Baptist Catechism 24

Q. 24. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?

A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. (Gal. 3:13;1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9)

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:10–14

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10–14, ESV)

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Introduction

You will probably remember that after a string of questions and answers having to do with the bad news concerning the sin and misery that all of humanity was plunged into by Adam’s first sin, we then encountered good news. Question 23 of our catechism asks,  “Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?” The good news is this: “God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”

To redeem is to rescue. To redeem is to purchase back. To redeem is to regain the possession of a thing that was lost. And our catechism rightly teaches that God has provided a Redeemer – that is to say, a Savior – for fallen humanity. God, by his grace, out of his mere good pleasure, did not leave mankind to perish (which he would have been right to do), but determined to deliver some out of their estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.

The obvious question is, who is this Redeemer? And that is what our catechism now asks: “Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?”

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The Only Redeemer Of God’s Elect Is The Lord Jesus Christ

The answer that is given first identifies the Redeemer by simply naming him. “The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ…” Who is the Redeemer? Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. 

The word “only” is important. It reminds us of what the Scriptures so clearly teach. There are not many redeemers, many saviors, or many who are able to reconcile us to God. There is one only. This is what Paul says so clearly in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV). And Jesus himself taught this when he said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus is the only Redeemer. There is no other besides him.

Here is an important question: Is Jesus the Redeemer of the whole world, then? 

Well yes, in a sense he is. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Indeed, it is true, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). Jesus is the Redeemer of the world. But it is important for us to understand what the Scriptures mean by the word world. These Scriptures texts do not mean that Christ came to Redeem every person in the world without exception. This interpretation of the word “world” would flat contradict other passages of Scripture that speak of Christ laying down his life, not for all, for “many” (see Matthew 26:28), or for the “church” (see Ephesians 5:25), or for “the sheep” (see John 10:15). In fact, in John 17 Christ prays to the Father and is quite clear that his mission was to save those given to him by the Father in eternity.  

When the Scriptures say that Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world it does not mean that the sins of every person without exception have been taken away. That would mean that all are saved! What it means is that Christ came to Redeem, not Jews only, but people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. In other words, God did not send one redeemer for this people group, and another redeemer for that people group, and so on. No, there is only one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world. As Acts 4:12 says, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Our catechism is right to say that Jesus Christ is the “only Redeemer of God’s elect.” Our catechism teaches this because this is what the scriptures teach. God sent the Son, not to save every person without exception, but to atone for the sins of many from every tongue, tribe, and nation. This is the doctrine of predestination or election which was introduced to us in the previous question. This is also the doctrine of limited atonement, or better yet, particular redemption. Who did Christ come to Redeem? Who did he come to save? What was the will of the Father for him? Was he to atone for the sins of every person who has ever lived, or ever will live? Certainly not. Christ shed his blood for many, not all (Matthew 26:18), he laid his life for the sheep (John 10:15), and for the church, who is his bride (Ephesians 5:25). Christ came to do the Father’s will for him, which was to save for all eternity those given to him by the Father before the foundation of the world (John 17). 

This doctrine of predestination, or election, along with the doctrine of limited atonement, or better yet, particular redemption, is very clearly taught in the pages of Holy Scripture. And no, there is no contradiction with those passages that speak of God loving the world, or sending to the Son for all the world, provided those passages are interpreted properly. 

So, our catechism is very right to name the Lord Jesus Christ as “the only Redeemer of God’s elect …” 

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Who, Being The Eternal Son Of God, Became Man

After this, our catechism tells us more about who Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was and is. 

Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer of God’s elect, “who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever.”

Here we have the doctrine of the incarnation briefly stated.  Who is Jesus Christ? He is the person of the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. 

A person is a subject who acts through nature. If I asked you, who you are, you would probably tell me your name. If I asked what you are, you would probably say I am human. You are an individual person acting through a human nature.  And I am a human person acting through a human nature. What do you and I share in common? We are both human beings. What distinguishes us? Well, among other things, we are different persons. 

Now I ask you, who is Jesus? He is the person of the eternal Son or Word of God. And if I were to ask you, what is Jesus? You would have to say, he is divine and human, for the person of the eternal son acts both through the divine nature and the human nature he has assumed. 

When our catechism says that the eternal Son of God “became man” it does not mean that the Son was changed into man, but that he took to himself a true human nature. God cannot become anything if by “become” we mean “was changed into”, for God cannot change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So whatever we think about the incarnation, we cannot think that God was changed into a man. No, he took to himself or assumed human nature without experiencing a change in the divine nature. The key to understanding this, I think (though mystery will always remain), is to see that it was not the divine nature that assumed a human nature (and neither was it the person of the Father or Spirit) but the person of the eternal Son. All of this is beautifully and clearly stated in the Scriptures, especially in John 1, and Colossians 2.

And this doctrine of the incarnation is clearly and precisely stated by our catechism which goes on to say, “and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever.” You see, the divine nature and the human nature were not mixed or confused in Christ. The divine nature was not mixed with the human nature of Christ so that he was less than God but more than man. No, Christ is truly God and truly man. And yet Christ is one person, not two. The divine nature and human nature are joined together inseparably (forever) in the person of the Son. So, Christ has two natures but he is one person. He is the person of the eternal Son of God incarnate. 

The doctrine of the incarnation is mysterious, isn’t it? It is difficult to comprehend. But it is important for us to confess, for it is the teaching of Holy Scripture. May I suggest to you that one of the best ways to learn to speak about Christ, his person, and his natures, is to grow familiar with the language of our catechism. A lot more can be said about the incarnation than what is said here, but this is a good start and a sure guide. Our confession of faith (the Second London Confession) also provides a wonderful statement about the natures and person of Christ in chapter 8 paragraph 2. 

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Conclusion

Let me conclude this little sermon by making a connection between the first and second parts of Baptist Catechism 24. I’ll make this connection by asking the question, why the incarnation? Why was it necessary for the Redeemer of God’s elect to be bolt God and man? The answer is rather simple. Humanity had to be redeemed by a true human. Where the first Adam failed a second Adam had to succeed. But there is a problem. All of humanity was plunged into sin and ruin by the first Adam so that none who descended from him were capable of saving themselves, let alone, the rest. None could be the Savior because all were in need of a Savior. And for this reason, the Redeemer of God’s elect had to be God himself. This is why the Son of God, who is called the eternal Word of God in John 1, took on flesh by being born of a virgin. And having come into the world, not by the seed of Adam, but by the power of God working, Christ the God-man then lived a sinless life, suffered, died the death of a sinner, rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father. This he did, not for himself only, but for all who were given to him by the Father in eternity. There is a reason that Jesus christ is the only Redeemer of god’s elect. There is simply no one else like him. 

I hope you can see that our catechism has a way of stating really big and really important truths in a very succinct way.

Q. 24. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?

A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. (Gal. 3:13;1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9)

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 53

“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 11:37-54

“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.’ One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.’ And he said, ‘Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.’ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.” (Luke 11:37–54, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

1. Introduction
   1. Last Sunday we considered Luke 11:37-44 and the three “woes” that Jesus pronounced up the Pharisees. Today we will consider the three “woes” that Christ pronounced upon the lawyers as recorded in Luke 11:45-54. I will repeat what I said in the introduction to the previous sermon. We ought not to consider the “woes” pronounced upon the Pharisees and lawyers to cast stones at them but to carefully examine our own hearts and minds to be sure there is no Pharisaical or legalistic spirit within us.  
2. The Lawyers Condemned (vs. 45-52)
   1. In verses 45-52, Jesus condemns the lawyers. These lawyers were not lawyers in the way we think of them but were experts in the law of Moses. Many of them belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, so there is substantial overlap between the two groups. You should know that these lawyers were highly educated, religiously devout, and respected by many. And yet Christ condemns them. We should be concerned to know why.
      1. In verse 45 we read, “One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also’” (Luke 11:45, ESV).
         1. Jesus had just finished speaking words of condemnation against the Pharisees. Evidently, the Pharisees did not know what to say. It was a lawyer who protested on their behalf saying, these words that you speak against the Pharisees apply to us also and they are insulting.  
         2. Interestingly, the lawyer referred to Jesus as “teacher”. This reveals two things: One, they did not regard him as the Messiah as Jesus’ disciples did (see Luke 9:20). Two, they did acknowledge him to be great. The lawyer referred to Jesus as “teacher”, a term of respect, no doubt.      
      2. I smile a little every time I read verses 45 and 46. Jesus’ attention was on the Pharisees. The lawyer protested, saying, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” Christ did not apologize. Rather, he turned his attention to the lawyers and pronounced three “woes” upon them as well. I guess it would have been better for the lawyer to have kept his head down. 
      3. Let us now consider the three “woes”:
         1. The first is found in verse 46. There we read, ​​“And [Jesus] said, ‘Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46, ESV).
            1. What does this mean that lawyers loaded people with burdens hard to bear? Two things, I think:
               1. One, the lawyers had a bad habit of adding laws to the law of God. In other words, not only did they teach men to obey God’s law, but they demanded that men obey the traditions of the elders too. The lawyers, mind you, would have been perfectly right to teach men and women to obey the law of God given through Moses. The law of God given through Moses was meant to be obeyed. But it was heavy enough! No one was able to keep it perfectly. This is why the Old Covenant had a sacrificial system. Through the sacrificial system, men and women could be made clean in an earthly sense according to the terms of that covenant. Also, the sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ who would actually atone for the sins of his people to make them truly clean and right before God for all eternity. The Old Covenant law of Moses was heavy enough. It made people aware of their sins and their need for a Redeemer. The extra laws and manmade traditions of the elders that the lawyers imposed upon the people were exceedingly heavy.
               2. Two, the lawyers loaded people with heavy burdens when they taught that a person was justified before God through their law-keeping. Can you imagine what it would be like to believe that eternal life has to be earned through obedience to God’s law? That might sound good and true for a moment. But anyone who knows what the law truly requires and forbids will soon see the problem. We do not keep God’s law perfectly but break it daily in thought, word, and deed. You see, it is one thing to strive to keep God’s law because you love God and are assured that God loves you, knowing that he has forgiven all your sins through faith in the Messiah and clothed you with his righteousness. It is another thing to think that God’s favor must be earned through obedience to the law. The first kind of law-keeping is a light and joyous endeavor. The second kind of law-keeping is a terrible and heavy burden. 
               3. These lawyers were legalists. They added manmade traditions to the law of God and they taught that eternal life had to be earned through law-keeping. This is why Christ said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear…”
            2. After this, Christ said, “…and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”
               1. I think the meaning is this: through your teachings, you place these heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people, but you do not live up to these standards yourselves. More than this, you judge the people harshly but you do not provide any help or relief to them. You are heavy-handed with people. And when you see them buckling under the weight of the burden of the law of God (misapplied), you do nothing to relieve them. You do not even touch their burden to lift it with your finger.     
               2. So then, in this first “woe” these lawyers were condemned by Christ for their misapplication of the law of God, their adding of manmade rules and regulations to the law of God, their heavy-handed and judgmental treatment of the people, and their hypocrisy.    
         2. The second of the three “woes” is found in verses 47 through 51. There we hear Christ say, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.” There is a lot that is said here. Notice a few things about this second “woe”. .
            1. Firstly, Christ reminds us of the sad history of the Israelites. The true prophets who ministered within Israel were rarely honored.  In fact, they were often persecuted as they proclaimed the Word of the Lord. That is the history that Christ reminds us of when he spoke to the lawyers saying, “For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.”  
            2.  Secondly, Christ condemned the lawyers for being just like their fathers. Their forefathers opposed and even killed the prophets, and they were about to do the same thing with Christ and his Apostles. Christ was and is the Prophet of God. The Pharisees and lawyers opposed him, rejected him, and would soon crucify him. They would mistreat and even kill the Apostles of Christ too. When he said, “So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs”, he meant, you are just like your forefathers. You honor them because you are just like them.
            3. Thirdly, when Christ said, “Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’”, he was predicting his own martyrdom and the persecution and eventual martyrdom of his Apostles at the hands of these religious leaders. More than this, Christ was confessing that his death on the cross and the persecution and martyrdom of his Apostles were all according to the Wisdom (or plan) of God. God in his infinite wisdom had decreed from before the foundation of the world that Christ would be crucified to redeem his people (see Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20). And it was also according to the will of God that his disciples would suffer, some to the point of death, after his ascension (see Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 1:5). The crucifixion of Christ and the sufferings experienced by his followers, are not outside of God’s will, but fall out according to definite plan and foreknowledge of God. God has decreed in eternity to permit these sins and sufferings to bring about ultimate good for his redeemed ones.
               1. Christ’s words, “Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’”, should remind us of what the Apostle Peter said when he preached to the Jews on the day of Pentecost after Christs’ resurrection and ascension. Among other things, he said, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:22–24, ESV). I do believe that when Peter looked back upon the crucifixion of Christ and described it as Jesus being, “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”, he was saying the same thing that Christ said before his crucifixion concerning these things being done according to the  Wisdom of God. Friends, Christ was not crucified against God’s will but in accordance with it. God decreed in eternity to permit the crucifixion of Christ so that through it he might bring many sons and daughters to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
            4. Fourthly, when Christ said, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation”, he revealed that the judgment of God, which had been stored up as it were for ages, would fall upon the Jews of that generation.
               1. The reason should be clear. It was this generation that would persecute and kill, not an ordinary prophet of God, but the promised Messiah himself. In the past, the forefathers of these Jews had killed the prophets, but the persecutions and killings of these righteous prophets in ages past anticipated (typified) the killing of the Righteous One himself, Christ the Lord.
                  1. This reminds me of what Steven, the great evangelist, deacon, and first martyr of the early church said right before the Jews stoned him to death. He concluded his message to Jews with these words: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it” (Acts 7:51–53, ESV).
                  2. I have now quoted the words of Peter from Acts 2 and the words of Steven from Acts 7. They both sound a lot like Jesus from Luke 11, down. You almost get the impression that these men walked with Jesus and learned from him! 
               2. When Christ said, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation…”, he was teaching that all of the persecutions and killings of righteous men in the past would, in a sense, culminate and find fulfillment in the crucifixion of the Righteous One, the Messiah, Christ the Lord.
                  1. I think we should also remember what the unbelieving Jews said when they demanded Christ be crucified. Do you remember the story as it is recorded in Matthew 27? Pilate, the Roman Governor, had questioned Jesus and found that he was innocent. He urged the Jews to release him, but they were insistent that he be crucified. In Matthew 27:24 we read, “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Matthew 27:24–26, ESV).
                  2. The nation of Israel would be judged in that generation. When Christ was raised from the dead, The Old Covenant passed away and the New Covenant began. The kingdom of God, which was typified or pictured in Old Covenant Israel, was taken away from them and given to a people producing its fruits (see Matthew 21:43). And in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was besieged and the great temple of the Old Covenant order was destroyed never to be built again. We are to interpret these events as being tightly linked with the Jews killing their own Messiah at the hands of lawless men.     
                  3. Christ predicted his martyrdom. His death was decreed according to the Wisdom of God. But it was these unbelieving Jews, many of them Pharisees and lawyers, who acted unjustly, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, [would] be charged against [that] generation…”,
               3. It is interesting, I think, how Christ spoke of the blood of the prophets shed in ages past. He identified “Abel” as the first prophet martyred and “Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary”, as the last.
                  1. You probably know who Able is. He was the younger son born to Adam and Eve after their fall into sin. Cain was his older brother. It should be remembered that it was promised to Adam and Eve, that a descendant of Eve would crush the head of the serpent, Satan, who had tempted Eve, and therefore, brought sin, misery, and death into the world. There is some evidence in the text that Adam and Eve were hopeful that Cain might be the one. He proved to be a wicked man. Able was a righteous man. Cain, being provoked by jealousy and moved to anger, rose up and killed his own brother, Able. Christ tells us that Able was a prophet. This means he was a man of faith who understood the promise of God concerning a coming redeemer, and he proclaimed the word of the Lord. Able was the first prophet to be martyred. His martyrdom anticipated the martyrdom of many more prophets of God in the future. Ultimately, the martyrdom of Able anticipated the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, the true seed of the woman promised to Adam and Eve so long ago (see Hebrews 11:4). And if the murder of Abel anticipated the murder of future prophets, the murderous Cain anticipated the murderous impulse of those who would, spiritually speaking, be born of the seed of the serpent in the future.             
                  2. Christ identifies Zechariah as the last of the Old Covenant prophets to be martyred. The story of Zechariah’s martyrdom is found in 2 Chronicles 24:20–22. God’s word says, “Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, ‘Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’’ But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the LORD see and avenge!” (2 Chronicles 24:20–22, ESV).
                     1. Some have wondered why Christ named Zechariah as the last of the Old Covenant prophets to be killed. After all, the prophet Uriah was killed by King Jehoiakim nearly 200 years after the murder of Zechariah (see Jeremiah 26:22-23).
                     2. The answer is that Christ was not concerned with the chronology. Zechariah is mentioned for at least three reasons. One, his martyrdom was most terrible. He was slain in the temple itself in the courtyard of the priests between the altar for burnt offerings and the holy place. Think of the symbolism. Zachariah the prophet was offered up as a kind of sacrifice. Certainly, this anticipated the offering up of Christ, the great Prophet of God, as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. Two, Zechariah’s last words fit with what Christ was here saying. “And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the LORD see and avenge!” (see Jeremiah 26:22-23). The Lord did see, and he would avenge. Christ declared that the time for vengeance had arrived when he said that “the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, [would] be charged against this generation…” Three, it is important to know that the Jews organized the books of the Old Testament differently than we do. We have Malachi as the last book of the Old Testament. In Jesus’ day, the Jews had 2 Chronicles as the last book. So, Zechariah was the last prophet to be martyred, not chronologically, but canonically. Taken in this way, Jesus meant that the blood of all the prophets whose martyrdom is recorded for us in the pages of Holy Scripture, from Abel at the beginning to Zechariah at the end, would be charged against this generation.
         3. It is in verse 52 that we find the third of the three “woes” that Christ pronounced upon the lawyers. I find this third “woe” to be most interesting. I also believe that it is the most devastating of the three. There we read, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:52, ESV).
            1. What is this “key of knowledge” of which Christ speaks? It is the key of the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
               1. Keys open doors. And it is this key – the key of knowing that salvation comes only through faith in the Messiah (and not by law-keeping) – that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. Without this key – the key of the knowledge of Christ – no one will enter the kingdom of God. 
            2. Notice that Christ condemned the lawyers for taking away this key of knowledge. How did they take it away? They took it away through their misinterpretation of the law of Moses and their false teaching. They taught that righteousness was to be gained by law-keeping. But the Old Testament Scriptures teach otherwise. The Old Testament Scriptures teach that it is those who trust in the Messiah who are made righteous.  The key of the Old Testament is Christ. Christ is the central figure. Christ is the key that unlocks the door to heaven. But these lawyers – these so-called experts in the law of Moses – could not see it. They did not have the key themselves. They misinterpreted the Old Testament Scriptures. Therefore, they took the key of knowledge away from the people by their false teaching. 
            3. This is what Christ meant when he said, “You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
               1. You know, this principle that faith in Christ is the key that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven can be proven by going to one of the many Old Testament texts that point forward to him. Isaiah 53, which we read earlier, is one such text. Verses 10-12 of Isaiah 53 seem to be very much related to what is said here in Luke 11. This passage is about the Messiah or Christ. It says, “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10–12, ESV)
                  1. This Old Testament passage reveals that God’s will, knowledge, or Wisdom, was to make many righteous through the death, burial, and resurrection of God’s Righteous One, the Christ. It is this Wisdom or knowledge that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. No one will be made righteous and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven apart from faith in the promised Messiah. This was as true under the Old Testament as it is today.  But many of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers could not see this truth in the Old Testament Scripture. They did not have the key of the knowledge of Christ. Therefore, they could not unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven for themselves, much less for those they taught. They taught that the key to the kingdom of heaven was keeping the law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. They had the wrong. The door to the kingdom of heaven will never be opened by that key. Though many in their day regarded these lawyers to be wise scholars, in reality, they were lost fools who were shut out from the kingdom of God unless they repent and believe in Jesus.   
                  2. Friends, the key that opens the door to heaven is faith in Christ. There is no other key. The New Testament Scriptures point us to Christ to be saved. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (see John 14:6). He is the door. “If anyone enters by [him], he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9, ESV). Faith in Christ the key to that door. 
                  3. But the Old Testament Scriptures also point to Christ as the key that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. In a way, this is what Luke’s gospel is all about. Luke began his gospel, remember, by stating his objective to provide another “narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1, NKJV). The word fulfilled, or accomplished, is significant. Luke wants us to know that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures. His gospel is a demonstration of this fact. And we should remember how Luke’s gospel concludes. It concludes with Christ appearing to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead to teach them how all the law, prophets, and Psalm find their fulfillment in him. He rebuked them for their unbelief, saying, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25–27, ESV).
                  4. Stated differently, before Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, he appeared to his disciples to be sure they had this key of knowledge firmly in their possession.
                     1. With this key of knowledge, they would be able to rightly interpret the Old Testament Scriptures. 
                     2. With this key of knowledge, they themselves would be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. 
                     3. And with this key of knowledge, they would unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven for others through their preaching of the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, and not by the works of law (see Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 2:16). 
   2. Luke concludes this story about Jesus conflict with the Pharisees and lawyers with this remark: “As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say” (Luke 11:53–54, ESV). They had it out for Jesus. They wished to do away with him. This would end with their crucifying Christ, all in fulfillment of the definite plan, foreknowledge, and Wisdom of God.   
3. Application
   1. I have only one point of application to press upon you. Friends, be sure that you have the key of the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
      1. I’m afraid that there are many who wish to enter heaven who hold in their hand the wrong key. Have you ever tried to open a door with the wrong key? It is a frustrating experience. You insert the key and you expect it to turn. But it will not turn. And so you are shut out of the house. Your heart sinks when you realize you have the wrong key. 
      2. How sad it will be on the last day for those who attempt to enter the door of heaven with the wrong key in their hand. Many, I’m afraid, will bring with them the key of their own self-righteousness. These are the ones who when asked, why do you think you will enter heaven when you die?, say, it is because I am a good person. I’m moral. I do good to others. I’m religious. These will be sorely disappointed to find that the door to heaven cannot be opened by the key of self-righteousness. The Scriptures are clear, “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, ESV), and, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV), and “the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23, ESV).
      3. The only keep that can open the door to heaven is the key of faith in Christ, for Christ is the one who lived and died to pay for the sins of his people. He clothes them with his righteousness to make them worthy to enter into God’s presence. Christ is the key that opens the door to heaven. To enter the kingdom of heaven, we must have Christ. And Christ is obtained by faith alone.    
      4. The Apostle Paul was not present when Jesus spoke these condemning words to the Pharisees and the lawyers, nor was he present when Christ taught his disciples after his resurrection that the law, prophets, and Psalms pointed to him, but by the grace of God, Paul was given the key of knowledge. And so he wrote, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, ESV)
      5. Faith in Jesus. That is the only key that opens the door to heaven for sinners. Friends, I pray that you have it and that you hold it tightly in your hand, by God’s grace.  

Baptist Catechism 23

Q. 23. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?

A. God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer. (Eph. 1:3,4; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rom. 5:21; Acts 13:8; Jer. 31:33)

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3–10

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:3–10, ESV)

*****

Introduction

The catechism has been all bad news from questions 16 through 22. In those questions and answers, we learned all about Adam’s sin and its terrible effects on the whole human race. Here in question 23, we hear good news.

Again, the question: Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? 

Before we go to the answer, it should be acknowledged that God would have been right to leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery. God would have done no wrong –  he would have been perfectly right and just – to leave men and women in their sins and to give them what they deserve. 

Now, for the good news. 

*****

The Good News

The first word in the answer to our question is “God…” That is significant. If mercy and grace were to be shown to man, if salvation were to be provided, God had to take the initiative. Man in sin is in a helpless and hopeless state of being. If salvation were to be provided, God had to act. 

Next, our catechism says, “having…” “God having…” Having is past tense, notice. So, we are about to learn about something that God did “before” Adam fell into sin. I say “before” knowing that that is not a completely accurate way of speaking about God’s determination to offer grace to fallen man, for God is not bound by time in the way we are. Soon, we will learn that God determined to show grace to man “in eternity”. That is the more accurate way to put it.  

Back to our answer: “God, having out of His mere good pleasure…” our catechism says. The words, “out of his mere good pleasure” speak to what motivated God. What motivated God to show grace to sinful man? Was it something deserving in man? Did someone convince, or pressure God to show grace? No. God determined to show grace from within himself, “out of his mere good pleasure.”  The most famous of all Bible verses, John 3:16, speaks to this when it says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). What “moved” the Father to send the Son to accomplish redemption? The perfection of his love “moved” him to provide a Savior. In other words, it was not something outside of God that moved him, but something from within, namely, the perfection of his love and mercy. 

When did God determine to show grace to fallen man? Here it is stated with precision. “From all eternity”, our catechism says. This truth that God determined to save sinners “before” Adam sinned and “from all eternity” is found in many places in the Scriptures. In my mind, the clearest of these passages are the ones that contain the phrase, “before the foundation of the world”. Clearly, these texts are speaking about something that happened before the heavens, earth, and even time itself, were made. 

In Ephesians 1:4 we learn that God “chose [those who believe]  in [Christ]  before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4, ESV). 1 Peter 1:20 says that “[Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you…” (1 Peter 1:20, ESV). In John 17:24 we hear the prayer of Jesus to the Father, wherein he says, “I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24, ESV). Lastly, in Revelation 13:8 we hear about “the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” that was “written before the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, ESV).

All of these texts clearly teach that God determined to show grace to sinners and to bring them to salvation through a redeemer, Christ the Lord, before the world was made, before man fell into sin, and in eternity.

What in particular did God do in eternity? Our catechism is right to say that he “elected some to everlasting life…” This is the doctrine of election or predestination, which is clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures. 

Again, Ephesians 1:4 says that God “chose us in [Christ]  before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4, ESV). Verses 5 and 6 continue, saying, “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:5–6, ESV).

There are many other places where this doctrine is taught. In John 17 Jesus speaks of those given to him by the Father in eternity. In Colossians 3:12, those in Christ are called “chosen ones”. Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:7, 2 Timothy 2:10, Titus 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1, and 2 Peter 1:10 all use the language of election to refer to the believer. Those who are united to Christ by faith are said to be the elect or elected by God. This is another way of saying that those who place their faith in Christ in time were first chosen by God in eternity. 

And I suppose now would be a good time to remind you of what motivated God to choose, elect, or predestine some (and to leave others in their sin).  It was not something deserving in the creature, but out of God’s mere good pleasure. In other words, this election was by the grace of God alone. There is no room for boasting, therefore. And this is what Paul famously says in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV).

So we have learned about what God did in eternity. Now we will learn about what God has done in time. “God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”

When and with whom was this Covenant of Grace made? Not within God in eternity, but between God and man in time.  

If we wish to be more precise (which is, in fact, important here) we must say that this Covenant of Grace was ratified when Jesus Christ lived, died, rose again, and ascended to the Father. That is when the Covenant of Grace was made. But we must also admit that the saving power of this covenant was present in the world before Christ’s death and resurrection. Indeed, the saving power of this Covenant of Grace was present in the world even in the days of Adam. Shortly after Adam fell into sin a promise was made that God would provide a Savior who would, in the fullness of time, arise from the offspring of the women. 

All who have ever been saved from their sins – be it Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, or any other who lived in their days – were saved by faith in the promised Messiah.   

The Covenant of Grace is the New Covenant of which Jeremiah 31:31 spoke. The Covenant of Grace is the one mediated by Jesus Christ. It is the one that was instituted on the night Jesus was betrayed, when he said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And taking a cup, and having given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28, ESV). It is this covenant, the New Covenant, that is the Covenant of Grace. This covenant alone provides for the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, who is the mediator of this covenant, and who atoned for sins through the shedding of his blood. 

We have already learned about covenants. Remember, a covenant of works was made with Adam in the garden. It is called a covenant of works because Adam had to work (or obey) to obtain the blessing of that covenant. Why then is the New Covenant called the Covenant of Grace? It is because in this covenant the work has been done for us by Christ. The only thing for us to do is to believe, and we have already heard in Ephesians 2:8 that the ability to believe is itself a gift from God. 

This covenant – the Covenant of Grace – is not a covenant of works for us. It is a Covenant of Grace. In this covenant, God has promised to “deliver [his elect] out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.“

Please allow me to make just a few remarks about the phrases, “to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”

One, notice the language of “estate” again. Man was created in an estate of innocence. When man sinned, he fell into an estate of sin and misery. But those who have faith in the promised Messiah are brought into another state of being. They are transferred into an estate of salvation. 

Our confession of faith calls this estate “the state of grace”.  Listen to the way 2LCF 9.4 describes this state of being. “When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he does not perfectly, nor only will that which is good, but does also will that which is evil.”

Two, our catechism does not only talk about the estate that the elect are brought into when they believe upon Christ, but also the estate from which they are freed, namely the estate of sin and misery.  Again, in the Covenant of Grace God promises to “deliver [his elect] out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”

Thirdly, notice that this salvation is obtained, not by works, but through faith in a Redeemer, Christ Jesus the Lord. 

*****

Conclusion

So here is the good news. Though man fell into sin and was hopelessly lost in an estate of sin and misery, having “lost communion with God”, being “under His wrath and curse”, and being “made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever”, “God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.” The Redeemer is Christ the Lord. “whoever believes in him [will] not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16–18, ESV).