1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,760 We're going to go ahead and open up our Bibles to the book of 10 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,960 Romans, Romans, chapter number three. 11 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,500 We have finished chapter one and two in this series called Theology 12 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:38,740 Matters, and we need to go back and talk about what theology 13 00:00:38,740 --> 00:00:38,980 is. 14 00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:39,820 What is theology? 15 00:00:40,380 --> 00:00:42,540 Well, literally just means the study of God. 16 00:00:42,540 --> 00:00:46,740 But when it comes to the life of a believer, theology is knowing 17 00:00:46,740 --> 00:00:52,220 God, having an understanding of who God is and what he has done 18 00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:52,700 for us. 19 00:00:53,180 --> 00:00:56,100 And so it's more than just the head knowledge, though. 20 00:00:56,100 --> 00:00:57,100 That's where it starts. 21 00:00:57,510 --> 00:01:01,830 It goes to a place in our life where it grows in our love for him, 22 00:01:01,830 --> 00:01:05,470 when we understand who he is and understand what he has done for 23 00:01:05,470 --> 00:01:05,830 us. 24 00:01:06,150 --> 00:01:10,030 And in chapter two, and really half of most of chapter three, if 25 00:01:10,030 --> 00:01:15,430 not all of chapter three, Paul is making a case for the need for 26 00:01:15,430 --> 00:01:16,390 a savior. 27 00:01:16,790 --> 00:01:20,910 Number one, our need for a savior, and number two, who that 28 00:01:20,910 --> 00:01:21,510 savior is. 29 00:01:21,510 --> 00:01:22,950 That savior is Jesus Christ. 30 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,080 It's not salvation by works. 31 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,400 Remember, we talked about two different words, two words that start 32 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:30,000 with the J. 33 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:31,360 We have justification. 34 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:32,200 That's. 35 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,600 That's that idea that God declares us righteous, that God saves 36 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:36,640 us from our sin. 37 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,120 And then on the other side of that is God's judgment. 38 00:01:39,279 --> 00:01:39,640 That's. 39 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:44,440 That's God's righteous wrath given out to those who are in rebellion 40 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,200 to him, those that have no belief in him. 41 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,320 And so that's really what Paul is wrestling with here. 42 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,590 He's saying, look, we need to understand what God does in salvation. 43 00:01:54,590 --> 00:01:57,430 And we also need to understand what God does in judgment. 44 00:01:57,590 --> 00:02:00,790 Because if we are believers in Jesus Christ, we need to understand 45 00:02:01,030 --> 00:02:05,470 what we have in him and how he has saved us and how we don't earn 46 00:02:05,470 --> 00:02:05,750 it. 47 00:02:05,830 --> 00:02:09,509 But ultimately, we trust in the work of Jesus Christ. 48 00:02:10,070 --> 00:02:13,390 But there's a lot of people out there that don't believe that 49 00:02:13,390 --> 00:02:16,710 they need a savior, at least in the terms that the Bible puts 50 00:02:16,710 --> 00:02:16,950 it. 51 00:02:17,110 --> 00:02:18,030 They say, you know what? 52 00:02:18,030 --> 00:02:20,150 I love God, but I think I could do it myself. 53 00:02:20,780 --> 00:02:25,380 I trust in my good, I trust in my religion, I trust in my church, 54 00:02:25,380 --> 00:02:26,700 I trust in my money. 55 00:02:26,860 --> 00:02:29,420 I trust in my strength, whatever it might be. 56 00:02:29,660 --> 00:02:32,060 And so what Paul is dealing with here is there. 57 00:02:32,060 --> 00:02:35,620 There are people who, in their ignorance Say they don't need a savior, 58 00:02:35,620 --> 00:02:35,980 right? 59 00:02:36,140 --> 00:02:37,300 That that was the Gentile. 60 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:39,180 The Gentile didn't know the law of God. 61 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:43,020 The Gentile didn't understand what it meant to be religious. 62 00:02:43,100 --> 00:02:47,450 And so we can't rely on our ignorance to save us, because for 63 00:02:47,450 --> 00:02:49,490 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 64 00:02:49,650 --> 00:02:51,890 We're going to talk about that in Romans Chapter three. 65 00:02:52,130 --> 00:02:55,290 But on the other side of things, information doesn't save 66 00:02:55,290 --> 00:02:55,570 us. 67 00:02:55,890 --> 00:02:59,050 Because on the other side of those that are ignorant to the truth 68 00:02:59,050 --> 00:03:01,330 of God came those who said, you know what? 69 00:03:01,330 --> 00:03:04,570 We're Jewish, we're religious, God spoke to us. 70 00:03:04,570 --> 00:03:06,490 And so therefore that's all we need. 71 00:03:06,490 --> 00:03:08,290 We don't need to believe in faith. 72 00:03:08,450 --> 00:03:09,490 We are good enough. 73 00:03:09,730 --> 00:03:13,930 And Paul says, both parties, those that are ignorant to the truth 74 00:03:13,930 --> 00:03:16,450 and those that have the information are still not saved. 75 00:03:16,690 --> 00:03:20,530 Those that are saved are those that come to Jesus Christ in faith. 76 00:03:21,330 --> 00:03:23,570 And so he deals with the moral man. 77 00:03:23,570 --> 00:03:27,889 He deals with the man who is living in public sin, as we saw in 78 00:03:27,889 --> 00:03:28,930 Romans Chapter one. 79 00:03:29,090 --> 00:03:31,010 But then we get to Romans Chapter three. 80 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:34,690 And what Paul does essentially is he gets ahead of the game. 81 00:03:34,690 --> 00:03:37,010 And he says, I know that there's going to be some opposition 82 00:03:37,010 --> 00:03:38,290 to what I've taught you so far. 83 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,040 No doubt Paul had already dealt with people asking him questions, 84 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,720 putting up a defense to their way of thinking. 85 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:50,880 And so the first question that Paul deals with here in Romans Chapter 86 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:51,560 three is this. 87 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,760 So if salvation is by faith alone and not by where we're born, 88 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,400 and not by our traditions and not by our religion, what advantage 89 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,400 then have the Jew? 90 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:04,040 So. 91 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,160 So Paul asks a question, but he's asking a question for many people 92 00:04:07,550 --> 00:04:08,630 who might have that question. 93 00:04:08,630 --> 00:04:11,230 He says, so what does it mean to be a Jew, then? 94 00:04:11,230 --> 00:04:11,790 What's the. 95 00:04:11,790 --> 00:04:12,950 What's the benefit of that? 96 00:04:12,950 --> 00:04:15,070 Or what profit is there of circumcision? 97 00:04:15,550 --> 00:04:15,870 And. 98 00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:19,350 And so Paul carefully explained in Romans Chapter two, 99 00:04:19,350 --> 00:04:22,790 that the possession of the law, any act of religion for the 100 00:04:22,790 --> 00:04:24,670 Jewish person, was not going to save them. 101 00:04:24,910 --> 00:04:27,870 And so he says, okay, so you might ask me, what does it mean to 102 00:04:27,870 --> 00:04:28,310 be a Jew? 103 00:04:28,310 --> 00:04:28,510 Why? 104 00:04:28,510 --> 00:04:30,110 Why is it so important to be a Jew? 105 00:04:30,590 --> 00:04:32,270 Is there any importance there? 106 00:04:32,670 --> 00:04:35,390 Well, we're going to study more in Romans chapter 9, 10 and 107 00:04:35,390 --> 00:04:36,350 11 about that. 108 00:04:36,740 --> 00:04:37,700 But he does answer. 109 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:41,060 He says in verse two, much every way, meaning, yes, there is 110 00:04:41,060 --> 00:04:46,780 a blessing there chiefly, first and foremost, because that 111 00:04:46,780 --> 00:04:50,500 unto them were committed the oracles of God. 112 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:52,100 So he says, yes, there. 113 00:04:52,100 --> 00:04:55,940 There was an advantage of being born into that culture. 114 00:04:56,180 --> 00:04:59,260 It was because God entrusted them with the truth. 115 00:04:59,260 --> 00:05:00,180 Of the Word. 116 00:05:00,180 --> 00:05:02,610 Remember, the law was given to them, the. 117 00:05:02,610 --> 00:05:03,610 The Word of God. 118 00:05:03,610 --> 00:05:06,770 The revelation of God was given to them, and in time it was 119 00:05:06,770 --> 00:05:08,210 then revealed to the whole world. 120 00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:10,210 So he says there is a blessing in that. 121 00:05:10,210 --> 00:05:13,570 The blessing is as the gospel is, to the Jew first and also to 122 00:05:13,570 --> 00:05:13,930 the Greek. 123 00:05:13,930 --> 00:05:15,890 That's Romans, chapter 1, verse 16. 124 00:05:16,370 --> 00:05:17,050 He says there's. 125 00:05:17,050 --> 00:05:19,530 There's an amazing blessing there, and that is because they were 126 00:05:19,530 --> 00:05:20,210 entrusted. 127 00:05:20,370 --> 00:05:23,810 They were given the oracles of God, the word of God. 128 00:05:24,290 --> 00:05:28,330 Paul is going to later expand upon that advantage in Romans chapter 129 00:05:28,330 --> 00:05:28,490 nine. 130 00:05:28,490 --> 00:05:29,840 We won't get there today. 131 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:31,080 But he says there is a blessing. 132 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,840 So, so don't use that as an opposition because there were some 133 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:35,760 saying, well, Paul, what you're teaching is this. 134 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,720 It doesn't matter how we're born, it doesn't matter who we are. 135 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,200 And so essentially, basically there's this attitude of, well, it 136 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:42,960 really doesn't matter. 137 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,000 We're going to see how that transfers over to verses three and 138 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:46,320 four. 139 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,320 Verse three says, for what if some did not believe? 140 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,000 And so the fact is, is that there were people that time that 141 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,760 were born into the Jewish customs that did not believe the 142 00:05:57,760 --> 00:05:58,200 gospel. 143 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,920 For the most part, they rejected the Gospel completely. 144 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,760 And so what does that mean to God's faithfulness to them? 145 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:05,560 Does that mean that God is not powerful? 146 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:07,160 Does that mean that God is not loving? 147 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,600 So for what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief? 148 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,120 Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 149 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,720 Now, I know that this is some deep stuff here this morning. 150 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:20,000 I know this is Family Sunday. 151 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,680 And so I'm going to ask if you do your best to follow me, I'm going 152 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,740 to try to do my best to clarify all the thinking here that 153 00:06:25,740 --> 00:06:28,500 Paul is putting out here through the inspiration of the Word. 154 00:06:28,580 --> 00:06:30,860 But essentially what he's asking is this. 155 00:06:30,860 --> 00:06:33,780 He says this, what if people don't believe? 156 00:06:33,940 --> 00:06:36,580 God's people, the Jewish people, what if they don't believe? 157 00:06:37,140 --> 00:06:40,420 Does their unbelief mean that God is not faithful to them? 158 00:06:40,980 --> 00:06:44,260 Does that mean that God has stopped in his love for them? 159 00:06:45,060 --> 00:06:45,900 It's a true question. 160 00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:48,420 Because a lot of people might think that maybe God has failed. 161 00:06:48,660 --> 00:06:49,140 And so. 162 00:06:49,140 --> 00:06:51,860 So the fact that the Jewish people as a whole at this point had 163 00:06:51,860 --> 00:06:55,240 rejected the gospel, it didn't mean that God wasn't faithful to 164 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:55,520 them. 165 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,320 It doesn't mean that God's love for them was in vain. 166 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,040 It didn't mean that God's work was useless. 167 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,920 And so essentially what he's going to say here is that no, he 168 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,320 reminds them that God will is always justified by his actions. 169 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,600 Verse four, he says, God forbid, that's one of Paul's favorite 170 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:11,960 saints. 171 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:12,640 God forbid. 172 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:13,680 That is not true. 173 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,440 God is not stopped in his faithfulness to his people. 174 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:22,430 He says, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. 175 00:07:22,430 --> 00:07:23,750 What he's essentially saying is this. 176 00:07:23,910 --> 00:07:27,470 Anytime we question God's goodness, we're the ones that are 177 00:07:27,470 --> 00:07:27,830 wrong. 178 00:07:28,710 --> 00:07:32,630 God is good in every sense, in his judgment, in his faithfulness, 179 00:07:33,110 --> 00:07:33,630 in everything. 180 00:07:33,630 --> 00:07:36,430 And so there's a lot of people that have a hard time dealing with 181 00:07:36,430 --> 00:07:38,950 God, allowing for difficulty in this world. 182 00:07:39,190 --> 00:07:42,350 A lot of people that even claim to be somewhat religious have 183 00:07:42,350 --> 00:07:44,950 a problem with talking about God's judgment upon those that are 184 00:07:44,950 --> 00:07:45,750 in rebellion. 185 00:07:46,230 --> 00:07:49,230 And so for the what we see is this. 186 00:07:49,310 --> 00:07:51,950 A lot of people avoid the talk of judgment. 187 00:07:52,510 --> 00:07:54,590 They avoid talking about the judgment of God. 188 00:07:54,990 --> 00:07:57,510 But what we see here is he says, no, we can't avoid the judgment 189 00:07:57,510 --> 00:08:01,590 of God because if we question God's character, if we question God's 190 00:08:01,590 --> 00:08:02,910 goodness, what are we doing? 191 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:04,350 We're essentially lying. 192 00:08:04,590 --> 00:08:06,750 We're lying to ourselves and we're lying to Him. 193 00:08:07,150 --> 00:08:08,750 He says, God is always true. 194 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:10,030 And so think about it this way. 195 00:08:10,110 --> 00:08:14,590 If everybody in the world saw something different than God, it's 196 00:08:14,590 --> 00:08:18,550 not a democracy, it's God is right, we are all wrong. 197 00:08:18,630 --> 00:08:21,390 So if I'm seeing things wrong in accordance to the theology of 198 00:08:21,390 --> 00:08:24,270 God, if I'm looking at the word of God and saying no, that that's 199 00:08:24,270 --> 00:08:27,190 morally not what I think is a good thing, guess what? 200 00:08:27,190 --> 00:08:30,550 I'm wrong because I am a liar in my flesh. 201 00:08:30,790 --> 00:08:35,670 I fall short in my wisdom, I fall short in my morality, I definitely 202 00:08:35,670 --> 00:08:36,230 fall short. 203 00:08:36,390 --> 00:08:39,870 But God, in our theology, what we believe and what the scripture 204 00:08:39,870 --> 00:08:42,900 teaches is that God is completely worth holy in every way. 205 00:08:42,900 --> 00:08:46,140 So if someone says, well, if God loves the Jewish people, why 206 00:08:46,140 --> 00:08:47,180 do all the people not believe? 207 00:08:47,180 --> 00:08:48,540 That means he's stopped. 208 00:08:48,540 --> 00:08:50,580 That means he's pulled back his love for them. 209 00:08:50,580 --> 00:08:54,140 No, the Bible says that if there ever is a discrepancy in our 210 00:08:54,140 --> 00:08:57,700 way of thinking, it's our problem, not His. 211 00:08:58,100 --> 00:09:01,260 He says, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in 212 00:09:01,260 --> 00:09:04,740 thy sayings and thou mightest overcome when thou art judged. 213 00:09:05,220 --> 00:09:10,430 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God. 214 00:09:10,430 --> 00:09:12,430 So now he's going to ask another question here, and this is 215 00:09:12,430 --> 00:09:15,910 where you have to really put your thinking caps on because he's 216 00:09:15,910 --> 00:09:18,910 going to basically follow human logic and say this. 217 00:09:19,230 --> 00:09:25,150 If our unrighteousness shows God's Righteousness even more, why 218 00:09:25,150 --> 00:09:25,790 does it matter? 219 00:09:26,350 --> 00:09:27,630 Why does what we do matter? 220 00:09:27,790 --> 00:09:31,350 And he basically is going to ask this question, if doing wrong 221 00:09:31,350 --> 00:09:35,720 shows God's power in judgment, why don't we all just do wrong? 222 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:37,800 Why don't we all just live in sin? 223 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:39,880 Because that's going to show God's power even more. 224 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:41,040 And you would say, what? 225 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:41,600 What is that? 226 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:42,800 That, that doesn't make any sense. 227 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:44,520 That's the teaching of abuse of grace. 228 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,800 If God is going to be gracious and God is going to be completely 229 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,360 perfect and God is going to be glorified through his judgment, why 230 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,720 don't we all just get judged by God and make God look better? 231 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,800 And it says there in verse number five, what shall we say is 232 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,360 God's unrighteousness? 233 00:10:01,370 --> 00:10:02,490 Who taketh vengeance? 234 00:10:02,490 --> 00:10:05,210 He says, is God wrong by doing this? 235 00:10:05,210 --> 00:10:06,530 Is God wrong by judging? 236 00:10:06,530 --> 00:10:07,450 God forbid. 237 00:10:07,850 --> 00:10:10,490 For then how shall God judge the world? 238 00:10:11,770 --> 00:10:13,770 So this is a very interesting concept here. 239 00:10:13,770 --> 00:10:17,850 What he essentially says is that, hey, the counter argument that 240 00:10:17,850 --> 00:10:21,130 someone is bringing to Paul is if my unrighteousness will demonstrate 241 00:10:21,130 --> 00:10:24,170 God's righteousness, how can God judge me? 242 00:10:24,250 --> 00:10:24,650 Right? 243 00:10:24,650 --> 00:10:26,810 Because what he's saying is this. 244 00:10:26,890 --> 00:10:29,130 God is going to be glorified no matter what. 245 00:10:29,810 --> 00:10:32,450 So, so God is going to be glorified when we're righteous and 246 00:10:32,450 --> 00:10:35,730 God is going to be glorified though we are unrighteous. 247 00:10:35,730 --> 00:10:38,250 He's going to be glorified through the judgment because he's 248 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:38,650 holy. 249 00:10:38,650 --> 00:10:41,730 And so he gets glory for his judgment and for his salvation. 250 00:10:41,810 --> 00:10:44,730 And so what the person is saying is, if my unrighteousness 251 00:10:44,730 --> 00:10:48,050 will demonstrate God's righteousness, how can God judge 252 00:10:48,050 --> 00:10:50,050 me because it's bringing him glory. 253 00:10:50,450 --> 00:10:53,090 So essentially what someone is asking here is this. 254 00:10:53,410 --> 00:10:56,610 It's the classic question of why can God judge me if he already 255 00:10:56,610 --> 00:10:57,650 knows that I'm going to sin? 256 00:10:58,710 --> 00:11:01,110 Why can God judge me if he's completely righteous and he's going 257 00:11:01,110 --> 00:11:02,470 to get glory through all of this? 258 00:11:02,710 --> 00:11:06,870 And so essentially it's this, how can God judge the world? 259 00:11:07,270 --> 00:11:09,390 How is he moral in judging the world? 260 00:11:09,390 --> 00:11:12,710 But go back to verse number five, because he says, this is God 261 00:11:12,950 --> 00:11:14,950 unrighteous who taketh vengeance? 262 00:11:16,230 --> 00:11:18,070 And then there's this phrase here in the King James. 263 00:11:18,070 --> 00:11:19,910 It says, I speak as a man. 264 00:11:20,230 --> 00:11:21,310 What is he saying here? 265 00:11:21,310 --> 00:11:22,870 In the original Greek, he's saying this. 266 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,440 This is the way that the world thinks. 267 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:27,120 This is worldly logic. 268 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:28,720 So in worldly logic it's this. 269 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,880 If God already knows that we're going to do wrong, if God is 270 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,600 glorified through his judgment upon those that are in sin, then 271 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:37,680 how is God righteous in doing this? 272 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,080 It just doesn't make sense to the worldly mind. 273 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,760 But we have to go back and we have to understand the theology of 274 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:42,960 God. 275 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,520 I know this is deep here this morning, but let's look at it. 276 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,680 Verse 6, he says, God forbid, then how shall God judge the world? 277 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:51,800 For if the truth of God have more abounded through my lie unto 278 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,770 his glory, which why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 279 00:11:54,770 --> 00:11:58,930 And not rather as we be slanderously reported and as some 280 00:11:58,930 --> 00:12:03,370 affirm that we say, let us do evil, that good may come whose damnation. 281 00:12:04,970 --> 00:12:08,290 So he's basically playing the other side of the coin. 282 00:12:08,290 --> 00:12:11,370 He says there's people that say it doesn't matter what we do, 283 00:12:11,930 --> 00:12:14,930 that what we're preaching in the grace of God means that we can 284 00:12:14,930 --> 00:12:15,730 just keep sinning. 285 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:18,130 And by the way, you see that there in the parentheses, he says, 286 00:12:18,130 --> 00:12:22,070 as we be slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. 287 00:12:22,070 --> 00:12:25,270 So people are saying to Paul, if you preach God's grace, if you 288 00:12:25,270 --> 00:12:29,070 preach God's power, if you preach God's holiness, then basically 289 00:12:29,070 --> 00:12:31,070 everyone's saying, you can just live the way that you want to 290 00:12:31,070 --> 00:12:32,830 live, because God's going to do his thing anyway. 291 00:12:32,990 --> 00:12:35,590 God's going to judge, God's going to save, God's going to be 292 00:12:35,590 --> 00:12:37,070 glorified, so why does it matter? 293 00:12:37,070 --> 00:12:39,910 And he says, no, those people that accuse us of that thinking are 294 00:12:39,910 --> 00:12:40,750 missing the point. 295 00:12:41,710 --> 00:12:44,270 He says that they're going to face judgment for that decision. 296 00:12:44,350 --> 00:12:45,950 That's at the end of verse number eight. 297 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,840 So if the truth of God hath more bounded through my lie or my 298 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,640 sin unto his glory, why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 299 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:55,400 Well, that's the case that he's making. 300 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,080 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 301 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,319 It's God's holiness and his perfection that allows him to judge 302 00:13:02,319 --> 00:13:04,040 us fairly for our sin. 303 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,880 And so we have to understand there's a big term here today that 304 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:09,480 we have to. 305 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,360 We don't have to know the term itself, but we have to know its meaning. 306 00:13:12,810 --> 00:13:14,930 And that is harmartiology. 307 00:13:14,930 --> 00:13:16,170 That's the study of sin. 308 00:13:16,490 --> 00:13:20,970 We have to understand the impact of sin in our life. 309 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:23,450 We have to understand the definition of sin. 310 00:13:24,010 --> 00:13:26,970 Number one, the definition of sin is literally missing the mark 311 00:13:26,970 --> 00:13:27,770 of God. 312 00:13:27,930 --> 00:13:31,290 So God sets a mark, by the way, that's the law, right? 313 00:13:31,290 --> 00:13:33,970 God gives as the oracles of God. 314 00:13:33,970 --> 00:13:35,770 He gave the law to the Jewish people. 315 00:13:35,850 --> 00:13:37,770 And he says, this is my heart. 316 00:13:37,930 --> 00:13:40,490 This is what it means to live a life of righteousness. 317 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,080 And essentially what we can see is that through the law, all 318 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,360 of us, all of us fall short of the glory of God. 319 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,800 That's what verse number 10 is going to tell us. 320 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:51,120 There is none righteous. 321 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:52,400 No, not one. 322 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,360 So sin is missing the mark. 323 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,400 Now, some could argue, well, that person misses the mark more 324 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:57,920 than me. 325 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,640 Okay, well, we know in other passages of Scripture that if we 326 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,200 miss the mark once, we're guilty of them all. 327 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:04,960 Now, that does not mean this. 328 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:05,400 Okay? 329 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,640 So, by the way, there's a lot of false teaching with sin these 330 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:07,920 days. 331 00:14:08,230 --> 00:14:09,190 What that means is this. 332 00:14:09,270 --> 00:14:10,550 All sin is equal. 333 00:14:12,070 --> 00:14:14,390 So therefore, if you sin in this area, you might as well sin 334 00:14:14,390 --> 00:14:15,830 in all the areas, right? 335 00:14:16,150 --> 00:14:17,350 It's not what he's saying. 336 00:14:18,150 --> 00:14:20,790 He's not saying that, hey, if you lie, you might as well steal. 337 00:14:22,070 --> 00:14:23,110 That's not what he's saying. 338 00:14:23,990 --> 00:14:24,870 But what is he saying? 339 00:14:24,870 --> 00:14:28,710 He says that if I'm guilty of the sin, I'm guilty before God because 340 00:14:28,710 --> 00:14:31,990 I would have to be perfect to have salvation in my own strength. 341 00:14:32,470 --> 00:14:35,300 So I'm not teaching this, and the Bible's not teaching this that 342 00:14:35,300 --> 00:14:37,900 all sins have the same outcome here on this earth. 343 00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:41,660 He's teaching that all sins have the same outcome when it comes 344 00:14:41,660 --> 00:14:43,580 to our guilt before God and salvation. 345 00:14:44,380 --> 00:14:46,940 So some people might say, well, I haven't sinned that much. 346 00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:49,580 That's the argument that some people have. 347 00:14:49,820 --> 00:14:51,460 My good outweighs my bad. 348 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:52,260 Paul says, no, that. 349 00:14:52,260 --> 00:14:53,100 That doesn't work. 350 00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:56,100 Ultimately, what it means is that even if you've sinned a few 351 00:14:56,100 --> 00:14:59,180 times, you're still guilty before a holy God. 352 00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:02,780 And then Jesus, again, you have to remember what he said in 353 00:15:02,780 --> 00:15:03,740 Matthew, chapter five. 354 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:04,920 He took it further. 355 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:06,440 Oh, well, Pastor, I have. 356 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,680 I've never done anything bad. 357 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,720 Okay, well, the truth is that you're probably lying in that. 358 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,320 But at the end of the day, he says, it's more than just your actions. 359 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:16,600 It's also your attitude. 360 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,240 Jesus says, hey, don't. 361 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,320 You've heard, don't murder, but also don't hate your brother. 362 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,360 Because when you hate your brother, you committed murder in 363 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:23,800 your heart. 364 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,000 And so it's further than what we actually think. 365 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,190 And so even if we convince everybody around us that we are good 366 00:15:31,190 --> 00:15:33,590 people, God knows our heart. 367 00:15:33,990 --> 00:15:35,550 And so sin is missing the mark. 368 00:15:35,550 --> 00:15:40,430 And in sin brings us all, all to a place of guilt before God. 369 00:15:40,430 --> 00:15:42,390 And that's what Paul is talking about here. 370 00:15:42,390 --> 00:15:47,630 So when the person says, God has no right to judge because he's 371 00:15:47,630 --> 00:15:51,430 ultimately in control, what we can say is, yes, he has every right 372 00:15:51,430 --> 00:15:52,070 to judge. 373 00:15:52,310 --> 00:15:56,480 Every one of us deserve the punishment of death. 374 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,880 We're going to get to Romans chapter 6. 375 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,600 For the wages or the payment of sin is death. 376 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:03,680 Now, I know this isn't popular preaching. 377 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,440 I. I know this isn't something that people turn on on a Saturday 378 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:08,960 morning and get pumped up about. 379 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,040 I'm a sinner and I deserve punishment. 380 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:12,480 But that's the truth. 381 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,480 Now, there's going to be a good part to this in a minute, but 382 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:16,880 I have to build the scene. 383 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,960 We have to see what Paul is talking about here. 384 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,920 And so Paul was familiar with the line of thinking that, hey, God 385 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:27,560 is in control of everything, so even if I do evil, he will be 386 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:28,040 glorified. 387 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:29,680 So why don't I just keep doing evil? 388 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,680 Because he talks here specifically about the change, the 389 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,120 transformation that needs to happen in a relationship with God, 390 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,240 a need for faith in the one who fulfilled the law. 391 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,360 A lot of people might believe or understand Jesus when he came 392 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,000 that he said, hey, you know what? 393 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:47,920 The law is gone. 394 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:49,360 I've destroyed the law. 395 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:49,760 I've. 396 00:16:50,220 --> 00:16:51,260 You don't even need the law. 397 00:16:51,260 --> 00:16:52,460 It's gone, though. 398 00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:55,740 We don't live by the letter of the law because none of us can. 399 00:16:55,980 --> 00:16:58,540 The letter to the law shows us where we are guilty. 400 00:16:58,540 --> 00:16:59,740 It's a school, master. 401 00:17:00,060 --> 00:17:02,460 It teaches us that all of us need something bigger. 402 00:17:02,460 --> 00:17:05,140 All of us need something holy to come into our lives and change 403 00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:05,500 us. 404 00:17:06,140 --> 00:17:07,540 So what does the Bible say? 405 00:17:07,540 --> 00:17:08,500 Some of you already know this. 406 00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:09,820 You guys know where I'm going with this. 407 00:17:09,820 --> 00:17:13,500 Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. 408 00:17:13,660 --> 00:17:17,860 Jesus, in his holiness here on this earth, fulfilled the law in 409 00:17:17,860 --> 00:17:21,020 every way so that when we trust in him, he is what the Bible's 410 00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:23,540 going to call here in a moment, propitiation. 411 00:17:24,340 --> 00:17:27,140 Because he was the perfect sacrifice. 412 00:17:27,540 --> 00:17:30,820 And as God poured out his wrath and punishment upon Jesus, 413 00:17:31,140 --> 00:17:33,140 he took the weight of all of our sin. 414 00:17:33,140 --> 00:17:34,540 He took all of that payment. 415 00:17:34,540 --> 00:17:35,500 And he said, you know what? 416 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:38,660 I will take that because I am the only one who can take that. 417 00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:44,500 And so Paul says, worldly way of thinking, do what you want, it 418 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:45,340 doesn't really matter. 419 00:17:45,820 --> 00:17:47,980 Kind of like defeatism, determinism. 420 00:17:48,380 --> 00:17:50,820 But at the end of the day, he says, that's worldly way of thinking. 421 00:17:50,820 --> 00:17:52,140 That's not God's way of thinking. 422 00:17:52,300 --> 00:17:54,860 And so Paul, he basically dismisses the question. 423 00:17:56,060 --> 00:18:00,740 If things were as what he says as the worldly way of thinking, God 424 00:18:00,740 --> 00:18:04,300 could judge nobody because he wouldn't have the right to. 425 00:18:04,460 --> 00:18:07,540 But we all know that God has the right to because of what Scripture 426 00:18:07,540 --> 00:18:08,060 tells us here. 427 00:18:08,060 --> 00:18:14,360 So, so Paul here is, is giving the certainty that the judgment day 428 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:14,920 is coming. 429 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:20,880 There will be some that are justified in faith, and there will 430 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,360 be some that are judged in sin, judged in rebellion. 431 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,560 Doesn't matter if you're Jew or Gentile. 432 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:29,240 It's the matter of faith. 433 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,200 And so what, what does Paul do? 434 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:38,370 Paul states the purpose to his, his argument here. 435 00:18:39,570 --> 00:18:42,770 Yes, will God be glorified through, through my sin? 436 00:18:42,770 --> 00:18:45,890 Yes, but it's never his will that we go that path. 437 00:18:46,530 --> 00:18:47,970 How can God judge me? 438 00:18:48,210 --> 00:18:51,490 Well, Paul gets to that point there, Verse number nine. 439 00:18:51,490 --> 00:18:52,010 What then? 440 00:18:52,010 --> 00:18:53,170 Are we better than they? 441 00:18:53,890 --> 00:18:55,090 No, in no wise. 442 00:18:55,250 --> 00:18:59,610 For we have before proved both Jew and Gentile that they all are 443 00:18:59,610 --> 00:19:00,770 under sin. 444 00:19:01,970 --> 00:19:05,010 Paul says, none of us, none of us can avoid it. 445 00:19:05,250 --> 00:19:07,490 Their condemnation is just. 446 00:19:09,330 --> 00:19:15,770 So what we can ultimately take from this section here is that there 447 00:19:15,770 --> 00:19:20,770 are some without the proper understanding of the brokenness and 448 00:19:20,770 --> 00:19:27,090 the punishment of sin that can twist the free gift of God's grace 449 00:19:28,180 --> 00:19:35,140 into a license for sin, into to a license of resting in our human 450 00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:37,620 sin and our human brokenness. 451 00:19:38,180 --> 00:19:41,780 And so it takes a beautiful, beautiful gift that is grace. 452 00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:45,380 And it twists it and perverts it and changes it to a place where 453 00:19:45,380 --> 00:19:47,780 basically says God's grace is actually wrong. 454 00:19:47,940 --> 00:19:50,540 Folks, the only reason that we have salvation at all is because 455 00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:51,300 of God's grace. 456 00:19:52,020 --> 00:19:54,310 And so lot of people say, well, you know what? 457 00:19:54,310 --> 00:19:56,350 If God's so loving, why does he judge? 458 00:19:57,310 --> 00:20:00,630 God is so loving because he offers us a way to not face judgment, 459 00:20:00,630 --> 00:20:02,750 because every single one of us deserve that. 460 00:20:03,070 --> 00:20:06,870 And so it's not a matter of God loving us less by judging us. 461 00:20:06,870 --> 00:20:09,950 It's a matter of God loving us infinitely by offering us a way out. 462 00:20:10,270 --> 00:20:13,630 We condemn ourselves by the sin that we commit in our own lives. 463 00:20:15,230 --> 00:20:19,790 And so what we can see here is that Paul addresses the pagan. 464 00:20:21,290 --> 00:20:22,570 That's Romans chapter one. 465 00:20:23,130 --> 00:20:27,410 He addresses the hypocrisy of the moral religious man in Romans 466 00:20:27,410 --> 00:20:28,090 chapter two. 467 00:20:28,490 --> 00:20:33,210 And he addresses the false confidence of the Jew in their own 468 00:20:34,330 --> 00:20:37,530 system of doing things, their own traditions here all the way through 469 00:20:37,530 --> 00:20:38,370 Romans chapter three. 470 00:20:38,370 --> 00:20:41,210 And essentially it culminates in verse nine. 471 00:20:41,770 --> 00:20:42,850 And we've already read it. 472 00:20:42,850 --> 00:20:43,610 But what then? 473 00:20:44,090 --> 00:20:45,290 Are we better than they says? 474 00:20:45,290 --> 00:20:46,450 Are you better because you're a Jew? 475 00:20:46,450 --> 00:20:47,810 Are you better because you're a Gentile? 476 00:20:47,810 --> 00:20:49,170 Are you better because you go to church? 477 00:20:49,170 --> 00:20:50,670 Or are you better because you're an American? 478 00:20:50,990 --> 00:20:52,350 Are you better because you're a man? 479 00:20:52,350 --> 00:20:53,630 Are you better because you're a woman? 480 00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:56,750 He says, really, at the end of the day, we all stand equal before 481 00:20:56,750 --> 00:20:57,630 the eyes of God. 482 00:20:57,630 --> 00:21:01,830 Are we either there in faith, are we there in anything else other 483 00:21:01,830 --> 00:21:03,230 than that faith in Jesus Christ? 484 00:21:03,790 --> 00:21:04,910 He says, you're guilty. 485 00:21:05,070 --> 00:21:07,950 None of us have an excuse, no in no wise. 486 00:21:07,950 --> 00:21:12,070 For we have proved or demonstrated both Jew and Gentile, 487 00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:17,330 both churchgoer and non church goer, that they are all under sin. 488 00:21:18,130 --> 00:21:20,090 Now why are we so emphatic about this? 489 00:21:20,090 --> 00:21:23,970 Because we have to warn against people who say, I'm good, 490 00:21:23,970 --> 00:21:26,410 I go to church, I'm good. 491 00:21:26,410 --> 00:21:28,450 I don't do those things that that person does. 492 00:21:28,930 --> 00:21:34,130 I, I'm good because I follow all the rules of my church. 493 00:21:35,090 --> 00:21:39,330 We can see over and over and over again in the New Testament that 494 00:21:39,330 --> 00:21:41,210 it's not about being a list follower. 495 00:21:41,210 --> 00:21:45,950 It's not about being part of some group or being part of some 496 00:21:45,950 --> 00:21:46,550 tradition. 497 00:21:46,630 --> 00:21:49,270 He says ultimately it is through faith and faith alone. 498 00:21:49,270 --> 00:21:50,670 He's going to build his case even more. 499 00:21:50,670 --> 00:21:53,870 Here in verse number 10, he says, as it is written. 500 00:21:53,870 --> 00:21:56,470 So he references other passages of scripture. 501 00:21:57,350 --> 00:22:01,110 He says, as it is written, there is none righteous. 502 00:22:01,270 --> 00:22:02,470 No, not one. 503 00:22:03,670 --> 00:22:06,070 He just used a really powerful phrase. 504 00:22:06,070 --> 00:22:09,750 In verse nine, he says, all of us are under sin. 505 00:22:10,470 --> 00:22:13,390 That word under sin literally means before we come to Christ in 506 00:22:13,390 --> 00:22:16,270 faith, we are all under bondage, we are all in chains. 507 00:22:16,270 --> 00:22:18,950 We are all dictated by our sin. 508 00:22:18,950 --> 00:22:22,670 But then we see here in verse 10, he says everyone is righteous. 509 00:22:22,670 --> 00:22:23,230 No, not one. 510 00:22:23,230 --> 00:22:26,990 He starts describing the sinfulness of man without God, a 511 00:22:26,990 --> 00:22:30,830 sinfulness with man without faith and having imputed righteousness 512 00:22:30,830 --> 00:22:31,830 of God in our life. 513 00:22:32,310 --> 00:22:36,070 He says in verse number 11, there is none that understand it. 514 00:22:36,210 --> 00:22:38,290 There is none that seeketh after God. 515 00:22:39,170 --> 00:22:43,370 Now before I go any further, this is a proof text to many people 516 00:22:43,370 --> 00:22:47,250 that say that you cannot be saved at all, you cannot do good 517 00:22:47,650 --> 00:22:52,369 at all without the understanding that God awakened you. 518 00:22:53,010 --> 00:22:54,490 Now what, what does this mean here? 519 00:22:54,490 --> 00:22:57,410 This, this does not mean that, hey, you know what? 520 00:22:57,410 --> 00:22:58,450 I'm, I'm hopeless. 521 00:22:58,930 --> 00:23:01,330 Only if God chooses me am I going to be saved. 522 00:23:01,410 --> 00:23:04,790 No, this speaks to the description of someone who is in 523 00:23:04,790 --> 00:23:06,190 rebellion to God. 524 00:23:07,070 --> 00:23:10,110 And so ultimately what we can see here is that, hey, a lot of people 525 00:23:10,110 --> 00:23:12,590 will use this passage of scripture as there. 526 00:23:12,670 --> 00:23:15,550 You can't even, you don't have a choice in being saved. 527 00:23:15,630 --> 00:23:16,830 You don't have a choice at all. 528 00:23:17,150 --> 00:23:17,630 Like you. 529 00:23:17,630 --> 00:23:20,830 You can never be saved outside of the fact that, hey, you're just 530 00:23:20,830 --> 00:23:21,790 forced to be saved. 531 00:23:22,030 --> 00:23:24,510 And some are forced to be saved and some are forced not to 532 00:23:24,510 --> 00:23:24,870 be saved. 533 00:23:24,870 --> 00:23:26,350 That's the way that God ordains it. 534 00:23:26,350 --> 00:23:29,150 But what we can see here is a description of who we are outside 535 00:23:29,550 --> 00:23:31,070 of faith in Jesus Christ. 536 00:23:31,540 --> 00:23:33,620 And then when the word of God we're going to see In Romans chapter 537 00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:36,740 10, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 538 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:39,820 As the word of God comes into our life and our hearts are awakened 539 00:23:39,820 --> 00:23:42,420 in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit convicts us to the truth, 540 00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:44,860 we then have a decision to make whether or not we are going 541 00:23:44,860 --> 00:23:48,020 to believe in faith or we are going to reject in pride. 542 00:23:48,340 --> 00:23:50,180 So he says, there is none that understandeth. 543 00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:51,740 There is none that seeketh after God. 544 00:23:51,740 --> 00:23:53,020 So what does that essentially mean? 545 00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:55,500 In our flesh we don't seek after God, at least in the right 546 00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:56,660 way, in the biblical way. 547 00:23:57,790 --> 00:23:59,870 They're, they're all gone out of the way. 548 00:23:59,870 --> 00:24:02,190 They are together become unprofitable. 549 00:24:03,550 --> 00:24:05,110 There is none that doeth good. 550 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:06,070 No, not one. 551 00:24:06,070 --> 00:24:10,510 Again, he is referring to this action that people try to do by doing 552 00:24:10,510 --> 00:24:11,550 good in their own strength. 553 00:24:11,550 --> 00:24:12,750 And he says, you cannot do that. 554 00:24:12,830 --> 00:24:15,230 These are all references to Old Testament scriptures. 555 00:24:15,470 --> 00:24:18,150 You could look at Psalm 14, that's a cross reference. 556 00:24:18,150 --> 00:24:23,270 Psalm 5, Psalm 140, Psalm 10, Psalm 36, and some passages even 557 00:24:23,270 --> 00:24:26,660 in Isaiah 59 speak to this opening statement that there is none 558 00:24:26,660 --> 00:24:27,100 righteous. 559 00:24:27,100 --> 00:24:29,620 There is none that are good in and of their own selves. 560 00:24:29,780 --> 00:24:31,220 Then he goes on a little bit further. 561 00:24:31,780 --> 00:24:34,100 He says verse 12. 562 00:24:34,260 --> 00:24:35,660 He says, They've gone their own way. 563 00:24:35,660 --> 00:24:36,260 Verse 13. 564 00:24:36,260 --> 00:24:38,300 Their throat is an open sepulcher. 565 00:24:38,300 --> 00:24:39,460 They speak evil. 566 00:24:40,420 --> 00:24:41,420 Open sepulcher. 567 00:24:41,420 --> 00:24:43,900 I don't know if you understand the, the picture there, but basically 568 00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:47,500 he's talking about like a dead person is in a tomb and the tomb 569 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:47,940 is open. 570 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:51,140 Now all of us understand that there's that stench of death. 571 00:24:51,700 --> 00:24:54,940 And so what he's saying this, he says, what we speak is evil. 572 00:24:54,940 --> 00:24:57,020 What we speak is terrible. 573 00:24:57,020 --> 00:24:58,300 What we speak is poisonous. 574 00:24:58,300 --> 00:24:59,980 Their throat is an open sepulcher. 575 00:24:59,980 --> 00:25:01,900 With their tongues they have used deceit. 576 00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:02,420 They lie. 577 00:25:02,420 --> 00:25:04,540 The poison of asp is under their lips. 578 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:07,780 He's talking about the venomous aspect of our speech. 579 00:25:08,180 --> 00:25:11,020 How, you know, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words 580 00:25:11,020 --> 00:25:11,660 will never hurt me. 581 00:25:11,660 --> 00:25:12,580 That's not biblical. 582 00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:16,060 What he says is that in our flesh we will hurt others with what 583 00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:19,770 we say, whose mouth is full of cursings and bitterness. 584 00:25:20,330 --> 00:25:22,050 Their feet are swift to shed blood. 585 00:25:22,050 --> 00:25:22,690 They're violent. 586 00:25:22,690 --> 00:25:23,690 That's what he's saying here. 587 00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:26,010 Destruction and misery are in their ways. 588 00:25:26,010 --> 00:25:30,570 This is all a description of who we are in humanity without Christ 589 00:25:31,850 --> 00:25:34,170 and the way of peace. 590 00:25:34,410 --> 00:25:38,850 Have they not known there is catch this because this is the culmination 591 00:25:38,850 --> 00:25:39,610 of all of it. 592 00:25:39,770 --> 00:25:42,490 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 593 00:25:43,630 --> 00:25:45,030 Speak of that here today. 594 00:25:45,030 --> 00:25:47,790 What are we talking about when we're talking about the fear of God? 595 00:25:48,270 --> 00:25:52,030 Well, it summarizes this entire thought and basically every 596 00:25:52,270 --> 00:25:56,630 sin, every rebellion against God is based in the fact that we 597 00:25:56,630 --> 00:25:59,670 don't have a proper respect for who he is and what he has done 598 00:25:59,670 --> 00:26:00,110 for us. 599 00:26:00,430 --> 00:26:01,630 We believe in a lie. 600 00:26:02,030 --> 00:26:03,470 We believe that our way is better. 601 00:26:03,790 --> 00:26:07,510 We, we love ourselves more, we respect ourselves more. 602 00:26:07,510 --> 00:26:11,380 We respect our, our flesh and its desires more than how we respect 603 00:26:11,380 --> 00:26:11,740 God. 604 00:26:11,740 --> 00:26:14,540 So he says essentially, who are we without God? 605 00:26:14,620 --> 00:26:16,220 We are ones that don't fear Him. 606 00:26:16,220 --> 00:26:17,660 We are ones in sin. 607 00:26:17,660 --> 00:26:19,020 We are ones who lie. 608 00:26:19,020 --> 00:26:20,540 We are ones who shed blood. 609 00:26:20,540 --> 00:26:22,980 We are ones who try to do it all in our own. 610 00:26:22,980 --> 00:26:25,980 And we see there in verse 12, it says that we become unprofitable 611 00:26:25,980 --> 00:26:30,940 or unfruitful in that there is no fear of God before their eyes. 612 00:26:31,340 --> 00:26:34,060 It's all pride, it's all selfishness. 613 00:26:34,860 --> 00:26:35,100 Folks. 614 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,460 We all have to get to a point in our life where there is nothing 615 00:26:38,460 --> 00:26:39,540 that we fear more than God. 616 00:26:39,540 --> 00:26:41,540 Now by the way, when I say that word, fear, I'm not talking 617 00:26:41,540 --> 00:26:44,500 about trembling, thinking that God is going to condemn us because 618 00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:46,380 in faith we have no more condemnation. 619 00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:47,740 That's Romans, chapter eight. 620 00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:48,700 But what does it mean? 621 00:26:48,700 --> 00:26:51,620 It means a healthy respect and understanding of the power of God 622 00:26:51,620 --> 00:26:54,780 and again, who he is and what he has done and how he views sin. 623 00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:58,380 So I've been asked this question before as a believer. 624 00:26:58,460 --> 00:26:59,980 Well, can I just go sin? 625 00:27:01,950 --> 00:27:04,430 Can't, Can't I just go and just ask God for forgiveness? 626 00:27:04,990 --> 00:27:07,470 Can I just live the way that I want to live Monday through Saturday 627 00:27:07,710 --> 00:27:10,070 and do the worst stuff on Saturday night and then come back 628 00:27:10,070 --> 00:27:11,870 on Sunday morning and just say, lord forgive me? 629 00:27:13,150 --> 00:27:16,190 Well, the truth is, is that God's grace is abundant. 630 00:27:16,830 --> 00:27:18,590 God will forgive you of your sin. 631 00:27:18,910 --> 00:27:21,590 But if you fast forward just a little bit, Paul addresses this in 632 00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:22,590 Romans chapter six. 633 00:27:23,390 --> 00:27:25,830 We're gonna, we're gonna get there and talk more about this later 634 00:27:25,830 --> 00:27:26,030 on. 635 00:27:26,030 --> 00:27:27,470 But it says, what shall we say then? 636 00:27:27,470 --> 00:27:28,030 Verse 1? 637 00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:32,850 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid. 638 00:27:32,930 --> 00:27:36,050 There's another reference as Paul mentions God forbid. 639 00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:39,810 How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? 640 00:27:40,370 --> 00:27:42,890 So when you truly understand what God has done for you, that shouldn't 641 00:27:42,890 --> 00:27:43,370 be our heart. 642 00:27:43,370 --> 00:27:44,209 Our heart shouldn't be. 643 00:27:44,209 --> 00:27:45,250 Well, yeah, I can do whatever I want. 644 00:27:45,250 --> 00:27:46,290 God will just forgive me. 645 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:47,810 That's called abuse of grace. 646 00:27:48,610 --> 00:27:51,170 And it's not having a proper Understanding of who God is and what 647 00:27:51,170 --> 00:27:53,410 he has done for us in our relationship with him. 648 00:27:53,410 --> 00:27:58,420 And so we go back to Romans, chapter three, and he says, that's 649 00:27:58,420 --> 00:28:00,140 who you are without God. 650 00:28:00,140 --> 00:28:02,980 You are lacking the fear of God. 651 00:28:02,980 --> 00:28:04,700 You are lacking righteousness. 652 00:28:04,700 --> 00:28:05,900 You are lacking hope. 653 00:28:06,060 --> 00:28:07,740 You are lacking fruitfulness. 654 00:28:07,820 --> 00:28:09,340 You are lacking salvation. 655 00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:10,300 Verse 19. 656 00:28:10,620 --> 00:28:14,820 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to 657 00:28:14,820 --> 00:28:19,260 them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and 658 00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:21,580 all the world may become guilty before God. 659 00:28:21,890 --> 00:28:22,850 So here's what he's saying. 660 00:28:23,330 --> 00:28:29,010 He's saying this lest you think that you can avoid God's judgment. 661 00:28:29,810 --> 00:28:34,210 It says here that everyone, though we admit it or not, are under 662 00:28:34,210 --> 00:28:38,210 the law and that every mouth may be stopped. 663 00:28:39,250 --> 00:28:40,690 Think about someone just running their mouth. 664 00:28:40,690 --> 00:28:41,330 But God, I have this. 665 00:28:41,330 --> 00:28:42,610 And they have all these excuses. 666 00:28:42,610 --> 00:28:45,290 Essentially what it says is that God eventually, in his judgment, 667 00:28:45,290 --> 00:28:46,370 will stop all of that. 668 00:28:46,530 --> 00:28:46,890 Why? 669 00:28:46,890 --> 00:28:47,970 Because of his holiness. 670 00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:48,230 And. 671 00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:52,540 And that all of the world may become guilty before God. 672 00:28:53,740 --> 00:28:55,820 What an interesting phrase that is. 673 00:28:56,860 --> 00:28:58,460 The law cannot save us. 674 00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:02,220 The law doesn't justify in any way. 675 00:29:03,420 --> 00:29:04,580 It is useful, though. 676 00:29:04,580 --> 00:29:05,740 We don't throw the law out. 677 00:29:05,740 --> 00:29:05,980 Why? 678 00:29:05,980 --> 00:29:08,500 It's useful because it gives us the understanding of sin. 679 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:10,780 It gives us the understanding of the fact that we fall short. 680 00:29:10,940 --> 00:29:14,060 It shows us how much more we need a savior. 681 00:29:15,510 --> 00:29:15,750 You. 682 00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:17,590 You think you're a good person? 683 00:29:20,310 --> 00:29:21,190 I'm a good person. 684 00:29:21,670 --> 00:29:22,550 Like, I, I, I'm. 685 00:29:22,550 --> 00:29:22,870 I'm. 686 00:29:22,870 --> 00:29:24,310 I. I've heard people say, you know what? 687 00:29:24,310 --> 00:29:27,990 I. I really believe that mostly everyone in this world are. 688 00:29:27,990 --> 00:29:29,110 They're just really good people. 689 00:29:29,910 --> 00:29:31,230 We're all just good people in. 690 00:29:31,230 --> 00:29:31,990 In our hearts. 691 00:29:32,950 --> 00:29:35,230 I've even heard some preachers get up and say, for the most part, 692 00:29:35,230 --> 00:29:36,670 I think everyone in this world, we're. 693 00:29:36,670 --> 00:29:39,070 We're all just good in our nature, folks. 694 00:29:39,070 --> 00:29:41,110 That's the complete opposite of what the Bible just tells us. 695 00:29:41,110 --> 00:29:42,230 Here in Romans, chapter three. 696 00:29:43,090 --> 00:29:43,250 We. 697 00:29:43,250 --> 00:29:44,050 We are all. 698 00:29:44,610 --> 00:29:48,810 Though we can have flashes of goodness in our life, all of us are 699 00:29:48,810 --> 00:29:49,850 guilty before the law. 700 00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:52,530 So lest you think you are a good person, unless I think I'm a 701 00:29:52,530 --> 00:29:54,730 good person, I'm gonna go ahead and pull out the Mosaic law. 702 00:29:54,730 --> 00:29:57,170 And I've got about 613 things you got to follow today. 703 00:29:57,810 --> 00:30:00,370 Some of you are like, I can follow maybe one, maybe two. 704 00:30:00,370 --> 00:30:02,888 But hey, let's just even break it down to the 10. 705 00:30:03,012 --> 00:30:05,290 10 commandments, okay? 706 00:30:05,290 --> 00:30:07,850 If we went through all those 10 commandments today, I think all 707 00:30:07,850 --> 00:30:10,930 of us would admit that we have fallen short at at least one of those. 708 00:30:11,460 --> 00:30:13,460 Most likely, almost all of them. 709 00:30:13,700 --> 00:30:15,060 Okay, so. 710 00:30:15,060 --> 00:30:18,100 So the whole point is this, because a lot of times people in 711 00:30:18,100 --> 00:30:18,980 churches will teach this. 712 00:30:18,980 --> 00:30:20,020 Just be better people. 713 00:30:20,020 --> 00:30:20,980 Be more righteous. 714 00:30:21,380 --> 00:30:22,660 Start following the rules more. 715 00:30:22,660 --> 00:30:24,580 No, what he's essentially saying is this. 716 00:30:24,580 --> 00:30:26,020 You can't follow the rules. 717 00:30:26,020 --> 00:30:27,140 All of us are guilty. 718 00:30:27,300 --> 00:30:30,500 We need something bigger than our own works. 719 00:30:30,740 --> 00:30:35,620 So verse 20, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no 720 00:30:35,620 --> 00:30:36,900 flesh be justified. 721 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:39,160 Remember that word, justified? 722 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:41,520 Declaration of righteousness. 723 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:43,480 We cannot declare ourselves righteous. 724 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:45,960 We cannot declare ourselves saved. 725 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:50,280 Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified 726 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,960 in his sight, which his sight's the only one that matters 727 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:55,160 in his sight. 728 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,160 For by the law is the knowledge of sin. 729 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,710 So you might think, what's the role of the law today for us? 730 00:31:04,190 --> 00:31:05,550 Well, we're not bound by the law. 731 00:31:06,030 --> 00:31:07,470 We don't have to live by the law. 732 00:31:07,790 --> 00:31:09,230 We're not saved by the law. 733 00:31:10,430 --> 00:31:13,550 But the law shows us where we fall short. 734 00:31:14,670 --> 00:31:17,790 The heart of God is this, even if we summarize it to this point. 735 00:31:17,950 --> 00:31:19,870 Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 736 00:31:19,870 --> 00:31:20,870 Love your neighbor as yourself. 737 00:31:20,870 --> 00:31:23,870 On these two things hang all the law and the prophets, even that 738 00:31:24,030 --> 00:31:25,310 sometimes we fall short. 739 00:31:25,390 --> 00:31:27,710 So some people think, well, I don't have to live by the law, but 740 00:31:27,710 --> 00:31:30,280 I'm just going to live by loving God with all my heart, and 741 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,240 I'm love my neighbor as myself, and that's what's going to 742 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:32,720 save me. 743 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,080 That's never what Jesus is saying. 744 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:35,680 He doesn't say, you're saved by that. 745 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,440 He says that you believe in faith and that's how it's manifested. 746 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,000 And so what I would say is this, as a Christian, we have to 747 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:50,240 understand that our flesh makes us incapable of saving ourselves. 748 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,160 And so we get to verse number 21. 749 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:54,000 It says, but now. 750 00:31:55,370 --> 00:31:56,450 But now the righteousness. 751 00:31:56,450 --> 00:31:58,010 So, so you want righteousness. 752 00:31:58,410 --> 00:31:59,610 Don't earn it on your own. 753 00:32:00,170 --> 00:32:01,610 You can't earn it on your own. 754 00:32:02,170 --> 00:32:02,610 It's a. 755 00:32:02,610 --> 00:32:04,010 It's a futile effort. 756 00:32:04,650 --> 00:32:06,490 But he says you can't have righteousness. 757 00:32:06,490 --> 00:32:10,010 And so that's all the bad news, a lot of bad news. 758 00:32:10,010 --> 00:32:11,050 Here's the good news. 759 00:32:11,850 --> 00:32:14,650 As a human, you can still find righteousness, but in. 760 00:32:14,650 --> 00:32:19,010 Not in your own righteousness, in the righteousness of God in your 761 00:32:19,010 --> 00:32:19,290 life. 762 00:32:19,450 --> 00:32:24,610 And so here we see in verse 21, but now the righteousness of 763 00:32:24,610 --> 00:32:27,650 God without the law is manifested. 764 00:32:28,690 --> 00:32:30,530 And so here's an interesting concept. 765 00:32:31,170 --> 00:32:36,010 These words provide a wonderful transition from, hey, you're 766 00:32:36,010 --> 00:32:36,610 a sinner. 767 00:32:36,930 --> 00:32:38,770 Hey, you failed to. 768 00:32:38,850 --> 00:32:42,890 Now you move from that judgment that we all deserve to the 769 00:32:42,890 --> 00:32:44,930 justification that we can find in Christ. 770 00:32:45,650 --> 00:32:49,250 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested 771 00:32:49,780 --> 00:32:52,100 being witnessed by the law and the prophets. 772 00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:55,540 Meaning this faith has always been around. 773 00:32:55,540 --> 00:32:57,060 This opportunity has always been around. 774 00:32:57,060 --> 00:33:00,260 For those before Jesus Christ, it was looking for a messiah that 775 00:33:00,260 --> 00:33:00,820 is to come. 776 00:33:00,820 --> 00:33:03,300 If you think that the people in the Old Testament were saved by 777 00:33:03,300 --> 00:33:06,460 the law, read the book of Hebrews, Specifically Hebrews, chapter 778 00:33:06,460 --> 00:33:06,740 11. 779 00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:08,660 Abraham was saved by faith. 780 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:13,300 Noah was saved by faith, always through faith. 781 00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:15,140 And so he says, you want to find that righteousness. 782 00:33:15,550 --> 00:33:19,150 This type of righteousness has been found throughout all of history 783 00:33:19,230 --> 00:33:22,030 through the law and the prophets, verse 22. 784 00:33:22,270 --> 00:33:28,990 Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, 785 00:33:30,590 --> 00:33:32,110 that, hey, that's it. 786 00:33:32,350 --> 00:33:33,470 That's the call to action. 787 00:33:33,710 --> 00:33:34,750 That's the good news. 788 00:33:34,910 --> 00:33:36,110 That's the invitation. 789 00:33:36,350 --> 00:33:37,870 That's the hope that we have. 790 00:33:38,350 --> 00:33:42,230 That's the beauty of it, that it's not on me, it's on him and it's 791 00:33:42,230 --> 00:33:42,990 faith in him. 792 00:33:42,990 --> 00:33:44,990 And so what we can see here in verse 22 is this. 793 00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:46,780 You want righteousness in your life. 794 00:33:47,260 --> 00:33:51,340 You want the opposite of what's described in verses 10 through 795 00:33:51,420 --> 00:33:52,540 19 and 20. 796 00:33:52,620 --> 00:33:54,780 You say this, hey, it's not about me. 797 00:33:54,780 --> 00:33:58,780 It's the righteousness of God which is found in not my good works, 798 00:33:58,780 --> 00:34:00,140 not my church I go to. 799 00:34:00,140 --> 00:34:03,580 But it says there in verse 22, exactly word for word, what we do 800 00:34:03,740 --> 00:34:10,380 by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, 801 00:34:11,950 --> 00:34:13,070 for there is no difference. 802 00:34:14,750 --> 00:34:17,230 Everybody is saved the same way. 803 00:34:18,910 --> 00:34:21,110 Well, Pastor, I'm going to come to church and I'm going to get 804 00:34:21,110 --> 00:34:23,390 cleaned up, and I'm going to look right, and I'm going to talk, 805 00:34:23,390 --> 00:34:23,710 right? 806 00:34:23,790 --> 00:34:25,390 And then I think I can get saved. 807 00:34:25,390 --> 00:34:28,990 No, the Bible says that the person in the gutter addicted to 808 00:34:28,990 --> 00:34:33,710 drugs is saved the same way as the moral man who's living in a penthouse 809 00:34:33,710 --> 00:34:34,510 in New York City. 810 00:34:34,750 --> 00:34:36,350 Everybody is saved the same way. 811 00:34:36,770 --> 00:34:39,450 You can't earn your way to heaven, you can't buy your way to 812 00:34:39,450 --> 00:34:39,890 heaven. 813 00:34:40,370 --> 00:34:43,170 And what we can see is that every other faith in this world outside 814 00:34:43,170 --> 00:34:46,450 of biblical Christianity says, you got to do something, you got 815 00:34:46,450 --> 00:34:47,170 to pay something. 816 00:34:47,330 --> 00:34:49,690 I was even having a conversation in our Bible study this 817 00:34:49,690 --> 00:34:49,970 morning. 818 00:34:50,050 --> 00:34:52,929 There are certain, what we would call religions, I would call 819 00:34:52,929 --> 00:34:56,290 cults out there today that say you got to pay this much money to 820 00:34:56,290 --> 00:34:59,490 get to the next level, and then you can finally reach the level 821 00:34:59,490 --> 00:35:02,850 of complete wisdom when you pay enough to us. 822 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:06,800 But the Bible says there's nothing that we can pay. 823 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,360 There's nothing that we can do we are all saved the same way. 824 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:11,760 That's what we see in verse 22. 825 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,560 So many times we quote verse 23, for all have sinned and come 826 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:17,840 short of the glory of God, and we leave it there. 827 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:19,439 And there's a truth there. 828 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,040 But the complete truth is this. 829 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:22,360 Yes, we all have sinned. 830 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,560 Yes, all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. 831 00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:28,120 But even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ 832 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,130 upon all them that believe. 833 00:35:30,130 --> 00:35:32,130 For there is no difference, folks. 834 00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:34,130 There's a remedy to the problem of sin. 835 00:35:34,290 --> 00:35:36,930 There's a remedy to the point where we all fall short of the glory 836 00:35:36,930 --> 00:35:37,330 of God. 837 00:35:37,410 --> 00:35:40,690 You know, what if we went to the Grand Canyon today and. 838 00:35:42,530 --> 00:35:42,850 And. 839 00:35:42,850 --> 00:35:44,290 And we, like, we went as a church. 840 00:35:44,290 --> 00:35:45,449 I've never been to the Grand Canyon. 841 00:35:45,449 --> 00:35:48,730 Some of you have been there, so if I say something wrong, you 842 00:35:48,730 --> 00:35:49,930 just correct me later, okay? 843 00:35:49,930 --> 00:35:52,650 But I'm pretty sure at most places in the Grand Canyon, I could 844 00:35:52,650 --> 00:35:54,610 not jump across, okay? 845 00:35:55,260 --> 00:35:58,300 So I'm sitting there and I say, hey, guys, I think I can jump 846 00:35:58,300 --> 00:35:58,940 across there. 847 00:35:59,260 --> 00:36:00,780 And you guys are like, don't do that. 848 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:02,620 Hopefully you would say that. 849 00:36:02,780 --> 00:36:04,180 Hopefully none of you are like, all right, go ahead. 850 00:36:04,180 --> 00:36:05,180 Let's see the pastor. 851 00:36:05,420 --> 00:36:05,820 But. 852 00:36:05,900 --> 00:36:09,500 But I run and I jump and I go maybe 20ft. 853 00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:11,580 But guess what's going to happen? 854 00:36:12,060 --> 00:36:13,820 I'm going to fall to my demise. 855 00:36:14,460 --> 00:36:17,100 And then we have an Olympic long jumper come up there. 856 00:36:17,180 --> 00:36:19,820 He comes up and he's wearing Olympic long jumper shirt. 857 00:36:20,390 --> 00:36:21,470 And we say, whoa, he's. 858 00:36:21,470 --> 00:36:23,510 That's the gold medal Olympic long jumper. 859 00:36:23,510 --> 00:36:24,230 And he comes there. 860 00:36:24,230 --> 00:36:25,590 He goes, hey, guys, I'm gonna jump across. 861 00:36:27,190 --> 00:36:29,190 Some people would say, well, I think that's still pretty far for 862 00:36:29,190 --> 00:36:31,390 an Olympic jumper to jump, but let's go ahead and see it. 863 00:36:31,390 --> 00:36:33,670 And he jumps and he goes three times farther than me. 864 00:36:34,550 --> 00:36:35,190 But guess what? 865 00:36:35,190 --> 00:36:36,550 He's still going to fall to his demise. 866 00:36:37,590 --> 00:36:39,990 That's the futility of saying that. 867 00:36:39,990 --> 00:36:41,470 I'm better than that person. 868 00:36:41,470 --> 00:36:43,270 I've done more than that person. 869 00:36:43,350 --> 00:36:44,950 I'm more religious than that person. 870 00:36:45,030 --> 00:36:48,390 The truth is, is that the VI can only be bridged through the cross. 871 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,840 It only can be, you know, walk. 872 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:51,920 Walk across on the cross. 873 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,480 And the idea that it's only through Jesus Christ that we can 874 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:55,400 find that salvation. 875 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:57,960 And so we Forget about verse 24. 876 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,960 We forget about verse 24 when we quote verse 23. 877 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:03,920 For all sin and come short of the glory of God. 878 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:05,480 Yes, but it says this. 879 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:12,400 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that 880 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:13,560 is in Christ Jesus. 881 00:37:14,370 --> 00:37:16,770 The answer to verse 23 is verse 24. 882 00:37:16,770 --> 00:37:18,170 We can be justified freely. 883 00:37:18,170 --> 00:37:23,130 It's a free gift of grace to us through the redemption that is 884 00:37:23,130 --> 00:37:24,050 in Christ Jesus. 885 00:37:24,210 --> 00:37:25,250 That is the gospel. 886 00:37:25,730 --> 00:37:27,570 Some of you have heard the Romans road before. 887 00:37:27,730 --> 00:37:28,690 You've heard of the. 888 00:37:28,770 --> 00:37:30,370 The path to lead someone to Christ. 889 00:37:30,850 --> 00:37:33,250 And verse 23 is always on that path. 890 00:37:33,730 --> 00:37:36,290 I think that when we read verse 23, I think we should always 891 00:37:36,290 --> 00:37:37,210 read verse 24. 892 00:37:37,210 --> 00:37:40,810 Because, yes, we do need to show people that they are in sin. 893 00:37:40,810 --> 00:37:43,010 We do need to show people that they have fallen short. 894 00:37:43,010 --> 00:37:45,290 We do need to show people that they need a Savior. 895 00:37:45,290 --> 00:37:48,690 But then verse 24 tells us exactly how we can find that salvation 896 00:37:49,810 --> 00:37:53,130 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God has set 897 00:37:53,130 --> 00:37:54,210 forth to be. 898 00:37:54,370 --> 00:37:57,730 And here's this word that we were kind of alluding to for a while, 899 00:37:57,810 --> 00:38:01,250 the propitiation through faith in his blood. 900 00:38:01,330 --> 00:38:04,130 Verse 25 tells us how Jesus can do this. 901 00:38:04,210 --> 00:38:05,690 We talked about why does. 902 00:38:05,690 --> 00:38:06,610 How can God judge? 903 00:38:06,610 --> 00:38:09,730 Because he's completely holy and we're completely sinful. 904 00:38:11,090 --> 00:38:12,930 But then we see, how can Jesus save? 905 00:38:12,930 --> 00:38:13,210 How. 906 00:38:13,210 --> 00:38:16,530 How is Jesus sacrifice better than any other martyr in this world? 907 00:38:17,250 --> 00:38:18,450 Well, it says it right here. 908 00:38:19,170 --> 00:38:20,770 Whom God has set forth. 909 00:38:20,850 --> 00:38:24,290 It's God's plan, God the Father's plan to be a propitiation 910 00:38:24,290 --> 00:38:26,530 or a satisfaction of God's wrath. 911 00:38:27,010 --> 00:38:31,570 He's the perfect sacrifice is what it's saying here to be to declare 912 00:38:31,570 --> 00:38:32,690 his righteousness. 913 00:38:33,740 --> 00:38:35,860 Now, the way that he could do that propitiation is through his 914 00:38:35,860 --> 00:38:36,220 blood. 915 00:38:36,700 --> 00:38:37,380 His blood. 916 00:38:37,380 --> 00:38:40,260 We're going to celebrate that here in a few moments in communion. 917 00:38:40,260 --> 00:38:44,460 But the fact is, is that his perfect blood is the satisfaction 918 00:38:44,460 --> 00:38:45,180 to our sin. 919 00:38:45,260 --> 00:38:47,860 Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission and forgiveness 920 00:38:47,860 --> 00:38:49,740 of sins to declare his righteousness. 921 00:38:49,740 --> 00:38:53,660 For the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance 922 00:38:53,660 --> 00:38:57,300 of God, it is by the grace of God, it's through the forbearance 923 00:38:57,300 --> 00:39:00,060 of God that we are offered this opportunity through Jesus Christ 924 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:01,360 to have salvation. 925 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,520 It's only through his perfect shed blood that we have this opportunity. 926 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,360 And so we're going to finish to the end of the chapter. 927 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:06,880 Here we go. 928 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:07,800 This is what we're going to do. 929 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:08,520 We're already this close. 930 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:09,800 We're going to go all the way to the end. 931 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:14,160 So then it says in verse 26 to declare, I say at this time, his 932 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:15,000 righteousness. 933 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:21,240 It's his righteousness that he might be just and that the justifier 934 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,040 of him which believeth in Jesus. 935 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:26,680 Where is boasting then? 936 00:39:28,340 --> 00:39:29,420 How can we boast in this? 937 00:39:29,420 --> 00:39:30,420 We can't boast in this. 938 00:39:32,180 --> 00:39:33,700 It is excluded. 939 00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:37,060 By what law or works? 940 00:39:37,300 --> 00:39:39,700 Nay, no, but by the law of faith. 941 00:39:39,940 --> 00:39:41,020 So what is he saying here? 942 00:39:41,020 --> 00:39:44,380 He says, then how could anyone boast in their salvation? 943 00:39:44,380 --> 00:39:46,580 You can't, because it's not something you did. 944 00:39:46,980 --> 00:39:48,580 It's not some law you kept. 945 00:39:49,220 --> 00:39:51,300 It's not by some action that we did. 946 00:39:51,460 --> 00:39:56,410 It is only, only through faith in Jesus Christ. 947 00:39:56,730 --> 00:39:58,330 Is he the God of the Jews only? 948 00:39:59,370 --> 00:40:02,010 Is he not also of the Gentiles? 949 00:40:02,730 --> 00:40:04,810 Yes, of the Gentiles also. 950 00:40:06,570 --> 00:40:10,369 Folks, what he's saying, this is this salvation is not just the 951 00:40:10,369 --> 00:40:10,730 one people. 952 00:40:10,730 --> 00:40:13,010 It's not just for one culture. 953 00:40:13,010 --> 00:40:17,570 It's for everybody seeing it is one God which shall justify the 954 00:40:17,570 --> 00:40:21,540 circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. 955 00:40:21,860 --> 00:40:26,620 Jew, Gentile like are saved by faith, do we then make void the law? 956 00:40:26,620 --> 00:40:27,860 So now he's going to ask a question. 957 00:40:27,860 --> 00:40:29,780 This is going to be our transition for next week. 958 00:40:30,900 --> 00:40:33,820 He says, okay, we have established Paul, Paul. 959 00:40:33,820 --> 00:40:35,180 I believe Paul believes here. 960 00:40:35,180 --> 00:40:37,460 At this point, you all understand it's not by the law. 961 00:40:37,860 --> 00:40:40,740 Okay, by faith, verse 31. 962 00:40:40,900 --> 00:40:43,780 Do we then make void the law through faith? 963 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:45,860 Then he uses his phrase here. 964 00:40:45,860 --> 00:40:46,660 God forbid. 965 00:40:47,230 --> 00:40:48,750 Yea, we established the law. 966 00:40:49,150 --> 00:40:52,990 And so next week we're going to look more into the idea of why 967 00:40:52,990 --> 00:40:54,190 do we still have the law? 968 00:40:54,430 --> 00:40:55,950 What's the role of the law today? 969 00:40:56,190 --> 00:41:00,070 How can we as Christians reconcile the need for the law but 970 00:41:00,070 --> 00:41:02,350 also salvation by faith alone? 971 00:41:02,990 --> 00:41:04,390 And so we'll get to that next week. 972 00:41:04,390 --> 00:41:06,670 But what I want us to see is this verse 30. 973 00:41:06,990 --> 00:41:09,990 It summarizes his whole thinking here. 974 00:41:09,990 --> 00:41:12,510 Again, there's a lot of summation verses, but verse 30 is 975 00:41:12,510 --> 00:41:17,730 another great summary verse, seeing it is one God which shall 976 00:41:17,730 --> 00:41:21,530 justify the circumcision, that's the Jewish by faith and the 977 00:41:21,530 --> 00:41:22,930 uncircumcision through faith. 978 00:41:23,170 --> 00:41:26,930 Salvation by faith alone, sola fide. 979 00:41:27,170 --> 00:41:28,050 That's the Latin. 980 00:41:28,290 --> 00:41:31,050 And what we have to understand is, you say, pastor, you're preaching 981 00:41:31,050 --> 00:41:36,930 to a church that for the most part believes in faith completely. 982 00:41:37,170 --> 00:41:38,130 Why does this matter? 983 00:41:38,130 --> 00:41:41,260 Because salvation is isn't just a miracle of the moment. 984 00:41:41,260 --> 00:41:45,660 Even though justification is a transaction, it's a change in that 985 00:41:45,660 --> 00:41:46,140 moment. 986 00:41:46,940 --> 00:41:50,380 But as a Christian, we can't just say, I'm saved today. 987 00:41:50,380 --> 00:41:52,540 Now I can live the life the way I want to live it. 988 00:41:52,700 --> 00:41:53,980 I can do what I want to do. 989 00:41:54,460 --> 00:41:56,740 That goes back to what exactly Paul was talking about. 990 00:41:56,740 --> 00:41:58,540 So what does this mean for us in theology? 991 00:41:58,940 --> 00:41:59,820 It means this. 992 00:42:01,180 --> 00:42:07,700 When we are tempted to doubt God in his goodness, when we're tempted 993 00:42:07,700 --> 00:42:12,100 to think that we are better than we actually are in our own strength, 994 00:42:12,260 --> 00:42:15,500 when we're tempted to think that we can earn our way or do our 995 00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:18,980 own thing, when we're tempted to teach someone something outside 996 00:42:18,980 --> 00:42:24,300 of faith in Jesus Christ, we must go back to what the Bible says 997 00:42:24,300 --> 00:42:27,140 and rethink what's going on. 998 00:42:27,140 --> 00:42:28,180 Because what does it say? 999 00:42:28,260 --> 00:42:32,750 God is truth and man is a liar, and so we don't get our truth 1000 00:42:32,750 --> 00:42:33,270 from man. 1001 00:42:34,310 --> 00:42:37,990 I understand the beauty in democracy, but I also understand 1002 00:42:38,150 --> 00:42:41,590 that the majority isn't always right. 1003 00:42:43,270 --> 00:42:46,310 I've heard people make an argument to say, well, Pastor, most 1004 00:42:46,310 --> 00:42:48,790 Christians believe that, so why don't you believe that? 1005 00:42:50,390 --> 00:42:52,230 Well, what does the Bible say? 1006 00:42:53,030 --> 00:42:54,230 What does the Bible say? 1007 00:42:54,950 --> 00:42:57,510 We're getting to a point in our house where we're outnumbered, 1008 00:42:58,430 --> 00:42:58,550 right? 1009 00:42:58,550 --> 00:43:01,630 We've got three kids, and when Silas starts speaking, I guarantee 1010 00:43:01,630 --> 00:43:02,990 you he's going to go with his siblings. 1011 00:43:03,150 --> 00:43:05,310 And if he says, okay, we're going to have ice cream tonight, 1012 00:43:06,510 --> 00:43:07,470 well, no, you're not. 1013 00:43:07,710 --> 00:43:09,110 Mike is like, yeah, we're having ice cream. 1014 00:43:09,110 --> 00:43:10,910 Dad, we already voted you out. 1015 00:43:10,990 --> 00:43:11,950 Three, verse two. 1016 00:43:12,990 --> 00:43:13,630 That's not. 1017 00:43:13,950 --> 00:43:15,710 It's not how we do it in our house. 1018 00:43:16,110 --> 00:43:17,350 Dad has more than one vote. 1019 00:43:17,350 --> 00:43:17,630 All right. 1020 00:43:17,630 --> 00:43:17,950 No. 1021 00:43:18,110 --> 00:43:21,750 The truth is that sometimes we know in a silly fashion, sometimes 1022 00:43:21,750 --> 00:43:23,420 within a smaller setting, we. 1023 00:43:23,490 --> 00:43:25,170 That the group can be wrong. 1024 00:43:25,730 --> 00:43:26,050 Because. 1025 00:43:26,050 --> 00:43:26,490 Because what. 1026 00:43:26,490 --> 00:43:27,810 What if we said, hey, you know what? 1027 00:43:28,690 --> 00:43:29,410 Whatever the. 1028 00:43:29,410 --> 00:43:32,610 Whatever the mass majority says, we're going to go with. 1029 00:43:33,570 --> 00:43:38,370 Well, many times the majority, the crowd is against scripture. 1030 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:41,730 Well, it makes a lot more sense to say that I can just be a 1031 00:43:41,730 --> 00:43:42,890 good person and get to heaven. 1032 00:43:42,890 --> 00:43:43,170 That. 1033 00:43:43,170 --> 00:43:43,410 That. 1034 00:43:43,410 --> 00:43:43,810 That means. 1035 00:43:43,810 --> 00:43:45,010 That shows God's loving. 1036 00:43:45,490 --> 00:43:47,850 No, that's showing that you don't have a good grip on what the 1037 00:43:47,850 --> 00:43:50,650 Bible says about the truth of salvation and salvation by faith 1038 00:43:50,650 --> 00:43:51,010 alone. 1039 00:43:51,610 --> 00:43:54,290 And so it's always going back to scripture and saying this, hey, 1040 00:43:54,290 --> 00:43:54,810 you know what? 1041 00:43:55,130 --> 00:43:57,970 Even though I'm tempted to drift and tempted to think a different 1042 00:43:57,970 --> 00:43:59,770 way, why does God do that? 1043 00:44:00,090 --> 00:44:01,370 Why does God allow this? 1044 00:44:01,530 --> 00:44:03,210 Maybe God isn't loving as I thought. 1045 00:44:03,210 --> 00:44:05,890 We have to go back and realign our thinking and say, no, God is 1046 00:44:05,890 --> 00:44:06,570 completely loving. 1047 00:44:06,570 --> 00:44:08,570 I must be wrong in the way that I'm doing these things. 1048 00:44:09,210 --> 00:44:11,090 So may we never abuse the grace of God. 1049 00:44:11,090 --> 00:44:14,410 May we never lack in the fear of the Lord, and may we get to a 1050 00:44:14,410 --> 00:44:18,070 place in our life where we can celebrate the fact that it is not 1051 00:44:18,070 --> 00:44:20,550 something that we do, but ultimately what he does through us 1052 00:44:20,550 --> 00:44:22,590 in salvation and sanctification. 1053 00:44:22,590 --> 00:44:27,150 Because last point here, many of us will say, I Know, I'm not saved 1054 00:44:27,150 --> 00:44:29,670 through my works, but I, I grow through my works. 1055 00:44:31,270 --> 00:44:36,310 Just as you are saved by the grace of God, you grow in the understanding 1056 00:44:36,310 --> 00:44:39,350 of who God is and you grow in your spiritual maturity through the 1057 00:44:39,350 --> 00:44:40,230 grace of God as well. 1058 00:44:40,310 --> 00:44:43,830 That's why he says in the New Testament, grow in grace. 1059 00:44:45,050 --> 00:44:47,650 It's understanding that everything that we have in our life 1060 00:44:47,650 --> 00:44:48,890 is through him and him alone. 1061 00:44:49,290 --> 00:44:51,570 Yeah, I can read my Bible more, but that doesn't equate to 1062 00:44:51,570 --> 00:44:52,250 spiritual growth. 1063 00:44:52,410 --> 00:44:55,930 Spiritual growth equates to me relying on God for everything in 1064 00:44:55,930 --> 00:44:56,410 my life. 1065 00:44:56,970 --> 00:44:58,730 That's how I become more Christlike. 1066 00:44:58,810 --> 00:45:02,330 That's how I live out a Christlike life, is by relying on 1067 00:45:02,330 --> 00:45:04,730 him to give me the strength and the wisdom and not in my own 1068 00:45:04,730 --> 00:45:05,050 strength. 1069 00:45:05,050 --> 00:45:07,730 And so for you today, that maybe have been saved for a long 1070 00:45:07,730 --> 00:45:10,530 time, and maybe you're tempted to think that, yeah, I'm saved by 1071 00:45:10,530 --> 00:45:13,210 faith, but I work my way to become a better Christian. 1072 00:45:14,070 --> 00:45:16,350 None of us, none of us can work our way to that place. 1073 00:45:16,350 --> 00:45:20,390 It's only through the grace of God and His presence in our life. 1074 00:45:20,390 --> 00:45:22,110 Well, I'm going to ask if you're able to just stand with me. 1075 00:45:22,110 --> 00:45:23,270 Every head bowed, every eye closed. 1076 00:45:23,270 --> 00:45:25,470 As the music plays here this morning, we're going to have a time 1077 00:45:25,470 --> 00:45:26,230 of invitation. 1078 00:45:27,510 --> 00:45:31,510 I know that today was heavier on the theology, heavier on the logic. 1079 00:45:31,510 --> 00:45:35,190 But folks, if Paul thought this to be so important to preach, 1080 00:45:36,150 --> 00:45:38,310 all the more reason why we need to preach it today. 1081 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:43,720 So many people are getting their eyes off of what the Bible 1082 00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:47,320 says about God and putting their eyes on the things that the 1083 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:48,560 world says about God. 1084 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:50,960 The world as we saw already. 1085 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:52,000 What does it say? 1086 00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:53,880 The that man is a liar. 1087 00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:54,880 God is the truth. 1088 00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:59,120 Who are we going to go to to have our definition of how God works? 1089 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:00,880 What God does, who he is? 1090 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:01,920 Are we going to go to the world? 1091 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:03,760 Are we going to go to our own definitions? 1092 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:06,560 Are we going to go to what culture says about God? 1093 00:46:06,950 --> 00:46:08,710 Are we going to say, no, that's a liar? 1094 00:46:08,870 --> 00:46:10,790 The only one who's telling me the truth is God. 1095 00:46:10,790 --> 00:46:13,990 And I'm only going to find what I believe through His Word. 1096 00:46:14,150 --> 00:46:15,670 Because what you believe matters. 1097 00:46:15,670 --> 00:46:18,870 Because what you believe will be translated to how we act. 1098 00:46:19,750 --> 00:46:23,630 Folks, if you want to live a godly life, you got to think Christ 1099 00:46:23,630 --> 00:46:24,030 like things. 1100 00:46:24,030 --> 00:46:26,950 You got to think what the Word of God says in your life. 1101 00:46:26,950 --> 00:46:28,470 Meditate upon the truth of God. 1102 00:46:28,470 --> 00:46:32,150 Folks, I am tempted every day to doubt what the Word of God says 1103 00:46:32,150 --> 00:46:34,390 in my flesh and in the world's system. 1104 00:46:34,550 --> 00:46:38,390 But what we must do is die to our flesh, die to the world and say, 1105 00:46:38,390 --> 00:46:41,430 it is through Jesus Christ that I have life and therefore I'm 1106 00:46:41,430 --> 00:46:42,470 never going to doubt Him. 1107 00:46:42,550 --> 00:46:43,910 His word is true. 1108 00:46:44,150 --> 00:46:46,230 His word is a sword. 1109 00:46:46,870 --> 00:46:47,830 It is alive. 1110 00:46:48,390 --> 00:46:52,270 It is profitable for doctrine, for approved, for correction, for 1111 00:46:52,270 --> 00:46:53,430 instruction and righteousness. 1112 00:46:54,070 --> 00:46:57,550 So here this morning, may we be aligned to his truth and not our 1113 00:46:57,550 --> 00:46:57,830 own. 1114 00:46:57,990 --> 00:47:01,070 May we be aligned to his truth and and not the world's. 1115 00:47:01,630 --> 00:47:04,830 I ask you this morning, think about what we've talked about today, 1116 00:47:05,710 --> 00:47:09,830 the doctrine of sin, the need for a Savior, and the perfection 1117 00:47:09,830 --> 00:47:11,310 of the gift of Jesus Christ. 1118 00:47:11,390 --> 00:47:13,510 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1119 00:47:13,510 --> 00:47:14,510 hearts and lives today. 1120 00:47:14,670 --> 00:47:17,750 Lord, help us to get to a place in our lives where we are relying 1121 00:47:17,750 --> 00:47:23,230 on you and you alone for our growth, for our salvation, for our 1122 00:47:23,230 --> 00:47:26,190 patience, for our peace, for our comfort. 1123 00:47:27,190 --> 00:47:29,310 Lord, help us not to believe the lies of this world. 1124 00:47:29,310 --> 00:47:32,790 Help us not to buy into man's logic. 1125 00:47:32,790 --> 00:47:36,750 Help us to follow your economy, help us to follow your purpose 1126 00:47:36,750 --> 00:47:37,990 and your plan for our lives. 1127 00:47:38,070 --> 00:47:40,630 Lord, I pray that you'd be in this time of invitation, working 1128 00:47:40,630 --> 00:47:41,150 hearts and life. 1129 00:47:41,150 --> 00:47:43,230 So if there's someone here today who does not know you as personal 1130 00:47:43,230 --> 00:47:45,670 Savior, may today be the day of that salvation. 1131 00:47:45,830 --> 00:47:47,110 Jesus name Amen. 1132 00:47:47,110 --> 00:47:49,430 As the music plays, some have already come Follow as the Lord leads. 1133 00:47:49,430 --> 00:48:52,970 Here this morning it thank you again for listening to the Middletown 1134 00:48:52,970 --> 00:48:54,290 Baptist Church podcast. 1135 00:48:54,530 --> 00:48:56,850 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1136 00:48:57,490 --> 00:48:59,850 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1137 00:48:59,850 --> 00:49:03,330 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1138 00:49:03,570 --> 00:49:06,130 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1139 00:49:07,010 --> 00:49:08,850 You can also email me directly at. 1140 00:49:08,850 --> 00:49:12,550 Join Josh Massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com if 1141 00:49:12,550 --> 00:49:13,950 you've enjoyed this podcast. 1142 00:49:14,190 --> 00:49:18,590 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1143 00:49:19,230 --> 00:49:20,190 Thank you so much. 1144 00:49:20,430 --> 00:49:21,150 God Bless. 1145 00:49:21,390 --> 00:49:22,670 Have a wonderful day.