OUR RISEN EXECUTOR

Photo taken from B Smith's Kitchen Window

78 - OUR RISEN EXECUTOR 

August 23, 1964

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 5: 9 - 11 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through hm. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” 

As we start our message this morning, I want you to see something about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, for you will notice in the 10th vs it says we shall be saved by His life, and I want you to understand that statement this morning, and I don’t want you to be confused. To begin with, have you noticed about the blood of Christ in the Book of Romans? I want you to see how important the blood of Christ really is. 

Romans 5: 9 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Justification is everything. Justification is God looking at you and not seeing any of your sins, not seeing your lost condition, but pronouncing you righteous when you are not righteous. And pronouncing you saved just because you believe.

1/ Everything we have in Christianity has been purchased, and I do not hesitate to use the word, purchased. Acts 20: 28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” And here you have the actual word, purchased—the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood. So justification is everything, and it has been purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, notice, Romans 3: 25. “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” There you see it is faith through His blood. People ask me what do they have to believe to be saved? They have to believe in the blood of Jesus Christ, and that includes everything. 

2/ But let us take it another step on the way. Romans 8: 30. “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. And notice, whom He justified, He also glorified—there is nothing between. If you have been justified than you are sure to be glorified. It is an accomplished fact. It is sure. So you see how important the blood of Jesus Christ really is? Without it you have nothing. It isn’t the life of Christ that saves, it is the death of Christ, yet Romans 5: 10 says “we are saved by His life.” What does it mean? Notice, “we shall be saved by His life,” and, of course, this is His life after death. What is this all about? By the death of Christ everything has been bought and paid for, for us, and the moment we believe in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, everything is ours. But do you realize there is no advantage in being a beneficiary unless the testator has wealth to meet the provision, and dies while the will is in force. 

Hebrews 9: 16, 17 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” For where a testament is—a testament is a will. I know you know that phrase, we still use it—last will and testament, and then it says there must of also of necessity be the death of the testator. A testament is a will that can only be fulfilled by the death of the one who makes it. He had to die to make the will good. A will is of no value whatsoever until the one has died and then we get the blessings from it. The will is enforced after men are dead. Notice, Vs 17 where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 

3/ Now go back to the 15th vs. For this cause He is the mediator of the New Covenant of the new will, and that by means of death. The 16th vs the death of the testator, 17th vs. after men are dead. I want to show you this fact in the Book of John, John 14: 27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This is when Jesus Christ was telling his disciples that He had to leave them. In the beginning of the chapter, He said let not your heart be troubled, then He went on to tell them He is going back to the Father. Then in Vs 27 He says, “Peace I leave with you.” 

Now look at John 20: 19 “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” This was the day of the resurrection— the same day and evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, when the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Notice, before He died, He said, Peace I leave with you—that was His will to the twelve—Now, after the resurrection He comes to be Executor of His will and He says, Peace be unto you. Now, you can have it. He is the Executor of His own will. He had to die or no one could have peace if He didn’t die. He left His peace, then notice, Vs 20 “and when He had so said, He showed unto them His hands and His side”—as much as to say to them--this is the price of your peace. Peace be unto you, and He showed unto them His hands and His side. In other words, I died that you might have peace now. You are going to face many oppositions, you are going to be in an angry world, a world that hates Me, hates My gospel, and you need peace, and I died to give it to you. 

4/ But in Hebrews 9: 16, 17 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” For where a covenant is, a will is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Vs 18 “Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.” Blood is the sign of death. 

The other night, I pulled into a gas station to get gas, and there was a car all smashed and there was blood all over it. Blood speaks of death, doesn’t it? Someone was killed in that car. Now notice this 18th Vs “Where upon neither the first will or testament was dedicated without blood. Vs. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to law, he took the blood of claves and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people.” 

I want you to turn to that in the Old Testament. Exodus 24: 6 - 8 “And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” 

They said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient and Moses knew right well they couldn’t possibly do it. He knew they would be under the curse if they did try to do it, so he sprinkled the blood on them—it is the blood that saves. You can’t get to God by doing. Moses, you notice, didn’t care how nicely they were dressed either. I don’t know how many were nicely dressed, all dressed up in their best bib and tuckers, but they went away from that meeting sprinkled with blood, and that didn’t mean a thing to Moses. He was reading the law to them, and said, the law is not grace. I hope this morning you know the difference. The Lord Jesus Christ is not demanding anything in the Gospel of Grace, He wants you to come to Him and let Him save you. 

5/ THE GOSPEL DOESN’T DEMAND,—UNDERSTAND THAT, THE GOSPEL DOESN’T DEMAND. THE GOSPEL GIVES, GRACE GIVES AND NEVER STOPS GIVING. THE LAW DEMANDS, THE LAW WANTS SOMETHING FROM YOU, BUT GRACE IS THE VERY OPPOSITE. THESE PEOPLE CONDEMNED THEMSELVES BY PROMISING TO OBEY GOD, SO GOD SPRINKLED THEM WITH BLOOD TO SAVE THEM FROM THE CURSE OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. 

6/ Leviticus 17: 11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that taketh an atonement for the soul.” I have given you this verse again and again and if I continue to be pastor here, I’ll give it to you over and over again. Because it is so important, it should be marked in your Bible, and every Christian ought to know it. it is the foundation of the teaching the blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” 

It is only in the last 100 years that the medical fraternity has found that out—the life is in the blood. Doctors used to be called “leaches” and that was because they used to take blood out of a man to heal him. They don’t do that any more. They put blood into man now, to make him better. Moses said that 3,500 years ago, and medical men have just found it out. 

Some people seem to think the Bible is behind the times.The Bible has been waiting 3,500 years for men to catch up with it. It is still ahead of every profession. The basis of everything is the blood of Jesus Christ. So Christ had to die, and then He becomes the Executor of His will. God made a multitude of promises, but these promises were of no value until the death of the Lord Jesus Christ put them into effect, and now He is there to see that we are sure to get all benefits. He left us a vast estate, but how would it be managed? Would it be possible that our assets, this vast estate with all these promises to be dissipated away? Not with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, He arose again from the dead, ascended to Heaven, sat down on the right hand of God, was made higher than the Heavens, and He became Executor of His own Estates. He lives in order to take care of us for whom He died. The argument of our text is, that since He died to make available to us all the riches of God, much more can we be sure of those possessions because He rose from the dead in order to manage our affairs. That is what He means in Romans 8: 34 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Who also liveth to make intercession for us.

7/ Notice, Leviticus 17: 11 “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given to you, (where) upon the altar.” Not in the veins, but on the altar. 

8/ Now look at Hebrews 9: 20 “Saying, this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” The word, enjoined, means demanded. God demands it. There is no use arguing with God. There is no use thinking you can bring God a good life, and your baptismal certificate, and your church certificate and He will receive you. No, He says, I want blood, I demand blood, I enjoin blood. Why try to argue with God? Why try to do it any other way? 

9/ Romans 5: 11 “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” This verse, of course, belongs with the 10 Vs. Notice the word, JOY, It should be translated by the word “BOAST”. I like that— we boast in God. We have something to boast about. Not in ourselves, but in God. I can never understand why we are ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why we are ashamed of salvation. We are to boast in it. 

10/ How do you make your boast in God? Let’s look at some Scriptures and see some men who have boasted in God. 

11/ Psalms 71: 17 - 19 “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grey headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed they strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. They righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!”

Let us look at David. “Oh, God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto from that time forth I have declared Thy wondrous works.” He said, From my youth I have declared unto all men Thy works. I have boasted in Thy works. Now also, when I am old and grey-headed. O God, forsake me not, until I have showed Thy strength to this generation. And Thy power to everyone that is to come. He said, boosting is not only for the youth and middle-ages, but it is for the old folks as well--those in old age. Then in the 19th Vs “Thy righteousness”—I boast in Thy righteousness. Yes, David knew how to boast in God when He was young, and when he was old. 

12/ Psalms 86: 6 - 8 “Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.”

Not only did David boast in God in his old age, but also in the day of trouble, for David found there is none like unto our God, and he sings, “Give ear, O God, unto my prayer, and attend unto my supplications. In the day of trouble will I call upon Thee, for Thou wilt answer me.” 

13/ Did you ever listen to Moses boast in God? The great lawgiver? Exodus 15: 11 “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”

Here is Moses singing after the Children of Israel had been brought through the Red Sea—“Who is like unto Thee, O God, among the gods. Who is like unto Thee? Glorious in Holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.” Yes, Moses boasted in God, and so should we. 

14/ I wonder if you have ever noticed, just starting with the first Chapter of Romans, and going now to this fifth chapter, the great astounding distance we have traveled in this Book. In the first chapter, and the second chapter, and the third chapter he has shown that all men are sinners. He sums it all up in Romans 3: 23 by saying, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” But there is a verse in that 3rd chapter that I want you to see. Romans 3: 19 “For we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to those that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.” 

Notice this, all must stand silent in sin. Sin has closed the mouth of every member of the human race. All are condemned, ALL. 

Ref: 08/23/1964/ 78 - OUR RISEN EXECUTOR / 03/28/2020