The Four Images

Well, hello everyone and good morning. How’s everybody doing today?

Got a pretty good size house here. However, Elaine was not feeling well, so he wanted to take her. So, we’re going to open in prayer for her and those that will also include her again at the closing prayer with our leadership prayer.

Let us pray.

Almighty Father, you’re here God. All of us here to sing praises to your holy name, to worship you, to adore you, to fellowship, to serve you with our worship to you. Father, at this time we lift up whatever illness has struck her not to feel well this morning. That most holy name. Amen.

Well, this morning I actually asked… I’m just always hitting all this stuff that’s really harsh. And she said, “Why don’t you…”

So without much to go on, I go back to an old standard that I love so well by John Stott called The Cross of Christ. And in chapter 11 there are four beautiful images of salvation. Some of the scriptures are there because it’s really a beautiful message for us to look at, to ponder, and consider. Am I reflecting those images back?

The very purpose of Christ’s self-giving on the cross was not just to save individuals. Yes, it is to save each and every one of us. But look at what he also says: to create a new community whose members would belong to him, love one another, and eagerly serve the world. That sums up what the church is.

This community of Christ would be nothing less than a renewed and reunited humanity of which he would be head. Scripture tells us plainly that Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18). So he is head over us.

He did die to save us. He did die to endure in this life, as harsh as at times it can be.

So let’s take a look at the first image: boldness.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:11–12 that in Christ “we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” He also tells us in Hebrews 4:16 to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

And if we jump further down through the book of Hebrews, he tells us:

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
(Hebrews 10:19–22)

I’m going to stop there for a moment because Hebrews says, “since we have confidence to enter the holy place.”

Throughout the entire Old Testament there was a holy place, and in the center of the holy place was an enclosed section called the Most Holy Place. Only one person could go there, the high priest (Leviticus 16:2).

When Jesus gave up His spirit, the earth shook, the rocks were split, and the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50–51). That veil separated the holy place from the Most Holy Place.

That veil was made of woven fabric and stood tall and thick, yet it was torn from top to bottom at the moment Christ died.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus… we can approach God directly through our hearts in prayer and study.

We also see in Acts 4:31 that when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with great boldness.

So here we see the first image: boldness.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). All these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

We don’t always realize what that meant, that Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. Christ is intimately familiar with each of us.

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

So the first image: His blood has cleansed our conscience, and God has promised to remember our sins no more. “Their sins I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Now we look to the future with full assurance and no longer with fear. We were justified and reconciled through Christ’s death (Romans 5:9–10).

Now that we are in Christ, we are confident. We need to stay close to God so He strengthens us through His Holy Spirit. He will not give up on us (Hebrews 13:5).

So now we look to the future with assurance and not fear.

We should respect and revere God, but also know that He invites us to call Him “Father” (Romans 8:15).

So the second image is love.

In 1 John 4:10–12, Scripture says God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 that the love of Christ controls us, so we no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf.

The second image of salvation is love.

The third image is joy.

Paul found joy even after suffering greatly (Acts 16:22–25). James tells us to “consider it all joy” when we encounter trials (James 1:2–3).

Joy is not constant happiness. It is assurance that regardless of what happens, we belong to God eternally.

Acts tells us the early Christians shared meals with gladness (Acts 2:46–47).

Romans says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).

Peter tells us that though we have not seen Him, we love Him and rejoice with joy inexpressible (1 Peter 1:6–9).

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).

Christ has delivered us from slavery to sin and fear of death (Hebrews 2:14–15).

The fourth image is adoration, or worship.

Revelation tells us:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things.”
(Revelation 4:11)

And again:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.”
(Revelation 5:9–14)

We are here not just for a worship service, but for a service of worship (Romans 12:1).

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Through Him all things were created, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15–17).

We should approach God humbly as sinners, yet boldly as forgiven sinners (Hebrews 4:16).

So the four images of salvation are boldness, love, joy, and adoration.

How do we enter salvation? We hear the word (Romans 10:17), believe (John 3:16), repent (Acts 2:38), turn toward God (Acts 3:19), and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4).

And God promises again, “Their sins I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

So if you’re interested in that, and as we sing this invitation song, we ask that you come forward. If you have any needs, prayers, or concerns, we ask that you make those known as well.

Let us stand and sing.