Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001641A
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00:13 Welcome back, we're talking about the killing of Jesus.
00:17 We're gonna answer this question now 00:19 that we brought up 00:20 in the last part of the program, 00:22 what mottos were involved in the killing of Jesus? 00:26 Well, sorted, petty, little sins 00:30 that most of us folks practice. 00:32 Would you come over here to Matthew 27:15-18, 00:36 that's a text in the New Testament. 00:38 Matthew 27:15 and onwards, 00:42 "Now at the feast the governor 00:43 was accustomed to release the multitude one prisoner 00:48 whom they wished. 00:49 And at that time 00:50 they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 00:54 Therefore, when they had gathered together, 00:56 Pilate said to them, 00:57 'Whom do you want me to release to you? 00:59 Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?' 01:02 For he knew they had handed Him over because of..." 01:07 What? 01:08 'Cause of envy, not a really big sin, is it? 01:12 Not like murder, just a little sin, 01:14 most people have got a bit of envy in them. 01:18 The Jews were envious of Jesus because of His popularity. 01:23 We're talking about the Jewish leaders. 01:25 Because of His power, His influence, 01:27 they are the same sins today that you find in politics. 01:33 A envy, also not only I'm talking about politics 01:38 in the church, 01:40 politics in the church and politics in Washington, 01:43 in the world. 01:46 Then it was Pilate, 01:48 Pilate's big problem of course was job security. 01:53 You know, if you let this man go, you know, 01:56 friend of Caesar's and so he said," 01:59 Well, I guess when it comes to the bottom line, 02:02 it's better for me to keep my job 02:05 than to follow Jesus. 02:06 Also pride. 02:09 And that doesn't seem to be such a big sin, 02:11 oh, the pride, people don't go to job 02:13 because of pride. 02:14 Look at John 11:47 and onwards. 02:19 My dear friends, John 11:47 and onwards. 02:23 "Then the chief priests and the Pharisees 02:26 gathered a council and said, 'What shall we do? 02:30 For this Man works many signs. 02:35 If we let Him alone, everybody will believe in Him, 02:38 and the Romans will come and take away both our place 02:42 and nation.' 02:43 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, 02:47 said to them, 'You know nothing at all, 02:51 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us 02:54 that one man should die for the people, 02:57 and not the whole nation should perish.' 03:01 " This was a form of nationalism or racism. 03:05 You know, we are the greatest nation in the world. 03:09 And if anything happens, 03:10 we are going to lose our nation, 03:13 that's a very common sin today. 03:15 These sins, these sinners 03:17 were not so different to you and to me, 03:20 not big glaring sins 03:22 but the common nasty little sins 03:25 of the common people. 03:29 Do Bible believe in Christians believe 03:33 in slaughterhouse religion? 03:35 The moral influence theory, let me talk about it. 03:39 The people who believe in the moral influence theory 03:42 and it is centered really any place of the world 03:44 where it centered is southern California. 03:47 The moral influence theory says this, 03:51 "Does a loving God demand a sacrifice 03:54 before He can forgive us?" 03:58 I say, I forgive my children, 04:02 we forgive our children 04:03 without demanding a blood sacrifice. 04:07 God forgave the prodigal son 04:08 when he came home 04:10 without demanding a blood sacrifice. 04:13 Why would God demand 04:16 a blood sacrifice on the cross? 04:20 Gandhi said, "Jesus was a great example, 04:26 greatest in the world." 04:28 But he said, "No one can die for the sins of another." 04:33 And the Muslims of course say exactly the same thing, 04:35 no person can die for the sins of another. 04:39 Liberal theologians like Dr. Leslie Weatherhead 04:44 who wrote the marvelous book 04:46 'The Transforming Friendship' said this. 04:51 "The idea that a loving God demands a propitiation 04:58 at a blood sacrifice, 05:00 this idea is a pagan idea that crept into the church." 05:06 And he said, 05:07 "All enlighten Christians 05:10 will give up the idea of propitiation 05:14 and a blood sacrifice 05:17 to atone for the wrath of God." 05:22 I want you to notice some text, I want you to think about this. 05:24 Romans 1:18, 05:27 Romans 1:18 says, 05:30 "For the wrath of God 05:31 is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 05:35 and unrighteousness of men, 05:37 who suppress the truth in unrighteousness..." 05:40 Look at me, the Bible teaches, 05:43 this is the most unpopular teaching in the world today. 05:47 The Bible teaches 05:49 that God is righteous 05:52 and holy, 05:54 and therefore, 05:57 He has a righteous wrath against sin. 06:01 The Bible says, 06:03 the wrath of God is revealed otherwise, 06:07 why did God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, please tell me? 06:12 Why did God destroy 06:14 the world of the antediluvians? 06:19 God is not a big, 06:23 woolly teddy bear, 06:26 He's a God of love, 06:28 but the Bible tells me, He is a God of holiness. 06:32 Now, would you notice 1 Thessalonians 1:10? 06:37 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 06:41 "And to wait for His Son from heaven, 06:44 whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us..." 06:49 What does it say? 06:50 "From the wrath to come..." 06:53 So the concept of God having wrath 06:57 is a concept that is taught in the Bible. 06:59 The Bible says, 07:00 "When Jesus comes and destroys the wicked, 07:04 it will be as an expression 07:06 of His holy wrath." 07:09 A very unpopular doctrine but it is true. 07:13 Come over here to... 07:15 What else can I show you? 07:16 Come over to Romans 5:8, it says, 07:20 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, 07:24 in that while we were still sinners, 07:27 Christ died for us." 07:28 Look at me. 07:31 The most important characteristic of God 07:35 is not His wrath, 07:37 but His love. 07:40 He is a God 07:41 that is full of love, 07:46 otherwise, why did He come down and died on the cross for us? 07:50 So He is full of love, but the Bible says, 07:54 He's a holy God and therefore, 07:57 He has wrath against sin. 08:00 Now, I come to the most important truth 08:03 that I can explain unto you 08:06 and this truth will withstand 08:08 the powers of doctrines. 08:15 God and Christ 08:16 took our sins upon Himself 08:19 and satisfied His own justice 08:23 and His wrath against sin. 08:27 I want you to think about it. 08:29 I want you to come over here 08:31 to one of the most important passages in the Bible 08:33 and that is the Book of Romans 3:19. 08:38 And if you want to be saved, 08:39 you need to understand and read the Book of Romans. 08:41 Romans 3:19 says, 08:44 "Now we know that whatever the law says, 08:47 it says to those who are under the law, 08:49 that every mouth may be stopped, 08:51 and the whole world become guilty before God." 08:53 The Bible tells us, 08:55 the whole world is guilty before God 08:57 because we've all broken the law of God 08:59 and we're all sinners. 09:02 The Bible says, "For all have sinned..." 09:04 That's every one of us. 09:05 "And fall short of the glory of God..." 09:07 That's every one of us, 09:08 "Being justified, or declared righteous, 09:11 freely by His grace 09:13 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 09:15 whom God set forth as a propitiation." 09:21 This is a correct translation in the New KJV 09:25 and in the old KJV and many other translations. 09:28 The Bible says, 09:30 "The Christ was propitiation by His blood, 09:33 through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness..." 09:36 The cross demonstrates His righteousness, 09:39 "Because in His forbearance 09:41 God had passed over the sins 09:43 that were previously committed 09:45 to demonstrate at the present time 09:48 His righteousness..." 09:49 The cross demonstrates His righteousness, 09:52 "That He might be just..." 09:57 God is got to be just, 10:00 "That He might be just 10:01 and the justifier of the one 10:04 who has faith in Jesus." 10:07 Now the Bible tells me, 10:09 that Christ hanging on the cross 10:12 was a propitiation, 10:14 and it was necessary 10:16 so that our righteous God could be just, 10:20 when He forgives our sins. 10:26 Now this is called 10:28 the doctrine of the atonement. 10:33 Otherwise, please explain to me 10:36 the cry of dereliction from the Son of God, 10:38 when He hung on the cross and He cried out 10:40 and said, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" 10:45 Was this theatrics? 10:48 Or where this the wonderings of a demented mind? 10:53 Now this was a soul, 10:54 this was God in Christ 10:57 taking His own medicine 11:00 and bearing the sin of the world. 11:04 That is why the moral influence theory 11:07 as been damned as a heresy 11:10 by all mainstream Christians. 11:14 Look at Galatians 3:13 11:17 which is one of the most amazing disturbing texts 11:21 in the Bible written by Paul, 11:24 the great Jewish scholar, Galatians 3:13. 11:29 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law..." 11:32 There's nothing wrong with that law, 11:36 but when we break it, we come under a curse, 11:38 "The curse of the law, 11:39 having become a curse for us..." 11:43 Christ to curse for us... 11:44 "For it is written, 11:46 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'" 11:49 So the Bible teaches 11:51 that when Christ was hung on a tree, 11:53 the Bible said, 11:55 "He was cursed for us". 11:59 Now, these are disturbing texts, 12:02 but they showed the mind of God. 12:07 Charles Ryrie, the Bible scholar said this, 12:10 "Propitiation means the turning away of wrath 12:15 by an offering." 12:17 In relation to Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. 12:21 "Propitiation means placating or satisfying 12:25 the wrath of God 12:26 by the atoning sacrifice of Christ." 12:31 Let me explain this to you 12:33 because this is the very heart of the Bible 12:36 and this is the heart 12:37 of the character of God. 12:42 The Bible tells me that God must be just 12:46 because He's a righteous God, 12:48 He's not just a teddy bear 12:50 that you can play with. 12:52 And the Bible says, 12:53 that when we sinned 12:55 and broke the law of God, 12:57 we came under the wrath of God. 13:00 The Bible teaches this, 13:02 but the Bible tells me this, 13:04 that on the cross, 13:07 God in Christ 13:09 provided satisfaction 13:14 for His holiness. 13:19 You know, a mother sometimes says to a child, 13:23 I want you to take this castor oil, 13:27 child says, "It's awful, it tastes bad." 13:29 The mother says, "Let me take some for you." 13:32 So she takes her own medicine. 13:37 God on the cross 13:38 demanded righteousness. 13:42 When man sinned, 13:44 God demanded righteousness 13:46 because God is a righteous and a holy God, 13:48 don't you understand 13:50 that God cannot live with sin. 13:55 People say that everybody is going to be saved, 13:58 that is the doctrine of the devil, 14:00 that's nowhere taught in the Bible. 14:02 The Bible says, when Christ comes back, 14:05 it says, He comes back with wrath 14:09 and He destroys a world that is turned away from Him... 14:16 but what a tragedy 14:17 because Christ died for the sins of every man, 14:20 woman and child so that every man, 14:22 woman and child can be saved and go to heaven. 14:26 And the greatest sin of all 14:28 is the rejection of the cross of Christ. 14:33 And so on the cross, 14:37 God suffered 14:40 the vengeance of His own holy nature. 14:44 It wasn't the case of God pushing out an innocent Son 14:49 and saying, "You go to the cross 14:51 and I'm going to stay back here 14:53 and I'm going to watch it all." 14:54 Not at all, 14:56 God was in Christ 14:58 and on the cross. 15:01 Christ, the Bible says 15:03 became our propitiation. 15:10 And He paid the price. 15:14 Now, got to tell you a story. 15:19 How did the affairs of David 15:22 and especially one affair. 15:25 How did the affairs of David, king of Israel 15:28 and his family help me to understand 15:30 God's problem and the gospel? 15:34 I look you in the eye and let me tell you something, 15:38 people today play with sin 15:42 because they have no idea 15:44 that sin means death. 15:48 And when Christ 15:49 took our sin upon Himself, 15:53 it was death and hell. 15:56 And crying out my God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? 16:00 That is the last cry of the last person 16:04 who dies shut out 16:06 from the kingdom of God 16:09 without Christ. 16:11 Either He bears our sin 16:14 or we bear it alone. 16:17 Why do you think He came down? 16:26 These are the characters in our play is David, 16:30 he's the king. 16:32 Now the king has got a special job. 16:38 When he was the king of Israel, the people of God, 16:40 David had one great job, 16:43 uphold the law. 16:46 David is the law giver, 16:48 David upholds the law. 16:51 Then, number two character, 16:54 a beautifully, not totally innocent woman, 16:58 her name is Bathsheba. 17:01 And David sees her taking a bath 17:05 and on the top of the roof, 17:07 2 Samuel 11:2. 17:10 Here is the text, 17:12 "Then it happened one evening that David..." 17:14 The person who upholds the law, the king. 17:17 "Arose from his bed 17:19 and walked on the roof of the king's house. 17:22 And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, 17:25 and the woman 17:26 was very beautiful to behold." 17:30 Now the first look was not sin, 17:34 but when he said to his attendant, 17:36 find me the binoculars, then it was. 17:41 And so the first look is not sin, 17:44 but sin indulged 17:46 is another thing. 17:50 Now this beautiful woman, 17:53 not totally innocent has a husband. 17:57 He's good man, he's one of David's mighty soldiers, 18:00 his name is Uriah. 18:02 He's not even an Israelite, 18:04 he's a Hittite. 18:07 And so David tells him to come from the battle, 18:10 he comes from the battle. 18:12 And he says, "Don't go back to your house." 18:15 You know why? 18:16 Because the woman had already told David, 18:20 send him a letter I'm pregnant 18:23 and you are the father. 18:25 So the king calls in Uriah 18:27 and then the Bible tells me he gets him drunk. 18:30 Why does he get him drunk? 18:33 So he gets him drunk and he says, now go home, 18:37 but Uriah says, "No, how can I go home 18:39 when the ark of God is out in the field? 18:41 So he doesn't go home. 18:44 So what does the king do? 18:46 King murders him. 18:51 His job was to uphold the law. 18:55 Then David had a lot of sons and daughters. 18:57 One son was the young guy by the name of Amnon. 19:02 He's got a half sister, 19:04 her name, goodness me, 19:08 her name was Tamar 19:10 and she's a beautiful girl. 19:15 And this young guy, 19:17 this young guy Amnon deceives her, 19:22 rapes her, rejects her. 19:25 You know what David does? 19:27 The Bible says, the Bible says, 19:29 uses the word David is furious. 19:32 What does he do? 19:34 Nothing. 19:36 You know, why he does nothing? 19:41 He does nothing because 19:45 of what he's done 19:48 with Bathsheba 19:50 and also Uriah. 19:52 He was a man 19:54 who was supposed to uphold the law. 19:57 He represented God. 20:00 Then there is the dandy, 20:02 his name is Absalom. 20:07 He's the brother of Tamar, 20:09 he becomes tremendously indignant, 20:12 rightly so, 20:14 he's a beautiful young man, he's got thick hair. 20:17 Every time he has his hair cut, 20:19 its' five or six ponds, the Bible says. 20:23 So he plots 20:24 and there is a big party at Absalom's house. 20:29 He says to the king, 20:31 "Can all the king sons come, will you come?" 20:33 And David says, 20:35 "No, no, my son you just go ahead." 20:37 So there is the big party, 20:40 they get Amnon drunk 20:42 and then Absalom says, 20:44 "kill him," 20:47 so they kill him. 20:48 What a story. 20:50 This is in the Bible. 20:54 Absalom escapes, the king grieves 20:57 and once his boy Absalom back, 20:59 but you know what he does? 21:01 Nothing. 21:03 Finally, David allows him to come home, 21:05 what should the king have done? 21:08 Justice, 21:10 uphold the law. 21:13 And then when Absalom gets back, 21:16 like the devil 21:17 he undermines the king's authority. 21:21 And soon there is a tremendous rebellion 21:24 and I want you to notice how it finishes. 21:26 2 Samuel 18:7, 21:29 14-15. 21:32 "The people of Israel 21:33 were overthrown there before the servants of David, 21:36 and a great slaughter of twenty thousand 21:39 took place that day." 21:41 We won't read the rest of it. 21:45 Absalom is caught hanging up in a tree. 21:49 They threw darts into his heart. 21:51 There are 20,000 widows, 21:54 maybe 50,000 orphans that day. 21:58 Twenty thousand killed, 22:00 you know, why? 22:04 Because the king did not know 22:08 how to be a king and a father, 22:12 you see? 22:13 So what does the father do? 22:15 Well, a father loves. 22:17 Father loves, what about the king? 22:19 He loves, he upholds justice. 22:23 And think of God's problem. 22:26 God is a father, therefore He loves. 22:30 God is the judge, 22:32 God is God, what does He do? 22:36 He upholds the law. 22:39 What is God's answer to our sin 22:42 because God did a lot better than David. 22:47 What is God's answer? 22:50 God loves us like David loved his children. 22:54 But God becomes a man 22:59 and God is punished 23:02 for the sin of the world. 23:11 So God upholds the law 23:15 as He loves us 23:19 that He might be just, 23:21 and the justifier the person who has faith in Jesus. 23:24 This is called the true gospel. 23:27 Anything less is a heresy and a lie. 23:32 This gospel forgives my sin 23:35 and God says, "I'm just, 23:38 because I borne it." 23:41 And it changes my life 23:44 like it did for Luther, 23:47 he couldn't understand this. 23:49 Priest, the Roman Catholic priest 23:51 couldn't understand it, 23:52 and one day he was found kneeling 23:54 before a crucifix and crying, 23:56 it dawned upon him, 23:58 the justice of God, the atonement. 24:01 My God, my God he is saying, 24:03 for me, for me, 24:06 that's the gospel. 24:08 And here's another text from the days of David, 24:11 2 Samuel 14:14, 24:16 an amazing text, 24:18 look at this. 24:21 Here are the words of the wise women from Tekoa, 24:25 "Like water spilled on the ground, 24:28 which cannot be recovered, 24:29 so we must die. 24:34 But that is not what God desires rather..." 24:37 Look at this, "He devises ways 24:40 so that a banished person 24:43 does not remain banished from him." 24:47 God works out a way. 24:50 We've got to dive, Bible says, 24:53 so what is God's answer? 24:57 Well, God becomes a man. 25:00 He bears the sin of the world. 25:02 He bears your sin and mine. 25:05 This is why today you and I ought to run to Him. 25:09 We ought to run to Him 25:12 because if we reject this, 25:15 what is there left I ask you? 25:17 We ought to run to Him 25:19 because it shows you how great is His love. 25:23 If there had only been one sinner, 25:26 you my friend, you my friend, 25:28 only one sinner, 25:30 can you believe this, 25:32 if there had only been one sinner in the world, 25:35 there would have been a cross. 25:40 And a crucified God, 25:43 a crucified Christ saying, 25:45 "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" 25:48 He was forsaken 25:49 so that I might never be forsaken. 25:56 He suffered 25:58 the wrath of God against sin 26:02 so that I could be justified by faith 26:07 and have peace with God. 26:11 This is a gospel of God. 26:15 Amen. Amen. 26:20 Hi there, I'm John carter in Havana, Cuba, 26:23 this communist fortress. 26:25 We are here to preach the gospel of Christ 26:27 to the public 26:29 but more than this 26:30 we are running a school of evangelism 26:33 and biblical studies for the Cuban pastors. 26:37 One hundred and forty pastors 26:39 coming from right across this wonderful island 26:43 and they're coming to join with us to study, have best 26:46 we can meet the needs of the Cuban people. 26:51 The Cuban people are just the most wonderful people, 26:54 they're warm, friendly. 26:56 And I'm amazed 26:57 that in the meetings every night 26:58 that we are taking, 27:00 that I think most of the people there are young people. 27:04 And of course, when I say young people, 27:06 I mean, people up to say 35 years of age. 27:10 Oh, they're young to me but they are so warm, 27:13 and they're so receptive. 27:15 And when they come forward night by night to accept Jesus, 27:19 they come with tremendous sincerity. 27:21 So what a privilege it is to be here in the land of Cuba. 27:26 But remember to pray for the pastors, 27:29 140 pastors are coming from Guantanamo Bay 27:34 and other places right across this island nation. 27:38 They're coming to join forces with us, think of this. 27:41 They're coming from Guantanamo Bay 27:44 and everywhere, 27:45 we're going to meet with them, study with them, 27:47 pray with them 27:48 to devise the best means 27:50 of reaching this nation 27:53 for the Lord Jesus Christ. 27:55 And thank you for being my special partner. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, 28:24 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:27 Thousand Oaks, California, 91358. 28:32 Or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:37 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:41 This program is made possible 28:43 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:46 We thank you for your continued support. 28:49 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2017-04-03