Death on SermonAudio

A Universal Indictment Given by Elias Cerda From Romans 3:9-20

The sinner brought guilty before Christ discovers both the seriousness of sin and the wonder of grace. When our guilt brings us face to face with Jesus Christ, we discover that His grace neither excuses our sin nor leaves us unchanged by it.

The sermon explores the paradox of loving Jesus Christ without having physically seen Him, grounding this affection in His prior love for humanity and His sacrificial death on the cross. It emphasizes that faith replaces sight, allowing believers to experience joy unspeakable and full of glory despite their physical separation from the Lord. The message challenges listeners to surrender their lives to Christ as Lord and demonstrates this love through daily obedience and active evangelism. By sharing the gospel with others, Christians fulfill the command to invite the lost to 'come and see' the Savior who has transformed their own lives. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a personal decision to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life.

The sermon examines the biblical markers that confirm genuine salvation and distinguish true believers from mere professed Christians. It outlines three primary evidences of eternal life: belief in Jesus as the biblical Christ, love for God and His family, and obedience to His commandments through divine grace. The preacher emphasizes that spiritual rebirth is a sovereign act of God rather than human effort, enabling believers to overcome the world system through faith in Christ. This victory is rooted in union with Jesus, who has already conquered sin and death on the cross. The message concludes by urging self-examination and reliance on Christ's righteousness for assurance and holy living.

Hebrews 9:15–22 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, and that this covenant was established through His death. Under the old covenant, sin required the shedding of blood because sin brings death and separates humanity from God. But the blood of animals could only point forward to something greater. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice, giving His own life so that those who believe in Him could receive forgiveness and the eternal inheritance promised by God. His death was not an accident or a defeat; it was the very event through which the new covenant was inaugurated. At the cross, Jesus paid the price that humanity could never pay, opening a new and living way for us to come into relationship with God. The message of this passage is therefore both sobering and hopeful: **the covenant we enjoy with God was sealed by the death of Christ.** His blood speaks of forgiveness, redemption, and a restored relationship with God. We do not approach God because of our goodness or religious works, but because Christ has already offered Himself on our behalf. His death calls us to appreciate the seriousness of sin, but even more, to appreciate the depth of God's grace. The cross reminds us that our salvation came at a great cost, and therefore we should live as people who belong to the One who died for us. The old covenant pointed toward Christ; Christ's death inaugurated the new covenant; and through Him, we receive forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

The sermon contrasts the hopeless fate of the lost with the blessed hope available to believers through Jesus Christ. Drawing from Luke 16 and 1 Corinthians 15, it explains that upon death, a Christian's soul is escorted by angels to heaven while their body rests in the grave until the resurrection. The preacher emphasizes that death holds no sting for those in Christ because He has secured victory over sin and the grave. Additionally, the message outlines the future rapture and the eternal glory of the New Jerusalem, offering comfort and assurance to believers facing mortality. Ultimately, it urges listeners to find peace in these biblical promises rather than fear the end of life.

When we observe the Lord's Table we look back and remember His death, we look up and remember His resurrection and look ahead and anticipate His return.

Daniel 11 is more than nearly four centuries of historical intrigue leading up to the coming of Messiah. It is a prophetic forewarning of the constant political upheaval of the world powers that struggled for supremacy in the Middle East and beyond with the returning exiles caught up in the middle. These pagan anti-God kingdoms appear so powerful compared to the 'littleness and weakness' of God's people returning from exile. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. The people of God are not to be caught off guard and paralyzed into inaction by the trials and tribulations that threaten to destroy them. Those who know their God will stand firm and take action, resting in the truth that the proud ambitions of earthly kings will always be destroyed by God's enduring kingdom. The Kingdom of God towers over the puny kingdoms of this world including the rival kingdoms we are prone to set up in our own hearts. Even the death dealing anti-Christ who sets Himself up as God cannot stand before the overcoming, resurrection power of God's Kingdom. The big boys are on the block but not for long!

Luke tells us of three hearings that Jesus has before secular judges: first before Pilate where he is declared not guilty; a hearing before Herod, who also finds no guilt; and a final hearing before Pilate where twice more Pilate declares him not guilty before sentencing him to death and releasing a murdering insurrectionist. How did this trial go so wrong? As we consider Jesus trial, we also consider the meaning of Jesus' atoning death? Is the atonement directed towards man as the 'Moral Influence Theory' teaches -- Jesus giving man the ultimate example of love to correct their selfish behaviour? Or is this the 'Ransom to Satan' or 'Christus Victor' as its so often called in our era -- the atonement is directed towards Satan, ransoming humans from his evil power? Or is the atonement directed to God the Father as the 'Penal Substitutionary Theory' teaches, satisfying justice by a willing substitute so that the sinners debt can be erased.