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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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I want you to think about two
different words through this sermon.

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Two words that start with the
letter J.

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Justification and judgment.

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Justification and judgment.

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Justification is the
declaration of righteousness that

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we all find in Jesus Christ.

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Judgment is the righteous
judgment that God is going to bring

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to all those that are in
rebellion to him.

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And I want you to think about
those two words, because everything

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that we're going to be looking
at here today are really factors

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found between those two words,
justification and judgment.

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As Brother Michael just sang
in that song.

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Romans, chapter 1, verse 16
says, For I am not ashamed of the

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Gospel of Christ.

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We're in the book of Romans.

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We're going to be in Romans
chapter two here.

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But to understand the context
of what we're going to be talking

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about today, we have to go
back and look at Romans Chapter one.

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So turn there in your Bibles
with me to Romans Chapter one, and

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then we'll jump over to Romans
Chapter two.

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If you want to follow along
with our notes this morning on the

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back of your bulletin, we have
an outline that you can follow along

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with.

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And the title of the sermon
this morning is the Universal need

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for a Savior.

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The universal need for a Savior.

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In Romans Chapter one, Paul
says, for I am not ashamed of the

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Gospel of Christ.

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What is the Gospel of Christ?

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It's the good news of
salvation found in Jesus Christ,

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his life, his perfect life,
his death to pay the price for our

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sins, the resurrection that he
did through the conquering of death

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and ultimately through giving
us that eternal life.

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And if we trust in faith, as
we read in Ephesians chapter two,

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for by grace are you saved
through faith and that not of yourselves,

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it is a gift of God.

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So the Bible says here that
Paul tells us to not be ashamed of

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the Gospel of Christ.

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Why?

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Because for it is the power of
God unto salvation, unto justification,

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to everyone, to everyone that
believe it, to the Jew first and

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also to the Greek, which is
going to play a huge role in our

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sermon this morning talking
about who is the Gospel for, who

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can be saved and how can they
be saved.

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There's a lot of people even
today that believe different people

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are saved different ways.

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And at the time of the Writing
of the book of Romans, the people

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felt the same way that, that
the Jewish people were saved this

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way, that the Gentile people
were saved this way.

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And what Paul says here in
Romans Chapter one is, it's by one

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way, and that is the way of
Jesus Christ.

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ and
verse 17, he says, for therein is

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righteousness.

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So when we find salvation in
Jesus Christ through faith, that

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is when we find righteousness.

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And it's the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith.

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And so in our faith we find
the righteousness of God and the

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righteousness of God is
imputed or given to us.

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And then he says there, as it
is written, the just or the justified

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shall live by faith.

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And so the key here this
morning is that if we want to be

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on the side of the justified,
if we want to be justified in the

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eyes of God and deemed
righteous by God, we must, as it

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says there, be in faith.

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But the other side is lack of
faith, rebellion, sin, unrighteousness.

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And the Bible says on that
side we find the judgment of God.

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And so what Paul is trying to
explain in Romans chapter one and

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chapter two and chapter three
is this.

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We all Jew, Gentile, young,
old, we all need a savior because

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none of us can save ourselves.

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None of us can be justified by
our own works.

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None of us can find
righteousness in our own way.

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All we can do is trust in
Jesus Christ in faith to bring us

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righteousness and to extend to
us salvation by his grace.

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And so I want you to think
about that here this morning when

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we come to Romans chapter two.

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And we're going to start in
verse number 12, by the way, it's

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been a couple weeks, but we
left off with the statement for there

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is no respect of persons with God.

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What does that mean?

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That means this.

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There is no partiality with
the way that God deals with people.

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God righteously extends grace
to those that come in faith.

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It doesn't matter what they
look like, doesn't matter where they're

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from, doesn't matter what
their past is.

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He extends fairly grace to
those that believe.

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But on the other side of
things, God fairly judges those who

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are in rebellion.

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He is impartial in that way.

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He doesn't look.

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And that word there, it's
actually in the King James here,

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it says no respect of persons.

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But in the original Greek, it
literally means this.

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He doesn't see the face,
meaning he doesn't look at someone's

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face and make a judgment on
what they look like from where they're

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from or what they look like in their.

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And their complexion or how
they look, whether it's rich or poor,

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he makes a decision of the heart.

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And we know that's a principle
told to us throughout Scripture that

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God looks upon the heart.

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He looks upon our belief.

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And so here in Romans chapter
two, we're going to look at the universal

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need for a Savior.

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Remember, God is fair.

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And Romans chapter two is all
about teaching the reader.

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And that's us here this
morning about the need for a Savior.

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A need for a Savior, a
desperate need for a Savior.

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And we have learned through
the first 10 verses that morality

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is not enough to save us.

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There's a danger in trusting
in our morality.

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And what is that danger?

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We, we can never do enough.

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We can never be perfect.

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And even though that morality
is a good thing in the concept of

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following God, morality will
not save us.

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It's the salvation that brings
us to that place of righteousness,

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that place of morality.

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And so Paul's warning in
chapter two in the first ten verses

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was basically this, hey, do
you think that your morality is going

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to save you?

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Do you think your good works
will save you?

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He says, no, you can't escape
the judgment of God.

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And we've learned that God is
completely holy and just in his judgment

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against sin.

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How can God deal with sin?

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Well, the reason why God can
deal with sin is because he's perfectly

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holy.

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He is sinless.

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I can't judge sin ultimately
because I am not sinless.

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I cannot condemn or judge
people in punishment because I am

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not sinless.

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I am guilty myself.

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And so it would not be fair
for me to bring condemnation upon

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another person who is sinning.

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But the Bible says that God
has every right to.

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To extend condemnation and
judgment upon those who are in rebellion

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to him because he is perfect,
he is holy, and he is just.

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I want you to remember that
his holiness is his defining character

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trait.

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In his holiness is.

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Is perfection.

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And in his perfection, we see
all the other character traits, meaning

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his love, his grace, his
forgiveness, his strength, his presence.

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All of those things are found
in his holiness.

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And so the fact, the very fact
that God is perfectly holy means

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that he is righteous and just
in his judgment.

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And so it says there in verse
number 11, for there is no respect

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of persons with God.

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He is fair in all of his judgment.

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And so point number one here,
I want you to see this morning the

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Father's fairness.

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Nobody is exempt from the
consequences of sin.

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Nobody.

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And I want you to understand
that here this morning.

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I think a lot of Us think
that, well, you know what?

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Maybe that person doesn't know
what the Bible says.

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And so therefore they're not,
they're not guilty, therefore they

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won't face condemnation.

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We're going to talk about that.

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And the fact that God does
judge those people who don't have

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the revealed word of God to
them in this, in the he judges them,

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but he doesn't judge them the
same way he judges them in condemnation.

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But what we're going to see in
the next few verses is that God is

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fair with those who have the
law and those who don't have the

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law, those who have had
church, that have been taught the

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gospel and those who have not
taught the gospel.

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And what we can see here is
that even though God will judge everyone

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for their sin, he will judge
everyone according to the revelation

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that is received.

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Go to verse number 12 with me.

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For as many as have sinned
without the law.

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So the fact is, is that even
if they did not have the law.

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And by the way, what are we
talking about when we're talking

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about the law and this context?

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We're talking about the Mosaic
Law, the law that was given to the

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Jews all the way back in the
book of Exodus, all those 613 laws.

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And the Bible says here that
even if that person did not have

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the law extended to them, they
were Gentiles.

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It says they, they still sin.

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For as many have sinned
without the law, meaning we can sin

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without the law.

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You don't have to have the law
for sin, but it says here that they

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will perish without the law,
meaning they will be judged according

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to what they've been given,
and as many as have sinned in the

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law shall be judged by the law.

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And so what we see here is
that God will judge everyone according

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to the revelation that is received.

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Now, some people will say,
well, what does that mean?

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Does that mean that someone
who did not have the law will have

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a different measure of judgment?

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I don't know exactly what that
means when it comes to the punishment

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that they will receive for
their sin.

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And I do know that the Bible
says, for all have sinned to come

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short of the glory of God, so
all will face the punishment of God.

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But what the Bible tells us
here in Romans chapter 12 is that

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even though no one is exempt
from the judgment of God, God is

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still fair in the information
that they have received through the

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law or outside of the law.

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And so we must believe that
God is holy in every way, including

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his judgment.

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And the reason why we're
making this case is that this morning

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some people feel that, well,
you know, that person didn't get

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to hear the gospel the same
way that this person heard the gospel.

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So therefore God will not
judge them because they didn't hear

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the gospel the way that this
person heard the gospel.

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No, that's not what this says.

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This says that God will judge
them according to what they know.

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But at the end of the day,
we're going to see throughout this

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passage is that there is still
judgment for those that are in rebellion.

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Well, we have to take in faith
the Father's fairness.

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And so it's not my job to say,
well, that's fair that Jesus sends

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them to hell, or that's fair
that Jesus condemns them this way.

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All I have to say is this.

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The Bible says that God is
perfectly holy.

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And when God judges someone,
it's done in a completely fair and

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perfect way.

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And so the Father's fairness.

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But I want you to see number
two here, the hypocrisy of the hearer,

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the hypocrisy of the hero,
verse 13.

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For not the hearers of the law
are just before God.

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He says, you can't justify
yourself just because you've heard

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the truth of God.

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And he's dealing with people
that are religious here.

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He's dealing with people that
have had the law.

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And he says, just because
you've heard the law, just because

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you have religion, just
because you possess in your culture

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the truth, he says, that does
not justify you before God, but the

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doers of the law shall be justified.

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He says, if you want to be
justified, you've got to do the whole

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law completely.

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You can't just know it.

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We, we know a passage of
Scripture that tells us very clearly

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that we can't just be hearers
of the Word, but we also have to

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be doers.

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Because we know that one can
hear the truth and even understand

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it intellectually, but that
alone does not save.

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And so the Bible warns us
against just intellectually adhering

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to the truth, but it also
talks about completely believing

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it with our hearts.

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I want you to see in the Book
of James something very important

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here, because the Book of
James tells us that it's more than

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just hearing, because what
will happen today will be the same

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thing that happened all the
way back then, that there will be

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people that say, you know what?

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I was born in the law, I was
born in the temple, I was born in

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religion.

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00:11:45,390 --> 00:11:47,230
And so therefore I'm just adopted.

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Because the truth is, is I've
always been around it, and I know

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the truth, but they don't
necessarily believe the truth.

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That's the same thing today
with us in, in church, people can

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say, well, I've always gone to church.

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I, I've always been a Christian.

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I, I've always heard the
preaching of the Word of God.

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It's one thing to hear it,
it's another thing to believe it.

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And so what we're going to see
here is that the Jewish people at

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this time were saying, hey, we
have the law.

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We're the ones that are
righteous, we're the ones that are

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better.

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We're the ones that, that know morality.

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These other people, they don't
know that.

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So we are saved because of that.

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And that's the same thing
today when people say, hey, I go

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to church, that makes me saved.

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I look the part.

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I, I, I dress right, I talk right.

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That does not save us.

275
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Just hearing the law, hearing
the Word does not save us.

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You would have to do it completely.

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And so the Bible says in
James, chapter one, verse 22, and

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a very important truth it
says, but be doers of the Word and

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not hearers, only deceiving
your own selves.

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And so when we hear the Word
and maybe even sometimes agree with

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it, maybe even say Amen if we
hear it, but we don't apply it, the

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Bible says we're not deceiving
others, we're deceiving ourselves.

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We're deceiving ourselves in
that thinking that we're good enough

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just with hearing the Word.

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For if any be a hearer of the
word, verse 23, and not a doer, he

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00:13:09,130 --> 00:13:12,610
is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass or a

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mirror.

288
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For he beholdeth himself and
goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth

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what manner of man he was.

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00:13:18,970 --> 00:13:22,690
So he says, someone who hears
the word of God, but then doesn't

291
00:13:22,690 --> 00:13:25,410
allow that word to change
their life and their actions is like

292
00:13:25,410 --> 00:13:28,170
someone who looks in the
mirror and sees a problem with their

293
00:13:28,170 --> 00:13:30,570
face, but just walks away and
doesn't change that.

294
00:13:31,210 --> 00:13:33,890
You know, I don't know if any
of you have ever had this in your

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life, but there have been
times in my life where either I like

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00:13:37,380 --> 00:13:41,500
brushed my teeth or I ate some
food and I had some stuff in my beard.

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00:13:41,900 --> 00:13:43,820
Some of you ladies probably
don't understand what that's like.

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00:13:43,820 --> 00:13:46,260
Or some of you men maybe, but
you have food on your face, right?

299
00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:47,460
Or something on your face.

300
00:13:47,460 --> 00:13:51,220
And you walk around and you
never check the mirror and no one

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00:13:51,220 --> 00:13:52,460
told you that it was on your face.

302
00:13:52,700 --> 00:13:54,380
And if you would have just
known, you would have cleaned it

303
00:13:54,380 --> 00:13:55,140
off, but you didn't know it.

304
00:13:55,140 --> 00:13:56,380
You didn't look in the mirror.

305
00:13:56,380 --> 00:13:58,780
It would be like me having
that on my face looking in the mirror

306
00:13:58,780 --> 00:14:02,050
scene, you know, maybe a
mustard stain after a hot dog and

307
00:14:02,050 --> 00:14:02,890
going, oh, you know what?

308
00:14:02,890 --> 00:14:03,370
That's okay.

309
00:14:03,370 --> 00:14:04,010
I'm just going to keep going.

310
00:14:04,010 --> 00:14:05,370
I'm sure it'll work its way away.

311
00:14:05,850 --> 00:14:08,610
That's exactly what it's like
when we hear the word of God and

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00:14:08,610 --> 00:14:11,210
we see where we need to change
and we know where we need to grow,

313
00:14:11,290 --> 00:14:12,970
but we just go ahead and just
say, you know what?

314
00:14:12,970 --> 00:14:13,730
That's not for me.

315
00:14:13,730 --> 00:14:14,810
I'm not going to apply that.

316
00:14:15,450 --> 00:14:19,010
And so it says in verse 25,
but who so looketh into the perfect

317
00:14:19,010 --> 00:14:20,970
law of liberty, that's the
word of God.

318
00:14:21,050 --> 00:14:22,730
And continue with therein.

319
00:14:22,810 --> 00:14:26,570
He being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this

320
00:14:26,570 --> 00:14:28,290
man shall be blessed in his deed.

321
00:14:28,290 --> 00:14:29,290
And so there's blessing.

322
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,870
And in applying the word of
God, there's blessing in our lives

323
00:14:32,870 --> 00:14:35,710
by looking at the Word,
hearing the Word and saying, that's

324
00:14:35,710 --> 00:14:38,670
not just what I want to know
in my mind, but it's what I want

325
00:14:38,670 --> 00:14:41,030
to believe in my heart, and
it's what I want to live.

326
00:14:41,190 --> 00:14:45,190
But let's go back to Romans
chapter two, because if we aren't

327
00:14:45,190 --> 00:14:49,310
careful, we might read verse
number 13 and think that our works

328
00:14:49,310 --> 00:14:50,390
justify us.

329
00:14:51,270 --> 00:14:53,510
Because isn't that what that
says in verse 13?

330
00:14:53,590 --> 00:14:57,550
For not the hearers of the law
are just before God, but the doers

331
00:14:57,550 --> 00:14:59,030
of the law shall be justified.

332
00:14:59,190 --> 00:15:00,070
What does that mean?

333
00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:02,790
Well, we can look at that from
a couple of different perspectives.

334
00:15:02,790 --> 00:15:03,750
One could be this.

335
00:15:04,230 --> 00:15:08,230
That what Paul is saying here
is this, if you want to be justified,

336
00:15:08,230 --> 00:15:09,950
you've got to keep the law perfectly.

337
00:15:09,950 --> 00:15:10,790
You can't just hear it.

338
00:15:11,190 --> 00:15:13,750
So if you want to work your
way to heaven, you've got to be perfect

339
00:15:13,750 --> 00:15:15,190
in every single way.

340
00:15:15,670 --> 00:15:17,910
Now, all of us know that we
can't do that.

341
00:15:18,070 --> 00:15:20,990
And so obviously Paul is
making a case for a savior.

342
00:15:20,990 --> 00:15:24,160
He's making a case for he
talked about in Romans chapter one,

343
00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,800
salvation by faith and not by works.

344
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,680
Another way you could look at
it in verse number 13 is this.

345
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,400
But the doers of the law shall
be justified, those that are justified,

346
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,680
those that are truly saved by
faith, will live those works out

347
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:38,320
in their life.

348
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,560
And that's a couple different
ways that you could look at that.

349
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,880
But the reality is, is even
though that we are believers, we

350
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,000
still can't keep the law
perfectly in our lives.

351
00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,040
And so all the more reason why
Paul is trying to paint the picture

352
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:50,080
of our need for.

353
00:15:50,230 --> 00:15:53,590
For faith in the One who can
save us and forgive us of our sins.

354
00:15:54,310 --> 00:15:57,670
And so we know that salvation
is by faith alone.

355
00:15:57,670 --> 00:15:59,830
Being religious is not enough.

356
00:16:00,470 --> 00:16:03,990
And I say that word religious
because I intentionally.

357
00:16:04,630 --> 00:16:07,590
Because I know what we believe
and I know that sometimes we'll tell

358
00:16:07,590 --> 00:16:09,990
people, you know, when someone
asks us, what's your religion?

359
00:16:09,990 --> 00:16:12,790
We'll tell them, well, I'm a
Christian or I'm a Baptist or whatever,

360
00:16:13,110 --> 00:16:15,350
but at the end of the day,
what is religion?

361
00:16:15,350 --> 00:16:19,000
Religion is doing something,
trying to keep a tradition, trying

362
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,920
to do something in dedication
to something to earn salvation.

363
00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,680
The Bible says that that will
not save us.

364
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,320
Tradition will not save us.

365
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,800
Some list of rules will not
save us.

366
00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,200
The Bible says that it's by
faith alone.

367
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,480
We read it this morning in
Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8, 9

368
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:35,960
and 10.

369
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:41,000
For by grace, God's grace, are
we saved through faith, and that

370
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:41,720
not of yourselves.

371
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,840
It is a gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast.

372
00:16:46,070 --> 00:16:47,990
And so the Bible tells us what
we're saved from.

373
00:16:47,990 --> 00:16:50,790
We're saved from sin, we're
saved from darkness.

374
00:16:50,870 --> 00:16:52,550
We're saved by faith.

375
00:16:52,710 --> 00:16:55,270
But then I also want you to
see what Ephesians chapter 2, verse

376
00:16:55,270 --> 00:16:58,390
10 says, because sometimes we
forget what verse 10 says.

377
00:16:58,390 --> 00:16:58,870
We said.

378
00:16:58,870 --> 00:17:00,950
We say salvation by faith alone.

379
00:17:02,070 --> 00:17:02,710
I believe.

380
00:17:03,910 --> 00:17:06,550
And therefore I just keep
going and doing what I want to do

381
00:17:06,550 --> 00:17:07,110
in my life.

382
00:17:07,350 --> 00:17:08,550
I've got faith now.

383
00:17:08,630 --> 00:17:09,910
Now I'm going to heaven.

384
00:17:09,910 --> 00:17:12,560
But what does true faith,
faith produce?

385
00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,280
True faith produces in Romans
or, excuse me, Ephesians, chapter

386
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:17,040
2, verse 10.

387
00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:22,440
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good

388
00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:22,800
works.

389
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,240
If we truly understand what
salvation is, we now understand that

390
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,840
God has saved us not just to
walk in our own path and eventually

391
00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:31,600
go to heaven.

392
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,160
Yes, heaven is the ultimate
destination in eternal life with

393
00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:35,440
Him.

394
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,640
But the Bible says that there
is a time period between our salvation

395
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:39,280
and the end.

396
00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:39,520
And.

397
00:17:39,590 --> 00:17:40,870
And what are we supposed to do?

398
00:17:40,950 --> 00:17:46,390
It says there to give him
glory because he has created us unto

399
00:17:46,390 --> 00:17:47,070
good works.

400
00:17:47,070 --> 00:17:48,870
He saved us to serve Him.

401
00:17:49,030 --> 00:17:52,470
And so we don't serve to be
saved, we are saved to serve.

402
00:17:52,470 --> 00:17:56,310
And so what the Bible teaches
is that a Christian walking in obedience

403
00:17:56,310 --> 00:18:00,470
with God, a Christian walking
in the understanding of what Jesus

404
00:18:00,470 --> 00:18:05,470
has done for us and who we are
in him, will have fruit, will have

405
00:18:05,470 --> 00:18:10,360
the product of a, as it says
here, a person with good works, the

406
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:11,480
good works don't save.

407
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,280
Is it possible for a Christian
not to be walking this way.

408
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:17,680
Of course, a Christian could
be walking in rebellion.

409
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,760
A Christian could be walking,
as the Bible says, as a backslidden

410
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,800
Christian, or as in First
Corinthians, chapter three talks

411
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,000
about someone who is carnal or fleshly.

412
00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,600
And so I'm not saying that all
Christians have to have good works

413
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:29,560
or they're not saved.

414
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,480
But what the Bible does say is
that a Christian walking in fellowship

415
00:18:33,870 --> 00:18:36,990
with the Lord, walking with
the understanding of who God is and

416
00:18:36,990 --> 00:18:40,750
serving him, and walking in
obedience to the Spirit, will see

417
00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:42,790
fruit, will see good works.

418
00:18:42,790 --> 00:18:46,550
And so the good works are what
we are called to in our lives as

419
00:18:46,550 --> 00:18:47,230
believers.

420
00:18:47,870 --> 00:18:51,710
And so the hypocrisy does not
come from when a Christian sins,

421
00:18:52,190 --> 00:18:53,790
because all Christians will sin.

422
00:18:54,910 --> 00:18:57,710
The reality is, is the
hypocrisy comes when we say that

423
00:18:57,710 --> 00:19:01,630
we aren't sinning or that we
have all that we need in what.

424
00:19:01,780 --> 00:19:03,140
What we do when we come to church.

425
00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:06,020
Does coming to church make you
a better Christian?

426
00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:08,380
It can, but it's not.

427
00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:10,660
It doesn't necessarily equate
to being a better Christian.

428
00:19:11,060 --> 00:19:12,860
Does reading my Bible make me
a better Christian?

429
00:19:12,860 --> 00:19:14,420
If I'm doing it for the right reasons.

430
00:19:14,500 --> 00:19:17,340
But I can sit and read my
Bible and check off a box and say,

431
00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:18,500
well, I've read my Bible today.

432
00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:20,020
Now I'm going to go do what I
want to do.

433
00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:23,220
If I'm not reading it with the
proper motivation, if I'm not reading

434
00:19:23,220 --> 00:19:26,660
with the proper meditation,
I'm not allowing myself to have that

435
00:19:26,660 --> 00:19:27,780
word change me.

436
00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:30,540
And so the hypocrisy of the
hearer is this.

437
00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:32,060
I hear, but I don't do.

438
00:19:32,140 --> 00:19:33,500
I hear, but I don't believe.

439
00:19:33,820 --> 00:19:36,780
And so what Paul is warning
against is these people who are saying,

440
00:19:36,780 --> 00:19:37,660
hey, you know what?

441
00:19:37,660 --> 00:19:38,420
I'm Jewish.

442
00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:39,020
I'm good.

443
00:19:39,740 --> 00:19:43,940
I'm part of the people, I'm
part of the religion.

444
00:19:43,940 --> 00:19:45,260
I'm part of the tradition.

445
00:19:45,420 --> 00:19:46,860
I wear all the right garb.

446
00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:48,060
I do all the right things.

447
00:19:48,300 --> 00:19:52,380
I wear the box of scriptures
upon my forehead.

448
00:19:52,780 --> 00:19:53,660
I do everything.

449
00:19:54,260 --> 00:19:56,980
And then what Paul says is,
well, just being a hero of the word

450
00:19:56,980 --> 00:19:58,580
does not justify you in any way.

451
00:19:59,380 --> 00:20:00,740
So what does that mean for us today?

452
00:20:00,740 --> 00:20:04,180
What does that mean for us in
2025 at Middletown Baptist Church

453
00:20:04,580 --> 00:20:05,540
here today?

454
00:20:05,540 --> 00:20:06,500
It means this.

455
00:20:07,220 --> 00:20:11,140
Just being a part of the
church does not save me.

456
00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:16,500
Just following a list of rules
does not save me.

457
00:20:17,620 --> 00:20:20,020
Even if I'm a good Christian, Even.

458
00:20:20,020 --> 00:20:23,750
Even if I'm, you know, when I
say Christian, I want to warn against

459
00:20:23,750 --> 00:20:24,150
this.

460
00:20:24,630 --> 00:20:27,470
What we have defined as
Christianity today in our world is

461
00:20:27,470 --> 00:20:27,670
this.

462
00:20:27,670 --> 00:20:28,150
It's a.

463
00:20:28,150 --> 00:20:31,350
It's a comfortable cultural Christian.

464
00:20:31,670 --> 00:20:34,270
A comfortable cultural
Christian is someone who says, well,

465
00:20:34,270 --> 00:20:35,510
I don't believe in Buddha.

466
00:20:36,230 --> 00:20:38,190
I don't believe in another
false God.

467
00:20:38,190 --> 00:20:40,870
I believe in there is this one God.

468
00:20:40,870 --> 00:20:44,190
But at the same time, I don't
really want to follow God with everything.

469
00:20:44,190 --> 00:20:45,430
I just want to be comfortable.

470
00:20:45,830 --> 00:20:48,070
And comfort means I'm just
going to do what I want to do.

471
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,080
And so sometimes people will
say, well, I'm a good Christian because

472
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:52,840
I don't believe in another God.

473
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,000
That doesn't equate for us
being a committed Christian.

474
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,840
A committed Christian is
someone, as Jesus said, who follows

475
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:03,240
his word, who, who strives to
love him and obey him.

476
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,200
And so the hypocrisy of the
hearer is this hearing and thinking

477
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:07,960
that that's enough.

478
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,320
Being religious and thinking
that's enough.

479
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,120
Being a church member and
thinking that's enough.

480
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,040
Being someone who's a good
citizen and thinking that's enough.

481
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:19,600
He says, no, it's not enough.

482
00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:20,360
What is enough?

483
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,440
Well, nothing that we do is enough.

484
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,280
Go back to Romans 1, verse 16.

485
00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,840
For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power

486
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:30,280
of God unto salvation.

487
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,280
It's the gospel, it's faith in
Jesus Christ, verse 17.

488
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:40,040
The Just remember those two
words, justification, judgment.

489
00:21:40,770 --> 00:21:42,770
It's the ones who live by faith.

490
00:21:42,770 --> 00:21:45,810
The ones who trust in Jesus
Christ as their Savior in faith and

491
00:21:45,970 --> 00:21:46,930
receive his grace.

492
00:21:46,930 --> 00:21:48,530
Those are the ones who are justified.

493
00:21:49,810 --> 00:21:51,930
So we're going to speak a
little bit further about this because

494
00:21:51,930 --> 00:21:54,250
what happens is, is that
sometimes we think, well, you know

495
00:21:54,250 --> 00:21:54,410
what?

496
00:21:54,410 --> 00:21:54,650
I'm.

497
00:21:54,650 --> 00:21:56,489
I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to
figure this out.

498
00:21:56,489 --> 00:21:57,330
I'm gonna do this.

499
00:21:57,730 --> 00:21:58,450
Verse 14.

500
00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:04,010
For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the

501
00:22:04,010 --> 00:22:07,600
things contained in the law,
these have been not the law, are

502
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:08,640
a law unto themselves.

503
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,920
And so what happens here is
that many times what people try to

504
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,280
do is they try to individually
save themselves.

505
00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,200
And so the question that we
are going to ask now at this point

506
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,880
is this, who can keep the
whole law perfectly?

507
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,520
Who is completely righteous?

508
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:26,120
Well, it's not me.

509
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,760
Any of you, any of you guys
can, can keep the whole law perfectly.

510
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:31,480
None of us can.

511
00:22:32,340 --> 00:22:35,860
There's only one who has lived
on this earth and fulfilled the law,

512
00:22:35,860 --> 00:22:37,220
and that is Jesus Christ.

513
00:22:37,780 --> 00:22:41,140
And so it's the impossibility
of individuality.

514
00:22:41,380 --> 00:22:44,820
What, what our culture has
taught within religion is this.

515
00:22:44,980 --> 00:22:46,260
Be an individual.

516
00:22:46,820 --> 00:22:48,019
Figure it out yourself.

517
00:22:48,580 --> 00:22:52,340
And what the Bible says is
that it's impossible as an individual

518
00:22:52,340 --> 00:22:53,260
to Save ourselves.

519
00:22:53,260 --> 00:22:56,820
And even it's impossible as an
individual to grow in the Lord.

520
00:22:56,820 --> 00:22:57,180
Why?

521
00:22:57,180 --> 00:22:57,430
Because.

522
00:22:57,580 --> 00:23:00,540
Because in and of itself, by
definition, growing in the Lord takes

523
00:23:00,540 --> 00:23:00,860
two.

524
00:23:00,860 --> 00:23:02,140
It takes me in the Lord.

525
00:23:02,140 --> 00:23:05,100
And if I'm trying to do all
the things that it means to be a

526
00:23:05,100 --> 00:23:08,940
Christian in my own strength,
in individuality, I'm not doing it.

527
00:23:08,940 --> 00:23:10,580
All I'm trying to do is just
work my way.

528
00:23:10,580 --> 00:23:12,140
I'm trying to be religious.

529
00:23:12,140 --> 00:23:17,140
And so the law shows us our
inability to be righteous on our

530
00:23:17,140 --> 00:23:17,420
own.

531
00:23:18,540 --> 00:23:22,300
The law is not there for us to
keep and say, you know what, man?

532
00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:24,580
I missed out on one of the
laws today.

533
00:23:24,580 --> 00:23:27,020
So now I have to go do a sacrifice.

534
00:23:27,340 --> 00:23:28,700
It's not what the law is there for.

535
00:23:28,860 --> 00:23:34,740
The law is there to reveal to
us that we are unable to be perfect

536
00:23:34,740 --> 00:23:36,380
and that we need a savior.

537
00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:39,340
And so the law is there to
show us the heart of God.

538
00:23:39,340 --> 00:23:42,620
Yes, but to show us where we
fall short, that we can't be righteous

539
00:23:42,620 --> 00:23:43,580
on our own strength.

540
00:23:43,820 --> 00:23:48,020
And so this is what should
happen when we look at the law or

541
00:23:48,020 --> 00:23:49,260
when we look at the Word.

542
00:23:50,460 --> 00:23:52,140
What should the Bible teach us?

543
00:23:52,990 --> 00:23:56,750
It should bring us to a place
of desperation so that we can be

544
00:23:56,750 --> 00:23:58,990
dependent on the power of God.

545
00:24:00,430 --> 00:24:02,270
Have any of you, maybe, maybe
you haven't.

546
00:24:02,350 --> 00:24:04,750
Maybe, maybe some of you that
have read through the whole Bible,

547
00:24:04,750 --> 00:24:06,110
you've said, wow, that's a lot.

548
00:24:07,630 --> 00:24:11,070
First of all, I can't do all
the things that God calls me to do.

549
00:24:11,470 --> 00:24:14,110
Certainly if I read the book
of Leviticus, if I really wanted

550
00:24:14,110 --> 00:24:17,470
to be strict, I can't do all
613 of the Levitical laws.

551
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,640
But even that, let's go to the
New Testament and let's look at all

552
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,240
the things that God calls me
to do to love my neighbor as myself,

553
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:24,600
to.

554
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:26,200
To love my enemies.

555
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:27,440
This is really hard.

556
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:28,920
I don't know if I can do this.

557
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:29,640
You know what?

558
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,480
It's impossible for me to do this.

559
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,800
And the truth of the matter
is, is that in our individuality

560
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,560
and in our own strength, it is impossible.

561
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,320
But the Bible says that we
come to God and we realize that I

562
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,240
am unable to do this.

563
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,240
And so that brings me to a
place of desperation.

564
00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:47,380
I don't know if any of you
have been in a place in your life

565
00:24:47,380 --> 00:24:50,460
where you've been so desperate
that you realize that whatever's

566
00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:53,700
in front of you, you cannot
handle on your own, that you need

567
00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:54,540
somebody else.

568
00:24:55,260 --> 00:24:55,580
I.

569
00:24:55,580 --> 00:24:56,100
I've been there.

570
00:24:56,100 --> 00:24:58,500
I've been to a place in my
life where I.

571
00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:02,180
I felt like I had control and
a circumstance happened and that

572
00:25:02,180 --> 00:25:05,660
control was pulled away from
me, even though at the reality of

573
00:25:05,660 --> 00:25:07,420
it, at the core of it, I never
was in control.

574
00:25:07,740 --> 00:25:10,300
But when I felt like that
control was taken away from me, I

575
00:25:10,300 --> 00:25:13,690
was so desperate and I needed
to have someone step into my life.

576
00:25:13,850 --> 00:25:17,610
That's what it means to be a
Christian, to realize that I am so

577
00:25:17,610 --> 00:25:20,890
lost without him and that I'm
desperate without him.

578
00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:24,650
And I need to be dependent on
the one who brings me power.

579
00:25:24,810 --> 00:25:28,090
And the Bible says the only
person who can do that is Jesus Christ.

580
00:25:28,410 --> 00:25:32,290
And so it's a desperation not
to stay down in depression, but it's

581
00:25:32,290 --> 00:25:34,730
a desperation to be dependent
upon God.

582
00:25:35,050 --> 00:25:37,290
God wants us to be dependent
on Him.

583
00:25:38,070 --> 00:25:39,910
He wants us to go to Him.

584
00:25:39,990 --> 00:25:41,830
He wants us to pray to Him.

585
00:25:41,830 --> 00:25:45,350
He wants us to rely on him for
everything in our lives.

586
00:25:46,470 --> 00:25:48,710
So if you can take anything
with you here this morning, take

587
00:25:48,710 --> 00:25:49,030
this.

588
00:25:49,190 --> 00:25:53,190
The law is not there to make
you feel broken or beaten down.

589
00:25:53,269 --> 00:25:56,270
It's there to show you the
place of desperation in your own

590
00:25:56,270 --> 00:26:00,270
strength and your dependency
on God and the importance of trusting

591
00:26:00,270 --> 00:26:00,790
in Him.

592
00:26:01,910 --> 00:26:04,310
So you could look at it from
two perspectives here this morning.

593
00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:09,060
Information doesn't save us,
you say, pastor, I've read through

594
00:26:09,060 --> 00:26:09,740
the whole Bible.

595
00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:10,660
I know everything.

596
00:26:10,660 --> 00:26:11,860
I know every Bible story.

597
00:26:11,860 --> 00:26:15,900
The truth is, is that most of
us, our memories, like as we read,

598
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:17,100
we forget what we read before.

599
00:26:17,340 --> 00:26:18,620
What did someone say one time?

600
00:26:18,620 --> 00:26:20,420
I've forgotten more than
you've ever learned.

601
00:26:20,420 --> 00:26:21,620
Okay, Someone told me that one time.

602
00:26:21,620 --> 00:26:24,060
I've forgotten more about this
topic than you will ever know.

603
00:26:24,220 --> 00:26:25,580
I'm like, maybe that's true.

604
00:26:25,980 --> 00:26:29,980
But the truth is, is that even
if we knew every Bible story, even

605
00:26:29,980 --> 00:26:33,490
if we were at every church
service, even if, even if we gave

606
00:26:33,490 --> 00:26:37,490
the church every single week,
the Bible says that information does

607
00:26:37,490 --> 00:26:38,330
not save us.

608
00:26:39,290 --> 00:26:41,410
So a lot of people say, well,
good, I don't want to know any more

609
00:26:41,410 --> 00:26:41,690
information.

610
00:26:41,770 --> 00:26:42,930
I want to be ignorant.

611
00:26:42,930 --> 00:26:44,450
I okay, I'm not even going to
go to church.

612
00:26:44,450 --> 00:26:46,810
I'm not going to read my Bible
because then I won't be held accountable.

613
00:26:46,810 --> 00:26:51,050
Well, the Bible also says that
ignorance does not save us either.

614
00:26:51,450 --> 00:26:53,370
Ignorance is no excuse to the law.

615
00:26:53,690 --> 00:26:55,090
So information doesn't save.

616
00:26:55,090 --> 00:26:56,050
Ignorance doesn't save.

617
00:26:56,050 --> 00:26:57,850
Let's look at what the Bible
has to say about that.

618
00:26:58,500 --> 00:26:59,060
Verse 14.

619
00:26:59,060 --> 00:27:02,180
For when the Gentiles remember
the Gentiles are not the Jews, the

620
00:27:02,180 --> 00:27:03,460
Gentiles don't have the law.

621
00:27:04,260 --> 00:27:08,100
For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, so they don't have

622
00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:09,940
the law, they're not
responsible for the law.

623
00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:13,220
Do by nature the things
contained in the law.

624
00:27:13,220 --> 00:27:16,500
Meaning this, even though they
don't have the law before them, they

625
00:27:16,580 --> 00:27:18,380
follow the things that are in
the law.

626
00:27:18,380 --> 00:27:18,740
Why?

627
00:27:19,620 --> 00:27:20,900
Why is that happening?

628
00:27:22,020 --> 00:27:25,680
These having not the law, are
a law unto themselves which show

629
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,680
the work of the law written in
their hearts.

630
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,680
The Bible says that the law of
God is written in the hearts of man.

631
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:33,640
We.

632
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:35,280
We are created in the image of God.

633
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,040
And so the Bible says that
even a person who is ignorant of

634
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:42,000
the word of God can still
offend their conscience, still offend

635
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,680
the truth, and ultimately be
guilty of sin as well.

636
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,600
So ignorance does not save us.

637
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:48,640
And, and so what does he say here?

638
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,120
He says they, they.

639
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:53,240
They see the work of God in
their life through their conscience,

640
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:58,380
also bearing witness and their
thoughts the mean, or else excusing

641
00:27:58,380 --> 00:27:58,820
one another.

642
00:27:58,980 --> 00:27:59,860
What does that mean?

643
00:28:00,660 --> 00:28:03,300
Well, even those that are
without the law are responsible for

644
00:28:03,300 --> 00:28:03,620
sin.

645
00:28:03,620 --> 00:28:06,620
And so the law of God is
written in their hearts.

646
00:28:06,620 --> 00:28:09,100
And the way that it's written
in their hearts is really, I believe,

647
00:28:09,100 --> 00:28:10,420
through three different things.

648
00:28:10,740 --> 00:28:11,940
One, through creation.

649
00:28:12,180 --> 00:28:15,780
If you go back to Romans
chapter one, you see that in verse

650
00:28:15,780 --> 00:28:20,100
number 20, for the invisible
things of him from the creation of

651
00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:22,700
the world are clearly seen
being understood by the things that

652
00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:26,360
are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are

653
00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:27,400
without excuse.

654
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,720
The Bible says just creation
itself proves that there is a God.

655
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,240
The fact that there is a
creation out there proves that there

656
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:37,160
is a designer.

657
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,320
And so we can see that the law
of God is written in their hearts

658
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:40,960
through creation.

659
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:46,200
But then let's go back and
look at verse number 15 of chapter

660
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:48,760
two, which show the work of
the law written in their hearts,

661
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,510
their conscience also bearing witness.

662
00:28:51,990 --> 00:28:55,910
So their conscience tells them
that there is a truth out there,

663
00:28:55,910 --> 00:28:57,030
an objective truth.

664
00:28:57,510 --> 00:28:58,590
Now what's a conscience?

665
00:28:58,590 --> 00:29:02,470
Because some people confuse
conscience to the Holy Spirit's conviction.

666
00:29:03,590 --> 00:29:07,230
Now, if we are walking in line
with the Holy Spirit in obedience,

667
00:29:07,230 --> 00:29:10,790
our conscience will be aligned
with the conviction of the Spirit.

668
00:29:11,110 --> 00:29:14,430
But the conscience can be
skewed to what we believe in our

669
00:29:14,430 --> 00:29:15,590
highest authority.

670
00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:19,260
And so what happens is, is
that we can tell people over time.

671
00:29:19,260 --> 00:29:21,500
Like let's, let's use an
example here.

672
00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:25,340
Today we have an experiment
and we raise a child in a vacuum.

673
00:29:25,340 --> 00:29:28,380
We raise a child in this room,
and we don't expose them to anyone

674
00:29:28,380 --> 00:29:29,700
outside of this room, okay?

675
00:29:29,780 --> 00:29:32,860
And what we do is we tell that
child that everything is okay, that

676
00:29:32,860 --> 00:29:34,580
you can do this and you can do that.

677
00:29:34,660 --> 00:29:38,220
We can morph that child's
conscience into a different way of

678
00:29:38,220 --> 00:29:38,660
thinking.

679
00:29:39,060 --> 00:29:42,460
And that's why people can do
things in sin and not feel guilty

680
00:29:42,460 --> 00:29:46,210
about it, because they have
seared their conscience with sin.

681
00:29:46,850 --> 00:29:49,850
And so really, what conscience
is, is it's that moral compass that

682
00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:51,170
God gives every person.

683
00:29:51,650 --> 00:29:54,570
And that person's moral
compass is based in their highest

684
00:29:54,570 --> 00:29:55,250
authority.

685
00:29:55,570 --> 00:29:58,770
So if our highest authority is
God, our conscience will be aligned

686
00:29:58,770 --> 00:29:59,890
with the truth of God.

687
00:30:00,450 --> 00:30:03,130
So if I'm walking in the truth
of the Word of God and following

688
00:30:03,130 --> 00:30:07,090
the Holy Spirit, my conscience
is geared toward, hey, thus saith

689
00:30:07,090 --> 00:30:07,650
the Lord.

690
00:30:08,050 --> 00:30:10,930
But someone who is an atheist
who believes that there is no God

691
00:30:10,930 --> 00:30:11,730
has a conscience.

692
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,880
Their conscience appeals to
their highest moral authority.

693
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,560
For some people's highest
moral authority, they're their own

694
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:18,960
God.

695
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,640
So my conscience is, hey, does
this work out for me?

696
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:22,560
Is this good for me?

697
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,120
Some people's conscience is
their culture.

698
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,400
If culture tells them that
this is wrong, they're going to do

699
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:27,680
that.

700
00:30:27,839 --> 00:30:30,800
But ultimately, what we see is
that that conscience is a proof that

701
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,200
God has the law written in
their hearts.

702
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,720
And then we also see here not
only their conscience, but it says,

703
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:37,840
and their thoughts.

704
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,930
The meaning while excusing or
accusing or excusing one another.

705
00:30:41,930 --> 00:30:43,450
So basically, what they do is this.

706
00:30:43,770 --> 00:30:46,010
If so, what Paul is trying to
say is this.

707
00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:51,770
The creation, their conscience
and their thoughts convict them because

708
00:30:51,930 --> 00:30:53,690
everybody offends their conscience.

709
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:57,370
So, for example, if someone
says, well, I know that stealing

710
00:30:57,370 --> 00:30:58,010
is wrong.

711
00:30:59,450 --> 00:31:01,610
I don't know why it's wrong,
but I just know it's wrong.

712
00:31:01,610 --> 00:31:03,930
And I know I shouldn't do it,
but I'm going to steal anyway.

713
00:31:04,420 --> 00:31:05,540
They have now sinned.

714
00:31:05,540 --> 00:31:08,020
They didn't need the law of
Moses to know that that was wrong.

715
00:31:08,100 --> 00:31:08,420
Why?

716
00:31:08,420 --> 00:31:09,860
Because they offended their conscience.

717
00:31:09,860 --> 00:31:12,020
They went further than what
their conscience said.

718
00:31:12,180 --> 00:31:14,340
And so what we can see here
is, what is he saying?

719
00:31:14,420 --> 00:31:15,380
He's saying this.

720
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:18,900
Even if a person doesn't have
the Mosaic Law in front of them,

721
00:31:18,980 --> 00:31:22,100
they all are sinning because
they all have offended creation,

722
00:31:22,340 --> 00:31:24,020
their conscience and their thoughts.

723
00:31:25,060 --> 00:31:26,180
And so what does that mean?

724
00:31:26,180 --> 00:31:28,020
That means that ignorance is
not bliss.

725
00:31:28,900 --> 00:31:33,550
Ignorance does not bring us to
a place of escaping God's judgment.

726
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:34,630
All ignorance is.

727
00:31:34,630 --> 00:31:35,030
Is just.

728
00:31:35,030 --> 00:31:36,750
We just don't know why we're
doing what we're doing.

729
00:31:36,750 --> 00:31:37,710
And we need the truth.

730
00:31:38,910 --> 00:31:45,230
And so we all, whether we're
Jew, Gentile, old, young, churched,

731
00:31:45,230 --> 00:31:48,550
or unchurched, all of us, as
you see there in point four, have

732
00:31:48,550 --> 00:31:50,830
a responsibility to respond.

733
00:31:52,030 --> 00:31:54,670
A responsibility to respond to what?

734
00:31:55,230 --> 00:31:56,670
Because that's really what matters.

735
00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,360
To respond to the pastor, to
respond to a church.

736
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,280
Well, let's look here in verse
number 16.

737
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,680
Because the Bible tells us
that all of us have a responsibility

738
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:08,600
to respond to something.

739
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:16,600
It says in verse 16, in the
day when God shall judge the secrets

740
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:24,490
of men by Jesus Christ,
according to my Gospel, all of us

741
00:32:24,890 --> 00:32:29,610
have a responsibility to
respond to the truth of the gospel

742
00:32:29,610 --> 00:32:30,370
of Jesus Christ.

743
00:32:30,370 --> 00:32:32,090
The truth, the objective truth.

744
00:32:33,610 --> 00:32:36,530
I want to be very careful this
morning when I say this because I

745
00:32:36,530 --> 00:32:38,130
don't want to offend anyone here.

746
00:32:38,130 --> 00:32:42,410
But at the same time, truth
sometimes does offend the world.

747
00:32:42,410 --> 00:32:47,610
Today is teaching that there
is really no objective truth, that

748
00:32:47,610 --> 00:32:49,450
truth is what you make it to be.

749
00:32:50,450 --> 00:32:52,210
Truth is what makes sense to you.

750
00:32:52,690 --> 00:32:54,050
So create your own truth.

751
00:32:54,450 --> 00:32:58,330
And the Bible says that there
are really, there are many lies that

752
00:32:58,330 --> 00:33:00,850
we can believe, but one of the
biggest lies is that there, there

753
00:33:00,850 --> 00:33:01,810
is no truth.

754
00:33:02,370 --> 00:33:03,890
And so there has to be a truth.

755
00:33:03,890 --> 00:33:10,650
John 17:17 says, Sanctify or
save them through thy truth, thy

756
00:33:10,650 --> 00:33:11,650
word is true.

757
00:33:12,290 --> 00:33:15,730
And so what we know is that we
have to respond to the truth of God

758
00:33:16,470 --> 00:33:20,110
through his word and
ultimately trusting in the Gospel

759
00:33:20,110 --> 00:33:20,790
of Jesus Christ.

760
00:33:20,790 --> 00:33:25,310
And so the conclusion of all
of this is that there will be a day

761
00:33:25,310 --> 00:33:30,310
of righteous judgment by God,
the only one who can judge, the only

762
00:33:30,310 --> 00:33:32,950
one who has the right to judge
because of his holiness.

763
00:33:33,510 --> 00:33:36,390
Remember our two words today
we have justification.

764
00:33:36,870 --> 00:33:40,950
That's escaping the wrath of
God, that's finding the eternal grace

765
00:33:40,950 --> 00:33:41,750
of our Savior.

766
00:33:41,750 --> 00:33:45,870
And then there's judgment that
comes upon all those who do not believe.

767
00:33:46,670 --> 00:33:49,470
And so there will be a day of
righteous judgment.

768
00:33:50,590 --> 00:33:53,070
And it says in verse 16 how
that's going to happen.

769
00:33:53,950 --> 00:33:57,310
God's going to judge the
secrets of men.

770
00:33:57,390 --> 00:33:59,310
Like, basically, we can't hide anything.

771
00:34:00,270 --> 00:34:02,190
You think you can hide
something from God?

772
00:34:02,190 --> 00:34:03,230
He's going to find it.

773
00:34:03,790 --> 00:34:04,990
You can't hide it from him.

774
00:34:05,630 --> 00:34:08,270
There were, there were times
in my life where I thought I could

775
00:34:08,270 --> 00:34:09,630
hide things from my parents.

776
00:34:10,580 --> 00:34:12,020
And my parents are not infallible.

777
00:34:12,020 --> 00:34:13,540
Like, my parents can be tricked.

778
00:34:13,700 --> 00:34:14,380
But you know what?

779
00:34:14,380 --> 00:34:16,700
As much as I tried to hide
things from my parents, they still

780
00:34:16,700 --> 00:34:19,220
knew me so well that they,
they caught me in it.

781
00:34:19,380 --> 00:34:22,060
Okay, I, I won't tell you the
specific case, but there was one

782
00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:24,540
time I was trying to hide
something from them, and they had

783
00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:25,899
me pegged early on.

784
00:34:25,899 --> 00:34:26,860
And they're like, son.

785
00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:29,260
And they were really trying to
give me a chance to tell the truth.

786
00:34:29,260 --> 00:34:30,100
They really were.

787
00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:31,620
I remember this to this day.

788
00:34:31,620 --> 00:34:34,220
And I said, dad, you know, I
didn't do it.

789
00:34:34,220 --> 00:34:34,780
I didn't do it.

790
00:34:34,780 --> 00:34:35,720
He's like, okay, okay.

791
00:34:36,270 --> 00:34:36,670
We, we.

792
00:34:36,670 --> 00:34:37,430
We trust, son.

793
00:34:37,430 --> 00:34:38,350
We trust you.

794
00:34:38,430 --> 00:34:40,430
We know you would never lie to us.

795
00:34:40,670 --> 00:34:41,870
We love you so much.

796
00:34:41,870 --> 00:34:43,470
And you've always been an
honest boy.

797
00:34:43,630 --> 00:34:44,110
You know what?

798
00:34:44,110 --> 00:34:49,030
That crushed me more, you
know, because I was like, man, they

799
00:34:49,030 --> 00:34:49,710
know the truth.

800
00:34:49,870 --> 00:34:50,950
How am I going to get out of this?

801
00:34:50,950 --> 00:34:51,430
And I was.

802
00:34:51,430 --> 00:34:55,230
I remember I was with a
friend, and I remember I was scheming.

803
00:34:55,230 --> 00:34:57,230
I don't know if any of you
guys have ever tried to scheme.

804
00:34:57,390 --> 00:34:57,990
You're sitting there.

805
00:34:57,990 --> 00:34:58,150
You.

806
00:34:58,150 --> 00:34:59,190
Okay, But I just say this.

807
00:34:59,190 --> 00:35:00,270
And if I try to cover up that.

808
00:35:00,270 --> 00:35:02,310
And I got to make sure I call
these people and make sure that was

809
00:35:02,310 --> 00:35:03,550
covered up, and I got to do
this, and.

810
00:35:03,690 --> 00:35:04,610
And you're going crazy.

811
00:35:04,610 --> 00:35:06,890
And, like, at the end of the
day, my parents were like, son, we.

812
00:35:06,890 --> 00:35:08,090
We know what happened.

813
00:35:08,090 --> 00:35:09,050
We know what you were doing.

814
00:35:09,050 --> 00:35:09,530
I'm like.

815
00:35:10,490 --> 00:35:11,570
And I was devastated.

816
00:35:11,570 --> 00:35:13,930
And, you know, what my dad
said, of course, has nothing to do

817
00:35:13,930 --> 00:35:14,810
with what we're talking about here.

818
00:35:14,810 --> 00:35:17,610
But so disappointed in you, son.

819
00:35:17,850 --> 00:35:18,610
That hurt me more.

820
00:35:18,610 --> 00:35:20,130
I'm like, dad, just do
anything you want to me.

821
00:35:20,130 --> 00:35:21,690
Don't tell me you're
disappointed in me.

822
00:35:21,930 --> 00:35:25,850
And the truth is, is that at
this place in time, what Paul is

823
00:35:25,850 --> 00:35:27,890
trying to explain is that
there's nothing that we can hide

824
00:35:27,890 --> 00:35:28,490
from God.

825
00:35:28,570 --> 00:35:30,850
There's nothing that we can
scheme and.

826
00:35:30,930 --> 00:35:33,690
And figure out so that we
escape the judgment of God.

827
00:35:33,690 --> 00:35:36,770
It says, in the day when God
shall judge the secrets of men.

828
00:35:36,770 --> 00:35:37,890
And how does he do it?

829
00:35:37,890 --> 00:35:40,370
It says, by Jesus Christ.

830
00:35:41,970 --> 00:35:44,890
So ultimately, the salvation
is found in Jesus and the judgment

831
00:35:44,890 --> 00:35:45,970
is found in Jesus.

832
00:35:46,050 --> 00:35:49,970
And the Bible does say that at
one point, every knee will bow and

833
00:35:49,970 --> 00:35:52,530
every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord.

834
00:35:52,610 --> 00:35:56,450
It's either through salvation
or justification or through punishment

835
00:35:56,450 --> 00:35:57,110
and judgment.

836
00:35:58,060 --> 00:36:01,340
Now, the reality is, is that
all of us, one day, no matter what

837
00:36:01,340 --> 00:36:04,060
the case will be, will
recognize that Jesus is Lord.

838
00:36:04,140 --> 00:36:06,700
The matter is, is, are we
going to do it in justification and

839
00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:07,100
faith?

840
00:36:07,100 --> 00:36:09,820
Are we going to find it out
through a rebellion and judgment?

841
00:36:10,780 --> 00:36:13,860
At the end of the day, we see
that the only way to escape that

842
00:36:13,860 --> 00:36:14,780
type of judgment.

843
00:36:15,820 --> 00:36:18,220
And by the way, what is this
judgment that we're talking about?

844
00:36:18,860 --> 00:36:22,700
I would be mistaken if I
didn't highlight that here for a

845
00:36:22,700 --> 00:36:23,000
moment.

846
00:36:23,790 --> 00:36:24,630
And by the way, I.

847
00:36:24,630 --> 00:36:25,630
I'm not someone.

848
00:36:25,710 --> 00:36:28,390
Someone heard me recently and
they said, are you a fire and brimstone

849
00:36:28,390 --> 00:36:28,910
preacher?

850
00:36:29,150 --> 00:36:33,350
I didn't really know what that
meant other than the fact that, am

851
00:36:33,350 --> 00:36:34,670
I willing to preach about hell?

852
00:36:34,670 --> 00:36:35,070
Yes.

853
00:36:35,070 --> 00:36:35,870
Okay, I am.

854
00:36:35,950 --> 00:36:38,190
So maybe that makes me a fire
and brimstone preacher.

855
00:36:38,190 --> 00:36:39,310
But the idea would be this.

856
00:36:39,550 --> 00:36:45,110
The Bible says that all of
those in rebellion to God will one

857
00:36:45,110 --> 00:36:47,390
day be separated from God in judgment.

858
00:36:47,390 --> 00:36:51,460
That's the first aspect of
punishment, is a separation from

859
00:36:51,460 --> 00:36:51,860
God.

860
00:36:51,940 --> 00:36:54,780
But number two, the Bible does
say that there is a place called

861
00:36:54,780 --> 00:36:55,940
Hell, the lake of fire.

862
00:36:55,940 --> 00:36:58,940
And the Bible says that all
those in rebellion at the point of

863
00:36:58,940 --> 00:37:00,900
judgment will be cast into the
lake of fire.

864
00:37:01,460 --> 00:37:03,780
And some people say, well,
Pastor, I don't want to hear that.

865
00:37:03,780 --> 00:37:05,540
Only tell me what's on the
good side of things.

866
00:37:06,020 --> 00:37:08,260
Well, if I only tell you
what's on the good side of things,

867
00:37:08,260 --> 00:37:09,100
that's fantastic.

868
00:37:09,100 --> 00:37:11,860
But also we need to know what
we're being saved from.

869
00:37:12,660 --> 00:37:15,620
And you say, well, how does
God ever, my God, my Jesus, would

870
00:37:15,620 --> 00:37:17,060
never punish someone for sin.

871
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:18,000
Number one, we.

872
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:18,520
We are.

873
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:20,440
It's our fault.

874
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:22,680
God isn't sending anyone to hell.

875
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:24,760
We send ourselves to hell
through our sin.

876
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:28,200
But ultimately, it is God who
judges all, and he is the righteous

877
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:28,600
judge.

878
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,480
And so therefore, what the
Bible says is that we can escape

879
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:32,240
that judgment.

880
00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:36,360
And not only because salvation
is not just escaping the judgment,

881
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:40,240
it's actually all the more
better that we get to spend eternity

882
00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:41,000
with our Savior.

883
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:43,080
And that's the beauty of salvation.

884
00:37:43,090 --> 00:37:43,250
That.

885
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,640
And so Paul says, hey, that is
the gospel.

886
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:46,600
And why did I.

887
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,280
You say, well, Pastor, why'd
you preach that part?

888
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:48,640
Are.

889
00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:50,800
Aren't there maybe could be
some visitors that are here today

890
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:50,960
that.

891
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:51,800
That might offend.

892
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,120
It might offend some church
members that we talk about judgment

893
00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:55,640
in hell.

894
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:57,040
What does Paul say here?

895
00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:01,640
Paul says in verse number 16
that the judgment of God is actually

896
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:02,760
part of the gospel.

897
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,040
Because doesn't he say at the
end of verse 16 that this is my gospel

898
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:08,200
message that I'm preaching?

899
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,510
What he just referenced, he
just referenced judgment.

900
00:38:13,030 --> 00:38:15,270
And so what we have to
understand is that when we preach

901
00:38:15,270 --> 00:38:18,910
the full scope of the gospel
to the world, it starts with the

902
00:38:18,910 --> 00:38:20,230
truth of who Jesus is.

903
00:38:20,630 --> 00:38:24,190
It goes into what he has done
for us, and it goes into what the

904
00:38:24,190 --> 00:38:27,190
outcome will be if we trust in
him, and what the outcome will be

905
00:38:27,190 --> 00:38:28,390
if we don't trust in him.

906
00:38:28,470 --> 00:38:31,790
So for me to preach the whole
gospel, for you to preach the whole

907
00:38:31,790 --> 00:38:33,750
gospel, we have to preach judgment.

908
00:38:33,990 --> 00:38:34,630
We have to.

909
00:38:34,630 --> 00:38:35,590
We can't avoid that.

910
00:38:36,110 --> 00:38:37,470
It's not what we stay on forever.

911
00:38:37,470 --> 00:38:38,910
I don't preach judgment every Sunday.

912
00:38:39,550 --> 00:38:41,710
All of you guys are failures,
and we're all going to be judged.

913
00:38:41,710 --> 00:38:45,710
No, the Bible says that we
preach the beauty of who Jesus is,

914
00:38:45,790 --> 00:38:48,830
but at the same time, if I
don't preach to you the whole truth,

915
00:38:48,910 --> 00:38:50,070
it's not the complete truth.

916
00:38:50,070 --> 00:38:51,470
And it's not the truth at all then.

917
00:38:51,789 --> 00:38:55,030
And so in the day when God
shall judge the secrets of men by

918
00:38:55,030 --> 00:38:56,910
Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

919
00:38:57,390 --> 00:39:01,030
And so if I can emphasize
anything here this morning, the only

920
00:39:01,030 --> 00:39:04,990
way to escape that judgment
and find true salvation is not through

921
00:39:04,990 --> 00:39:05,510
hearing.

922
00:39:06,470 --> 00:39:07,710
Hearing is the start of it.

923
00:39:07,710 --> 00:39:10,150
Faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the word of God.

924
00:39:10,230 --> 00:39:12,150
But hearing alone will not save.

925
00:39:12,390 --> 00:39:15,190
That's what verse number 13
told us.

926
00:39:15,270 --> 00:39:16,790
Hearing alone will not save.

927
00:39:17,270 --> 00:39:18,790
Works will not save.

928
00:39:20,630 --> 00:39:22,510
The church I go to will not save.

929
00:39:22,510 --> 00:39:24,150
My family will not save.

930
00:39:24,870 --> 00:39:25,630
What does it say?

931
00:39:25,630 --> 00:39:27,630
Go back to Romans, chapter
one, verse 16.

932
00:39:27,630 --> 00:39:29,990
It's where we started and it
is where we will finish.

933
00:39:31,470 --> 00:39:34,350
For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ.

934
00:39:35,310 --> 00:39:39,870
So the gospel was started
there in verse 16, and we see him

935
00:39:39,870 --> 00:39:45,310
concluded back in chapter two,
and that was in verse 16.

936
00:39:45,790 --> 00:39:46,990
Kind of interesting there.

937
00:39:47,070 --> 00:39:50,270
I know that the verses weren't
there originally, but at the same

938
00:39:50,270 --> 00:39:53,070
time we see that
correspondence with the Gospel.

939
00:39:53,710 --> 00:39:55,190
I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

940
00:39:55,190 --> 00:39:58,070
And I'm going to conclude with
the Gospel, for I'm not ashamed of

941
00:39:58,070 --> 00:39:58,830
the gospel of Christ.

942
00:39:58,830 --> 00:40:04,670
For it is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

943
00:40:05,070 --> 00:40:08,670
To the Jew first, and also to
the Greek, no partiality.

944
00:40:09,710 --> 00:40:11,630
For therein is righteousness.

945
00:40:12,989 --> 00:40:15,350
For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from

946
00:40:15,350 --> 00:40:16,070
faith to faith.

947
00:40:16,070 --> 00:40:18,190
As it is written, the just
shall live by faith.

948
00:40:18,350 --> 00:40:20,390
So summarize it all.

949
00:40:20,390 --> 00:40:21,390
What saves us?

950
00:40:21,470 --> 00:40:22,820
How can we escape judgments?

951
00:40:23,530 --> 00:40:24,890
How can we find righteousness?

952
00:40:26,010 --> 00:40:27,450
Through faith in Jesus Christ.

953
00:40:28,090 --> 00:40:32,410
Faith alone, but faith that works.

954
00:40:33,450 --> 00:40:35,850
Because we can all say here
this morning, I got.

955
00:40:35,850 --> 00:40:38,769
For Father's Day, how many
some of you men probably got something

956
00:40:38,769 --> 00:40:42,730
like this, Either a shirt or a
hat or a cup that says best dad ever.

957
00:40:43,370 --> 00:40:45,370
And I could take that thing
with me and I can say, well, you

958
00:40:45,370 --> 00:40:45,770
know what?

959
00:40:46,250 --> 00:40:48,530
Because I have this cup makes.

960
00:40:48,530 --> 00:40:49,930
That makes me the best dad ever.

961
00:40:50,100 --> 00:40:50,700
I'm better than you.

962
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:51,260
I'm better than you.

963
00:40:51,260 --> 00:40:52,580
I'm not.

964
00:40:53,140 --> 00:40:57,780
But just simply saying that I
have faith.

965
00:40:58,660 --> 00:40:59,620
Well, I've got faith.

966
00:40:59,620 --> 00:41:00,660
I love Jesus.

967
00:41:02,740 --> 00:41:05,940
I want to caution you here
this morning, just saying something

968
00:41:06,020 --> 00:41:07,540
does not mean it's real.

969
00:41:08,020 --> 00:41:09,220
We all can lie.

970
00:41:09,380 --> 00:41:09,740
What.

971
00:41:09,740 --> 00:41:13,380
What does the Bible say In
James, chapter one, verse 22 through

972
00:41:13,380 --> 00:41:17,740
25, if we are a hero of the
word but not a doer, we're deceiving

973
00:41:17,740 --> 00:41:18,340
ourselves.

974
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:19,640
So I could be.

975
00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:20,080
I could.

976
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:20,880
I have faith.

977
00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:22,560
I could be lying to you.

978
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:24,000
I could be lying to you.

979
00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:27,240
And the Bible actually says I
can be lying to myself and telling

980
00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:30,000
myself, well, just me saying
That I have faith is okay.

981
00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:31,440
Faith is belief.

982
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:34,960
But belief is manifested in
what I do.

983
00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:37,320
You guys have all heard the analogy.

984
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,520
There's a chair here, and I
say, I believe that this chair can

985
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:41,200
hold me up, right?

986
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:44,320
But if I don't sit down, I
really haven't demonstrated what's

987
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:44,880
in my heart.

988
00:41:45,690 --> 00:41:48,610
So it's not the work that
saves me, it's what my belief is

989
00:41:48,610 --> 00:41:49,370
in that chair.

990
00:41:49,370 --> 00:41:53,170
But ultimately, it's the work
that Jesus has done for me that I'm

991
00:41:53,170 --> 00:41:53,850
trusting in.

992
00:41:54,170 --> 00:41:57,010
So what I want to caution you
against this morning, and I want

993
00:41:57,010 --> 00:42:00,970
to do this in a way that's,
it's loving, but it's with concern.

994
00:42:01,850 --> 00:42:04,010
Don't just say you have faith.

995
00:42:05,050 --> 00:42:07,530
Truly, the Bible says to have
authentic faith.

996
00:42:07,530 --> 00:42:08,570
Hebrews chapter 11.

997
00:42:09,290 --> 00:42:12,450
If you want to have a deep
dive into faith, read Hebrews chapter

998
00:42:12,450 --> 00:42:16,490
11 because it gives you the
definition of faith, the reason for

999
00:42:16,490 --> 00:42:20,890
faith, examples for faith, and
it walks us through what true faith

1000
00:42:20,970 --> 00:42:21,690
really is.

1001
00:42:22,410 --> 00:42:24,970
And here this morning, the
only thing that can save you is not

1002
00:42:24,970 --> 00:42:27,850
what you say necessarily, but
what you believe.

1003
00:42:27,850 --> 00:42:31,090
Now, what you believe, you
will say, okay, I'm not telling you

1004
00:42:31,090 --> 00:42:32,610
here today, don't say that you
have faith.

1005
00:42:32,610 --> 00:42:35,450
If you have faith, you will
say it, you will proclaim it.

1006
00:42:35,930 --> 00:42:38,750
But at the end of the day,
don't just be those that say, I,

1007
00:42:38,900 --> 00:42:42,100
I hear it, I say it, but I
don't really inside believe it.

1008
00:42:42,420 --> 00:42:46,740
Because Matthew chapter seven
says that there will be people one

1009
00:42:46,740 --> 00:42:49,460
day who thought they were
going to heaven but said, you know

1010
00:42:49,460 --> 00:42:49,700
what?

1011
00:42:50,500 --> 00:42:51,780
This is what I did.

1012
00:42:52,340 --> 00:42:53,220
You remember that?

1013
00:42:53,380 --> 00:42:55,220
You, you Remember Matthew
chapter 7?

1014
00:42:55,220 --> 00:42:57,500
When, when, when basically
there's these people that are coming.

1015
00:42:57,500 --> 00:42:59,780
There's the broad way and
there's the narrow way.

1016
00:42:59,780 --> 00:43:00,220
There's.

1017
00:43:00,220 --> 00:43:02,140
There's people that are
standing before, before the Lord.

1018
00:43:02,140 --> 00:43:04,420
And essentially what they're
saying is this.

1019
00:43:06,580 --> 00:43:12,900
Take me into heaven because of
the things I did, not because I believed

1020
00:43:12,900 --> 00:43:13,300
in you.

1021
00:43:13,460 --> 00:43:15,340
And remember, Jesus says, hey,
no, it's not about.

1022
00:43:15,340 --> 00:43:16,580
He's like, I don't know you.

1023
00:43:17,140 --> 00:43:18,740
There was no relationship with you.

1024
00:43:19,780 --> 00:43:24,580
And so the thing that makes
the distinction is not the works,

1025
00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:28,100
it is knowing the Lord in faith.

1026
00:43:29,300 --> 00:43:32,740
Now, will the believer who
knows the Lord in faith do all those

1027
00:43:32,740 --> 00:43:32,980
things?

1028
00:43:32,980 --> 00:43:33,420
Yes.

1029
00:43:34,140 --> 00:43:36,740
But I want you to see what
Paul is trying to explain because

1030
00:43:36,740 --> 00:43:41,740
he's saying here, information
doesn't save, ignorance doesn't save.

1031
00:43:42,060 --> 00:43:43,980
Ultimately, it's faith in
Jesus Christ.

1032
00:43:44,940 --> 00:43:48,380
Next week, we're going to look
at the cautions against hypocrisy,

1033
00:43:48,380 --> 00:43:51,620
because what's going to happen
is, is that there's going to be people

1034
00:43:51,620 --> 00:43:52,220
who have.

1035
00:43:52,380 --> 00:43:54,940
Every time Paul teaches
something in the book of Romans,

1036
00:43:54,940 --> 00:43:55,260
the.

1037
00:43:55,260 --> 00:43:58,260
The next part part is him
trying to explain it further because

1038
00:43:58,260 --> 00:44:02,460
people have questions and he's
building a case for the need for

1039
00:44:02,460 --> 00:44:03,340
a savior.

1040
00:44:03,740 --> 00:44:06,300
And so he's going to build
this case to the point of saying,

1041
00:44:06,300 --> 00:44:10,060
hey, essentially all that
saves is Jesus.

1042
00:44:10,060 --> 00:44:13,260
And the first half of Romans
is him talking about that.

1043
00:44:13,420 --> 00:44:16,340
There's a little parenthesis
there, talking about the nation of

1044
00:44:16,340 --> 00:44:16,860
Israel.

1045
00:44:16,940 --> 00:44:20,860
And then there's the end of
how we apply all the truths of our

1046
00:44:20,860 --> 00:44:22,610
salvation within the church.

1047
00:44:22,690 --> 00:44:24,410
And that's the study of the
book of Romans.

1048
00:44:24,410 --> 00:44:26,250
And I hope that this is
something that you can follow along

1049
00:44:26,250 --> 00:44:28,850
with, because theology matters.

1050
00:44:29,250 --> 00:44:31,050
What we believe about God matters.

1051
00:44:31,050 --> 00:44:34,010
What we believe about him and
what he has done for us matters because

1052
00:44:34,010 --> 00:44:35,610
it affects what we do in our lives.

1053
00:44:35,610 --> 00:44:38,210
It affects how we respond, it reflect.

1054
00:44:38,370 --> 00:44:42,450
It reflects how we act towards
others when it comes to our love

1055
00:44:42,690 --> 00:44:43,810
in the Gospel.

1056
00:44:43,890 --> 00:44:46,370
So I pray that that's
something that you can be encouraged

1057
00:44:46,370 --> 00:44:47,170
with here today.

1058
00:44:47,730 --> 00:44:50,690
If you're able to stand with
me, every head bowed, every eye closed,

1059
00:44:50,690 --> 00:44:56,050
as the music plays here this
morning, I have an invitation.

1060
00:44:56,210 --> 00:44:57,570
And the invitation is this.

1061
00:44:59,250 --> 00:45:00,530
What are you trusting in?

1062
00:45:01,490 --> 00:45:04,690
Are you on the side of the
justified or are you on the side

1063
00:45:04,690 --> 00:45:05,410
of the judged?

1064
00:45:06,770 --> 00:45:08,290
That's not my decision to make.

1065
00:45:10,050 --> 00:45:12,970
My prayer is that every single
person in this room, every single

1066
00:45:12,970 --> 00:45:15,940
person listening on the
Internet, can know that they have

1067
00:45:15,940 --> 00:45:18,740
everlasting life through faith
in Jesus Christ.

1068
00:45:18,980 --> 00:45:21,740
And so, number one, have you
trusted in Jesus Christ in faith

1069
00:45:21,740 --> 00:45:21,980
today?

1070
00:45:21,980 --> 00:45:25,420
If you have not come forward
today and do that, we can show you

1071
00:45:25,420 --> 00:45:29,220
in the Bible a very simple
path to understand what it means

1072
00:45:29,220 --> 00:45:32,260
to proclaim faith in Jesus
Christ here this morning.

1073
00:45:32,900 --> 00:45:36,380
But number two, if you're a
believer in Jesus Christ, you've

1074
00:45:36,380 --> 00:45:40,060
believed, but maybe your life
has not looked like Ephesians, chapter

1075
00:45:40,060 --> 00:45:40,740
2, verse 10.

1076
00:45:41,670 --> 00:45:44,270
Maybe you've allowed the
distractions of this world to pull

1077
00:45:44,270 --> 00:45:46,310
you away from your purpose.

1078
00:45:46,310 --> 00:45:49,790
And that is the purpose of
glorifying God and everything that

1079
00:45:49,790 --> 00:45:53,790
he has given you with your
talents, with your gifts, with all

1080
00:45:53,790 --> 00:45:54,790
of your resources.

1081
00:45:55,350 --> 00:45:58,630
The Bible says that that is
what God has created us to do, to

1082
00:45:58,630 --> 00:46:02,990
be saved, to good works so
that we can glorify him in all that

1083
00:46:02,990 --> 00:46:04,990
we have here this morning.

1084
00:46:04,990 --> 00:46:07,030
Some of us just need to go
back to the gospel.

1085
00:46:07,860 --> 00:46:10,420
Some of us need to go back to
understand what we have been saved

1086
00:46:10,420 --> 00:46:13,620
from and what we have been
saved to in our lives.

1087
00:46:13,780 --> 00:46:15,900
And so if you're a believer
this morning, that needs to have

1088
00:46:15,900 --> 00:46:18,900
that reminder and committal to
Jesus Christ again.

1089
00:46:19,220 --> 00:46:20,820
Hey, today's the day to do that.

1090
00:46:20,980 --> 00:46:23,060
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation, working

1091
00:46:23,060 --> 00:46:23,700
hearts and lives.

1092
00:46:23,700 --> 00:46:26,500
Lord, help us to understand
your fairness, help us understand

1093
00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:30,460
the dangers of hypocrisy, help
us understand the impossibility of

1094
00:46:30,460 --> 00:46:31,540
individuality.

1095
00:46:31,620 --> 00:46:34,970
And Lord, help us to
understand the responsibility to

1096
00:46:34,970 --> 00:46:35,850
respond to you.

1097
00:46:36,170 --> 00:46:38,770
Lord, I pray that today we
don't trust in information, that

1098
00:46:38,770 --> 00:46:43,490
we don't trust in ignorance,
but we trust in the everlasting truth

1099
00:46:43,490 --> 00:46:44,970
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1100
00:46:45,130 --> 00:46:47,850
So I pray that you be in this
time of invitation, working hearts

1101
00:46:47,850 --> 00:46:48,090
and lives.

1102
00:46:48,090 --> 00:46:49,089
In Jesus name, Amen.

1103
00:46:49,089 --> 00:46:51,530
As the music plays, follow as
the Lord leads Here this morning

1104
00:46:58,580 --> 00:47:36,470
it thank.

1105
00:47:36,470 --> 00:47:39,390
You again for listening to the
Middletown Baptist Church Podcast.

1106
00:47:39,550 --> 00:47:41,950
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1107
00:47:42,590 --> 00:47:44,870
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1108
00:47:44,870 --> 00:47:48,430
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1109
00:47:48,670 --> 00:47:51,240
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1110
00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:56,920
You can also email me directly
at Josh massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com.

1111
00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:00,880
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1112
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:03,640
along for future podcast and updates.

1113
00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:05,240
Thank you so much.

1114
00:48:05,559 --> 00:48:06,280
God Bless.

1115
00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:07,800
Have a wonderful day.