275 – RELIGIOUS THRILL SEEKERS
June 21, 1964
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
Romans 5: 1 - 9 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
We are living in a day of revival of religion, and most people are out for religious thrills. Rather than exercise their hearts and minds in the things of the Bible—true things—and give attendance to reading and exhortation—to doctrine, they are seeking to do something for God, and when they do it, they expect to have all the thrills in the world.
Religion is man trying to do something for God, and of course, trying to do something for God leaves man in a pitiful condition, for deep down in his heart he knows he cannot make himself right with God, and then to bolster up this empty religion, he brings in healing, speaking in tongues, and various things that appease and appeal to the flesh.
1/ But God’s program does not appeal to the flesh. God’s program says that the flesh is valueless, corrupt, filthy, and can do nothing for God.
Notice, Romans 5: 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Notice the part of the verse that says, yet without strength. Without strength in the Greek comes from one word—two words in the English, but one word in the Greek, and the thought is of the basic word of strength, and the word, alpha, is in front of it, and it means absolutely no strength whatsoever. So it means helpless. The word here is a noun, but if you were to look this word up in the Greek and look at this verb form of it, it means diseased. So this is the position of all religion. Religious people are without strength, having none whatsoever, they are helpless and they are diseased, and therefore, it was necessary for Christ to die for them to be saved.
2/ Remember, that doesn’t say weak. It means you haven’t any strength at all—it means you can’t do one thing to save yourself. Remember, the law came along with a ladder of ten steps and put it down here on earth, and religion tells us if we take those ten steps, we will be put out of the pit, but we are not able to lift our arms, let alone our bodies, we are powerless, without strength to climb the ladder of the law. So the thing that is important here is the sacrifice, the suffering, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. All this happened when we couldn’t help ourselves.
3/ The basis of this message is that the Holy Spirit is showing us the death of Christ. This Holy Spirit who is the breath of God reveals that we are without strength and that Christ is the answer to our diseased helpless condition.
4/ It is necessary to understand the Holy Spirit, the breath of God.
John 16: 13 And there we read, Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth, for He shall speak of Himself and whatsoever He shall hear He shall speak, and He will show you things to come, He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you.
That is what the Holy Spirit has been doing since we have been saved. He has been taking the things of Christ and showing them to us. This is so important that Christ repeats it. It isn’t often that anything like this is repeated in the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the next verse, all things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore saith I, He shall take of Mine and show it unto you. Jesus Christ felt it was so important for you to understand that He repeated it, that the Holy Spirit when He comes into your life does not talk of Himself but He talks of Jesus Christ.
5/ So this passage shows us that the Holy Spirit is showing us first of all, the glory of the death of Christ. I believe that is the chief teaching of the Christian life. I believe first and foremost above all else that the Holy Spirit shows us Calvary. The more you know of Calvary, the more you will love Calvary. The crucifixion of Christ is the wonder of eternity, it is the wonder of the universe, and the Holy Spirit is showing us the cross of Christ, our weakened condition, and the answer to our weakened condition, the cross of Calvary.
6/ Notice, something here in the 6th verse Christ died for the ungodly. Then notice the 8th verse—while we were yet sinners, and then the 10th verse—when we were enemies. The Lord Jesus Christ died for us, when we were ungodly, while we were sinners, while we were enemies.
7/ Now notice the 8th verse—God commendeth His love. God has proved His love—I can translate it this way. God has proved His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Let us go back to the 7th verse—For scarcely for a righteous man would one die, peradventure for a good man some would even dare die.
There is no way to illustrate God’s love by human love. Human love is so limited. There is no limit to God’s love. A man might die for a friend, he might die for a righteous man, he might die for a man he thinks is good, but he would never die for an enemy.
Jeremiah 31: 3 The Lord has appeared of old unto me saying, Yes, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
God’s love is an everlasting love. God’s love for you never began—it has always been in existence. This is wonderful to know. There was never a time when God’s time was set upon you, and it is set upon you now. There will never be a time in eternity future, but God’s love will be set upon you. That is the difference between human love and divine love. We often use in the marriage ceremony that the ring is used as an outward symbol has neither a beginning nor end, it is round, and this pictures the eternal love of God. You know, that is hard to believe—that God’s love has no beginning because I had a beginning, but God looked down through eternity past and He said there was going to be one called Henry Kulp, and I love him with an everlasting love and I have sent my Son to die for him. And it is hard to conceive that His love will be set upon me throughout all eternity.
8/ Romans 5: 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.
In due time, what does that mean? I think the best translation is at the appointed time. Christ died at the set time. Everything was according to plan and occurred at the proper time.
9/ On the day of Pentecost, Peter referred to this truth.
Acts 2: 22, 23 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Here where he says, Him, meaning Christ, being delivered by the determined council, that means the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. In past ages, God had a definite plan. His Son was to die, and when the time came, this plan was carried out.
10/ Daniel 9: 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Here God sent the angel Gabriel to Danial and gave him a divine revelation to set down for future generation. The angel said to Daniel, seventy weeks are determined upon the people. The word, here translated, weeks, is a time word. Here is a word that is used for a period of seven years. If we use this passage, and make weeks become seven years, it will be very simple.
11/ Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people, and thy people means Israel, and upon thy holy city, and that is Jerusalem, to finish the transgression and to make an end to sins to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring to everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
Here is announced a period of seventy times seven years, or 490 years. It might be well if we understand the 9th chapter of the Book of Daniel that contains first, the prayer of Daniel to the Lord in regard to his people Israel who were in captivity, away from the land, away from the city of the Lord—Jerusalem. And the second part of the chapter, contains the answer of God to the prayer of confession. Israel was in captivity, because she had neglected God’s Sabbath’s, and Daniel knew that the time of captivity was about up.
12/ Daniel 9: 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
This is a prophecy concerning something that is coming to pass that cannot be changed. The weeks are determined, they are all set and fixed by Almighty God, and therefore there can be no changes. Remember, it was customary for the children of Israel to speak of seven years as a week. We find in other passages of Scripture that a period of seven years is called a week. The most noticeable among these passages is one that is found in Genesis 29: 26, 27 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
In this chapter, you will recall that Jacob, who had been working for Laban, his uncle, falls in love with Rachel, the daughter of Laban. He made a bargain with Laban that he was to work for seven years, at the end of seven years, he was to receive Rachel as his wife. And the scheming Laban had other plans, other ideas. So when the day came, he gave Leah, the sister of Rachel to be the wife of Jacob instead of Rachel, for whom he had been laboring. This was a clever plan, because Laban knew that Jacob loved Rachel more than anything else, and so then, he makes a bargain with Jacob and says why don’t you just continue to work another seven years for me here and I will give Rachel immediately to be your wife.
Notice, verse 26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. And so he was given the first born. Then he says, fulfill her week, seven years, and we will give thee also for service, which thou shalt serve me yet another seven years. So notice, a week is seven years. So Gabriel reveals to Daniel that seventy weeks—seventy periods of seven years are going to be needed to fulfill God’s program with His people Israel. That makes it exactly 480 years. Remember that figure. From the time of the return from captivity to the decree to build the temple in Jerusalem, unto the setting up of the Millennial kingdom, God’s dealings with the nation will cover a period of 490 years.
13/ We notice that the is divided into three periods. Two of these periods are 7 times 7’s or 49 years. Sixty-two times 7 are 434 years. These two figures together make sixty times 7 or 434 years. But thus leaves 7 years to be accounted for, and so we see immediately that some prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. God does not count time while the Jews are not in full possession of the Holy Land including the city, Jerusalem. When Christ died, 483 years had been accomplished, and God, as it were, stopped Israel’s clock, and He has not started it again.
14/ God said to Daniel, start counting years from the issuance of the decree to begin rebuilding Jerusalem and after 49 years of trouble the street and the walls will be rebuilt, and continue counting. After 483 years, the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. What a statement that is! Here is a clear declaration of God that the Messiah would die, and His death would be for others, not for Himself. His was to be a vicarious, substitutionary atonement. He would be cut off from the sins of His people, and thereby He would make an end of sins, and make a reconciliation for iniquity.
15/ Evidence is shown this decree was issued in Babylon one springtime, then you can check and you can see that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross 483 years later, 483 years to the very time marked down by the decree. The prophecy was fulfilled to the last detail. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ died in the fullness of time according to Daniel’s prophecy.
16/ Remember, first we had 7 / 7’s or 49 years. This is a time in which the city and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, the second part of the cycle consists of 62 weeks or 434 years, after which the Messiah was to be cut off and have nothing. This leaves one week, or seven years yet to be fulfilled, and that can never be fulfilled until there is a remnant of Judah in the city of Jerusalem, owned by God as His people.
17/ Notice Romans 5: 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God commandeth His love. God has proved His love. I can translate it that way. But then God goes on to say, Christ died for us, much more being now justified by His blood, now the Holy Spirit is going to teach us about the blood, that is the cross.
Every time the Holy Spirit has a great lesson to teach you, He takes you first to the cross. Every truth is found at the cross.
Mr. Spurgeon, the great teacher of days gone by used to say to his students, Build your studio at Calvary, and there survey all the horizon of truth.
Notice what it tells us in Hebrews 9: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God.
Jesus Christ offered Himself through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enabled Him to do it.
18/ Hebrews 10: 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
We have the right to enter into Heaven, into the holiest place, but it is only by the blood. So it must be that the blood did everything. If we were justified by the blood, then the blood accomplished everything. If you are trusting in the blood of Christ, you don’t have to be afraid. Here it says, that by the blood we enter into the holiest. If you are trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ, you can be sure of going into the presence of God in Heaven.
19/ It is a wonderful thing to be allowed into the holiest. In the Old Testament, even Aaron was not allowed in. Aaron could not even take Moses into the holiest place. Moses had to stand without, but Aaron, God’s chosen priest could go into the very presence of God by the blood.
20/ Romans 5: 9 We shall be saved from wrath through Him. That is glorious, for we ought to praise God forever for this, for we are children of wrath. This is true that we are no longer under wrath, because God’s wrath struck at Calvary, God’s wrath struck Him in judgement, and that is why you and I are saved by His blood.
21/ The wrath of God on sin is a terrible thing, it is the most terrible thing in the universe. You ask me why? Because it killed the Son of God. Oh, that you might know this Christ.
AMEN
Ref: 06/21/1964 / 275 - RELIGIOUS THRILL SEEKERS / 07/24/2020
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