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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - What's So Good About Good Friday?

March 31, 2026 | 27:29

Robert Jeffress - What's So Good About Good Friday?
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Jesus #Death #Crucifixion #Cross #BloodofJesus #Atonement #Savior #Salvation #Redemption #Sacrifice #Sin #Justification #Righteousness #IdentityinChrist #RobertJeffress

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - What's So Good About Good Friday? | March 31, 2026
  • ...
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  • Male announcer: join us on the pathway to victory cruise to
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  • Alaska, june 13 through 20, 2026.
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  • Dr. robert jeffress: let me paint a picture for you.
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  • You're standing on the deck of a beautiful cruise ship, coffee in
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  • Hand, watching a glacier calve into the pristine waters while
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  • Bald eagles circle overhead.
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  • That's going to be us this coming june.
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  • You've got to see alaska with your own eyes to believe it.
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  • Announcer: seven days of pure luxury where every meal is
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  • Prepared for you.
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  • The details.
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  • Instead, you can focus on casual conversations with like-minded
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  • Christians, laughing, telling stories, while surrounded by
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  • God's breathtaking creation.
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  • Jeffress: this is purposeful travel at its finest.
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  • Refreshing your soul in god's stunning cathedral of
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  • Natural wonders.
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  • Or visit ptv.org.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist
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  • Church of dallas, texas,
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  • This is "pathway to victory" with dr. robert jeffress.
  • 00:01:10.226 --> 00:01:11.194
  • Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress and welcome
  • 00:01:14.764 --> 00:01:16.366
  • Again to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:01:16.366 --> 00:01:18.434
  • Have you ever wondered why christians call the day of
  • 00:01:18.434 --> 00:01:21.504
  • Jesus's crucifixion "good friday?"
  • 00:01:21.504 --> 00:01:24.707
  • After all, what could possibly be good about the brutal torture
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  • And execution of an innocent man?
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  • Today i'll explain why christ's death was actually the greatest
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  • Gift humanity has ever received, because jesus's sacrifice
  • 00:01:35.818 --> 00:01:39.856
  • Provides the solution to our deepest problem,
  • 00:01:39.856 --> 00:01:43.893
  • Our separation from god.
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  • My message is titled "what's so good about good friday?"
  • 00:01:45.995 --> 00:01:49.999
  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Announcer: whether you know it or not, you're in a battle.
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  • Satan has a strategy to attack your faith, disrupt your family,
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  • And derail your future.
  • 00:02:03.213 --> 00:02:04.847
  • But god has given you everything you need to fight back and win.
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  • In "the divine defense," dr. dr. robert jeffress reveals six
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  • Practical strategies from ephesians chapter 6 to defeat
  • 00:02:12.755 --> 00:02:16.292
  • Satan's destructive plan.
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  • When you put on the full armor of god, satan doesn't have
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  • A prayer.
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  • Request "the divine defense" when you give a generous
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  • Ministry gift to "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: when you hear the word "excruciating", what picture
  • 00:02:33.476 --> 00:02:38.982
  • Comes to mind?
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  • It's probably some pain you have felt that you thought would
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  • Never end, maybe the pain of childbirth or a kidney stone,
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  • But you thought it would never end.
  • 00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:52.295
  • It might interest you to know that that word "excruciate"
  • 00:02:52.295 --> 00:02:56.733
  • Literally means out of x, the cross, out of the cross.
  • 00:02:56.733 --> 00:03:02.305
  • It was a word that was coined originally by the romans to
  • 00:03:02.305 --> 00:03:05.875
  • Describe the intolerable, unending pain of crucifixion.
  • 00:03:05.875 --> 00:03:11.314
  • Frederic farrar in his book "the life of christ" explains it this
  • 00:03:11.314 --> 00:03:14.917
  • Way, "a death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain
  • 00:03:14.917 --> 00:03:19.889
  • And death can give in terms of the horrible and the ghastly.
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  • Death by crucifixion invented by the persians and embraced by the
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  • Romans involved dizziness, cramps, thirst, starvation,
  • 00:03:29.465 --> 00:03:35.338
  • Sleeplessness, traumatic fever, publicity of shame, the long
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  • Continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification
  • 00:03:41.377 --> 00:03:46.282
  • Of untended wounds, all intensified just up to the point
  • 00:03:46.282 --> 00:03:51.721
  • At which the person could endure it, but stopping short of the
  • 00:03:51.721 --> 00:03:55.558
  • Point where unconsciousness would bring some relief.
  • 00:03:55.558 --> 00:03:59.762
  • Crucifixion was designed to keep the person conscious
  • 00:03:59.762 --> 00:04:05.301
  • And suffering."
  • 00:04:05.301 --> 00:04:08.371
  • That's what jesus experienced on the cross for us, which begs the
  • 00:04:08.371 --> 00:04:14.944
  • Question as we acknowledge that event this friday, why would we
  • 00:04:14.944 --> 00:04:19.649
  • Ever use the term "good" to describe what happened to
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  • Jesus christ?
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  • What is so good about torture and death on a cross?
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  • The answer is, that death that christ experienced is the answer
  • 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:39.202
  • To our greatest dilemma, mankind's greatest dilemma.
  • 00:04:39.202 --> 00:04:44.040
  • It's a dilemma that was expressed best by the patriarch
  • 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.210
  • Job in job 9:2 when he said, "what must a person do to be
  • 00:04:47.210 --> 00:04:52.648
  • Right with god?"
  • 00:04:52.648 --> 00:04:56.285
  • Now admittedly, that's not a question that many people are
  • 00:04:56.285 --> 00:04:59.222
  • Asking today.
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  • There are some who don't believe there's a god we need to be
  • 00:05:00.757 --> 00:05:03.326
  • Right with.
  • 00:05:03.326 --> 00:05:04.827
  • The majority of people believe in god, but they believe
  • 00:05:04.827 --> 00:05:07.463
  • Although they're not perfect, they're good enough to have a
  • 00:05:07.463 --> 00:05:09.932
  • Right relationship with god.
  • 00:05:09.932 --> 00:05:12.935
  • Most people don't ever think about the question at all.
  • 00:05:12.935 --> 00:05:17.306
  • Paul faced a similar audience when he wrote his letter to
  • 00:05:17.306 --> 00:05:21.244
  • The romans.
  • 00:05:21.244 --> 00:05:22.712
  • He faced a culture like ours that was more interested in sex
  • 00:05:22.712 --> 00:05:26.215
  • And sports than it was in salvation, but that didn't keep
  • 00:05:26.215 --> 00:05:30.153
  • Paul from being faithful to deliver the answer to our
  • 00:05:30.153 --> 00:05:33.790
  • Greatest dilemma.
  • 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:35.992
  • He spends in romans, the first two and a half chapters, making
  • 00:05:35.992 --> 00:05:39.729
  • The case that we all do need god's forgiveness, whether we
  • 00:05:39.729 --> 00:05:42.832
  • Recognize it or not.
  • 00:05:42.832 --> 00:05:44.167
  • It doesn't matter who it is, we all need god's forgiveness.
  • 00:05:44.167 --> 00:05:48.171
  • The pagan who has never heard the gospel, he is still guilty
  • 00:05:48.171 --> 00:05:51.674
  • Before god.
  • 00:05:51.674 --> 00:05:53.009
  • The moralist who tries to live by the ten commandments may
  • 00:05:53.009 --> 00:05:56.112
  • Think he's good enough, but he's still guilty before god.
  • 00:05:56.112 --> 00:06:00.049
  • The sincere follower of other religions may think they're all
  • 00:06:00.049 --> 00:06:04.187
  • Right with god, but they're still guilty before god.
  • 00:06:04.187 --> 00:06:07.423
  • Salvation, paul says, is not a reward, but it is a gift for
  • 00:06:07.423 --> 00:06:13.763
  • Those who trust in the death of christ for the forgiveness of
  • 00:06:13.763 --> 00:06:17.567
  • Their sins."
  • 00:06:17.567 --> 00:06:18.901
  • Let me say it again, salvation is not a reward, it is a gift
  • 00:06:18.901 --> 00:06:23.973
  • For those who trust in the death of christ for the forgiveness of
  • 00:06:23.973 --> 00:06:29.011
  • Their sins.
  • 00:06:29.011 --> 00:06:30.813
  • Notice how paul develops that thought beginning in verse 21.
  • 00:06:30.813 --> 00:06:34.417
  • First of all, he talks about the reality of god's gift of
  • 00:06:34.417 --> 00:06:37.487
  • Salvation, and he makes three simple statements.
  • 00:06:37.487 --> 00:06:40.389
  • He says, first of all, god's salvation is offered as a gift.
  • 00:06:40.389 --> 00:06:45.061
  • Look at verse 21, "now, apart from the law, the righteousness
  • 00:06:45.061 --> 00:06:50.199
  • Of god has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and
  • 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:54.103
  • The prophets."
  • 00:06:54.103 --> 00:06:55.771
  • That word "righteousness" literally means
  • 00:06:55.771 --> 00:06:58.307
  • A right standing.
  • 00:06:58.307 --> 00:06:59.976
  • A synonym would be salvation.
  • 00:06:59.976 --> 00:07:02.979
  • Paul is saying, a right standing with god is not something we
  • 00:07:02.979 --> 00:07:06.883
  • Earn, it is achieved apart from law, apart from keeping the law.
  • 00:07:06.883 --> 00:07:13.155
  • It's offered as a gift, not a reward.
  • 00:07:13.155 --> 00:07:16.659
  • Secondly, notice paul says in verses 24 to 26, god's salvation
  • 00:07:16.659 --> 00:07:21.697
  • Is based on the work of christ.
  • 00:07:21.697 --> 00:07:24.433
  • It's offered as a gift; it is based on the work of christ.
  • 00:07:24.433 --> 00:07:29.539
  • Now remember ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, "for by grace we are
  • 00:07:29.539 --> 00:07:33.042
  • Saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift
  • 00:07:33.042 --> 00:07:35.978
  • From god: not of works," he means not of our works, but
  • 00:07:35.978 --> 00:07:41.918
  • Somebody had to work to provide our forgiveness, it's just
  • 00:07:41.918 --> 00:07:44.754
  • Not us.
  • 00:07:44.754 --> 00:07:46.122
  • Somebody has to work for our forgiveness.
  • 00:07:46.122 --> 00:07:48.524
  • God is too holy to just look the other way when it comes to
  • 00:07:48.524 --> 00:07:51.928
  • Our sin.
  • 00:07:51.928 --> 00:07:53.262
  • Notice in these three verses, paul uses three words to
  • 00:07:53.262 --> 00:07:56.899
  • Describe what it is, the work that christ accomplished on that
  • 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:01.304
  • Good friday.
  • 00:08:01.304 --> 00:08:02.638
  • First of all, redemption.
  • 00:08:02.638 --> 00:08:04.407
  • Look at verse 24, "being justified as a gift by his grace
  • 00:08:04.407 --> 00:08:08.644
  • Through the redemption which is in christ jesus."
  • 00:08:08.644 --> 00:08:12.748
  • He has redeemed us.
  • 00:08:12.748 --> 00:08:14.083
  • The second word that is used is propitiation.
  • 00:08:14.083 --> 00:08:17.787
  • People stumble over that word, in verse 25, "whom," talking
  • 00:08:17.787 --> 00:08:21.891
  • About jesus, "god displayed publicly as a propitiation in
  • 00:08:21.891 --> 00:08:26.529
  • His blood through faith."
  • 00:08:26.529 --> 00:08:27.897
  • What does that word mean?
  • 00:08:27.897 --> 00:08:29.231
  • The word means satisfaction.
  • 00:08:29.231 --> 00:08:31.567
  • Jesus christ by his death, satisfied the requirements of
  • 00:08:31.567 --> 00:08:36.005
  • A holy god.
  • 00:08:36.005 --> 00:08:37.340
  • In verses 11 to 9 of hebrews 9, 11 to 12, he writes, "but when
  • 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:41.444
  • Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things to
  • 00:08:41.444 --> 00:08:44.447
  • Come, he entered through the greater and more perfect
  • 00:08:44.447 --> 00:08:47.917
  • Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this
  • 00:08:47.917 --> 00:08:52.355
  • Creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves," but
  • 00:08:52.355 --> 00:08:56.459
  • Christ entered, "through his own blood.
  • 00:08:56.459 --> 00:08:59.462
  • He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained
  • 00:08:59.462 --> 00:09:03.332
  • Eternal redemption."
  • 00:09:03.332 --> 00:09:06.602
  • The old testament, the high priest came year, after year,
  • 00:09:06.602 --> 00:09:10.640
  • After year, to make an atonement; but jesus,
  • 00:09:10.640 --> 00:09:13.909
  • The perfect high priest, entered once for all with his blood,
  • 00:09:13.909 --> 00:09:17.613
  • And made a once for all sacrifice for our sins.
  • 00:09:17.613 --> 00:09:21.717
  • That's what christ did.
  • 00:09:21.717 --> 00:09:23.419
  • He offers us the propitiation for our sins.
  • 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:27.256
  • He offers us redemption from our sins, and the third word
  • 00:09:27.256 --> 00:09:30.559
  • Is justification.
  • 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.395
  • In verse 26, he says he is both the just and the justifier.
  • 00:09:32.395 --> 00:09:37.533
  • This word justification is found over 200 times in the greek
  • 00:09:37.533 --> 00:09:41.570
  • New testament.
  • 00:09:41.570 --> 00:09:43.305
  • Justification is a legal term.
  • 00:09:43.305 --> 00:09:45.708
  • It's that legal act of god by which he declares a sinful
  • 00:09:45.708 --> 00:09:50.346
  • Person to be righteous.
  • 00:09:50.346 --> 00:09:53.349
  • Now you've probably heard this little definition
  • 00:09:53.349 --> 00:09:55.551
  • Of justification.
  • 00:09:55.551 --> 00:09:57.153
  • Some people have said it means, "god now looks at me when i
  • 00:09:57.153 --> 00:10:01.590
  • Become a christian, just as if i have never sinned."
  • 00:10:01.590 --> 00:10:07.329
  • I don't like that definition because it gives the idea, the
  • 00:10:07.329 --> 00:10:12.168
  • Impression that god is playing like we're innocent when we're
  • 00:10:12.168 --> 00:10:16.338
  • Not innocent.
  • 00:10:16.338 --> 00:10:18.207
  • That's not what justification means.
  • 00:10:18.207 --> 00:10:21.143
  • Justification is the act of god, by which, because of the blood
  • 00:10:21.143 --> 00:10:24.947
  • Of christ, god declares us not guilty, because we are not
  • 00:10:24.947 --> 00:10:30.019
  • Guilty any longer in the eyes of god.
  • 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:32.955
  • Romans 8:1 says, "there is therefore now no condemnation
  • 00:10:32.955 --> 00:10:37.460
  • Awaiting those who belong to christ jesus."
  • 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:42.231
  • Paul says salvation is offered as a gift.
  • 00:10:42.231 --> 00:10:46.235
  • He says, secondly, it's based on the work of christ, and thirdly
  • 00:10:46.235 --> 00:10:49.572
  • And most importantly, it is received through faith.
  • 00:10:49.572 --> 00:10:53.876
  • How do i receive that forgiveness in my life?
  • 00:10:53.876 --> 00:10:57.113
  • It's through faith.
  • 00:10:57.113 --> 00:10:58.447
  • Look at verse 26, "for the demonstration, i say, of his
  • 00:10:58.447 --> 00:11:01.550
  • Righteousness at the present time, so that he would be the
  • 00:11:01.550 --> 00:11:04.520
  • Just and the justifier of the one who has faith in jesus."
  • 00:11:04.520 --> 00:11:09.391
  • Throughout this chapter, you see that word "faith" over and over
  • 00:11:09.391 --> 00:11:12.361
  • Again: verse 22, "through faith in jesus christ for all those
  • 00:11:12.361 --> 00:11:15.831
  • Who believe;" verse 25, "whom god displayed as a propitiation
  • 00:11:15.831 --> 00:11:19.368
  • In his blood, through faith;" verse 26, "he who has faith in
  • 00:11:19.368 --> 00:11:23.773
  • Jesus;" verse 28, "man is justified by faith."
  • 00:11:23.773 --> 00:11:27.276
  • Faith is integral to our salvation, but listen to me, if
  • 00:11:27.276 --> 00:11:31.347
  • You don't understand what i'm about to say in the next five
  • 00:11:31.347 --> 00:11:34.183
  • Minutes, you're gonna miss heaven and you're going to
  • 00:11:34.183 --> 00:11:38.087
  • Experience eternity in hell if you don't understand what faith
  • 00:11:38.087 --> 00:11:41.457
  • Is and what it isn't.
  • 00:11:41.457 --> 00:11:43.225
  • Listen to me, faith is not the means of our salvation, it is
  • 00:11:43.225 --> 00:11:49.031
  • The channel through which we receive salvation.
  • 00:11:49.031 --> 00:11:53.469
  • We are not saved by faith.
  • 00:11:53.469 --> 00:11:55.471
  • Nowhere in the bible does it say we are saved by faith.
  • 00:11:55.471 --> 00:11:59.141
  • Ephesians 2:89 says, "for by grace you have been saved
  • 00:11:59.141 --> 00:12:03.546
  • Through faith," not by faith.
  • 00:12:03.546 --> 00:12:06.682
  • We're saved by grace, which we receive through faith.
  • 00:12:06.682 --> 00:12:10.286
  • You say, well, what in the world is the difference between the
  • 00:12:10.286 --> 00:12:12.822
  • Two things?
  • 00:12:12.822 --> 00:12:14.190
  • Let me see if i can illustrate that for you.
  • 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:18.894
  • Some of you recognize this, it's a cable.
  • 00:12:18.894 --> 00:12:24.133
  • For those of you who still have cable television, you remember
  • 00:12:24.133 --> 00:12:27.837
  • What the cable is.
  • 00:12:27.837 --> 00:12:29.171
  • There are a generation of you over in day one, who have never
  • 00:12:29.171 --> 00:12:33.008
  • Seen this before because you have a smart tv.
  • 00:12:33.008 --> 00:12:36.278
  • We still have a cable and you know how the cable works.
  • 00:12:36.278 --> 00:12:39.949
  • One end of it you hook up to your cable box and the
  • 00:12:39.949 --> 00:12:43.953
  • Television program flows from the cable box into the other end
  • 00:12:43.953 --> 00:12:48.257
  • That you attach to your television set.
  • 00:12:48.257 --> 00:12:51.727
  • This is the means by which you see a program.
  • 00:12:51.727 --> 00:12:55.531
  • The cable allows you to see it, but this cable in and of itself
  • 00:12:55.531 --> 00:13:00.102
  • Can produce no television program.
  • 00:13:00.102 --> 00:13:02.838
  • Imagine i take this cable, tomorrow night at 8 o'clock,
  • 00:13:02.838 --> 00:13:06.475
  • Place it on my ottoman with my bowl of popcorn, and i just
  • 00:13:06.475 --> 00:13:11.313
  • Stare at this waiting for my nightly rerun of the
  • 00:13:11.313 --> 00:13:14.116
  • "beverly hillbillies."
  • 00:13:14.116 --> 00:13:16.018
  • And i'm sitting there waiting for it and wonder,
  • 00:13:16.018 --> 00:13:19.688
  • "where's jethro?
  • 00:13:19.688 --> 00:13:21.123
  • Where's ellie mae?
  • 00:13:21.123 --> 00:13:23.726
  • Where's jed?"
  • 00:13:23.726 --> 00:13:25.060
  • And i keep staring, it doesn't matter how long i stare at this,
  • 00:13:25.060 --> 00:13:27.963
  • There's not gonna be any television, because the
  • 00:13:27.963 --> 00:13:30.799
  • Television signal is not produced by this cable, it comes
  • 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:34.670
  • Through this cable.
  • 00:13:34.670 --> 00:13:36.038
  • It is the same way with saving faith.
  • 00:13:36.038 --> 00:13:39.675
  • We are saved by god's grace, by the death of christ, that we
  • 00:13:39.675 --> 00:13:44.113
  • Receive through faith.
  • 00:13:44.113 --> 00:13:46.749
  • Now let me tell you something, two things actually about saving
  • 00:13:46.749 --> 00:13:49.952
  • Faith, the kind of faith that saves.
  • 00:13:49.952 --> 00:13:52.288
  • First of all, saving faith demands truth.
  • 00:13:52.288 --> 00:13:57.626
  • It demands truth.
  • 00:13:57.626 --> 00:13:59.061
  • We're not saved by just some kind of faith that everything's
  • 00:13:59.061 --> 00:14:03.866
  • Going to turn out somewhere, some kind of indefined feeling
  • 00:14:03.866 --> 00:14:07.703
  • Of faith.
  • 00:14:07.703 --> 00:14:09.038
  • Faith, true faith, saving faith always demands an object.
  • 00:14:09.038 --> 00:14:13.108
  • It's faith in something, faith in something, not just faith,
  • 00:14:13.108 --> 00:14:17.479
  • But faith in something, and it has to be the right something.
  • 00:14:17.479 --> 00:14:22.351
  • Again, i can realize, i said, "well, i need something to
  • 00:14:22.351 --> 00:14:25.654
  • Generate that television program," and i sincerely
  • 00:14:25.654 --> 00:14:28.824
  • Believe my washing machine can do that.
  • 00:14:28.824 --> 00:14:31.093
  • So i'm gonna take this cable and hook it up to the washing
  • 00:14:31.093 --> 00:14:34.263
  • Machine, it doesn't matter how much i believe that or how
  • 00:14:34.263 --> 00:14:37.666
  • Sincere i am, that washing machine cannot produce the
  • 00:14:37.666 --> 00:14:41.370
  • "beverly hillbillies."
  • 00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:42.738
  • It just can't do it.
  • 00:14:42.738 --> 00:14:44.340
  • And it's the same way with people who sincerely follow
  • 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:47.009
  • Other religions.
  • 00:14:47.009 --> 00:14:48.344
  • They can sincerely believe that judaism, islam, mormonism, or
  • 00:14:48.344 --> 00:14:52.748
  • A thousand other isms, that, that's a legitimate way to be
  • 00:14:52.748 --> 00:14:56.085
  • Saved, but they are sincere but sincerely wrong.
  • 00:14:56.085 --> 00:14:59.989
  • It has to be faith based on truth, faith in the blood of
  • 00:14:59.989 --> 00:15:05.127
  • Jesus christ who died for our sins.
  • 00:15:05.127 --> 00:15:08.130
  • Saving faith demands truth, and secondly, saving faith
  • 00:15:08.130 --> 00:15:11.800
  • Demands trust.
  • 00:15:11.800 --> 00:15:14.236
  • That is, it's not just an intellectual assent to a certain
  • 00:15:14.236 --> 00:15:18.207
  • Set of facts about jesus.
  • 00:15:18.207 --> 00:15:20.342
  • People think, "oh, if i believe that jesus is the son of god,
  • 00:15:20.342 --> 00:15:23.746
  • That he died on the cross for the sins of the world, that he
  • 00:15:23.746 --> 00:15:27.449
  • Rose again on the third day; if i believe the right things about
  • 00:15:27.449 --> 00:15:30.452
  • That, i can be saved.
  • 00:15:30.452 --> 00:15:32.755
  • Ladies and gentlemen, you can believe all those things and
  • 00:15:32.755 --> 00:15:35.657
  • Split hell wide open when you die.
  • 00:15:35.657 --> 00:15:40.129
  • Even the demons believe those things about jesus.
  • 00:15:40.129 --> 00:15:43.098
  • They believe it more than you do, or i do, because they've
  • 00:15:43.098 --> 00:15:46.268
  • Seen those things.
  • 00:15:46.268 --> 00:15:47.636
  • They've witnessed those events.
  • 00:15:47.636 --> 00:15:50.139
  • No, saving faith, that word believe means to trust in,
  • 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:54.410
  • To put your faith in, to put your whole weight upon.
  • 00:15:54.410 --> 00:15:58.280
  • That's what it means to have saving faith.
  • 00:15:58.280 --> 00:16:01.884
  • Think about it this way, imagine a parachutist who's up in
  • 00:16:01.884 --> 00:16:05.521
  • A plane about to make his jump.
  • 00:16:05.521 --> 00:16:07.389
  • He's strapped on the parachute.
  • 00:16:07.389 --> 00:16:09.291
  • He believes that parachute can save him, but is it saving him
  • 00:16:09.291 --> 00:16:13.295
  • While he's in the comfort of that airplane cabin?
  • 00:16:13.295 --> 00:16:16.098
  • No, the parachutist can stand at the door and dangle one foot
  • 00:16:16.098 --> 00:16:20.569
  • Out, but is that parachute saving him?
  • 00:16:20.569 --> 00:16:23.639
  • No, it's not till he takes that leap out of the airplane.
  • 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:29.545
  • Without any other support and pulls that ripcord, that the
  • 00:16:29.545 --> 00:16:34.116
  • Parachute actually saves him.
  • 00:16:34.116 --> 00:16:37.286
  • Ladies and gentlemen, it is the same way with saving faith.
  • 00:16:37.286 --> 00:16:40.022
  • It's not believing certain facts about jesus.
  • 00:16:40.022 --> 00:16:43.325
  • It's coming to that point in your life when you kneel before
  • 00:16:43.325 --> 00:16:46.628
  • A holy god and you say, "god, i know i'm a sinner.
  • 00:16:46.628 --> 00:16:50.666
  • I know i deserve your punishment, but i believe with
  • 00:16:50.666 --> 00:16:54.570
  • All of my heart that jesus died on the cross for me.
  • 00:16:54.570 --> 00:16:58.440
  • He took the punishment i deserve.
  • 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.043
  • And i have nothing else i'm trusting in, not my goodness,
  • 00:17:01.043 --> 00:17:04.513
  • Not my church rituals.
  • 00:17:04.513 --> 00:17:06.248
  • I'm trusting in what jesus did alone to save me from my sins.
  • 00:17:06.248 --> 00:17:12.221
  • Give me eternal life.
  • 00:17:12.221 --> 00:17:13.889
  • It's only when we say that out of sincere desperation that god
  • 00:17:13.889 --> 00:17:18.026
  • Declares us justified, free, redeemed forever and ever
  • 00:17:18.026 --> 00:17:24.800
  • And ever.
  • 00:17:24.800 --> 00:17:26.135
  • That is the message of the gospel.
  • 00:17:26.135 --> 00:17:28.770
  • [congregation applauding]
  • 00:17:28.770 --> 00:17:31.173
  • God's gift of salvation is offered as a gift.
  • 00:17:31.173 --> 00:17:34.810
  • It's based on the work of christ and it is received
  • 00:17:34.810 --> 00:17:38.847
  • Through faith.
  • 00:17:38.847 --> 00:17:40.616
  • We've talked about the reality of god's gift.
  • 00:17:40.616 --> 00:17:44.086
  • Let's look at the results of god's gift, what happens?
  • 00:17:44.086 --> 00:17:47.523
  • What does it mean that we have received god's gift?
  • 00:17:47.523 --> 00:17:51.593
  • Well, the result of god's gift is this, first of all,
  • 00:17:51.593 --> 00:17:55.097
  • It demands humility.
  • 00:17:55.097 --> 00:17:57.065
  • Look at verses 27 to 28, "where then is boasting?
  • 00:17:57.065 --> 00:18:00.602
  • It's excluded.
  • 00:18:00.602 --> 00:18:02.004
  • By what kind of law?
  • 00:18:02.004 --> 00:18:03.338
  • Of works?
  • 00:18:03.338 --> 00:18:04.706
  • No, by a law of faith."
  • 00:18:04.706 --> 00:18:06.341
  • The fact that we are saved by god's grace we receive through
  • 00:18:06.341 --> 00:18:09.745
  • Faith means there's no reason to boast.
  • 00:18:09.745 --> 00:18:12.581
  • You know, just imagine, what if you and i played even a small
  • 00:18:12.581 --> 00:18:16.051
  • Role in our salvation?
  • 00:18:16.051 --> 00:18:18.120
  • Can you imagine how miserable that would make heaven one day?
  • 00:18:18.120 --> 00:18:22.157
  • Because all we would do is go up and down the streets, the golden
  • 00:18:22.157 --> 00:18:26.261
  • Streets, and brag to other people about what we did to get
  • 00:18:26.261 --> 00:18:29.398
  • There, "well, what did you do to get here?"
  • 00:18:29.398 --> 00:18:30.732
  • "well, this is what i did to get here.
  • 00:18:30.732 --> 00:18:32.100
  • What did you do to get here?"
  • 00:18:32.100 --> 00:18:33.802
  • There's going to be none of that in heaven, because it's all of
  • 00:18:33.802 --> 00:18:37.506
  • God's grace.
  • 00:18:37.506 --> 00:18:38.874
  • There is no boasting.
  • 00:18:38.874 --> 00:18:40.242
  • It demands humility.
  • 00:18:40.242 --> 00:18:41.743
  • Secondly, it democratizes salvation.
  • 00:18:41.743 --> 00:18:45.614
  • The fact that salvation is by grace alone,
  • 00:18:45.614 --> 00:18:49.017
  • Democratizes salvation.
  • 00:18:49.017 --> 00:18:51.119
  • Look at verse 29, "or is god the god of the jews only?
  • 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.556
  • Is he not the god of the gentiles also?
  • 00:18:54.556 --> 00:18:56.992
  • Yes, of the gentiles also."
  • 00:18:56.992 --> 00:18:58.994
  • Paul is saying, the fact that it's grace means anybody can be
  • 00:18:58.994 --> 00:19:03.131
  • A part of the family of god; doesn't matter your skin color,
  • 00:19:03.131 --> 00:19:06.802
  • Doesn't matter your past religion, doesn't matter your
  • 00:19:06.802 --> 00:19:09.838
  • Net worth, or your education.
  • 00:19:09.838 --> 00:19:11.873
  • Everyone is free to partake of god's grace.
  • 00:19:11.873 --> 00:19:16.078
  • That's what grace does, it democratizes salvation.
  • 00:19:16.078 --> 00:19:20.682
  • And finally, grace demonstrates god's justice.
  • 00:19:20.682 --> 00:19:25.854
  • Look at verse 31, "do we then nullify the law through faith?
  • 00:19:25.854 --> 00:19:30.559
  • May it never be!
  • 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:31.927
  • On the contrary, we established the law."
  • 00:19:31.927 --> 00:19:34.096
  • The fact that god offers his grace as a gift, not a reward,
  • 00:19:34.096 --> 00:19:39.935
  • Is something that demonstrates the justice of god.
  • 00:19:39.935 --> 00:19:43.372
  • It democratizes salvation, and it demands humility.
  • 00:19:43.372 --> 00:19:49.678
  • This week i was rereading the story of the 18th century poet
  • 00:19:49.678 --> 00:19:55.684
  • William cooper.
  • 00:19:55.684 --> 00:19:57.052
  • You may know his story.
  • 00:19:57.052 --> 00:19:59.054
  • When he was six years of age, his mother died.
  • 00:19:59.054 --> 00:20:01.423
  • The father was unavailable, so they bundled young william up
  • 00:20:01.423 --> 00:20:06.328
  • And at six years of age, sent him off to a boarding school
  • 00:20:06.328 --> 00:20:10.532
  • Where he was bullied and badgered and even beaten by
  • 00:20:10.532 --> 00:20:13.568
  • The older boys.
  • 00:20:13.568 --> 00:20:15.170
  • He fell into severe depression and he tried to kill himself on
  • 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:19.908
  • Two different occasions.
  • 00:20:19.908 --> 00:20:22.010
  • Finally, when he was 25 years of age in 1756, william cooper was
  • 00:20:22.010 --> 00:20:28.317
  • Sent to an asylum for the insane.
  • 00:20:28.317 --> 00:20:31.920
  • At that time in history, it's the worst fate that could befall
  • 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:35.390
  • A human being to be sent in an asylum for the insane, but there
  • 00:20:35.390 --> 00:20:40.462
  • Seemed to be no other answer.
  • 00:20:40.462 --> 00:20:42.931
  • While he was in that asylum, he could be heard during nights,
  • 00:20:42.931 --> 00:20:47.035
  • Crying out from his room, "my sin, my sin, if only there were
  • 00:20:47.035 --> 00:20:53.208
  • A fountain that could cleanse me of my sin."
  • 00:20:53.208 --> 00:20:57.446
  • But he knew of no such fountain until he met a new doctor who
  • 00:20:57.446 --> 00:21:02.417
  • Was assigned to his case,
  • 00:21:02.417 --> 00:21:03.752
  • A godly christian named dr. cotton.
  • 00:21:03.752 --> 00:21:08.090
  • Doctor cotton listened to his plea and showed him that
  • 00:21:08.090 --> 00:21:11.526
  • Fountain where he could find the cleansing of his sin.
  • 00:21:11.526 --> 00:21:16.064
  • William cooper writes his own testimony of that experience.
  • 00:21:16.064 --> 00:21:19.801
  • He said, "i flung myself into a chair near the window, and
  • 00:21:19.801 --> 00:21:24.339
  • Seeing a bible there i ventured once more to apply to it for
  • 00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:28.643
  • Comfort and instruction.
  • 00:21:28.643 --> 00:21:31.046
  • The first verses i saw were in the third chapter of romans,"
  • 00:21:31.046 --> 00:21:35.584
  • That passage we just looked at, "that says being justified
  • 00:21:35.584 --> 00:21:39.955
  • Freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ
  • 00:21:39.955 --> 00:21:43.959
  • Jesus whom god has set forth to be a propitiation through faith
  • 00:21:43.959 --> 00:21:48.163
  • In his blood to manifest his righteousness.
  • 00:21:48.163 --> 00:21:52.300
  • Immediately," william said, "i received the strength to believe
  • 00:21:52.300 --> 00:21:57.105
  • And the full beams of the son of righteousness shone on me.
  • 00:21:57.105 --> 00:22:01.443
  • I saw the sufficiency of christ's atonement he had made;
  • 00:22:01.443 --> 00:22:05.781
  • My pardon in his blood; and the fullness and completeness of
  • 00:22:05.781 --> 00:22:10.419
  • His justification.
  • 00:22:10.419 --> 00:22:12.487
  • In a moment, i believed and i received the gospel."
  • 00:22:12.487 --> 00:22:19.761
  • Years later, william cooper would use that experience to
  • 00:22:19.761 --> 00:22:25.033
  • Write that hymn, we still sing today, "there is a fountain
  • 00:22:25.033 --> 00:22:32.407
  • Filled with blood, drawn from emmanuel's veins.
  • 00:22:32.407 --> 00:22:37.779
  • And sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all, bear
  • 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:43.485
  • Guilty stain.
  • 00:22:43.485 --> 00:22:45.454
  • The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.
  • 00:22:45.454 --> 00:22:52.027
  • And there may i, though vile as he, wash all my sins away."
  • 00:22:52.027 --> 00:23:00.569
  • Salvation is not a reward.
  • 00:23:00.569 --> 00:23:03.705
  • It is a gift to those who trust in the death of christ for the
  • 00:23:03.705 --> 00:23:09.678
  • Forgiveness of their sins.
  • 00:23:09.678 --> 00:23:12.614
  • That's what makes good friday so good.
  • 00:23:12.614 --> 00:23:16.551
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:23:16.551 --> 00:23:21.823
  • Jeffress: there's no more powerful truth than this, that
  • 00:23:23.625 --> 00:23:26.595
  • Jesus christ willingly endured the cross to pay for our sins.
  • 00:23:26.595 --> 00:23:31.366
  • And i hope today's message has renewed your focus on our
  • 00:23:31.366 --> 00:23:34.803
  • Glorious savior as we enter into holy week.
  • 00:23:34.803 --> 00:23:38.640
  • Now, before we close today, i want to share a note from eric
  • 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.877
  • In new york.
  • 00:23:41.877 --> 00:23:43.311
  • Eric wrote, "pathway to victory" is so encouraging to me.
  • 00:23:43.311 --> 00:23:47.048
  • Your teachings speak so well to the misunderstandings of our
  • 00:23:47.048 --> 00:23:50.519
  • Day and shares how we can be saved because of the lord's
  • 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:54.289
  • Unfathomable sacrifice and grace freely given.
  • 00:23:54.289 --> 00:23:58.860
  • Thank you for changing my heart to live for god and not for the
  • 00:23:58.860 --> 00:24:02.731
  • Approval of others."
  • 00:24:02.731 --> 00:24:04.366
  • Well, eric, thank you for those encouraging words.
  • 00:24:04.366 --> 00:24:07.802
  • And to everyone who supports "pathway to victory," especially
  • 00:24:07.802 --> 00:24:11.206
  • Our pathway partners, this note of gratitude also belongs to
  • 00:24:11.206 --> 00:24:15.143
  • You, because you're helping us share the true meaning of easter
  • 00:24:15.143 --> 00:24:19.581
  • With people all across america and around the world.
  • 00:24:19.581 --> 00:24:23.218
  • Thank you for partnering with us as together we pierce the
  • 00:24:23.218 --> 00:24:26.721
  • Darkness with the light of god's word.
  • 00:24:26.721 --> 00:24:29.724
  • Now, please stay right there.
  • 00:24:29.724 --> 00:24:31.059
  • I'll be back with more in just a moment.
  • 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:34.663
  • Announcer: that recurring temptation you can't shake, the
  • 00:24:34.729 --> 00:24:37.532
  • Doubts that creep in during your darkest moments, the tension in
  • 00:24:37.532 --> 00:24:41.036
  • Your closest relationships, these aren't random struggles,
  • 00:24:41.036 --> 00:24:44.573
  • These are part of a strategic attack on your faith, your
  • 00:24:44.573 --> 00:24:47.509
  • Family, and your future.
  • 00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:49.110
  • Jeffress: satan has a personalized plan to discourage,
  • 00:24:49.110 --> 00:24:52.681
  • Deceive, and derail you.
  • 00:24:52.681 --> 00:24:54.883
  • But you don't have to live in defeat.
  • 00:24:54.883 --> 00:24:57.319
  • God has given you access to the same power that raised jesus
  • 00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:00.922
  • From the dead.
  • 00:25:00.922 --> 00:25:02.257
  • In my bestselling book, "the divine defense," i'll show you
  • 00:25:02.257 --> 00:25:05.493
  • How to put on the full armor of god and use six biblical
  • 00:25:05.493 --> 00:25:09.264
  • Strategies to defeat satan's plan to destroy your life.
  • 00:25:09.264 --> 00:25:13.935
  • Announcer: request "the divine defense" when you give a
  • 00:25:13.935 --> 00:25:16.104
  • Generous gift to "pathway to victory" or when you become a
  • 00:25:16.104 --> 00:25:19.074
  • Pathway partner.
  • 00:25:19.074 --> 00:25:20.408
  • And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll send you the
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  • Complete resource set including the study guide, "suit up!
  • 00:25:23.979 --> 00:25:27.115
  • The armor of god for kids," and the teaching series on both cd
  • 00:25:27.115 --> 00:25:31.019
  • And dvd.
  • 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:32.387
  • Jeffress: your mind is the devil's battlefield on which he
  • 00:25:32.387 --> 00:25:36.625
  • Is warring against everything important to you.
  • 00:25:36.625 --> 00:25:41.796
  • It is a battle that seeks to destroy your faith,
  • 00:25:41.796 --> 00:25:45.533
  • Your family, and your future.
  • 00:25:45.533 --> 00:25:47.836
  • Announcer: thank you for supporting "pathway to victory."
  • 00:25:47.836 --> 00:25:50.405
  • Your generous ministry gift helps us broadcast biblical
  • 00:25:50.405 --> 00:25:53.475
  • Truth on television, radio, and online, equipping believers like
  • 00:25:53.475 --> 00:25:57.712
  • You to stand firm and live victoriously.
  • 00:25:57.712 --> 00:26:00.782
  • Together, we're piercing the darkness with the light of
  • 00:26:00.782 --> 00:26:03.652
  • God's word.
  • 00:26:03.652 --> 00:26:05.020
  • Jeffress: the cross represents the greatest gift ever given,
  • 00:26:06.921 --> 00:26:10.425
  • The perfect righteousness of christ covering our sin.
  • 00:26:10.425 --> 00:26:14.796
  • When you place your faith in jesus's finished work, god
  • 00:26:14.796 --> 00:26:18.433
  • No longer sees your sin, but he sees the righteousness of his
  • 00:26:18.433 --> 00:26:22.437
  • Son in you.
  • 00:26:22.437 --> 00:26:24.305
  • That's what makes good friday truly good.
  • 00:26:24.305 --> 00:26:28.143
  • Well, the night before his crucifixion, jesus observed the
  • 00:26:28.143 --> 00:26:31.780
  • Passover meal with his disciples.
  • 00:26:31.780 --> 00:26:34.382
  • In doing so, he would impart this tradition with entirely new
  • 00:26:34.382 --> 00:26:38.720
  • Significance and meaning.
  • 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.855
  • Stay tuned for preview of what's coming up next on
  • 00:26:40.855 --> 00:26:43.792
  • "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:43.792 --> 00:26:45.694
  • Jeffress: you know, if christianity had been some
  • 00:26:46.995 --> 00:26:49.431
  • Manufactured myth, it would have been a lot grander than the idea
  • 00:26:49.431 --> 00:26:54.002
  • Of god coming down and dying on a wooden cross in some obscure
  • 00:26:54.002 --> 00:26:58.173
  • Part of the world.
  • 00:26:58.173 --> 00:26:59.674
  • But that is the message.
  • 00:26:59.674 --> 00:27:02.010
  • And that message is foolishness, paul said, to those who are
  • 00:27:02.010 --> 00:27:05.480
  • Perishing, but it's the power of god to salvation for
  • 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:10.318
  • Those who believe.
  • 00:27:10.318 --> 00:27:12.420
  • Male announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for
  • 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:14.823
  • The message, "the last supper before the first easter"
  • 00:27:14.823 --> 00:27:18.526
  • Here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:27:18.526 --> 00:27:27.235