1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:03,080 Well, good morning guys, My name is Mike. 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:08,640 If, if we've not met yet, please find me after the service and, 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:11,280 and come and meet me. I'd like, I'd like to get to 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,680 know you and, and just welcome you to, to our family here. 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:19,680 It really is a wonderful thing as we've been going through. 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,240 This this sermon series through. The book of Matthew, especially 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,200 recently in in Matthew 5 and what's called the Sermon on the 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,280 Mount, we've seen Jesus layout some some beautiful facts. 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,440 He's he's preached some great news, some real hopeful truths 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,760 about God's blessings for his follower when they conduct 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,640 themselves in a God honoring way. 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,600 And, and these have been great to learn about. 13 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:51,920 We, we've seen blessings for those who mourn, blessings for 14 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,840 the pure and heart, blessings for the meek. 15 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,160 And these are comforting things for us to hear because we 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,600 probably all look to ourselves and make assumptions that Jesus 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,440 is talking about us because we occasionally demonstrate these 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,680 characteristics. But then the sermon changes a 19 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,600 little bit. Jesus starts to address some 20 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,000 things that the Pharisees and even his followers 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,880 misunderstood. And so this, this passage today 22 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,440 sets up the next 6 clarifying points from Jesus that we're 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,040 going to cover over the, the coming weeks. 24 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,720 And and so in our, in our very first, in fact, let me just read 25 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,600 our, let me read our passage here. 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,040 And and then I'll. I'll continue on. 27 00:01:42,030 --> 00:01:43,190 I'm stuck. Are you able to move? 28 00:01:43,190 --> 00:01:47,190 Me along. That's not the right one. 29 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,560 OK, well, we'll get to it. Let me, let me read our passage. 30 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,640 Matthew 517 through 20. It says, do you not think that 31 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,880 I've come to abolish the law or the prophets? 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,200 I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 33 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,880 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not 34 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,320 an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,480 accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one 36 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,720 of the least of these commandments that teaches others 37 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,520 to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. 38 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,360 But whoever does them and teaches them will be called 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,520 great in the Kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your 40 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,800 righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you 41 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,440 will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 42 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,000 So in our in our very first sentence in our passage today, 43 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,800 Jesus says do not think that I've come to abolish the law 44 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:40,400 right. That's the language that we that 45 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,520 we see here. But, but really, what we, we can 46 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:48,000 read that that's similar to the way that he speaks in the next 47 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,520 several passages that we're going to study over over the 48 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:56,200 next couple of weeks, where he doesn't contradict or correct 49 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,520 the Old Testament, but rather he has clarity by explaining 50 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,160 himself. So in our Sunday school class 51 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,440 today, we were, we, we learned about some things like 52 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,880 figurative language and, and, and, and Hebrew poetry and, and 53 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:12,840 non literal pictures in the passage. 54 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,760 And that's not what we have here, but it does remind us of 55 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:21,360 different methods that scripture utilizes for our understanding. 56 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,120 And, and often in ministry, Jesus spoke in parables and, and 57 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,080 sometimes he answered questions with questions and he had 58 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,960 redirection of, of thought. And these these parables, these 59 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,560 rhetorical questions and, and these redirections exist to give 60 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,480 us an opportunity to gain context or perspective on what 61 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,280 might otherwise be a difficult concept for us. 62 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,600 An example of that I don't have a, a slide for this, but in Luke 63 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,840 18, verse 18, it says and a a ruler asked him, good teacher, 64 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,440 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 65 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,520 And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? 66 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,880 No one is good except God alone. So in that passage, Jesus 67 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,600 doesn't answer the direct and and really. 68 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,600 Critical question, right, that's. 69 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,480 A question we would. All as as believers, we would 70 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,880 all love it. If somebody came up to us and 71 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,279 was so bold and said, OK, tell me, what do I need to do to get 72 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:19,279 to heaven? We would want them to tee it up 73 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,320 that way and, and, and and be able to give them a direct 74 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:23,840 answer. But Jesus doesn't do that. 75 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:28,600 He in in that passage, he adds perspective for us by going more 76 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,120 in depth about his character. And so this is something that 77 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,880 that Jesus is often in in in Scripture. 78 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:41,160 And I heard a teacher yesterday describe this this phenomenon as 79 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:46,000 both astounding and frustrating. And I think that that's fair if 80 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:47,520 you'll bear with me for a second. 81 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,280 But but you know, as a child, I I'm quite certain that I often 82 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,440 got frustrated as my parents tried to teach me things. 83 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,600 But in my in my immaturity and my ignorance, I was just 84 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,600 frustrated. But my frustration, though, was 85 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,840 based on my own lack of understanding, not because they 86 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:07,640 were teaching something unclearly. 87 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,440 So Jesus does this to get us to wrestle. 88 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,080 If some of these teachings. And if you think back to to 89 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,840 Genesis and and the story of Jacob wrestling with God, 90 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:21,960 there's something that's connected there about our own 91 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,720 wrestling with God over these truths that are difficult for us 92 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,240 to grasp. I don't know why that keeps 93 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,360 cutting out like that, but just bear with us. 94 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:34,600 I apologize for it. But but anyway, that's that the 95 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:39,640 reason why that's great that we get to to wrestle with that is 96 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:44,480 because the the fact is that we we lack the key to understanding 97 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,360 some of these passages. Now, if you guys can remember 98 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,840 some of the older folks in the crowd, if you can remember way 99 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:53,840 back when cereal boxes came with like a toy or or something 100 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:55,960 inside. And one of the the popular ones 101 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,240 was a was this sort of a puzzle that had a a whole bunch of red 102 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,680 and blue squiggly lines all over it. 103 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,280 And and you might have been. Able, and when you looked at 104 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,440 this, you might. Have been able to tell that 105 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,600 there was some kind of an image there but it was it was very 106 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,520 difficult to to understand what the image was until you use the 107 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,400 secret glasses with red lenses and and when you looked at the 108 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,160 puzzle the blue line suddenly jumped out clearly displaying a 109 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,960 picture or a message and I think that's a fairway of looking at 110 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:30,640 this passage today Jesus is the key component here the important 111 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,440 lens that we need to look through to understand what is 112 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,600 otherwise complicated to decipher and so. 113 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:48,400 Our main idea here today is Jesus clears up some significant 114 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,280 misunderstandings, the purpose of the Messiah, the purpose of 115 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:54,760 the law, and God's heart towards sin. 116 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,360 Understanding Jesus is the key to connecting the Old Testament. 117 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:04,040 And the New Testament, I heard somebody say that, that when 118 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,840 you, when you look at your Bible and like we are in, in Matthew 119 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:12,600 here, and you have the Old Testament to the left and you 120 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,480 have the, the New Testament to the right. 121 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,120 And the, the Gospels, the story of Jesus are right here in the 122 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:19,840 middle. They, they serve as the, the 123 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,880 hinge point that helps us to see that those, the Old Testament in 124 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,120 the New Testament are not at odds with each other, but that 125 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,360 they are perfectly symbiotic. And so today for my, for my 126 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,280 first point, I want to look at the misunderstanding of the 127 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:43,680 purpose of the Messiah. So in verse 17 and 18 it it says 128 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,160 I'm sorry. Guys, that's in the that's in 129 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:47,960 the wrong. There we go. 130 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,120 It says, Don't misunderstand why I've come. 131 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,280 I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of 132 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,120 the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their 133 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,360 purpose. I tell you the truth, until 134 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,280 heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of 135 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,280 God's law will disappear until its. 136 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,760 Purpose is achieved now. That's the, the NLT version of 137 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,800 our, of our passage here today. And, and I think it kind of 138 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,880 helps us to understand this. So, so throughout Jesus 139 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,400 ministry, he's repeatedly confronted by the Pharisees and 140 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:25,120 the, and the scribes about him misunderstanding and misapplying 141 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:26,280 scripture. Right. 142 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,120 That was what they thought was that Jesus was misunderstanding 143 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:31,640 and misapplying scripture. They had the nerve to tell the 144 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,799 Son of God that He didn't know as much as they knew. 145 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:35,440 About the book that. He wrote. 146 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,000 And because they misunderstood Jesus, they also had significant 147 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:45,200 misconceptions and delusions about their own goodness. 148 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,360 See, when it comes to the Old Testament, many Pharisees 149 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:52,840 studied Scripture like crazy. But since they didn't know 150 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,240 Jesus, since they didn't understand the heart of God, 151 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,920 they, they didn't truly understand what they were 152 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,640 reading. So we should expect that their 153 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,200 application would be messed up as well. 154 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,480 And the same goes for us. So we've, we've, we've all 155 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:12,480 probably seen things in the, in the Old Testament that are hard 156 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,760 to understand. In Exodus 21, it says that if 157 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,920 you have an ox and your ox gores somebody to death and this ox 158 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,800 has a history of boring, some of boring people, then you can be 159 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,440 put to death. And now that might not connect 160 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,000 because very few of us in the room probably own oxen. 161 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,800 But if imagine if it was like with a with a dog, if you have 162 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,320 a, a dog that had a history of biting people, it seems a a bit 163 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,600 hard to justify my death when it was my dumb dog biting people, 164 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,600 right? But so it's kind of hard for us 165 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,400 to understand. In Deuteronomy 21, it says that 166 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,920 if you have a rebellious son that won't obey, it says to drag 167 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,000 him out to the city elder so they can stone him to death. 168 00:09:58,040 --> 00:09:59,680 Well, maybe they'll seem kind of far fetched. 169 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,880 So, so we don't think that you know that that's much of an 170 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:05,480 issue. But but what about premarital 171 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,560 sex? Deuteronomy 22 says the woman 172 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,040 who has premarital sex should be stoned to death. 173 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,680 Chapter 19 says that lying is punishable by death according to 174 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,000 the the God that we were just singing praises to. 175 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,920 Now often we can be afraid to preach these ideas. 176 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,160 We can we can be afraid to defend them publicly or even 177 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,960 admit that we agree with them. Maybe we don't agree with them 178 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,680 because we misunderstand the Messiah ourselves. 179 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:45,280 Now, Warren. Weirsby, who was a A. 180 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,880 Pastor and a theologian, you know, he, he's, he's passed now, 181 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,800 but back up, you know, 100 years ago he used an acorn analogy in 182 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,040 reference to verse 17 that I think is, is. 183 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,480 Pretty good. It says if I have an acorn I can 184 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,160 destroy it. One of two ways I can put. 185 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,200 It on a. Rock and smash it with a hammer, 186 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,040 or I can plant it in the ground and let it fulfill itself. 187 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,640 By becoming an oak tree and he he goes on and explains his 188 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:18,280 analogy by claiming in either case, the acorn comes to an end. 189 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,680 However, the distinction between the two methods is critical. 190 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:27,080 In the case of the Mosaic legal obligations, Jesus did not bring 191 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,600 a metaphorical hammer to end them through opposition and 192 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,720 destruction. Instead, he came to cultivate 193 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,760 the law and profits into what they were always intended to 194 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:42,240 become. See, many people believed that 195 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,360 the Messiah would bring about another dispensation, A 196 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,480 dispensation meaning a transfer from one law or rule to another. 197 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:54,640 They believed that he would remove and abolish the law and 198 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,920 prophets. Now that phrase the law and 199 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:01,240 prophets it, it refers to the Torah, which is the first five 200 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,400 books of the Bible and then the the rest of the prophetic books 201 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,840 of the of the Old Testament. This is one of the ways that one 202 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,720 of the creative ways in that we see Scripture referred to in 203 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,480 scripture. So he's referencing the entire 204 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:21,760 body of God's word available to the the Jews of the time. 205 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,240 And Jesus is saying the Old Testament isn't going anywhere. 206 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,040 It's it's still completely relevant. 207 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:35,280 Now the law would continue to hold its proper place as the 208 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,760 revelation of God's holy standard until heaven and earth 209 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,720 passed away. You know, the, the, the law is 210 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,160 authoritative and in effect forever. 211 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,360 They they continue to exist fully as a testimony of the 212 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,320 example and teaching of God until all is accomplished. 213 00:12:55,160 --> 00:13:00,520 Now I'd go so far as to say that Jesus will one day accomplish 214 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:06,080 all that he's told us he that he would do death, resurrection and 215 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,800 2nd coming right. But but even then, the law won't 216 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:15,680 be abolished because Jesus is eternal and Jesus is the 217 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:20,800 fulfillment of the law. Let me jump to Hebrews chapter. 218 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:36,140 1. Somehow we've got last week's 219 00:13:37,460 --> 00:13:41,060 slides in here. Let me jump to Hebrews chapter 1 220 00:13:41,060 --> 00:13:44,260 verses one through 3. It says long ago that many times 221 00:13:44,260 --> 00:13:47,800 and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but 222 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,280 in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He 223 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,920 appointed the heir of, of all things, through whom He also 224 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,040 created the world. He is the radiance of the glory 225 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,800 of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the 226 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,680 universe by the word of His power. 227 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,040 There we go. It's up there now. 228 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:12,400 So as I mentioned a bit ago, the law held its proper place as the 229 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,360 revelation of God's holy standard. 230 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,160 And how far people were from achieving that standard. 231 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,280 And the Old Testament points directly at Jesus, not just 232 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,960 through specific prophecy and and not just the sacrificial 233 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,920 system that we see throughout, but because it's describing the 234 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,000 character of God. Now in Genesis 15 verse 6, it 235 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,320 says that Abraham believed God and it was counted as 236 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,720 righteousness. But Abraham didn't know Jesus 237 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:45,720 right? He didn't get to sit under Jesus 238 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:49,920 ministry or witness the events surrounding the crucifixion, but 239 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,320 he believed in the Messiah that the law was pointing to. 240 00:14:55,080 --> 00:15:01,640 So now when we see Jesus, we see that he is the precise nature of 241 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:06,320 God personified and the flawless embodiment of of God's Word. 242 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,560 Jesus met that standard. He was the oak tree that the 243 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,920 acorn contained inside it. He he perfectly exemplified what 244 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,760 the law intended and not. Just to the level of. 245 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,080 Of saying that you know Jesus lived a really good life. 246 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,680 No, that that doesn't cut it. Jesus never sinned. 247 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,120 He never took anything that wasn't his. 248 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,120 He never dishonoured his his parents. 249 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,320 He never looked at a woman with lost he he never disobeyed God 250 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:43,520 in in the slicest He lived to do the will of the Father who sent 251 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,160 him. Now that impossible to follow 252 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:52,760 law that we read about and and dismiss much of often times in 253 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,280 our humanity. That unfair and and unattainable 254 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:01,760 standard that God set for us was followed and obeyed perfectly in 255 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,560 his Son. But the people failed to 256 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:08,680 recognize Jesus as the Messiah that the law was talking about, 257 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,600 despite the many prophecies and and that identified him and 258 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,200 despite his miracles and his teaching. 259 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:21,880 Isaiah Isaiah 35 five says then the eyes of the blind shall be 260 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,640 open, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 261 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,160 The, the people never in a million years thought that they 262 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,080 were the blind ones or that they were the deaf ones. 263 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,440 Even if they had recognized him as Messiah, they understood what 264 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,840 the Messiah was all about. The, the, the Jews at the time, 265 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:45,080 the Jews sort of perpetually looked at themselves as victims. 266 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,480 They knew that God favored them as his chosen people and that 267 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,880 they, they also knew that they'd be persecuted. 268 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,080 And so they, they pretty much just dwelt in that victimhood. 269 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,600 They often pointed out the sinfulness of their oppressors 270 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:05,040 and they they totally recognize their need for a Savior from 271 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:08,480 persecution, but they failed to pay attention to their own 272 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,839 historic and individual sinfulness, and therefore they 273 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:16,520 ignored their their own need for a Savior from sin. 274 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,359 They didn't recognize the absolute perfection with which 275 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:27,240 Jesus lived his life and why that was key to understanding 276 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,560 their own situation. With God. 277 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,920 Jesus lived a life sinless and in perfect obedience to God's 278 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:41,480 law, but he continues in perfect obedience to God's law still. 279 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,080 And so he still serves as an example to follow today. 280 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,760 And that's our our second point here is the misunderstanding of 281 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:55,560 the purpose of the law. Verse 18, We already read this, 282 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,720 but I'm going to read it again. It says for truly, I say to you, 283 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,200 until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot 284 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:02,760 will pass. From the law until all is 285 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,720 accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one 286 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,960 of the least of these commandments and teaches others 287 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,960 to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven, 288 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,480 but whoever does them and teaches them will be. 289 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,320 Called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 290 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:23,480 So often we might think that the law given to Moses was a a brand 291 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,560 new creation of of God's the day that he wrote it on tablets. 292 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:33,840 But the the the law was in place when Adam lived as well. 293 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:39,360 Romans 514 says, yet death reigned from Adam to Moses even 294 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,320 over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, 295 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,120 who was a type of the one who was to come. 296 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:51,080 So we can understand that that murder was a sin even before 297 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:55,000 Cain killed Abel. It existed even if they they 298 00:18:55,320 --> 00:19:00,720 they hadn't heard about murder as a as a as a sin, as a crime. 299 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:06,960 Adam had the choice in his state of sinlessness to choose not to 300 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:12,560 sin, not to dishonor God. But He did choose sin, and that 301 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,360 sin was passed to each and every one of us in our bloodstream. 302 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:20,000 We. Are sinners at at at birth and 303 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:25,800 therefore already guilty So God's law existed before he even 304 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,360 delivered it to Moses Now in our in our human way of thinking, we 305 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,040 might say that that's unfair, right? 306 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,400 How can we know what we're not supposed to do if we've never 307 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:40,400 been told what the, the law is? But you know, in our, in our 308 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,480 legal system, in our court system, you know, here in our 309 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,160 country, there's a, there's a principle called ignorant 310 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:52,720 ignorantia juris non excuse act. And that means that ignorance of 311 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:57,000 the law is not an excuse for violating it. 312 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:02,320 No justice system allows ignorance of the law to, to, to 313 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:04,720 prevent justice from from happening. 314 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,600 And yet God did give the law to Moses. 315 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,040 He gave it to Israel and he gave it to us to understand his 316 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,800 heart. He made a covenant with Israel 317 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:21,360 called the the Mosaic covenant. And it was in in a nutshell, it 318 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:25,760 was if Israel is obedient, then God will bless them, but if they 319 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,520 disobey, then God will punish them. 320 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,360 And and so what's happening here in our in our verse here is that 321 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,080 Jesus is pointing out that the Pharisees tendency is to be very 322 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,720 legalistic about lighter commandments. 323 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,440 But with the weightier ones, they don't even abide by them 324 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,160 themselves. They have like a sliding scale 325 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,360 of obedience. Here it is in Matthew 23. 326 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,160 Verse 23 He says, What do you scribes and Pharisees, 327 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,760 hypocrites for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have 328 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,280 neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy 329 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,160 and faithfulness. These you ought to have done 330 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:13,240 without neglecting. The others see the the Pharisees 331 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,280 would be very legalistic and and demanding as they come to, you 332 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,600 know, to talk to you as they'd talk to the crowds and stuff. 333 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,400 They'd be very legalistic and demanding about about tithing 334 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,320 things like the produce in your in your garden. 335 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,760 But then they would just kind of skip over demonstrating mercy to 336 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,080 people or, or or showing their own faithfulness. 337 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:38,440 And what's worse is that they were demonstrating and teaching 338 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,560 the the habit to those people who look to them for a better 339 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,480 understanding of God's ways. After all, these are the 340 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:50,600 religious teachers and Jesus is commanding he, he's demanding A 341 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,720 commitment from them and, and from us to obey both the lighter 342 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,120 and the heavier commandments. And and he condemns those who 343 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,680 confuse the two, those who think that there are laws to follow 344 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,160 and and some that are too. Hard or. 345 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,240 Too messy to follow. So what about us here today? 346 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:11,360 I just mentioned some of these Old Testament laws that are 347 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,560 difficult to to deal with, right? 348 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,840 Some of the ones maybe we're like, I don't really want to 349 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,120 talk about that with with people. 350 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,280 But how do you really think that Jesus would respond to your sin? 351 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:26,360 A better, better. Yeah. 352 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,640 How would he respond to your defense of your sin? 353 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:33,160 The way that we, we kind of make room for it, right? 354 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,280 The way we, we put a little asterisk next to it and, and we 355 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,840 say, well, this, this sin, I, I can explain. 356 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,520 You see in our culture, it's, it's viewed differently. 357 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,800 These Pharisees when, when looking back at Scripture, they 358 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:53,680 should have recognized how strict the law was about what 359 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,800 was considered sin and, and about what dishonored God and 360 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,840 how absolute that standard was. And they should have applied the 361 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,520 yardstick to themselves, but they didn't. 362 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:11,000 But with Jesus, they argued that he was disobeying God's law and 363 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,880 that he was was just sort of stomping all over it. 364 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:19,640 And we already talked about how they believe the Messiah was 365 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,920 going to set up a new government, but they didn't even 366 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,800 believe that Jesus was the Messiah. 367 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,560 They, they simply thought that he was some some sort of 368 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,560 uneducated nobody. That's, that's disrupting their, 369 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,720 their power position by screwing up the teaching of the law. 370 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:39,360 But Jesus says that's not the case. 371 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:41,920 Back in verse 18. It said until heaven and earth 372 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,800 pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until 373 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,600 all is accomplished. Now we can understand that 374 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,760 heaven and and the new earth are eternal and will never pass 375 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,280 away, but it continues, not an iota, not a dot will pass from 376 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,160 the law until all is accomplished. 377 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:03,680 So, So what does that mean? Like is, is that suggesting that 378 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:08,760 God will at at some point accomplish everything that he's 379 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,200 intended and then we'll do nothing more forever? 380 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,240 I don't. I don't think we could infer 381 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,040 that from from that passage right in Romans 10. 382 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,080 Verse 4 it says for Christ is the. 383 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,840 End of the law for. Righteousness to everyone who 384 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,000 believes. But when you? 385 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,520 When you. Look at this passage in the 386 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,760 Greek that word end. There is the word telos, which 387 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,880 means a culmination or a goal, right? 388 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:40,800 It's the law, then will not pass away until it culminates in its 389 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,560 in its goal, and in. Galatians 3 verse 24 it says so 390 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,400 then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that 391 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,920 we might be. Justified by faith. 392 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,160 Now the role of a of a guardian the way it was talking about 393 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,640 there in in that passage, it refers to like a a hired servant 394 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:04,240 that was responsible for a child until maturity was reached. 395 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,360 They'd been listening to Jesus instead of arguing with him. 396 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,280 If they would have. Understood him. 397 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:17,040 They'd have understood that that God was more interested in the 398 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,960 condition of our hearts than He was in the letter of law. 399 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,120 They should have seen Jesus for who he was, but they didn't. 400 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:29,280 When God showed up in their midst and and even lived and 401 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,720 walked among them to demonstrate the standard, they should have 402 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,880 seen him for who he was, but they didn't. 403 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,600 But let's look briefly at the passage elsewhere in Scripture 404 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:45,000 where Peter does see him in Matthew. 16 verses 15 through 405 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,560 18. This is Jesus talking. 406 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,200 With with Peter, he says he said to them. 407 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,600 But who do you say? That I am Simon. 408 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,440 Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living 409 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,200 God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed 410 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,920 are you Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this 411 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,440 to you, but my Father, who is in heaven. 412 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,160 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my 413 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,080 church and the gates of hell. Shall not prevail against it. 414 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,240 Peter is is proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah that the 415 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:22,440 whole Old Testament was talking about and and pointed to and and 416 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,040 and that is the truth that the church is built on. 417 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,640 That is the key. To our. 418 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:35,240 Understanding as the church the law was always pointing to and 419 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,200 it was always pointing at perfect Jesus. 420 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,720 So think about how how much we can accomplish as the church 421 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:50,520 when we understand that Isaiah. 5511 says So shall my word be. 422 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:53,520 It goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, 423 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,080 but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall 424 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,000 succeed in the thing. For which I sent it. 425 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:08,280 The world has a sin problem. Many people have a basic 426 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:14,680 understanding of the concept of sin, but if they try to look at, 427 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,880 at, at descriptions and definitions of sin and sinful 428 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,560 behavior in the Bible, and they try to make sense of it through 429 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,720 the lens of the culture that they live in. 430 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,080 The one that's that's continuously telling them that 431 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,720 they can define their own truth or that right and wrong are, are 432 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,400 subjective and, and, and based on their own feelings and 433 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:42,600 experiences, then they can never understand how dangerous sin is 434 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,840 to them. They can never understand that 435 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,680 they need a savior because they don't see anything that they 436 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:54,120 need to be saved from. A common belief amongst 437 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,960 unbelievers is that people are generally good. 438 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,800 I I think you can you, you've probably seen this often where 439 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,800 people do random interviews and maybe sometimes it's somebody 440 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,160 doing like Christian apologetics and he comes up and interviews 441 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,080 somebody on the street and he asks them, do you think people 442 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,200 are good? And often we hear that, yeah, I 443 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,680 think these people are basically good. 444 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,720 They they believe that the the average person left up to their 445 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,360 own desires would be generous and and that they would be kind 446 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:29,600 and that they would be selfless and that they would go out of 447 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,480 the way being loving to other people. 448 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:38,160 But they're dead wrong. What they see when they look at 449 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:43,000 God's law is a jumbled mass of of red and blue lines that 450 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,480 doesn't compute with with their understanding of the world 451 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:53,520 because they are missing the key part of the equation that Jesus 452 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:58,520 demands perfection and will pour out his wrath on anything else. 453 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:07,400 And that takes us to our final point here today, which is God's 454 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:11,240 heart towards sin. This this. 455 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:18,640 Verse 20 here says. I don't know why those are mixed 456 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:19,680 up guys. I'm sorry about that. 457 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,920 Verse 20 says, for I tell you, unless your righteousness 458 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,720 exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter 459 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,640 the Kingdom of heaven. Now hang on a SEC, because just 460 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,800 in that last little bit, you know, I thought we were we were 461 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:36,240 doing something really good, right? 462 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,040 When we recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, right? 463 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,320 We just read that. That's what he said that he 464 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:47,720 built his church on. But now we're saying that we 465 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,800 have to live better than the Pharisees. 466 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,560 That's a guys. This is a big statement here 467 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,800 because this sermon that we're studying, it's, it's being given 468 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,000 to the Jews that, that gathered around there to, to listen to 469 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,480 Jesus. And, and these religious leaders 470 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,920 and, and scribes, these guys would always be close by. 471 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,320 They'd be, they'd be close by because they wanted to watch, 472 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,240 they wanted to report on and criticize the things that Jesus 473 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,920 was saying. And so Jesus, he's telling the 474 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,040 Jewish audience that that they have to outperform and live 475 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:26,560 better than the Pharisees that are considered the holiest, most 476 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:31,680 righteous men in their culture. And he's saying this right after 477 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:35,680 saying that, that, that they, they can't relax on any of these 478 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,360 laws, right? And so if and now if, if they 479 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:43,240 don't outperform the Pharisees in living a perfect life, then 480 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,160 they will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 481 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:53,160 Not only does the Old Testament tell us that we were born with a 482 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,720 sin nature that demands our death, but then we learned that 483 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:02,360 the law given to us to obey so that we can receive God's 484 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:07,200 blessing is so strict that not even the Pharisees can follow 485 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,840 it. And yet somehow we're supposed 486 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,760 to be more perfect than them. It seems like a no win 487 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,840 situation, and in a manner speaking, it is. 488 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:26,360 The God's law was always letting us know that our brokering 489 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:32,040 relationship with Him has less left us helpless and completely 490 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:37,120 hopeless. So then why would our good God 491 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,080 give us a story that makes our helplessness and our 492 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:45,760 hopelessness so apparent? Because He's a much better 493 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,320 author than any of us, That's why. 494 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,280 He has a much better ending to the story than we could have 495 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,960 come up with. Compellingtruth.org. 496 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,480 Had had this that I thought was great. 497 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:02,480 It said the law was always meant to reveal our sin and our need 498 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:04,920 for the Lord. He gave the Israelites a 499 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:09,120 specific glimpse into who God is and how He wanted them to live. 500 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:16,920 It was always pointing to Jesus. God already told them what the 501 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,600 end of the story was going to be, but the Pharisees missed it 502 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,760 in Jeremiah. 31 verses 31 through 34 says, Behold, the 503 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,600 days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new 504 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,360 covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. 505 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,440 Not like the covenant that I made with our with their fathers 506 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,800 on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of 507 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,600 the land of Egypt. My covenant that they broke, 508 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,320 though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 509 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,400 For this is the covenant that I will make with the House of 510 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:46,560 Israel after those days, declares the Lord. 511 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,000 I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their 512 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,240 hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 513 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,520 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor, and each his 514 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:01,160 brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from 515 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,000 the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. 516 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:07,240 For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will. 517 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:12,960 Remember their sin no more. Now I don't want to, I don't 518 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:17,000 want to make your head spin, but when God gave this prophecy to 519 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,400 Jeremiah to write down this, this new covenant already 520 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:28,080 existed And, and the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant 521 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:33,520 was, was already fulfilled because Jesus is eternal. 522 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,960 And this plan of redemption has always been in place. 523 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,720 It might not have happened linearly in in time, the way 524 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:44,640 that we understand it, but this was God's plan from the 525 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,080 beginning. This, this was already in place. 526 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,120 So while some of the laws that we might, you know, that that 527 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:59,000 that we see here might seem inconsequential or or maybe even 528 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,160 silly to us. The fact is, guys. 529 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:07,720 I broke every. Single one of them, and Jesus 530 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,440 fulfilled every single one of them. 531 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:17,159 Jesus wasn't Plan B. He wasn't replacing or fixing 532 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:21,320 something broken. It was always perfect. 533 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:31,440 God commanded us to obey and He knew that we wouldn't, but He 534 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:35,480 loved us so much that He made a way for us to be redeemed. 535 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,639 We have to understand His wrath is righteous right? 536 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:46,440 We sinned against God Almighty and and we deserve death. 537 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:56,120 Not only is His wrath righteous, but His justice is perfect and 538 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,880 His nature demands it. So He paid it. 539 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:08,640 Now he didn't nullify it. The payment must be made. 540 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:13,000 Imagine if you were to talk to your bank. 541 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:17,520 If if some rich donor came up and, and, and set up automatic 542 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:22,560 payments to go from their bank account to to your account to 543 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:27,640 pay your mortgage, the the, the payment still has to be made 544 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,920 every month, right? The obligation has not been 545 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:33,120 nullified. It's just simply been fulfilled. 546 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:38,520 So if you remember the Old Testament sacrifice of, of 547 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:44,760 livestock for sin, that law is no longer over us, but that 548 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:49,040 obligation still has to be for our sins. 549 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:53,280 Someone has to pay for your sin with death. 550 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:59,240 God is so obviously good that disobedience to Him demands 551 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:04,440 death. Romans 623 says for the wages of 552 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:08,880 sin is. Death, but the free gift. 553 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,680 Of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. 554 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,600 This can't be stated often enough. 555 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,440 The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus. 556 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:25,880 So as we close here today, often times I I. 557 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,120 Don't know if you guys. Yeah, you can see that often 558 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,440 times I, I think that, you know, people approach God's Word as 559 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:37,240 though it's designed for for someone else, right, The person 560 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:38,920 down the. The row from you or the? 561 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:43,160 Person 2 rows in the back or you know, or or whatever it is. 562 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,320 We think it's designed for someone else. 563 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:51,840 That is is, that is just for the the heathen who's continuously 564 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,320 screwing up his life every day. But I like this. 565 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,880 Quote from from Paul Washer. He says so many people think 566 00:36:58,320 --> 00:36:59,920 that the gospel is for lost people. 567 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,600 The gospel is for lost people, but it's even more for converted 568 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:05,640 people. The more you and I understand 569 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,200 about what truly happened on that cross, the more you and I 570 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:12,320 will be driven to serve Christ, not out of legalism, not out of 571 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:16,080 some fear or dread, but simply out of joyful appreciation. 572 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:21,160 Look. What he did for me, guys, it 573 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,520 should have been us. Up there on that cross. 574 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:31,480 Jesus did that as a gift for us despite all that we've we've 575 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,800 seen when we when we look through the lens of Jesus life 576 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,160 of the, of of his perfect life of the, of the standard that 577 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:44,400 that he set and how much we fall short of meeting that standard. 578 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,840 All the way back in Genesis 2 and in the in the Garden of 579 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,760 Eden, God made the future clear to Adam. 580 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,200 Life is the reward for obedience, and death is the 581 00:37:55,400 --> 00:38:02,080 punishment for. Disobedience in Ephesians 1, 582 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,360 seven through 10. It says in Him we have 583 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:07,200 redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our 584 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:10,320 trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He 585 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:14,520 lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us 586 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,600 the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which 587 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,360 He set out, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the 588 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:25,480 fullness of time to unite all things in Him, things in heaven. 589 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:31,600 And things on earth all right before this passage, it says 590 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,200 that God predestined us for adoption. 591 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:40,080 He knew that we were going to fail and he chose to offer us 592 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:45,760 redemption anyway. Our our redemption is available 593 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:50,160 by God's grace, but only through faith. 594 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:54,240 You can't work for it only because of the goodness of of 595 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:59,760 God when we believe that that. Jesus lived perfectly. 596 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:05,360 And they and that he he died voluntarily and he was 597 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:11,720 resurrected unilaterally defeating death finally that we 598 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:16,480 can experience his gift. That's what I hope for each of 599 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:21,040 us here today that that we would view the law through the lens of 600 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:26,560 of Jesus perfection and through his obedience to God the Father 601 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:31,200 and that we would recognize the depravity of our souls and how 602 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:36,520 desperate we are for a savior. Guys, I. 603 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,280 Hope that today. Is is the day that you let go of 604 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,040 any false. Hope in your in yourself. 605 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,640 And you cling desperately to Jesus, but you know, if you, if 606 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:52,280 you struggle with understanding God's word and its influence in 607 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,000 your life, how it's how it's supposed to affect you because 608 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,400 maybe some of these things, maybe this is the first time 609 00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,640 that you're hearing. And it could be hard for us to 610 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:04,000 to understand what is this supposed to mean 2000 years 611 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:08,920 later in my life in in the situations that that I exist in. 612 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:14,840 Remember Jesus is the key. Understanding Jesus heart is the 613 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:20,880 key to to, to to. To know his heart is the way 614 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:24,560 that we can better understand his plan for for each of us. 615 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:28,320 And so if you have questions for about that, come and talk to us 616 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,360 afterwards. But let's give this up to to 617 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:42,760 Jesus in in prayer, Lord God. It's the contrast between your 618 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:47,360 goodness, Lord, and and our sinfulness can't be overstated 619 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:52,840 when we look at, at, at your law that you gave to the to the 620 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:58,160 Israelites all those, all those many years ago and, and the 621 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:04,600 desire to be legalistic and, and hardcore in, in following pieces 622 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:08,040 and, and parts of it. Lord, because we thought that 623 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,080 doing some good things was going to help us out. 624 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,440 We thought that that keeping the the parts of the law that were 625 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:20,080 easy or that that served us was somehow going to impress you, 626 00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:21,560 Lord. But when we understand your 627 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:27,640 heart, when we understand how how much you hate sin and how 628 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,640 it's, it's completely at odds with who you are in your 629 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:34,160 character, Lord. It's only then that we can 630 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:39,000 understand how bad our sin is, even even what we would 631 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:43,120 sometimes in our, in our humanity call little white lies 632 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:48,120 or, or the, the, the lighter of the sins, or we understand that 633 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:51,680 all of that sin that we've done separates us from you. 634 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:54,480 And that's a good thing, Lord, your justice is good. 635 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,640 And so when we consider that and we understand that because of 636 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:02,440 that sin, we're separated from you for, for all time, there is 637 00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:06,440 nothing that we can do. And still in that, in your 638 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,880 goodness, Lord, you came with a plan for redemption that you've 639 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:15,240 planned since eternity passed. Lord, there's just no way we can 640 00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:18,840 put in words how how awesome that is. 641 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:20,280 How amazing. That is. 642 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,680 And even though it's, it's beyond our our ability to 643 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:31,800 comprehend, Lord, the choices are is whether we accept it or 644 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,240 whether we reject it. So if if there are people in the 645 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:39,640 room here today, Lord, they have not placed their full faith in 646 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:42,360 you or they they still hold on to the idea that they can do 647 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:49,400 something to impress you or just shred our hearts and help us to 648 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,600 understand that there is nothing good that we can do. 649 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,560 And that it help us to understand and and cling so 650 00:42:55,560 --> 00:43:00,400 desperately to you as the one and only opportunity that we 651 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:03,960 have to find your grace to, to find redemption. 652 00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:08,680 And then, Lord, as we make that decision, if we grab a hold to 653 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:13,000 you or we want you to pull us close to you, we want to know 654 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:14,760 more about you. We want to know more about your 655 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:16,640 heart. Because the more we know about 656 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:21,960 your heart, the the more that Your word comes alive to us and 657 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:24,640 is effective in our lives and it's influential to other 658 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:27,440 people. So Lord, as we walk away from 659 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:31,280 here today, help us to really understand that contrast so that 660 00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:34,320 we can be reminded. It should have been us on the 661 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:35,760 cross, but it wasn't. It was you. 662 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:39,880 Help us to put our full faith in You for the forgiveness of our 663 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:42,080 sins. Lord, for your glory in Jesus 664 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:43,120 name, Amen.