We'll open the Word of God, if you have a copy of Mark's Gospel, chapter 1. Mark chapter 1. I want to read some verses here. In Mark chapter 1, first of all, and then Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 1, and the verse number 1. Let's hear the Word of God as it is read. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all of the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem, were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, with a girdle of skin about his loins, and he did eat locusts and wild honey, and preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latcheth of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unless I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan. And then Mark chapter 15, and let's read from verse 33. We've read the commencement of our Savior's life. We're reading now. We're now coming to read the end of his earthly ministry, not the end of his life, but the end of his earthly ministry, the beginning of his life on earth. We've read, now we're now coming to read concerning the end of his earthly ministry, or near the end when he comes to die. Mark 15 verse 30, verse 33. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eoli, Eoli, lama sabathkanai, which is being interpreted, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, let alone let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost, and the veil of the temple was rent and twain, from the top to the bottom. When the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he had so cried out and gave up the ghost, he said, truly, this man was the Son of God. Amen. Let's pray. Loving Father, we now come to the preaching of the Word. Lord, the great need of the preacher is well known to himself and to the congregation. We pray, Lord, that now as we come to the central act of our worship, that we will give due attention and diligence to that which is preached from this pulpit today. This pulpit is not placed in this position above the people, as it were, in order to exalt the preacher, but it is to exalt the Word. It is a reminder that we are to be submissive to the teaching of Thy Word. Lord, give us that submissiveness. May we obey Thee. May we be taught of thee by the Spirit today, help therefore the preacher, fill him with the Spirit of God in all of his weakness. Draw near, I pray, for I offer prayer in and through your Savior's precious and holy name. Amen. Having last week begun our series on the names and the titles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and having addressed you on that very precious title that we find in Isaiah 53, man of sorrows, we come this afternoon to think about another title that is given to the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll find this title mentioned some 48 times the record of holy scripture the title i refer to is the son of god the son of god with the exception of one old testament reference that's found in daniel chapter 3 in the verse 25 where the babylonian king having looked into the fiery furnace where you now place Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He sees another in that furnace and he describes that one as having the form like unto the Son of God. All other Bible references that contain this title, Son of God, are found in the New Testament Scriptures. It is Mark, the Gospel writer, who comes to assert the very commencement of his Gospel that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Mark 1, verse 1, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. He attributes this title, he ascribes or affixes this title, Son of God, to this one, Jesus Christ, of whom his gospel is all about. When we reach the conclusion of Mark's gospel, we come to find that it's not a believer who comes to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In actual fact, it's a non-believer, an unconverted man. He's a Roman centurion. who comes to affirm the initial premise of Mark's gospel as he declares, as he stands at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, truly this man was the Son of God. I suppose he got the tense wrong. He said he was the Son of God, but he is the Son of God. and continues to be the Son of God. Admittedly, this title, Son of God, would have conveyed more to the Jewish mind than they would have done to the non-Jew. This title is an assertion of the Lord's deity. These words are a declaration that Jesus Christ was himself very God and is equal with God. Today I want to give the rest of this meeting over to considering with you Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I begin with a controversy. We all like a little bit of controversy, don't we? Everyone likes a little bit of controversy. Well, I begin with a controversy that arose in the early church regarding this issue of Jesus Christ being the Son of God. And so that's what I want us to consider in the first place, the controversy regarding Jesus Christ as the Son of God. When the Lord Jesus Christ asked his disciples the question, whom do others say that I am? They came back with the reply, well, some believe that you're Elias. Others believe that you're John the Baptist. Others believe you're Jeremias or Jeremiah the prophet. And some believe that you're another prophet. And then the Lord Jesus Christ, He hones down and He asks the disciples specifically and personally, but whom say ye that I am? Who do you think I am? Well, we all know that Peter was very keen in order to speak up on many occasions. And so Peter, he takes the lead, and this is what he says in Matthew 16, in the verse 16, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord Jesus Christ said to Peter, whenever he declared those words, Peter, flesh and blood, have not revealed such a truth unto thee. But my Father which is in heaven, my Father which is in heaven hath disclosed such a truth that you believe that I am the Son of God. Through what Peter had come to be an eyewitness to, what he had seen, and what he had heard as he accompanied the Savior in his earthly ministry, Peter had now come to the unshakable conviction that this miracle worker from Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth, was none other than incarnate God. that he is the very son of God. He is the son of the living God. Not just God, but the son of the living God. Now you would think that the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ was from that moment settled by such a dogmatic confession of faith by one who was an eyewitness to all that the Savior had said and all that the Savior did. But that's not the case. Because as the church moved from the age of the apostles and from the early church fathers, various heresies started to arise with regard to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the very earliest heresies that arose was proclaimed by a group of people who were known as the Ebonites. The Ebonites. The Ebonites, they were members of a Jewish sect that believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. They had no doubt to ascribe to that truth. But rather, they also believed that he was simply a man. that Jesus Christ was merely a man. He was a great man. He was probably the greatest man who had ever lived, anointed by the Spirit of God for the messianic office. Nevertheless, they taught that Jesus Christ was only a man who only possessed a human nature. Another heresy that arose in the fourth century is what is known as the Aryan controversy. Arius was a presbyter from He began teaching in 313 AD that God the Son was a created being rather than being the co-eternal Son of God. The church would deal with this man Arius at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. There they would declare in their creed that Jesus Christ is begotten of the Father, not made, that He is true God from true God and of one being or one essence with the Father, and therefore they used a word homoousios, meaning of the same substance to describe the relationship of essence between the Son and by the Father. And so we have this heresy arising with regard to the deity. Who is Jesus Christ? Is he the son of God? Well, the Aryans believed that he wasn't. Aryanism would find itself arising again in the Irish Presbyterian Church during the 19th century. It was put out, thank God, by Dr. Henry Cook. You'll see his statue outside. RBAI, the Royal Belfast Academic Institution just there, near Wellington Place in the city of Belfast. Dr. Henry Cook was a great reformer within the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century. And as a result, Arianism was put out of the church, and there was a union between the Presbyterian Church and the succeeding, the succeeders, and as a result, very quickly afterwards, Ulster experienced the 1859 revival. It came about by the purifying of the doctrine concerning the person of Jesus Christ, who He is. You see, brethren and sisters, we must hold Jesus Christ in the highest position and with the highest regard. We must ascribe to a doctrine that has Jesus Christ in the highest possible place that he could ever be. And therefore, all denials of who Jesus Christ is must be rejected. You may think, well, This is something you're talking about the early church, and you're talking about 325 AD. That's a long time ago, and you're talking about a way back there, 1850s, around that, when the Arian controversy was rife within the Presbyterian church. But listen, brethren, sisters, this denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, it's a modern-day denial. Most modern-day cults err with regard to the deity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's what we're thinking. That's what we're trying to establish. You'll find the Church of the Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah Witnesses, the Church of Mormonism or the Church of the Latter-day Saints, they believe that Jesus Christ is a created being, whose spirit brother, who is the spirit brother of Adam and Lucifer. That's what they'll teach. created by a God who was created by another God. That's what Mormonism teaches. What about the Jehovah Witnesses? They also teach that Jesus Christ was a created being known as Michael. Freemasonry tells us, and I quote, Jesus Christ was but a man like us. The Muslim, they deny the deity of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus Christ was a good man, they believe that he was a prophet, but they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And can I say, with this being the 17th of March, and the establishment of the Free Presbyterian Church, it was regarding the deity of Jesus Christ along with his denial of the inspiration of Scripture, along with his denial with regard to the doctrine of the Trinity and the teaching of imputation and other foundational doctrines that Professor James Davey was placed on trial by the Presbyterian Church in 1927. Sadly, the delegates and the Presbyters exonerated Davey. His denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, the inspiration of Scripture, the doctrine of imputation, Christ taking our sins, Him giving to us our righteousness, and they would exalt Him to the position of moderatorship in 1953. And as a result, our forefathers left and established the church that we now belong to and we love and thank God for. Only a church, but it was on this doctrine, the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ, all that men err in, and thus this must be established. Who is this Jesus Christ in whom I have now come to believe? Who is he? He is not just a man, he is God-man. He is God incarnate. You see, Christ's deity, a truth that is repeatedly drawn to our attention in Scripture, must be defended in all generations. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He's the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is very and He is eternally God. He is of one substance and He is equal with the Father and with the Spirit. And we believe it. Why do we believe it? Because it's in our creed. because it's in our confession of faith and our articles of faith. No, we believe it because it's taught in the scripture. That's why we believe it. Along with the miracles that Jesus Christ performed and his divine attributes that he possessed, we come to affirm that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, the question that comes to our mind is this, where do such attacks Regarding the sonship and the deity of Jesus Christ, where do those attacks come from? Where do they arise? Do they arise from the debating chambers of church councils? We've been thinking about them. Do they arise from the corridors of atheistic-leaning universities? Do they arise from the pens of religious skeptics? No. I'll tell you the source of such attacks. The source of such attacks regarding the person of Jesus Christ comes from the very pit of hell. And I'll take you to a passage that proves that. Turn to Matthew 4. Matthew chapter 4. The chapter that springs to our attention. The temptations of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're told that after the Savior had fasted for 40 days, verse number four, verse number one, let's read. Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted off the devil. When he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to him, when the devil came to him, he said, underline it's only a two-letter word if thy be the son of god what's the devil doing he's putting a question mark over christ's claim to be the son of god now don't forget what has just happened in the previous chapter verse 17 christ is baptized and the voice comes out of heaven No voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And now the devil is putting a question mark over the very claim of God the Father. If thou be the Son of God, and it's not the only time. Because if you look down, when Christ comes now to stand on the pinnacle of the temple, in the second temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look there at the verse number six. And saith, in verse 5, to give the context, Then the devil taketh him up into the holy mountain, and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, There it is again, If thou be the Son of God. If thou be. If thou be the Son of God. It is Satan. It is the devil who causes men and women to question the Saviour's divine Sonship. Now let me make a point of application. to every child of God. If the tempter did that with the very Son of God, will he not come to you and cause you to question your sonship or your daughtership with regard to your spiritual standing in and through Jesus Christ? If thou be the Son of God, will he not come Will he not at times come and cause you to question your position within the family of God? Whenever we feel the Lord, will he not pounce on that failure and then whisper into our minds and our ears, you could hardly be a child of God when you did such and such a thing. Maybe he did that this week. Maybe you feel the Lord miserably as a Christian. The devil came, you could hardly be a Christian. You could hardly be a believer in Christ, a son of God, a daughter of God. Look at your behavior and your conduct in a week that has passed. I tell you in those times, child of God, you need to remind the accuser of the brethren, for that's what he is. You need to remind the accuser of the brethren that your adoption into God's family is one that is settled. Now are we the sons of God. Our sonship does not depend on our performance post-salvation. How we pray, how we witness, how we read our Bibles, how we come to God's house, do the basics of biblical Christianity. Hi, I'm child of God. You need to do the basics. You need to do the basics. If you're going to grow in grace, My sonship is not based on my performance. My sonship, my position in God's family is based on the work that Christ did for me. He brought me into union with himself. He brought me into saving union. He brought me into his family. And from that family, he will never oust me. Once a true son, and note the word true, wants a true daughter, always a son, and always a daughter. You see, the devil wants you to doubt your salvation because the person who doubts their salvation is the person that cannot pray as they ought. And the person who doubts their family, they'll not be a witness for Jesus Christ as God intended them to be. And the Christian that doubts their salvation, they'll not enjoy God's salvation as God intended them to enjoy. And that's why he'll get you to question, am I a Christian? Am I a son of God? I say the Savior walked that road. He met that accusation. The sentence said, "'If thou be the Son of God.'" Now you may ask yourself the question, well, you may shrug your shoulders and say, well, so what? Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So what? What about it? You may question and say, well, does it really matter? Does it really matter whether I believe or not that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Does it really matter? Well, I remind you that the Lord Jesus Christ said, to Peter whenever he pronounced that he believed that Jesus Christ is and was the Son of God. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ, he said this to Peter, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us. Do you know, do you realize that the church And I speak of the church of Jesus Christ universally. The church of Jesus Christ is founded upon this cardinal truth. It is the bedrock upon which the true church of Jesus Christ is built upon, this truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus said to Peter, upon this rock, the rock of your confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Did you realize that one of your gospels is written in order to affirm this truth? This is the whole premise for which one of the four gospels is written. to provide the evidence to back up the claim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Which gospel, you ask? John's gospel. Do you want to turn to John chapter 20 and the verse 31? John chapter 20 and the verse number 31. We read verse 30, and many other signs truly to Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through his name. Brethren and sisters, in this truth, here in the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, lies the infinite value of the atoning sacrifice that Jesus Christ made upon the cross of Calvary. That sacrifice was made by one who is the Son of God. Here lies the particular merit of his atoning death for sinners. That death was not the death of a mere man, a created being, but one who is overall God-blessed forever. If Jesus Christ was merely a created being, then he has no power to save. Why? Because only God can save who can forgive sins but God only. And therefore, brethren and sisters, this truth, upon this truth, our salvation hinges upon who lives the life for us? Who dies the death for us upon the tree? Is it but a man? No, this is God, man. This is the Son of God. This is the eternal Son, the beloved Son. This is God's Son. And He's dying for my sins upon the tree. And because of who He is, it gives virtue and value to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Being God, Jesus Christ, Has the right and the authority to save men and women, boys and girls from their sin? My question is, are you saved? Are you saved? Are you a child of God? Have you believed on the Son of God? You'll find in the scriptures that God requires a sinner to believe on the Son of God for salvation. John 3 verse 36, he that believeth on who? The Son. hath everlasting life. I'm not believing in the church. I'm not believing in baptism. I'm not believing in confirmation. I'm not believing in confession. I'm not believing in the rites and the rituals of my church. I'm not believing in the free Presbyterian church. I'm believing on the Son, the Son of God. That's who I'm believing on. Are you believing on the Son today? The Son of God, he that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So I ask your question, have you believed on the Son? To the saving of your soul, every true Christian has. They not only believe Him, they not only believe what He said, but they believe on Him. I'm believing on Him. They have cast their entire confidence and their entire faith on He who is the Son. I say, sinner, do that today and let your confession mirror that of the Ethiopian eunuchs. Whenever he said in Acts chapter 8, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Let's come quickly to a second point, the scripture statements that affirm Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. You'll need these. You may get a door knock. You may find someone from the cults at your door. You'd be able to answer them, because they always err on the person of Jesus Christ. Now, we have looked at a number of, or we have already mentioned that this title, Son of God, it does appear 48 times. We're not going to look at them all. You can look them up for yourself. Get a concordance. Just look up the Son of God. You'll be able to find them all there in the New Testament with the exception of one. But as you read through the Gospels and you read through the Epistles, you'll find that there are variations to this title. And yet those variations, they still affirm that Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, is the Son of God. Let me give you a number of examples. Mark 14, verse 61. Let me read them to you. You can turn if you want, but we're going through these quickly. Mark 14, 61. Jesus Christ there he's called the son of the blessed and he's called the son of the blessed by his arch enemy the high priest says and he held his peace and answered nothing again the high priest asked him and said unto him art thou the Christ the Son of the Blessed. In Luke chapter 1 verse 32, the angel Gabriel, he refers to him as the Son of the Highest. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Romans 8, 32, he's spoken of as God's own Son. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Colossians 1.13, he's deemed there as God's dear son, who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Matthew 3.17, the father declares him to be his beloved son, and I read that verse to you. And in John 3.16, we all know the verse so well, he's described as the only begotten Son. Each reference refers to Jesus in terms of Sonship. He is the Son. The Son of who? The Son of God. There are other passages of Scripture that affirm the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Son is addressed as God. In Hebrews 1 verse 8, but on to the Son he said, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The deity is here ascribed to the Son. And he's described as being God. On to the Son. The Father said on to the Son. Oh God. The Father declared him to be God. According to Romans 1 verse 4, the resurrection affirms the deity of Jesus Christ. Christ is declared by the resurrection to be the Son of God. As he comes to codify the gospel, Paul writes in Romans 1 verse 3 and 4 concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. The empty tomb tells us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is called Emmanuel. We all know the interpretation of that word, God with us. God with us in Jesus Christ. He tabernacled with us. God came and dwelt among men. Thomas called Jesus Christ God. And seeing the wounded hands and the feet and the side of the Lord Jesus Christ, Thomas made this outstanding confession of faith. He says, my Lord and my God, The Savior does not reprimand Thomas for making such a statement in which he comes to affirm that the one standing before him is God. He's my God. He's God. The apostle Paul refers to Jesus Christ as God throughout his epistles. Romans 9 verse 5, who are the fathers of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all. God bless forever. He's God blessed forever. This one, Christ in the flesh, Titus 2 verse 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. He writes to the church in Colossae, and this is what Paul says about Jesus Christ, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. No clear affirmation can you get to the deity of Christ than that. In Jesus Christ, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily, the fullness of His divine nature, all the perfections of deity, His eternity, His immensity, His omnipresence, His omnipotence, His omniscience, His immutability, His self-existence, all dwelt in Jesus Christ. He's God, and in Him dwells the fullness of God, because He is God. John affirms his deity John 1 verse 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and we later read on in that chapter that the word is made flesh and it comes to dwell among us as the incarnate Christ and thus the sense in John 1 is that Jesus Christ is God the word is God. When you look at the various references concerning the son of God it's very interesting To notice the different personalities who acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. In Matthew chapter 8, devils acknowledge that he is the Son of God. What are we to do with thee? Jesus, thy Son of God. As Christ approached the one who was possessed with many devils, in Matthew 8, they come to declare that he is the Son of God. The disciples, obviously, as they witness the Savior, He stills the storm there in Matthew 14 verse 33. Of a truth, they say, thou art the Son of God. Matthew 27 verse 54, the centurion and his companions who stand around the cross. watching Jesus, they saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, truly this was the Son of God. Unregenerate, unsaved, unconverted man affirmed that Jesus is the Son of God. An unfallen angel in the form of Gabriel announces to Mary that the one that she would soon give birth to would be called the Son of God. Martha's a woman. And she makes this confession as the Savior comes regarding Lazarus and his death. I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And in Acts chapter 9, Saul's just a new convert. And what does he go and do in the city synagogue of Damascus? He goes in to preach to all gathered. And what's his message? He goes to preach that Christ is the Son of God. But Jesus Christ declared himself to be the Son of God. Now the Muslim will tell you that he never did, but they just don't know the Bible, the word of God. John chapter nine, John's gospel chapter nine. I'll give you the verse. You'll know that John chapter nine. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he's healed a man that was blind from his birth, and you'll know all what happens. The people in the synagogue, the Jewish leaders, they start to question this man all about what had happened to him. They ask who he is, where he is, and the man, not knowing all the answers to the question, he simply says, this I know, that where once I was blind, verse 25, whereas I was blind, Now I see. But the Lord Jesus Christ, after a number of days, he comes to find this man again. So look there at the verse number 35. This man is cast out of the temple. It says in verse 35, John 9, Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? And says, and he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. I am the Son of God. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Worship is only attributed to he who is divine. And so he worships him. But Christ himself declares to that man, I am he, I am. the Son of God. He is the Son of God. You know, it's all well and good in believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but what relevance is that to my life? And that's what I want to finally quickly close with, the ramifications that arise from the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Can I say in the first place, the first implication is this, since Jesus is the Son of God, all he has promised is true. and all will come to pass. What a comfort that is for the child of God, the person by whom grace and truth came by, will make good on what he is promised to do. Being the son of God, he cannot break his word. Being God, he cannot break his word. Whatever promise you care to think about this afternoon, God will perform that good word to you. What Christ has pledged to do, whether that be never to cast you out. If you came to Him, that He would keep all those that were given to Him of the Father, that He would give rest to the weary and the heavy laden. Whatever promise He made, He will make good on that pledge. His deity demands Him to do that. Because the Son, or God, is not a man that He should lie. And as comforting as that is for the child of God that Christ will do all that He's promised, that exact same truth brings no comfort to the non-believer. And I say it for this reason. Think, sinner, about what Christ promised to do with you. In Luke 13, verse 3, He said that you would perish eternally if you never and failed to repent of your sin. He said in Matthew 25 verse 41 that you would be eternally separated from him and cast into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. He said in John 8 verse 21 that the person who dies in their sin cannot be where he is. That's what he promised. And therefore, if you the sinner die in your unconverted state, all that Christ promised he will do. Secondly, since Christ is the Son of God, what He has accomplished is everlastingly and eternally enduring. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 14, wonderful verse, let me read it. With regard to all that God does, I know that whatsoever God doeth, now remember Jesus Christ is God, and therefore this is speaking of Him, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that man should fear before him. What God did in and by his Son is a work that is eternally enduring. The salvation provided for man by the Son shall be forever. A God-worked redemption is eternal in its duration and in its effects. What the Son did on the cross for you is forever. He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself forever. My sins are dealt with forever. I am reconciled to God forever. I am in His family forever. I am redeemed forever. I am His child forever, because that which God does, the work that He does, it's forever. If it was only a man doing it, we would have everything to fear. That it was simply a man who died for me on the cross, but it wasn't just a man. This was God, and because it is God, we have nothing to fear. Divine power undergirds all that he has done for us. The value and the virtue of Christ's sacrifice rests on the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Since Jesus Christ is God's Son, finally, quickly, all he demands from us is not optional, it's obligatory. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Be ye therefore perfect, even as my Father which is in heaven is perfect. Do you know what all of these statements have in common? They were spoken by the Son of God, and therefore we are required to obey them. Man's orders can be ignored, and they often are. God's orders must never be ignored. This is God speaking. Beloved, we ignore at our peril the commands of the Son of God. Better to have the attitude that all he tells me I will do, I'll obey him, than to leave such things undone and never enjoy the blessing that undoubtedly accompanies obedience to his revealed will. All that he says is obligatory. It's not optional. And so when he tells you to honor your father and mother, which he did to the rich young ruler, and when he tells you not to defraud, when he tells you to obey him, matters that you read in the gospels and throughout the epistles, it is for you to obey, not optional. This is the Son of God speaking to you now. He's speaking to you. You cannot set these things aside. Oh, may God dwell with these truths, and may they dwell in our hearts. Jesus Christ, brethren and sisters, is the Son of God. And therefore, in light of that, He is to be worshiped. And He is to be obeyed. And He's to be loved. And He's to be adored by His people. by all of his creatures. I wonder, are you doing that? I trust you are. I trust you're able to say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. May God bring you to himself if you cannot say that just now. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Well, let's take these moments just to acknowledge The Lord Jesus Christ for who he is, he is the Son of God, the eternal Son of God, the one who existed before he came into this world, always the Son, always the Son. And on what demands he lays upon us. We are but the creature He is, God. Let's obey Him in whatever He has said. May God deal with our hearts, let's pray. Father in heaven, we come to Thee through Thy Son. We rejoice in Him today. We want to know more of Him, of who He is. Because as we come to know more of who He is, then the more we'll love Him, the more we'll gladly serve Him. O help, therefore, we pray in this matter. And if there be one who has not yet believed on the Son, we pray that today they'll come to trust in Him and believe on Him to the salvation of their soul. And so may the love of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all until we meet again in this house for the preaching and the declaration of the gospel. many gather in, may many be converted to Christ, may many have their sins forgiven and washed in the blood of the Redeemer. And so prayer, for we offer all these our petitions in and through Jesus precious name.