Well, thank you for joining us today for this memorial service for Regina Abernathy. Your presence means a great deal to the family. And it's a time to honor the Lord. Is it time to Thank the Lord for the life that he gave to Regina for 75 years. And it's a time to rejoice in the salvation.
that God has granted to Regina. And to all those who trust him by faith. And this is not the end of life for those who know the Lord. It's just really. the next step into a more glorious time of greater life.
And we're rejoicing in that today. Regina. Passed away on April 21. A native of New York, she was a son of Tony, or wife rather, of Tony Abernathy. who survives, and the daughter of the late Manuel Garcia, And Hazel Garcia, Hazel still is with us at age 99.
Isn't that amazing? Regina was a seamstress, created window treatments. at Stevenson Vestal. and was a member here at Beacon Baptist Church for Tw uh forty s forty s four years. most of her life, I guess you'd say, a good good more than half of it.
And so I have had the joy of pastoring Regina and Tony and their family for these many, many years. And it's a privilege to be able to spend this time with you today. In addition to her husband and mother, survivors include A daughter, Laurie Ruth. I see her here. And Michael, who's also here.
and his wife Olathea of Greensboro. Five grandchildren. And she was preceded rather in death by a brother. Manny Garcia. I want to say that um Regina was one of the sweetest and most loving persons that I've had the privilege of knowing.
I think all Christians have a very noticeable element of sweetness, some more than others. She had a lot. She just was a very, very sweet lady.
So Such a joy to be around, so easy to get along with. such an encouragement to her family and two church members. And I can assure you that she is going to be greatly missed here.
Well, let's commit this service to the Lord in prayer. Father, we Bow before your throne. We bow to worship you. You are the great I am. You are the creator of life.
You are the sustainer of life. And most of all, you are the one who grants eternal life. And so, Father, we bow before your throne today and thank you for the life you gave. to Regina. and even more, O Lord, for the new birth.
that you formed within her by the work of your spirit, and gave her everlasting life, and we rejoice in that. And Father, as we gather here today, we know that There are needs. all kinds of needs and you are the one who knows every heart and knows every need. And so, Father, we just pray that during this time today, your Holy Spirit will. Minister to each heart according to the various and unique needs of each one.
And Father, may we leave this place. Not sorrowing. as those who have no hope. but rejoicing. and who you are.
and what you have done. and what this dear lady was. as a testimony of your grace in her life. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.
Well, we'd like for you to take a hymnal and turn to number 491.
Okay. A hymn that reminds us of the Loving, concern, and kindness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. who himself When one of his dear friends passed away named Lazarus, stood at the tomb of Lazarus, and Jesus wept. Every Sunday school child knows that verse. You've got to memorize that one.
So if somebody Says, can you quote a verse? I can quote one. Jesus wept. And he certainly did. And that's because He cares.
And this song is a reminder of that. Let's sing it together, stanzas 1, 2. And four, shall we stand as we say? God sees us there when thy heart is made to keep the wonderful song as the burden's pass and the dead distress and the name goes weary and long oh yes he care I know we cares these are dislodged with my free days of weary oh my steering anger I saved your hand Oh, yes, he cares by no means, but his heart is touched with my greed when the days are weary, the Lord. Thy story I know, I save your cares.
Jesus cared when I saw him. Send goodbye to the news of earth to me and the set hearts till weary race is on to him as he sing. Oh, yes, he cares by knowledge. His heart is just lifted by greed. And the praise are weary, the Lord by staring I know, my Savior gives.
What a blessing to know our Savior Chairs, isn't it? Tony, I'm the younger brother. I just want to clarify that. and much younger brother. Tony asked me to Say a few words and to specifically make sure.
That you all understood. What a saint Regina was. for putting up with him all these years. But you know him and you know that's the case. I told him that was no problem for me because I shared a room with him growing up.
Uh I was his uh uh on his eighth But when he turned eight years old, I was his gift. to him to share a room with a little brother. And so I can clearly say. Regina was my hero. for getting him giving me a room.
for getting him out of my room, I was uh ready for him to go. Regina had a special way of loving people. of caring about people. of showing her concern, And she did it so well. She had that special gift Hospitality.
of just bringing people together to love. Uh somehow it was uh it was never dreary in her presence. She just made you feel better whenever you were with her, but you know that. as well. You know that too.
And I will never forget. Again, she was such a. uh joy to me as a teenager. Uh when when they got married. As I said, to get Tony out of the room, I had my own room then.
But Regina that at the wedding, when they were married, Our dad, mom, and dad were there. We all were, and Tony and I. All in the hotel room together, and the night before the wedding, we were trying to, we decided we needed to check out the Tuxes. First.
Well, the place had gotten the pants mixed up. And you can rest assured Tony and I don't wear the same size pants. And that was quite the show that we put on that night, the next day at the wedding. Manny and I were the groomsmen. And as back in that time, you know, you had the little.
a runner thing that you run down the aisle, little white runner. And Manny and I, well, that was our job. We would take that runner and take it down the aisle. Just as before Regina came up. before the procession started.
Mandy and I did our best. We did that. We didn't actually practice a lot for that job, but we just did it. We grabbed each end, took it down the aisle. And as we got to the end of the aisle, Mandy and I bumped heads and both of us just about fell on the floor.
It was a good start. But you know. Mm-hmm. That's how family is.
Sometimes we'd bump heads. with each other. But yet There's something special. Regina's family and our family both. Her mom and dad and our And mine and Tony's.
I knew. Their commitment to Christ. I knew their commitment to the Lord. And this, I think they took seriously, they no questionly took serious the words of Joshua when he says. Who will you serve?
Choose this day whom you will serve. And they had the same answer he did. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That was our parents. That was Regina's parents.
It made a difference in her life. It made a difference in our family's life. And so that we can rejoice with the psalmist In Psalm 23, who wrote these words that we've all said so many times? and read, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. For his name's sake. Yea, though I walked through The valley of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. thy rod and thy staff They comfort me. There preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup.
Runneth over. Surely. goodness and mercy. Shall follow me all the days of my life, and I I will dwell. in the house of the Lord.
Forever. And now she does. And I know, I know. She's probably in charge of the hospitality there too. Sharing.
that same smile and that same grace that she has. done all these years. God never moves without purpose or plan when trust. I'm his servant And holding a man Give thanks to the Lord, though your testing seems long in darkness. He gave it.
Oh, rejoice. In the Lord, he makes no mistake. He knows at the end of each path that I take. For when I am attributed and he refined, I shall come forth as gold. I could not see through the shadows ahead.
So I looked at the cross of my. safe. Instead, I bowed to the will of the Master that day. Then peace came and Tears fled away. No, I can see testing.
Comes from above. God's strength. His children and purchasing laws. My father knows best, and I trust in his care. Mm-hmm.
Purging more fruit I will bear. Oh, rejoice in the Lord. He makes no mistakes. He knows. At the end of each path that I take, for when I am tried and pure, I shall come forth as gold as I was sitting there listening to the two gentlemen before me.
I thought there's going to be a little repetition. But that's a good thing. Repetition means that there's a reality there. And there were certain things that certainly stood out about Regina. I want to begin sharing my pastoral memories by stating that one thing was abundantly clear to me.
Regina was entrusting her everlasting soul into the loving care of her Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ, no doubt about it. More than facts in her head, it was evident that by faith, the Holy Spirit had taken up residence in her heart, Tony and Regina Abernathy joined Beacon in 1982 and have been faithful SETI members for 44 years. Regina was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. At Beacon, she quietly served behind the scenes in Iwana and then later in impact clubs for a total of over 30 years.
One couple that talked with me told me of how Regina reached out to encourage them. when they first started attending Beacon Baptist Church. They visited disciples serving Christ's Sunday School class, and Regina Proupley didn't hesitate to invite them to sit with Tony and her. When Regina took over the responsibility of supervising the care of her mother, Hazel Garcia, she had to cut back on some ministries. I witnessed her servant's heart as she cared for her mother for several years, the past five while Haza lived in the Abernathy home.
When her mom moved in with them, Regina had to cut back yet on another ministry. that of working in the nursery. During that time that Hazel lived with Regina and Tony, She was in her mid-90s and is currently 99, as Pastor Bartman said. her care was a tall order. for someone who suffered significant ongoing pain in her back, since July of twenty twenty five.
In addition to caring for her mom, Regina Faithley cared for Tony following his heart surgery two years ago. Regina was an example of God's grace it was evident and severe mercy. It was severe, from the standpoint that her family will miss her for a time. Those family and friends whose faith is in Christ will be reunited with her one day. God's grace was merciful.
and that he called her from the domain of suffering. the domain of worshiping Him. It was truly God's mercy to take her as quickly as He did. More than once she said to Tony, she could not live with the sleepless nights and the pain that she was experiencing. on Wednesday, April 8th.
I was with Regina at ARMC. When she wait while she waited for an MRI. had to be taken. Following, I saw firsthand, I should say, the intense pain that she was in. Following the MRI, she was moved to a thorough care.
And as was said earlier, the Lord mercifully called Regina home on April 21. She will be missed by family and friends as one who was a giving person. and an encouragement to many. Truly. She rejoiced in the Lord and rested in His providence for her life.
If you will look at the back of your bulletin. You'll notice that there's a hymn printed there, the words Entitled His Robes for Mine. This is one of those hymns that Explains the gospel of Jesus Christ in Shall I say unusual language?
some aspects of it that we don't always consider carefully, but Having it put together like this for us, it becomes very enlightening. And very instructive and encouraging.
Well we Tony had actually considered the possibility of our singing this hymn together. It's one of his favorites. The only thing that held us back is that we knew People from our church would know it, but people who are not from our church would not know this hymn, and sometimes it's hard to sing a. A hymn you've never sung before. In fact, I can still remember.
The first time I sang this hymn, We sang it here. at our church quite often. I think I first heard it being sung in the teen room and then We sang it here on a Sunday morning. and I had trouble singing it the first time. And um Because I I it was new and there was some little Um What should I say?
quirky elements in the musical Uh line. And so I kept that in mind, and I said, I know we'd love to sing it, but I don't know if we could sing it well.
So let's just print the words on the back, and that's what we've done. But I do want us to look at them very carefully today. In fact, This is really going to form the substance. of the message that I want to deliver to you. His robes for mine.
I think this hymn, and we'll look at it verse by verse in a moment, but I think this hymn could also be called. The Great Exchange. That's what it's talking about. His robes For mine. Christ's robes exchanged for mine, my robes exchanged for his.
The Great Exchange. and that really is what takes place. Yeah, and A believer coming to Christ. when he trusts the Lord. and the g gospel that God has committed to us.
It's in biblical symbolism. That's why There are elements of it that we have to think about. But his robes for mine. It's talking about, well, let's read that first stanza, you follow as I read it. His robes for mine A wonderful exchange.
clothed in my sin Christ suffered neath God's rage. Draped in his righteousness, I'm justified. In Christ I live, for in my place, He died. My close. Sinful.
Clothing. But Christ wore them in my place. and suffered the judgment that I deserved because of my sin. You know, the Bible tells us that All of our righteousness, that is our self-righteousness, Our goodness. All of our righteousness is as what?
Filthy. Rags. His robes for mine. Mine aren't that Impressive. If I understand.
truly what it's all about. And so my clothes, which are a symbol of my symbol my my sinfulness. Were exchanged for his, and he took my dirty rags and stood in my place. and gave me in his place In in his place, my His clothes, his righteous clothes. And I wore them and continued to wear them.
And because of that, I'm justified. And we'll talk a little bit about that word in a moment. But you see in myself I could not I could not be commendable to God. God's a holy God. God is so What should I say?
Is so opposed to sin. that he will not allow one sin into heaven. There's lots of it here on earth. That traces all the way back to the Garden of Eden and to the fall of Adam there in the garden, and then the sin nature that was transmitted down to all who are natural descendants of Adam. And then the sins which we pile on top of that.
Adam sinned by disobeying one command. He had one rule. People don't like rules. Oh, all those rules.
Some people Think that's what Christianity is all about. It's all about the rules.
Well There are rules, I'm not going to say there aren't. But Adam only had one. And he didn't even keep that one. And that's when sin entered into this world. And the Bible tells us death.
by sin or because of sin. And so death passed upon all All men. For that all have sinned. That's the problem. My robes, the symbol of my True condition.
As viewed by God, Are sinful, dirty, Filthy. Putrid. Rags. And if anyone here thinks you're going to Be saved that you're going to get to heaven by offering to God your good deeds, you are Terribly mistaken, and I hope you understand that before we're done today. You're terribly mistaken.
You don't have anything. that's truly good to be able to offer to God. Your good works won't get you to heaven. Your church membership won't get you to heaven. Your being a good neighbor, a good citizen, will not get you to heaven.
Your Endeavoring to keep the commandments of God won't get you to heaven. Because you haven't kept them perfectly, and they need to be kept perfectly. Because God will not allow, what did we say earlier? Will not allow one sin. into heaven.
That's a holy place. We're a holy God. receives a holy people. And the only way he has a holy angel, and where the holy angels are, and the only way that they will be holy people in heaven is if God makes them holy. And God will.
God does. God has provided the way for that. But we must understand that way.
So on stanza one, there are two realities. the reality of sin and the reality of righteousness. My sinful Close. his righteous clothes. my sinful self, but his righteous self when we're talking about Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us in him there was no sin. No sin. We're full of sin. Christ had no sin. And so the reality of our sinfulness is contrasted with the reality of His righteousness, two realities.
But Stanza 1 also talks about two blessings. the blessing of life and the blessing of of justification. Draped in his righteousness, we read, I'm justified. In Christ, I live. For in my place He died.
the blessings of life. Life that God bestows. upon those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And the justification which God pronounces upon those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Justification is a legal term.
It has to do with our legal standing before God. And In the gospel, when we trust in Christ, this great exchange takes place, and God takes away our filthy rags and he replaces them with Christ's perfect righteousness. And then, standing before the judgment bar of God, God who is the judge of all the earth, and God before whom all of us must stand someday. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die, and what after that. The judgment.
God is the judge. And we're all going to stand before God someday. And the question is: are we going to stand there in our own clothes our own robes of sinfulness, Or are we going to stand there in the perfect robe of Christ's righteousness? And that's the whole difference. Those to go to heaven aren't going to heaven because they're better people than the ones who are going to hell.
Those who are going to heaven are going because they've been clothed in a perfect righteousness, not their own. It's Christ's. But that's what's required, a perfect righteousness. And if we stand before God in that perfect righteousness, then God says, I pronounce you justified. A simple definition of justified is Just as if I'd never sinned.
That's what we need. We don't go to heaven without that. But nobody can say that in of themselves, can they? Anyone here says I have never sinned. Are you audacious enough to say that, and I doubt that you would.
I know what I can follow that up with. You are either A liar or badly mistaken. You've sinned. All have sinned. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
So we're going to stand before God in our own sin. And if we're standing there in our sin, then what's the pronouncement? condemned. But if we stand before God in a perfect righteousness, what's the pronouncement? Justified.
What a wonderful. Wonderful reality.
Well, let's go on to stanza two. His ropes for mine. What cause have I for dread? Without his robes I have every cause for dread. God's daunting law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand, with righteous works not mine. Saved by my lord's vicarious death and life. We often say correctly, that salvation is not by works. It is By grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And from that perspective, that statement is true.
But from another viewpoint that is equally accurate, we can say that salvation is all by works. But not ours. It's his. His works, His perfect works, His perfect obedience. His perfect life, His perfect righteousness.
That's what secures salvation. If I endeavor to meet God According to my works, I am in trouble with a capital T. You remember that uh That song I uh I forgot. Seventy-six trombones in the big parade. Trouble with a capital T.
If I stand before God in my works, I am in Trouble, trouble, trouble. But if I stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ, I fear no dread. That's what it says. What cause have I for dread? His robes for mine.
And so what we have is in verse 2, One requirement to go to heaven. What's that? Perfect righteousness. One requirement. to go to heaven.
Perfect. Righteousness. If you can do that on your own. Ha ha ha.
Well, you can't. You know that. You can't.
So what hope is there? Christ. Christ's perfect righteousness, and this great exchange for those who trust in Him. And there are two aspects of his work upon the cross. His vicarious life and death we read about in the last line of stanza two.
saved by my lords Vicarious. Death and life. Vicarious is just a fancy word for Substitutionary. Vicarious in the place of Vicarious, a substitute for. saved by my lords substitutionary Death.
and life. We'll take them in reverse order. I've already spoken about it. But Christ lived. an obedient life, perfectly obedient.
He said it several times. You read about it in the Gospels: how he came to do the Father's will, and he did it perfectly. We are required to do the Father's will. And none of us have done it perfectly. But he came to do the Father's will and he did it perfectly.
That's why God said from heaven more than once, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. His perfect obedience. An obedience that Caused him to submit himself to the Father all the way to the cross. Because that was the Father's will. Here's vicarious life, but you see That perfect obedience of Christ can become Mine by substitution.
Mine by God's grace in imputing it to me. He is vicarious Life. He lived a perfect life in the place of those who trust in him. That's how I get his robe of perfect righteousness and his vicarious or substitutionary death, where he takes upon himself the penalty of those who trust in him. What do I deserve because of my sins?
The same thing you deserve because of your sins. What's that? Death. More than physical death. Banishment Forever.
Eternal death. There is eternal life and there is eternal death. Eternal life has no end, eternal death has no end. And that's what I deserve That's the judgment. that is due unto me because of my sins and I hope you understand also of you because of your sins.
But again, Christ Took that in my stead. He died on the cross and God's judgment rested upon him. God poured out his holy wrath upon his son, and his son did that as a substitute for all those who trust in him. Stanza three. His robes for mine.
God's justice is appeased. That justice that we talked about earlier. That judgment, that a just God is required to pronounce upon Sinful men and women, if they appear before him with that record. of their sinfulness. But if they stand before him in the righteous robes of Christ, God's justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed. Upon the cross. And thus The fathers Pleased. That's a strange. Statement.
But it's true. Who Ultimately, Put Jesus upon the cross. You say, well, the Roman soldiers did, yes. The Jewish religious leaders did, yes. Pontius Pilate did, yes.
In a sense, all sinners did, yes. But ultimately, who put Jesus upon the cross? His heavenly Father did. He did that offering his own son. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
That whoever believes in him shall not perish. but have everlasting life. And God Placed his own son upon that cross, and in doing that, he was bearing the punishment due unto sinners. And God is pleased to accept that. judgment, that justice.
in the place of believing Sinners. Two realities, justice and God's wrath, for there is such a thing as God's wrath. And this verse speaks of that. But one declaration. One declaration.
Finished. I'm looking at verse three again. His robes for mine. God's justice is appeased. Jesus is crushed.
And thus the fathers pleased. Christ drank blood. God's wrath on sin. Then cried what? Tis done.
What did he say on the cross? It is finished. The work's been done. Forever. It's done.
Sends wages paid. Propitiation, there's another big theological term, propitiation one. We could substitute the word payment. Payment. has been rendered.
By Christ's death upon the cross. And finally, verse 4. His ropes for mine. Such anguish none can know. Christ, God's beloved, condemned As though his foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone. What did he cry out from the cross? My God My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?
Well God the Father forsook his Son upon the cross.
so that he need not forsake Any and every sinner who trusts in Christ, because that's what we. Have coming for us if we do not trust in Christ, to be cast out from God's favorable presence, to be forsaken by God. He, as though I, accursed and left alone, and then that last stanza, or that last line of stanza four, I. As though he embraced and welcomed Home. When I'm trusting in Christ with a heart of repentance and faith.
And have the righteousness of Christ applied to me, and am viewed in that righteousness by God Almighty. then he welcomes me into his presence with the same joyful welcome that he welcomes his own son. Does anyone here doubt that God welcomed his son back to heaven when he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven? Does anyone doubt that? I think not.
Well, everyone who trusts in Christ in repentant faith. Receives that same warm welcome because of what he did. in my place. His robes for mine. a great exchange.
I will read my text at the end of the sermon instead of at the beginning. And here it is. This summarizes it rather nicely. In Romans chapter three. Beginning at verse 21.
But now The righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. being witnessed by the law and the prophets, Even the righteousness of God. through faith in Jesus Christ. To all And on all, who believe. For there is no difference.
For all have sinned. and fall short of the glory of God. being justified freely By his grace. through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation. There's that big word.
A payment by His blood through faith. to demonstrate his righteousness. Because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins. that were previously committed. To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that he might be Just And The Justifier.
of the one who has faith in Jesus. In his justice, sin must be Punished. And in Christ. It was punished upon the cross. In God's mercy.
Salvation is granted to those who trust in Jesus Christ. May I ask you today Has Your robes of sinfulness. been exchanged. for God's perfect robe. of righteousness and if not Why don't you go to him?
and acknowledge your need. Confess your sinfulness. Plead for his mercy. Cast yourself upon Jesus Christ. and experience the great blessings.
of which we have talked about today. We're going to sing in closing. Mm-hmm. One more hymn. You'll find it on page 243.
Cool. Come thou fount of every blessing. Tune my heart. To sing thy grace. Wow.
Grace like this needs to be celebrated. It needs to be sung about. We're going to sing the first and the third. Stances one and three, shall we stand as we say? Yeah.
From thy fountain every mercy, in my heart to sing thy praise. Straight on mercy never ceasing, offer songs of God's praise. Jesus of the Lord is sunny, some thy blame above. Praise the mountain, gifts above, elder high deep. Oh to praise how great a dead, daily I come straight to me.
Let thy goodness like a better by thy wife. One great part in thee. Unto Father, Lord, I heal it. Unto me, Father. Here's my wonderful take and seal it, seal it for thy Lord's abode.
Let's pray. Oh Father, what a gracious God you are. What a kind and loving God you are. To give your own son. as a payment for sinners.
who deserve nothing but condemnation. We thank you for it. We come to you acknowledging our need of it. We confess that we are sinners. and deserve condemnation.
And yet we come to embrace the blessings of the promise which you have extended to us in Christ. Oh Lord, give us faith. to embrace him without reservation. as we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
remain standing. Number one.
