You have your Bible. You can open Sue Romans chapter
3. The in Romans 3 today, as we
continue our series. What happens when we worship
what happens when we worship? We're going to look at today the
relationship of the law and the gospel and but especially its
why it matters for our worship each week?
So, before we do, I wanted to start with just I guess what
would be a bit of honesty? I have tried to make it a point.
Not to just always be wearing my feelings on my sleeves as we go
through all of this. But today is especially hard.
Really the week's been especially hard. and so now I
kind of struggle with saying that and I don't think it's
Pride, it could be, I don't want to be prideful before you at
all. But I think it's the, I don't
want anyone to think that I would be misusing.
When he's passing as an opportunity to be prideful or is
an opportunity to gain sympathy, we do live in a world where
every thought and action is broadcast on social media.
Mostly, not always, but mostly in an effort to gain man's
approval and Applause and and I want to stay as far away from
those accusations as I possibly can.
That's not my heart. But I do know that I need to be
honest with you all, when I come up here and I And I'm
overwhelmed with Sadness and Sorrow yesterday.
I think this is partly why yesterday marks?
Five months since when he passed. and forgive me, if I
don't look at you, Makes it easier.
And so I think that's made the week.
Maybe just me more sensitive to the pain.
So as I stand here today, I am depending only on the spirit of
God. To give me strength and my
weakness to help me in this. I know that God will continue to
sustain my family and myself as we put our hope in him.
Songs were saying this morning could not have been more timely
for me. And I do know that he'll bring
joy in the middle of Sorrow. I've already seen it throughout
this whole thing. I know that it will come. so, I
wanted to Start just by telling you, I'm not.
Okay, today. I since the Lord's presence, I
know that he's with me, but I'm hurting So, I'm going to pray.
I'm going to ask God for help for me, but for us, as we do
this, as we look at his word, because his word is the most
important thing that we've come to observe today. and, I don't
want there to be any distractions from that.
So let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, you are.
So gracious. your merciful and your kind, you're compassionate
and all of your ways. Lord, I I'm grateful to be here
with a people who have in many ways.
The psalmist says tasted and seen that you are good.
The Lord. You we are blessed beyond
measure to come before. A God who has sent Christ to be
our great, high priest. High priest who is able to
sympathize with us in our weakness.
Who was well acquainted with grief.
Is well acquainted with pain, who knows death and the sting of
it better than anyone and who has taken the sting of death
away for all of us who believe in Christ.
And so it's in his strength that I want to stand today, Proclaim
your word. I asked father that your spirit
be with us. I pray Lord that your spirit and
power us that it Enlighten us that help us see Christ today.
What a great passage that lays in front of us, Romans 3.
Just so clearly, we see the Redemption of Christ, the grace
of God, salvation, that is ours because of your work, as a free
gift to us. And so, Lord, would you
strengthen us today to see it help us Lord to believe it and
to live it. Lord, I love you.
Thank you for being with me today.
In Christ's name. I pray.
Amen. Amen.
Patricia shared with you guys but members meeting.
One of the last members of medians that we had read a thing
from a pastor who had lost a son.
He was talking about when people to ask him, what's it?
What's it like now, or what are you going through?
Or what do you feel or how are you doing any of those kinds of
questions? He had developed a way to
respond and I think is helpful. He said it's like a It's like
being a man who was born with your eyesight able to see
clearly able to do everything normally.
But then you go blind later in life and you having to learn how
to walk blind. He says how to do everything
blind, many ways. That's what this like So, you
know, used to, I could get up and preach and not.
Have this kind of grief and I'm having to learn how to do this,
right here in real life, real time in front of you, which is
the way it should be. I'm grateful for the Lord's
Providence in preaching. I've mentioned it before, but
today is no less. Our topic today, the law and the
gospel sounds like, it should be removed that.
It would have, no, that would not have our grief and view that
it should be removed from the things of the real world.
It's just the law and the gospel.
But what I want you to see today is that the only way you can
learn to walk blind. Is because of the gospel of
Christ. The only way you can get through
anything in life is because of the gospel of Christ, for the
gospel to be good news. You have to understand the bad
news first. You have to understand God's law
his Holiness and how utterly short we come when we come up
against it. Within every worship service,
those three components should exist and needs to be the
presence of God's law, whether it's through scripture reading,
or seeing Wesley saying, or read earlier.
From Hebrews 12:1, let us lay aside.
Every sin that so easily. Entangles us and let us press
forward. The idea of laying aside sin is
to understand that God is Holy and you or not.
And you want to lay that aside as you press forward and you
only press forward because Christ pressed forward, he did
it for the joy that was set before him.
Redeemed. Sinners saints of God, his
people who would come and so God's law must be presence.
Whether you're singing it. Whether you're reading it, it's
here. It's being preached or being
prayed because when the presence of the law, and the law is
present, you have the opportunity then to confess your
sins. And when you confess your sins,
there is the reception of Pardon from Christ.
Or I might say from the father through Christ.
And so, as we do that, what we learn is that God is week in and
week out, helping us aiding a sanctifying Us by his Spirit, to
put the death, that old self of sin.
And that you do that through the law, you do that through
confession. And as you're doing that, you're
putting to death. The old man, God is bringing to
life. A new creation, he's sustaining
his new creation, which were those who were new in Christ and
that happens through the retrieve, if you will.
It happens through the proclamation of the Gospel.
So it's my hope today to show you how Romans 3.
Shows us that the law without the gospel is death for us.
But the law with the gospel is life for us.
You're taking notes, write that down.
The law without the gospel is death for us with the law with
the gospel is life for us. If you're able I would ask that
you would stand now. As we read God's word, Romans 3
19 through 26 be reading from the ESV When I finished reading,
if you would, I'll say this is the word of the Lord like you to
respond. Thanks be to God.
Starting in verse 19. Now we know that whatever the
law says speaks to those who are under the law so that every
mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held
accountable to God. For by works of the law.
No human being will be justified in his sight since through the
law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God
has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and
the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe for there is no
distinction for all, have sinned, and fall short of the
glory of God and are justified by his grace.
As a gift through the Redemption that is in Christ, Jesus, whom
God put forward. As a propitiation by his blood
to be received by faith. This was to show God's
righteousness because in his Divine forbearance he had passed
over former sins. It was to show his righteousness
at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus.
You may be seated as you are. This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Verses 19 and 20 here in Romans
chapter 3 operate as a summary of all that's been said from
1:18 to 3:18. Paul here is summarizing
everything that he said and he's letting us understand.
He's letting the readers understand that.
There is none righteous. As he said just a few verses
earlier. And that no one is able to
justify themselves by their own Works before God, you can feel
the way to verse 19. And 20 this is now we know that
whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law.
so that every mouth, Maybe stopped.
And the whole world may be held accountable to God every mouth
the whole world. I'm even know that's everyone,
right? You don't need to know Greek to
understand that he's talking about every person.
For by works of the law. No human being will be justified
in his sight. So now it's every mouth, the
whole world, no human being. Will be justified in his sight.
Since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
The law. Has in mind.
Certainly things like the Ten Commandments?
But when we think about the law of God, we need to think about
everything that scripture commands.
Whatever scripture commands, we might view rightly as God's law.
If he has commanded something, whether it's to do something or
not to do something, this is the law of God.
But we might read something like the Ten Commandments which are
found in. Exodus chapter 20.
God starts there. You shall have.
No other gods before me. You shall make no idols.
You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain.
You shall keep the Sabbath day. Holy you shall honor your father
and your mother. You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal.
You should not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet. Now, I think sometimes we make
the mistake of All the mistake is called antinomianism which is
just a big word for living a life free of any law because of
Grace. Meaning we don't let the law
guide us at all anymore. We just simply proclaim the
grace of Christ and all of life, and use it as a license to sin.
Use it as a license to do, whatever our heart desires and
Proclaim safety in Christ. But I want you to know that if
you were doing that, you are not safe in Christ.
You merely deceiving yourself. One way that, I think we've
sought to do this. Oddly enough, is that Jesus
summarizes the law for us in. Matthew 22, 36 through 40 is one
place. You find it.
And he's being quizzed. As he often was.
Hoping to catch him in a trap. And so I say to him teacher
which is the great commandment in the law, which is the one
that we should really adhere to, which is the one we should
follow. And Jesus said to him, you shall
love the Lord. Your God with all your heart and
with all your soul, and with all your minds This is the great and
first Commandments and the second is like it.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two
Commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
And so we've reduced even that Christ is not reducing, he
summarizing. Let me be clear about that.
But we've reduced it. In to love God and love people.
These are not false statements in and of themselves, but when
love God, just simply be becomes feel love for God.
Admire God. Adore God.
Sing praises to God. And it just becomes about loving
people. As in, you just love all people,
all the time, no matter what. Well, you can see the faults in
this. Your want you to love your
neighbor as yourself? Well, how should your self be
acting? Well, should be loving God, but
how should it be? Loving God.
It should be loving God with all of your hearts.
Meaning, those desires that are in your heart should not be
wrong desires. They should be desires that are
for God. And for God Alone he has your
heart and you are loving him with all of it.
It's not divided allegiances, it's not looking for, you know,
you're not looking to just add God to your life, whether you're
looking to submit your life, your heart, the very central,
part of who you are, where everything about your emotion,
and your decisions, and your life comes from, you're
submitting that to God when you love God with all your heart.
That's how yourself should be acting.
That's how yourself should be loving God.
And if you're going to love others, the way you love
yourself, you should be living according to that standard.
And seeking to hold others. Responsible to the same
standard. Now again you've received Grace
and so you show Grace, you've been just showing mercy and so
you show Mercy, but you've also come against the law, the truth
of God. And Jesus says, all of the law
and the prophets, their instruction, their commands
depend on loving God, with all your heart.
So, you must love God with all your heart.
But you don't stop there. You love him with all your soul
as well. Again, everything in the way
that you were made is submitting to God when it's it.
When Christ says to love the Lord, your God with all of these
things, he's saying that you're submitting to God in this way.
Your your adoring him. Yes.
But your desire is for him and you love the Lord with all your
soul. You love the Lord with all your
mind. And so even the thoughts of your
mind, come under or should submission to God, you're not
free to think what you want. You're not free to let your mind
wonder and be just a playground for The Devil, right?
You you submit your mind to the Lord.
You think about what he says is? Holy, wait a minute.
How do we do that? You have to know the laws of
God. You have to know what God
commands you have to know what he says is right, and what isn't
right? If you're going to submit to
God, so yes, it's love. God and love people, but you
must know how to rightly love God and how to rightly love
people, otherwise you're not obeying God.
You're in Disobedience to me. And so we got to be careful that
we don't reduce the law to nothingness.
Because Christ himself says, I did not come to abolish the law
but to uphold it. Why did he need to uphold it?
Because you and I cannot uphold it as we'll see.
He says that all the instruction of the law and the prophets
depend on these two things that you love the Lord, your God with
all your heart, your soul and your mind, and you love your
neighbor as yourself. So the law, all that scripture
commands is a great help for you.
On the one hand, what we see in our text today is that the law
stops every mouth its silences, everyone No one can look at the
laws of God. And plead his own justification
before God, it stops you from that once, you know, the laws of
God, why? Because you were being held
accountable to God, which is what he says next.
The whole world is held accountable to God by his law.
and if you're held accountable to God by his holy law, you are
in trouble. You're in great trouble.
So think through again, the Ten Commandments, it's helpful.
You shall not commit adultery as one of them cry says in Matthew
5. That if you look at a woman with
lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery.
So it's also not simply a law about do's and don'ts about the
intents of the heart. Your heart again must be
submitted to God's law. Maybe you sitting here today and
you say, well, I've never looked at anyone with lust in my heart.
I've never committed adultery good.
I'm sure you've told a lie. Right.
You've borne false witness against your neighbor at times.
You said things about people that aren't true made
accusations. Maybe you stole something.
Maybe you haven't murdered someone but again Christ says
that if you have hate for someone, it's the same thing.
You certainly put other gods before God you certainly
worshipped other things. We've talked about this at
length through the series about how you were created for
worship, and you were always worshipping something.
You're always an Adoration of something.
But we must submit ourselves to him.
If any of you ever looked at your neighbors things and
thought, man, I wish that was mine.
Coveted, your neighbor's house, your neighbor's wife, your
neighbors, life your neighbors job, My neighbor, we mean those
around you, not necessarily the person lives right next to you,
right? And so we're all guilty.
Of transgression against God's law, we're all guilty of
rebellion against him. No one is able to say to God
that we have not sinned. No one can honestly say that we
haven't broken God's law. Elsewhere in Romans, Paul makes
it makes the case that even if you have never read God's long,
it's talking about the Gentiles here who didn't receive God's
law as the Jews did. he says that they're still guilty of
violating it and rebelling against God and that their
conscience, their conscience is what's bearing witness against
them and that It even if you don't know the laws of God, that
you have some sense of right and wrong and that's put into your
mind by God himself. You have a conscience.
Everyone is guilty of sin before God.
And this is why Paul says, for by works and verse 24 by works
of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since
through the law comes knowledge of sin.
You're tempted to justify yourself before God.
Just like a child who gets in trouble and they're tempted to
try to justify themselves. Well, he did this to me or she
did that to me. It's justification.
It's an attempt at justification, even though the
child is in the wrong, It must be someone else's fault.
The problem with the law of God, just like that child there, with
a parent who knows, right from wrong and is able to bring the
law to bear. you're you're laid bare before God when you come up
against this law, Just as Adam and Eve were laid bare, well,
God created them. And he placed them in the garden
and they, he gave them their work to do.
We read there that they were naked and unashamed but as soon
as they committed sin, as soon as they transgress God's law, as
soon as they aid of that, which he told him not to eat.
They were, we read naked and ashamed now.
They were laid bare before the law of God.
And just like them. Our next step is attempting to
justify ourselves before God and that depends typically on
blame-shifting and excuses. It was their fault.
Adam says this woman. You gave me Lord.
So he's blaming God. But he's also blaming the woman.
The woman says, it wasn't me. It was the serpent.
She blames the serpent. She didn't do it.
All right, we may even be tempted to say well I just I
didn't know. That doesn't change the fact
that God's law has spoken. Those excuses won't hold up in
the in the court of Heaven. For by works of the law.
No human being will be justified in his sight by the law.
Every mouth has been stopped and the world is held accountable to
God. This on its own is a death of
all deaths. The law pronounces us.
Spiritually dead before God unable to stand in our own
righteousness. Believe it's Isaiah, who gets
real graphic and says that our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Literally has in mind. The rags of a menstrual cycle.
This is bad news for you. It's bad news for me.
It's bad news for all Humanity. But it's good for you to know
that it's bad news. It's good for you to feel the
weight of the law. On you.
Because you must realize the gravity of rebellion with God.
Romans 6:23, just a few chapters later, Paul, lays out the
gravity of the Rebellion, he says the wages of sin, the
payment for sin is death. I say it's good for you because
Paul says that through the law there at the end of verse 20
says, through the law comes knowledge of sin.
All's going to later say in Romans 7, But it's the law that
helped him understand what coveting was.
That before he coveted. But once he saw Thou shalt not
covet his coveting became death for him, it became an
understanding for him that he was a transgressor of God's law
and he had broken and he could not have hold it.
And so, it's good for us that the law brings knowledge of sin,
the laws of necessary, part of worship.
It's a necessary part of meeting with God, because it tells us
who God is. And then Who We Are.
He is Holy and we are not. When you see that you were so
often rebellious when you see that you're so often
disobedient, your moved to confess your sins.
We understand as Romans 3:23 said that all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God. The laws one way that God
Reveals His glory to us in the law.
We see God's perfect Holiness in the law, we see his, his
Holiness, and we see our imperfections, our sinfulness
And those things stand in stark contrast.
To God. You look at us and you look at
God, and it's very quick to see that.
These two things are not alike in so many ways.
This is exactly what happens when Isaiah is brought before
God to see his perfect. Lure in Isaiah chapter 6
Isaiah's, just received the vision of Heaven, he's laid eyes
on Angels who are crying out. Holy holy, holy is the Lord.
God Almighty He's peering into the heavens and he seeing this
play out before him. And Isaiah's response is woe, is
me. For, I am lost.
I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips for my eyes, have seen the king, the Lord of
hosts. And some places we read that I
am undone. Isaiah is brought to nothingness
before the Lord. He understands that he is mere
dust before God. God is perfectly righteous and
holy his glory shines and Isaiah views it.
And he says, woe is me and I really liked that.
It wasn't just woe is me as like woe is me and all the people I
know, right? Like nobody could stand in this.
This is, I'm a man of unclean, lips, my eyes have seen the
king, the Lord of hosts. You see confession naturally and
logically follows after being exposed to God's holiness.
It's the natural order of things God reveals himself. and man,
repents In fact, it must be. So for if we look into the law
and see who we truly are, as expose Sinners.
And yet, we walk away as if we've seen nothing, then we are
deceiving ourselves. What first John 18 is telling
us. It says, if we say, we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
And the Book of James chapter 1. We see that we're like a man who
looks into a mirror and sees his natural reflection and then
walks away and forgets what he looks like You can't come to the
law of God, see who you are, and then walk away as if nothing is
wrong. The promise that follows, first
John 18, that we deceive ourselves.
If we say, we have no sin, the truth is not in US.
It says, on the latter half in verse 9, if we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Woo. You see it is the will of God
that we see ourselves in our sinfulness.
It's the will of God that we not deceive ourselves into thinking
that we don't have sin in US. It's the will of God that we
would confess our sins. We would verbally Express God.
I have sinned against you. My anger got the best of me.
My mouth got the best of me. I entertained gossip at work.
I started the gossip at work. I looked at a woman with lust in
my heart, I looked at Someone else's financial situation and
coveted, their net worth. Whatever it is.
You come before the Lord and say, my affections have not been
only for you. My heart is wayward.
I'm not submitting to you with all of my heart and all my soul,
and all of my mind. I've sinned against you in those
things. When you confess.
You're admitting. You're admitting that.
We are those who have been forgiven and you're also
admitting that you're not perfect.
To neglect confession is to act as though we are sitting Louis
and have no need of God's daily work in sanctification.
We can't live that way. The law without the gospel is
death for us. But the law with the gospel is
life for us. Look at verse 21 again.
But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart
from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to
its. What's he saying?
The law and the prophets all that we have in our Old
Testament. Which is all the word they had
at that time. Being written the latter Parts,
the New Testament. This is what the all although
the law and the prophets, they bear witness to this. the
righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all
who believe, So now he's saying the righteousness of God
manifest in a person's life, through faith, in Jesus Christ
for all, who believe. But it's a part from the law.
It's not by law, abiding, it's not by Perfection, keeping, it's
not by doing perfect works that the righteousness of God dwells
in you, the righteousness of God dwells in you, because of the
work of Christ and because of your faith, in the work of
Christ. Amen.
This Where you come to know the righteousness of God and he says
look there's no distinction here again, he's talking about the
Jews and the Gentiles, There's no distinction, all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God and are Justified.
So he's saying that all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, those who are Justified are justified by his
grace. As a gift through the Redemption
that is in Christ. Jesus whom God put forward as a
propitiation. Big word will explain in a
moment propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.
This was to show God's righteousness because it's in
his Divine forbearance. He had passed over former sins.
I want to make a note on that real quick.
What he's talking about here is he's again talking about these
Old Testament believers? They were not justified, he's
already talked about Abraham and chapters 2 and 3, and he's going
to talk more about him and for about how he was justified by
faith alone. And so this is what he's saying,
he said everyone there's no distinction everyone who is
Justified as justified by faith in Christ alone even Old
Testament Believers and he's saying what he did.
What God did was passed over their sins that wasn't like he
turned his head or turned a blind eye we should read it as
God took their sins and place them on Christ Alone.
And so that their faith in God was their salvation just as
faith in God. Today is our Salvation, there's
not two salvations, not a work of of your flesh by the Old
Testament law. That's going to save you, not
then, not now not ever. You're saved then Now and
Forever, by faith in Christ alone.
That's it. And so God wasn't he wasn't
turning a blind eye to the sins of Old Testament Believers.
He wasn't just simply overlooking them.
He's taking them and he's placing them on Christ who is to
come. You and I have the benefit of
living post Christ, post work of Salvation posed cross.
And so we can look back and say that our sins were laid on
Christ at the cross as well. Amen.
Well, how do we know this? Because he used the word
propitiation, Let me read verse 26 on, explain it.
Verse 26, it says Paul says it was to show his righteousness at
the present time so that he might be just and justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus. Again, if God's just simply
overlooking Sins, not dealing with them in any kind of a way,
he's not just A just God does not ignore sin.
He cannot He cannot, he wouldn't be just no one.
No one wants to serve a God, who is unjust because what if he
Wills his unjustness on you one day, He must be just, amen.
He must be just and so he is, and he's called just because he
didn't Overlook the sins, he laid the sins on Christ.
He's called justifier because he's the author of Faith.
He's the one who grants you the ability to believe he's the one
who stirs. You to come to faith in Christ.
He's the one who awakens You by his spirits.
Just as John says to Nicodemus, one of the great followers of
the law That Ever Walked the face of the Earth, Jesus says to
him, you must be born again. And when Nicodemus quizzes him
on it Jesus says this is a work of the spirit and no one knows
the spirit is like the wind, no one knows where it comes from or
where it is going, but knows it's presents.
You're being born again. Is a gift of God, John chapter
one. Even before John 3, John chapter
1, the Apostle writes there that to all who believed God gave the
right to become children of God, not of the work of the flesh,
not by Blood, but by God, he says It's God's work in US.
And so he is just a fire, he is just and his justifier.
This is God's Declaration of forgiveness.
In Jesus Christ, the law and the prophets are bearing witness to
righteousness, to the righteousness of God, being
manifested through faith in Christ.
That's what the prophets are telling you about, it's what the
law was pointing forward to its what the Exodus means.
It's what Christ, sorry what God meant in Genesis 3:15 when he
tells Adam and Eve and his curse of the serpent that there will
come one who will crush the head of the serpent.
All of it is pointing forward to Christ.
Who will bear? The weight of sin for his people
that we might walk away Justified.
Amen. It was always about believing in
God through Christ. Paul just makes it clear for us.
There's no distinction, Everyone Falls short of God's glory
everyone who will be justified before God will be so by God's
grace as a gift through the Redemption that is in Christ.
Jesus, whom God put forward as a again, a uses this word
propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.
The propitiation of God in Christ is the key to God's
justifying guilty. Sinners propitiation is the
wiping away of sins, but it's not.
God is not just. If he just removes sin, if he
just makes send disappear. That's not just.
God cannot say that God. So God cannot say to Adam and
Eve that in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.
And then not bring death. Why?
Because there is at least one thing God cannot do and that is,
he cannot lie. You cannot lie.
If God has made a command of God has set something forward by his
word, he must do it. This is why you can trust him.
This is why you can know that all his promises are yes and
amen. And that he is good and worthy
of your submission. And so the propitiation is not
simply the wiping away, it's not just getting rid of sin.
It's not just erasing the debt, the debt required death It
required blood. And so he satisfies his own
Wrath. By the Flesh and Blood of his
own son. So that all who believe in
Christ might live with the righteousness that is rightly,
Christ's righteousness, and free.
Of the guilt of sin that is, rightly your guilt of sin.
God did that for us through Jesus Christ, through the
spilling of his own blood. And so that now, by faith in the
person and work of Jesus once guilty, Sinners may receive the
Eternal, pardon of God, complete justification for their sins.
Second Corinthians, 5:21 for our sake.
God made Christ to be sin, who knew no sin.
So, that, in Christ, we might become the righteousness of God.
Again, we who knew only sin now, no nothing.
But the righteousness of Christ. This is a benefit, a blessing of
the new creation work that you read about just a few verses
earlier. Therefore if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. New Creation.
Not just a it's not just new year, new me type stuff, right?
It's not just it's not behavioral, change your not
modifying your morality, it's none of those things.
You are a new creation. This is why Christ says to
Nicodemus, you must be born again.
This is what Born Again means to become a new creation in Christ.
The old has passed away. Behold.
The new has come, if you are in Christ, you have forgiveness of
sins. God has given us his law.
He's revealed to his, how horribly we have broken it and
then in Grace, he declares that we have nothing to fear even
though we are awful. Sinners.
But we are sinners with a new identity, right?
We are in Christ. Now we're redeemed.
Sinners. You might say we are Saints and
rightfully. So, And that is astounding.
Astounding, it doesn't make any sense to us because we don't
want to operate that way. We want to be like the man and
the parable of forgiveness, that Christ tells, right?
There's a man who owes a great debt.
And so his master calls him forward and he says, hey, you
owe me this great dead. It's like if I remember right in
modern days terms as well, it's several several thousands of
dollars. You owe this great debt.
He's like I cannot pay this debt.
There's nothing that I can do to pay this debt for you.
Nothing at all. And so we read that the master
had mercy on him and forgave him his dead and let him go.
And that man went and so full of joy.
And so happy that he had been forgiven his debt, he forgave
all the other deaths, right? No, he went and found a guy who
owed him, what is in our day about 28 bucks.
Although since inflation, the price may have changed a little
maybe it's about, you know, 58 bucks now.
He finds a guy who owes him very little comparatively speaking.
And the guy tells him the same thing like I cannot pay this
debt. I can't do it.
He doesn't offer him Mercy as he had just received, he holds him
to, it has him thrown in prison. Guess what happened?
When his master heard about this.
He wasn't pleased. He had him thrown in prison as
well because he had done. He wasn't grateful for the mercy
that he'd received. You didn't show Mercy, he went
required, The Little Death. That's typically how we operate
with Grace. Grace is good for me.
So long as I'm the one receiving it, but I have to extend it.
I don't want any part of it. Be careful.
It's infusions for we read that we should be kind tender
hearted, loving one. Another forgiving one, another
as God in Christ, has forgiven us.
It's a command from scripture Romans. 8:1 you have been
forgiven a great debt there is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Yes. No condemnation, totally
deserving of Hell, totally. A transgressor of the law unable
to appease God in any way, shape, or form.
And yet in Christ, there is no condemnation for you.
What Grace. So if you have repented of your
sins, you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
And you are right with God because of Christ. you are the
rescued, the redeemed people of God and we must remind ourselves
of this every week and worship to guard against Pride to guard
against arrogance, to guard against antinomianism, a free
spirit of living because Grace saves You must live according to
the law of God by the grace of God.
We do so, to stay in fellowship with God.
To walk in peace with God. Again, our peace is not on our
ability to perform before God. That's not what I mean.
Or peace with God is because of the work of Christ and Christ
alone. But Christ says, if you love me,
you will obey my Commandments and the Great Commission.
It's not go and make converts and baptize them and then send
them on their way. It's go preach, the gospel
essentially baptize. Those who believe make disciples
baptizing, Baptize those who believe and teach them to do all
that. I have commanded you To do.
I don't think God's word is contradictory in any way in
these things. This identity must be proclaimed
again and again so that we will believe it so that we will be
conformed to it. You stood condemned before the
law but then God pronounces the verdict, those who are in Christ
Jesus, by faith are not guilty. Jonathan Cruz says this in his
book, he says for us and our New Covenant worship.
We hear about the blood. I'm sorry, we hear about blood,
but we don't spill any, we hear about Jesus blood, which is
freed us from our sins. Ransomed us from our bondage,
cleansed us from our unrighteousness and brought us
near to God. Amen the law without the gospel
is death for us but the law with the gospel is life.
Or us. The rhythm of a healthy
Christian life is to confess our sins and know that we have been
forgiven of them. We talked about this when we get
ready to baptize anyone, whether it be a child or an adult that
your baptism, you go down into the water and come out.
It's not a once baptized always saved mentality.
Your baptism is identifying, as you as one who is believing in
Christ, one who has repented of their sins.
The old man is going down under the water.
The new man is coming up out of the water just as Christ was
raised from the dead and you're saying I'm staking my belief my
righteousness on Christ Alone. I'm, I'm pledging my allegiance
to him. I'm denying myself taking up my
cross and following him. That's what baptism is and so,
from there, It is important to instruct new Believers that you
will live a life from now until your final breath, that is
marked by repentance and belief. Not as a new convert but as one
who is daily, depending on Christ for your salvation and
forgiveness. And so the rhythm of a healthy
Christian life is to confess your sins and know that you have
been forgiven of them. You never outgrow the duty of
confession, you never outgrow the duty of repentance and your
Christian walk. Those things must be part of
your regular day-to-day walk with the Lord.
And so too, they must be part of regular worship.
Confession repentance and faith is where the unbeliever finds
Christ to be the savior of the world.
It's where the unbeliever finds peace with God.
And it is where the Christian finds and maintains that peace
with God and their daily Christian long walk.
David's experience is helpful here King David and Psalm 32.
Withheld his confession and his repentance for a time.
And this is what he wrote down in verse 3 and 4 and Psalm 32.
He says for what I kept silence my bones wasted away through my
groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was
Heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by
The Heat Of Summer. You see his silence meant great
suffering trying to hold in his confession.
I imagine as the king. That confession of sin is a
harder thing to do. But when he opened his heart and
he opened his mouth to confess his guilt, he received God's.
Healing is what he writes. In verse 5, I acknowledged my
sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and
you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Amen. So same thing.
John wrote In First John 189, right?
If you say you have no sin, we deceive yourselves.
But if you'll confess your sin God is faithful and just to what
to forgive you of your sins. This repeated confrontation with
God's holiness and our sinfulness lays the foundation
for salvation. An unbeliever must certainly see
that he or she is in violation of God's law before the gospel
will ever mean anything to them. This is why I knew evangelism or
in you're witnessing or in talking with others.
You cannot leave out the law of God.
You cannot leave out the fall of mankind and the need for a
savior, it can't just be a Jesus to your life, and your life will
be much prettier. it has to be that you have rebelled against
the holy God and unless you repent of your sins and place
your faith in Christ Jesus, you will spend eternity in hell But
if you will repent of your sins and believe in Christ, Jesus as
your lord you will be saved today.
There's no greater reprieve, no greater relief from your sins
than to know that there is guaranteed salvation in the
confession of those sins. And in the belief that comes
with in Christ It's ours and him.
And we must see that repeated confrontation with his Holiness.
Just as I am, Lays the foundation for salvation for
unbelievers, but it lays the foundation for continued,
sanctification as believers. As a Believer, I still
transgress the law daily. I transgress the law in ways.
I don't even realize sometimes, God has to show me by his Spirit
through his word. Most normally that I am a
transgressor of his law. But as you grow in your
knowledge of the law of God, as you grow in your knowledge of
God's word, is what I'm saying, you become sensitive to sin. it
becomes normal for you not to sin, I mean that's happening but
it becomes normal for you on the backside of your sin to say, And
to know the spirit of God, which is convicting you in that and
then to submit yourself to him by begging his forgiveness.
And even offering up, I'm Sorry's or apologies, or what
have you to others that you might have hurt in your
transgression against God? And that must be a part of our
daily life. It's a part of our
sanctification. In Romans chapter 8.
Paul writes that we are to put to death, the Deeds of the flesh
by the spirit of God. We've been given the spirit of
God to free us from that. We can now serve God As Romans 6
& 7 say, but the body of death is still very much present.
We still wage war against this flesh and were to put to death.
The Deeds of the flesh by the spirit So I encourage you to do
that. Understand a law without the
gospel is death for us and the gospel.
Without the law is death. Also, what the law with the
gospel? The gospel with the law is life
for us and then may stand to your feet.
I'm going to pray for you. We're going to sing one final
song together. It's called the goodness of
Jesus, and it's a very fitting into this morning, as we sing in
a moment. I encourage you confess your
sins before the Lord seek his face seemed to Him worship Him.
If you need prayer for anything, you need to talk about anything,
you have questions about anything that's been said today.
I'll be back here but I'm happy to meet with you in a room back
this way. If we need to you just come to
me and let me know. Let me pray for you.
Heavenly Father, we love you. We praise you, Lord for your
kindness today. you're a one, your kindness and helping me
today your kindness and helping us But ultimately Lord your
kindness and your grace that we all have received as Believers
in Jesus Through Your gospel. Through, you're sending Christ
died for our sins. Would help us to believe that.
More wholeheartedly more fully more Faithfully each day.
Lord today, would you lead us unto repentance where our hearts
of? Gone away from you, our hearts
have strayed from you, where our hearts of found other longings,
more beautiful than you are more desirable than you are.
We have placed other things as Gods above you, and our worship.
As we serve them, be it money and possessions or
relationships. Or anything else.
Lord help us. To walk according to your word
Faithfully. To do the things that you have
commanded us to do. Help us.
Lord to honor you in those things.
What, I pray for anyone today? Who's here?
Who does not know Christ as their savior?
It was an unrepentant sinner, an unbeliever set in their
trespasses and sins. Lord, would you soften their
heart today? Would you save them by your
grace? Your marvelous marvelous Grace
today? Draw them to yourself.
May they see themselves as dust and repent before you May they
find a life in Christ alone, and Lord for us here today, who do
know you just as I parade help us to live for you, each day.
Lord in this moment. Help us to be mindful of our
sins. To repent of them, help us to
know deeply, the Forgiveness of Christ.
To not take it for granted to not use it as a license for more
sin, Lord help us to deal honestly, with our sinfulness.
we need your help in that because we are so deceived and
yet so deceitful at the same time, Lord, we love you.
We thank you again for today, be with us.
Now, as we sing encourage our hearts, strengthen our faith.
Deep in our love for others, in Christ's name, I pray.
Amen. Lord, we love you.
We thank you again for today, be with us.
Now, as we sing encourage our hearts, strengthen our faith.
Deep in our love for others, in Christ's name, I pray.
Amen.