Grace Pipeline, The

The Justifier And The Justified

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Program Code: GPL000006


00:01 Hello, I am Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Please join us now on "The Grace Pipeline"
00:05 as we see how the lives of two robbers
00:08 provide an incredible snapshot of salvation by grace.
00:36 Welcome to "The Grace Pipeline."
00:38 On our last program
00:39 we considered the yoke up relationship with Jesus Christ
00:43 which is to be partnered with His power.
00:46 And today, what we're going to look at is an incredible
00:50 snapshot of salvation found in the story of two robbers,
00:54 one who turns to Christ and one who rejected Him.
00:58 But what we will learn is how our God who is impartial,
01:02 honorable, righteous,
01:04 and truthful can be both just in His judgments.
01:09 And at the same time the one who justifies us.
01:13 This series is following
01:15 the Bible study in the book I was privileged to write
01:18 by the same title "The Grace Pipeline."
01:20 And if you're following along in the series companion book,
01:24 we'll begin today with chapter 4.
01:26 The gospels record how our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified
01:30 between two criminals.
01:31 They were members of a violent band of robbers
01:34 that plundered Palestine during this time of history.
01:37 And these two are most likely Jews by nationality.
01:41 They are presumed to have been followers of Barabbas,
01:44 the notorious robber who committed murder
01:47 during an insurrection and was imprisoned
01:49 at the same time of Christ trial.
01:52 Now the robbers faced crucifixion.
01:56 The most hideous and degrading death of the ancient world
02:00 reserved for only the worst of criminals.
02:03 Standing in the judgment hall they heard the commotion
02:07 of the confusing case against Christ.
02:10 And as they were led away with him
02:12 carrying their cross beams to Calvary,
02:15 the raging thoughts of his persecutors
02:18 and the tearful veils of His followers fell on their ears.
02:22 Excruciating suffering awaited them.
02:25 Every movement, every breath on their cross
02:29 will cause painful throbbing.
02:31 Stripped naked to increase humiliation,
02:34 the crucified typically suffered several days of the lonesome
02:38 and lingering labor of dying.
02:41 These two criminals were fortunate.
02:43 There Friday, of their crucifixion
02:46 was the preparation day for high Sabbath.
02:49 That was a feast day
02:50 which synchronized with the seventh-day Sabbath.
02:53 It was labeled a higher great day.
02:56 So for religious respectability
02:58 their moment of death would be hastened.
03:01 The Jews requested of Pilate to have their legs broken
03:05 so that the death would come more rapidly
03:07 and their bodies could be removed
03:09 from this--the cross before the special Sabbath.
03:12 A heavy mallet would be used to break their legs destroying
03:16 any potential of being able to push up on their feet
03:20 to relieve the body weight pressure
03:22 from their lungs to breathe.
03:25 So suffocation and heart failure would eventually follow.
03:30 Three crosses awaited on the Hill of Calvary.
03:34 Guilty before man and God,
03:36 the two criminals were crucified.
03:38 And the Lamb of God, the Lord of glory
03:41 hung nailed to the center cross.
03:45 According to tradition,
03:47 Demas was the name of the penitent thief
03:51 hanging to the right of Christ.
03:53 He knew of Christ's fame and he noticed
03:56 that he had been sentenced to die
03:58 only for His claims of being the Son of God.
04:02 But in his misery Demas had it first mocked Jesus
04:06 joining his companion and the others
04:08 who hurled insults at the Lord.
04:12 But the operation of God's grace began to soften him.
04:15 And as he looked at the one on the cross beside him,
04:19 he identified a heart of infinite compassion.
04:23 Christ conduct convinced Demas that the man on the center cross
04:28 was the Messiah and suffering wrongly.
04:32 In horror of his own actions, he changed his language
04:37 and chastised his companion for criticizing the Savior.
04:41 Saying in Luke 23:40 and 41.
04:46 "Do you not even fear God,
04:49 seeing you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
04:52 And we indeed justly,
04:54 for we receive the due reward of our deeds,
04:58 but this Man has done nothing wrong."
05:03 Demas humbled himself confessing his sin
05:06 and this was proof of God's grace
05:09 being extended to his miserable soul.
05:12 It might surprise you to learn
05:14 that even repentance is a gift from God.
05:18 This is too important to skip over.
05:20 So let's read a couple of scriptures
05:22 from the sheer word of God
05:23 to settle this matter in your heart.
05:26 In Acts 5:31 the Bible says,
05:29 "Him God has exalted to His right hand"
05:33 speaking of Christ "To be Prince and Savior,
05:36 to give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins."
05:41 So God gives us repentance.
05:44 In 2 Timothy 2:24, proves "Repentance is a gift from God."
05:49 And it reads, I'll read 2 Timothy 2:24 and 25.
05:53 And it says, "A servant of the Lord
05:56 must not quarrel but be gentle to all.
05:58 Able to teach patiently in humility correcting those
06:03 who are in opposition if perhaps God will grant them repentance
06:10 so that they may know the truth."
06:13 The Holy Spirit is constantly at work to convince
06:17 and convict people of their sins
06:19 and to bring them to godly sorrow.
06:22 When God sees someone who is sorry for their sins
06:25 and they're seeking forgiveness,
06:27 He grants them the gift of repentance,
06:31 just as God granted to Demas
06:33 who turned away from his sins to Christ.
06:36 And said in Luke 23:42, "Oh, Lord, remember me
06:41 when You come into Your kingdom."
06:43 Demas certainly had to recognize that Christ was not coming down
06:47 from His cross to establish a temporal kingdom on earth.
06:51 He realized as Jesus taught in John 18:36
06:56 that Christ kingdom was not of this world.
07:00 It was a kingdom on the other side of the grave.
07:03 The spirit of grace helped him to see beyond
07:07 the shame of Christ to His coming glory.
07:10 And recognizing Christ divine authority,
07:13 he confessed Him his Lord.
07:15 In the midst of Christ agony at His darkest moment
07:19 this prayer of faith gratified the heart.
07:22 The Lord would not ignore the penitent cry.
07:25 Christ accepted him promising Demas eternal life
07:29 proving it is faith, not works that saves.
07:35 As long as a person can make the choice,
07:38 it is never too late to turn to Christ.
07:41 While there is life remaining in the bodies there is hope.
07:45 And the loving heart of our Savior
07:48 responded to this criminal in Luke 23:43.
07:54 And he said, "Assuredly, I say to you today,
07:59 you will be with Me in Paradise."
08:03 On that day Christ promised Demas
08:06 that he had granted his request.
08:09 Demas had tapped into God's grace pipeline through faith
08:13 and received the gift of eternal life and an inheritance
08:16 among those whom Christ makes righteous by faith.
08:20 He will eat from the tree of life
08:23 which Revelation 2:7 says,
08:25 "Is in the midst of the Garden of God located in heaven."
08:29 Now I must in to be perfectly transparent notice
08:34 or make a note that I place the comment on that verse
08:39 after on verse 43 after today.
08:43 You know, authors of the New Testament books
08:46 recorded the original Greek text without punctuation marks
08:51 and the balance of scripture convinces me
08:54 that translators had mistakenly placed the comma
08:57 before today in that verse
09:00 which alters the idea completely.
09:04 Jesus either meant Demas,
09:06 I tell you today at this very moment in time.
09:09 I promise you Demas,
09:11 you can be certain in the future,
09:13 you'll be with Me in paradise or if you put the comma before,
09:18 he was saying to Jesus-- Jesus was saying to Demas
09:23 "This very day you'll join Me in the paradise of God"
09:27 which option the scripture support.
09:30 The Apostle John confirms in Revelation 2:7
09:34 that the location of the paradise of God
09:37 is in heaven.
09:38 And let me tell you something.
09:40 Demas could not possibly have entered paradise
09:43 on the Friday of his crucifixion
09:45 because the promise keeping Christ
09:48 did not return to heaven that day.
09:50 The account of his Sunday morning resurrection is recorded
09:54 in John 20:11-18.
09:58 After Christ had resurrected,
10:01 He instructed Mary not to cling to Him. Why?
10:04 He said, it was because
10:06 He had not yet ascended to the Father.
10:08 And in John 14:1-4,
10:12 Jesus had previously explained to His disciples
10:16 that He would go to prepare a place for them
10:19 and when everything was ready, He would come again to receive
10:23 His faithful followers to Himself.
10:26 This is a definite promise of His second coming.
10:30 So there's only one light to go conclusion that remains
10:33 that is consistent with the rest of scripture.
10:36 On the day of His crucifixion,
10:39 Christ promised that at His second coming,
10:42 Demas will rise in the resurrection
10:45 of the righteous and put on immortality
10:48 with the rest of the righteous ones.
10:51 In his misery the penitent thief met mercy.
10:54 Divine grace was magnified
10:57 and Demas' disgrace was abolished.
11:02 The conversion of the naked thief
11:04 on a cross is an incredible snapshot of salvation by grace.
11:08 He recognized Jesus as Lord,
11:11 became convicted of his sinful condition,
11:14 experienced remorse, confessed his sin and cried out for mercy.
11:20 The grace of our Lord granted him the gifts of forgiveness,
11:24 repentance, justification and salvation.
11:28 That is the message of the cross.
11:31 Look at the Apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1:18.
11:37 He says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness
11:41 to those who are perishing,
11:43 but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
11:50 Now in the backs--background of that snapshot of salvation
11:55 is the darker side of the story.
11:58 The other robber hanging naked to the left of Jesus
12:02 did not understand the message of the cross.
12:05 And so to him it was just absolutely meaningless.
12:10 He snubbed the Savior,
12:11 he spurned salvation by grace and unforgiven,
12:15 the companion of Demas perished in his sins.
12:20 When it comes to judgment,
12:22 all men and women stand naked before the Lord.
12:26 We cannot cover our sins.
12:28 If we accept the gospel of Christ,
12:31 we will like Demas stand in grace
12:35 and receive everlasting life.
12:37 However if we reject the good news,
12:41 we will like his robber companion
12:44 fall in disgrace and perish.
12:47 Perhaps, one of the most beautiful and grandiose
12:51 known promises of God is the one found in John 3:16
12:57 which says, "For God so loved the world
13:01 that He gave His only begotten Son,
13:04 that whoever believes in him should not perish
13:08 but have everlasting life.
13:10 For God did not send His Son into the world
13:13 to condemn the world,
13:15 but that the world through Him might be saved."
13:20 God is just, that means He is absolutely good,
13:24 virtuous, impartial, fair minded, honest,
13:28 incorruptible, trustworthy and righteous.
13:32 And in performing His justice,
13:34 He consistently does all things in accordance
13:38 with what is perfectly right.
13:41 He judges fairly.
13:42 His wrath against sin is justly deserved.
13:46 But Jesus death satisfied God's righteous wreath.
13:51 God's pardon to unholy sinners is only
13:55 because He secures our acquittal from guilt
13:59 based on Christ death by His divine grace
14:03 through the gifts of repentance forgiveness in salvation.
14:07 Where it not for grace,
14:09 you and I would be helpless and hopeless.
14:13 For the Bible tells us in Roman 3:23,
14:16 that "All have sinned and fallen short of His glory"
14:20 which is His righteous character.
14:22 Just think about it for a moment.
14:24 Can you recall even one day in your life
14:27 that you did not fall short
14:29 of the mark of God's righteous character,
14:32 not only in thought but in action.
14:35 Have you ever spent even one 24 hour period
14:39 that could measure up to His righteousness
14:41 without a single lapse?
14:43 Even the most righteous saint is indeed a sinner saved by grace.
14:49 In the brilliant presence of our Lord, our righteousness,
14:53 our very best can be compared only to filthy rags.
14:58 Thank God for His grace.
15:00 From time to time someone will ask me,
15:04 well, if God is such a wonderful God and God of grace,
15:07 why would a loving God create the devil to tempt us?
15:12 I want to tell you something, He did not.
15:14 Ezekiel 28:12-15 informs us
15:18 that God created Lucifer with perfection
15:21 but also with free will.
15:24 God assigned him to be a covering cherub at His throne,
15:28 making Him the highest ranked of all created beings.
15:32 Lucifer lived in the presence of God
15:35 and was blameless at all his ways
15:37 until inequity entered his heart.
15:41 Pride was his iniquity, the origin of sin.
15:45 And Lucifer lifted his heart in vanity
15:50 and as is described in Isaiah 14:12-14.
15:55 Here's what the Lord says about him.
15:58 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
16:03 How you are cut down to the ground,
16:05 You who weakened the nations!
16:08 For you have said in your heart,
16:10 'I will ascend into heaven,
16:12 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,
16:16 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
16:19 on the farthest sides of the north,
16:21 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
16:25 I will be like the Most High.'"
16:29 Lucifer's vain imagination caused him to think
16:33 that he was worthy to receive worship,
16:36 the worship only deserved by God.
16:38 And in his competitive attitude of self glorification,
16:44 submission to the Almighty's authority
16:46 was intolerable to him.
16:49 Jesus said in John 8:44,
16:51 that Lucifer became a murderer,
16:54 a liar and the father of all falsehood.
16:59 To gratify his lust for power,
17:02 Lucifer fabricated accusations against the Lord
17:05 desiring God's position and authority.
17:08 He masterminded a rebellion
17:11 and he marshaled an unholy alliance against the Almighty,
17:15 accusing God of being unjust.
17:18 The Lord could have instantly, instantly ended the anarchy
17:24 by annihilating Lucifer and his gang.
17:27 But such an act would raise suspicion
17:30 that the complaint lodged against Him was true.
17:33 And what about the on looking angels,
17:36 those created beings who remained loyal.
17:39 They would then serve God out of fear rather than love.
17:43 So until God's just character can be proven beyond doubt.
17:48 God limited His response as described in Revelation 12:7-9
17:55 to merely casting Lucifer and his followers
17:58 which was the third of the angels.
18:00 He just cast them out of heaven.
18:02 These fallen angels we are told in Jude 1:6,
18:06 God has reserved as He says it
18:10 "in everlasting chains under darkness
18:13 for the judgment of the great day."
18:17 Lucifer the chief of the fallen demonic troop
18:22 became known as Satan,
18:24 which means adversary and he's also known as the devil
18:27 which that word means accuser.
18:30 When Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation,
18:34 they relinquished to him,
18:35 their God given authority over the earth.
18:38 Until God restores all things,
18:41 the devil has temporarily gained a grip over our fallen world.
18:45 And the devil's merciless mission is to thwart
18:49 the Lord's plan of salvation
18:51 by continuing to create doubt on his character.
18:56 And don't be fooled, worship remains his chief desire.
19:00 I'm talking about Satan.
19:02 In his concealed delusion,
19:04 he even vainly attempted to receive worship
19:07 from the Son of God as the Bible records in Matthew 4:9-10
19:14 which says and this is Lucifer talking.
19:17 He said to Him, to Christ,
19:19 "All these things I will give You,
19:22 if You will fall down and worship me."
19:26 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!
19:29 For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God,
19:33 and Him only shall you serve."
19:38 Satan's greatest mistake was his scheme to kill the Savior.
19:44 Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot
19:48 and convinced him to betray Christ.
19:51 Judas had declared that he was one of the disciples
19:54 but he was unwilling to surrender
19:56 to the influence of Christ divine love and holy character
20:00 and to live under submission to the Lord's authority.
20:03 So expecting that Christ would start
20:06 a political rebellion and overthrow Rome,
20:09 Judas became His follower with mixed motives.
20:13 Personal ambition stirred his anticipation
20:17 of a coveted promotion with greater authority
20:21 in a newly established earthly kingdom.
20:24 So through his attitude and his actions,
20:28 Judas gave the devil a foothold in his life.
20:32 As the treasurer of the apostles the Bible records
20:35 that he secretly stole from the Lord's ministry finances.
20:39 Then Judas became angry and he took offence
20:43 when Christ rebuked him publicly for his miserly attitude.
20:49 So he opened his heart to the devil
20:52 to allow the devil to work through him.
20:54 And this hypocrite became an apostate
20:57 and betrayed his master for 30 pieces of silver
21:02 which was a traditional price of a slave.
21:05 Judas became the devil's agent
21:08 and he found disaster and death to be his reward.
21:12 He died remorseful but without repentance.
21:16 If he had turned back to God,
21:18 he would have been restored through God's grace,
21:20 the gift of eternal life.
21:23 The Bible tells us in Roman 6:23
21:25 "For the wages of sin is death,
21:28 but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
21:33 You see Satan presumed to destroy God's plan of salvation,
21:38 but the cross proved to be his greatest defeat.
21:42 The crucifixion of Christ was the central event of--
21:47 in the controversy between good and evil.
21:50 And it rendered the devil a conquered vow.
21:54 We were, we are reconciled to God
21:57 through the gift of Jesus Christ
21:59 as 2 Corinthians 5:19, assures us.
22:04 "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,
22:09 not imputing their trespasses to them."
22:14 You see fallen humanity have become an enemy of God
22:18 and we had a sinned death that could never be repaid.
22:22 Divine justice demanded payment
22:25 but God tempers His justice with mercy.
22:28 In divine mercy He made provision
22:31 to reconcile the world to Himself through Christ.
22:35 And in an act of mercy and grace,
22:37 God sent Christ to win back humanity's love and loyalty.
22:42 Christ shed His blood on the cruel cross of Calvary
22:46 that you and I might be justified.
22:49 Put in right standing before God.
22:52 Hallelujah and amen.
22:54 Well, we'll continue on this study
22:57 on our next program as we begin to probe into the idea
23:01 of how Christ righteousness justifies us.
23:05 And we hope that you will be able to join us.
23:08 Well, our time is almost gone today,
23:10 but I want to take just a brief moment to review
23:15 how God's system of grace works.
23:18 Not everybody was able to tune in
23:20 for the first program or two,
23:22 but when I asked the Lord how to--how it worked,
23:26 this is what He showed me.
23:28 It's an illustration that's really kind of changed my life.
23:32 You have to understand that God's heart
23:34 vales with love for us.
23:36 And His love is the compelling force behind His grace.
23:43 He loves us.
23:45 The Bible says, within an everlasting love
23:47 and He draws us to Himself with love and kindness.
23:51 So from that well of love, flow all of God's blessings.
23:56 Grace is the pipeline
23:59 through which these blessings flow from heaven to earth.
24:03 Everything, absolutely every good thing
24:06 comes to us through His great pipeline of grace.
24:10 So we-- if we think about God
24:13 being the giver of every good and perfect gift,
24:16 He makes them all available to mankind through faith.
24:22 Faith is the faucet.
24:23 It's how we tap into God's grace pipeline.
24:27 And our faith regulates the release of blessings
24:31 from His great, great reservoir.
24:35 Through Christ, Romans 5:2 says,
24:38 we have access by faith into this marvelous grace of God.
24:44 Prayer is the handle that opens the faith faucet.
24:49 Trust is the foundation for the prayer of faith.
24:53 Relationship is the foundation for trust.
24:57 And what is the foundation for relationship? Love.
25:01 So the greater our understanding of God's love for us,
25:07 the greater our love will be for Him.
25:10 John tells us, we only love Him because He first loved us.
25:15 And the greater our love,
25:17 the more intimate our relationship will become
25:20 with our heavenly Father.
25:22 And the more intimate our relationship,
25:24 the greater our trust will become.
25:27 So as we learn to trust in the Lord,
25:30 leaning not on our understanding but on what His word says,
25:35 then we develop the prayer of faith
25:39 and we become more persistent in our prayer of faith
25:43 and that develops greater actions of faith.
25:47 So the greater our faith,
25:49 the more we tap into the various areas of God's grace.
25:54 And then when we access His grace pipeline,
25:58 the blessings flow and God's stream of love
26:03 and His gifts flow through this heavenly pipeline
26:08 and there is no shortage of supply.
26:11 You know, if you have been following this series
26:14 would probably realize
26:16 that the greatest three gifts of God's grace are Jesus Christ,
26:24 our Savior and the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
26:31 If we recognize these are the three greatest gifts
26:35 and we understand that, understanding the gifts of grace
26:40 begin to help us understand
26:44 the effects of grace upon the human soul.
26:48 God wants you to know
26:52 that grace is more than just a pardon.
26:57 Grace is being partnered with His power.
27:01 Grace is surrendering to His control
27:06 allowing Christ to live in your heart through faith.
27:10 Allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you
27:13 to do the will of God and allowing the word of God
27:18 to be implanted in your heart
27:21 and help you develop the divine actions,
27:25 the divine nature of God.
27:29 I hope that like Demas
27:32 if you have never looked to the Lord for salvation before,
27:36 if you've mocked Him in the past,
27:38 I hope and pray that you return to Him now
27:41 and ask God to forgive you, to grant you repentance.
27:45 To ask God to please Lord,
27:49 let me be saved and God will.
27:53 He loves you, my brother. He loves you, my sister.
27:57 Grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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Revised 2014-12-17