Adrian Rogers - Jesus Christ: The Son of God and God the Son
Find Luke chapter 1. And we're talking today about the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is also God the Son. What we're going to be talking to you about today is the Holy Trinity. Now, we're familiar with Mary and her birth of Jesus Christ, and I want you to see that in the very Scripture that describes His birth, the Holy Trinity is seen. Look, if you will, in Luke chapter 1 and verse 35, "And the angel answered and said unto her, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.'"
Now the angel is talking to Mary. "'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.'" That's the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost in the Holy Trinity. "And the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee". That is, God the Father. "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God". There in that one verse you have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That brings this question: who was this baby? Who was Jesus Christ? There's one right answer; there are many wrong answers.
Let me give you some of the wrong answers that may sound so good. For example, some say that, "Jesus Christ was a great man". H.G. Wells, the noted historian who wrote the "Outlines of History," said this. As a matter of fact, he listed the ten greatest men of all history, and Jesus Christ was number one on his list. "Jesus Christ doesn't belong on anybody's list. He's absolutely unique. You can talk of Peter the Great, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne the Great, but Jesus is Jesus, the One and Only". Others say, "Well, He was a great moral teacher".
There's a brilliant Englishman, C.S. Lewis, who said this about those who simply want to call Jesus Christ a great moral teacher. I want you to listen to this and listen carefully. These are rich words. Here's what C.S. Lewis said, "I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people say about Him, 'I'm ready to accept Jesus Christ as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic, on the level of a man who says he's a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was and is the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon. Or, you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let none of us come away with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us". Did you hear what he said? I mean, listen. "Either He is a lunatic, or a demon, or He is God, but you, you cannot just simply call Him a great moral teacher". Now, in Islam, He's called a prophet, a messenger of God. And the Koran of Islam teaches, and I quote, "Jesus was only a messenger of Allah". Oh, no. He's more than a messenger of Allah. Some say, "Well, He was".
The New Agers speak of Jesus as some mystic medium, some cosmic-christ, some channel that enables us to get in contact with inner space and outer space. And there are demon spirits who call themselves Jesus, but not the Jesus of the Bible. Who is Jesus? Now, the message this morning is going to cause you to think. I want you to make some notes. And don't you check me out. Don't you let your mind go shopping this morning! Don't you be thinking about anything else! I want your mind this morning, because what I'm talking to you about is so basic that if you miss it, you miss all of Christianity. Who is Jesus Christ?
Now, the doctrine of the Trinity, listen to me, is the great Christian distinctive. It is what makes our faith different from all of the other faiths. Islam does not believe in the Trinity. Unitarianism does not believe in the Trinity. Mormonism does not believe in the Trinity. The Jehovah's Witnesses, and others who will come to your doorstep, do not believe in the Trinity. The Jewish people, in general, do not believe in the Trinity. That's a stumbling block to them. But I'm going to show you in the Jewish Scriptures in the Old Testament when we get to it, what we call the Old Testament. They don't call it the Old Testament. It's their Bible. They don't think that there's something new and better that's come along. But I'm going to show you, in what we call the Old Testament, there, the Hebrew Scriptures, that Jesus is God. And I'm going to show you from the Bible what the Bible teaches about the Holy Trinity.
Now, before I ever get into the basic three points of the message, let me just remind you that Jehovah God is just that. He is God. But let me say also that Jesus Christ, Bethlehem's babe, was and is God, and He Himself claimed to be. This is the reason that C.S. Lewis said, "You just can't tip your hat to Him and call Him a great moral teacher". Now, put in your margin, or put on your notes, if you're making notes, Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14. Moses is going to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, and so he wants some credentials. And he says, "Now, look. I just can't go to Pharaoh and say, 'Let my people go.' Who shall I say sent me?'" And there in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14, Jehovah God speaks to Moses, and here's what the Scripture says, "And God said to Moses, 'I AM that I AM.'" That is, "You go tell Pharaoh that I AM sent you". This was His name. "I AM that I AM".
That's the most sacred name for God. What does He mean, "I AM that I AM"? Not I was. Not I will be. Not that I had a beginning or I will ever have an ending. I AM the great I AM, the self-existent God. "I AM that I AM," sacred name for deity in the Old Testament. Now, when we come to the New Testament, in the New Testament in John chapter 8, the Pharisees were picking at Jesus and trying to discredit Jesus, wanting Jesus to give His credentials. They were boasting. They said in John 8:39, "We have Abraham for our father". And what that was, was a sneer, saying, "We don't even know who your Father is". It was an indication that Jesus was born out of wedlock. It was a sneer, "We have Abraham for our father".
Here's how Jesus answered them in John 8 verses 56 through 59, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, 'Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?' Jesus said unto them, 'Verily, verily.'" Now, whenever Jesus says, "Verily, verily," that means: tune in. It means: truly, truly; Amen, Amen; listen, listen. "'Verily, verily, I say unto you,'" now listen to this, "'Before Abraham was, I AM.'" Now, listen. Don't miss that, "'Before Abraham was, I AM.'" Not, "I got here before Abraham did". "There never was a time when I was not! I AM the great God of Exodus chapter 3. I am the I AM".
Do you know what they did after He said this? They picked up stones to stone Him because to them that was blasphemy. Jehovah God is God. Jesus Christ is God. And the Holy Spirit is God. In the fifth chapter of Acts, there were two people in the church, Ananias and Sapphira, who pretended to make an offering to God that was less than they said it was. And, actually, they were playing church. They were lying in church. Peter, by divine revelation, knew that Ananias and Sapphira were telling a lie, and this is what he says in Acts chapter 5 verse 3, "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart,'" now watch this, "'to lie unto the Holy Ghost"?
Now our Jehovah Witness friends tell us that the Holy Ghost is just some emanation from God the Father. Oh, no. He's a person who can be lied to. He can be grieved. "Ananias, why hath Satan filled your heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost". Now listen to me very carefully now. Go on down to verse 4, Acts 5 verse 4. Listen to it, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God". The Holy Ghost is God. Jehovah God is God. Jesus, the Son, is God. And there is a Trinity. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. Sometimes, when you ask people to say, "What do you mean by the Holy Trinity"? They say, "Well, there's God the Father, and then there's Jesus and the Holy Spirit," or they might just say, "There's God, then Jesus and the Holy Spirit". No. There's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Now listen very carefully. We sing it Sunday mornings. You probably pay no attention to it. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity". Now we're going to look in the Bible and we're going to see the Trinity in both the Old and the New Testament. And then we're going to come back and understand why we say that the Son of God is God the Son. First of all, point number one. I want you to see the sublime mystery of the Trinity. Underscore the word mystery. The only way that you can know about the Holy Trinity is by divine revelation. Did that sink in? If it did, say Amen. Only by divine revelation; you will never understand the Holy Trinity by human investigation, not by logic, not by philosophy, not by science, not by mathematics. The only way that you can know about the Holy Trinity is what God says in this book.
And if God says it in the Bible you believe it because of divine revelation. Don't get the idea that you discover the Holy Trinity. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, a great man of God, talked about this, and he said, "How can a worm understand a man, and how can a man understand God"? Now, when we say that there's a divine Trinity, one God in three persons, some people say, "Well, that's contradictory to logic. That sounds like you're worshipping three Gods". No. There are a lot of things that you don't understand about the one God. Can you understand a God that never had a beginning? Can you think of anything else that never had a beginning? Can you think of a God that is everywhere at the same time? If you'll think about, those things are absolutely contradictory to logic, and yet they are true. God never had a beginning and God is everywhere. That's not logical, but it's certainly true.
You say, "Well, I have some questions about the Trinity". Friend, a five year old child can ask questions about anything that no one can answer. It doesn't matter that you can't understand it. Do you understand infinity? Of course you don't. Do you understand eternity? Of course you don't. The doctrine of the Trinity rises or falls on divine revelation. Now, don't get in arguments about it, just accept what the Bible says. Now, there are some people who try to prove or disprove the Trinity with illustrations. You can't prove the Holy Trinity with illustrations. Why? Because there's only one God, and since there's only one God, there's nothing you can compare Him to. I can compare a pulpit to another pulpit. I can compare a man to another man. I can compare this church to another church. But there's only one God.
Put down this verse, Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 18, "To whom then will ye liken God? Or to what likeness will ye compare unto Him"? You can't say God is like anything. God is not like anything. There is nothing that you can compare God with. Now, we see reflections of the Trinity in all that God has made. For example, everything that God has created is time and space. Time is past, present, and future. That's a trinity. The past is not the present; the present's not the future; and the future's not the past. All three are distinguishable, all three are inseparable, and you can't have one without the other. That's time. Space: height, width, and depth. Height is not width; width is not depth; depth is not height. All are distinguishable, but all are inseparable. They all exist together. You can't have one without the other. Man: Man is body, soul, and spirit. Sitting in your chair is body, soul, and spirit, yet you're one person. What we see are reflections of the Trinity but not illustrations of the Trinity.
Friend, God says, "There's nothing, nothing that you can compare Me with". So don't come around here saying, "Well, it doesn't make sense to me". Frankly, I'm glad it doesn't make sense with you, to you, or to me. We don't want a God that we can understand. Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9 says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' saith the Lord. 'For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts.'" It ought to give us comfort that we don't understand the Trinity. That means that God is bigger and greater than we are. But, I said that Muslims accept, to some degree, the Old Testament. Jews accept the Old Testament. Jehovah Witnesses and others say they accept the Old Testament.
Let's just look in the Old Testament for a minute and see if God is reflected there. For example, let's just open the Bible and we'll find the Holy Trinity on the portals of the Bible. The first chapter and the first verse you'll find the Holy Trinity. Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth". The word for God there is the Hebrew word Elohim. It ends with these letters: I-M. If we put it in English, Elohim. That's the plural ending. For example, one angel is a cherub; more than that are cherubim. Now, actually, literally, what you have is a plural subject with a singular verb. And, literally, it says, "In the beginning Elohim," Gods, plural, "created," singular, "the Heavens and the Earth". You'll find the same thing in the creation of man.
Put down Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, "And God," Elohim, plural. God. Literally you could translate, "And Gods said, 'Let Us,'" not let Me, but, "'let Us make man in Our image.'" God, who is He speaking to? He's speaking with Himself. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is making man in His image. You see the Trinity reflected in creation. You see the Trinity reflected in the great commandment. Did you know the Bible has a great commandment and the Bible has a great commission? The great commandment is found in the Old Testament. It's called the Shema for our Jewish friends. This is the key verse for our Jewish friends. They love it. It is used to open the Liturgy in orthodox synagogues. A good Jew would repeat this verse every morning, and well he ought, and well we ought. It is a beautiful verse.
Listen to it, Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 and 5, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might". That is a great verse, is it not? And so our Jews say, "We can't believe in three Gods". Of course you don't believe in three Gods. I don't believe in three Gods. I believe in one God. But now, listen to this verse and look at it carefully. Because this is a prime proof text to the Jews as to the unity and oneness of God, and they correctly believe that. The word Lord in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord".
The word Lord is the word Yahweh or Jehovah. But that's singular. "Jehovah," singular, "the Lord our Gods, our God". Remember that's Elohim, that's plural. "The Lord our Gods is one God". "Jehovah," singular; "our Elohim," plural, "is one Jehovah". "Jehovah," singular, "our Elohim," plural, "is one Jehovah". Now, I want you to think about the word one that's in this verse. If you're going to spell it, echad. E-C-H-A-D, echad. And what it literally means is one as a unit. I want to give you some verses, just write them down. Genesis chapter 2 verse 24, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife; and they two shall be one flesh".
Now there are two here but they're called one. Now look, if you will, in Genesis 11:6, "And the Lord said, 'Behold, the people is one.'" "The people," plural. All of those people round about the Tower of Babel, He says, "They are one". It's the same word that is used over here in the Book of Deuteronomy that says, "God is one". Now, in Numbers chapter 13 verse 23. In the middle of that verse, "One cluster of grapes". So here's a bunch of clustered grapes, many grapes, and the Bible calls it one. First Samuel 13 verse 17, talking about an army. And there in the middle of that verse it says, "One company," like a company of soldiers.
Now, what it is, is a unit in plurality. First Chronicles 17 verse 21, "And what one nation in the Earth is like Thy people Israel". "One nation". A whole nation is called one. Now, let's go back to this verse of Scripture here in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4, listen to it, "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Gods is one Jehovah". It's the same word that means a plurality in a unity. Yes, there's one God, but that one God is a triune God. It gives some people difficulty to believe that God has a Son, and they think that's a New Testament concept. Friend, that's an Old Testament concept as well. Put these verses down. Daniel chapter 3 verse 25. You remember the story, the three Hebrew children? I mentioned this a few weeks ago in the fiery furnace that would not burn, and the king looked into the furnace and here's what he saw.
Daniel 3 verse 25, "He answered and said, 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'" That's the Son of God in the Old Testament. Put this verse down, Proverbs chapter 30 and verse 4. The writer of Proverbs is asking a question, "Who hath ascended up into Heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the Earth? What is His name, and His Son's name, if thou canst tell"? I can tell. His name is Jesus. Psalm 2, put it down, verses 6 and 7. God is talking about the wicked machinations of the world and how people are warring and fighting and rebelling against Him.
And yet God says in Psalm 2 verses 6 and 7, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree," Jesus is speaking now, "'The Lord hath said unto Me, "Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee".'" God the Son is speaking to God the Father and speaking of God the Father and saying, "The Lord has said unto Me, 'Thou art My Son.'" And then the classic Christmas verse. Listen to it carefully. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor," Are you ready for this now? "The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father".
What is this Son to be called? El Gibbor: the Mighty God. Literal translation: the God Man. He is El Gibbor, the God Man. That is His name. That is what He is called. If you were to show this to a Jehovah Witness, do you know what he would say to you? "Oh, He is the mighty God, but He's not almighty God. He is a God, not the God". Well, if that is true, then what you have is polytheism and idolatry if you're worshipping any other gods other than the true God. But I want to show you that Jehovah Himself calls Himself, "The Mighty God". Just go forward in Isaiah to the next chapter 10. You're in Isaiah 9. Go to chapter 10 verse 21, "The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the Mighty God". There it's speaking of Jehovah. Now, the Bible, in Isaiah chapter 9, calls Jesus Christ, "The Son of God," and "the Mighty God".
And then, in Isaiah chapter 10, the very next chapter, it speaks of Almighty God as the Mighty God. Don't let anybody flim-flam you and tell you that the one spoken of in Isaiah chapter 9:6 is any less than God Himself. That's what it's all about. Listen to that verse again, Isaiah 9 verse 6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God". And also He's the Everlasting Father. And that word literally means the Father of Eternity.
Well, you say, "Pastor Rogers, I don't understand the Trinity". Well, join the club. A wise man said, "Try to explain the Trinity, you'll lose your mind; deny it, you may lose your soul". It is Bible doctrine. The only reason that we believe it is because the Bible teaches it. You say, "Well, I can't put any faith in something I can't understand". Then don't turn on the lights because you don't understand electricity. Oh, you say, "Oh, I understand electricity. I'm an electrician".
Let me tell you something. Einstein said he didn't understand electricity. He said he hoped before he died he could understand electricity. He never did. I love what Vance Havner said. He said, "I don't understand it either, but I'm not going to sit in the dark until I do". No. Don't think that you have to define or explain God. The only way you know about the Holy Trinity is it is revealed in Scripture, and I've talked to you about the sacred mystery or the sublime mystery. Secondly, I want to talk to you about the sacred history of the Trinity. Not only the mystery, but the history. You see, as you open the Bible, you see the Holy Trinity working in history, for example, in the creation of the world. I've already alluded to this. Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning Elohim created the Heavens and the Earth".
Well, did God the Father create this world? Yes, but I want to tell you something else. God the Son also created this world. John 1, New Testament, verses 1 through 3, "In the beginning was the Word," the logos, "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And all things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made". Well, I thought all things were made by Jehovah God? You got it. All things were made by Jesus. There's no contradiction. Well, what about the Holy Spirit? Well, the Holy Spirit created everything. Look, if you will, in Job 26 verse 13, "By His spirit hath He garnished the Heavens". God the Father made it, God the Son made it, God the Holy Spirit made it, because we worship one God who revealed Himself in creation.
How did the Bible come about? How did we get this book? From the Holy Trinity. The Bible is inspired by God the Father. Second Timothy 3 verse 16, "All Scripture's given by inspiration of God". So this is a God book. All this book is God-breathed. But God the Son also wrote the Scripture. Read in First Peter chapter 1 verses 10 and 11, "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently and prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or by what manner the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify". Who was in the prophets? The Spirit of Christ. Now, we just read that God the Father gave us the Scriptures.
Now we're reading that God the Son gave us the Bible. But also, the Bible was inspired by God the Holy Spirit. Second Peter 1 verse 21, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost". In the creation you see the Trinity. In the giving of the Scripture you see the Trinity. When Jesus Christ, before He left this earth and He commissioned the church, the commissioning of the church shows us the Holy Trinity. Listen to Matthew 28 verses 19 and 20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them," watch this, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".
Now remember that I told you that Jesus didn't belong on anyone's list? What a travesty this would be to put the name of Jesus on a list that begins with God the Father, or put the Holy Spirit on that list, if they're not co-equal and co-eternal? It would be blasphemy. "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". Now I must bring the message to a conclusion. I've talked to you about the mystery of the Trinity. Don't try to figure it out. You know it by divine revelation. I've talked to you about the history of the Trinity. And I've just picked out a few ways where I showed you the Holy Trinity working in creation. I've showed you the Trinity working in the composition of the Bible. I've showed you the Trinity in the commissioning of the church.
Let me come to the final thing. Not only talked to you about mystery and history, but let me talk to you about the saving ministry of the Holy Trinity. You see, it's in the Holy Trinity that we have our salvation. Now I want you to turn, if you will, take your Bible and we're going to slow down here just a little bit. But I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1. And in Ephesians chapter 1, what we're going to see is how we are saved through the Holy Trinity. Now look in Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 3 through verse 6, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He," God the Father, "hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved".
Now this verse simply says we were selected by God the Father. You talk about old time religion. Friend, before God swung this planet into space, He had you in His heart and in His mind. You were chosen in the past, you're predestinated by the future, and you are accepted and preserved in the present. That's what this verse tells us. Thank God for that. Now, listen. We're talking about the Holy Trinity. You were selected by the Father. That's Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 6. You also are saved by the Son. Look in Ephesians 1 verses 6 and 7. God did this, "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved". Who is the beloved? Jesus. "This is My beloved Son". "In whom," in Jesus, "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace".
This is the why of Christmas. Jesus came to save us. We have redemption through Jesus. And the Bible says it's, "The riches of His grace". I'm not trying to sell you salvation today. I'm not offering you salvation at a discount. I'm not offering you salvation in the installment plan. It is the sheer gift of God's grace. You were selected by the Father, you're saved by the Son, and you are sealed by the Spirit. Now just go right on down to Ephesians 1 verses 13 and 14, "In whom," Jesus, "ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest," that means the down payment, "of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory". Sealed with the Spirit.
What does it mean to be sealed? Well, in the Bible time, they would take melted wax, and then they would have an icon that would stamp that wax. It might be on an official document. It might be on a letter. It might be on a proclamation. But if it was a business transaction, that's what he's talking about here, it would mean the price is paid to, the ownership is transferred, and the matter is settled. Now that's what happens when we get saved. We're selected by the Father, saved by the Son, sealed by the Spirit.
Friend, I want to tell you, you are bought and sealed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father. That is the Holy Trinity working in your salvation. If you don't believe in the Holy Trinity, forget it. You have no Christianity. The whole thing is gone. It is all bogus. Don't just try to magnify the little babe of Christ as the sweet little Jesus child, and Jesus is a great moral teacher, and all of that. Forget it! The Son of God is God the Son. That's the reason God the Father, in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 5, said, "Thou art My Son. This day have I begotten Thee". You have to understand that friend, "And unto the Son He saith, 'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.'" Hebrews 1 verse 8.
Now, let me come to the conclusion of this whole thing. What do you do? Do you simply believe this? That's not enough. Boys and girls, I want to ask you a question: there were three frogs on a log. Two of them decided to jump off. How many are left? Anybody think you know the answer? There are three left. There's three frogs on a log, no matter what they decide. They're still there until they jump. Now, look. You can decide anything. You got to do something about this thing. It's not just simply accepting some intellectual premise. You can believe in the Holy Trinity and go straight to Hell. You say, "Well, I decide that you're right. I agree with you".
Have you given your heart to Jesus? You say, "Well, I know the plan of salvation". You're not saved by the plan of salvation, you're saved by the Man of Salvation. His name is Jesus. Back in the 1800's, there was a great acrobat. His name was Blondin. He was a tightrope walker. He actually walked more than a thousand feet across Niagara Falls without any safety net, hundreds of feet above the roaring falls. A fall would have been devastating. It would have been deadly. Blondin was so good. He had so much confidence that he walked across Niagara Falls on stilts. On another occasion, he put a stove on his back, went out there and sat in the middle on that wire, fired up the stove, cooked an omelet, and ate it out there on that wire, hundreds of feet above Niagara Falls with no net at all.
On another time, he took his manager, put his manager on his shoulders and walked across to the Canadian side. History. He put 350 lbs. of cement in a wheelbarrow and took that across the falls. On that occasion, the people just roared. They applauded. There were some 20,000 who were watching. He said, "How many of you believe I could do this with a man in the wheelbarrow"? They all put up their hands. He pointed to one man who had his hand up, and said, "All right. You come, get in the wheelbarrow". He couldn't see him for dust. Gone! It's one thing to have an intellectual belief. It's another thing to give your heart to Jesus Christ, to know that He is the very Son of God. Holy, holy, holy: holy is the Father, holy is the Son, holy is the Spirit. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity. That's what Christmas is all about. Enough of this pablum about Jesus being a great man. He is God: very God of very God. God, the mighty maker died for man, the creature's, sin.
Can you imagine God stepping out of glory, allowing Himself to be spit on, abused, beat, made weak, according to the flesh? Deity in a diaper. God in a manger. No wonder the Bible says in First Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, "Great is the mystery of godliness". God was manifest in the flesh. That's what it's all about, folks, and I'm telling you today, you listen to me. We are not worthy of such love, but He died for us. And if you will, by faith, receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior, give your heart to Him, trust Him, He will forgive every sin, every one. He will cleanse you, as well as forgive you. The Holy Spirit of God will seal you to the day of redemption. I promise you on the authority of the Word of God.
You say, "Well, now, pastor, what if I get saved and sin again"? Listen to me. Jesus is a Savior. He is not a probation officer. He will keep you all the way to the end. Now if you sin, and you will sin, He'll carry you to the woodshed. "Whom the Father loves, He chastens". Hebrews 12 verse 6. That doesn't mean you'll lose your salvation. When you get saved, you're not going to sprout wings and get a halo. You're going to have to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. But He will keep you and His blood will continually cleanse you. If I could walk down this aisle for you today, acknowledging Christ as Savior on your behalf, I would do it. I can't. I've soaked this message in prayer. I have preached as best I know how. Now listen to me, listen. God sent me here to tell you He loves you and He wants to save you. And if you want to be saved, Jesus, the Son of God, who is God the Son, with His own blood purchased your salvation.
Bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. And while heads are bowed and eyes are closed, I want to lead you in a prayer. And I want you to pray this prayer after me if you want Jesus:
Dear God, I need to be saved. Jesus, You died to save me and promised to save me if I would trust You. I do trust You right now as my personal Savior. This moment I give You my heart and my life forever. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me, save me, Lord Jesus.
Did you pray that? If you did, then I want you to pray, by faith, this way.
Thank You for doing it. That settles it. Begin now to make me the person You want me to be. I will live for You the rest of my life, for Your glory, and by Your grace. In Your name I pray. Amen.