Darkness to Light

Scripture Reading

You may be seated. Please meet me in your Bibles at Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 and This morning we'll be reading verses five through 11. Romans chapter five, if you're using your pew Bible, you can find that on page 1002. Romans chapter five, beginning at verse one, hear now God's holy and perfect word.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character and character, hope.

Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Thus ends this portion of the reading of God's word.

Brothers and sisters, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. I don't know about you, but today was like a vitamin D shot in the arm. I don't know about you, but I've been longing for a day when there was no wind and sunny, and it wasn't blowing blistering cold and dark all the time. But that's kind of what the history of redemption is like as well. Today is a different type of sermon. Today I wanna talk to you about that history of redemption. That as Romans chapter five says, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That is how God demonstrated his love, is that he turned the darkness to light.

And so as we do that, we need to go all the way back to the beginning. all the way back to Genesis chapter one. Do you remember Genesis chapter one? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And what's the first thing he created? He created the light. He said it was good. He created the whole world and it was filled with light and he filled it with good things. And then he created man and he said, it is good. And man walked perfectly in the light of God. Man lived perfectly with God. Man, literally, people walked with God in the garden. People enjoyed perfect relationships with each other. People enjoyed perfect attitudes towards work.

They were walking in that light. But then they were turned toward darkness. Then they were deceived by the serpent. Then they ate of that fruit which we talked about today in the shorter catechism. What was the condition of the covenant of life? That he forbade them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil upon the condition of death. And indeed, that's what happened. Men turned from the light to the darkness and death, destruction, decay came into the world. Families. Ripped apart. Envy. Jealousy. Anger. Murder. Bloodshed. Cain and Abel. Hearts hardened. Turned towards darkness. Souls polluted.

Constantly evil continually is what God says in Genesis chapter 6. God looked, he surveyed upon the land in Genesis chapter six, he saw the multitude of humanity, and his judgment was their heart is only continually wicked. Darkness, gloom, hardened hearts, death, and yet even then, God was gracious. Did you know that the changing of the seasons is a mark of God's covenant faithfulness?

We often tell our children about the story of Noah and we talk about how God saved Noah and his family. We talk about how God saved them even though he destroyed everyone else for their sin, he chose this one family. Not because Noah was good enough. Go read Genesis chapter nine and Noah gets drunk after he's saved. He's not a perfect guy, but God just chooses to save one family for some reason.

But in Genesis chapter nine, when he gives that rainbow as a covenant sign for him to remember that he made this promise he would never destroy the earth again by a giant flood, he also said, as long as seed time and harvest time comes year after year, it's a sign that his mercy is new all the time.

So even in that darkness, there was flickers of light. There was a hope that God was not all wrath all the time continually. He showed that mercy when he entered into covenant with Jacob. He showed that mercy when he entered into covenant with Abraham. He showed that mercy with his covenant to David. He showed that mercy time and time again.

But if you've ever read through the Old Testament, God gives them a path of life. He takes them out of the bondage of Egypt. He brings them out of Egypt. They go into the Red Sea. They cross through it faithfully. They go into the wilderness. And it's like the next day, what happens? Their hearts are still the same. They turn away from the Lord and back towards idols.

The heart is deceitfully wicked above all else, but God still continued to be gracious to them. He sent them prophets to tell them this is the way. He sent them priests to say here is the way in which man can be made right with God. These beautiful ways in which God was unfolding his covenant of grace, these amazing ways in which century after century God was still holding out light, God was still putting it there, God was still remembering his promises. And yet they killed the prophets, and they distorted the temple, bringing idolatry into the house of God, setting up Asherah poles next to the ark, stoning the prophets.

Man's heart turned. Do you see that's a natural condition of man's heart is that we aren't good enough to save ourselves because every time it seems like God is giving that opportunity, which is a misreading of the Bible anyways, but every time God is, people are like, oh, they're finally gonna get it. All the heroes of scripture fail. Have you ever noticed that? Every hero of the Old Testament is faulty in some point or another. made the people of old long for the day when the Messiah would come, when the hero would finally arrive, when the perfect one would show up and would lead his people in righteousness.

And that's what God did. The great story is that God himself would be the hero. That the king of the universe would come into the abysmal situation of the darkness of the reality of life. That in the cloud of oppression and subjugation in the Roman Empire, in the reality of abject poverty in which Mary and Joseph lived, there, God in the flesh came. And it was there. that the light came.

This is what John 1.12 says. If you have your Bibles, this is not an extra biblical thing I'm trying to bring out to you, but John 1 is where this is coming from.

John 1.12 says this, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. Verse four, in his name was life and the life was a light of men. Jesus was a light in the life of men. And as a light, he never turned towards darkness. Not a single time.

As Jesus, a light incarnate, walked upon the earth, he faced the blackest of the darkness as Satan found him in his weakest point, tired and hungry, 40 days in the wilderness without food or water. Even takes him to the darkest point of suicide, throw yourself off the height of the temple.

And Jesus says, no, no. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. You shall worship the Lord and bow down to him only. It is Jesus Christ who comes as the light in the midst of darkness. He lives his life in the light of perfect obedience. Jesus is the one who never turned to the darkness. never sinned, even though, as the scriptures tell us, he was tempted in every way as we are. Jesus knows what it's like, brothers and sisters, to be tempted. Jesus knows what it's like to be taken to the depths of pain. Jesus knows what it's like to be tempted with every manner of sin, and yet it was Jesus who was the one who conquered and is the hero. It is Jesus who is the one who lived his life in the light. And yet as he lived his life for 33 years, he knew that a day of darkness was coming. Jesus knew.

Have you ever read through the New Testament before? Have you ever seen in the scriptures before how often Jesus tells them that he has to die? Have you noticed before how often Jesus has to tell them the Son of Man has to suffer and be crucified and will raise again on the third day and people scratch their head and go, what are you talking about? That's not what the light's supposed to do.

That's not how this is supposed to go, Jesus. But Jesus knew. Jesus knew that that day of darkness was coming. Jesus knew what was awaiting Him on that Friday. Jesus told His disciples about it. Jesus saw it coming so much so that as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane on His knees praying, He was dropping sweat like blood. the weightiness and heaviness of he who knew no sin becoming sin for us. It's not like Jesus was going to the cross not knowing what was going to happen, but Jesus who never faced a day of seeing the coldness of his father's face would suffer the full wrath of God.

And as Jesus was led like a sheep to the slaughter in the dark of night, as they arrested him and took him to a kangaroo court, through the night trying him, even blindfolding him so he couldn't see, striking him on the face, mocking him, he kept silent. Kept silent. And then as a put that cross upon his shoulders and marched him up to Golgotha as they took him to the Mount of the Skull, still quiet, still willing to go. And even there, even there as they took that crown of thorns and pressed it upon his brow to mock him, and even there as they stretched out his hands and nailed his hands to the cross, even there as he was being sacrificed, as he was being crucified, even as he was in the darkest black any of us could imagine, he shows grace. He looks at his mother, and he looks at John, the disciple whom he loves, and he says, take care of my mom. Take her into your house, care for her, treat her like she's your mother. He's gonna be like a son to you.

Jesus is still caring about other people, even there as he's on the cross and as the thieves on either side of him had been mocking him relentlessly. One of them finally comes to their senses and realizes this man didn't deserve what he's about to get and he must actually be true. And he says, remember me in your kingdom. And even then, as Jesus is in agony, dying upon the cross, he shows mercy to a sinner next to him. Today you will be with me in paradise. And still, even as he is dying on the cross, Even as he is there suffering, he looks at those who are mocking him, tormenting him, literally killing him. He cries out to his father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Brothers and sisters, this is what grace looks like.

We should be the ones identifying ourselves with those who nailed him to the cross. We are those who deserve death. We are those who lived in the shadows. We are those who, if it were up to us by ourselves, would have killed the prophets also. We like to look at the New Testament and think, oh, we'd never be like those Pharisees. Brothers and sisters, our hearts are just as deceitfully wicked as everyone else's. But as Jesus As Jesus said, it is finished. Breathe out is last. Offered up his life and died. The people didn't get it. The people didn't get it.

Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pontius Pilate and he asks for the body of Jesus. And they take the body, the lifeless, limp body of Jesus down from the cross And Nicodemus, this one who was a Pharisee, had come to Jesus at night, and it was Nicodemus who Jesus himself had talked about the need for regeneration, for new birth, unless a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. It was that Nicodemus who also cared for the body of Jesus. This one who had come at night to inquire of Jesus was now the one on a different night to prepare Jesus' body for burial.

The darkest of night fell upon them for three hours is what the book of Luke says. When Jesus died three hours, the sun was blocked out from the sixth to the ninth hour. Darkness. Put his body in the tomb. roll the stone, seal it so that way you can't make a plan to have his body stolen.

The disciples go into a hidden room and they fear and they mourn and they are distressed. Have you ever lost someone in your life before? You know the depths of pain? The sorrow that comes upon your soul? All my hopes, all my love is dead. That's what the disciples were feeling about Jesus. His mother, her firstborn son is dead in the grave. The disciples, all of our hope of what Jesus was going to do, setting up his kingdom, they're all dashed. And now the Jews, maybe they're gonna come and they're gonna kill us too. Are they gonna wipe us out? For days, their hearts in that dark place mourning and in fear.

And then on that Sunday morning, the day after the Jewish Sabbath, a couple of the women get up early in the morning and they go to that tomb and the stone is rolled away, but they don't get it still. They go into the tomb, they peer in, and what happens? But two angels are standing there, and the book of John says, in gleaming white clothes, shining as light, and what do they ask of them? What are you doing looking for the living among the dead?

He is not here, he is risen. Brothers and sisters, our Savior did not die upon that cross to let his body see decay. But Jesus Christ lives now. Jesus Christ rose again from the dead on that third day and he lives now. This is a historical fact. It is a historical reality that Jesus died and was raised from the dead and lives today. The gospels go over and beyond. The book of Acts goes over and beyond to say that Jesus really truly did die and lives again.

Once and again and again and again, Jesus appears to people, people who aren't even quite sure if this is real. Some of you today may be a doubting Thomas. Some of you today might hear this and think, well, I'm not sure if Jesus actually rose from the dead. I know, I know, I've heard the reports, I know, but I'm just not convinced of it myself unless I put my finger in his hands and put my hand in his side, I'm not gonna believe it.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus did appear to Thomas and lovingly told him, proof's in the pudding, buddy. Put your hand here. Put your hand here, I'm real. Later he tells them, make me some food. All right, I'm gonna eat. Ghosts don't eat, spirits don't eat, I eat. And as Jesus appears to the men, as they're walking along the way to Emmaus, they're going and Jesus appears to them. And he unfolds the scriptures to them.

They're torn up, right? This isn't what's supposed to happen. The Messiah's supposed to come, the King's supposed to come. He's supposed to overthrow the Romans, right? The throne of David's supposed to be reestablished. Everything's supposed to be good. We're supposed to be high on the hog. We thought this was our Messiah and he's dead.

And Jesus goes, didn't you ever read the scriptures? The Son of Man had to suffer and die and raise again. And he goes through all the scriptures and he shows them the promises of God. And then he leaves them. And they say, didn't our hearts burn within us when he opened the scriptures to us? Brothers and sisters, he appeared to thousands of people over a period of 40 days.

This isn't some ruse, the proof is there. Some people will sit there and say, well, it's just in the Bible. How many more eyewitnesses accounts do you need? Luke is an investigator and he writes out an orderly report. He goes and he interviews people. John is there as an eyewitness and he gives testimony to it.

It's even so much there that we were, Devin and I were talking to a man just yesterday and he was doubting the crucifixion of Jesus. And he says, well, do any first century writers write about this? Yeah, Josephus talks about Pontius Pilate killing Jesus on the cross. This is historical fact. But why does it matter to you? Why does it matter for you? Because of what Romans chapter five says. Because God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And in chapter four, verse 25, he says he was put to death for our sins, but he was raised for our justification. Death had no claim on Jesus. Death had no right to be upon Jesus. The punishment of sin is death. But the one who never sinned should never have died. He willingly took that, but death had no actual right over him.

And God looks upon Jesus Christ, raising him up from the dead. And he says, legally righteous. Legally righteous. And if you are in Jesus Christ, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, then you are also declared legally righteous. Just as if you had never sinned. If God has taken out your heart of stone and you look upon these truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus and you go, I don't understand all of it, but I believe it. God is saying of you, righteous, righteous. no more sin, no more guilt, only the light of his countenance shining upon you. This is the good news, brothers and sisters, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

He paid the price and he now lives as our priest and our king and our prophet. Jesus Christ now stands in heaven as our king. The Father does not look upon you and think, oh, someday I'm gonna get them up to heaven, I'm gonna judge them and I'm gonna punish them for their past sins. No, that's not what your heavenly Father does.

Because he is satisfied in Jesus Christ, he is satisfied in you. This is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians, if Jesus didn't raise from the dead, we're above all men to be most pitied. The resurrection, the resurrection should give us joy. Because if Jesus Christ is truly alive, then we truly have life. If Jesus Christ is truly alive, then you have an eternal inheritance. If Jesus Christ is truly alive, if he is the firstborn of the resurrection, then you have hope that someday your permanent address will not be here in the cemetery, but your permanent address is in heaven. that the Lord will redeem your soul and body. God is not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. He did not allow his loved one, his holy one, to see decay. And likewise, he will come again one day to judge the living and the dead. He will raise up the just and the unjust. And upon those who believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, or confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead, they will also be saved.

Do you long to live your life with God? Do you long, I'm not talking about disembodied, you know, spirit with this weird stuff we see on cartoons. You're not gonna get angels and just play harps and stuff. I'm talking about for eternity, physical bodies, loving God, enjoying a creation remade. Everything made right. Walking with God again in perfection. It's the resurrection. That's the proof in the pudding. that Jesus Christ is alive now and will come again.

Brothers and sisters, I hope this is your hope. You have to ask yourself today. This is an honest question today. Children, this is an honest question today. You can't ride on your parents' coats forever. You can't just trust that somehow because your parents believe somehow Jesus is going to make it right with you. For some of you, you have lived your lives in this church and you have just been, yeah, okay, this is just like stuff out there, but it hasn't seeped into your soul this day. This day will you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and will you believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead. That is the only hope we have.

Closing Prayer

I pray that even now that the Holy Spirit might press these truths upon you in a way that might make your heart sing with joy, that there is hope and joy. when Jesus comes in the last great day. Let's pray. Father, we rejoice that light has come into the darkness, and Father, we pray to you, acknowledging your work that you have done We rejoice, God, for your salvation. We rejoice for you raising up your son from the dead. We rejoice in the life that we have in him and we rejoice awaiting for that day when Jesus Christ will return again. God, I pray. I pray for any who might be here today who have been holding this off at an arm's distance that you might tear down the wall that it might be this day that salvation would come, that we would cling to Jesus Christ and Him alone. Thank you for the joy that we have in the historical fact that our Redeemer lives.