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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now, come along, let's look
into the Bible and see what God has

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for us here today.

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We're going to learn from the
word of God here this morning.

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You have your Bibles.

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Turn with me to Romans Chapter two.

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Romans Chapter two.

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We're going to continue on in
our sermon series looking at theology

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and how theology matters for
us as a believer.

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And here in Romans Chapter
two, today we're going to be looking

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at a sermon entitled A Heart Matter.

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A Heart Matter.

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Now, what are we talking about
when we talk about a heart matter?

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We're talking about a matter
not necessarily dealing with our

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external focus, because that's
usually what we as humans do.

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We look at the externals and
we make a judgment call on that.

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But in this case, we're
looking at the heart.

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And really what we know is
that God is concerned with the heart.

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We looked at this last week.

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We looked at the fact that in
verse number 11, it says, for there

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is no respect of persons with
God, there's no partiality with God.

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And so God is concerned not
with necessarily our externals as

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much as he's concerned with
our internals, what's going on in

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our heart.

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And so we're starting in verse
number 17, and we're seeing that

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Paul is building upon what he
is talking about throughout all of

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chapter two and really most of
chapter three.

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And that is the universal need
for a Savior.

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And what we talked about last
week was this idea that the truth

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bring us really, the truth
brings us to a place of desperation.

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It should bring us to a place
of desperation.

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And that desperation is this.

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I cannot stand save myself.

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I cannot do enough.

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But that desperation is not
where we're supposed to stay.

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We're supposed to realize that
we are desperate without Him.

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But that brings us to that
decision to trust in him for that

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confidence, to trust in him
for salvation, to trust in him for

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his righteousness.

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And so ultimately, it is God
who gives us the confidence and not

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our own works.

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But what we know is that in,
in the case of Paul's message to

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the religious person is that
there's always going to a response.

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And Paul realizes that there's
going to be response.

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And so in verse number 17, he
is going to give really a rebuttal

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to the religious response.

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And the religious response is
this, I don't need a savior because

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I'm religious.

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I, I, I don't need someone to
extend grace to me because I am a

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good person.

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I go to church, I serve, I, I,
I'm, I, I'm a good citizen.

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And in this case, he says in
verse number 17, behold, thou art

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called a Jew and resteth in
the law, and make us thy boast of

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God.

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And so what is Paul doing?

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He's recognizing that there
are going to be people that are religious

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that say, hey, I've already
got what I need.

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I don't need what you're
preaching to me.

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I don't need the gospel, I
don't need Jesus, I don't need his

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grace.

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And he says, what, what are
you resting in?

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You're resting in the law.

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You're resting in your tradition.

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You're resting in your genealogy.

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And so for the Jewish man to
boast was for him to boast in his

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genealogy.

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I'm part of the chosen people.

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They would, they would boast
in the law.

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God gave us the law, so we are
better, we know what we are all about.

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They would trust in their
tradition, they would boast in their

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works.

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And what Paul is going to
essentially do here is explaining

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the emptiness, the vanity of
trusting in the law, trusting in

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our works.

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And so he says here in verse
number 18, he says, and knowest his

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will.

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You, you say that you know his
will and approves the things that

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are more excellent being
instructed out of the law.

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So he says, you've been taught
the law, and, and remember, the law

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is the Mosaic Law, the law
that was given to the Jewish people

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so long ago, and they're
trusting in that law to save them.

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He says, so much so that
you've been taught this since you

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were a child, verse 19.

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And are confident that thou
thyself, are a guide of the blind.

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He says, you're so confident
that you're willing to guide those

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that are in darkness, a light
of them which are in darkness, an

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instructor of the foolish, a
teacher of babes, which has the form

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of knowledge and of the truth
in the law.

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And so he's telling them that,
hey, you think you have a good response

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to your sin, but your response
is empty.

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He says, you think that you
can teach people the truth, but you

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yourself are missing the truth.

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You have a form of knowledge.

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You think you have knowledge,
but again, you know the difference

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between knowledge and wisdom.

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Knowledge is having a head,
knowledge of something, knowing something

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intellectually.

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But wisdom is the application
of that knowledge.

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And so he says, you have
something intellectually which is

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religious, but there is a
disconnect there.

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Verse 21.

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Thou, therefore, which
teacheth another, teaches thou not

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thyself.

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Meaning this you teach other people.

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But have you taught yourself
what it means to know God, to love

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God, to.

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To obey him in the sense that
he wants you to obey him?

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Thou that preaches a man
should not steal.

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Dost thou steal?

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What is he doing here?

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He's calling them out for
their hypocrisy.

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He says, you know, you're
teaching people don't steal.

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But you yourself, you are thief.

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You're stealing.

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Verse number 22.

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Thou that saith a man should
not commit adultery, Dost thou commit

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adultery?

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Now you say, what is he
talking about here?

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Well, we know that Jesus, when
he came and gave the sermon on the

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mount in Matthew chapter five,
he spoke to the idea that the law

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is not just about our action,
but it's about our attitude.

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And I want you to think about
that here this morning.

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For a believer, God is not
just concerned with our actions and,

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and, you know, and stopping there.

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A lot of people think, well, I
didn't do that.

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I didn't act upon what I was
thinking about.

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God is concerned not only with
our actions, but also our attitudes,

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our motives.

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You can turn there with me,
and you can see just a portion of

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this teaching in Matthew,
chapter five.

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Matthew, chapter five.

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Jesus is teaching to those
people there that had their confidence

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in the law.

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They had their confidence in
their tradition.

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They had the confidence in
their genealogy.

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And in The Matthew chapter 5,
verse number 19, he goes on to say,

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whosoever therefore, shall
break one of these, one of least

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these commandments and shall
teach men so, he shall be called

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the least in the kingdom of heaven.

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But whosoever shall do and
teach them the same shall be called

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great in the kingdom of heaven.

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For I say unto you that except
your righteousness shall exceed the

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righteousness of the scribes
and the Pharisees, ye shall in no

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case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

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So what is Jesus teaching here
in Matthew, chapter five, he says,

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unless you think that your
righteousness is above the scribes

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and the Pharisees, you can't
earn your way there.

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It's not your righteousness.

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And the truth is, is that they
would have all understood there that

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there's no way that they could
exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees.

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Because the Pharisees were, by
the letter, they.

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They said, we're.

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We're perfect.

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We don't make any Mistakes.

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We follow the law from the
moment we're born all the way up.

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And so what is he saying here?

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He says, unless your
righteousness is perfect, you can't

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enter into the kingdom of God.

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Verse 21.

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Ye have heard that it was said
by them of old time, thou shalt not

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kill.

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And whoever shall kill shall
be in the danger of judgment.

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But I say unto you that
whosoever is angry with his brother

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without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment.

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So what does he say here?

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He says it's not just about
actually killing somebody.

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It's further.

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It goes.

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It goes deeper.

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It's about the hate that you
have in your heart.

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And so he says, hey, you know what?

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There's.

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There's more to this.

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There's more than just your action.

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It's also your attitude.

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Verse 23.

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Therefore, if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and.

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And there, remember, said, thy
brother hath ought against thee.

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Leave there thy gift before
the altar and go thy way.

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First be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer

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thy gift.

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So what is he saying here?

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He says, it doesn't matter
what you're doing for the Lord, if

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your heart's not in the right
place, if you haven't reconciled

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with him, if you don't have
that fellowship with the Lord, it

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doesn't matter what those
externals are, because those are

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empty.

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Because your heart is not there.

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Your attitude is not there.

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And so we know that all the
way through Jesus teaching.

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He says, it's more than just
the externals.

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It's about the heart.

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And so if we go back to the
book of Romans, we see specifically

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that that is what Paul is
addressing here.

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He says, you tell everyone, be
perfect, but you yourself cannot

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be perfect.

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You tell everyone, don't be a
thief, but you are a thief.

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You tell people, don't commit
adultery, but in your heart, you're

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committing adultery.

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So he goes further here In
Romans, chapter 2, verse 22, he says,

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Thou, that of Horus idols.

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You know you hate idols.

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You teach against idol idolatry.

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Does thou commit sacrilege?

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Essentially, what's happening
is they're committing idolatry in

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their own way, just in the.

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In the way that they're
comfortable with.

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If you go back and know what
Jesus was dealing with back at the

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time, right before he was put
to the cross, he comes and he addresses

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these Pharisees and these
religious people that were abusing

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the people within the temple.

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They were.

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They were using religion for
financial gain.

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And so what is Paul saying here?

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He says you hate idolatry, but
yet you commit idolatry and sacrilege

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and blasphemy with within your
faith, within your religion.

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Verse 23.

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Thou that makes thy boast of
the law through breaking the law

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dishonorous, Thou God.

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What are they making their
boast in?

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They're making their boasts,
their glory, their pride in the fact

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that they have the law, they
possess the law, and that they keep

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the law.

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Their boast is not in Christ.

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Their boast is not in their
faith in Jesus Christ.

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Their boast is really in themselves.

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It's in their cultural identity.

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Hey, we're, we're the better
people because we have the law.

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What does that look like today?

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That looks like this.

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You know what?

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I'm saved because I go to church.

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I'm saved because I look the part.

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I'm saved because I'm not as
bad as those people.

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I, I, I'm better, I'm
religious, I'm good.

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And what we see here is that
sometimes what happens is that we

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boast in the wrong things.

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We boast in the fact that,
hey, you know what?

244
00:10:23,150 --> 00:10:24,950
At least I'm not as bad as
that person.

245
00:10:24,950 --> 00:10:26,310
Remember that guy that was praying?

246
00:10:26,390 --> 00:10:28,150
You had the publican and the Pharisee.

247
00:10:28,310 --> 00:10:29,830
Remember what the Pharisees
prayer was?

248
00:10:30,070 --> 00:10:32,229
I'm glad I'm not like the publican.

249
00:10:32,229 --> 00:10:34,070
I'm glad I'm not bad like him.

250
00:10:34,630 --> 00:10:37,390
Truth is, is that what we see
here in this passage of scripture

251
00:10:37,390 --> 00:10:41,750
is that all of us are guilty
to some extent, all of us are guilty

252
00:10:41,750 --> 00:10:42,550
in our sin.

253
00:10:43,540 --> 00:10:46,300
And so what we can understand
is that their boast is in the wrong

254
00:10:46,300 --> 00:10:46,500
thing.

255
00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:49,740
And so the only beneficial
boast is found in Christ.

256
00:10:49,740 --> 00:10:52,180
I want you to see that passage
in Galatians.

257
00:10:52,180 --> 00:10:53,460
Galatians, chapter six.

258
00:10:54,100 --> 00:10:55,700
Turn over to Galatians,
chapter six.

259
00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:58,779
Paul is speaking about the
only boast that we can have as a

260
00:10:58,779 --> 00:11:02,380
believer and that only boasts
that only pride that we can have

261
00:11:02,380 --> 00:11:04,820
is in Christ and what he has
done for us.

262
00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:09,410
I want you to see that here in
Galatians chapter six, because we,

263
00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,880
what was happening even in
this case in, in, in Galatia at this

264
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,680
time was that there were
individuals that were trusting in

265
00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:17,000
their tradition.

266
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,160
They were trusting in circumcision.

267
00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,360
You're going to see that word
circumcision a lot in all of these

268
00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:23,640
passages that we're talking about.

269
00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:24,720
So what does that mean?

270
00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,400
Well, we know literally what
circumcision means, but what happened

271
00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,440
was, is that at that time
frame, the religious men, when they

272
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,200
were circumcised, they
believed that that was.

273
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:34,760
They marked and made them sane.

274
00:11:35,330 --> 00:11:35,610
Okay?

275
00:11:35,610 --> 00:11:38,650
It was that external thing
that would happen that would identify

276
00:11:38,650 --> 00:11:42,050
them as being in the family of
Abraham and then receive Abraham's

277
00:11:42,050 --> 00:11:42,330
blessing.

278
00:11:42,330 --> 00:11:45,290
They thought that it was
enough for just a religious act to

279
00:11:45,290 --> 00:11:45,570
happen.

280
00:11:46,370 --> 00:11:49,410
And so what we're seeing here
in Galatians chapter six is that

281
00:11:49,490 --> 00:11:52,850
Paul is going to teach that
it's not about the physical circumcision

282
00:11:53,090 --> 00:11:54,490
that is going to save someone.

283
00:11:54,490 --> 00:11:56,930
It's about the circumcision of
something else, the circumcision

284
00:11:56,930 --> 00:11:57,490
of the heart.

285
00:11:57,890 --> 00:11:59,930
So look at Galatians, chapter
6, verse 11.

286
00:11:59,930 --> 00:12:04,780
With me, he says, you see how
large a letter I have written unto

287
00:12:04,780 --> 00:12:06,060
you with my own hand.

288
00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:11,460
As many as desire to make a
fair show or to make public in the

289
00:12:11,460 --> 00:12:14,780
flesh, they constrain you to
be circumcised.

290
00:12:14,940 --> 00:12:17,860
So there were people that were
basically saying, to be saved, you

291
00:12:17,860 --> 00:12:21,860
must be circumcised only lest
they should suffer persecution for

292
00:12:21,860 --> 00:12:22,700
the cross of Christ.

293
00:12:22,780 --> 00:12:25,580
For neither they themselves
who are circumcised keep the law.

294
00:12:25,580 --> 00:12:29,370
So he says, even these people
that have that physical change, that

295
00:12:29,370 --> 00:12:32,330
physical action happened in
their life, they can't keep the law,

296
00:12:32,570 --> 00:12:35,650
but desire to have you
circumcised that they may glory in

297
00:12:35,650 --> 00:12:36,410
your flesh.

298
00:12:37,210 --> 00:12:40,490
But God forbid that I should
glory or boast.

299
00:12:40,490 --> 00:12:42,410
That word glory just means boast.

300
00:12:42,570 --> 00:12:48,250
God forbid that I glory save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

301
00:12:48,730 --> 00:12:52,890
by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world.

302
00:12:52,970 --> 00:12:56,210
For in Christ neither
circumcision availeth anything, nor.

303
00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,600
Nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature, a new creation.

304
00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:04,600
And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them and

305
00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:06,760
mercy and upon the Israel of God.

306
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:07,840
And so what does he say here?

307
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:08,440
He says this.

308
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,920
The only thing that a person
can boast in is their faith in Jesus

309
00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:13,200
Christ.

310
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,200
A Christian should not boast
in their works.

311
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,640
A Christian should not boast
in their tradition.

312
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,800
The Christian should not boast
in their church.

313
00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,720
The only thing that a
Christian should boast in is, is

314
00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,480
in the power of Jesus Christ
and the grace that he extends to

315
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:25,760
us.

316
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,520
That is the point of
everything that Paul is saying here.

317
00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,920
He says, you can't do it on
your own.

318
00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,880
You can't be so righteous that
you exceed all the Pharisees.

319
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:35,800
You can't do that.

320
00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:37,600
And so ultimately here he's
saying this.

321
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:39,840
Be consistent with what you believe.

322
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,920
Be consistent to what God says.

323
00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,600
And so the focus is on action
and attitude.

324
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,040
And the only beneficial boast
is Jesus Christ.

325
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:52,810
So we go back to verse number
24 in Romans, chapter 2.

326
00:13:53,370 --> 00:13:58,690
For the name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles through

327
00:13:58,690 --> 00:14:00,650
you as it is written.

328
00:14:00,650 --> 00:14:01,850
What is he talking about here?

329
00:14:02,490 --> 00:14:03,450
He's saying this.

330
00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:10,210
You acting inconsistently, you
as a hypocrite is a hindrance to

331
00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:12,650
the Gentiles who need to know
the truth of Jesus Christ.

332
00:14:12,650 --> 00:14:16,460
He says, you saying one thing
and doing another, you trusting in

333
00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:20,420
your flesh, you trusting in
the law, you trusting in your circumcision,

334
00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:22,100
you trusting in your works.

335
00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:24,820
That is a detriment to
reaching people for the cause of

336
00:14:24,820 --> 00:14:25,460
the gospel.

337
00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:28,860
So for the name of God is
blaspheme among the Gentiles, the

338
00:14:28,860 --> 00:14:31,260
unbelievers, through you as it
is written.

339
00:14:31,260 --> 00:14:32,660
So what we can see here is this.

340
00:14:32,740 --> 00:14:34,580
How we act in our life matters.

341
00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:38,180
Our testimony matters for
those people who need Jesus Christ.

342
00:14:38,180 --> 00:14:41,500
If I say one thing, if I say,
well, you know what, I believe by

343
00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:43,960
the grace of God, that I'm
saved by, but I trust in something

344
00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:45,240
else, what am I doing?

345
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,120
I'm basically harming my
testimony, the testimony of the Lord

346
00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,000
and hindering people from
seeing the truth of the true gospel.

347
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:53,720
If I say, hey, come to our church.

348
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:54,400
Our church is great.

349
00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:55,440
Why is your church great?

350
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,600
Because we are the best in
every single ministry.

351
00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,200
We have the best programs, we
have the best pastor, we have the

352
00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:02,960
best whatever.

353
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:04,000
We have this and that's.

354
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:04,360
And this.

355
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,040
We're essentially telling
people something that is not true.

356
00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:09,520
Because at the end of the day,
what happens is this.

357
00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:09,770
We.

358
00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,520
We can build our sure
foundation only on one thing, and

359
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,360
that is the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

360
00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,200
We are hindering Christianity.

361
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:18,920
We are hindering the gospel message.

362
00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:22,880
If we put our faith and trust
in anything else outside of Jesus

363
00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:23,160
Christ.

364
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:25,920
Our boast is Jesus Christ, Our
boast is the cross.

365
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,480
And so if we say, well, hey,
come, come, be a believer in Jesus

366
00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,040
Christ, it'll make your life
way better.

367
00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:32,800
You'll have a bigger bank account.

368
00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:34,240
We'll have perfect health.

369
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,840
Everything in your life will
be the way you've always wanted it.

370
00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:37,440
What are we doing?

371
00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:37,640
We.

372
00:15:37,790 --> 00:15:40,270
We're lying to them by
boasting in something else.

373
00:15:40,350 --> 00:15:42,350
Does God bless us sometimes, Financially?

374
00:15:42,430 --> 00:15:42,870
Yes.

375
00:15:42,870 --> 00:15:43,190
Does.

376
00:15:43,190 --> 00:15:44,110
Does God heal?

377
00:15:44,270 --> 00:15:44,750
Yes.

378
00:15:44,830 --> 00:15:47,470
But at the end of the day, our
boast cannot be in ourselves.

379
00:15:47,470 --> 00:15:48,990
Our boast is in Jesus Christ.

380
00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:52,110
And so he says, you are
hindering, you are blaspheming the

381
00:15:52,110 --> 00:15:52,750
word of God.

382
00:15:52,990 --> 00:15:55,590
And, and ultimately your
testimony to the Gentiles is being

383
00:15:55,590 --> 00:15:55,910
harmed.

384
00:15:55,910 --> 00:16:03,110
And so the way that we respond
to God and his word affects our testimony

385
00:16:03,110 --> 00:16:07,640
to those who need salvation,
hypocrisy is.

386
00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:08,520
Is a reality.

387
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,440
Like, all of us, to some
degree, are going to be hypocritical

388
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,880
because none of us can keep
our word completely.

389
00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:20,160
But if the core tenets of what
we believe is based in hypocrisy,

390
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:22,960
then we are going to be a
hindrance to people around us.

391
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,120
And so what happens here is,
is essentially Paul, in a very nice

392
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:31,130
way, but in a very firm way,
is telling these people that their

393
00:16:31,130 --> 00:16:34,330
whole system is based in hypocrisy.

394
00:16:34,650 --> 00:16:37,530
Their whole system is based in
a failing direction.

395
00:16:37,530 --> 00:16:41,210
And that is the direction of
the law, the flesh, the tradition.

396
00:16:41,690 --> 00:16:45,770
And so he's going to elaborate
more on this, and he's going to essentially

397
00:16:45,770 --> 00:16:48,170
teach on the emptiness of externals.

398
00:16:48,890 --> 00:16:50,850
And I want to be very careful
when I.

399
00:16:50,850 --> 00:16:53,130
When I teach on this, this
morning, because I want you to understand

400
00:16:53,530 --> 00:16:56,330
that the things that we do for
the Lord, they do matter.

401
00:16:57,130 --> 00:16:58,170
Externals do matter.

402
00:16:58,330 --> 00:17:02,210
But if the external is the
focus and the internal is forgotten,

403
00:17:02,210 --> 00:17:03,370
then we're missing the point.

404
00:17:03,850 --> 00:17:04,170
So.

405
00:17:04,170 --> 00:17:05,290
So what do I mean by that?

406
00:17:05,930 --> 00:17:06,650
I mean this.

407
00:17:06,970 --> 00:17:09,410
If I brought out a can today,
I didn't.

408
00:17:09,410 --> 00:17:09,930
I didn't bring it.

409
00:17:09,930 --> 00:17:11,290
I should have brought an
object lesson.

410
00:17:11,290 --> 00:17:14,490
And it's a can, and on the
label it says corn.

411
00:17:14,970 --> 00:17:15,530
Okay?

412
00:17:16,650 --> 00:17:21,130
But then I crack it open, and
inside of that there is, I don't

413
00:17:21,130 --> 00:17:22,250
know, sardines.

414
00:17:23,049 --> 00:17:27,129
All right, the label on the
outside said corn, but on the inside

415
00:17:27,129 --> 00:17:28,369
we know that that's not corn.

416
00:17:28,369 --> 00:17:28,969
Okay.

417
00:17:29,529 --> 00:17:34,609
And the truth is, is that the
external label that we have on our

418
00:17:34,609 --> 00:17:38,609
outside, if that doesn't match
what's on the inside, there's a big

419
00:17:38,609 --> 00:17:39,289
issue there.

420
00:17:40,009 --> 00:17:44,529
And what can happen is very
easily someone could mislabel a can

421
00:17:44,529 --> 00:17:45,529
or mislabel.

422
00:17:45,689 --> 00:17:48,969
For example, what if I had a
can of, you know, Diet Coke up here,

423
00:17:49,140 --> 00:17:51,380
and I said, someone who likes
Diet Coke, and someone comes up and

424
00:17:51,380 --> 00:17:53,980
grabs the Diet Coke and they
crack it open and they drink it and

425
00:17:53,980 --> 00:17:55,620
it's, you know, diesel fuel.

426
00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:57,580
Okay, that's going to be
really problematic.

427
00:17:57,580 --> 00:17:57,900
Why?

428
00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:01,420
Because we represented on the
outside something that is not true

429
00:18:01,420 --> 00:18:02,180
on the inside.

430
00:18:02,580 --> 00:18:04,260
Jesus addressed this very same thing.

431
00:18:04,260 --> 00:18:08,300
He says, you Pharisees,
remember, He's talking to the people

432
00:18:08,300 --> 00:18:08,820
that were.

433
00:18:08,980 --> 00:18:10,580
Were believing at the time.

434
00:18:10,580 --> 00:18:10,820
They.

435
00:18:10,820 --> 00:18:12,020
They were the religious people.

436
00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:14,980
He says, you Pharisees are
like whited sepulchers.

437
00:18:15,460 --> 00:18:16,380
What did he mean by that?

438
00:18:16,380 --> 00:18:19,900
He says, from the outside,
your tombstone looks beautiful.

439
00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:20,300
It's.

440
00:18:20,300 --> 00:18:20,860
It's white.

441
00:18:20,860 --> 00:18:21,180
It's.

442
00:18:21,180 --> 00:18:22,580
It's pure, it's clean.

443
00:18:22,660 --> 00:18:25,660
But on the inside, there's
rotting flesh and bones, and it's

444
00:18:25,660 --> 00:18:26,340
just terrible.

445
00:18:26,500 --> 00:18:29,780
And so what Paul is talking
about here is the importance of not

446
00:18:29,780 --> 00:18:33,300
just having the externals
right, but having the inside the

447
00:18:33,300 --> 00:18:33,580
heart.

448
00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:33,940
Right?

449
00:18:34,260 --> 00:18:37,540
Now, the externals will match
the heart, but we can see there's

450
00:18:37,540 --> 00:18:38,420
a disconnect here.

451
00:18:38,420 --> 00:18:40,540
And so what does he say in
verse number 25?

452
00:18:40,540 --> 00:18:42,240
He says for circumcision.

453
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:46,240
Now, when he's referencing
circumcision, he's talking in part,

454
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:47,640
but the whole, meaning this.

455
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,840
When they identify themselves
as Jews, they were circumcised and

456
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:51,880
they thought that that was enough.

457
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,080
So he's identifying the whole
Jewish way of doing things here.

458
00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:00,800
He says, for circumcision
verily profited if thou keep the

459
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:01,000
law.

460
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,760
He says it's great if you want
to do all those traditions, but that's

461
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:05,760
not what's going to save you.

462
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:06,920
You'd have to be perfect.

463
00:19:07,340 --> 00:19:07,500
You.

464
00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:09,260
You'd have to keep the law completely.

465
00:19:09,820 --> 00:19:13,220
But if thou be a breaker of
the law, which we know that everyone

466
00:19:13,220 --> 00:19:15,620
is, thy circumcision is made.

467
00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:17,180
Uncircumcision, meaning this.

468
00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:20,940
Those externals that you have
that you think are saving you, if

469
00:19:20,940 --> 00:19:22,860
you sin, they mean nothing.

470
00:19:23,420 --> 00:19:24,380
They fall short.

471
00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:26,140
They're hopeless.

472
00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:29,420
We can liken this maybe to
something like baptism today.

473
00:19:30,300 --> 00:19:30,620
Well.

474
00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:32,460
Well, are you going to heaven?

475
00:19:32,870 --> 00:19:33,750
Well, I'm baptized.

476
00:19:33,990 --> 00:19:37,030
Well, that's great, but what
do you believe?

477
00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:38,550
Well, I'm baptized.

478
00:19:38,950 --> 00:19:39,470
You see?

479
00:19:39,470 --> 00:19:40,710
You see the disconnect there?

480
00:19:40,710 --> 00:19:43,150
Well, I'm trusting in
something that doesn't save me.

481
00:19:43,150 --> 00:19:45,190
But it is a mark of salvation.

482
00:19:45,590 --> 00:19:47,910
It is one of the
demonstrations of obedience following

483
00:19:47,910 --> 00:19:48,550
salvation.

484
00:19:48,710 --> 00:19:50,030
But that does not save me.

485
00:19:50,030 --> 00:19:52,190
No external act will save me.

486
00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:54,790
And so he says, hey, you can
say that you're circumcised.

487
00:19:54,790 --> 00:19:56,150
You can say you're baptized.

488
00:19:56,150 --> 00:19:57,990
You can say you're a member of
the church.

489
00:19:58,070 --> 00:19:59,990
You can say that you're a
Sunday school teacher.

490
00:19:59,990 --> 00:20:00,170
But.

491
00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,920
But really, it doesn't matter
if you can't keep the law.

492
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:04,160
None of us can keep the law.

493
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:05,520
Verse 26.

494
00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,920
Therefore, if the
uncircumcision keep the righteousness

495
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,560
of the law, shall not his
uncircumcision be counted for circumcision,

496
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:13,120
meaning this.

497
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,880
The person even who is not
part of the Jewish tradition, the

498
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,600
genealogy, the culture, the.

499
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:20,400
The religion.

500
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,840
Hey, even if that person could
keep the law, maybe they.

501
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:24,880
They are better than you.

502
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,240
He says that person's saved
because they can keep the law.

503
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,000
Now, he's making a point here.

504
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,080
No one can keep the law, but
he's making a point.

505
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:32,840
The fact that the external
doesn't matter.

506
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:34,680
Verse 27.

507
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,080
And so he says, and shall not
the uncircumcision, which is by nature,

508
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,959
if it fulfill the law, judge
thee, who by the letter and circumcision

509
00:20:43,959 --> 00:20:45,240
does transgress the law?

510
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,040
So again, he's just amplifying
that idea that, hey, look, it's not

511
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:50,200
about the external.

512
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:51,800
It's about righteousness.

513
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:53,800
Verse 28.

514
00:20:54,310 --> 00:21:01,990
For he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision,

515
00:21:02,550 --> 00:21:04,310
which is outward in the flesh.

516
00:21:05,110 --> 00:21:06,230
But he is a Jew.

517
00:21:06,630 --> 00:21:08,790
And when he's referencing Jew
here, he's talking about someone

518
00:21:08,790 --> 00:21:10,070
who is saved, okay?

519
00:21:10,230 --> 00:21:10,590
Someone.

520
00:21:10,590 --> 00:21:12,550
Someone who is part of the
family of God.

521
00:21:12,950 --> 00:21:16,150
And so he says, hey, it
doesn't matter what the external

522
00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:16,590
looks like.

523
00:21:16,590 --> 00:21:20,750
He says, for he is not a Jew,
which is outwardly, neither is that

524
00:21:20,750 --> 00:21:23,550
circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which

525
00:21:23,550 --> 00:21:28,270
is one inwardly the heart, the
heart matter.

526
00:21:28,350 --> 00:21:29,630
He's talking about faith.

527
00:21:29,630 --> 00:21:30,870
What do you believe in?

528
00:21:30,870 --> 00:21:33,990
And so if I sat down 20 people
here on the front pew.

529
00:21:33,990 --> 00:21:35,669
Well, we probably couldn't fit
20 people on the front pew.

530
00:21:35,669 --> 00:21:36,510
They'd have to be like children.

531
00:21:36,590 --> 00:21:39,110
But either way, we sit people
up on the front here and we say,

532
00:21:39,110 --> 00:21:41,670
okay, are you going to heaven?

533
00:21:41,670 --> 00:21:41,990
Number one?

534
00:21:41,990 --> 00:21:43,110
That's the first question we
would ask.

535
00:21:43,110 --> 00:21:43,910
Are you going to heaven?

536
00:21:43,910 --> 00:21:44,510
Are you saved?

537
00:21:44,510 --> 00:21:47,880
And if they answered yes, we
would say, what do you believe is

538
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:48,640
getting you to heaven?

539
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,200
What do you believe is
bringing you salvation?

540
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,720
If they say anything outside
of, I believe in Jesus Christ as

541
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:54,680
my personal savior.

542
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,880
I believe that he died on the
cross for my sins.

543
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,400
I believe that he rose again
on the third day and conquered death

544
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:00,200
through the resurrection.

545
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:01,760
I believe that he's ruling and
reigning today.

546
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,200
And I believe that is what
saves me, not my works.

547
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:05,840
That is the person that's
going to heaven.

548
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,520
If someone says anything else,
well, I'm a good person.

549
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,360
No, that's not what the Bible says.

550
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:12,440
I'm baptized.

551
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:13,480
That's not what the Bible says.

552
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:14,480
I'm a church member.

553
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:15,640
That's not what the Bible says.

554
00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:18,400
It's what truthfully is in the heart.

555
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,120
And so he says here, but he is
a Jew, which is one inwardly.

556
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:23,520
And circumcision.

557
00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,040
So he says, there is a
circumcision, but it's not of the

558
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,280
flesh, but is that of the heart.

559
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:31,640
So.

560
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:32,840
So what is he speaking here?

561
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,560
He's speaking to this idea
that it's what you believe.

562
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,400
It's where your faith is placed.

563
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:40,950
And so in the spirit.

564
00:22:41,190 --> 00:22:44,550
Circumcision of the heart, in
the Spirit, it's a spiritual thing.

565
00:22:45,430 --> 00:22:46,870
And, and so, so much more.

566
00:22:46,870 --> 00:22:49,510
Today, it's easy for us to put
labels on things.

567
00:22:49,830 --> 00:22:53,590
Well, he's a Christian because
he looks this way, or he's a Christian

568
00:22:53,590 --> 00:22:56,470
because he, you know, walks
the walk.

569
00:22:56,710 --> 00:22:59,790
But at the end of the day, it
doesn't matter what we do as much

570
00:22:59,790 --> 00:23:00,630
as what we believe.

571
00:23:01,030 --> 00:23:02,510
And that's what he's getting
to here.

572
00:23:02,510 --> 00:23:05,830
He says, and not in the
letter, whose praise is not of men,

573
00:23:05,830 --> 00:23:06,550
but of God.

574
00:23:06,770 --> 00:23:07,570
So what's his point here?

575
00:23:07,570 --> 00:23:07,850
What's.

576
00:23:07,850 --> 00:23:08,530
What's he talking about?

577
00:23:08,530 --> 00:23:12,370
He says, the person who lives
for the externals, the emptiness

578
00:23:12,370 --> 00:23:16,010
of externals, where is that
man's praise going to come from?

579
00:23:16,010 --> 00:23:19,170
It says it's going to come
from men, not from God.

580
00:23:19,570 --> 00:23:22,250
God is not approving the
person who is just living for the

581
00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:23,650
externals, for the praise of man.

582
00:23:23,650 --> 00:23:26,090
We even know that Jesus
mentions that earlier on in the Book

583
00:23:26,090 --> 00:23:26,610
of Matthew.

584
00:23:26,610 --> 00:23:29,130
He says, the person who's
living for the praise of man will

585
00:23:29,130 --> 00:23:29,850
get his praise.

586
00:23:29,850 --> 00:23:32,730
Now, the person who is not
living for the praise of man, the

587
00:23:32,730 --> 00:23:35,330
person who's living for
Christ, he will receive his blessings

588
00:23:35,330 --> 00:23:36,610
in heaven for eternity.

589
00:23:37,090 --> 00:23:41,050
And so for us, what we do
sometimes as believers, or even what

590
00:23:41,050 --> 00:23:44,570
we do sometimes as cultural
Christians, is we say, I'm going

591
00:23:44,570 --> 00:23:46,810
to do this because this
person's going to notice this and

592
00:23:46,810 --> 00:23:49,410
they're going to think highly
of me and they're going to praise

593
00:23:49,410 --> 00:23:51,410
me and they're going to call
me a good Christian.

594
00:23:51,410 --> 00:23:57,010
Folks, at the end of the day,
we aren't looking for the praise

595
00:23:57,010 --> 00:23:57,570
of man.

596
00:23:58,210 --> 00:24:01,280
Now will people recognize the
love we have for the Lord?

597
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,480
Yes, but that is not our goal.

598
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:05,360
That's not the ultimate goal.

599
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,880
The ultimate goal, as we see
here at the end of this verse, is

600
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,000
not the praise of man, but
ultimately the approval of God, the

601
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,240
acceptance of God, and the
fact that he has justified us and

602
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,560
extended grace to us, and
that's where we want to be.

603
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,680
And so at the end of the day,
it's not our righteousness, because

604
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,640
what we can see through this
whole passage of Scripture is this.

605
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,690
Paul says, if you could keep
the law, you could be saved.

606
00:24:28,250 --> 00:24:29,690
But none of us can keep the law.

607
00:24:30,010 --> 00:24:31,890
But you need righteousness to
get to heaven.

608
00:24:31,890 --> 00:24:33,130
So how is this going to work?

609
00:24:33,290 --> 00:24:35,930
Well, the beauty of this is
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

610
00:24:36,250 --> 00:24:39,290
That's why we can only boast
in the Gospel, because it's the only

611
00:24:39,290 --> 00:24:40,250
way to save us.

612
00:24:40,250 --> 00:24:43,690
And so let's go to Second
Corinthians, because how can we find

613
00:24:43,690 --> 00:24:44,330
this righteousness?

614
00:24:44,330 --> 00:24:49,050
Second Corinthians, chapter
five tells us how we can find this

615
00:24:49,210 --> 00:24:50,570
type of righteousness.

616
00:24:51,690 --> 00:24:54,340
Some people don't like this
teaching, but this is something called

617
00:24:54,340 --> 00:24:56,620
imputed righteousness, meaning this.

618
00:24:56,700 --> 00:25:01,180
It is not my righteousness
that I have now as a believer.

619
00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:05,100
It's somebody else's
righteousness given to me, imputed

620
00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:07,100
to me, passed down to me.

621
00:25:07,340 --> 00:25:09,740
But I'm going to take you to a
passage of scripture that I believe

622
00:25:10,300 --> 00:25:14,020
clearly teaches that as a
Christian, yes, we can walk in righteousness,

623
00:25:14,020 --> 00:25:16,820
but it is not the
righteousness of my own works.

624
00:25:16,820 --> 00:25:19,940
It's not the righteousness of
my circumcision, it's not the righteousness

625
00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:21,180
of my genealogy.

626
00:25:21,260 --> 00:25:23,630
It's not because I'm third
generation Christianity.

627
00:25:23,700 --> 00:25:26,900
It's not because I've been in
the church for 50 years, 100 years,

628
00:25:26,900 --> 00:25:27,700
it doesn't matter.

629
00:25:27,780 --> 00:25:31,220
It matters who you're trusting
in for your righteousness.

630
00:25:31,300 --> 00:25:35,060
And so in Second Corinthians,
chapter 5, we'll look at verse number

631
00:25:35,060 --> 00:25:38,900
21 and it'll tell us very
clearly who that righteousness comes

632
00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:39,220
from.

633
00:25:40,020 --> 00:25:43,620
The righteousness comes from
the one in verse 21.

634
00:25:43,780 --> 00:25:46,780
For he hath made him to be sin
for us.

635
00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:47,620
Who is he talking about?

636
00:25:47,780 --> 00:25:49,180
Well, if you go back, just one verse.

637
00:25:49,180 --> 00:25:50,420
We're talking about Christ here.

638
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:57,060
For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin.

639
00:25:57,060 --> 00:26:00,460
The reason why we can have
righteousness is because there was

640
00:26:00,460 --> 00:26:02,500
one who walked this earth who
was righteous.

641
00:26:02,740 --> 00:26:07,220
The one who knew no sin, that
is Jesus Christ, that we might be

642
00:26:07,220 --> 00:26:11,060
made the righteousness of God
in him.

643
00:26:12,100 --> 00:26:15,900
Second Corinthians, chapter 5
tells us that we are new creations.

644
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:16,540
Verse 17.

645
00:26:16,540 --> 00:26:22,110
Therefore, if any man be in
Christ, in Christ he is a new creature,

646
00:26:22,110 --> 00:26:22,910
a new creation.

647
00:26:22,910 --> 00:26:24,070
Old things are passed away.

648
00:26:24,070 --> 00:26:26,510
Behold, all things are become new.

649
00:26:27,150 --> 00:26:30,830
And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to Himself by

650
00:26:30,990 --> 00:26:31,750
Jesus Christ.

651
00:26:31,750 --> 00:26:34,510
You see a theme here in Christ Jesus.

652
00:26:34,590 --> 00:26:35,950
By Christ Jesus.

653
00:26:36,030 --> 00:26:37,270
Through Christ Jesus.

654
00:26:37,270 --> 00:26:39,950
It's only through him that we
can have anything in our lives.

655
00:26:40,190 --> 00:26:41,790
Every good gift comes down
from God.

656
00:26:41,790 --> 00:26:44,670
Specifically when it comes to
our salvation, our righteousness,

657
00:26:44,670 --> 00:26:46,620
our, our eternal place with
him in heaven.

658
00:26:46,780 --> 00:26:50,300
And so what is Romans chapter
2 teaching in regards to theology?

659
00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:54,460
We are in desperate, desperate
need of Jesus Christ.

660
00:26:54,460 --> 00:26:56,700
We are in desperate need of
his work for us.

661
00:26:57,020 --> 00:26:59,180
We cannot think that we can do
it on our own.

662
00:26:59,180 --> 00:27:01,020
And he just picks us up when
we stumble.

663
00:27:01,100 --> 00:27:04,180
We need him in every element
of our life, every minute of our

664
00:27:04,180 --> 00:27:04,340
life.

665
00:27:04,340 --> 00:27:06,460
There's a song I need the
every hour.

666
00:27:06,780 --> 00:27:10,380
Let's change that song and say
we need him every Second of our day,

667
00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:11,750
every millisecond, because we.

668
00:27:11,820 --> 00:27:15,580
We are in desperate need
because of our sin, because of our

669
00:27:15,580 --> 00:27:16,300
brokenness.

670
00:27:16,780 --> 00:27:20,100
Someone asked me recently, why
did this person have to get sick?

671
00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:21,580
Why did this person have to die?

672
00:27:21,580 --> 00:27:23,420
Why did this person have to go
through this struggle?

673
00:27:23,420 --> 00:27:25,420
Folks, it is called the curse
of sin.

674
00:27:25,420 --> 00:27:28,380
This world is marred by
rebellion and sin.

675
00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:32,220
It is because of our rebellion
that this brokenness is in this world.

676
00:27:32,220 --> 00:27:37,180
But because Jesus loves us, he
extended that gift of grace to us,

677
00:27:37,950 --> 00:27:39,390
and that is why we get excited.

678
00:27:39,390 --> 00:27:41,310
That's why we should come to
church on Sunday morning.

679
00:27:41,390 --> 00:27:44,350
I'm not gonna ask all of you
here today why you come to church.

680
00:27:44,590 --> 00:27:47,630
That's not my interest as of
right this very second, Okay?

681
00:27:47,630 --> 00:27:50,550
I wouldn't have time to hear
everyone's story, but why do I come

682
00:27:50,550 --> 00:27:50,910
to church?

683
00:27:50,910 --> 00:27:52,110
Why do I serve Jesus?

684
00:27:52,110 --> 00:27:54,030
Why do I tell people about him?

685
00:27:54,110 --> 00:27:55,870
It's not because, well, you
know what?

686
00:27:55,870 --> 00:27:57,870
Jesus just makes my life better.

687
00:27:58,750 --> 00:27:59,070
I.

688
00:27:59,070 --> 00:28:01,830
I know that he does make our
life better, but that would like.

689
00:28:01,830 --> 00:28:04,790
That would be like me saying,
you know, my wife makes me happy

690
00:28:04,790 --> 00:28:05,350
sometimes.

691
00:28:05,750 --> 00:28:06,390
Okay?

692
00:28:07,270 --> 00:28:07,710
It's.

693
00:28:07,710 --> 00:28:10,950
It's an incomplete view of
what God has done for us.

694
00:28:11,030 --> 00:28:12,190
Jesus makes my life better.

695
00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:12,950
Of course he does.

696
00:28:13,030 --> 00:28:14,390
But he doesn't just make your
life better.

697
00:28:14,390 --> 00:28:16,550
The Bible says that he saved
us from death.

698
00:28:17,350 --> 00:28:21,430
He grabbed us from darkness on
the way to destruction and emptiness

699
00:28:21,430 --> 00:28:22,750
and separation.

700
00:28:22,750 --> 00:28:25,790
And he takes us and it says he
moves us from darkness to marvelous

701
00:28:25,790 --> 00:28:25,990
light.

702
00:28:25,990 --> 00:28:27,590
Folks, he did everything for us.

703
00:28:27,750 --> 00:28:28,790
He gave us life.

704
00:28:29,330 --> 00:28:30,850
He saved us from our sins.

705
00:28:30,850 --> 00:28:34,290
And so, as a Christian, it is
so easy to get into the rut of saying,

706
00:28:34,290 --> 00:28:35,770
well, yeah, I go to church.

707
00:28:35,770 --> 00:28:36,530
I do this.

708
00:28:36,610 --> 00:28:38,690
I dress the part, I look the part.

709
00:28:38,690 --> 00:28:40,530
I serve in this ministry, folks.

710
00:28:40,530 --> 00:28:42,530
I'm not saying that any of
those things are wrong.

711
00:28:42,930 --> 00:28:44,210
I think that's a great thing.

712
00:28:44,610 --> 00:28:47,490
I think we should look
differently as Christians.

713
00:28:47,490 --> 00:28:51,610
I think we should be distinct
in what we say and what we do and

714
00:28:51,610 --> 00:28:52,570
what we listen to.

715
00:28:52,570 --> 00:28:55,290
I think that we should be
separate from where we go in our

716
00:28:55,290 --> 00:28:55,570
lives.

717
00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:59,020
I think we should be
different, a unique individual.

718
00:28:59,020 --> 00:29:00,340
When you were a Christian, you
are different.

719
00:29:00,340 --> 00:29:01,220
You are distinct.

720
00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:04,940
But the distinction is not
just me saying, well, I know that

721
00:29:04,940 --> 00:29:07,340
there's a list that Pastor
Josh gives us that we can do and

722
00:29:07,340 --> 00:29:08,020
we can go.

723
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:09,660
No, it's about your heart.

724
00:29:09,660 --> 00:29:10,900
It's always a heart matter.

725
00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:12,580
God is always concerned with
our heart.

726
00:29:12,580 --> 00:29:13,619
He wants us.

727
00:29:13,620 --> 00:29:15,300
He wants a relationship with us.

728
00:29:15,300 --> 00:29:16,700
And so what does Paul say here?

729
00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:21,380
He says, but he is a Jew,
which is one inwardly and a Circumcision

730
00:29:21,460 --> 00:29:22,660
is that of the heart.

731
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,440
How many of us are interested
in saying, lord, I don't want to

732
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:28,320
just give you part of me.

733
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:29,040
I want everything.

734
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:30,080
I want to give you everything.

735
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:35,920
Romans chapter 12 says,
present your bodies a living sacrifice

736
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,320
your bodies, everything.

737
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,680
God's not just interested in
your spirit, in your mind.

738
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:42,960
He's interested in everything.

739
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,560
So we want to give our bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable

740
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,810
unto God, which is our
reasonable service, meaning this.

741
00:29:50,890 --> 00:29:53,290
It's only reasonable that we
should give him everything because

742
00:29:53,290 --> 00:29:54,170
he gave us everything.

743
00:29:55,050 --> 00:29:58,530
Folks, it's so easy for us to
get into casual Christianity, just

744
00:29:58,530 --> 00:29:59,610
going through the motions.

745
00:29:59,770 --> 00:30:01,330
Hey, I did my part this week.

746
00:30:01,330 --> 00:30:02,610
I got my Baptist box.

747
00:30:02,610 --> 00:30:03,450
I checked the box.

748
00:30:03,450 --> 00:30:04,609
I was in church, okay?

749
00:30:04,609 --> 00:30:05,450
Here's the thing.

750
00:30:05,530 --> 00:30:07,290
Being in church is fantastic.

751
00:30:07,290 --> 00:30:08,650
I want you to come to church.

752
00:30:09,290 --> 00:30:10,890
I want more people to come to church.

753
00:30:11,050 --> 00:30:13,730
I want us to be so full in
this building that we have to build

754
00:30:13,730 --> 00:30:14,250
another building.

755
00:30:14,250 --> 00:30:14,730
Okay?

756
00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:15,860
That's amazing.

757
00:30:15,860 --> 00:30:16,180
That's.

758
00:30:16,180 --> 00:30:16,940
We want that.

759
00:30:17,180 --> 00:30:22,020
But at the end of the day,
just being in church is, as the Bible

760
00:30:22,020 --> 00:30:23,020
says, not enough.

761
00:30:24,540 --> 00:30:26,620
We could have someone sit in
church, and they could go home, and

762
00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:29,380
they could not change anything
in their belief, and they would go

763
00:30:29,380 --> 00:30:30,540
home the same way that they came.

764
00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:32,500
And so what do we do here?

765
00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:34,140
We don't just look at people
as a number.

766
00:30:34,860 --> 00:30:36,540
We don't just say, look, we
want more people.

767
00:30:36,540 --> 00:30:37,340
We want more people.

768
00:30:37,740 --> 00:30:39,300
God is concerned with the heart.

769
00:30:39,300 --> 00:30:40,940
We want hearts to be turned to Christ.

770
00:30:41,100 --> 00:30:44,180
We want to live in such a way
as Middletown Baptist Church that

771
00:30:44,180 --> 00:30:47,200
people see a difference, a
distinction, and say, how do you

772
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,320
guys have that type of hope in
this world today?

773
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,240
You know, you want to hear
people complain, just go anywhere,

774
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:53,840
okay?

775
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:55,360
Because there's a lot of
problems in this world.

776
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:56,880
Turn on the news, okay?

777
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,080
If you guys don't know there's
a lot of problems in this world.

778
00:30:59,160 --> 00:30:59,760
And guess what?

779
00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:00,520
There's a little secret.

780
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,280
There's always been problems
in this world, and there always will

781
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,000
be problems in this world
until Jesus.

782
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:06,600
Jesus Christ makes it all
right again.

783
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,440
But what I will say is this.

784
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,240
We as Christians could have a difference.

785
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:11,920
We can.

786
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,600
We can have hope in the midst
of brokenness.

787
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,240
We can have clarity in the
midst of confusion.

788
00:31:17,540 --> 00:31:19,700
We can have confidence in a
world of doubt.

789
00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:23,100
And here in Romans, he says,
you are blaspheming the name of God

790
00:31:23,100 --> 00:31:27,460
to the Gentiles when you live
this life so caught up in the externals,

791
00:31:27,620 --> 00:31:29,460
the emptiness of externals.

792
00:31:30,340 --> 00:31:33,860
So he says, instead of being a
can that's labeled corn but has sardines

793
00:31:33,860 --> 00:31:34,460
inside of it.

794
00:31:34,460 --> 00:31:38,740
Let's be who we say we are on
the outside and most importantly,

795
00:31:38,740 --> 00:31:39,780
on the inside.

796
00:31:40,340 --> 00:31:43,380
And so throughout all this
passage of scripture, he says, there

797
00:31:43,380 --> 00:31:45,180
is a need for a savior.

798
00:31:45,980 --> 00:31:50,420
Now, for some of us in this
room, you might be tempted to have

799
00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:54,140
the response of the religious
man in Romans, chapter two.

800
00:31:54,220 --> 00:31:55,340
Hey, I'm good.

801
00:31:56,780 --> 00:31:58,540
I've believed this stuff since
I was a child.

802
00:32:01,340 --> 00:32:02,060
Fantastic.

803
00:32:02,060 --> 00:32:02,500
That's good.

804
00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:03,060
We want that.

805
00:32:03,060 --> 00:32:05,540
But at the end of the day, the
temptation can always revert back

806
00:32:05,540 --> 00:32:06,380
to the externals.

807
00:32:06,460 --> 00:32:09,020
The temptation can always
revert back to becoming mechanical

808
00:32:09,020 --> 00:32:10,060
in what we're doing for Christ.

809
00:32:12,090 --> 00:32:13,970
And so I'm not preaching
against holiness.

810
00:32:13,970 --> 00:32:17,010
I'm not preaching against
having all of our ducks in a row

811
00:32:17,010 --> 00:32:20,250
and being Christians that are
living for Christ and being different.

812
00:32:20,410 --> 00:32:23,330
But what I am saying is, is
that let's check our motives, let's

813
00:32:23,330 --> 00:32:24,650
check our attitude.

814
00:32:25,130 --> 00:32:26,810
It's not just about our actions.

815
00:32:27,370 --> 00:32:31,890
I can sit here today,
hopefully in the grace of God, and

816
00:32:31,890 --> 00:32:34,170
not leave this room with a
physical fight today.

817
00:32:34,810 --> 00:32:36,810
I really feel confident in the
fact that I'm probably not going

818
00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:38,410
to get in a fistfight by the
end of this day.

819
00:32:38,870 --> 00:32:41,670
Okay, some of you might say,
okay, challenge on, Pastor, we're

820
00:32:41,670 --> 00:32:42,390
going to come after you.

821
00:32:43,030 --> 00:32:43,790
Lord willing.

822
00:32:43,790 --> 00:32:45,990
I believe that I'm not going
to lose my temper before I leave

823
00:32:45,990 --> 00:32:47,830
here and actually come to
blows with someone.

824
00:32:48,470 --> 00:32:54,190
But there is probably a deeper
temptation for me to leave, maybe

825
00:32:54,190 --> 00:32:59,950
bitter against somebody else,
angry at their response, angry at

826
00:32:59,950 --> 00:33:01,350
their lack of response.

827
00:33:01,910 --> 00:33:05,380
And the Bible says, hey, just
because you left this building without

828
00:33:05,780 --> 00:33:08,900
going to blows, that doesn't
mean that you're exempt from the

829
00:33:08,900 --> 00:33:12,660
fact that you have something
in your heart that needs to be changed.

830
00:33:13,940 --> 00:33:15,660
And so what I would challenge
you is this.

831
00:33:15,660 --> 00:33:17,460
It's not just about, hey, you
know what?

832
00:33:18,100 --> 00:33:18,820
I didn't lose.

833
00:33:18,820 --> 00:33:19,180
I didn't.

834
00:33:19,180 --> 00:33:20,099
I didn't yell at that person.

835
00:33:20,099 --> 00:33:20,900
On the road today.

836
00:33:21,700 --> 00:33:22,340
Some of you.

837
00:33:22,340 --> 00:33:22,580
I.

838
00:33:22,580 --> 00:33:25,140
I was driving over to New
Jersey all last week, and there was

839
00:33:25,140 --> 00:33:28,500
a few times where I was really
tempted to say some things.

840
00:33:28,500 --> 00:33:32,420
But at the end of the day,
it's not just about curbing our actions.

841
00:33:33,460 --> 00:33:35,780
It's going back to the deeper
understanding of the why.

842
00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:39,100
Why do I always want to be at
someone's throat every single time

843
00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:40,100
they come against me?

844
00:33:40,340 --> 00:33:43,980
It might be because my heart
is not in the place that God wants

845
00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:44,580
it to be.

846
00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:47,300
Why do I have a hard time
loving all these people?

847
00:33:48,020 --> 00:33:50,780
I just want to love them, but
they're always just getting me so

848
00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:51,460
frustrated.

849
00:33:51,780 --> 00:33:55,780
Okay, the heart of the matter
is this, why do I have a hard time

850
00:33:55,780 --> 00:33:57,700
loving and forgiving someone
around me?

851
00:33:59,230 --> 00:34:00,630
Well, because I'm so impatient.

852
00:34:00,630 --> 00:34:03,550
They, they, maybe it's the
idea that, hey, you know what?

853
00:34:03,550 --> 00:34:06,750
Maybe, maybe the issue is not
the people around me.

854
00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:07,950
Maybe the issue is right here.

855
00:34:09,790 --> 00:34:13,390
And so when we come back to
Romans chapter two, Paul says, guys,

856
00:34:13,550 --> 00:34:14,670
you're missing the point.

857
00:34:14,670 --> 00:34:19,230
It's not about but I, I, I'm
Jewish, I'm circumcised.

858
00:34:20,110 --> 00:34:20,990
We have the law.

859
00:34:20,990 --> 00:34:21,590
We're good.

860
00:34:21,590 --> 00:34:22,270
We're exempt.

861
00:34:22,350 --> 00:34:24,150
We're exempt from all those
things you're talking about, Paul.

862
00:34:24,150 --> 00:34:26,810
We don't need Jesus, we don't
need his grace.

863
00:34:28,170 --> 00:34:28,810
We're good.

864
00:34:30,410 --> 00:34:33,050
But at the end of the day,
folks, we are in desperate need of

865
00:34:33,050 --> 00:34:33,690
his grace.

866
00:34:34,090 --> 00:34:35,930
And Paul says, you're not exempt.

867
00:34:36,970 --> 00:34:39,770
The Gentile is not exempt
because of his ignorance.

868
00:34:40,090 --> 00:34:42,730
Ignorance means, I just don't
know, I've not been told.

869
00:34:42,730 --> 00:34:44,930
He says, nobody's exempt
because of ignorance.

870
00:34:44,930 --> 00:34:48,010
Ignorance is no excuse to the
judgment of God.

871
00:34:48,090 --> 00:34:51,530
But at the same time,
information is not an excuse either.

872
00:34:51,799 --> 00:34:53,239
I've got all the information
right here.

873
00:34:53,399 --> 00:34:54,839
I've got the Bible memorized.

874
00:34:55,799 --> 00:34:58,519
I, I, I, I, I know, I, I
already know what pastor's going

875
00:34:58,519 --> 00:35:00,039
to say when he goes to that
passage of Scripture.

876
00:35:00,039 --> 00:35:00,999
I know what he's going to say.

877
00:35:01,079 --> 00:35:03,239
That doesn't mean that
information saves.

878
00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:07,399
The only thing that saves is a
true relationship of being in Christ.

879
00:35:07,879 --> 00:35:12,119
In Christ is a new creation,
the righteousness through him.

880
00:35:12,999 --> 00:35:18,090
And so as we get into Romans
chapter three, we're going to see

881
00:35:18,090 --> 00:35:21,570
some things that are going to
be more difficult for us to understand.

882
00:35:22,930 --> 00:35:25,010
We're going to see passages of
scripture like this.

883
00:35:25,090 --> 00:35:26,290
There is none righteous.

884
00:35:26,290 --> 00:35:27,170
No, not one.

885
00:35:28,930 --> 00:35:32,570
The Bible says in the book of
James that the word of God is like

886
00:35:32,570 --> 00:35:36,930
a mirror and it reveals to us
whatever is there.

887
00:35:38,690 --> 00:35:44,150
And I know sometimes as a
believer, there are some passages,

888
00:35:44,230 --> 00:35:47,350
there are some sermons that
are more palatable than others.

889
00:35:48,310 --> 00:35:51,190
So for example, if I get up
here and I tell you God loves you,

890
00:35:51,270 --> 00:35:52,390
you can do anything.

891
00:35:52,790 --> 00:35:56,710
You are strong, you are
capable, you are a conqueror.

892
00:35:56,790 --> 00:36:00,070
Everyone is like, ready to go
and take on and run through a wall

893
00:36:00,070 --> 00:36:03,670
for the cause of the gospel
and, and rightfully so.

894
00:36:03,670 --> 00:36:04,870
Those are all true things.

895
00:36:04,950 --> 00:36:07,550
But then we get to passages of
Scripture that say that in and of

896
00:36:07,550 --> 00:36:09,520
myself, I, I am not righteous.

897
00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:11,920
There is none righteous.

898
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:12,560
No, not one.

899
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,400
We're going to go on to see In
Romans chapter 3, verse 23, for all

900
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,280
have sinned and come short of
the glory of God.

901
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,080
So like I said, the word of
God is Like a mirror.

902
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:22,960
Now, when.

903
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:29,840
When I am looking into a
mirror, it depends on what I look

904
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,840
like, if I'm happy or not, right?

905
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,840
So sometimes I'm going to look
in the mirror, and there's certain

906
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:35,960
periods of my life where I
don't want to see myself because

907
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:37,760
I really don't want to see
what I look like at that point.

908
00:36:38,210 --> 00:36:40,290
You ever look in the mirror
and say, that's not what I look like.

909
00:36:40,530 --> 00:36:41,890
I don't look that old anymore.

910
00:36:42,610 --> 00:36:43,450
That's definitely not me.

911
00:36:43,450 --> 00:36:44,530
I'm aging, okay?

912
00:36:44,610 --> 00:36:46,290
And everyone can see that sometimes.

913
00:36:46,290 --> 00:36:49,090
But the fact is, is that we
can avoid that mirror all we want,

914
00:36:49,410 --> 00:36:49,810
okay?

915
00:36:49,810 --> 00:36:50,770
That mirror's on the wall.

916
00:36:50,770 --> 00:36:52,050
We can walk by it every morning.

917
00:36:52,050 --> 00:36:54,450
And we can just be in denial
and say, you know what?

918
00:36:54,770 --> 00:36:58,890
If I don't look at the mirror,
I don't look the way that everyone's

919
00:36:58,890 --> 00:37:00,050
telling me I look good.

920
00:37:00,290 --> 00:37:00,930
I'm still young.

921
00:37:00,930 --> 00:37:01,530
I'm still good.

922
00:37:01,530 --> 00:37:02,730
And we keep avoiding the mirror.

923
00:37:02,730 --> 00:37:03,810
We keep avoiding the mirror.

924
00:37:03,900 --> 00:37:05,420
And the Bible says that, hey,
you know what?

925
00:37:05,420 --> 00:37:07,340
There are going to be people
that are going to recoil from the

926
00:37:07,340 --> 00:37:08,860
truth because they don't want
to see the truth.

927
00:37:08,940 --> 00:37:10,940
I don't really want to see
what I'm like.

928
00:37:11,340 --> 00:37:14,380
And the truth is, is that the
Bible tells us very clearly that

929
00:37:14,380 --> 00:37:17,580
if we just look into the
perfect law of liberty and turn away

930
00:37:17,580 --> 00:37:19,979
and don't change anything,
it's like someone who looks into

931
00:37:19,979 --> 00:37:22,660
a mirror and sees the problem,
but just says, I'm not worried about

932
00:37:22,660 --> 00:37:22,940
it.

933
00:37:23,180 --> 00:37:24,460
I'm just going to keep going forward.

934
00:37:24,860 --> 00:37:27,500
And so we're going to get into
some very difficult passages here

935
00:37:27,500 --> 00:37:35,390
In Romans, we're going to look
at the doctrine of sinology.

936
00:37:35,390 --> 00:37:37,470
Now, none of you are going to
remember that, or maybe you will.

937
00:37:37,470 --> 00:37:38,550
You don't need to remember that.

938
00:37:38,550 --> 00:37:40,110
All you need to know is, what
is sin?

939
00:37:40,110 --> 00:37:41,390
Sin is missing the mark.

940
00:37:41,710 --> 00:37:44,990
Sin is who we are in our own flesh.

941
00:37:45,070 --> 00:37:47,710
But then the Bible says that
there is justification, there is

942
00:37:47,710 --> 00:37:48,510
transformation.

943
00:37:48,750 --> 00:37:51,310
And so I'm not here to beat
you down and say you're worthless.

944
00:37:51,390 --> 00:37:55,310
What I'm here to tell you is
that we need Jesus Christ not just

945
00:37:55,310 --> 00:37:56,110
for salvation.

946
00:37:56,970 --> 00:37:59,890
We do need him for salvation,
but we need him for sanctification.

947
00:37:59,890 --> 00:38:01,370
We need him for our spiritual growth.

948
00:38:01,450 --> 00:38:03,130
We need him for confidence today.

949
00:38:03,370 --> 00:38:05,850
We need him to show love to
people around us.

950
00:38:05,850 --> 00:38:08,610
We need him to show him show
people forgiveness.

951
00:38:08,610 --> 00:38:09,490
What does the Bible say?

952
00:38:09,490 --> 00:38:10,330
How do you forgive?

953
00:38:10,410 --> 00:38:12,090
Well, Pastor, I can't forgive.

954
00:38:12,170 --> 00:38:13,610
That person's been wrong to me.

955
00:38:14,090 --> 00:38:17,250
Every time the Bible speaks of
forgiveness, it speaks of Understanding

956
00:38:17,250 --> 00:38:18,570
what Christ has done for you.

957
00:38:19,450 --> 00:38:22,130
So if you have a hard time
forgiving somebody, go back to what

958
00:38:22,130 --> 00:38:23,210
Christ has forgiven you from.

959
00:38:23,900 --> 00:38:26,140
It's a lot easier to put it
into perspective that way.

960
00:38:26,300 --> 00:38:26,860
Pastor.

961
00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:28,100
I can't really love that person.

962
00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:29,260
They're, they're very difficult.

963
00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:32,940
Think about how difficult you
were in your sin.

964
00:38:33,180 --> 00:38:34,860
Romans chapter 5 is going to
tell us.

965
00:38:34,860 --> 00:38:37,620
But God demonstrated or
commended his love towards us in

966
00:38:37,620 --> 00:38:39,659
that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.

967
00:38:39,660 --> 00:38:41,740
Are you struggling in an area
of your life?

968
00:38:42,380 --> 00:38:43,900
Are you struggling with patience?

969
00:38:44,060 --> 00:38:45,420
Are you struggling with grace?

970
00:38:45,500 --> 00:38:46,980
Are you struggling with mercy?

971
00:38:46,980 --> 00:38:48,780
Are you struggling with, with bitterness?

972
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,600
Go to the fact that Jesus
Christ has already demonstrated for

973
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,920
you the perfect example of all
of these things.

974
00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,080
And it helps us understand it
a little bit more.

975
00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,080
It helps us get to a place
where we can love people that are

976
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:01,000
not kind to us.

977
00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:04,360
We can't forgive people that
have done something wrong to us.

978
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:08,280
We can show patience with
someone who is not giving us a reason

979
00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:11,320
to be patient because God is
perfectly long suffering.

980
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:12,840
God is perfectly forgiving.

981
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:16,780
And what Paul is saying here
is he says, understand who God is

982
00:39:16,780 --> 00:39:20,580
and what he has done so that
you can walk in his righteousness

983
00:39:20,580 --> 00:39:22,340
and not in your own righteousness.

984
00:39:22,900 --> 00:39:24,980
Folks, we're all going to
have, we all have a fuse.

985
00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:28,740
Some of, some of our fuses in
our flesh, some of our fuses are

986
00:39:28,740 --> 00:39:29,380
longer than others.

987
00:39:30,260 --> 00:39:32,180
Some of us have shorter fuses, okay?

988
00:39:32,340 --> 00:39:36,340
But that fuse will eventually
run out at some point with someone

989
00:39:36,580 --> 00:39:37,220
or something.

990
00:39:38,500 --> 00:39:41,940
All of us have a line that we,
when it crosses, we go.

991
00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:44,960
And what I'm saying here today
is like, hey, don't just pray for

992
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:46,160
a longer fuse.

993
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:52,240
Pray for the Lord to come in
and extinguish that heart issue.

994
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:54,000
The heart issue.

995
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,079
And folks, I'm going to tell
you here today, my patients gets

996
00:39:58,079 --> 00:39:58,640
tested.

997
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:04,720
Some of you know, I've got a
10 year old, 7 year old and now a

998
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:05,680
17 month old.

999
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:08,720
And they test my patience.

1000
00:40:09,460 --> 00:40:10,500
They test my patience.

1001
00:40:10,820 --> 00:40:13,140
But at the end of the day,
what we do, I don't just say, lord,

1002
00:40:13,780 --> 00:40:15,700
I'm just gonna avoid them, okay?

1003
00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:16,900
I'm just gonna avoid every.

1004
00:40:17,060 --> 00:40:19,420
I'll just, I just stay away
from them, okay?

1005
00:40:19,420 --> 00:40:20,100
You can't do that.

1006
00:40:20,100 --> 00:40:20,980
It's not an option.

1007
00:40:20,980 --> 00:40:22,820
I mean, it is an option, but
it wouldn't be a good option for

1008
00:40:22,820 --> 00:40:23,460
me as a father.

1009
00:40:24,580 --> 00:40:25,860
Sometimes that's what our
prayer is.

1010
00:40:25,860 --> 00:40:28,820
Sometimes our prayer is, lord,
just remove me from all these people

1011
00:40:28,980 --> 00:40:32,500
or these things that get me
upset about everything.

1012
00:40:33,940 --> 00:40:37,670
Instead of trying to avoid our
issues, let's Ask God to intervene

1013
00:40:37,670 --> 00:40:40,470
and give us the strength to
overcome those struggles that we

1014
00:40:40,470 --> 00:40:41,150
face in our life.

1015
00:40:41,150 --> 00:40:42,830
And so, Romans, chapter two.

1016
00:40:42,910 --> 00:40:45,230
If we could summarize it in
any way, it's this.

1017
00:40:46,670 --> 00:40:52,990
A need for the Savior, a need
for his grace, for salvation, and

1018
00:40:52,990 --> 00:40:54,030
for sanctification.

1019
00:40:54,510 --> 00:40:56,430
And we end with verse 29.

1020
00:40:57,310 --> 00:40:59,550
I want to just reiterate this
verse, and then we'll be done.

1021
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:01,240
But he is a Jew.

1022
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:05,000
He is a believer who is one inwardly.

1023
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:11,760
And circumcision is that of
the heart in the spirit and not in

1024
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:12,160
the letter.

1025
00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,200
He says, it's not in what you
have written down.

1026
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:18,560
It's not in your profession of
faith when it comes to your church

1027
00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:19,160
documents.

1028
00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:20,680
Our church has all the right theology.

1029
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,400
That means everyone who walks
in the building is saved.

1030
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:27,040
He says, no, it's a matter of
the Spirit, in the individual, whose

1031
00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:28,440
praise is not of men.

1032
00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:31,880
It's not about people thinking
that you are religious.

1033
00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:34,440
Everybody thought that the
Pharisees were.

1034
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:35,640
Were religious.

1035
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:37,560
Everyone thought the Pharisees were.

1036
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,160
If anybody was saved, it was
the Pharisees and their culture.

1037
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:43,640
Okay, sometimes we.

1038
00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:47,760
Sometimes the movies today and
the TV shows portray the Pharisees

1039
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:49,720
as these evil people that no
one liked.

1040
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,000
The Pharisees were.

1041
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:51,320
Everyone.

1042
00:41:51,720 --> 00:41:53,280
Everyone wanted to be like the Pharisees.

1043
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:55,520
Everyone wanted to please the
Pharisees because the Pharisees were

1044
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:56,480
the cream of the crop.

1045
00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:57,160
They were the top.

1046
00:41:57,970 --> 00:41:59,410
And so what we can see here is this.

1047
00:41:59,570 --> 00:42:01,410
He says, it's not about the
praise of man.

1048
00:42:01,410 --> 00:42:05,090
If I'm doing something for
people to say, wow, he's a good Christian,

1049
00:42:05,410 --> 00:42:06,730
I'm doing it for the wrong reasons.

1050
00:42:06,730 --> 00:42:07,970
He says, it's of the Lord.

1051
00:42:08,050 --> 00:42:09,170
I do it for the Lord.

1052
00:42:09,170 --> 00:42:12,650
Not as man pleaser, as the
Bible says, but as I need to please

1053
00:42:12,650 --> 00:42:13,250
my Savior.

1054
00:42:13,890 --> 00:42:15,650
And so I say all that to say
this as.

1055
00:42:15,650 --> 00:42:16,610
As we conclude.

1056
00:42:17,570 --> 00:42:18,770
Where is our hearts?

1057
00:42:19,490 --> 00:42:21,250
Where is our hearts in service?

1058
00:42:21,490 --> 00:42:23,250
Where is our hearts in worship?

1059
00:42:23,540 --> 00:42:25,060
Where is our heart in.

1060
00:42:25,300 --> 00:42:26,500
In sacrifice?

1061
00:42:26,660 --> 00:42:28,980
Where is our heart in the gospel?

1062
00:42:28,980 --> 00:42:32,180
Where is our heart when it
comes to loving other people?

1063
00:42:32,340 --> 00:42:35,700
Is our heart based in what
they're doing for me, what I'm getting

1064
00:42:35,700 --> 00:42:36,180
out of this?

1065
00:42:36,180 --> 00:42:38,900
Or is my heart based in the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

1066
00:42:39,459 --> 00:42:44,380
The one who knew no sin, the
one who knew no sin, the one who

1067
00:42:44,380 --> 00:42:47,940
was completely righteous, the
one who did not deserve the punishment

1068
00:42:48,020 --> 00:42:52,550
of the cross, he took that sin
upon him.

1069
00:42:53,350 --> 00:42:57,110
He bore the weight of my sin,
the wrath that I deserve.

1070
00:42:57,110 --> 00:42:58,950
And he took that because he
loved me.

1071
00:42:58,950 --> 00:43:02,070
And then that righteousness,
if I believe in him in faith, is

1072
00:43:02,070 --> 00:43:03,110
extended to me.

1073
00:43:03,510 --> 00:43:07,750
That's why I can serve, that's
why I can sacrifice.

1074
00:43:07,750 --> 00:43:08,950
That's why I can give.

1075
00:43:09,110 --> 00:43:12,830
That's why I can, as a
believer, trust in the hope of Jesus

1076
00:43:12,830 --> 00:43:14,630
Christ and not in the hope of myself.

1077
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:17,360
And so think about that this morning.

1078
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,120
The dangers of the religious
response, our only beneficial boast

1079
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,400
in Jesus Christ and the
emptiness of externals.

1080
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:31,840
May it be a circumcision of
the heart by the Spirit, not in letter,

1081
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,240
not in the praise of men, but
of God.

1082
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,600
I'm going to ask if you're
able to stand with me this morning,

1083
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,800
every head bowed, every eye
closed as the music plays.

1084
00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:44,240
This is your time to respond
this morning and the invitation is

1085
00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:44,560
clear.

1086
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:47,840
It's a heart matter.

1087
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:51,480
It's not about where you're at physically.

1088
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:55,600
Today there were people that
walked with Jesus physically.

1089
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:58,000
They had no question that
Jesus existed.

1090
00:43:58,000 --> 00:43:59,600
He was standing right in front
of them.

1091
00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:01,680
But their heart was not in the
right place.

1092
00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:05,520
So it's not a matter of, hey,
I'm in church, I'm a good person,

1093
00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:07,440
I'm baptized.

1094
00:44:08,410 --> 00:44:09,010
It's not that.

1095
00:44:09,010 --> 00:44:10,170
It's a matter of the heart.

1096
00:44:10,170 --> 00:44:11,050
Where is your heart?

1097
00:44:11,050 --> 00:44:12,170
Where is your belief?

1098
00:44:12,330 --> 00:44:15,290
Where is your confidence placed?

1099
00:44:16,010 --> 00:44:22,890
This morning I'm going to tell
you, it's not enough just to be religious

1100
00:44:22,890 --> 00:44:23,610
adjacent.

1101
00:44:24,410 --> 00:44:28,250
I lived 16 years of my life in
a Christian school, in a Baptist

1102
00:44:28,250 --> 00:44:28,650
church.

1103
00:44:28,890 --> 00:44:32,410
And I realized at the end of
those 16 years that that did not

1104
00:44:32,410 --> 00:44:32,970
save me.

1105
00:44:33,450 --> 00:44:37,290
I realized that I was broken
because I was trusting in the fact

1106
00:44:37,290 --> 00:44:42,170
that my dad's a Christian, my
grandpa's a deacon, I'm saved, I

1107
00:44:42,170 --> 00:44:42,890
must be saved.

1108
00:44:42,890 --> 00:44:44,770
Folks, it's not about our genealogy.

1109
00:44:45,010 --> 00:44:47,810
The Jewish people trusted,
hey, I'm from Abraham, I'm definitely

1110
00:44:47,810 --> 00:44:48,210
saved.

1111
00:44:48,850 --> 00:44:52,330
And the fact is, is that it's
not a matter of where you're from,

1112
00:44:52,330 --> 00:44:53,890
it's not a matter of where you are.

1113
00:44:53,890 --> 00:44:56,730
It's a matter of where your
heart is placed and where your faith

1114
00:44:56,730 --> 00:44:57,370
is placed.

1115
00:44:57,370 --> 00:45:00,170
And so here this morning,
first question, do you believe in

1116
00:45:00,170 --> 00:45:01,490
him as your personal savior?

1117
00:45:01,490 --> 00:45:02,690
Is that where your faith is?

1118
00:45:03,190 --> 00:45:05,430
If so, are you living your
life that way?

1119
00:45:05,910 --> 00:45:08,390
Are you demonstrating faith by action?

1120
00:45:08,710 --> 00:45:10,150
Are you living in confidence?

1121
00:45:10,150 --> 00:45:13,670
And knowing that it's not
about my externals, it's not about

1122
00:45:13,670 --> 00:45:15,670
the praise of man, it's about
where my heart is.

1123
00:45:15,830 --> 00:45:19,310
Everything else will follow,
oh, I'll be a great testimony if

1124
00:45:19,310 --> 00:45:20,870
my heart's for Jesus Christ.

1125
00:45:21,670 --> 00:45:23,990
And so here this morning,
maybe it's just the fact that you

1126
00:45:23,990 --> 00:45:27,990
have been placing your motives
in the wrong areas.

1127
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:30,520
Come get a ray with Jesus this morning.

1128
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:31,520
Turn it over to him.

1129
00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:35,840
Get yourself on that
trajectory of the truth.

1130
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,800
Lord, I pray that you'd be in
this time of invitation working hearts

1131
00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:39,200
and lives.

1132
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,080
We thank you for your truth
here this morning.

1133
00:45:42,720 --> 00:45:47,280
I pray that you address not
just our actions but our attitudes.

1134
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,960
Lord, help us to understand
that it's only through you that we

1135
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:51,920
can have any boast.

1136
00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:54,600
So Lord, I thank you for your
love and grace.

1137
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:55,690
In Jesus name, amen.

1138
00:45:55,690 --> 00:46:53,470
As the music plays follows the
Lord leads here this morning it thank

1139
00:46:53,470 --> 00:46:53,590
you.

1140
00:46:53,590 --> 00:46:56,390
Again for listening to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast.

1141
00:46:56,630 --> 00:46:58,950
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1142
00:46:59,750 --> 00:47:00,910
You would like to find out more.

1143
00:47:00,910 --> 00:47:03,390
Information about our church
or this sermon, you can find us at

1144
00:47:03,390 --> 00:47:08,230
middletownbaptistchurch.org or
find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1145
00:47:08,950 --> 00:47:13,960
You can also email me directly
at Josh massaro@middletown baptistchurch.com

1146
00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:16,040
if you've enjoyed this podcast.

1147
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:20,600
Please subscribe and follow
along for future podcast and updates.

1148
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:22,280
Thank you so much.

1149
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:23,240
God Bless.

1150
00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:24,760
Have a wonderful day.