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Grounded-In-Biblical-Truth | |
Sovereign Grace Doctrines
Concerning 'THE GOSPEL' - JESUS CHRIST
CHRIST THE BELIEVER'S SHIELD
GENESIS 15:1
GOOD NEWS FROM THE REDEEMER
DANIEL E. PARKS, PASTOR
APRIL 24, 1999 - RADIO MESSAGE #264
When God commanded Abraham (c. 2000 BC) to forsake all that he had in order to follow God and to receive God’s blessing, Abraham trusted in God and obeyed Him (Genesis 12:1-4). In response to Abraham’s faith and obedience, God assured him “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
We here will deal with God as a shield. (We will deal with God as a reward in a subsequent message, D.V.)
I. God is a shield which shall never fail. God is immutable; He therefore declares to those whom He shields, “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). And God is eternal; those for whom He is a shield are therefore assured “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).
II. God is a shield to none but believers in Him (Proverbs 30:5): “He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him” (cp. Psalm 30:3; 5:12; 18:35; 28:7; 33:20; 59:11; 84:9,11; 115:9,10,11; 115:11; 119:114; 144:2). To believe in God is to trust and confide in Him alone for salvation, forsaking all other refuges. God Himself becomes the shield for all such believers.
III. God is a shield to believers in the sense that His righteousness protects them. Holy Scriptures repeatedly remind us “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). That is, when Abraham believed in God, the righteousness of God was imputed to him and he was thereby justified, declared righteous. Consequently, no accusation of sin made against such a believer by any mortal, or Satan, or the law of God, or his own heart, or any other person or thing would avail. Believers are protected from all condemnation by the righteousness of God!
IV. God is a shield to believers in the person of Jesus Christ. The righteousness of God which is imputed to believers, and which is their shield, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He, the righteous Son of God, assumed our humanity and was born subject to God’s law of righteousness (Galatians 4:4). He perfectly obeyed and fulfilled all its requirements of righteousness (Matthew 5:17). He then, as God’s “righteous Servant,” died as the vicarious substitute of God’s elect, suffering in their place and stead and obtaining their justification (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). His righteousness is imputed to them when they, having forsaken all self-righteousness, believe in Him (Romans 3:21-26).
Believers therefore acknowledge that “Christ Jesus ... became for us ... righteousness” (1 Corinthians 1:30), and that He is Himself “Jehovah Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 32:17). Believers therefore confess themselves to be devoid of self-righteousness. And they confess that the only righteousness they possess is the righteousness of Christ which has been imputed to them through faith alone (Philippians 3:9).
Since Jehovah’s righteousness is the believer’s shield, and since Jesus Christ is Jehovah’s righteousness, this same Christ is the believer’s shield! No charge against God’s elect will avail, because Christ is their immutable and eternal Shield (see Romans 8:31-39).
This blessed assurance is not obtained by those whose hope of saving justification lies in their own works. They who suppose they are saved through good deeds have no shield because they have no good deeds (Romans 3:12). They who suppose they are saved through circumcision would have a foreskin-scar for a shield! They who suppose they are saved through sabbath-keeping would have a day of the week for a shield! They who suppose they are saved through baptism would have water for a shield! They who suppose they are saved through obeying the teachings of the founder of their sect would have that mortal for a shield! It is no wonder that such works-salvationists live in fear of being “saved today, but lost tomorrow” -- “shielded today, but defenseless tomorrow.”
O that those who trust in self-righteousness might see the futility of their “refuge of lies” (Isaiah 28:17) and find in Jesus Christ alone, by faith alone, an immutable and eternal shield!
Your servant for Jesus' sake.
Address all questions to pastor
Daniel E. Parks (2 Corinthians 4:5) e-mail RedeemerBC@aol.com
Pastor, Redeemer Baptist Church
2801 Cleveland Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40206 / 502.899-9205
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