This morning I invite you to the book of Job, chapter nine, and then we shall read one verse from first Timothy, chapter two and verse five. Job chapter nine, and we shall begin our reading at verse twenty-five. Where we read, Now my days are swifter than a post. They flee away. They see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness and comfort myself. I am afraid of all my sorrows. I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, why then labor I in vain? If I wash myself with snow water and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Is there any day's man betwixt us that he might lay his hand upon us both? First Timothy chapter two, verse five. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Let me quote that verse one more time. For there is one God. and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. May the Lord have his blessing to his word. Let's pray together. Our Father, in the precious name of the mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who has come between us and your holy wrath, the one that has come between us and the sword of divine justice. We bow in thy presence and we thank you for him. We thank you that we can come and ask and receive. We thank you this morning that you are more interested in us than we are in ourselves. For when we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. You commended your love toward us while we were yet sinners. And when we were enemies, you reconciled us by the death of your son. And all that even took place a long time before we were ever born. For it's all in and through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came, who died, who was buried, who... endured all the suffering that man ever endured. He was buried. The last thing that ever happens to man, he's buried. He endured, but we thank you that he arose from the dead. And that proves that thou art more interested in us than we are in ourselves. Give us a desire, our Father. so think of thy dear son that we will not be satisfied with anything less than love and obedience to him who said if you'll love me keep my commandments we pray for the Allison family today we ask you to comfort they and the sisters the sisters of Howard, the brothers of Howard. We pray for Mrs. Cooper, Betty's aunt, and all the other details. Father, you alone can comfort hearts. And we ask you to graciously undertake and overrule. And may thy name be glorified. For us, as we gather here this morning, we thank you for the privilege of casting every heartache every loneliness, every pain, every care upon you because you care for us. And therefore we ask you that the blessing of Jesus, the Christ of God, may be real and rich to each one who is gathered to hear your word this morning. Don't disappoint thy people. Give them something of yourself for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. You and I this morning should be aware as believers that we have something that Job longed for. In the passage that we read this morning, Job is in the midst of a trial, a trial he cannot understand, a trial that His comforters can't understand and they make him miserable by what they say. And a trial through which Job has no hope for the present of ever getting out of. His friends tell him he's a hypocrite. There's sin in his life. There's a reason for the trial. But the only reason there was was wrapped up in the glory of God that God permitted Satan to touch his servant in the midst of Job's trial Job cries out in that thirty-third verse neither is there a days man a days man is the Old Testament way of speaking of a mediator we know that it's a mediator because He says, Neither is there any day's man betwixt us that might lay his hand upon us both. Now, beloved, when we read First Timothy two, verse five, we read, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. No human being in this age can ever say what Job said. We can never say, neither is there a mediator or a days man that can lay his hand on both of us. We have a mediator. And this morning and again tonight, I want to speak to you about the mediator between God and men, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In speaking this morning and tonight, I want to speak of the qualifications necessary to be a mediator. Job had three miserable comforters there. They tried to mediate his problems, but they couldn't do it. But you and I have a mediator at the throne of God who understands us perfectly. He is more interested in us than we are in ourselves. And he not only understands us perfectly, he understands all the requirements of the throne of God. He is God. He is man. And because of that, he can lay his hand on both of us and bring peace. That's why we read in Romans five, verse one, therefore being justified by faith. we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What is your definition of a mediator? See, words have meaning. And to understand the meaning of words is most important. A mediator is one who intervenes between two parties at variance and makes peace. A mediator is one who intervenes between two parties at variance and makes peace. And when we think of the parties involved, on the one hand it is God, on the other hand it's us. And the mediator has intervened, he has come between, and he has made peace. There is one God and one mediator between God and men. the man Christ Jesus and as I read in Colossians chapter one about verse twenty three having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself he has made peace through the blood of his cross in order to make peace on our behalf a full satisfaction had to be rendered to the law of God that we had broken. Perfect obedience to the very precepts of the law and a full endurance of its unrelenting punishment. That's what it costs the mediator to be the mediator. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men. And that hymn we sang this morning, free from the law. Oh, happy condition. Jesus has bled, and there is remission. No man can ever say what Job said in his plight. There is a mediator. And we can say, once for all, O sinner, receive it. And to the saints of God, we can say, once for all, O brother, believe it. Cling to the cross, the burden will fall. Christ has redeemed us once for all. Now the scriptures not only reveal the absolute unity of the Godhead, but they also reveal to us the economy of the various persons in the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And the opposite. that each of these occupy in relation to the redemption of the sinner. When we think of God the Father, he's the supreme governor of heaven and earth. And it is he who has chosen a people for his son. When we think of God the Son, we think of him as the mediator and the redeemer of his people. He's the one who redeemed a people whom God the Father gave him. Furthermore, when we think of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is the one who applies to those people. That great redemption that our blessed Lord wrought on the cross on Calvary's Hill and when he arose from the dead. So we see in this redemption that he's ours, We see the activity of God the Father, the activity of God the Son, and the activity of God the Holy Spirit. As mediator, our blessed Lord does not press the claims of justice against sinners. He stands forth as a sinner's friend. He's a mediator between God and men. And when we come to him, And when we know him, we can sing from the heart, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. So let us consider a number of the qualifications necessary for one to be a mediator between God. Remember, God is the offended party. And between us we're the offenders. We have offended God by nature and by choice. And for someone to come between. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men. The man Christ Jesus. And those of us who realize that our days are stricter than an eagle going to its prayer. When an eagle swoops down and picks a fish out of the water and goes back again. You see, they move rapidly. Our days move that way. You see, friends, we need the mediator. What are his qualifications? Number one, the mediator must be a man. When we examine three verses of Scripture, and I'm going to ask you to turn to them. with me and we want to examine them together. Galatians chapter three in verse twenty first of all. The book of Galatians chapter three in verse twenty. In Galatians you know the big problem is he's speaking here in Galatians three of the importance of the covenant of redemption that God promised to Abraham and Abraham became a part of back in Genesis chapter fifteen in Galatians three verse twenty we read now a mediator is not a mediator of one but God is one in other words you have perfect harmony among the members of the Godhead but a mediator is not a mediator of one the mediator came between us and God and the all persons of the divine Trinity Stand in full agreement. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We have offended God. God is the offended party. Now I want you to turn to First Samuel chapter two. First Samuel chapter two. In First Samuel two, Eli, the priest, is reprimanding his boys. Hoptony and Phineas because of their vile nature and the sin that they committed at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he says something to them in verse twenty five that's very important. He says, if one man sinned against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sinned against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? And then we read the awful words of the judgment of God. Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them. Their iniquity was so hideous in the sight of God. Their hearts were so hard, they had no time to listen to their father. But I want you to notice what he says. If a person sins against the Lord, Who shall entreat for him? And when we have sinned, we sinned against the Lord. And now there's one more verse. Hebrews chapter ten and verse five. That speaks so well of the mediator. Our Lord said when he came into the world, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hath thou prepared me. In burnt offering and offering for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come. Verse seven, in the volume of the book, it is written to me to do thy will, O God. God had no pleasure in the offerings they brought under the Old Testament economy. But the Lord Jesus could say, lo, I come. It's written to me to do thy will, O God. In other words, The glory of the divine lawgiver must be maintained. The precepts of the law of God were suited to man. It was for man. The curse of the law had a claim upon man. And we read in Galatians chapter three, Cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. when we were studying the book of Galatians in Sunday school I said there's a verse that everybody should have at the tip of their fingers and the tip of their tongue all the time I think it's Galatians three eleven cursed is a man who continuous not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them you know when you talk with a person who rejoices in the fact that they keep the law. They usually are thinking of usually just one thing, like the sermons of the Adventist, keeping the Sabbath. He usually thinks of that, but he forgets that there are other parts to the law, and he that offends in one part is guilty of all, and the curse of God is suited for the man who continues not. in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. And the requirements of the law are such that only a man can fulfill. Even though there hasn't been a man who could fulfill it other than the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the penalty of the law was such that only a man could bear it. You see, what was the suffering of the law? The suffering was unto death. A person is everyone who continues not in all things. And of course, angels couldn't die. And that's a thrust of the eighth psalm. And that's a thrust of Hebrews chapter two. When he cries out, what is man that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man that thou visitest him? The angels are of a higher order and of higher intelligence than man. And when they sinned, God spared not the angels that sinned. There is no one angel that sinned that will ever be in glory. But here's man who comes, whose love in the angels, who rebelled against God in his word and his throne, and God gives man a law. And man doesn't keep it. But that law is so written that it is required that a man should keep it. The requirements are such. And its penalty is such that only a man can endure it. The penalty of the law is death. And what did Christ become? Our blessed Lord became a man. There is one God, the offended party, and there's only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. The mediator must be a man. You see, Hebrews chapter two, he says, for such an high priest became us. No, I'm quoting chapter seven. I want Hebrews chapter two, verse eleven. In Hebrews two, verse eleven, we read, Now he that sanctifies, both he that sanctify us, and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call us brethren. Christ became a man. And of course, in first Corinthians chapter fifteen in verse twenty one, we read, For since by man came death, By man came also the resurrection from the dead. Oh, thank God for First Timothy, two-five. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. The second qualification, he not only has to be a man, the mediator must be sinless. You see, Psalm sixty-eight, verses six through eight tells us that a sinner cannot expiate his own sins, let alone the sins of others. And our blessed Lord was sinless. In Exodus chapter twelve, verse five, when Moses told him concerning the Passover, that the lamb had a bee without blemish. Peter tells us in first Peter one, nineteen, that you and I were redeemed verse eighteen, not with corruptible things as silver and gold. And then in verse nineteen he says, but with a precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish. And without spot, he was sinless. In Numbers chapter nineteen, where you have the ordinance of the red heifer, in the second verse, Numbers nineteen, we learn that the red heifer must be flawless, upon whom there never had come a yoke. You see, Christ's curse must arise upon man from one or two sources. Original sin. or actual transgression. And we are both. The Word of God says that babies go astray from the womb, speaking lies. We're inheritors of original sin. John five, verse twelve, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And then there's actual transgressions. You see, we don't sin, or we're not sinners because we sin. We sin because we're sinners. We have the root principle, and that root bears fruit. We sin because we're sinners. The mediator must be sinless. And when we behold the Son of God, we find one who is holy, harmless, undefiled. and separate from sinners. But more than that, the mediator must be holy. Now, sinless is a negative term. He must be without sin. But when we speak of he is holy, it's speaking of that which is positive. He was without sin because he was holy. In other words, holiness is that positive part that results in a righteous activity. And every work of our blessed Lord was done in righteousness. In other words, he was undefiled according to Hebrews chapter seven, verse twenty six. And therefore, first Peter three eighteen says, Christ died the just for the unjust. This mediator that has come between us the offending party. And God, the offended party, is just. The just one died for the unjust. He was holy. How did that work in his life? Well, you remember the leper who comes to him in Matthew chapter eight, the opening verses of Matthew eight? He looked at the Lord and he said, Lord, it's a wilt. Dakins made me clean. The Lord said, I will, and he touched him. And he remained uncontaminated. He cleansed the leper. More than that, he contacted death when he raised the widow's son to life. When he raised Lazarus to life, he contacted death. But he remained undefiled. And when he died, beloved, psalm sixteen and verse ten says the one who was laid in the tomb was the holy one thou wilt not suffer psalm sixteen verse ten thy holy one to see corruption and peter used psalm sixteen on the day of pentecost to explain who our lord is and why the holy spirit of god has come And that one who was laid in the tomb was the holy one, the holy one of God. You see, the mediator has to be a man. More than that. He has to be sinless. More than that. He has to be holy. And more than that, he has to act in a voluntary way. You see, to compel somebody to suffer for another would be the height. of injustice that Psalm chapter forty verses seven and eight quoted in Hebrews ten he quotes those words when he come in Hebrews ten when he cometh into the world he saith sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me O I come in the volume of the book it is written to me to do thy will O God in John chapter four verse thirty four when our Lord dealt with that woman of Samaria while the disciples were occupied with buying food they had gone into the city and the disciples came back and wondered why the Lord didn't eat he wasn't hungry he said to them my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish the work he acted voluntarily The mediator acted voluntarily in Acts chapter eight, where Philip meets with the Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah fifty-three, where it was recorded. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a land for the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shivers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Romans three nineteen says we know that whatsoever things are lost sayeth it sayeth to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God voluntarily the Lord endured the sufferings of the cross why because the holy law of God shuts my mouth and he took my place he bore my judgment as my mediator between God and men he voluntarily kept his mouth shut when oppressed and afflicted because my mouth was shut by the divine law of God and he endured all the curse of the law and he set me free Christ have redeemed us from the curse of the Lord. The mediator is the man of Christ Jesus. Well, let's apply this truth. You see, the professions of the mediator, the professions of our redeemer magnify the triune God. For when we examine our Savior as a man, He perfectly kept the holy law of God. And now by His keeping that holy law of God, He gives to those who believe on Him a righteousness that is perfect in the sight of God. I want to quote a verse to you that you all know it. Second Corinthians five, verse seventeen says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That new creation gives us a new standing before men. To be in Christ. I now have a new standing before men. But there's something better than that, beloved. I have a new standing before God. and I'm accepted before God as a new creation, a work of God, for only God can create. And Ephesians two, verse ten says, and ye are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Oh, what a blessing is ours. We are a new creation in Christ, and we now have a new standing before God. This is because of the work of the mediator. There's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. You see, the perfections of the mediator magnify the triune God. More than that, as a sinless man, he now appears as our advocate in the presence of God. See, first John two, verse two says, if any man sins, and who of us has it? since we're saved. If any man sinned, we have an advocate with a father, Jesus Christ the righteous. I don't know if I get you excited, but it gets me excited. Since I'm saved, I've offended God many times. But I have a righteous advocate at his right hand. Who is it? He's a mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He's the day's man who has come betricked us and has brought us together. He has laid his hand on both, the throne of God and all my needs. And praise God, he's met every one of them. I have a new standing, not only before men, but a standing before God. I have an advocate. with a father. More than that, we now can praise the triune God because of the voluntary work of Christ on our behalf. He magnifies the triune God. And, beloved, when we had our Bible reading this morning, Job says, there is no man, no day's man, to come be twisted. You and I can have today what Job long for. We have it. Let me ask you a real serious question. Do you have it? Do you have it? There's one God and one mediator between God and men. A man, Christ Jesus. I'm sorry I have to cut off this message. There are other qualifications we want to look at tonight. And the best one, the mediator must be federally related to his people. I'm going to deal with that tonight out of Romans chapter five. And it's so important. It's so important to understand who Christ is. If I could tell you of an experience I had this week, you'd know what I mean, but I'm not going to tell you. I can't. I would betray a trust. But, beloved, there's a need today to know who the person of Christ is. It's far more important than you can imagine. Beloved, you're wasting your time. If you're coming here and listening to me and you don't learn who Christ is, it is an absolute waste of time. Beloved, he's the only mediator. He's the only way. He's the only one that can lay his hand on you and lay his hand on the throne of God and bring you together. No one else can. And if you don't have him, you have nothing. You are poverty stricken. You have nothing. But to have him is to have it all. So be a act. I trust you do. If not, I'll be glad to talk with you anytime. Because there's one thing you should want. you should want that more than anything else in the world to have him let's pray together father we thank you for thy dear son we thank you for the workings of the triune god father son and holy spirit whereby we understand thee and we know thee all we praise you for we ask you now that you'll take this word and search our hearts. Oh, Father, we praise you that we have a mediator, something Job didn't have, but all we bless thy name for what the person of Christ means to us. And we ask you that thy grace, thy mercy and thy peace may rest upon each one who's here this morning. May they know thy peace. May they know the mediator who makes peace through the blood of his cross. We thank you that we can commit ourselves to you and we can commit one another to you and to your grace until the day dawn, the shadows fully away, and we behold the king in his beauty, who is none other than the one who was made sin for us when he became the mediator between God and men. Our hearts will help with praise and adoration for these, and we give you our grateful thanks in his worthy name.