Death on SermonAudio

1. Comfort in life (6:8-15) 2. Comfort in death (7:54-60)

From Genesis 1.2 to 2.1 God brings form, fulness, light, and habitation to creation by the operation of His Spirit. From Genesis 3.6 to Revelation 21,22 God de-creates in judgment, but recreates in grace, bringing final and lasting form, fulness, light, and habitation by the operation of His Spirit in the redemption and consummation of all things.

The wilderness journey continues as God's people move on from Rephidim and settle at the base of Mt. Sinai. It is a large, impressive, and intimidating mountain. There is thunder, lighting, quaking, and the loud blasting of trumpets. In that awe-inspiring and fear-inducing environment, God will meet with Moses and begin setting forth the conditions of the Old Covenant. If His people will obey Him, they will be His special people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, representing Him to the outside world. If they do not, they will surely die. In this passage, God not only continues guiding and providing for His people, He also continues revealing their need for a kind of deliverance that goes deeper than the natural realm. It is more significant than merely deliverance from Egypt. At the deepest level, they need deliverance from themselves, from their unbelief, and their own false confidence in their ability to save themselves. They need another mountain, different from Sinai, a mountain characterized not by distance and death, but by access and life. They need Mt. Zion where Jesus reigns supreme as the One who meets all the conditions, who provides full consecration, and who grants eternal life as a gift of grace. In the Exodus story, God is preparing them, and us, for this greater provision in Christ.

"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The law of sin & death: One man sinned; all men died. The Law of Moses: By it, all men sin; all are guilty. Jesus freed us from the law of sin & death. Jesus freed us from the Law of Moses. Praise our Savior!

Also James 1:12-15 Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.  Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

The sermon expounds on Matthew 12:28-29, presenting Jesus Christ as the stronger man who binds Satan to spoil his house of darkness. It contrasts the kingdom of death and deception promoted by Satan with the eternal life and truth offered by Christ's redemptive work. The preacher critiques modern cultural shifts toward abortion and assisted suicide as manifestations of this spiritual darkness. Emphasizing that Christ has already defeated Satan through His death and resurrection, the message assures believers of their security in God's love. Ultimately, it calls for trust in Christ rather than despair, highlighting the guaranteed victory over sin and death.

This sermon explores the theological contrast between Adam and Jesus Christ as presented in Romans 5, emphasizing how sin and death entered the world through one man's disobedience. The speaker argues that while the law revealed human inability to meet God's standards, it ultimately highlighted the abundance of grace available through Christ's righteous act. Central to the message is the concept of justification, where believers are declared completely innocent not by their own works but by the blood of Jesus covering their sins. The preacher warns against relying on religious rituals or moral achievements for salvation, asserting that only faith in Christ's finished work ensures eternal life. Ultimately, the text calls listeners to rest in the certainty that grace reigns through righteousness, securing their standing before God.