of what the death of Christ as an atonement

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was.

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One of them is called the ransom to Satan theory.

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This theory has been around for nearly 2,000 years.

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It was developed by Origen in the second century.

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In Origen's theory he advocated that Satan held people captive as a victor in war.

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This theory was held by even the great Augustine a hundred or so years later.

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It was advocated because Satan held people captive and a ransom had to be paid.

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In Origen's idea the ransom price, the death of Christ, was a price paid to Satan.

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Thus it's called the ransom to Satan theory.

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In response to this view we need to note that it was God's holiness, certainly not Satan's,

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that was offended by our sin.

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The payment price had to be made to God in order to avert his wrath.

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Satan did not have the power to free man.

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Only God had the power to free man.

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This is a false idea of what the atonement was.

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There have been others through the centuries.

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And that this ransom price that was paid was a price that was paid to God so that his wrath

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would be satisfied and he might forgive us.

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We have been redeemed.

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Now we are related to God and we willingly give ourselves as servants to Christ.

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The Old Testament when a servant was redeemed, the price was paid for him.

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He had the option to willingly go on serving his master.

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But to show that it was a willing service and not an indentured service.

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His ear was punctured with an awl.

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That hole from that time onward represented the fact that that person was the servant

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of his master.

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By the act of his own will, he voluntarily gave himself to his master.

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I want to say to you that it is only reasonable that we have been redeemed by the blood of

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Jesus Christ.

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But upon our release from that slavery to sin, give ourselves freely to serve our new

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master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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One of the blessings that flows from the cross death of Jesus Christ is this new relationship.

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Whereas once we were slaves to sin, now by God's grace and by the ransom price paid

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by Jesus Christ, we are voluntary willing servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great

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King of Kings.

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The second blessing that we see is that of a new identity.

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I once had no identity.

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I was lost and separated from God.

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But now I have a new identity.

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I now belong to God and I am identified with the people of God.

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Once the guilt of my sin separated me and alienated me from God.

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As Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 12, we were without God, without hope

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in the world.

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We were separated from the promises and the covenants of Israel.

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What happened?

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That we have this new identity.

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God in His grace removed our guilt and our defilement.

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And a new identity was given to us through the new birth.

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Just in verse 14 it says, He gave Himself for us that He might purify for Himself a

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people.

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This word purify means to wash.

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It means to cleanse.

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It means to purify.

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We have a word in the English, catharsis.

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This is exactly the word that is used in the New Testament here.

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It means that we have been made clean from our defilement of sin.

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This same word is used in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament again and again and again

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of the washings that were necessary under the old covenant.

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And the washing that we now receive under the new covenant through Jesus Christ.

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Here Paul says again, we have been purified.

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We have been washed.

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The consequence of that is that our defilement of sin is gone.

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Not only our slavery to it, but the defilement of it in our lives is gone.

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How did this happen?

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Well I think we have a hint in chapter 3 verse 5 where he says, God our Savior saved us not

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on the basis of righteous deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His

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mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

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A different word in washing, but the same idea, the washing he says of regeneration.

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It's talking about a new birth, a new beginning.

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This particular word is found only one other time in the New Testament in Matthew chapter

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19 and there it's of the new beginning that creation will have when our King comes and

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establishes His Kingdom on the earth.

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This word is used of the new beginning of a believer, of a person who is born again,

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who has a new birth and who by that birth is washed from the defilement of his first

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birth.

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The consequence of this washing by the new birth is that I am now born again with a new

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identity.

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I am now counted as one of the people of God.

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One of the people of God.

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And notice that he calls us here a people for his own possession.

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That means that we as a people, as a washed people belong to God in a special sense.

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Yes, it is true that all people everywhere belong to him by right of creation, but we

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belong to him by right of birth.

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If you want to picture what this word means, put a period in your notes and draw a circle

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around it.

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That's the idea.

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We as a people are that period and the circle around us is God.

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We are encompassed by him.

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We belong to him.

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Therefore we are saints.

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Now the word saints is not used in the book of Titus at all, but Paul uses it many times

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in the New Testament.

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We are those who have been separated unto God, who have been consecrated to God for

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his special purpose.

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We see that idea in this word, a people for his own possession.

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So the second blessing that comes to us through the death of Christ on the cross is that of

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a new identity.

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Now we are a part of the people of God who belong in a special sense to him.

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The third blessing that comes to us from the cross is that of a new character.

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I was once devoted to evil, but now I am a zealot for good.

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You see before I was a slave to sin, as I said earlier, and that slavery was proven

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by my own affection for evil.

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Paul elaborates on this in chapter 3 verse 3.

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We also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, that is led astray, enslaved to

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various lusts and pleasures, spending our life, that's an interesting thought, it means

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just existing, not enjoying life, just spending it, spending our life in malice and envy,

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hateful, that means detestable, and counting others detestable, hating one another.

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My friend, what he does here is expose the affections of the heart of the sinner.

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Now the sinner may dress it up, the sinner might comb its hair, the sinner might wash

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it off as best he can, but here is the heart of the sinner, and it's not a very pretty

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picture.

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This is the character of the sinner.

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But something happens to the saved person, a change takes place.

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We see the hint of it in verse 5 again, where he says, God our Savior saved us by the washing

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of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

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The Holy Spirit is renewing us on the inside, we have a new character.

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Instead of having an affection for sin now, we have an affection for righteousness.

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There is an inner transformation that's taking place.

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God is about renewing us.

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He hasn't finished yet, but he's doing it, and he's going to keep on doing it until

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he is finished.

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When I went to school in Chicago 25 years ago, the school was in the midst of a terrible

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area on the near north side of Chicago.

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There were houses of prostitution on both sides of the school.

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Students could look across the street and see that kind of activity going on.

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One place was bombed just across the street from the school because of some underworld

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things that were taking place there.

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It was dangerous to walk down the street in Chicago in those days.

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We always went in groups everywhere even though the police station was just catacorned across

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the block from the school.

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You go down to that same school today, it hasn't moved, but it's in a brand new area.

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Urban renewal has taken place in the last 25 years.

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Now some of those same buildings where there were houses of ill repute, there are condos

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that go for about a half a million dollars.

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I'd say that's some kind of renewal, wouldn't you?

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Something has happened in the city of Chicago, and part of it was because the school stayed

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there as an anchor until the city was ready to do something.

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I want to tell you something.

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What does it work in your character and mind that he is carrying on a personal renewal?

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Those things in our lives that were once of ill repute, he is replacing, he's getting

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rid of that, and he's putting in their character that loves righteousness, that's zealous

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for what is good.

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He describes what that looks like in verses 1 and 2 out in the world.

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He says that Christians are like this in the world.

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Once we were like verse 3, but now here's what we're like.

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He says, remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready

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for every good deed, to malign or to slander no one, to be uncontentious, that is not given

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to fighting, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

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That's the new character that God is putting into our lives now because of the cross.

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He elaborates on it in verse 8.

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I want you to speak confidently so that those who have believed in God may be careful to

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engage in good deeds.

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The word engage means to stand before good deeds.

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The idea is to practice what they profess.

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Verse 14 says, let our people also learn to engage in good deeds, to meet pressing needs

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that they may not be unfruitful.

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So just as God has given, we're to give.

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That pressing needs might be met.

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So the blessing that comes to us from the cross is that of a new character.

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Once we were defiled inside and that was shown by what we love to do.

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But now we have been washed and the Holy Spirit is renewing us so that we have a character

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that loves and practices good deeds.

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Let me close with a fourth blessing that comes to us from the cross.

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It's found in verse 13.

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The grace of God teaches us to look for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory

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of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

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We have a new outlook.

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The fact is that before I looked only for judgment.

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It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment, the Bible says.

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But now I look not for judgment, but for the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ.

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Before our destiny was that of condemnation.

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We were under the wrath of God.

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We were guilty before God.

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But what happened?

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Well, chapter 3 verse 7 says we were justified by grace.

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What does that mean?

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God declared us to be righteous in His sight.

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He justified us that we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

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A change was made.

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Before my inheritance was that of condemnation.

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Now I am an heir of eternal life.

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And as a result of that I have a new outlook.

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Today I am looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Before He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

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But now we are eagerly anticipating His second appearance.

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That will have nothing to do with sin, but He will come to save us from this world.

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This Palm Sunday we remember that coming of Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.

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That day was but a rehearsal for what is coming when Jesus returns to the earth.

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First coming for us, then coming with us.

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He will establish His Kingdom upon the earth.

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That is our outlook.

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It is the appearing of His glory.

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Even now that glory is visible in heaven.

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He is exalted at the right hand of God as King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is glorified

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forever.

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But one day what now prevents us from seeing that glory will be broken into and pulled

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back and His glory will be exposed and revealed.

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We anticipate that day when His glorious appearing will take place.

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It is a blessed hope for us.

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It is a blessed hope that Christ is coming again, a new outlook to face life with, a

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new outlook for this week for whatever it may hold for you.

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Whatever decisions, whatever trials lie before you tomorrow or Tuesday or through this week,

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remember your outlook.

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Jesus is coming.

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Jesus is coming.

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And when He comes, He is going to set things right.

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And when He comes, He is coming with reward for those who faithfully hang in there and

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serve Him.

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Let that outlook possess your heart with great joy this week of Easter.

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The blessings that flow from Calvary are far more numerous than what we have elaborated

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on this morning.

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But these four begin to help us understand the worth of the cross because every one of

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these blessings is ours because Jesus, our great God and Savior, gave Himself for us.

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Would you bow with me please?

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Oh Father God, help us today to value the cross in a new way, to see the sacrifice of

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the Lord Jesus as the source of all of the blessings that we enjoy in our lives.

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Having looked at just four of them, may we go from here today with our hearts filled,

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our hearts excited about the things of God, our hearts devoted to serve as willing slaves

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our new Master.

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And Father, if someone be here without Jesus today, help them to come to Him in faith,

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even today, that they may be made new and be counted a part of the people that belong

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especially to You.

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Amen.

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Let's go out this morning with His praise on our lips and in our spirits.

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Let's stand and glorify the King of Kings.