In this sermon, Pastor Joe Babij examines Colossians 2:11-13 and the three pictures of believers’ completeness of salvation in Christ so that believers need no addition or substitute.
1. We are in union with Christ in his death (v. 11)
2. We are in union with Christ in his burial (v. 12a)
3. We are in union with Christ in his resurrection (v. 12b-13)
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let’s take our Bibles this morning turn to Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians chapter 2.
as you’re turning there let’s bow together in the word of Prayer thank you Lord for showing us that you’re a holy God but you saying the word of God you want us to be a holy people so Lord the word of God enables us and works on us so we can be a holy people I just pray Lord the desire that would be in our heart already was that we would want to be and as we do Lord I pray Lord that we would receive the word the engrafted word that has been given to us and they may be welded upon our heart and mind so it would be exactly what we do every day and in doing that Lord we would learn how to please you in all things so the Lord teach us this morning about your complete salvation and I pray this in Christ’s name amen I’ve been saying that all modern religious counterparts contrasted with true biblical Christianity are Hollow and they’re deceptive yet they appeal to many kinds of people but when religions are examined more closely the common result of an investigation will be they hold a very low view of Christ and any deluded promotion of a person of Christ that demeans him means that man has made it into some works-based religious system now if you if you say you are good and moral and religious person and God should accept me based on what I can offer him by way of good works well be aware of this that the gospel of God’s Grace has always denounced Reliance upon works and if you’re trying to justify Yourself by Good Works you are walking straight into condemnation every religion invented by men according to D James Kennedy followed a set of rules and if you do it well enough then you may be accepted into Nirvana or Paradise or heaven or wherever it is you’re trying to go don’t do this don’t do that you will perhaps earn your way to heaven if you notice though in Colossians chapter 2 he is writing this section of scripture so we do not go there if you notice in verse 16 he says therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or respect to a festival or a newborn moon or a Sabbath day these things are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ and then notice down in verse 20 if you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world why as if you were living in the world do you submit yourself to degrees such as do not handle do not taste do not touch which are all which all refer to things destined to perish with their use in accordance with the Commandments and teachings of men in other words these false teachers were imposing upon the people a Works based system do these things and you will be all right all religions of the world are the same and yes they are the same no matter what form they take it is always what a person can do to earn their salvation that’s the religion of works but biblical Christianity is not the same as others no it stands in a category all by itself Christianity teaches the very opposite of all other religions it is a message of Grace and Grace is a wonderful thing there is nothing like it in the world there is nothing like it in the universe every other religion teaches that we will get to heaven because of what we have done Christianity on the contrary teaches that we will get to heaven in spite of what we have done we hear all the time in the media that human beings deserve everything every good thing but what we what we really deserve is just condemnation the just condemnation of God because we’re all guilty of sin in the presence of a holy God the amazing thing is what Christ offers us is not what we deserve but the very opposite of what we deserve he offers us free Sovereign unconditional Grace the free gift of eternal life paid for by his own son pay for at an infinite cost to all those who will simply turn from their sin and Trust in Christ as their lord and savior it is a very strange thing indeed that would God would do it that way but I’m sure glad he did it that way so click complete salvation nothing needs to be added to it nothing can be taken away from it and once a Christian understands the wealth and the riches that they have in Jesus Christ they will be stubbornly unwilling to exchange Christ for any other thing any other would-be man-made substitute religious system see there’s nothing anyone else can do for a man than Christ has already done anyone who truly comes to faith in Christ are made complete in Christ and the phrase that we have seen already in Scripture in him is significant not only because it expresses Christ’s Supremacy but it also teaches us us about our complete salvation in him in our Lord that in him all things were created that in our Lord in him all things hold together that in our Lord in him all Divine fullness dwell all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form in Christ but in this phrase in him also points to our Union with Christ because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done on behalf of his children we benefit greatly in him the Bible says we have been made complete in verse number 10 of chapter 2 in him we were circumcised chapter 2 verse 11.
you were buried and raised with him verse 13.
and 12 you were made Kim Made Alive together with him and then in verse 15 of chapter 2 that all demonic Powers have been defeated in him therefore no one once you are a Believer has any claim or authority over you every Christian is filled full that God sees the believer only in Christ and never outside of him we are seen as being in Union with Christ and in Christ Christians find their spiritual needs fully met and these next passages this morning really capture the picture for us of complete salvation amen and what is the first picture that is given to us that it really has to be explained this morning in verse number 11 chapter 2 notice what it says in him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ that’s the first one so in other words the first picture is that we are in Union with Christ in his death see circumcision giving some background was a sign given to Abraham and to his descendants when God called Abraham and promised to make him a great nation he gave him a sign assigned to separate his descendants from all the other Heathen people of the world and this sign was a physical operation of circumcision administered to every male child eight days after birth as an institution or as an initiation ceremony showing that they belong to the chosen race of Israel it had nothing to do with spiritual salvation for all the Jews certainly were not godly persons just think for a moment ask yourself when did Abraham receive the sign of circumcision was it before Abraham was saved by faith or was it after was it in circumcision or was it while he was in uncircumcision see that’s a question now we have to go to the Bible to answer and I’d like you to take your Bibles quickly and turn to Romans chapter 4 because the Bible actually answers that question and it becomes an important question for us as believers it says in Romans chapter 4 notice in verse number nine it says in this blessing then on the circumcised is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the uncircumcised also for we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness that’s a Salvation verse 10 how then was it credited in other words when did Abraham actually become a Believer and then notice the next verse number 10 it says while he was circumcised or uncircumcised not while circumcised but while uncircumcised verse number 11 and he received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised that righteousness might be credited or put on the account of of them who actually believe later on like us so so Abraham actually believed by faith in God’s Plan of Salvation before he was given the sign of circumcision now why you say why is that important it is important because there is another circumcision more important than the physical sign of circumcision it is referring to something that was always held in high regard in the Old Testament and what I what do I mean by that I mean the circumcision of the heart I mean a spiritual circumcision that takes place in the heart now again we’re going to use our Bibles this morning so I want you to look at Deuteronomy there’s two passages of scripture there that talk about this in the spiritual realm of things and it says in Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse number 12 it says in verse number 12 of Deuteronomy 10 now Israel what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the lord your God to walk in all his ways and love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul verse 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and his statutes which I am commanding you today for your good behold to the Lord your God belong heaven in the highest Heavens the Earth and all that is in it verse 15 yet your fathers did yet on your fathers did the Lord set his affection to love them and he chose their descendants after them even you before all peoples as it is this day and then in verse 16 so circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer but the question is can a person who has a stiff neck and that means to be disobedient to the Lord actually circumcised their heart the answer to that question of course you’re saying already is no but I want you to look at Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse number six because it kind of answers that people couldn’t do it themselves Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse number 6 says this moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants and what will he circumcise their heart to do to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul so that you may live that’s what he will do and that’s something you cannot do on your own see the problem with the people back then as well as people ever since and today is that we have a bad sinful rebellious heart that produces evil in our thoughts in our words and in our Deeds so we cannot have this kind of heart even Jeremiah says to the people circumcise yourself to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your heart men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem or else my wrath will go forth like the fire and burned with none to quench it because of the evil of your Deeds see that’s our problem the problem we have is that we have an evil heart we have an uncircumcised heart same thing so even though Christians have not been given the sign of circumcision many of the Christian Jews if you’re look reading through the book of Acts you’ll find still thought that Gentile coverage had to become Jews if they were to be counted as Christians this is what it says in some of the passages in Rome in Acts chapter 15 and verse number one it says this some men came down from Judea and began teaching the Brethren unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved so they were again putting the emphasis on the physical sign of circumcision and then in verse 5 of that same chapter it says but some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the law of Moses and then it goes on to say Paul and Peter were discussing these things Peter specifically and he says wait a minute the Gentiles heard the gospel and they believed and God who knows their heart testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit just like he gave us and he made no distinction between us and them and then he says this cleansing their heart by faith know what that is that spiritual heart circumcision that’s what the Lord did and what happens this is what he concluded therefore in my judgment Peter says do not trouble those who are turning to God from the Gentiles but write to them and say listen just do these things abstain from being contaminated by Idols abstained from fornication abstained from what is strangled and from blood that’s it you’re free to do anything or else you need to do because now you have been made complete in Christ and it’s not about the physical part of it it is about the spiritual circumcision of the heart so we come back to Colossians and here in Colossians the right of circumcision is used as an illustration of a spiritual truth and notice how this contrasts with the physical operation would which was given to Abraham and performed with human hands is preceded by hands uh one made without hands where it says this in our passage now to be clear our passage has nothing to do with physical circumcision but spiritual circumcision circumcised or circumcision does not mean having a certain operation carried out on a man’s flesh but having a change affected in one’s life something has changed so circumcision is a picture of God’s spiritual surgery now look back at chapter 2 verse number 11 of Colossians and notice what it says again it says and in him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ so that means salvation is the operation of God upon the heart and again the passive voice points to God as the active agent that spiritual circumcision is a circumcision made without hands it is accomplished by Christ’s physical death on the cross when Christ died on the cross and not only Christ’s death but the cross became a scalpel to cut away the sinful old man and if you notice it says in verse 11 the removal of the body of the flesh this does not refer to the physical flesh but to the sinful nature that by Christ’s death by the circumcision of Christ that is his death Christ’s death completely strips away the old unregenerate life that is one that comes to faith in Christ who believes in Christ that work has been done on their heart by God himself so a complete putting off of the fleshly nature a crucifixion of the old adamic nature has been done by God upon our hearts in other words we have been given a new new nature a nature that actually can love God serve God desire to follow God for instance why does a dog do what he does a dog behaves like a dog because he has a dog’s nature now if someone would or could transplant a dog into a dog the nature of a cat well then he would be radically changed maybe greatly disappointed too in that change for all you cat lovers forgive me for that so why does the center behave like a sinner because he has a nature of Adam the nature of a sinner the sinful nature the Bible calls the flesh and if you notice in our passage it says there’s going to be a removal of that it says in the removal of the body of Flesh by the circumcision of Christ that removal is that actually the word means a pharaoh stripping off it it was used of people stripping off their clothes figurative lead is also used the Believers being set free from their sinful nature through Union with Christ that Believers are circumcised by Christ’s own circumcision and that is his death that Christ’s circumcision involves the sacrifice of his whole body with his complete sacrifice and what has been demanded in the Old Testament has now been accomplished in Christ and In Christ Alone and remember it has nothing to do with physical things This Heart circumcision a reality is a reality and not a right it’s the removal of sin not the removal of the flesh so that means that the operation of God is a transformation of the whole person and why is that because God’s surgical scalpel has been applied to our heart and when that happens when there’s the removal of this sin nature in the sense that we are now obeying God and not obeying that we still have that struggle though until we have complete salvation in the presence of God but I do want you to notice that it brings us into a new sphere that the operation of God is a transformation of the whole person where because of God’s surgical work on the cross Believers become part of you know what Philippians said Philippians says it this way in Philippians chapter 3 verse number 3 it says you can become part of the true circumcision and what happens when somebody is truly saved this is what it says in Philippians 3 3 those who Worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh now the false teachers here in Colossians still were put in Conflict confidence in the flesh which I just read when I first started but I do want you to notice something and why don’t we just might we might as well just turn to Philippians and pick this up because Paul if anybody could have said listen I’m a believer I’m right with God because I’m a child of Abraham it’s got to be Paul right Paul had everything going for him if anybody could be saved the Apostle Paul could have and that’s what he says in Philippians chapter 3 and verse number three onwards in chapter 3 verse number one in Philippians it says finally my brethrenal rejoice in the Lord to write the same things again is no trouble to me and it is a safeguard for you Beware of the dogs beware of evil workers beware of false circumcision for we are the new circumcision whose Worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh but notice in the next verse in verse 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh I far more and what does he say here’s his confidence circumcise The Eighth Day of the nation of Israel of The Tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of Hebrews as to the law of Pharisee as to Zeal a persecutor of the church as to righteousness which is in the law found blameless amen you’re a believer well you know what Paul didn’t have he had no circumcised heart he was still religious and he was the top pile of being religious he had all the qualifications go to the Head of the Class Paul you got it all you don’t need anything but then look what he says in verse 7 but whatever things we were gained to me those things I count as loss for the sake of Christ you know what it is it was a just a bunch of dung it had no salvific value at all I heard I was talking to this one person one day and says well I go to church every day I mean you I mean you walk to church you go to church every day I go to church every day and I light a candle and I do all these things and I says wow that’s devotion that’s dedication but the problem is the person who does that thinks that is going to please God and earn them somehow salvation it will not you can go to church 20 times a day every day for the rest of your life and not be saved see that’s religion and that’s what religion does it keeps us away from the truth away from the word of God and that’s a damning thing and that’s what Paul says I was Damned in my religiosity in my confidence in the flesh what I could do to earn God what I could do to please God it’s the only God can Cast Away your evil nature only God can cut that out of your heart that’s why we read this morning when it is cut out of our heart what are we to do then it says even so consider yourself as dead to sin and what a life to God in Christ Jesus think on that for a moment the content of Romans 6 which we read in our scripture reading this morning has to do with the tyrannical reign of the principle of sin not his symptom in verse 12 of Romans 6 therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lust how can we do that unless God doesn’t work on our heart and gives us the desire and the authority and power to do that see self has to be crucified and the only place self can be crucified is that the at calvary’s Cross so that it may be rendered powerless to enslave us again so we Christians should not have to serve sin anymore or to live under the tyranny of the indwelling principle of sin any longer when we are in Christ we can actually say no to sin and have the authority and the ability to put off sin because God has given us that I wish we would use it more and the reason for that is because we have been crucified with Christ on the cross we have a complete salvation a second thing in Colossians chapter 2 is this a second principle or picture of a complete salvation is found in verse number 12 the first part of it we are in Union with Christ in his burial it says in verse 12 having been buried with him in baptism this is this does not refer to water baptism here it is a picture of being buried together with someone and that somewhat is Christ so here baptism is a picture of the reality of death we ordinarily bury the dead in order to be rid of them because of the decaying process but it is different for the believer because they are in Union with Christ so spiritual baptism is not only through faith in Christ but it is because we are in Union with Christ and that you are not Christians unless you are connected or joined to Christ and while you live in your trespasses and sins along with the rest of humanity we are disconnected from Christ but now we have a circumcised heart a heart that has believed a heart of faith we are in Union with Christ and we think about baptism really carries the meaning of identification the concept of being made one with Jesus that baptism really symbolizes Union with Christ in his death and his bury also his resurrection but that when somebody gets baptized in even in water what is what is the picture there the picture is that the Christian is making a public announcement of a bona fide inward change that took place all right it’s this symbolic proclamation of what happened to the person at Salvation it’s the evidence of a circumcised heart that now wants to love and worship God and follow Jesus that’s why somebody who just makes a profession of Faith but has no interest in the word of God has no interest in following Christ they’re just adding Jesus on to the list of everything else they have to to make you know to hedge the bets and make it safe for them oh yeah I believed in Jesus I believe in Jesus no that that’s not it because somebody who truly believes in Jesus God does a surgical work on your heart and gives you a desire to live for him and serve him without that desire there is no salvation it’s like Jonathan Edwards in his book religious religious affections all right he writes this book because he’s saying listen the only proof that there is that anyone is saved is that they have a affection for God they’ve never had before they couldn’t have before they have a new one now so see Romans chapter 6 is not specifically talking about water baptism again that we read but speaking of the spiritual symbolism behind the physical act of water baptism in the identity that we have now in Christ in his death Believers are identified with Christ’s atonement for sin and placed in the atoning work and in his burial they are dying to self they are making this Proclamation that the new believer is freed up to live and to serve the Lord everything is cut out away from the person’s life anything that could keep them from being God’s obedient child is removed and the believer is now dead to Satan’s family and they’re now alive to God’s family that’s what they are they’re alive to God’s family do you see yourself like that you see yourself with that desire in your heart that Christ is first beyond anything else and that you actually order your life and putting Christ first because if it’s not there then there is no life there’s no spiritual life there is no spiritual operation on the heart that’s been done by God if that’s not there this leads me to a third picture this morning and I want you to notice here that we are in Union with Christ in his resurrection notice again back in Chapter 2 of Colossians verse number 12 it says in the middle of the passage in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead so we were raised together with Christ we died with Christ on the cross our flesh was crucified there on the cross cross with Christ we were buried with Christ we were raised up to walk in newness of life because of Christ so in other words we were raised up together with someone else and that someone else is Christ so this is the co-resurrection with Christ is in view as an accomplished fact Colossians in chapter 3 verse number one even says there that this fact looks finished and done it says in verse 1 therefore if you have been raised up with Christ keep see seeking those things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God so you have been raised up you have been made alive yet Romans chapter 6 verse 5 views it as a future event it says there if we have become United with him in the likeness of his death certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection it looks at see Paul speaks of it in the present I’m saved but he also speaks of it in the future I’m being saved I will be saved there’ll be a Salvation accomplished so in the present it’s a real actual salvation with the down payment of the Holy Spirit and in the future what is it it’s being raised yet the fullness of receiving our new bodies awaits the return of Christ so the spiritual reality is that we are in Union with Christ in his death his burial and now have life because of his resurrection but then notice in verse number 13 because it says here’s the spiritual reality we all had without Christ notice what it says when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh spiritually dead to God with no ability in the sinful nature that means we’re guilty in our individual acts of sin that’s our transgressions that’s another word for sins sinfulness in a pre-conversion state that’s the way God found us that’s the way God found every single one of us when the gospel came what were you doing when the gospel came what were you doing smoking some Duty dancing fulfilling the lust of your flesh doing what you wanted to do and you were doing it all with no real thought of God so see you and I were guilty of that we all had pre-conversion acts of sins but it also says here that it’s not only your transgressions but the uncircumcision of your flesh meaning that we were all alienated outside of God’s covenant it was not the physical flesh that was the problem the problem was our sin which arose out of an old unredeemed uncircumcised nature so how was the old man you know you really don’t have to explain sin to people they get it because they know however whatever facade they give you they know in their heart they understand sin they they know what it is that the the man of Flesh or the person of flesh is the unsaved self the unregenerate self this is the old wretched depraved sinful self and this is the capacity of all people who have have to serve self with no desire to serve and to please the true and living God without god without his Spirit without his word and one’s life one’s life is always driven by all kinds of simple crave cravings and passions leading to all kinds of self-centered and sinful Pursuits that do not please God even though a person may think they please God so that’s how we all were without Christ that may be you today maybe I pray it’s not you today because if you’re in that condition today you’re outside of Christ you don’t have a heart to serve Christ is not first in your life you don’t organize your schedule and your life and you’re weak with God part of that agenda but then notice in verse number 13 here’s the spiritual transformation of those in Union with Christ in verse 13 it says he made you alive together with him having forgiven all our transgressions so Believers Were Made Alive that’s the same thing it says in Ephesians even when we were dead in our transgressions he made us alive together with Christ by Grace you have been saved so the very fact that you and I are believers at all is solely because of a demonstration of God’s might of his power many things had to be overcome and conquered by the strength of God in order for you and me to become a Believer our flesh out of the overcome the world system in our thinking had to be overcome the power of Satan had to be overcome for you and I to be saved and how could you do that on your own how could anybody do that on their own no religious system could do that they cannot replace what God is the only one who could do so Believers have power working in them and if it were not for the power of God working in Believers we would not have a desire to read the word of God we would not have a desire to pray we would not have the strength to put off sin and put on righteousness we would not be strong in the Lord to battle against the ongoing struggle that we will have as a Christian as Philippian tells us for it is God who has it in is at work in you to Will and to work his good pleasure that’s what the Lord does once we are truly believers so when you come to Jesus Christ there is a transformation that starts and continues to take place until the day we drop off these filthy coats of remaining humanness until that day so we need Christ and this means that the unsaved person has only one capacity the unsaved person has only one course of action to serve sin and self while leaving God out of his life that’s it that’s all we had we had nothing else you throw religion in there it’s still self-serving it’s still me trying to do something see and that is what is so in the face of real Biblical Christianity and of course on the other hand Believers we have an option a Believer may serve God as long as that believer is in the human body but we will struggle with the flesh we will struggle with the desires the remaining desires that we had in our life but we will not want to leave God out we will not want to go back to our formal former lusts and passions we will not want to go back to the slavery we want we were once in we will not want to go that way see and that is what is so powerful about the gospel so I find it troubling when people will say well somebody will ask them well do you believe Jesus do you think you’re born again oh yeah I’m a born again well what is your life like where do you go to church what are you studying in the Bible what are you praying about well I don’t I think that’s a personal thing I don’t really do that I don’t really have a church my church is my own private worship you know that person just told you that person just told you they’re not a believer no matter how spiritual they think they are they’re not a Believer because when I come to scripture I cannot fit that person into the Bible the only person I see in the Bible is somebody who has been made alive oh yes some people grow faster and quicker than others some people take a lot a longer time to understand things and learn things but there is a change there is transformation there is a new heart there is a desire for the word of God there is a worship that they now have in their heart for God they they their mind foreign exalts God their mind honors God their mind bows before God and they feel very offended when somebody takes God’s name in vain but you know what unfortunately I have met a lot of people who think that way and they think they’re Christians and they’re not see that’s self-deception and that’s the power of a dead heart who can deceive to the last minute so what I’m talking about here this morning is the work of God the work of God putting this all together gives us a picture of what it what takes place when one is saved by the operation of God when one that he is Forgiven as the passage says he’s made spiritually alive as the passage says and then we are in Union with Christ from that day forward we have complete salvation nothing needs to be added to it nothing needs to be taken from it it’s all given to us freely by God that’s the marvelous message of the gospel of Christ and some people will say well Pastor that’s just too simple turn from your sin and believe in Jesus that’s just too simple and that’s another obstacle too because people really do think well I got to do this and I got to do this and I got to do that and they they kind of like soothed the guilt in their conscience as they do those things and not realize no you need to just come in Repentance and faith and believe in Jesus that’s it and then you live your life for him though you don’t go back to the old way you don’t go back to the way you used to live it is all new because God has rescued us he has performed spiritual surgery on your heart and he has put in your heart a desire to want to bring glory to God though imperfectly our desires to bring glory to God is that not true that is true right and that is something that is very encouraging to our hearts and like I said before when it comes to being a Believer a Believer is very sensitive to their sin right nobody really has to come up to a Believer who’s doing formative church discipline on themselves every time they hear the word of God you know what they’re doing every time you hear the word of God every time I read the word of God it’s like the word of God I feel like you know what I need to confess that sin right now I don’t want to have my sin sin be an obstacle to how God can use you but do you struggle with those things are you tempted by things from the past does Satan in a very powerful way come and try to get you to go back to the oh yes he does and he will and he’ll not stop it matter of fact the stronger you get maybe there’s more stronger his Temptations will be but you have the victory you can say no I don’t have to say yes and when you do that you’re almost you’re pretty Amazed by it you know what I’m not committing the sins I used to commit when I was you know unconverted I don’t even desire to do it I don’t even think about it anymore how can that happen unless God makes us alive see the false teachers right here in Colossians kept the ceremonial law going to be saved and Sanctified you have to do something yet there are dead works they have no salvific or Eternal value they’re just a pile of dung no rituals or rights of any church can help to save you or Safeguard your salvation God must do that just like Titus says he saved us not on the basis of Deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to his Mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ Our Lord see that’s salvation so I prayed this morning if if you don’t see yourself like that you may need to talk to somebody about how to really be saved if you do see that God has been working on your heart and that you have these desires and they’re growing you’re growing in those desires and the possibility of your salvation is probably pretty real but we who are believers have a complete salvation because we are in Union with Christ in his death in his resurrection and his burial and this is again putting it right to the face of the false teachers because he’s using himself in humanity as a man to say to them this is how God Saves this is how one has complete salvation there is nothing that needs to be added to it there’s nothing that you can do to make it better it is complete and that’s the encouraging thing for believers let’s pray Lord again I thank you for the word of God I pray Lord that this morning if there is one person that Lord that has not believed in you as Lord and savior I pray Lord today would be the day that they no longer put it off no longer ignore it and they would look at themselves real realistically as to where they stand with you and I pray Lord that they would come in Repentance and faith and believe in you and they will receive all the benefits that the word of God teaches us that are ours as believers but Lord for those who are in Christ Lord please encourage them by the word of God to just strengthen their faith that when they are confronted with sin they know what to do they can say no to sin they can consider that in their mind that they’re dead to it because you did the the operation on our heart already and you’ve given us a desire that we never had really before to serve you and love you with all our heart and mind soul and strength and I pray Lord that you will make this church and this generation you would raise up a strong breed of Christians for what’s coming next to be able to stand against the onslaught of false teachers and false information and the manipulation of powers greater than us as as at least Lord as human beings and I pray Lord that would be faithful to stand in this battle and I prayed this in Christ’s name amen amen okay this morning we do have the Lord’s